•<^^ ^^" 
.'>%. 












Vv^ ^.-'^^^ 



^./' 



.-f-'.-- x-i- ^>. 









.0 O. 






.^'^ 






%.<^''' 



"fy. ^"^ 






s^ -^ 



•3. ''y 



.-r 






,^v<. 



%^^'' 












,>^ %. 



"^^ v^^ 









i 



,c'^" 



'"^ %c^ : 



A'^^ 



x^^ 



>-p„ 






'-/ .-}'' 









^-^ -r^ ' '. 



A*^" '^i. 









V 



,^^>• % 



^.^' 

t.'^"^. 



■-.^ ' ■*-^. 



■'<'.. .^^ 









v^" ^^^^ 






^^^>^-.%. .V^-^ 



'V^ 



^^" 



xx^' 












^■^'^^\ '^ ,/■ 












'/ a\ 



■>. S 



r^J:si\ 



'VV: 






oS -n^. ' ^ 



.^-^ '^*^. \\ 






^/^ *'""\\^' ..., 



^> .^':;^-l:'^^ ^^v^%'\ ^^s'^vl:> ^^■^v^%^. ^■^.■' 






■^■„ .vA^^ 






\^'- ■'':. 



.v" % 



.\\ ^" • »^ 'o.. ,.0- 



.■^^ 



;:>. .^'"^^i^^^s ^^^'*^:^' /^p^>^ z":^^^/-.. ,— ,f^: 



A-*' 



V. -p,. 



■ - "- ^ - :^; -^bo^ :/:■ 



>v *. ' " " ^ f^- 






S' -h 



.%> -'-K ° ^ 















■*bo^ 



\ 



'-.,^f2^.^/. ,;.^ .\* 



?)^: '^^^ :;i 






,'\ 



"^,. v*' 



:N^ ^.»-.:V'-".o^.^v:4 












./'^-""'.^ .. ^v:;^^'/. ..^\^'^"''S.^ .^^:^yr. ./>*-: "''V .\% 









v^"^ -^t.. '>- 



^c,"^- 
n'^^' "^^ 






,0 o . : ,/>^j^ 






,0 c. ' ^^ 









OO' 



f^^\.>' %'>-<«^./ ^V, ^'^^•^^^ .>^' '^^;'>-<-\o' 






COMMEMORATIVE 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



OK THE- 



UPP§R WISCONSIN 



COUNTIES OI 



Waupaca, Portage, Wood, Marathon, Lincoln, Oneida, 
Vilas, Langlade and Shawano, 



CONTAININC. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE 
CITIZENS. AND OF MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLED FAMILIES. 



-ILLLJSTRATEn- 



CHIC.VGO: 

J. H. BEERS .t CO. 
1895. 







I THE PRESS OF WILSON, HL'MPHRYES & CO., 
FOURTH ST., LOGANSPORT, IND. 



i»"5i- 



If 



PREKACE. 



THE importance of placing in book form biographical history of representative citi- 
zens — both for its immediate worth and for its value to coming generations — is 
admitted by all thinking people; and within the past decade there has been a 
growing interest in this commendable means of perpetuating biography and family 
genealogy. 

That the public is entitled to the privileges afforded by a work of this nature needs no 
assertion at our hands; for one of our greatest Americans has said that the history of an\- 
country resolves itself into the biographies of its stout, earnest and representati\'e citizens. 
This medium, then, serves more than a single purpose: while it perpetuates biography and 
famil\- genealogy, it records history, nuich of which would be preserved in no other way. 
In presenting the Commemorative Biographical Record to its patrons, the publish- 
ers ha\ i to acknowledge, with gratitude, the encouragement and support their enterprise 
has received, and the willing assistance rendered in enabling them to surmount the many 
unforeseen obstacles to be met with in the production of a work o( this character. In 
nearh' everv instance the material romposiug the sketches was gathered froiii those im- 
mediately interested, and then submitted in type-written form for correction and revision. 
The volume, which is one of generous amplitude, is placed in the hands of the public with 
the belief that it will be found a valuable addition to the library, as well as an invaluable 
contribution to the historical literature of Wisconsin. 

thp: publisher.s. 




\*f: 




> 



VrH-ri- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 




OVERNOR WILLIAM 
H. UPHAM. In trans- 
mitting to posterity rec- 
ords of distinguished men 
of the present day, into 
the minds of the youth 
of our land will be in- 
stilled the important les- 
son that honor and sta- 
tion are the sure reward of merit, and that, 
compared to habits of industry, persever- 
ance, probity and integrity, the greatest 
fortune would be but a poor inheritance. 
The life of the gentleman, of whom we now 
write, is a worthy example and model to any 
generation, and the high dignity to which he 
has attained is evidence in itself that the 
qualities above enumerated afford the means 
of distinction under a system of government 
in which the places of honor are open to all 
who may be found worthy of them. 

Governor Upham is a native of Massa- 
chusetts, born in Westminster May 3, 1841, 
of English descent, tracing his ancestry to 
John Upham, who was born in Somerset- 
shire, England, and in 1635 came from Eng- 
land with the Hull Colony, who landed on the 
shores of America May 16, settling in the 
then young Colony of Massachusetts, making 
their first New-World home at Weymouth. 
From this John Upham sprung all the Up- 



hams in America, and in direct line to the 
subject of this sketch his descendants were 
Phineas, John, Samuel, Jonathan, Alvin 
and William H. At the age of eleven years 
the last named, now the Governor of Wis- 
consin, accompanied his parents from 
Massachusetts to Niles, Mich., and after 
the death of his father he and his widowed 
mother came, in .1853, to Wisconsin, tak- 
ing up their residence in Racine, where the 
lad resumed his studies, his elementarj' 
education having been received at the com- 
mon schools of his native town and Niles. 
In 1 86 1, at the breaking out of the war 
of the Rebellion, Mr. Upham enlisted in 
the Belle City Rifles, which became Com- 
pany F, Second Wisconsin Infantry, and 
with his regiment participated in the battle 
of Bull Run July 21, 1861, during which en- 
gagement he was shot through the lungs, 
and left on the battlefield for dead. News 
of his death was sent to his home, and he 
was mourned alike by relatives and friends, 
the newspapers publishing long eulogies 
about him, while Rev. Hutchins, of the 
First Baptist Church, Racine, preached a 
most eloquent and impressive funeral ser- 
mon, highly laudatory of the (supposed) 
deceased's character and career. This ser- 
mon was printed in full in one of the local pa- 
pers, and a copy of same now occupies a con- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPUICAL RECORD. 



spicuous place in the Governor's scrap book 
— a memento of the stirring war times, and 
a testimonial of the esteem in which he was 
held, even in his boyhood, by those who 
knew him well. 

Some seven months afterward the lost 
one was found in one of the Southern pris- 
ons, where he had passed the long interval, 
far from pleasantly, it is unnecessary to 
add, but, fortunately, recovering from his 
apparently fatal wound. From the battle- 
field he had been taken to Libby prison, 
where he was confined over half a year, 
when he was paroled, and after his release 
he reported at Washington. President Lin- 
coln, thinking it probable that he could get 
from the young soldier some valuable infor- 
mation relative to Confederate affairs, sent 
for him, and was so favorably impressed 
with his appearance and manly bearing that 
he used his personal influence to secure for 
Mr. Upham a long-coveted position as cadet 
at West Point, where he followed the pres- 
cribed course of studj-. This was in 1862, 
and in the class of 1866 he graduated, 
after which, June 18, same year, he was 
commissioned second lieutenant in the artil- 
lery service, U. S. Army, his first duty be- 
ing to act as officer of the guard to Jeffer- 
son Davis, who at that time was a prisoner 
in Fortress Monroe. On March 4, 1869, 
Second-Lieut. Upham was promoted to first 
lieutenant, and November 18 he resigned 
his commission, returned to Wisconsin, and 
at once commenced to devote his energies 
to the development of extensive enterprises 
in the northern part of the State. He first 
located at Kewaunee, Wis., in 1869, moved 
to Angelica, Wis., in 1871, and went 
to Marshfield, Wis., in 1879, the year in 
which it was platted, and here built a saw 
and shingle mill, becoming the leading 
spirit in the upbuilding of the place. The 
citizens of to-day claim that Marshfield 
owes everything to Gov. Upham's indomi- 
table will power, enterprise and public- 
spiritedness, and that he may be truthfully 
called the founder of the town. In addi- 
tion to being identified with extensive lum- 
ber interests. Gov. Upham is also president 
of the Upham Manufacturing Co., of Marsh- 
field, the plant of which comprises a saw- 



mill, shingle-mill and gristmill, furniture 
factory, veneer works and machine shops, 
employment being given to some 400 hands. 
The product of the concern is shipped to all 
points of the compass — to San Francisco, 
Portland, Boston, New York and Chicago, 
as well as to London, Glasgow and other 
European cities. The company also operates 
one of the largest general retail stores to be 
found in the West. Governor Upham served 
as president of the First National Bank 
of Marshfield, but resigned that position up- 
on being elected Governor of Wisconsin. 
On June 2, 1887, Marshfield was almost 
totally destroyed by fire, and brought des- 
pair to the hearts of its residents; but 
Major Upham, though the heaviest loser by 
the dire catastrophe, with characteristic 
pluck and energy announced to the people 
his determination to rebuild the cit}'. By 
January i, 1888, less than seven months 
from the time the scene was one of smok- 
ing blackened ruins, sixth-two substantial 
brick blocks were erected and occupied. 
Major Upham at once establishing many of 
the enterprises before referred to, and 
through his efforts Marshfield has been made 
one of the thriving and rapidly developing 
cities of northern Wisconsin. 

Governor Upham has ever been fore- 
most in anything he has undertaken. He 
was first to enlist in the Belle City Rifles, 
and was the first private soldier appointed 
to West Point. In military affairs he has 
ever continued his interest, and is a member 
of both the Loyal Legion and the Grand 
Army of the Flepublic, and was elected 
State Commander of the latter for the De- 
partment of Wisconsin. He served on the 
staff of Department Commander Lucius 
Fairchild, as aid-de-camp, with the rank 
of major, and was appointed by President 
Arthur on the board of visitors to the 
Naval Academy at i\nnapolis, Md. In pol- 
itics he is an ardent Republican, and has 
used all legitimate means to aid this party 
in its campaigns. His true worth, personal 
magnetism, honorable record and executive 
ability, added to his personal popularity, 
forced the attention of the people of his 
State upon him as an available candidate 
for the Governorship. He announced himself 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOaRAPHICAL RECORD. 



as a candidate before the Republican State 
Convention, held in Milwaukee July 25-26, 
1894. There were eleven candidates before 
the convention, and although the votes were 
distributed among the candidates Major 
Upham from the first ballot led all competi- 
tors. The political battle of 1894 will long 
be remembered as one of the most desper- 
ately fought campaigns in the history of our 
country. A reunited Republican party 
challenged its opponents to battle upon is- 
sues of national importance, and upon the 
past and present actions of the Democracy. 
Being unable to boldly face the issues ad- 
vanced by their opponents, the Democrats 
in various sections resorted to personal abuse 
of candidates, and desired by such means 
to nullify as nearly as possible the disgust 
and distrust of the masses. In Wisconsin 
they began to abuse Major Upham by de- 
claring that he forced his employes to accept 
coupons, or company orders, redeemable in 
merchandise at the company's store instead 
of cash. Although it was proved, by affi- 
davits of workmen who had been employed 
for many years, that these assertions were 
false, the Democratic leaders kept up the 
cry, and by persistent repetitions so disgust- 
ed fair-minded men, irrespective of party 
affiliations, that many of the opposition 
displayed the American love for fair play 
and cast their ballots for Major Upham. 

The Republican victory in 1 894 will be 
cited for many generations as the greatest 
political contest of the century. Major Up- 
ham and his associates placed Wisconsin 
among the banner States. In 1890 his 
Democratic opponent, Hon. George W. 
Peck, defeated Hon. W. D. Hoard by a 
plurality of 28,320. In 1892 Hon. John C. 
Spooner, after a most victorous campaign, 
was defeated by Governor Peck by 7,707 
votes. In 1 894 Major Upham defeated the 
twice-successful Democratic Governor, by a 
plurality of 53,900, the largest plurality ever 
given a gubernatorial candidate in Wiscon- 
-sin. Although delighted with the returns 
from the State, Major Upham was probably 
more gratified with the esteem and admira- 
tion displayed by his fellow townsmen by 
their \-otes. In 1892 Wood county, in 
which Marshfield is located, gave Peck a 



plurality of 441. In 1894 Major Upham 
carried the county over Peck by i, 123. The 
appreciation in which he is held by the 
people of Marshfield, and his high standing 
in the community are well exemplified bythe 
fact that, though the city is Democratic, he 
received in this contest a majority of some 
400. Although Major Upham received 
many congratulatory messages after his nomi- 
nation and election to the highest honors 
within the gift of the State of his adoption, 
none gave him as much genuine pleasure as 
the following resolutions from the citizens of 
the village in which he was born: 

The Republicans of Westminster. Massachu- 
setts, in public meeting- assembled on the 20th 
inst., rejoicing- over the recent victory won within 
the borders of our own State, also feel a just pride 
in the elevation and prosperity of all the native 
sons of Westminster, althoug-h long removed from 
her limits, unanimously voted to send greeting- to 
you, and extend congratulations for your success 
and elevation as Governor of Wisconsin, your 
adopted State, believing; that the Republican prin- 
ciples for which you stand, when put in operation, 
will not only promote the interests of the inhabit- 
ants of your State, but will also restore confidence 
with all the people, and eventually bring- happi- 
ness and prosperity throughout the whole countrj'. 
S. D. SiMONDS, President, 
Republican Club of Westminster. 
H. J. P.\HTKii)GE, Secretary. 
Westminster. Mass.. November 22", 1894. 
To William H. Upham, Marshfield, Wisconsin. 

The 7th day of January, 1895, stands as 
the date of inauguration into his high office. 
His ripe experience as a man of business will 
enable him to administer the affairs of the 
Commonwealth upon sound business princi- 
ples, and his undoubted integrity and strong 
individuality assure the citizens of the State 
that he will control all branches of the gov- 
ernment, uninfluenced by professional politi- 
cians or unpatriotic advisers. 

On December 19, 1867, Gov. Upham 
was married at Racine, Wis., to Miss Mary 
C. Kelley, who is descended from Quaker 
ancestry, and two daughters have blessed 
their union, nHincly: Elsie, wife of E. E. 
Finney, a merchant of Marshfield, and Car- 
rie, living at home. The family are mem- 
bers of the First Presbyterian Church at 
Marshfield, in which Mrs. Upham, whose 
name is the .synonym for noble and generous 
deeds, is an active worker. In the quietude 
of his elegant home Governor Upham e.\- 
changes the exciting scenes of political and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



business turmoil for peaceful retirement in 
comfort, mayhap to ruminate on past events, 
or those that are passing, and on those 
which futurity will probably develop. 



HON. GEORGE \\ . GATE. Bio- 
graphical sketches of those who have 
attained merited distinction in Amer- 
ican law have a charm and force in 
them that commend them to every sound 
thinker. We naturally feel an interest in 
tracing the footsteps of those who have 
reached elevated positions in public confi- 
dence, and have wielded their influence for 
public good; who, loving truth, and integrity 
for their own sake, have undeviatingly fol- 
lowed their dictates, no matter what the 
personal consequences might be. Records of 
this kind are calculated to raise the minis- 
trations of law in public estimation, and are 
guides for the junior members of the profes- 
sion in their pursuit of reputation, distinc- 
tion and position. 

Born September 17, 1823, in Montpelier, 
Vt. , Judge Gate is a son of Isaac and Glar- 
issa (McKnight) Gate, the former a native of 
New Hampshire, the latter of Massachusetts, 
and they were well-to-do farming people, 
their home being some six miles from Mont- 
pelier. At the public schools of that city 
our subject received a liberal education, and 
at the age of seventeen years, in 1840, com- 
menced the study of law in the office of 
Joseph A. Wing, Plainfield, W'ashington Go., 
Vt., where he remained two years, and then 
for a similar length of time studied under Le- 
cius B. Peck, of Montpelier, Vt., after which, 
in 1844, he was admitted to the bar at the 
latter place, before Judge Isaac F. Redfield, 
of the Supreme Gourt of the State of Ver- 
mont. Goming to Wisconsin in 1845, Mr. 
Gate worked in a sawmill on the Eau Glaire 
river, among the pineries, and was also en- 
gaged in all the branches of lumbering, in- 
cluding rafting logs down the Eau Glaire to 
St. Louis, Mo. In 1848 he located in 
Plover (at that time the county seat of 
Portage county. Wis.), and commenced the 
practice of his chosen profession, the only 
other disciple of Blackstone in that locality 
being James S. Alban, who was afterward 



killed at the battle of Shiloh. From the day 
of his first opening office in Plover our sub- 
ject has given his entire time to his pro- 
fession (except while absent in Gongress, 
engaged on business pertaining to the State 
and Nation), and he has the reputation of 
being one of the busiest, as well as one of 
the most successful lawyers in northern 
Wisconsin. He has given considerable at- 
tention to the practice of common law, and 
among the prominent cases in which he has 
met with signal success may be mentioned 
the famous Lamere murder case, and the 
Hazeltine-Gurran-Morse case, and the Mead 
murder (two trials), in all of which he was 
counsel for the defense, and where all the 
defendants were acquitted. He was one of 
the managers for the State in the impeach- 
ment trial of Judge Hubbell. From 1848 to 
1854 he held various offices in the gift of the 
people, such as prosecuting attorney, register 
of deeds, clerk to the board of supervisors, 
supervisor, deputy postmaster of Plover, 
member of the Legislature, and at the time 
it was the only post office in the pinery of 
Portage county. In 1854 he was elected 
circuit judge, and served four terms of six 
years each, with the exception of the last 
term, when he resigned after the fourth year 
on account of his running for Gongress. 
This was in the fall of 1874 (the year of his 
moving to Stevens Point), and though the 
Judge is a pronounced Democrat, and the 
Judicial Gircuit and District was strongly 
Republican, yet he received a handsome 
majority. While he was in Gongress the 
vote on the electoral commission, which re- 
sulted in seating President Hayes, was taken, 
and Judge Gate was one of the seventeen 
Democrats who voted against it. On the 
completion of one term in Gongress he re- 
turned to his Wisconsin home, and resumed 
practice. 

In 1 85 1 Judge Gate was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Lavara S. Brown, daughter 
of Daniel Brown, a lumberman, formerly of 
Indianapolis, Ind., who came to Stevens 
Point from Iowa. Six children have been 
born to this marriage, to wit: Albert G., 
now of Amherst, Portage Go. , Wis. ; Lynn 
Boyd, of Stevens Point; Henry, a pharma- 
cist, of Menominee, Mich. ; Garrie, now the 





6/^(^Wz: 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



wife of Dr. Cronyn, of Milwaukee; and Ruth 
and Georgia, both at home. The entire 
family are members of the Episcopal 
Church, the Judge since i860, and for the 
past six years he has been senior warden of 
the Church of the Intercession, Stevens 
Point. Socially, he has been a member of 
the F. & A. M. since 1855. In addition to 
seven or eight city lots, he owns a 200-acre 
farm in Portage county, and takes a great 
interest in the breeding of blooded cattle; 
altogether he has imported several head of 
this class of cattle to Portage county, and at 
the present time he has a herd of some 
thirty fine-bred Jersej's (about thirty years 
ago he imported fine Devon cattle, and, 
later, several Alderneys). The family resi- 
dence is No. 321 Ellis street, Stevens Point. 
Large and generous of nature, kindly and 
charitable of disposition, with a deep sense 
of right. Judge Cate is greatly respected by 
all, and his counsels are frequently sought 
b}' his many friends. 



AUGUST KICKBUSCH. Some men's 
minds are blessed, in addition 
to other native talents, with the 
happy faculty of originality, permit- 
ting them, if they so desire, to forsake the 
beaten paths, and boldly strike for success 
by new and untried methods. In looking 
over the brilliant career of Mr. Kickbusch, 
one of the most prominent of Wausau's 
prominent citizens, one is impressed with 
the fertility and versatility of his powers, 
giving him a reserve force that would make 
him equal to any business emergency that 
might arise. He has shared fully in the 
glory of Wausau's material advancement, 
serving as its first mayor, possessing an 
abundance of prosperous business interests 
— wholesale grocery, brick manufacturer 
and lumber dealer — instrumental as no other 
man has been in the settlement of the county 
with a thrifty class of citizens, and in many 
ways contributing to its welfare. 

Mr. Kickbusch was born in Colberg, Prov- 
ince of Pomerania, Prussia, Germany, Oc- 
tober 15, 1828, son of Martin F. and Kat- 
rina (Koahn) Kickbusch. Martin F. was born 
in Germany August 26, 1 802, and had a family 



of five children: August,subject of this sketch; 
Marie, wife of Herman Marquardt, of Wau- 
sau; Ferdinand, of Wausau; Caroline, wife 
of Frank Radandt, of Kilbourn City, and 
Frederick William, now United States con- 
sul at Stettin, Germany. Martin Kickbusch 
died in Wausau in 1873, his wife in 1875, 
and both are buried in Wausau Cemetery. 
August attended the district schools of his 
native land, then learned the trade of a 
brick manufacturer, at which he worked in 
the Fatherland until 1857, when he emi- 
grated via Quebec to Milwaukee, Wis., here 
joining his parents, who had crossed the 
ocean two weeks earlier. Three days later 
August started afoot for Wausau, walking 
the entire distance. There he purchased 
354 acres of land, eighteen miles distant, 
in Hamburg township, but not being able to 
reach the locality he returned to Milwaukee, 
where he remained for nearly three years, 
engaged in teaming. 

In i860 Mr. Kickbusch purchased a 
wagonload of merchandise suitable for a 
pioneer country, and drove through to Wau- 
sau, then called Big Bull. Selling the goods 
at a profit of $59, he returned to Milwaukee 
for his family and household goods. On the 
journey northward the family camped at 
night by the roadside. Arriving at Wausau 
he proceeded to build a shanty on Clark's 
Island, the family in the meantime sleeping 
in the wagon, while he made himself com- 
fortable under the wagon. Here, in Sep- 
tember, i860, Mr. Kickbusch began a general 
trading business, buying furs from the In- 
dians and shipping them to Milwaukee. In 
1 862 he purchased the large and commodious 
premises which he now occupies, corner of 
Main and Washington streets, and there his 
mercantile business grew until to-day it is 
one of the most e.xtensive in Wausau. In 
1862 Mr. Kickbusch also engaged in brick 
manufacturing and in lumbering, both of 
which industries he still conducts. His mills 
are as follows: One sawmill situated about 
six miles from Merrill, Lincoln county, the 
other at Riceville, seven miles east of Har- 
shaw, Oneida county, the planing-mill being 
at Rice Lake Spur. He also has a brick- 
yard at Edgar, Marathon county, and, when 
his several industries are in full operation. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



employment is given to a force of two thou- 
sand men, a little army in itself. In 1865 
he built a hardware, stove and crockery 
store adjoining his grocery, and in 1872 he 
erected a brick business block adjoining his 
present store on the east, and a brick ware- 
house, all occupied by the firm. 

Mr. Kickbusch had become interested in 
the settlement of the county, and March 12, 
1S67, thinking the land was not filling up 
with settlers as rapidly as it should, he took 
a trip to Germany, and in three months 
secured 702 desirable emigrants, for the 
passage of whom the steamer "America," of 
the North German Lloyd line, was exclu- 
sively secured. Leaving Bremen May 29, 
1867, this large party reached New York 
June 12 and Wausau on June 20. They 
proceeded by rail to Oshkosh, thence by boat 
to Gill's Landing, where teams were secured 
for the women and children, the men walk- 
ing, and Wausau was reached June 20, 1867. 
Some of the party Mr. Ivickbusch employed, 
and for others he secured work. Many took 
up land and engaged in farming, the entire 
party being comfortably settled in a short 
time and thoroughly amalgamated with the 
like of Marathon county. From that time 
the county began to improve rapidl}', and 
the great impulse which Mr. Kickbusch thus 
gave to the county's prosperity has been 
lasting. Many of those early settlers still 
regard him as their father and benefactor. 
He has since been offered $1,000 and a free 
passage to and from Europe to make another 
such trip, but other business interests will 
not permit. 

Mr. Kickbusch was married, in Germany, 
to Miss Matilda Schochow, daughter of Er- 
nest and Mina Schochow. Of their six chil- 
dren four are yet living, as follows: Otto, 
born January i, 1855, a resident of Wau- 
sau; Martha, born in February; i860, wife of 
William Rens, of Wausau; Robert, in busi- 
ness with his father, born August 24, 1861, 
married to Lena, daughter of John A. and 
Louisa Frenzel, and father of two children — 
Nina M., born April 13, 1883, and August 
R., born November 9, 1888; and Emma, 
born September i, 1863. wife of Anthony 
Mohr, and the mother of one child — Matilda. 
Mrs. Kickbusch died May 26, 1891, and for 



his second wife Mr. Kickbusch married Miss 
Amelia Flohr (daughter of Ferdinand Flohr), 
by whom he has two children, Paul and 
Alma. 

For several terms Mr. Kickbusch was 
president of the village, and chairman of the 
county board for five years; was the first 
mayor of Wausau, filling the office two 
terms; for a year he was register of the 
United States Land Office, but resigned the 
position from lack of time to devote to it. 
He is president of the George Ruder Brew- 
ing Co. ; director of the Wausau Furniture 
Co. ; has been a director of the First Na- 
tional Bank since its organization, and is 
now vice-president of same, and is president 
of the Central Land Co. Mr. Kickbusch 
supplies the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
railroad with its timber for bridges, ties, tele- 
graph poles, etc., and also furnished part of 
the piles for the Jackson Park World's Fair 
pier, Chicago. Socially, he was a charter 
member of Lodge No. 215, I. O. O. F., and, 
politically, he is a stanch Republican. The 
family attend St. Paul's Evangelical Church. 
Mr. Kickbusch has been the promoter of 
many enterprises of a semi-social or public 
character at Wausau, and few, if any men 
have done so much to promote the welfare 
of this portion of northern Wisconsin. In 
1892 he presented each of his eldest two 
sons — Otto and Robert — with a property 
consisting of a three-story solid brick build- 
ing, each 25 feet front and 70 feet long, on 
Third street, Wausau, valued at $20,000, 
and to his yougest daughter — Alma — he gave 
an elegant solid brick residence covering 
four lots, and situated on the corner of 
Third avenue and Clark street. Mr. Kick- 
busch's own residence is on Stewart avenue, 
located on a forty-acre tract, twenty of 
which lie within the city limits of Wausau. 
It is a fine brick mansion, one of the best in 
the city which it overlooks, and is surrounded 
with beautiful lawns and shade trees, while 
on the grounds, near the residence, is a 
natural fish pond, in which sport a multitude 
of German carp, and the farm is stocked with 
a fine breed of Holstein and Jersey cattle. 

Robert Kickbusch resides at the corner 
of Second street and Franklin boulevard, 
and in a substantial two-story brick mansion 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



13 



with mansard roof, one of the most artistic 
and attractive private residences in Wausau, 
surrounded as it is with extensive and well- 
kept grounds and beautiful shade trees. 



WEBSTER E. BROWN. A history 
of the growth and development of 
the commercial interests of north- 
ern ^^'isconsi^, more especially of 
the city of Rhinelander, would not be com- 
plete without a mention of the enterprises, 
as well as the public improvements, with 
which the name of this gentleman has long 
been identified. 

Mr. Brown is a native of New York 
State, born July 16, 1851, near Peterboro, 
Madison county, the second son of Edward 
D. and Helen M. (Anderson) Brown, well- 
to-do people formerly of New York State, 
from which State they moved to Wisconsin 
in the spring of 1857. For a short time 
they made their home at the village of New- 
port, Columbia county, later moving to 
Hull township, Portage county, later to 
Stockton township, same county, and, still 
later to Stevens Point, where Mrs. Brown 
died in 1888. In 1894 the bereaved hus- 
band and his two daughters, May and Helen, 
moved to Rhinelander, and are now living 
in an elegant and comfortable home which 
he recently built. Few men are better 
known in the Upper Wisconsin Valley than 
Edward D. Brown, or more highly respect- 
ed for honesty, integrity and thorough busi- 
ness capacity. They have eight children 
now living, namely: Anderson W., Webster 
E. , Edward O. , Walter D. , Florence H, (now 
the wife of Judge Paul Brown, of Rhineland- 
er), Isabell (wife of D. D. Planner, lum- 
ber dealer, Rhinelander), and May and 
Helen. Four of this family are graduates 
of the Wisconsin State University, Madison, 
and all attended this institution at some 
time. 

Webster E. Brown, the subject proper 
of this sketch, was about six years old when 
the family came to Wisconsin, and his ele- 
mentary education was secured at the com- 
mon schools of Portage county, after which, 
and while still in his boyhood, he attended 
a few months of each year for three years 



the universit}' at Appleton, which was sup- 
plemented, in the spring of 1870, with a 
course of study at the Spencerian Business 
College, Milwaukee. In the fall of that 
year he entered the Wisconsin State Uni- 
versity, at Madison, graduating from there 
with the class of '74. In the spring of the 
following year, he and his brother Ander- 
son W. , under the firm name of Brown Bros. , 
opened up a lumber business a Stevens Point, 
another brother Edward O., joining them in 
1880; the firm continued in business at 
Stevens Point until 1883. In 1875 they 
purchased a tract of land where Rhineland- 
er is now located. In 1S82 and 1883, they 
closed out their interests at Stevens Point 
and removed to Rhinelander, where they 
have since pursued a general lumber busi- 
ness. Their sawmill here has a capacity of 
one hundred thousand feet every ten hours, 
in addition to which they have a planing- 
mill, and other accessories necessary to a 
well-equipped lumber plant. In the fall of 
1882 they platted the village of Rhinelander, 
our subject having charge of the village 
real estate, also of the manufacturing and 
sale of lumber produced by their mill. On 
January i, 1890, the business of the broth- 
ers was incorporated, under the general 
laws of the State, as the Brown Brothers 
Lumber Co., of which company our subject 
is secretary. The Brown Bros. Lumber 
Co., are also owners of pine lands in Wis- 
consin and Michigan, and moreover are in- 
terested in coal mines in Tennessee. At 
one time they carried on a private banking 
business, known as E. D. Brown & Sons 
Bank, which was afterward merged into the 
Merchants State Bank of Rhinelander, of 
which they are directors. They are prom- 
inent among the active business men of 
Rhinelander, and by their energ}', enterprise 
and influence have figured largely in making 
the city what it is. Like the father, the sons 
own handsome and pleasant homes. 

The subject proper of these lines is a 
conservative and successful business man. 
He has always been identified with every 
movement tending to the advancement of 
the interests of his city. He was elected 
mayor of Rhinelander in the spring of 1894, 
and re-elected in the spring of 1895, on 



H 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



both occasions without opposition. He is 
an advocate of temperance, yet liberal in 
his views on the question, and believes in 
the enforcement of the law on that and all 
other kindred matters that have been so 
much legislated on. Politically a Repub- 
lican, he is no office-seeker, but his friends 
have insisted in keeping him in incumbencies 
where his abilities can be best brought into 
use. He has been a member of the school 
board several years, and takes a great inter- 
est in educational matters; was chairman of 
the county board two j'ears, and of the town 
board three years. 

On December 26, 1877, Webster E. 
Brown and Miss Juliet D. Meyer were 
united in marriage. She was born in Phil- 
adelphia, Penn., and is a daughter of Rich- 
ard and Martha P. (Phelps) Meyer, the 
former of whom was a native of Germany, 
and in early life was private secretarj- for 
Eastwick, Winans & Co., who built the first 
railroad from Moscow to St. Petersburg, 
Russia, for the government. When yet a 
young man he emigrated to America, locat- 
ing in Philadelphia as a merchant, and there 
marrying. After a residence in the Quaker 
City of a few years, he came, in 1858, to 
Wisconsin, settling in Lancaster, Grant 
county, engaging in a mercantile and bank- 
ing business, where he still resides. Mr. 
and Mrs. Meyer were the parents of seven 
children, five of whom are yet living: Rich- 
ard, Frederick P., Nettie E., Jessie M. and 
Mrs. Webster E. Brown. Mrs. Brown is 
an educated and refined lady, and a gradu- 
ate, in 1875, of the Wisconsin State Uni- 
versity, after which she taught in the high 
schools at Lancaster and Madison, Wis., 
two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown have 
been born seven children, five of whom are 
now living, to wit: Ralph D., Edna M., 
Dorothy, Richard M. and Allan D. Our 
subject is a member of the F. & A. M., No. 
173, Rhinelander Lodge, and also of the 
K. of P. Lodge at Rhinelander. He and 
his amiable and accomplished life partner 
are prominently identified with the Con- 
gregational Church. 

Mr. Brown is a man of good physique, 
as well as forcible intellectual qualities, and 
is possessed of an active mind, and a frank 



and generous disposition, traits of character 
inherited by a worthy son from a worthy 
sire and ancestr}'. 



EDWARD DASKAM. Man has been 
endowed with reason, will and 
physical power, and it is b)' patient 
industry only that he can open up a 
pathway to the enduring prosperity of a com- 
munity. The fittest survive, and, in writing 
biographies of individuals like our subject, 
it is a pleasure to meet with such striking 
examples of industry and integrity. 

Mr. Daskam is a native of New York 
State, born March 14, 1843, '" Caton, Steu- 
ben county, a grandson of Nathan Daskam, 
Jr., who was of Connecticut birth and a 
soldier in the Revolutionary war, in which 
struggle he had a brother among the slain. 
Nathan Daskam, Sr. , great-grandfather of 
Edward Daskam, was one of the associates 
of the Old Hartford Bank, known as the 
"Daskam and Barsley Bank," and the 
Daskams furnished "sinews of war" to the 
government in both the Revolution and the 
war of 18 12. The grandparents of our sub- 
ject were of Welch and English descent, 
their ancestors having many years ago set- 
tled in Connecticut where Nathan, Jr., and 
his wife, as well as his parents, all passed 
their entire lives. Nathan Daskam, Jr., and 
his wife had one daughter, Ann, now Mrs. 
Sydam (whose son, Hiram Sydam, is a 
prominent business man of Geneva, N. Y.), 
and three sons, John (a farmer), Nathan and 
Robert, the latter of whom was born at 
Hartford, Conn., in 1801, and became a 
mechanic. He (Robert) married Miss Maria 
A. Wheeler, who was born in Connecticut, 
in 1807, of German and Irish ancestry, her 
father being of Mohawk-Dutch lineage (his 
parents were among the early settlers of the 
Mohawk Valle)), her mother of Irish. They 
were farmers, and died in Ontario county, 
N. Y. , each at the age of about ninety years, 
the parents of four children: \\'illiam H., 
Jerry, Jane and Maria A. To Robert Das- 
kam and his wife were born ten children, a 
brief sketch of whom is as follows: Will- 
iam H., the eldest, enlisted in the Fourth 
Wis. V. I., and died in August, 1862, of 




'iiT^&^i-irJ^'y 



c/^'x.-<yi^ 




(^^t^^^c/z^.'Z^ ^i^^^^^. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



15 



wounds received, leaving a widow but no 
children (he was also a soldier in the Mexi- 
can war, having enlisted in Chicago); Lu- 
cinda married Richard Ardell, a shoemaker, 
and resides in Waupaca county; Caroline is 
now the wife of William Sidney, a farmer 
of New York State; John W. is a farmer in 
Langlade county (he was a soldier in the 
First Wis. V. C, and served one year); 
Elizabeth A. is now the wife of George 
Gelder, a farmer in Michigan, near Kala- 
mazoo; Mathilda is the deceased wife of 
Stephen Hibbard; Edward is the subject of 
this sketch; Louisa is now Mrs. Hudson 
Gelder, and resides in New York State; 
Robert L. (i) died when seven years old; 
Robert L. (2) is a farmer of Calumet county. 
Wis. ; Charles W. is a resident of Ashland, 
Wis. In 1857 the family came to Wiscon- 
sin settling on a farm in Calumet county, 
where the father died November 25, 1882. 
He was self-made, self-educated, a great 
reader, and well posted in the affairs of his 
time; public-spirited and liberal-minded, he 
was a man of broad ideas, and highly re- 
spected by all who knew him. 

Edward Daskam, whose name introduces 
this sketch, was reared on a farm, and en- 
joyed the advantages of a common-school 
training. At the age of seventeen, on Sep- 
tember 15, 1 86 1, he enlisted in Company 
G, Fourteenth Wis. V. L, re-enlisting De- 
cember II, 1863, as a veteran, at Vicks- 
burg. Miss., and was discharged at Mobile, 
Ala., October 9, 1865, as first sergeant. His 
war record is an enviable one, and the same 
courage displayed in the field of battle has 
since characterized his walks in civil and 
political life. He participated in the battle 
of Pittsburg Landing, was at the sieges of 
both Corinth and Vicksburg, was with 
Sherman at Atlanta, present at the affair at 
Nashville, and took part in the siege of 
Spanish Fort which lasted fourteen days. 
With the e.xception of a short time he was 
in the hospital sick with the measles he was 
always with his regiment, never missing an 
engagement. On his return from the army 
in October, 1865, he engaged in farming a 
couple of years, during which time he took 
up the real-estate business to which he then 
turned his attention exclusively, at first 



dealing in farm lands, later handling city 
and village property. In March, 1882, he 
came to Antigo, Langlade county, which 
was then a collection of shanties, at once 
invested in vacant lots, and has since been 
actively engaged here in the real-estate bus- 
iness, which he does not confine to city and 
town property in the county and State, for 
he has extended his interests in that line 
into the Dakotas, Montana, Michigan and 
other States. He also carries on a general 
brokerage business, and upon the reorgani- 
zation of the Bank of Antigo he was ap- 
pointed vice-president. In the building up 
of Antigo he has been a prominent factor, 
has platted three additions known as the 
" Daskam Additions," and further interested 
himself in the erection of several brick 
blocks, a foundry and machine shop, be- 
sides other manufacturing plants; as soon, 
however, es he saw each of these industries 
on its feet, he would sell out, preferring to 
confine himself to the open precincts of real- 
estate dealing, of which by his natural acu- 
men, shrewdness and sagacity he has made 
a pronounced success. 

On January 2, 1871, Mr. Daskam was 
married to Miss Henrietta J. McMullen, by 
whom he had children, as follows: Thomas 
E., assistant cashier of the Bank of Antigo; 
Mary L. , living at home, and two that died 
in infancy. The mother of these passed 
away to the "better land" in 1883, and 
September 7, 1885, Mr. Daskam wedded 
Miss Osca Bemis, daughter of George W. 
Bemis, register of deeds, Antigo, and by this 
union there are three children: Edith, Ed- 
ward and Bemis. Socially our subject is 
prominent in Masonic circles, having at- 
tained the thirty-second degree; he is a 
member of Antigo Lodge F. & A. M. No. 
231, of Wausau Commandery No. 19, of 
Milwaukee Consistory, and of the Mystic 
Shrine, Milwaukee; he is also a member of 
the G. A. R. , taking a lively interest in the 
affairs of each fraternity. Politically he is a 
Republican, and has served as assessor and 
on the county board. In his religious views 
he is liberal, giving freely of his means to 
all denominations, and takes a deep interest 
in the public schools, in fact in all educa- 
tional projects. As a business man he has 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



been exceptionally successful, and certainly 
seems worthy of being placed on the list of 
the wealthiest men of Antigo, his career be- 
ing proverbial for honest, straightforward, 
fair-and-square dealings with all with whom 
he has had business transactions of any 
kind. He is a man, take him for all in all, 
of whom everybody always speaks well, and 
who has not, and does not deserve to have, 
a single personal enemy. 



JOSEPH DESSERT. Few men have 
resided continuously in the Upper Wis- 
consin Valley for over fifty years. 
Joseph Dessert has not only been a 
resident of Marathon county for over half a 
century, but he has during that period built 
up a vast lumbering business that is perhaps 
second to none in the State. He has made 
no business failures, and his name is a syno- 
nym of enduring confidence and integrity. 
Not swerved from his business b}' this or 
that glittering bubble, he has made it one of 
the substantial bulwarks of northern Wis- 
consin. 

Mr. Dessert is a native of Canada, hav- 
ing been born in Maskinonge, Province of 
Quebec, January 8, 1819, son of Peter and 
Melonie (Baulien) Dessert, both natives of 
that province. Twelve children were born 
to them, four of whom survive: Melonie, 
wife of Adolphus Martin, still living in her 
native home at the advanced age of eighty- 
one years; Joseph, subject of this sketch; 
and Dosite and Bozilis, both residents of 
the Province of Canada, the latter being 
widow of Louis Landry. Joseph attended 
the schools of the neighborhood of his 
father's home, and worked at lumbering in 
Canada until he was twenty-two years of 
age. In May, 1 840, he made a trip to the 
Lake Superior region, and for four years 
was employed by the American Fur and 
Trading Co. Returning home July i, 1844, 
he remained only a few months, and Sep- 
tember 16 started, an unknown young man, 
on a long journey to the unknown forests of 
Wisconsin, where thenceforth he was to 
make his home, and which he was destined 
to honor by his e.xemplary and potent busi- 
ness career. Reaching Buffalo, he pro- 



ceeded by steamer to Milwaukee, thence b}- 
lumber wagon to Fort Winnebago, now 
Portage City. He pushed on to Whitney 
Rapids by team, but the destination was still 
nearly seventy-five miles away, and the 
country sparsely settled, principally by In- 
dians. This long and tiresome journey was 
made afoot. Mr. Dessert reached Mosinee 
October 20, 1844, and from that date to the 
present he has been a continuous resident 
of Marathon county For fi\e years he 
worked for wages in the solitudes of this 
vast wilderness, lumbering and logging on 
the river. Then, in 1849, he joined for- 
tunes with three other young men — William 
Pencast, Henry Cate and James Etheridge 
— and, under the firm name of Pencast, Des- 
sert & Co. , started the business which has 
grown into the extensive trade now com- 
manded by the Joseph Dessert Lumber 
Co. One by one the original parties dropped 
out, until Mr. Dessert was left sole owner. 
First Mr. Pencast withdrew, in 1850, and 
the firm became Dessert, Cate & Co. Four 
years later Mr. Etheridge sold his interest 
to the remaining partners, and the style of 
the firm became Dessert & Cate. In 1859 
Mr. Dessert purchased his partner's interest 
and became sole owner. Alone he con- 
ducted the business for twenty-one years; 
then, in 1880, he admitted to partnership 
his nephew, Louis Dessert. For ten j'ears 
the business was under the firm name of 
Joseph Dessert & Co. , and in December, 
1 890, the present Joseph Dessert Lumber 
Co. was incorporated, now officered bj' 
Joseph Dessert, president; Louis Dessert, 
vice-president and manager, and H. M. 
Thompson, secretary and treasurer. Mrs. 
H. M. Thompson is a stockholder. The 
company conducts one of the most exten- 
sive lumber business in the State. 

In 1862 Joseph Dessert was married, in 
Waukesha county, to Miss Mary Sanford, 
daughter of William E. and Lavina T. San- 
ford, the former a native of Connecticut, the 
latter of New York State. Mr. and Mrs. 
Dessert have had two children: Marion M., 
who died in infancy, and Stella, wife of 
Henry M. Thompson, secretary and treas- 
urer of the Joseph Dessert Lumber Co. 
Mrs. Dessert died July i. 1881. Though 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHIGAL BECORD. 



17 



frequently tendered important and responsi- 
ble offices Mr. Dessert has almost invariably 
refused to accept, and in no sense has he 
ever been an aspirant for political honors, 
knowing that his business, if neglected, must 
suffer. Yet he has ever been ready with his 
counsel and means to forward enterprises 
promoting the public v\-elfare; he served for 
several terms as a member of the county 
board, and was also county commissioner 
for one term. Mr. Dessert is now in his 
seventy-seventh year, and has shifted the 
burden of active business life to younger 
shoulders. He is in the enjoyment of good 
health, and has the friendship and esteem of 
all who have known him, either in public or 
in private life. No man better deserves 
the good will of others than he, and none 
possesses it in a greater degree. 



LOUIS DESSERT, vice-president of 
The Joseph Dessert Lumber Co. , 
Mosinee, was born in the parish of 
Saint Ambroise, Kildare, Province of 
Quebec, Canada, June 6, 1849, and is a son 
of Antoine and Edvige (Rotelle) Dessert, 
both natives of Canada, the latter of whom 
is still a resident of the old homestead. 

Our subject received a French education 
in his native town, and when nineteen years 
of age he came to Mosinee, where he at- 
tended the public schools for two terms, in 
order to perfect his knowledge of the Eng- 
lish language. After leaving school he 
was employed in the extensive lumber busi- 
ness of Joseph Dessert, remaining in the ca- 
pacity of an employe until 1880, in which 
year he became a partner, the firm name be- 
ing changed to Joseph Dessert & Co. In 
1890, when the Joseph Dessert Lumber Co. 
was organized and incorporated, Louis Des- 
sert became vice-president, an official title 
which he still holds, and under it he is the 
active general manager of the company's 
extensive business. 

On November 25, 1882, he was married, 
in Mosinee, to Miss Abbie Richardson. 
Their family of three children is composed 
of Howard, born September i6, 1883; 
Louise, born March 25, 1887; and Blanche, 



born May 15, 1892. In politics Mr. Des- 
sert is a Republican. In 1889 he was presi- 
dent of the village of Mosinee, and he has 
also served as supervisor. He is one of the 
active, progressive business men of the coun- 
ty, and deservedly popular among all classes 
of the community. Mr. Dessert is also a 
member of the firm of C. Gardner & Co., 
lumbermen and general merchants. He 
possesses business abilities of a high order, 
and though yet comparatively young in 
years, his influence in the development of 
Marathon county is widely felt. 



HON. SEBASTIAN KRONENWET- 
TER, one of the substantial aud en- 
terprising business men of Mara- 
thon county, owns and operates e.x- 
tensive mills near Mosinee, and for many 
years has been prominently identified with 
the lumbering interests of the Upper Wis- 
consin Valley. He was born in Wittenberg, 
Germany, January 20, 1833, and is a son of 
Miphael and Francisca (Funk) Kronen- 
wetter. 

Our subject attended the German schools 
in his boyhood, and in 1846, when thirteen 
years of age, emigrated with his father and 
mother to America. They settled at St. 
Mary's, Elk Co., Penn., and here the par- 
ents remained, honored and respected resi- 
dents through life. Of their five children 
three now survive: Sebastian, Nicholas 
and Charles, both of the latter still residing 
at St. Mary's. Sebastian grew to manhood 
at the home of his parents, and at St. 
Mary's, on October 15, 1855, he married 
Miss Mary Biri, a native of Alsace, France, 
now Germany, and daughter of Benedict and 
Barbara Biri. Two years later he resolved 
to seek a home in the Northwest. Coming 
to Wisconsin in 1857, he located in Mosinee, 
where for two years he worked in the piner- 
ies. In 1859 Mr. Kronenwetter engaged in 
the hotel business at Mosinee, conducting it 
successfully for two years. Then, in 1861, 
he removed to Wausau, and opened a hos- 
telry in that bustling little city. For two 
years he prospered, but in 1863 fire des- 
troyed his hotel, consumed all his earthly 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



possessions, and left him with his wife and 
babes penniless. It was a severe blow, 
enough to dishearten many men, but Mr. 
Kronenwetter went bravely to the task of 
restoring his perished fortunes. Perhaps 
the fire was a blessing in disguise; at any 
rate it directed the energies of Mr. Kronen- 
wetter into a new channel, and into one 
through which, by well-directed efforts, he 
has risen to prominence aud a measurable 
degree of affluence. Beginning anew at the 
foot of the ladder, in the pineries, he 
worked for a year or two, then launched 
into the logging and lumbering business on 
his own account in a modest way. Through 
careful attention the business grew, and Mr. 
Kronenwetter gained in experience and 
capital. In 1870 he removed to his present 
location, which at that time was an un- 
broken wilderness. Here he erected his 
spacious mills, and time has demonstrated 
the correctness of his business judgment. 
He has ever since been engaged in the lum- 
bering business, and through energy and 
perseverance has won for himself a place 
among the solid and respected business men 
of Marathon county. He has for twenty- 
one years held the office of chairman of 
Mosinee and Kronenwetter townships, and 
was chairman of Marathon County Board in 
the year 1880. He was elected to the 
Assembly for the year 1885. All his family 
at this writing reside in Mosinee and Kron- 
enwetter townships. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Kronenwetter have been as follows: Michael, 
born at St. Mary's, Penn., February 2, 
1857, died in infancy; Helen O. , born at 
Mosinee June 22, i860, wife of Michael 
Lutz; Francis M. K., born at Mosinee June 
26, 1 86 1, died November 18, 1863; Karl A., 
born at Wausau, August 2, 1862; George S. , 
born at Mosinee, September 15, 1864; Clara 
F., born at Mosinee, October 9, 1866, now 
the wife of Eugene Wirth; Henry M., born 
April I, 1869; Frances Mary, born Febru- 
ary 21, 1872, died February 10, 1874; 
Marie T. , born in Mosinee, September 15, 
1874, and Anna Otilia, born in Mosinee, 
March 31, 1877. The family is one of the 
best known and most influential in Mara- 
thon county. 



HON. W. L. ARNOTT. So closely 
have the lumber interests of the up- 
per Wisconsin Valley been woven 
into the history of this region that 
few of the prosperous lives in the Vallev 
have escaped a more or less intimate rela- 
tion with this great industry. Mr. Arnott, 
one of the most prominent men of Stockton 
township. Portage count}', is not an e.xcep- 
tion. He, too, has worked in the lumber 
woods, and "run the river." He was born 
in the town of Jerusalem, Yates Co., N.Y. , 
September 5, 1832, only child of Amasa L. 
and Lydia (Rouse) Arnott. The father, 
who was a civil engineer, died when the son 
was but eighteen months old, and the mother 
subsequently married Isaac Haight,by whom 
she had one daughter, Adel, who died at the 
age of twent)'-four years. Mrs. Haight 
passed away in Yates county, N. Y., in 
1S44. 

W. L. Arnott was reared on the farm of 
his grandfather, Timothy Rouse, attending 
the district schools and assisting in the farm 
duties until the age of fourteen, when he 
went to Woodhull township, Steuben Co., 
N. Y. , and there worked for his uncle, M. 
D. Hathaway, on a farm, remaining thereon 
till he was nineteen years old. After leav- 
ing his uncle in the spring of 1851, he passed 
a couple of months in Huron county, Ohio, 
then returning to New York State, worked 
in Yates county on a farm up to the time of 
his marriage. He was married at Bath, 
Steuben Co., N. Y., March 25, 1856, to 
Mary J. Walker, who was born in the same 
town, March 25, 1832, daughter of James 
and Gretia (Warren) W'alker, who were the 
parents of nine children, to wit: Sarah, 
who died at the age of fourteen years; James 
W. , now a retired farmer of Shawano coun- 
ty, Wis.; Gratia A., wife of A. B. Daniels, 
a farmer, of Georgia; Susan E. , now Mrs. 
Charles Beach, of Stevens Point; Mary J. 
(Mrs. Arnott); William R., who was ser- 
geant of Company E, Fifth Wis. V. I., and 
was killed at the battle of the Wilderness in 
May, 1864; Frank R. , who also served in 
the Fifth Wis. V. I., and died in 1889; Ada 
J. (Mrs. Curren), a resident of Stevens 
Point; and Murray W., who died when five 
years old. The father of this family, who 




^^7^. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



was a son of Abram Walker, and was of 
English descent, was a native of New York 
State, and died at Bath, N. Y. Gratia 
Walker, the mother, was born in Vermont, 
in 1804, daughter of Phineas Warren, who 
was a direct descendant of Dr. Joseph War- 
ren, of Revolutionary fame, and came of 
English stock. Phineas married Mary 
Knight, who was of the historic Scottish 
house of Stewart. Mr. and Mrs. Arnott 
have two children: Lillian A., and Mary 
G., both school teachers, the latter at West 
Superior, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Arnott began housekeeping on a 
seventy-five-acre tract of land which he had 
contracted for. He had little means, and 
what he did possess v^'as his own accumula- 
tion from wages received. In May, 1 864, 
he decided to move west; and accordinj*ly 
set out by rail for Plover, Wis. , where rela- 
tives of Mrs. Arnott lived. Coming by rail 
to Berlin, he and his wife and daughter jour- 
neyed by stage to Plover. Here he lived 
for one year, working in the lumber woods 
in the winter, and running the river to Al- 
ton, 111., one trip. Renting some land in 
Stockton township. Portage county, in 1865, 
he moved there, and three years later, in 
July, 1868, he purchased 160 acres, the 
northeast quarter of Section 29, where he 
has since lived, excepting four and a half 
years — from the fall of 1887 to the spring of 
1892 — during which time he was making his 
home at Stevens Point. During two of 
these years — from May, 1889, to May, 1 891, 
— he served creditably as State timber agent 
under the appointment of Gov. Hoard. 

Politically, Mr. Arnott is an earnest and 
active Republican. He is regarded as the 
foremost worker among the members of his 
party in Stockton township, and is one of 
its advisors and counselors in the county. 
He has served as assessor two years, as 
chairman two years, as chairman of the 
county board one year, and in 1876 was 
elected to the State legislature. For many 
years he was clerk, and then treasurer of his 
district, and has filled various other local 
offices. Socially he is a prominent member 
of the F. & A. M. On account of his ef- 
forts in securing a certain station on the 
Green Bay, Winona & St. Paul railway, it 



was named in his honor. Mr. Arnott has a 
wide acquaintance through the count}', and 
is one of its most influential and substantial 
citizens. 



GEORGE WERHEIM, one of the 
most substantial and respected citi- 
zens of Marathon county, and one 
of Wausau's oldest settlers, is presi- 
dent of the Werheim Manufacturing Com- 
pany, of Wausau, one of the largest estab- 
lishments of that city. 

He was born in Hessen-Homburg, Ger- 
many, January 6, 1834, son of Konrad and 
Margaret Werheim. The mother died when 
George was a boy, attending the common- 
schools of Germany, and in 1851 the father 
and his five children emigrated to America. 
The family consisted of John, who was after- 
ward killed in the war of the Rebellion; 
Mary, wife of Henry Hett, of Wausau; Philip, 
a clergyman, now stationed at Valparaiso, 
Ind. ; George, and Elizabeth, wife of Charles 
Klinkie, of Chicago. For two years they 
remained in New York, and then moved to 
Chicago, where many years afterward Kon- 
rad Werheim died. Our subject worked at 
the carpenter's trade at Chicago for about 
three years, then in 1856, at the age of 
twenty-three years, he came to Wausau. For 
a time he followed his trade, but later he be- 
gan the manufacture of doors, sashes, blinds, 
etc.; this business he sold out, and in 1881 
he started anew on a more e.xtensive scale. 
Ten years later a company was organized, 
officered by Mr. Werheim as president; Phil- 
ip Werheim as vice-president; Joseph Reiser 
as treasurer; and George Werheim, Jr., as 
secretary. It now conducts on a still more 
extensive scale the business that was found- 
ed by Mr. Werheim, and on an average em- 
ploys some sixty men. 

George Werheim was married, in 1855, 
to Miss Theresa Myers, and to them five chil- 
dren were born: Emma, wife of Frank Het- 
tinger, of Chicago; Theresa, wife of Charles 
Burke, of Wausau; Philip, of Wausau, who 
in 1884 was married to Miss Ulrica Kleutz; 
Mary, married in 1890 to Joseph Reiser, 
their family consisting of two children, John 
Raymond and Elsie Elizabeth; and George, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Jr. After the death of his first wife in Au- 
gust, 1870, Mr. Werheim was married in De- 
cember, 1874, to Miss Elizabeth Paulus, by 
whom he has two children, Carl and Aman- 
da. For manyyears Mr. Werheim has served 
as trustee of Wausau, was under-sheriff one 
term, and for seven successive years he served 
as city treasurer. He was elected to the 
Legislature November 6, 1894, on the Re- 
publican ticket, by a majority of 540 votes 
over his opponent, Bradd Jones. Mr. Wer- 
heim is a member of the A. O. U. W., and 
the family attend St. Paul's Evangelical Lu- 
theran Church. During his active business 
and official life Mr. Werheim has by his pub- 
lic spirit, by his zeal in matters of general 
moment, greatly endeared himself to the 
constituency of Marathon county, and he is 
recognized as one of its foremost citizens. 



HON. WALTER D. McINDOE (de- 
ceased). Not only as a business 
man of the highest character, keen- 
est judgment and noblest impulses 
was the subject of this sketch known 
through northern Wisconsin, but also as a 
profound statesman, a conscientious law- 
giver, a patriot of the highest type. 

Mr. Mclndoe was born March 28. 18 19. 
near Glasgow, Scotland, son of Hugh and 
Catherine (McRae) Mclndoe, formerly of 
Dumbartonshire, Scotland. In his fifteenth 
year he emigrated to this country, making 
his home for a time in New York City, 
where he was engaged as clerk in a large 
mercantile house; later he was a salesman 
in Charleston, S. C, and at St. Louis, Mo. 
He was married at Florisant, St. Louis 
Co., Mo., by Rev. Father Butler, February 
20, 1845, to Miss Catherine Harriet Ann 
Taylor, born in Stafford county, Va. , July 
II, 1825, daughter of John B. and Cather- 
ine (Spaulding) Taylor, the mother being a 
first cousin to Archbishop Spaulding. In the 
same year Mr. Mclndoe made a trip to the 
pineries of northern Wisconsin. Returning 
to St. Louis he started again for Wisconsin, 
with his wife, two years later, in 1847, and 
established a home at Wausau, Marathon 
county, where he devoted all his energies to 
the development of the lumber business. 



This was a year before Wisconsin was ad- 
mitted as a State. Mr. Mclndoe was a 
man of enlarged business views, and his 
operations soon became quite extensive. 
He became generally known to the people 
of Wisconsin as one of the most enter- 
prising and prosperous men of the State. 
His efforts were crowned with speedy suc- 
cess, for in a short time he accumulated 
quite a respectable fortune. All his busi- 
ness transactions were conducted on liberal 
and honorable principles, and he used his 
means freely in bestowing comforts upon 
those about him. Few if any lumbermen 
were better or more favorably known in the 
business circles of the State, or at the cen- 
ters in the lower Mississippi Valley. 

Mr. Mclndoe was as prominent in polit- 
ical as in business life. A man of strong 
convictions and indomitable energy, he was 
of necessity a potent force in shaping the 
political status of the infant State. In 1849 
he was elected to the State Assembly, and 
was an able and useful member of that body 
during the session of 1850. In politics he 
was a Whig, and that part}' being in the 
minority in the Assembly that year he was 
less conspicuous perhaps than he would 
have been had his party had the ascen- 
dancy; yet his sound practical suggestions 
and his manly bearing gave him popularity 
and standing with all members, regardless 
of party. In the session of 1854 he again 
represented his District in the Assembly in 
the same acceptable manner. In 1857 he 
was a prominent candidate for governor 
before the State Republican Convention. 
The contest was mainly between him and 
Hon. E. D. Holton, but after a protracted 
and ineffectual struggle, as often happens in 
a situation like that, a third candidate was 
taken up in the person of Hon. A. W. Ran- 
dall. In 1 862 he was elected to Congress 
to succeed Hon. Luther Hanchett, and in 
1864 he was re-elected. While in Congress 
he labored very earnestly and efficiently for 
the interests of the Upper Wisconsin Valley. 
Among the many measures, favorable to 
this locality, which were adopted through 
his instrumentality, was the land grant to 
any railroad that should build a line through 
the center of Wisconsin to Lake Superior. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPniCAL RECORD. 



It resulted in the construction of the Wis- 
consin Central road. 

He was general of the State militia, 
and during the war of the Rebellion tilled 
the office of provost-marshal of the State 
with exceptional ability. In 1866 he retired 
from official business to attend to his large 
business interests, which had been some- 
what neglected. In the Republican Na- 
tional Conventions of 1856, i860 and 1872 
he was a delegate, voting at these momentous 
gatherings for John C. Fremont, Abraham 
Lincoln and Gen. U. S. Grant, respectively. 
Gen. Mclndoe was called to rest August 22, 
1872, at the age of fifty-two years, while 
yet in the prime of life, but not until he had 
attained a success in life, wider and nobler 
than that which comes to most men who 
attain their allotted three score years and ten. 

As a politician Gen. Mclndoe was a man 
of rare sagacity, incorruptible integrity and 
commanding influence. With strong con- 
victions and inflexible will he was a tower 
of strength during the dark daj'S of the Re- 
bellion, and his energies in the halls of Con- 
gress during that crucial period of the Na- 
tion's life were strained to give aid and sus- 
tenance to the cause of national unity. In 
private life he possessed a broad and gen- 
erous sympathy, and to his friends he gave 
chivalrous devotion. To many thousands of 
men his death was a personal affliction. Too 
positive in disposition to escape opponents, 
he always retained their respect and admira- 
tion for the qualities of candor, generosity 
and endurance which he displayed. He 
could oppose without vindictiveness, and 
earnestly advocate without undue heat. In 
the fullest sense of the word he was a self- 
made man, one of those energetic, self-re- 
liant men who in the tide of humanity walk 
with head erect, towering above the sur- 
rounding masses, and giving directions to 
the hundreds of men who fall within their 
influence. 

The funeral services of Gen. Mclndoe 
were conducted by the Masonic body, of 
which the deceased had been a prominent 
member, and were attended by some two 
thousand people, many of whom were from 
abroad. In the funeral train, at the par- 
ticular request of Gen. Mclndoe, was his 



favorite horse, "Dan." Gen. Mclndoe was 
childless, but his widow still survives, an 
honored resident of the old homestead 
at Wausau. Though bereft of her chosen 
companion and loving consort, she is com- 
forted by a solace unknown to the careless 
world. Mrs. Mclndoe was one of a family 
of twelve children, only two of whom, be- 
sides herself, are now living — Spaulding 
Taylor, a resident of Memphis, Tenn., and 
Philip C. Taylor, late sheriff of St. Louis 
county, Missouri. 

Hugh Mclndoe (deceased), a brother of 
Gen. Mclndoe, was born in Dumbarton- 
shire, Scotland, February 26, 1832, emi- 
grated to America in 1857, and for twenty- 
seven years was a prominent citizen of 
Wausau. He was associated in business 
with his brother, and witnessed the develop- 
ment of the little woodland hamlet into a 
prosperous city. He was one of those rare 
generous characters whom it is a pleasure 
to meet. Quick to resent an insult, he 
never gave one himself; thoughtless of self, 
he would give his last penny to the suffer- 
ing or afflicted. Unhampered by creed or 
dogma, he stood forth in the genius of his 
own nature, an honest man. His death oc- 
curred September 23, 1881; his widow sur- 
vives, and is now a resident of Rhinelander, 
Wis. Their six children are Walter D., a 
lumberman, at Barron, Wis.; Thomas B., a 
prominent physician of Rhinelander; Hugh, 
a prominent attorney, at Chicago; John B., 
of Rhinelander; Charles S., a dentist, at 
Rhinelander, and Archibald J., a dentist, of 
Toledo, Ohio. 



ANDREW G. NELSON, at this writ- 
ing serving his third term as mayor 
of Waupaca, Waupaca county, is, 
by his capable administration, leav- 
ing an impress upon that city that will long 
remain. He is a descendant of a prominent 
Swedish family. His grandfather, Nels G. 
Nelson, who was a farmer in Sweden, reared 
a family of five children, Nels, John, An- 
drew, Mary and Bertha, all of whom are 
still living, and all are landowners. Nels 
Nelson, the eldest, and father of Andrew G., 
was born April 10, 1822, and married Chris- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tine Deburg, a well-educated young lady, 
and daughter of John Deburg, a judge of 
Toysse count}'. They reared a family of 
seven children: John P., Andrew G. , Nels 
T. , John H., August, Anna and Elizabeth. 
August Nelson still lives in Sweden, a pros- 
perous farmer and lumberman. The mother 
of our subject died in 1893, in Sweden. 

Their son, Andrew G. Nelson, born 
June 15, 1849, was educated in the common 
schools of Sweden, and at the age of fifteen 
began a course of study in the Agricultural 
College at Seffle, Sweden, where he re- 
mained two terms. At the age of twenty- 
one 3'ears he resolved to emigrate to Amer- 
ica, his older brother, John P., having come 
two years earlier. When Andrew reached 
Waupaca, in 1871, his capital consisted of 
$16, but he soon found work in a planing 
mill, and two years later, forming a partner- 
ship with his brother, they purchased a small 
planing mill, running in debt for almost the 
full amount. Four years later it was burned, 
a total loss, for there was no insurance upon 
the property; but the plucky boys rebuilt at 
once, and continued in business until 1888, 
when the brother sold his interest to Mr. 
Churchill, of Waupaca. Thej- removed the 
plant to its present site, and in 1891 Mr. 
Nelson purchased Mr. Churchill's interest, 
and became sole proprietor. He also bought 
the water power and built a custom grist- 
mill. Still later he added a large lumber 
yard, and acquired various lumber interests, 
including a sawmill. 

In 1875 Mr. Nelson was married to 
Hulda Brown, a native of Waupaca, daugh- 
ter of C. O. Brown, an early settler of 
Swedish birth, who followed farming here, 
and was a public-spirited citizen and a county 
official in various capacities. By this mar- 
riage Mr. Nelson had one child, Edwin. 
The wife died in 1881, and in 1883 he mar- 
ried Anna S. Beadmore, daughter of Thomas 
and Elizabeth (Barber) Beadmore, early 
English settlers in Waupaca county. Mr. 
and Mrs. Nelson have one child. Van An- 
drew Nelson. 

Mr. Nelson's executive abilities are of a 
high order, and have often been called into 
service by his fellow townsmen. He is a 
Republican, and for many years served as a 



member of the city council. He was also a 
member of the county board, and in 1884 
was elected to the State Assembly; but, 
though he has since been urged to accept a 
nomination for ihe same responsible legisla- 
tive office, which would be equivalent to an 
election, he has declined the honor. That 
he has proved the right man in the right 
place for mayor, is evinced by his many re- 
elections. Under his administration many 
cit}' improvements have been made. The 
city hall, a beautiful structure, has been 
built, of granite taken from Waupaca's own 
quarries; many streets have been macadam- 
ized, and stone bridges have been con- 
structed. Like the magnificent public vvork 
of Mr. Shepard in Washington City, these 
improvements, in after years, will rise up 
and call Mr. Nelson blessed. The mayor's 
public policy, like that in his private busi- 
ness, has been marked by thoroughness, en- 
durance and honesty. Socially he is a mem- 
ber of the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F. and the 
Knights of Pythias. 



JEROME CROCKER, general mer- 
chant at Weyauwega, Waupaca coun- 
ty, has enjoyed a continuous business 
career much longer than falls to the 
lot of most men. He carries a full line of 
hardware and general merchandise, and, 
having begun business in 1859, has now 
been thirty-six years on the site of his pres- 
ent store. Mr. Crocker traces his ancestry 
back to Revolutionary times. 

He was born October 1 1, 1824, in Per- 
rysburg, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. , son of 
Stephen and Polly (Black) Crocker. Stephen 
Crocker was born in Schoharie county, N. Y. , 
July 13, 1788, son of Stephen Crocker, 
who was a native of Rhode Island, of Eng- 
lish Quaker extraction, and who lived to 
the age of 102 years. Stephen Crocker, 
Jr., was a farmer by occupation, and in 
1844 moved to Miami county, Ind., to land 
pre-empted by his son Jerome. He was a 
Democrat of the Jackson school, and died 
in 1847. Polly (Black) Crocker, mother of 
Jerome, was born in Chautauqua county, 
N. Y. , July 21, 1802, daughter of James 
and Polly (Putney) Black, the father a na- 




cA.^^^ a. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



27, 



tive of New York, the mother of Vermont. 
Stephen and Polly Crocker had five chil- 
dren: Mary Jane, who died June 6, 1845, 
in New York; Lorinda, wife of Seymour P. 
Ensign, of Erie, Penn. ; Jerome; Eliza, wife 
of Robert Hughson, of Ripley, N. Y. , and 
Benjamin Franklin, who died in New York 
September 2, 1848. The mother died Oc- 
tober 7, 1832, and Stephen Crocker mar- 
ried Rachel, widow of David Black, by 
which union he had one child, Rosetta, wife 
of Daniel Risinger, of Kokomo, Indiana. 

The boyhood of Jerome was spent on 
the farms of Cattaraugus and Chautauqua 
counties, N. Y. , and his education received 
in the schools of western New York and of 
Indiana. At the age of eighteen he entered 
the employ of John Morrison & Co. , mer- 
chants, at Nashville, N. Y. Eighteen months 
later he entered the employ of Smith & Foote, 
merchants, at Peru, Ind., remaining ten 
years. In 1856 Mr. Crocket went to Cali- 
fornia, via the Isthmus, and for three years 
was engaged by J. A. Cole and John Stevens 
in constructing a flume from the Sierra 
Nevadas to the mines, an enterprise that re- 
quired three years to complete. In 1859 he 
returned from California, and located in 
the budding little settlement at Weyauwega. 
He at once entered the mercantile trade, 
and from that time on he has been promi- 
nently identified with the development of 
that locality, being engaged in various enter- 
prises. He was a prime mover in the 
establishment of the Badger Basket Factory; 
at one time he owned the brewery, and for 
a while he owned a tin shop. He was an 
original stockholder in establishing the 
county fair grounds. 

Mr. Crocker was married, in 1852, to 
Miss Angeline Rice, daughter of Charles and 
Harriet (Ainsworth) Rice, natives of Con- 
necticut who became early settlers of Chau- 
tauque county, N. Y. , and who afterward, 
in 1859, removed to Weyauwega, Wis. 
Mrs. Crocker died February 2, 1854, in 
Chautauqua county, N. Y. His second 
wife was Mrs. Helen M. Rice, of Jamiestown, 
N. Y. , daughter of George W. and Mary 
Tew. She died October 24, 1879, and in 
August, 1 88 1, Mr. Crocker married his 
present wife, the widow of Jacob Weed. 



Politically, Mr. Crocker has always affiliated 
with the Democratic party. He has served 
as a member of the county board. He owns 
a farm adjoining Weyauwega, and has al- 
ways taken an active interest in public im- 
provements. Few men can, as he, look 
back over the entire business development 
of Weyauwega, noting its reverses, and 
more particularly its successes, almost from 
the inception of the settlement. His life has 
been devoted to its business interests, and 
his influence felt for good in every step of 
progress. 



HON. FRANCIS A. DELEGLISE 
(deceased), " the father of Antigo." 
The life of this gentleman presents 
a striking example of industry and 
integrity conducting to eminent success, and 
of political consistency based on enlightened 
and moderate views — views at all times com- 
patible with a generous toleration of the sen- 
timents entertained by others, and com- 
manding general confidence and esteem. 

Mr. Deleglise was a native of Switzer- 
land, born February 10, 1835, in Bagnes, 
Valais, a son of Morris and Catherine Dele- 
glise, the former of whom was by profession 
a teacher and surveyor. In 1849. realizing 
that in the New World their numerous fam- 
ily would have greater advantages and 
broader opportunities for advancement and 
success in life, they emigrated to America, 
coming direct to Wisconsin, and locating 
first in Gibson township, Manitowoc county, 
where the mother died in 1854. Later the 
family moved to Shawano county, settling 
in Morris township, near Leopolis, where 
the father followed farming, dying there in 
1877. The son Francis, our subject, was 
fourteen years old when he came with the 
rest of the family to Wisconsin. He had al- 
ready received a fairly liberal public-school 
education, and his first occupation in this, 
to him, new country, was sailing on the 
lakes, a vocation he followed until he was 
seventeen years old, after which he worked 
in the woods during the winter season, as- 
sisting his father in locating settlers, in sur- 
veying, and in many other ways, to the best 
of his ability. At tTie age of twenty-one he 



24 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



married, and shortly afterward he and his 
young wife removed toAppleton, where they 
remained until 1877. During this time Mr. 
Deleglise was always more or less engaged 
in civil engineering, locating new settlers on 
homesteads, and other employment of a like 
nature, but during the first years of his resi- 
dence in Appleton, when not thus occupied, 
followed different lines of work, being ever 
ready to turn his hand to any labor which 
would bring him remuneration. Thus he 
continued until the breaking out of the war 
of the Rebellion, in which he served over 
three years. He was among the first to re- 
spond to his adopted country's call for vol- 
unteers, enlisting June 28, 1861, in Com- 
pany E, Sixth Wis. V. I., Capt. Marsten, 
of Appleton, commanding the company, in 
which he was speedily promoted to corporal. 
The regiment was, in the following July, at- 
tached to the army of the Potomac, and 
participated in all the battles of the " Iron 
Brigade." At Antietam, September 17, 

1862, our subject was wounded, which ne- 
cessitated his confinement to hospital; but 
he convalesced soon enough to be present at 
the battle of Gettysburg, July i, 2 and 3, 

1863, where, at the railroad grade, he was 
again wounded, and was taken prisoner. He 
did not long remain in the enemy's hands, 
however, as when they retreated they had 
to leave all the wounded behind. On July 
16, 1864, he was honorably discharged from 
the service with the record of a valiant sol- 
dier, one who did his duty faithfully and loy- 
ally. But he suffered much in health, for 
when he enlisted his weight was 190 pounds, 
and when he left for his home the scales 
showed but 90 pounds — a loss of 100 
pounds; and he painfully carried a bullet in 
his thigh till it was extracted at Madison at 
the time of his discharge. While recuperat- 
ing Mr. Deleglise resumed the study of civil 
engineering, and became a proficient sur- 
veyor, in 1867 commencing the looking up 
and locating of lands in this part of the 
State. It was then that he, in reality, picked 
out the site for the future city of Antigo, en- 
tering lands and locating settlers on home- 
steads, and in 1877 he settled there with his 
family. In that same year he platted the 
village and commenced the sale of lots, 



which, and his after active connection with 
the place, brought him the well-merited ti- 
tle of ' ' Father of Antigo. " He was the first 
chairman of the city, and served as county 
treasurer for some time; dealt largely in real 
estate, and became possessed of extensive 
tracts of land in and around Antigo, having 
unbounded faith in the growth of the em- 
bryo city. 

On November 29, 1856, Mr. Deleglise 
was united in marriage, at Two Rivers, 
Wis., with Miss Mary Bor, who was born 
January i, 1835, in Taus, Bohemia, daugh- 
ter of Simon and Dora (Kerzma) Bor, the 
parents of two children. The family came 
to America in 1855, settling at Gibson, Man- 
itowoc county, and the father, who was a 
merchant in Europe, and a farmer in this 
country, died in Antigo in 1 881; in his na- 
tive land he served as a soldier eight years. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Deleglise were born chil- 
dren as follows: Mary T. , now Mrs. John 
Deresch, of Antigo; Sophia E., wife of 
Samuel E. Leslie, of Antigo; Francis A. 
(deceased); John E. ; Anna E., wife of 
Thomas Morrissey, of Antigo; Adelbert A.; 
Alexis L. ; Henry (deceased), and Edmond, 
at home. 

Mr. Deleglise was public-spirited and 
progressive from the crown of his head to 
the sole of his foot, and the primary and 
great object of his ambition was the devel- 
opment and improvement of the village, 
town and city where he passed so many busy 
years of his life. He was liberal in all 
things, especially in Church and educational 
matters, in which latter he took special in- 
terest; in politics, he was, during the war, a 
Democrat, later a Republican, and in 1892 
he was elected to the State Legiskiture, 
where he made a brilliant record as a legis- 
lator. In all things he w'as a most success- 
ful man, and when he died he left not only 
large landed interests in northern Wiscon- 
sin, but the record of one whose memory is 
inseparably connected with the rise and 
progress of this portion of the State, in al4 
his efforts toward the consummation of which 
he was instigated by no spirit of selfishness 
or gain to himself beyond what is conceded 
to be a right due to every American citizen. 
He died March 25, 1894, in the full faith of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



25 



the Roman Catholic Church, beloved and 
respected by all, regardless of party or re- 
ligion, and deeply mourned by hosts of 
friends and acquaintances, as a man, locally 
speaking, not of to-day alone, but for all 
time. 



WILLIAM H. WEED. In every 
community there are families that 
by their strong personality make 
deep and lasting impression upon 
the people about them, and by their well- 
guided energies give direction and momen- 
tum to the forming and growing industries 
about them. To no one, perhaps, is the 
town of Weyauwega more greatly indebt- 
ed for its early prosperity than to Jacob 
Weed, one of its founders. He was a mas- 
ter spirit, fitted and willing to grapple with 
the problems and difficulties that must be 
solved and overcome in order to make an 
obscure and unpromising locality smile with 
the lasting fruits of industry. The son of 
Air. Weed, in the person of him whose name 
heads this sketch, is now at the helm in di- 
recting some of the most important enter- 
prises of Weyauwega. 

Jacob Weed was born October 27, 18 19, 
in Saratoga county, N. Y. , a son of Alfred 
and Rolina (Hewett) Weed, natives of that 
county. Their children were nine in num- 
ber, as follows: Harriet, deceased wife of 
Matthew West, a pioneer of Oshkosh; Wal- 
ter H., a prominent merchant and lumber- 
man of Oshkosh, Wis., who died in 1876; 
Jacob; James H., a resident of Oshkosh; 
Sarah, deceased wife of Corydon L. Rich, 
of Oshkosh township, Winnebago county; 
Mary, first wife of William G. Gumaer. died 
in 1856; Priscilla, second wife of William 
G. Gumaer, died in Weyauwega in 1876; 
Alfred, a resident of .Ashland, Wis. ; and 
Carolina, wife of Homer Chandler, of Chi- 
cago, Illinois. 

The education of Jacob Weed was re- 
ceived in the common schools of Wayne 
county, N. Y. In 1847, with his two 
brothers, Walter H. and James H., became 
to Wisconsin, settling in Vinland township, 
Winnebago county, where he purchased a 
tract of 800 acres in the forest, and became 



actively identified in developing the lumber 
interests of that locality. Here he was 
married, in 1849, to Miss Ann Elizabeth 
Gumaer, a native of Onondaga county, 
N. Y. , reared and educated in Washington, 
D. C. , and a daughter of Elias De Puy and 
Mary (Lewis) Gumaer, natives of Ulster 
county, N. Y. Elias D. Gumaer was a con- 
tractor of public works. He built, as a 
contractor, part of the Erie canal, and 
while completing a contract to construct the 
canal from Georgetown, D. C, to the Navy 
Yard, was prostrated with quick consump- 
tion, and died soon after, in 1844, at his 
home in Manlius, N. Y. His widow and 
many of the children removed to Wiscon- 
sin, and the latter became closely identified 
with the development of the State. There 
were nine children: Ann Elizabeth, wife of 
Jacob Weed; Margaret, wife of Jacob Dev- 
ens, of Vinland township, Winnebago coun- 
ty, died in 1880; Martha, wife of Louis 
Bostedo, a pioneer of Weyauwega, died in 
1 881; Jane, widow of Richard Holdsworth, 
of Washington, D. C, her present home 
being at Penn Yan, N. Y. ; Emily, who died 
in Oshkosh in 1876; Mary, wife of Walter 
H. Weed, of Oshkosh, died in 1877; Elias 
De Puy, who was the first county judge of 
Shawano county, and who died in Shawano 
in 1879; William G. , a prominent pioneer 
of Weyauwega, who died in November, 
1885, and Charles L., a former prominent 
resident of Weyauwega, and now a resident 
of Lincoln, Nebraska. 

After his marriage Jacob Weed settled 
in Winnebago county, and with his brothers 
built up a lumbering and mercantile busi- 
ness which gradually extended into Wau- 
paca county. As early as 1 848 Amos Dodge, 
James Hicks, M. Lewis and H. Tourtelotte 
obtained possession of a fine water-power 
on the site of Weyauwega, and erected a 
dam and mill. The enterprise encountered 
financial embarrassments, and led a precari- 
ous existence for a number of years, until 
sold to Jacob Weed and Benjamin Birdsell. 
W. G. Gumaer and Louis Bostedo after- 
ward acquired an interest in the property, 
and in 1855 Weed, Birdsell & Co. erected 
the Hour-mill still operated by the Weed 
and Gumaer Manufacturing Co., the original 



26 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



cost of building, machinery, etc., being $20,- 
000. The business Hfe of Jacob Weed was 
very active. Frequent!}- he made trips afoot 
to Green Bay, and rarely knew the meaning 
of a leisure moment. Yet his mind was al- 
ways receptive to charitable or public enter- 
prises, and he is kindly remembered for his 
many deeds of benevolence and public im- 
provement. He died in 1867, and his widow 
subsequently married Jerome Crocker, a 
prominent merchant and manufacturer of 
Weyauwega. To Jacob Weed and wife two 
children were born — William H., and Ella 
v., wife of A. J. Kirkwood, of Chicago, 111. 
Mrs. Kirkwood's children are Ella Weed 
and Arthur William. 

William H. W^eed, president of the Weed 
& Gumaer Manufacturing Co., secretary of 
the Badger Basket Manufacturing Co., and 
an associate in the banking firm of Weed, 
Gumaer & Co. , is one of the most progress- 
ive and thorough business men of Waupaca 
county. He was born at Vinland, Winne- 
bago county, in 185 1, and his youth and 
boyhood were spent at Weyauwega, and his 
education obtained in the home schools and 
at Oshkosh. In 1870, at the age of nine- 
teen years, he became associated with the 
Weyauwega Bank, giving it his exclusive at- 
tention until 1883, when he was elected the 
vice-president of the milling company, and 
in 1890 was advanced to its presidency. 
The output of the mill is 1 50 barrels per 
day, and the company, besides in flour and 
feed, deals extensively in lumber, lath, shin- 
gles and moldings. The Badger Basket 
Manufacturing Co. was organized in 1884, 
Mr. Weed being one of its active promoters. 
The building was erected the same year, 
and twenty-six employes are required to 
manufacture the product for which the en- 
ergetic owners find a ready market. The 
building is a two-story structure, 40 x 60 
feet in size. The mill building is a substan- 
tial structure, 45 x 50 feet, two-and-a-half 
stories high, with an oval elevator having a 
storage capacity of 30.000 bushels. It is a 
fully-equipped roller-mill, with two systems 
for wheat and r3-e. The planing and saw 
mill is a two-story structure 40 x 60 feet. 

Mr. Weed was married at Weyauwega, 
in 1879, to Miss Jennie Smith, a native of 



Berlin, Wis. She died in 1882, leaving one 
child, Jacob. In 1886 Mr. Weed was mar- 
ried at Waupaca to Miss Margaret Reed, 
daughter of Hon. Myron and JuHa (Hanson) 
Reed. Mr. Reed was born in Massena, St. 
Lawrence Co., N. Y. , September 19, 1836. 
He was educated in the common schools 
and at Union Academy, Belleville, N. Y. 
Entering the law school at Albany Univer- 
sity in 1857, he was admitted to practice in 
1858. The following year he came to Wau- 
paca, Wis., and formed a law partnership 
with E. L. Browne, O. E. Druetzer and M. 
H. Sessions, which continued until 187 1. 
Mr. Reed was prominent in county politics, 
and filled many local offices, including those 
of mayor, clerk, supervisor, etc. In 1871 
he was elected State senator, his own part- 
ner contesting on the opposite ticket for the 
honor. While in the Senate he secured, al- 
most by his own unaided efforts, the adop- 
tion of Article 4 of the amendment to the 
Constitution. Mr. Reed has been grand 
master of the State of Wisconsin, high priest 
of Waupaca Chapter No. 39, R. A. M., 
Master of Waupaca Lodge No. 123, F. and 
A. M., and a member of the Knights of 
Pythias. He is now a resident of West Su- 
perior, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Weed is a member and treasurer of 
Weyauwega Lodge No. 82, and a member 
of Waupaca Chapter No. 123, R. A. M. He 
is a Democrat in politics, and has served as 
a member of the county board. 



DEWTTT S. JOHNSON, the popular 
and courteous postmaster at Rhine- 
lander, Oneida count}', is a native 
of Wisconsin, born July 23, 1851, in 
the city of Appleton. 

William Johnson, father of our subject, 
was born July 27, 181 1, at Philadelphia, 
Penn., and his earliest recollection was of 
life in Columbia county, in the same State, 
where he received such tuition as the coun- 
try schools of that period afforded. His 
mother died when he was very young, and 
the family became separated. William 
lived with a cousin on a farm until he was 
sixteen years of age, and passed the follow- 
ing two years in learning the wagon-mak- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 



27 



er's trade. Proceeding to Oswego, N. Y., 
where a brother was living, he remained in 
that place eleven years, during which time 
he became master also of the carpenter's 
trade. Locating at Syracuse, he for five 
years was there engaged in contracting and 
building, at the end of that period moving 
to New York City, where he followed the 
same line of business some five years. 
Among buildings for which he had contracts 
were a cut-stone hotel at Syracuse, costing 
two hundred thousand dollars; another at 
Oswego, costing one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars; numerous fine buildings in 
New York City, and many costly residences 
at Brooklyn Heights. In 1850, having met 
with serious business reverses, he arranged 
his affairs as advantageously as possible, 
and came to Appleton, which was then in 
the midst of a decidedly new region, as far as 
settlements were concerned. Here he joined 
his wife's father, Amos A. Story, who had 
the contract for building the Green Bay & 
Mississippi canal, from the Wisconsin river 
to Green Bay, and Mr. Johnson, who was 
made foreman, was engaged on this work 
about two years when the company sold out. 
He then proceeded to Chicago and entered 
into contract to build depots for the Illinois 
Central Railroad Company, remaining with 
that company three years. Upon his return 
to Appleton he became interested with oth- 
ers in the sawmill business, but sold his in- 
terest in 1 87 1, and in company with Mr. 
Mory built a gristmill; disposing, however, 
of his share of the property inside of two 
years, he began the manufacture of rakes, 
seed-sowers and woodwork of all descrip- 
tions. Meeting with fresh reverses about 
two years later, he was obliged to relinquish 
that line of work, after which he was not 
steadily engaged in business. He superin- 
tended the construction of a number of 
buildings, and busied himself in various 
ways, but a few years preceding his death 
he lived a retired life. Mr. Johnson died 
November 19, 1894, aged eighty-three years, 
in which connection we glean the following 
from the Appleton Daily Post of November 
20, the day after: 

"William Johnson, who was stricken 
with paralysis Sunday, continued to fail in 



strength all day yesterday. Last night the 
end came quietly, and his spirit entered into 
the great hereafter to claim the reward of a 
well-spent life. Mr. Johnson had been a 
resident of Appleton for forty-four years, and 
during all that period possessed the esteem 
and confidence of his fellow citizens to a 
degree which falls to the lot of few men. In 
his passing is removed another of the sturdy 
personalities which bind the Appleton of the 
present to that Appleton of the early ' fifties ' 
which was little more than a name and a 
clearing in the virgin iorest." 

In politics Mr. Johnson was a Democrat, 
and he served as city treasurer, alderman, 
and chairman of the board of supervisors; 
was also mayor of Appleton three terms dur- 
ing the war of the Rebellion. In 1867 he 
was appointed United States collector of 
customs for this District, the duties of which 
office he discharged for two years. He was 
a member of the Masonic Order twenty-five 
years, and became an Odd Fellow in 1842, 
being at the time of his death the oldest 
member of the latter organization in Apple- 
ton. He was married in Syracuse, N. Y., 
May 18, 1845, to Miss Lydia Sophia Story, 
a native of that State, daughter of Amos A. 
and Sarah (Tourtelotte) Story, and eight 
children were born to this union, viz. : Amos 
A., DeW^itt S., Sarah Lois, Frances S., Ina 
B. and John Allen, living, and Lina B. and 
William B., deceased. John Johnson, grand- 
father of William Johnson, was a mason by 
trade. He married Hannah Duberry, and 
reared a family of seven children — Charles, 
David, James P., Gilbert, Eliza, William 
and Ellen. 

The subject proper of these lines, whose 
name introduces this sketch, received his 
education at the public schools of his native 
city, and deciding on making the printing 
trade his life work commenced at the age of 
twenty- one to inquire into its many mys- 
teries in the office of the Crescent at Apple- 
ton, finishing his apprenticeship in the River- 
side Job Office, Milwaukee, in which latter 
establishment he remained two j'ears. Sub- 
sequently taking up his residence in Manito- 
woc, he had charge there of the Pilot one 
year, thence returned to Appleton, where he 
served as foreman in the office of the Ci\s- 



28 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



cent until 1884, at which time he went to 
Merrill, working at his trade there a few 
months. In 1885 he established the ]\\-st 
Merrill Herald, which paper he in the fall 
of the following year moved to Rhinelander, 
changing its name to Oneida County Herald, 
and conducting it up to some time in 1890, 
when he sold it out, having been elected to 
the office of register of deeds for Oneida 
county. This incumbency he filled until 
1894, in which year he received the appoint- 
ment of postmaster at Rhinelander, his pres- 
ent position. 

In 1S74, at Appleton, Wis., Mr. Johnson 
was married to Miss Beulah A. Johnson, of 
Clinton, Wis., daughter of Job J. and Kate 
(Strobridge) Johnson, well-to-do farming 
people, both natives of Cortland county, N. 
Y. , the parents of four children — Seth, Jay, 
Beulah A. and Ellen. Both parents died in 
1892, within one week. To this marriage 
of Mr. Johnson there were born three chil- 
dren — DeWitt S., Jr., Bryant A. and Beulah 
A. The mother of these died in 1881, and 
in 1889, at Rhinelander, Mr. Johnson for his 
second wife married Miss Maud Jenkinson, 
who was born in Brandon, Wis., the result 
of which union is one child — George William 
— whose mother was called to her long home 
in January, 1892. In politics our subject is 
a stanch Democrat, and has always been a 
leader in his party; was a delegate to the 
State convention that elected Peck governor 
of Wisconsin the first time. Socially he is 
a member of the I.O.O.F. In 1874, when 
he was twenty-three years of age, he paid a 
year's visit to the Pacific coast, spending 
most of his time in San Francisco. 



DANIEL HAIGHTPULCIFER, than 
whom there is no one better known 
throughout the entire State of Wis- 
consin, in both public and private 
life, is a man of whom the city and county 
of Shawano may well feel proud. 

He is a native of Vermont, born at 
Vergennes, Addison county, November 16, 
1834, and comes of a sturdy race, for the 
most part farmers who live by honest toil in 
the valleys of the Green Mountains. His 
father, John Pulcifer, a ship carpenter by 



trade, and a native of New York State, 
married Mary Haight, who was of the same 
nativity, and they had a family of thirteen 
children, six of them being sons — of whom 
the following reached maturity: Daniel H., 
subject of sketch; Edwin D., a wealthy 
farmer of Plainview, Pierce Co., Neb., 
where he is prominent in local politics as a 
stanch Republican; and Jane E., Mrs. 
Charles Connely, of Syracuse, N. Y. ; 
Mary E., Mrs. Dennis Darling, of near 
Syracuse, N. Y. ; Martha E., Mrs. William 
H. Wright, of Syracuse, N. Y. ; Bertha, 
Mrs. David Jones, of Shawano, Wis. ; and 
Dora R. , Mrs. Parmalee W. Ackerman, of 
Shawano, Wisconsin. 

Owing to an unfortunate infirmity, the 
father of this large family was unable to 
wholl}' support them, and as a consequence 
much fell upon the shoulders of the eldest 
son, our subject, who for some years was 
the mainstay of the famil}', the entire sup- 
port, in fact; but he was equal to the task, 
as the spirit of determination and resolute- 
ness, which has so forcibly characterized his 
entire after life, was a dominant feature in 
his boyhood years. Thus it can be readily 
understood how it was that his education 
was so limited that at the age of twenty he 
could read with great difficulty, and write 
not at all, much of what he did know hav- 
ing been gained by practical experience in a 
country printing office which he entered as an 
apprentice at the age of fourteen years, at 
Whitehall, N. Y. , and where he had to do 
all the chores that usually fall to the lot of 
a happy printer's "devil. " In 1855, ^t the 
age of twenty-one years, he migrated to 
Wisconsin, locating at Oasis, Waushara 
county; but in February, 1865, he removed 
to Shawano, where his energ}', honesty and 
genial temperament soon made him one of 
the popular citizens of that new section. 
In the meantime he had some more news- 
paper-office experience, where he had little 
difficulty in appreciating the necessity of im- 
proving what little education he had, and, 
with all the energy of a strong physical and 
mental constitution, he proceeded with a 
fixed determination, not onlj- to learn but 
even to excel, if possible. In the spring of 
1858 he made a bold dash into the arena of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



journalism by starting, at Pine River, Wis., 
the Pine Rive?- Arff!is,\vh\da soon afterward 
was merged into the WaiisharaCoiinty Argus, 
the plant being removed to Wautoma, where 
Mr. Pulcifer succeeded, by ingenuity and 
finessing, in securing the county printing, 
taking it out of the hands of another office, 
and this proved a source of considerable 
profit to him. Later he sold out the Argus, 
and became editor of the Plover Times, at 
Plover, Portage county; still later he be- 
came editor and proprietor of the Columbus 
Republiean, at Columbus, Wis., so continu- 
ing until in 1863 he became connected with 
the Commonwcaltli, at Fond du Lac (daily 
and weekly), as local editor. Severing his 
connection with this journal in February, 
1865, Mr. Pulcifer came, as already related, 
to Shawano (his family following him a 
few daj'S later), to take charge of the 
Journal, a thriving newspaper of that city, 
with which he was connected some time. In 
1889 he became a member of the present 
firm of Kuckuk & Pulcifer, general mer- 
chants, Shawano. 

Our subject filled various offices, among 
them those of clerk of the court, sheriff and 
deputy U. S. marshal, and served three 
terms as mayor of the city of Shawano. In 
1866 he was elected to represent the Dis- 
trict of which Shawano county formed a 
part in the Assembly, and was again chosen 
in 187S, each time by an unusual majority. 
He was also sergeant-at-arms of the Assem- 
bly in 1880. As a legislator he was practical 
and influential. His firm convictions, clear 
perception, and affable, though brusque, 
manner, made him a universal favorite with 
members of both political parties. He com- 
piled the Blue Book for 1879, and did it as 
well as it had ever been done before or has 
been since. In 1882 he was appointed, by 
Postmaster-general Howe, post office in- 
spector, and he was regarded as one of the 
shrewdest and most valuable officials in 
that most difficult branch of the service. 
Reminiscences of his experience would make 
an interesting volume, and thousands of post 
offices were subject to his examination. 
Among those agencies of Uncle Sam he was 
noted for his patient kindness in giving in- 
struction and counsel to the inexperienced, 



and in meting out justice fearlessly in cases 
of dishonesty or wilful negligence. Patience, 
shrewdness, industry and cool judgment are 
requisites of a successful inspector, and few 
officials possess these qualities in a greater 
degree than did Mr. Pulcifer. He was con- 
tinuously retained in his position in spite of 
political changes, serving as inspector under 
Postmaster-general Howe, Gen. Gresham, 
Frank Hatton, William F. Vilas, Don E. 
Dickinson, John Wanamaker and W. S. 
Bissell, under all of which administrations 
he was never once censured for failing to do 
the work assigned to him. His duties in 
the capacity of post office inspector took him 
into thirty other States and Territories, and 
his labors in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississip- 
pi, North Carolina, Virginia and other 
Southern States gave him a rare oppor- 
tunity to acquaint himself with the customs 
and habits of the people of those sections; 
and his after conversations about them and 
their ways were regarded by his friends as 
being "as entertaining as a lecture." As 
sheriff he was known for his utter fearless- 
ness in the discharge of his duty. On sev- 
eral occassions he arrested parties who 
drew revolvers and knives on him, but 
Sheriff Pulcifer was always quick and strong 
enough to arrest his man without serious in- 
jury, although he was wounded on one oc- 
casion, necessitating a painful and dangerous 
surgical operation. 

On July 6, 1856, Mr. Pulcifer was mar- 
ried at Oasis, Waushara Co., Wis., to Miss 
Anna E. Wright, a native of New York 
State, born May 26, 1840, whence when a 
girl she accompanied her parents, Orvil and 
Emily Wright, to Wisconsin, their first new 
western home being made at Kenosha. Mr. 
Wright was a well-to-do farmer, who drove 
his own team all the way from New York 
State to Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. D. H. 
Pulcifer were born children as follows: Or- 
vil W. , who was a farmer in South Dakota, 
dj'ing there at the age of twenty-seven 
years; John H., a prosperous merchant of 
Shawano, who married Laura E. McLaugh- 
lin, at White Lake, S. D., in 1S85; Charles, 
deceased in infancy, and Mary E., now 
Mrs. Anton Kuckuk, of Shawano. In his 
political preferences Mr. Pulcifer has always 



30 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



been a stanch Republican since the organi- 
zation of that party, and he was the first 
man, in the Republican State Convention 
of 1880, to vote for Gen. Grant (as a dele- 
gate from the First Senatorial District). 
During the Harrison Convention of 1892, 
held at Minneapolis, he was appointed mes- 
senger, duties of importance and secrecy 
connected with the Convention being en- 
trusted to him. It is a notable fact that he 
was never beaten as a candidate for office, 
and that he always ran largely ahead of his 
ticket. Few men have done more effective 
work for their party; but in the performance 
of official duties he knew no party, no friend, 
no enemy — he simply did his duty, and al- 
ways did it well. Socially Mr. Pulcifer is a 
Freemason, and was instrumental in estab- 
lishing a Lodge of that Fraternity at Sha- 
wano. He has always been a total abstain- 
er, and has taken a more or less active part 
in the temperance cause, for several j-ears 
past having been a prominent member of 
the Temple of Honor in Wisconsin, in which 
Order he in 18S3-84 was grand chief tem- 
plar of the State. 

Mr. Pulcifer owns one of the finest pri- 
vate collections of minerals, curios, etc., to 
be found in the State, many of which are of 
much value; and besides what he has in his 
own cabinet he has presented many interest- 
ing specimens to the Wisconsin State His- 
torical Society and to Lawrence University, 
Appleton. His collection is the result of 
fifteen years research throughout the several 
States he has visited, and to give an idea as 
to its value it may be further mentioned 
that Mr. Pulcifer carries an insurance on it 
of $500.00. He has amassed considerable 
property, owns a pleasant home in Sha- 
wano, with large, fine, well-kept lawn, 
shaded with pines and oaks. The village of 
Pulcifer, in Green Valley township, Sha- 
wano county, was named in his honor. Such 
is a brief sketch of one of Wisconsin's typi- 
cal self-made men and representative suc- 
cessful business citizens, one possessed of 
much natural ability, supported by a due al- 
lowance of courage, acumen and, perhaps 
best of all, sound judgment in all his acts, 
and to be relied upon as a friend under all 
circumstances. 



HON. P. B. CHAMPAGNE (deceased). 
The gentleman, whose life we pro- 
pose to here briefly sketch, in his day 
laid no claims to political distinction, 
far less to military renown. His triumphs 
may have been of a less brilliant order; but 
whether less associated with the well-being 
of his race, and with developing the re- 
sources, and fortifying the powers of the na- 
tion than those of a political leader or a 
military chieftain, the true friends of human- 
ity must judge. 

Mr. Champagne was a Canadian by birth, 
born in St. Felix de Valois, Jolliette county. 
Province of Quebec, December 8, 1845, son 
of Nelson and Amelia Champagne, well-to- 
do farming people, natives of France, who 
emigrated to Canada, where they married 
and had children as follows: Three sons — 
P. B., John N. and Nasaire — and two daugh- 
ters — Mrs. L. Coulters and Mrs. R. Bressett, 
of whom two sons and two daughters are 
living with their widowed mother at the old 
home in Canada; the father died several 
years ago. At the schools of his place of 
birth our subject received his education, and 
when seventeen years old, in 1862, he came 
to Wisconsin, locating at Grand Rapids, 
Wood county, where he found employment 
with Francis Byron, a lumberman, with 
whom he worked some time, later, for one 
winter, lumbering for H. A. Keyes, who aft- 
erward said of Mr. Champagne: " He was 
a hard worker, one who took as much inter- 
est in my affairs as if they were his own, and 
I never employed a better man." After that 
winter Mr. Champagne returned to the em- 
ploy of Mr. Byron, and with him remained, 
in the capacity of superintendent of logging, 
until embarking in business for his own ac- 
count. For two years he followed mercan- 
tile trade at Wausau, Marathon county, aft- 
er which he returned to the lumber business, 
continuing to make his home, however, in 
Wausau until 1880. When he sold out his 
store at Wausau he moved to Grand P"ather 
Rock Falls, Lincoln county, where his fam- 
ily spent their winters, their real home being 
in Wausau, in order to be near his logging 
interests, and the post office at that place 
was named in his honor. When the town 
of Rock Falls was organized he represented 




/Mgi^y^, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



31 



it at the county board three years. In 1882 
he moved to Merrill (at that time called 
"Jenny"), Lincoln county, and he rerepre- 
sented the town of Jenny at the county 
board. In 1881 he incorporated the Lin- 
coln Lumber Co., from which he soon after- 
ward withdrew, and built the mill now owned 
by the Champagne Lumber Co. ; then or- 
ganized the P. B. Champagne Lumber Co., 
he being president and treasurer. This con- 
cern was in turn succeeded by the Cham- 
pagne Lumber Co., our subject being treas- 
urer and general manager thereof, which 
position he was filling at the time of his 
death. He was the most extensive lumber- 
man on the Wisconsin river, and was pos- 
sessed of superior business ability, which 
enabled him to weather every financial storm, 
of which, in his wide and long experience, 
there were not a few. 

Mr. Champagne passed from earth July 
I, 1 89 1, after an illness of four weeks, and 
had the largest and most imposing funeral 
ever held in Merrill. It was conducted un- 
der the auspices of the Masonic fraternity, 
special trains bringing mourning friends and 
brother Masons from Wausau, Grand Rapids, 
Marshfield, Stevens Point and many other 
places. He was a most progressive business 
man, engaged in many enterprises, was very 
public-spirited, and made many friends, 
who one and all mourned the taking 
away of a good citizen. In the early 
days of Lincoln county he was a con- 
spicuous member of all the Republican 
gatherings, for a long time was chairman of 
the Republican County Committee, and to 
him was due in the main, the success of that 
party in the county. In 1883 he was sent 
to the Assembly to represent his District, but 
declined re-election, though he served with 
distinction and eminent ability. In Merrill 
he did the heaviest mercantile business of 
any, and was never tired of giving both time 
and money toward the advancement and 
prosperity of that then rising young city. 
To the stock of the First National Bank of 
Merrill he was one of the first to subscribe, 
and was vice-president of the Merrill Rail- 
way and Lighting Co. Socially, he was an 
enthusiastic Free Mason, and at the time of 
his death was of the 32nd degree. Prom- 



inent among his numerous friends was Alex- 
ander Stewart — a bosom friend, he may be 
called — who was Mr. Champagne's first 
backer in business. Truly he was a remark- 
able man, one at all times commanding the 
esteem of his fellowmen — rich and poor 
alike — for he was universally esteemed and 
beloved. 

On July 29, 1 87 1, Mr. Champagne was 
married, at Nile, Allegany Co., N. Y. , to 
Miss Alice G. Coon, youngest daughter of 
Elijah H. and Prudence (Bowler) Coon, and 
three children were born to them — Percy 
Beaugrand, now (September, 1895), twenty- 
three years old, a graduate of Ann Arbor, 
Mich., class of '94 (he is practicing law in 
Detroit, Mich.); Marie and Stella, attending 
school at Kenosha, Wisconsin. 



WR. BINKELMAN. There is per- 
haps no more prominent busi- 
ness man in the northern part of 
Waupaca county than Mr. Binkel- 
man. He has been farmer, school teacher 
and merchant, and, on his way upward to a 
comfortable competence, has also engaged in 
various other vocations. His present mer- 
cantile establishment is the largest in the 
village of Marion. 

Mr. Binkelman was born in Joliet, 111., 
in 1849, son of Leonard and Jane (McCor- 
mick) Binkelman, the father a native of 
Germany, the mother of Irish extraction. 
Leonard Binkelman was a ship builder by 
trade, and for many years was a resident of 
Joliet, removing thence in 1852 to Manito- 
woc, Wis., where he also followed his trade. 
Mrs. Binkelman died in 1894, and he now 
resides with his son, W. R. , at Marion. 
Their children were: W. R. ; Mary Jane, 
wife of William Clark, of Manitowoc; Fred, 
and Emma E., wife of John Bodwin, of 
East Gibson, Manitowoc county. W. R. 
Binkelman was reared in Manitowoc, and 
after leaving the schools there clerked in a 
grocery store for some time, after which 
for about ten years he was engaged in the 
confectionery business at Manitowoc. In 
1872 Mr. Binkelman moved to Shawano 
county, and there engaged in farming, teach- 
ing school and speculating in land for several 



32 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



years, teaching in Grant and Belle Plaine 
townships, and also in Uupont township, 
Waupaca county. In 1876, he removed to 
the latter township, locating on a tract of 
land one and half miles distant from Mar- 
ion. Three years later he opened a hard- 
ware store at Marion, where he has since 
been continuously in business. There was 
only one store in the village when he located 
there, that of McDonald & Ramsdell, a firm 
which has since gone out of business. The 
village contained but three houses, Mr. 
Binkelman erecting the fifth building, but 
there is now a population of 800, and it is 
still growing rapidly. He erected his pres- 
ent building, a good two-story frame, in 
1 88 1, and carries a full line of hardware 
and farm machinery, the most valuable stock 
of goods in Dupont township. He is a 
notary public, and for thirteen years, up to 
January i, 1895, he was in the insurance 
business. In earlier life Mr. Binkelman 
filed cross-cut saws and adopted various 
other honest and honorable means of obtain- 
ing a start in life, and he began business at 
Marion with onlj' $350, his present exten- 
sive trade testifying to his abundant, per- 
haps unequalled, success at this point. 

Mr. Binkelman was married, in 1871, 
to Miss Mary M. Ramsdell, who was born 
in Manitowoc Rapids, daughter of Erastus 
Ramsdell, an early pioneer of Manitowoc 
country, who subsequently moved to Dupont 
township, where he died in 1890. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Binkelman came six children, five 
of whom are now living: Olla A., Irvine, 
Luella, Lindon J. and Murrell. Mark died 
at the age of eight years. In politics Mr. 
Binkelman is a Republican, and socially he 
is a charter member of Marion Lodge No. 
256, I. O. O. F. , in which he has passed all 
the Chairs, and is now serving as chaplain. 
He attends the M. E. Church, and his eld- 
est daughter, Olla A., is superintendent of 
the Sunday-school of that flourishing Church. 
In January, 1895, Mr. Binkelman was elect- 
ed chairman of Dupont township; he was 
clerk of the courts of Waupaca county from 
1884 to 1888; was postmaster at Marion 
under President Harrison from 1888 to 1892, 
resigning in the latter year; has been town 
clerk of Dupont for five years; in January, 



1895, ^^^s appointed chairman of the town 
board, and, in the spring of that year 
was elected chairman, receiving 241 votes 
out of a total of 307, a fact which testifies 
better than words to his popularity. He is 
well known throughout Waupaca county, 
and commands the esteem and good fellow- 
ship of all who know him. 



JEFF. WOODNORTH, publisher and 
editor of the Waupaca Record, is a na- 
tive of New York City, son of Paul S. 
and Sarah (Astley) Woodnorth, both 
natives of Stourbridge, Worcestershire, Eng- 
land. 

Paul S. Woodnorth was born January 
16, 18 1 5, and when a boy was apprenticed 
by his widowed mother to a tailor. He 
learned the trade, and at nineteen ran away 
and worked his passage to America aboard a 
sailing vessel, landing at New York, after 
six weeks at sea, with one cent in his pocket. 
He found employment in the new city, and 
for eleven years worked faithfully at his 
trade, then, in 1845, revisited his old home 
in England. Returning, he established him- 
self in business at the corner of 29th street 
and Third avenue, New York City, prosper- 
ing until fire (during the winter of 1848-49) 
destro3"ed his shop and left him penniless. 
The gold excitement was then intense, and 
selling his lot Mr. Woodnorth started for 
California via the Isthmus. He was suc- 
cessful in prospecting at first, and later 
found employment as a cook. In accident- 
ally purchasing supplies in excess he sold 
the surplus at a profit so great that a new 
business opened before his eyes, and he 
quickly seized the opportunity. He pur- 
chased a schooner and plied between vari- 
ous points, making money rapidly, until his 
clerk during a trip absconded with all his 
effects, and left him bankrupt. He began 
mining again, but in 185 1 he returned to 
New York City and resumed his trade. 

Here he was married to Mrs. Sarah 
(Astley) Page, widow of Joseph H. Page 
and daughter of Robert Astley. Mr. Wood- 
north adopted the children of Mrs. Page, and 
bestowed upon them his name. In addition 
to his tailoring establishment a china store 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQBAPEIOAL RECORD. 



33 



was added, which his wife conducted. 
Owing to Mrs. Woodnorth's failing health 
Mr. Woodnorth bargained in New York for 
some land in Royalton township, Waupaca 
Co., Wis., on misrepresentation paying an 
exorbitant price for the same, and in 1856 
started with his family by lake for his new 
western home. The first improvement had 
yet to be made on the property. Mr. Wood- 
north secured the services of two men to 
build a log house while he boarded at a 
neighbor's. Eighteen months later he 
traded the farm for twenty acres in Section 
32, Waupaca township, moving thereon and 
following his trade of tailoring while the 
boys did a little farming. About this time 
Mr. Woodnorth put to use the experience 
as a cook which he had picked up on his 
voyage to California, and secured a position 
as cook for a gang of men who were con- 
structing a railroad through Waupaca 
county. In 1869 he sold his land and re- 
moved to Waupaca, where for some years 
he remained in business. Mrs. Woodnorth 
died in January, 1882; Mr. Woodnorth is 
still living, a well-preserved old gentleman 
of eighty years. The children who attained 
majority are as follows: Joseph H., now 
United States pension agent at Milwaukee, 
a veteran of Company G, Twenty-first Wis. 
V. I., and for many years a prominent drug- 
gist at Waupaca; Franklin S., who served 
in Company I, Seventeenth Wis. V. I., and is 
now a druggist at Manawa, Wis. ; Amelia P. , 
wife of Thomas Pipe, hardware merchant, at 
Waupaca; Jeff., the subject of this sketch; 
George R., of Bayfield county. Wis., and 
Isabel E., now Mrs. Frank Houseman, of 
Milwaukee. 

Jeff. Woodnorth was a pupil in the " Old 
White School " at Waupaca, under the in- 
struction of Mrs. Marcus Burham, now of 
Lind. He displayed little aptitude for farm 
work, but was eager for an education, and 
received special instruction from several 
principals who were later at the head of 
the Waupaca schools. Possessing a re- 
tentive memory, he learned rapidly and 
looked forward to a liberal education; but 
at the age of eighteen he found himself en- 
gaged in his life work. He had entered the 
office of the Waupaca County Republican, 



and seven years later was its foreman and 
job printer, when he went to Oshkosh with 
his employer, C. M. Bright, who had pur- 
chased the Oshkosh Times. Six months 
later Mr. Woodnorth returned to Waupaca; 
then for four years he was on his father's 
farm in Lanark township. Portage county, 
keeping " bachelor hall " with his brother. 
In January, 1885, he entered the law of- 
fice of E. L. Browne, as a student, and two- 
and-a-half years later was about ready to 
take his examination for admission to the 
bar, when he was induced to become fore- 
man of the Waupaca Post, then edited by 
E. E. Gordon. A few months later, in 
August, 1887, he took charge of the paper 
as editor, and in April, 1888, he and his 
brother George purchased a one-fourth in- 
terest in the paper, Mr. Woodnorth remain- 
ing in charge. The brothers sold their in- 
terest to Mr. Gordon in December, 1889, 
and in June, 1890, Mr. Woodnorth became 
editor of The Tozoiier A^czus and Stockman 
at Towner, McHenry Co., N. Dak., remain- 
ing until January i, 1891. In March, 1891, 
he entered the office of the Waupaca County 
Republican as job printer and all-round 
newspaperman, remaining until March 13, 
1893, when he purchased a half interest in 
the job office, which later became part of 
the Waupaca Record plant, D. L. Stinch- 
field being his partner. The first number 
of the Record was issued from this office 
March 17, 1894, with Stinchfield & Wood- 
north as proprietors. Three months later 
Mr. Woodnorth became sole proprietor, 
and has since conducted the paper. The 
Record is a weekly, 16-page, 3-column pa- 
per, the form being original in the office 
where used, and quite a deviation from the 
usual form of newspapers. It is non-parti- 
san in politics, and an advocate of good gov- 
ernment. The growth of the Record has 
been phenomenal, probably without a paral- 
lel as regards circulation and popularity. 



CYRUS STROBRIDGE, now a re- 
tired merchant and business man, 
has spent a lifetime of activity and 
usefulness in Marathon county, and 
is one of its most worthy and highly- 



34 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



respected citizens. He was born in Cort- 
land county, N. Y. , May 24, 1823, and is 
a son of George A. and Abigail (Lull) Stro- 
bridge, both natives of the Empire State. 
Of their seven children four survive: Mrs. 
Sophrona Cook, widow of Henry Cook, liv- 
ing at Salt Lake, Utah; James, residing in 
Michigan; Cyrus, the subject of this sketch; 
and Julia, widow of the late Joshua C. 
Kline, of Bradford county. Peon. The 
mother died when Cyrus was about one- 
year old, and the father about the year of 
1855, removed to Merrill, Wis., where he 
died in 1866. 

Our subject attended the common 
schools of his home in New York State, and 
when fourteen years of age went to Yates 
county, N. Y. , where he worked on a farm 
until he was twenty-one years old. Then 
he removed to Bradford county, Penn., 
whither his father in the meantime had re- 
moved. Here he was engaged in lumber- 
ing for several years, and quite naturally 
became interested in the great lumbering 
regions of northern Wisconsin. According- 
ly, in 1848 he came west, locating at what 
is now called Pine River, about five miles 
from Merrill, Lincoln county, where for 
three years he engaged in lumbering pursuits. 
In 1 85 I Mr. Strobridge returned to Bradford 
county. Penn., where he was married, in 
1852, to Miss Lydia Jane, daughter of John 
and Alvina Kline, natives of that county. 
Remaining in Pennsylvania for about five 
years, engaging there at farming, Mr. Stro- 
bridge in 1856 again started for the great 
Northwest, this time with a family. At 
Merrill (then called "Jenny ") he built the 
pioneer hotel, calling it the "Jenny House," 
and for seven years he provided accommoda- 
tions for man and beast at this outpost of 
an advancing wave of civilization, during 
which time he served four years as post- 
master (the first postmaster at that place), 
also as first assessor. He then disposed of 
his hotel business and engaged in mercantile 
pursuits. In the spring of 1870 he sold his 
stock of merchandise and removed to Wau- 
sau, where he has since resided, excepting 
the two years (1880 to 1882) he was again 
in business at Merrill. During his career as 
a merchant at Wausau Mr. Strobridge built 



up a large trade, and became one of the 
leading business men of the city; of late 
years he has retired from active life. 

Mr. Strobridge is a stanch Republican, 
but has never aspired for office, though he 
has served several terms as assessor and 
supervisor of Marathon county. Of his four 
children, three survive: Sarah, wife of Wal- 
ter Alexander (a prominent lumberman of 
Wausau, and a member of the firm of Alex- 
ander, Stewart & Co.), Libbie, and France 
D. The family attend the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. Mr. Strobridge has been an 
upright, honorable business man, and his 
successful career has been alike creditable to 
himself and to Marathon county. 



EDWARD C. KRETLOW, the popu- 
lar and efficient register of deeds for 
Marathon county, is a splendid type 
of the self-made man. He has en- 
ergy, decision, integrity, affability. He has 
aims in life, and he sets resolutely about to 
attain those aims. He has been a man of 
action, and in his constant contact with men 
he has, by his manner and character, creat- 
ed a favorable impression. Few men are 
more popular than he. 

Mr. Kretlow was born in Germany, July 
22, 1852, a son of Edward and Frederica 
(Schmidt) Kretlow. In 1855 the parents 
with their family left the Fatherland for 
America, and landing at New York at once 
proceeded westward to Wisconsin, locating 
at Milwaukee. Here for many years the 
father was a cigar manufacturer; he is still 
living at that city a hearty old gentleman of 
seventy-five years. His faithful wife passed 
from earth December 19, 1893. To Edward 
and Frederica Kretlow seven children were 
born, five of whom survive, as follows: Louis, 
who conducts Kretlow's dancing academy, at 
No. 401-403 Webster avenue, Chicago; 
Emil, of Wausau; Edward C, subject of 
this sketch; Otto, of Milwaukee, and Julius, 
of Chicago. The family has inherited mu- 
sical talent of a high order, and can play 
any instrument. Three of the sons — Louis, 
Emil and Otto — are leaders of musical bands. 
Our subject received his education in the 
public schools of Milwaukee, and he also 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPHIGAL RECORD. 



35 



took a course in the Spencer Business Col- 
lege, of that city, graduating from the insti- 
tution in 1866, at the age of fourteen years. 
He had also, by that time, learned the trade 
of cigar maker from his father. In 1866 he 
came to Wausau, and for three years he was 
a salesman, and also deputy register of 
deeds. From 186910 1S71 he lived at Chi- 
cago, where he followed his trade as a cigar 
manufacturer. Returning to Wausau in 1 87 1 , 
he for three years engaged in the insurance 
business with C. H. Mueller; then in 1874 
he again took up the manufacture of cigars, 
and continued in the business uninterrupted- 
ly until 1893. During this period he was 
also bookkeeper for Heinemann Bros. , of 
Wausau, from 1882 to 188S. In the latter 
year he was elected city clerk, and he filled 
that office for two years; then in 1890 he was 
elected register of deeds, and in November, 
1894, was re-elected to that important coun- 
ty office, on the Democratic ticket. 

Mr. Kretlow was married in Wausau, in 
1873, to Miss Johanna Starge, daughter of 
Gotlieb and Frederica Starge, natives of Ger- 
many. To this union one child has come, 
Louis T., who was born May 18, 1874, and 
is now deputy register of deeds for Marathon 
county. Mr. Kretlow is a member of Wau- 
sau Lodge No. 215, I. 0.0. F. , also of the 
Sons of Hermann, the A. O. U. W., Ameri- 
can Legion of Honor, and other minor so- 
cieties. In political views he is an earnest 
Democrat, and he is an active worker in the 
ranks of that party. 



EDWARD PAYSON BRIDGMAN 
was one of the first settlers of An- 
tigo, Langlade county, and comes 
of well-known New England ances- 
tors, who have been mostly farmers, and 
also active in religious matters, being iden- 
tified with the Congregational Church. 

The parents of our subject were Ansel 
and Salome (Graves) Bridgman, the former 
of whom was born in Northampton, Mass., 
in 1802, and was a Congregational minister. 
The father of Ansel was Joseph Bridg- 
man, who married Mary Judd, and they had 
eight children. The Bridgmans date their 
ancestry back to James Bridgman, who came 



to this country in 1640 from Winchester, 
England, and our subject is of the eighth 
generation, and is the only son of his par- 
ents. Ansel Bridgman was first married in 
Massachusetts to Salome Graves, who died 
in 1836. He then, in 1837, married Sarep- 
ta Pool, and died in 1838. No children 
were born of this union. Mrs. Bridgman 
afterward married a Mr. Ellsworth, and 
they had one son, Ansel, who lives in Lud- 
ington, Michigan. 

Edward P. Bridgman, the subject of 
this sketch, was born in Huntsburg, Ohio, 
March 7, 1834, and when five j'ears of age 
was adopted by his uncle, John Bridgman, 
who lived in Northampton, Mass , and was 
a farmer. Here Edward lived until he was 
of age, in the meantime pursuing his stud- 
ies at the State Normal School in Westfield, 
Mass. In 1856 he went to Kansas, enlisted 
under the famous John Brown, and was in 
the fight at Ossawatomie. Owing to polit- 
ical conditions and pro-slavery sentiment of 
Missouri, it was unsafe to remain, so he re- 
turned to his former home, and again took 
up his studies in the Normal School, from 
which institution he was graduated in i860. 
In August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in 
the Thirty-seventh Mass. V. I., and served 
three years in the Army of the Potomac, 
being in seventeen battles and engagements, 
but escaping without a wound. His first 
battle was that of Fredericsburg, his last 
being the memorable one at which Lee sur- 
rendered in 1865. 

After his discharge from the arm}' in 
1865, Mr. Bridgman returned to Northamp- 
ton, Mass., and engaged in the boot and 
shoe business, which he carried on some 
eight years. In 1874 became to Wiscon- 
sin, and was connected with a trading post 
store on the Menominee reservation, remain- 
ing there four years. In 1879 Mr. Bridg- 
man took up a homestead in Polar town- 
ship, Langlade county, being piloted to his 
new home by Indians, Mrs. Bridgman rid- 
ing a pony for thirty miles. Here they lived 
three years, cleared seven acres of land, 
enduring some hardships, but being fairly 
prospered in their work. In the fall of 1882 
they returned east, on a visit, and remained 
until June of the following year, when they 



36 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



came back to the farm. In October of that 
year they settled in Antigo, and Mr. Bridg- 
man started a store, but did not continue it 
very long. Since that time he has dealt in 
real estate, and in 1888 became interested 
in a broom-handle factory. In 1893 a stock 
company was formed for this industry, in 
which Mr. Bridgman took stock, and was 
made one of the directors and also secretary 
of the company. 

Our subject was married January i, 
1877, on the Indian reserv-ation, to Miss 
Sophia B. Dresser, who was born at Goshen, 
Hampshire Co., Mass., March 30, 1846, a 
daughter of Caleb C. and Julia M. (White) 
Dresser. In this family were eight children, 
as follows: Sophia B., Albert B., Helen 
M., Edward W., Charles, Martha H., Laura 
M., and Hattie F, , also two that died in 
infancy. The father, who was a carpenter 
and millwright, was born in Peru, Mass., 
December 19, 1813, and died at Goshen, 
same State, March 25, 1880. His father, 
Moses Dresser, was also a native of Massa- 
chusetts. The Dresser family date back for 
many years, and are characterized by their 
anti-slavery sentiments and strong character. 
Caleb Cushman, Grandmother Dresser's 
father, was a descendant of Robert Cush- 
man — one of the Pilgrim Fathers, who was 
born about the year 1580 — and Mary Aller- 
ton, the youngest passenger on the "May- 
flower." He preached the first sermon 
ever printed in America. This was in 
Plymouth, Mass., where a fine monument 
has been erected to his memory. In early 
times they were mostly farmers, but later 
were engaged largely in the professions, 
many being ministers and missionaries. 
Mrs. Julia White Dresser, mother of Mrs. 
Bridgman, was the daughter of Deacon Ben- 
jamin White, a farmer, who was born in 
Massachusetts, and was the son of William 
White. The family was a very prominent 
one in the early history of that State, and 
succeeding generations find them well known 
in the professional as well as the mercantile 
world. Mrs. Dresser died June 26, 1877. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Bridgman five children 
have been born, of whom two died in in- 
fancy; the others are: Edward P., Jr., 
born July 13, 1880; Lewis W., born August 



28, 1882, and Robert W., born June 16, 
1884. 

Mr. Bridgman is a self-made man. and 
is highly respected in the community. He 
is a Republican, but is no politician. He is 
a charter member of the Congregational 
Church in Antigo, and a deacon in the same. 
He is a member of the Blue Lodge, F. & 
A. M., and also of John A. Kellogg Post, 
G. A. R. Mr. Bridgman's uncle and adopt- 
ed father, John Bridgman, was a strong 
anti-slavery man, and an intimate friend of 
those great humanitarians, ^^'illiam Lloyd 
Garrison, Wendell Phillips and Fred Doug- 
lass. Indeed, on both his own and his 
wife's side, Mr. Bridgman has good reason 
to be proud of his family, who have some 
of the best blood in the country in their 
veins, and who were people distinguished 
for their integrity, religious characters, and 
progressive ideas. 



JAMES McCROSSEN, a retired lumber- 
man and merchant of Wausau, Mara- 
thon county, is a living instance of the 
marked success which may come to a 
man possessed of willing hands, clear brain 
and correct principles in life. He is essen- 
tially a self-made man, one who began 
lumbering when a mere child, and has since 
advanced steadily onward. The interests 
which he now control are vast and varied, 
and their acquisition he owes to his own in- 
domitable energy. 

Mr. McCrossen was born in Carleton, 
New Brunswick, February 13, 1829, son of 
Robert and Elizabeth (McCrossen) McCros- 
sen, both of whom were of Irish birth and 
Scotch ancestry. Robert McCrossen emi- 
grated to New Brunswick in 1822, residing 
in Carleton ten years, and then removed to- 
the parish of Lancaster, St. John county, 
where for eleven years he engaged in lum- 
bering and agricultural pursuits. Thence he 
removed to Bailie, near St. Andrews, Char- 
lotte county, same province, dying in 1887, 
at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. 
His faithful wife passed away at Musquash, 
parish of Lancaster, St. John county, in 
1840. Of their nine children, five are yet 
living, as follows: John, one of the pio- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 



37 



neers of Portage county, and now a resident 
of Waupaca county, Wis. ; James, the sub- 
ject of this sketch; Jane, wife of M. M. 
Patridge, a prominent merchant of Wausau; 
Ehzabeth, widow of the late George Fur- 
nald, of Wausau; and George, a prominent 
farmer of Marathon county. Of the de- 
ceased, Isabella (wife of W. P. Quist, an 
early settler of Waupaca county, now living 
at Rural), died in April, 1895; Thomas (a 
veteran of the Civil war), died in April, 
1895, at the Soldiers' Home, Waupaca; and 
Ann (Mrs. MacAllister), died May 20, 1895. 
In his childhood James McCrossen at- 
tended the district schools of Lancaster 
parish, "St. John Co., N. B., but was 
evidently born for an active rather than a 
scholastic life, for at the early age of thir- 
teen years, in 1842, he left home and went 
to Calais, Maine, where for eight years, or 
until he became of age, he worked at lum- 
bering. He then came west, locating at 
Oshkosh, Wis., in 1850, when that city 
was a small village, and for two years fol- 
lowed lumbering on the Wolf river. Then, 
in 1852, he removed to Waupaca county, 
and for eighteen years was actively engaged 
in developing its rich primitive resources. 
For eight years he followed lumbering and 
farming, then in 1 860 he engaged in flour- 
milling and mercantile pursuits. In all this 
he prospered, and in 1 868 he started another 
venture, a general mercantile business at 
Wausau, in connection with W. P. Quint. 
In 1870 he sold out his interests in Wau- 
paca county, and by purchase obtained sole 
possession of the Wausau business, remov- 
ing to that thriving little city. Giving it his 
exclusive attention, this mercantile trade 
grew rapidly. In 1878 it had assumed 
large proportions, and in that year he sold 
a one-third interest to his son, J. A. Mc- 
Crossen, a one-third interest to W. F. Col- 
lins, and retired from the active management 
of the business. In the same year he pur- 
chased a half interest in the Wausau Lum- 
ber Co. 's mill, and was actively connected 
with its management four years. In 1S82 
he sold his interest to Kno.x Bros., and re- 
sumed lumbering and logging on the Wis- 
consin river until 1887 — in which year he 
associated with Ale.xander Stewart, J. E. 



Lahoe and William Atwater, and organized 
the Montreal Lumber Co., with J. E. 
Leahy president, James McCrossen vice- 
president, and Alexander Stewart treasurer. 
Later Messrs. Leahy and Atwater sold their 
interests to Messrs. Moon & Knight, Mr. 
Moon becoming president. In 1891 Mr. 
McCrossen sold his interests in the company 
to the Alexander Stewart Lumber Co. , and 
retired from active business life. 

Mr. McCrossen was married, at Rural, 
Waupaca county, July 4, 1853, to Miss 
Cornelia A. Jones, daughter of J. H. and 
Nancy Jones, natives of New York and early 
settlers in Waupaca county. Of the seven 
children of Mr. and Mrs. McCrossen five 
survive, as follows: Julien A., of Everett, 
Wash.; Ellen I., wife of Lyman Thyar, of 
Everett, Wash. ; Charles A., of Antigo, Wis. ; 
Elizabeth, wife of H. H. Grace, of West 
Superior, Wis.; and Henry G., a merchant 
of Wausau. James M. (deceased), who 
comes between Ellen and Charles, was at 
one time a resident of St. Paul, Minn. ; Kit- 
tie, the youngest, died January 2, 1881, 
aged two years and five months. Since his 
retirement from active life Mr. McCrossen 
has spent his winters in southern California. 
He is largely interested in timber land and 
real estate, and is the owner of 12,000 acres 
of timber land in Wisconsin, situated in 
Marathon, Price, Taylor and Lincoln coun- 
ties. He also owns considerable farming 
land in South Dakota, has extensive landed 
holdings at Everett, Wash., and has erected 
some of the finest business blocks in Wausau. 

In politics Mr. McCrossen is a Republi- 
can, and for two terms he served as chair- 
man of the county board. He is a member 
of Forest Lodge No. 130, F. & A. M., 
Wausau Chapter No. 51, R. A. M., and St. 
Omer Commandery No. 19. The family 
attend the Universalist Church. He is a 
typical self-made man, and during his twen- 
ty-five years' residence at Wausau he has 
been one of its most progressive oitizens, ac- 
tively interesting himself in all measures 
tending to advance the interests and welfare 
of the county. No man deserves greater 
credit for the wonderful progress Wausau 
has made in mercantile and manufacturing 
affairs than James McCrossen. 



38 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



JOHN R. BABCOCK. There are few 
men more worthy of representation in 
a work of this kind than the subject of 
this biography, who for several years has 
been prominently connected with the busi- 
ness interests of Merrill, Lincoln county, of 
which fine city he is the present maj'or. 
He is a native of New York State, having 
been born at Albany May 19, 1855, a son of 
James H. Babcock, who was born, in 1826, 
in Otsego county, N. Y. The paternal 
grandfather, Richardson Babcock, was a na- 
tive of Connecticut, born there in 1798, and 
was a carpenter by trade; building many of 
the best residences and business blocks in 
Otsego county, N. Y. He married a Miss 
Robinson, who came to this country from 
the Emerald Isle, and they became the 
parents of five children — Adelia, Sarah, 
James H., Samuel and Mary. His wife 
died in New York in 1864, and he departed 
this life in 1875, at the age of seventy- 
seven. He had followed contracting until 
within a few years of his death, when he 
retired to a small piece of land he owned 
near Schenevus, Otsego county. 

James H. Babcock, father of our sub- 
ject, was educated in the common schools, 
remaining under the parental roof until his 
marriage in 1848, at which time he had at- 
tained his twenty-fourth year. The lady of 
his choice was Mary A. Herdman, who was 
born in Westford, Otsego Co., N. Y. , in 
1832, a daughter of John and Clarissa 
(Smith) Herdman, who were the parents of 
si.x children — Mar}' A., Martha, Georgiana, 
Julia, Louisa and David. Her father was a 
harness maker by trade, which he followed 
in early life, but later took up farming. His 
first wife died in 1844, and subsequently he 
married a Miss Wright, by whom he had 
four sons — Eugene, Charles, John and 
Everett. The father died in New York 
State about the year 1874. Mr. Babcock 
had five children: Frank M., John R., 
Clara L. , Mary and Georgiana. 

After his marriage James H. Babcock 
removed to Albany, N. Y. , where he re- 
mained until 1855, serving as bookkeeper 
for a commercial house. In that year he 
came west, locating in Wausau, Wis., and 
then formed a partnership with one Flet- 



cher in the lumber business which continued 
until 1858. when he kept a hotel, or station 
house, at Knowlton until the fall of 1859, 
at which time he was elected register of 
deeds of Marathon county. After his election 
to that office he removed his family to the 
city of Wausau, and held the office for six 
years, being elected by the Democratic 
party, of which he was a stanch supporter, 
taking an active part in politics. He died 
in Wausau in 1867. The mother of our 
subject still makes that place her home; she 
is now the wife of Henry French. 

The primary education of John R. Bab- 
cock was obtained in the common schools, 
after which he attended the high school 
of Wausau, later taking a course at Law- 
rence Universit}', Appleton, Wis., where 
for six months he paid his own tuition 
with money he had earned at the age of 
twelve years by clerking for Mr. Cham- 
pagne, and later for James McCrossen, 
where he remained two years. After his 
return from school he served as bookkeeper 
in a private bank two years, and for the 
same length of time kept books in a store; 
then at the age of nineteen, with the money 
he had saved, he purchased some land from 
which he cut the timber. This was in the 
winter of 1874-75. In the spring of 1877 
he went to Kansas for the benefit of his 
health, and there carried on agricultural 
pursuits until 1S80. On his return to .Wis- 
consin he located at Merrill, where he en- 
gaged in clerking in Mr. Champagne's store, 
when the same company built a sawmill 
in which he became bookkeeper and time- 
keeper, serving thus for one year. In the 
fall of 1882 Mr. Babcock embarked in the 
lumber business, acting part of the time as 
expert lumberman, and the remainder as 
expert accountant until 1889, when he be- 
gan the insurance and real-estate business. 
Selling out in 1894, he in company with 
Mr. Norway purchased the plant of the 
Wolf River Lumber Co., and established 
the Norway Box & Lumber Co. , which now 
has a fine trade and is one of the leading 
enterprises of Merrill. 

In September, 1882, Mr. Babcock was 
married to Josephine O'Neil, who was born 
in Wood county, Wis., and by her marriage 





s 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



39 



has become the mother of two interesting 
sons — West O. and John R., Jr. Mr. 
Babcock takes great interest in the welfare of 
Merrill and the surrounding country', and is 
now serving as secretary of the Business 
Men's Association. He is enterprising and 
progressive in his ideas, and aids in every 
object for the good of the community. 
Politically he identities himself with the 
Democratic party, being one of its stalwart 
supporters. He served as member of the 
city council from the Second ward; has also 
been city comptroller, and in 1889 and 
1890 was city assessor, in which offices he 
served faithfully and well. In April, 1895, 
he was elected mayor of Merrill, having 
been nominated by both the Democratic 
party and the Republican party, his oppo- 
nent being a Populist, Mr. Babcock receiving 
a majority of nearly 500 votes. 



CARL F. PAFF, treasurer of Mara- 
thon county, is one of the promi- 
nent and progressive merchants of 
Wausau, the city of his birth. He 
was born there April 23, 1861, son of Jacob 
and Sophia (Doell) Paff. The father emi- 
grated from Germany in the fall of 1848, 
and after spending the winter in Columbia 
county, Wis., came in the spring of 1849 to 
Wausau; Mrs. Paff came from Germany in 
1853, was married in Watertown, Wis., 
and died at Wausau in February, 1889, 
where Jacob Paff resided until his death 
May 6, 1895, ^'^ honored citizen, and vice- 
president of the First National Bank. 

Carl F. Paff attended the village schools, 
and also took a four-years' course in the 
German and English Academy at Elmhurst, 
III. Graduating at that institution, he com- 
pleted a course of bookkeeping at R. C. 
Spencer's Business College, Milwaukee, and 
thus equipped for commercial life Mr. Paff 
returned to Wausau and for two years was 
bookkeeper for John C. Gebhart. He ac- 
cepted a similar position with F. W. Kick- 
busch, manufacturer of doors, sash and 
blinds, but six months later the factory 
burned and Mr. Paff entered the post office, 
as a delivery clerk, remaining there about 
three months. He then went into business 



for himself by purchasing the interest of 
F. W. Stroud in the paint and oil business 
of Stroud & Zentner. Three years later 
Messrs. Paff & Zentner sold out to J. M. 
Stroud & Co., of Oshkosh, and started a 
new business as dealers in lime, cement and 
sewer pipe. They continued partners 
four years, then, in 1887, Mr. Paff pur- 
chased Mr. Zentner's interest, and has since 
conducted the business alone. 

He was married, in Wausau, November 
22, 1888, to Miss Matilda Kickbusch, daugh- 
ter of F. W. and Matilda (Braatz) Kick- 
busch, both of whom emigrated when young 
from Pomerania, Germany, to America. 
F. W. Kickbusch has been one of Wausau's 
most prominent citizens. He settled there 
in i860, after a three-years' residence in 
Milwaukee, was three times elected county 
treasurer, was engaged extensively in the 
manufacture of doors, sash and blinds, 
operated a large flouring-mill, and in June, 
1893, left Wausau to accept the position of 
United States consul at Stettin, Germany. 
Mr. and Mrs. Paff have two children, Selma, 
born November 2, 1889, and Carl F., born 
January 15, 1892. Mr. Paff is a member of 
the Modern Woodmen, and of the Haru- 
gari. As the candidate for county treasurer 
on the Democratic ticket in 1892, he was 
elected in November, 1894, defeating his 
opponent, Chris. Voight, by 168 votes. Mr. 
Paff, though yet a young man, has won his 
way into the esteem and confidence of the 
public, and is one of Marathon county's 
most popular citizens. 



JACOB PAFF (deceased), an early pio- 
neer of Marathon county, and late 
vice-president of the First National 
Bank of Wausau, was one of its best 
representative citizens. He was unostenta- 
tious in manner, and a man of few words; 
yet his character was as sterling as the na- 
tional coin that lay in the vaults of his bank 
or circulated over its counters. For nearly 
forty-five years he lived in the glare of pub- 
lic life at Wausau, and his reputation re- 
mained untarnished and unblemished. Mr. 
Paff was born in Prussia November 5, 1824, 
son of Phillip (a farmer) and Margaret 



40 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(Feurrinp) Paff, both natives of Germany, 
who died in the Fatherland when Jacob was 
youiig. They had a family of four chil- 
dren, three of whom emigrated to America, 
and the only servivor now is Mrs. Louisa 
Baker, who remained in Germany. 

Our subject in his boyhood attended 
the district schools, learned the trade of a 
cabinet maker, and worked at it in the old 
country until 1849, when at the age of 
twenty-five years he emigrated to America. 
Landing in New York July i, of that year, 
he proceeded west at once, and stopping 
for a few months in Columbia county he 
pushed on through the almost unbroken 
wilderness to Marathon county, at once 
becoming identified with its awakening lum- 
ber interests. In the same year of his im- 
migration he located at Wausau, and was 
a continuous resident of the city from that 
date, ranking at the time of his death, 
which occurred May 6, 1895, as one of the 
oldest living and most highly-respected of 
the old settlers. For six years he followed 
his trade of cabinet making, then, in 1857, 
engaged in mercantile pursuits, continuing 
until 1 87 1, when he retired from active 
business life. In 1863 he was elected coun- 
ty treasurer, serving faithfully and satis- 
factorily during the years 1863 and 1864. 
In 1 87 1 and 1872 he also served as county 
clerk, and he represented Wausau as its 
chief officer. Mr. Paff was connected with 
the First National Bank of Wausau from its 
organization, and was vice-president of this 
well-known banking institution at the time 
of his demise. 

On January 20, 1856, he was married, 
at Watertown, Wis., to Miss Sophia Doell, 
a lady of German birth, and eight children 
were born to them, four of whom survive, as 
follows: Matilda, wife of Fred T. Zent- 
ner. United States E.xpress Agent at Wau- 
sau; Carl F., county treasurer; Jacob and 
William. The family attend St. Paul's 
Evangelical Church. In politics Mr. Paff 
was a Democrat. He was always foremost 
in works of public improvement, giving his 
aid and influence cheerfully to all worthy 
enterprises. 

Fred T. Zentner, son-in-law of Mr. Paff, 
was born in Oshkosh August 15, 1858, son 



of Frederick and Barbara (Wiler) Zentner, 
both honored and early German emigrants 
to that cit}'. He was educated in the public 
schools and business college of Oshkosh, 
and when fourteen years of age became a 
clerk in a law and real-estate office, re- 
maining six }'ears. In i 880 he removed to 
Wausau, and since that date has been a 
continuous resident of the city. For six 
years he engaged in the oil and paint busi- 
ness, and in 1886 he entered lumbering and 
manufacturing pursuits, in which he still 
continues in connection with his Express 
agency. He is secretary of the Clay Lum- 
ber Company, and vice-president of the 
Wisconsin Moulding Company. Mr. Zent- 
ner has served as a member of the city and 
county board for eight years. He is a mem- 
ber of Forest Lodge No. 130, F. & A. M., 
and is a worthy and highly-respected citizen 
of the community. His marriage to Miss 
Matilda Paff occurred December 28, 1881, 
and they have one child, Fred T., born 
October'31, 1882. 



BENJAMIN B. ANDREWS, one of 
the firm of Van Doren & Andrews, 
prominent lumber merchants at Bir- 
namwood, Shawano Co., Wis., was 
born at Whitehall, Washington Co., N. Y. , 
September 29, 1849. He is the son of Ben- 
jamin M. and Ann (Lyons) Andrews, the 
former being born in Danbury, Conn., Sep- 
tember 5, 1820, and the latter in Rutland, 
Vt., March 16, 1825. They were married 
in New York about 1847, and had a family 
of eight children, as follows: Benjamin 
Burton; Mary, who died when an infant; 
Mary Ann, who died when nineteen years 
of age; Annetta, now Mrs. R. Lyons, of 
Oshkosh; Adella; Leverett Brainard, who 
died when four years old; Emma Amelia, 
and Merton; the latter is an Episcopal min- 
ister and resides at Oshkosh. 

Benjamin M. Andrews, father of our sub- 
ject, came to Wisconsin in 1850, and settled 
on a farm in Juneau, Dodge county. He re- 
mained there some twelve years, then went 
to Beaver Dam and later to Oshkosh, where 
he still resides. He was a carpenter by 
trade, although he has followed farming the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 



41 



greater part of his life. His wife, Ann (Lj'- 
ons), is also still living. 

Benjamin B. Andrews, the subject of 
this sketch, obtained his education in the 
public schools at Juneau, and remained at 
home until he was seventeen years old, 
learning, in the meantime, to run a station- 
ary engine. At the age mentioned he went 
to Milwaukee, and was employed on the 
Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad for some two 
years, after which he returned to Oshkosh 
and worked in a mill, taking full charge of 
the same until the spring of 1884. At that 
time he came to Birnamwood, and in com- 
pany with Mr. Van Doren began the manu- 
facture of staves and headings; three years 
later they built a sawmill, and in 1892 an 
extensive mill. They also carry on a gen- 
eral store, and are large owners of real es- 
tate, and Mr. Andrews, being a practical 
millman, looks after that branch of the busi- 
ness. He is a wide-awake, enterprising man, 
and has been very successful in all his un- 
dertakings. Mr. Andrews was married in 
1865, his wife being Miss Agnes Parris, who 
was born in Canada of Scotch descent, one 
of a family of five children. Her father was 
a baker in Canada. By this marriage Mr. 
Andrews became the father of four children: 
James, who died when a child; William 
Henry, who also died when an infant; Mary 
who married H. G. Deyer, an attorney, of 
Shawano, and Harry, who died in 1894 at 
the age of twenty-one years. The mother 
passed away December 14, 1874. The sec- 
ond marriage of Mr. Andrews took place 
March 16, 1876, Miss Martha O. Thorn be- 
coming his wife. She is a daughter of John 
and Sarah Thorn, natives of New York, who 
came to Wisconsin in 1854. Her birth took 
place in Jefferson county, N. Y., March 6, 
1852, and she was one of a family of ten 
children. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews have four 
children: John Burton, Benjamin Burton, 
Bessie and Helen Dare. 

In politics Mr. Andrews is a Republican, 
but has never been an office-seeker. He is a 
trustee of the village, a member of the Con- 
gregational Church, and has been affiliated 
with the United Workmen for the past fif- 
teen years. He is a self-made man, one 
who has attained to his present standing by 



industry, perseverance and straightforward 
methods of business, and is respected as a 
worthy citizen, and one ready to assist in all 
matters pertaining to the welfare of the com- 
munity. 



EMILE B. ROSSIER (deceased) was 
a man whose virtues won him high 
regard, and whose devotion to edu- 
cational, social and moral interests 
made him one of the valued citizens of Wood 
county. He was born at V'evay, near Ge- 
neva, Switzerland, December 2, 1832, and 
was a son of J. B. and Elizabeth (Monnet) 
Rossier. He was educated in the academy 
of Geneva, and spent the first nineteen 
years of his life in the beautiful land of his 
nativity, after which he determined to seek 
a home beyond the Atlantic, and in 1851 
crossed the water to the New World. He 
located first in Highland, Madison Co., 111., 
where he resided seven years, during which 
time he carried on agricultural pursuits with 
a fair degree of success. In 1858 he came 
to Centralia, Wis., and established a mer- 
cantile store, while in connection with this 
enterprise he served as cashier of the Grand 
Rapids Bank from 1870 until 1873. 

His domestic relations were of the most 
pleasant. He was happily married in St. 
Louis, in 1853, to Miss Caroline Mennet, 
daughter of Emanuel and Euphrosine (Faw- 
con) Mennet, who were also natives of 
Switzerland. Their union was blessed with 
a family of six children: Cecelia, who was 
born in Illinois, February 13, 1856, and is 
now the wife of Frank Garrison, a promi- 
nent manufacturer of South Centralia, Wis. ; 
Alfred A., who was born in Illinois, De- 
cember 6, 1857; Edmond H.,'born in Cen- 
tralia, May 4, 1S60: Eugene, who was born 
in Centralia, July 14. 1862, and died July 14, 
1862; Emile C, born July 10, 1864; and 
Benjamin, who was born in Centralia, July 
II, 1866, and passed away December 22, 
1867. 

In connection with the interests pre- 
viously mentioned, Mr. Rossier was also 
identified with other concerns in Centralia. 
He won considerable prominence as the 
senior partner of the law firm of Rossier & 



42 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Baker, and was superintendent of the con- 
struction of the Wisconsin Valley railroad. 
It will thus be seen that his abilities were 
not limited to one line of action or of busi- 
ness, and he was recognized as one of the 
most influential and enterprising residents of 
Wood county, a leader in all matters per- 
taining to the public welfare. He served as 
city treasurer, was city clerk for several 
terms, and postmaster at Centralia for ten 
years, and in all these offices was an ef- 
ficient incumbent, faithful to his duty and 
the trust reposed in liim. His life was well 
spent, and was largely devoted to the good 
of mankind in one way or another. In the 
family he was considerate and tender, and 
the loss to wife and children is one which 
only time can heal. He passed peacefully 
away May 24, 1893, deeply regretted by all 
who knew him. Like the husband and 
father, the family share in the respect and 
esteem of the entire community, and Mrs. 
Rossier is a consistent member of the Con- 
gregational Church. 



REV. FATHER WINAND DANIELS, 
pastor of the Catholic Church of 
Hewitt, Wood county, was born in 
Giesenkirchen, Germany, February 
23, 1866. His father, William Daniels, was 
born in the same place in 183 i, only child 
of William and Anna (Diedrichs) Daniels. 
He was a manufacturer of woolen goods, 
and in business was thorough and system- 
atic. He died in 1887, highly respected. 
His father was in the German army for 
some time, serving as an officer. 

On November 22, 1858, William Daniels 
married Barbara Langen, and they became 
the parents of four children. One son, Will- 
iam, was educated for the priesthood, and 
on coming to America in 1891 had charge of 
a church at Kankakee, 111., in which city he 
died in 1892. Hermann and Catherine, the 
other brother and sister of our subject, now 
make their home with Rev. Father Daniels, 
as does their mother. The latter was born 
March 28, 1837, and is a daughter of John 
and Margaret (Goetz) Langen, farming peo- 
ple of Germany, who had a family of five 
children: Barbara, Herman, Margaretta, 



Magdalene and Winand, Barbara and Mag- 
dalene being the only ones now living. 

Rev. Father Daniels received' his pri- 
mary education in the common schools of 
his native land, and at the age of thirteen 
was sent to Holland, entering a school near 
Venlo, where he remained some nine years. 
At the end of that time he was admitted to 
a University at Innsbruck, in Austria, where 
for two years he continued his studies. He 
completed his literary education after one 
year's attendance at the Priests' Seminary 
in Mainz, when he was ordained priest 
March 14, 1890. After a vacation of three 
months he started for America unaccom- 
panied, the remainder of the family coming 
later. The first charge of Rev. Father 
Daniels was at Chippewa Falls, where he re- 
mained but six months, when he came to 
Marshfield, acting as assistant priest for the 
same length of time. He then accepted his 
present charge at Hewitt. Since coming to 
that place he has been instrumental in the 
erection of a fine brick church and parson- 
age, and has won the respect and esteem of 
all with whom he has come in contact. Be- 
sides the congregation at Hewitt, Rev. 
Father Winand Daniels has two other 
charges, one at Bakerville, Wood county, 
and the other at Loyal, Clark Co., Wis., 
where he also enjoys the love and confidence 
of the people. 



JOHN A. LEMMER, a prominent lum- 
ber manufacturer, and an early settler 
of Marathon count}', was born near 
Trier, in the Rhine Province, Germany, 
February 1 1, 1843, a son of John and Eliza- 
beth Lemmer, who were both born in Ger- 
many, the former of whom is now engaged 
in agricultural pursuits in the town of Mara- 
thon, Wisconsin. 

Our subject came to America with his 
parents and other members of the family, 
and in 1853 they located in Laporte, Ind., 
where they resided six years. In 1859 the 
family removed to Marathon county. Wis., 
and have been residents of that county 
since then. Mr. Lemmer received a portion 
of his education in his native land, and also 
attended school in Marathon county. Wis. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



43 



On leaving school he was engaged in teach- 
ing some sixteen years, and after abandon- 
ing this occupation engaged in lumbering 
and lumber manufacturing. He has filled 
the office of town treasurer seven times; 
been chairman of the town board four times; 
president of the village six terms, supervisor 
of Marathon cit}' six terms, served one year 
as trustee of Marathon County Insane Asy- 
lum, and is a justice of the peace. 

At Stevens Point, Portage county, in 
1866, John A. Lemmer was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Mary Fisher, and there were 
born to them fourteen children, twelve of 
whom are living, their names and dates of 
birth, etc., being as follows: John M., 
October 9, 1866, at one time a saw-filer, 
now a fire and life insurance agent at Mara- 
thon, Wis.; I^obert, November 15, 1869, an 
engineer and head sawyer, at present serving 
as city marshal; William, October 9, 1871, 
millwright and agent; Julius, March 30, 1872, 
at present studying theology at St. John's 
University, Collegeville, Minn. ; Otto, De- 
cember 10, 1874, machine agent and head 
sawyer; Richard, April 3, 1876, a school 
teacher at Marathon, Wis.; Leo, June 12, 
1877, lumber scaler and setter; Alexander, 
October 5, 1880; Bruno, January 9, 1883; 
Ludwig, March 30, 1885; Mary S., Septem- 
tember 5, 1889, and Mark, January 9, 1890. 
The parents of Mrs. John A. Lemmer, Bal- 
thasar Fisher andTeressa (Schaeffer) Fisher, 
were born in Germany, and were early set- 
tlers of Marathon county. Wis., where they 
resided until death. They had children as 
follows: Mary, wife of John A. Lemmer; 
Margaret, wife of Anthony Schilling; Benja- 
min, John and Anthony, all residing in the 
city of Marathon, Wis. John M. Lemmer, 
eldest son of John A. and Mary Lemmer, 
was married in 1890 to Rosa Baur, and to 
their union have been born three daughters: 
Ella, Erma and Lulu. John A. Lemmer is a 
Democrat in politics. He is one of the pro- 
gressive and solid business men of Marathon, 
and is extensively engaged in lumbering. 
He has taken an active part in matters having 
for their object the improvement and wel- 
fare of Marathon county, and is a highly- 
esteemed and valuable member of the com- 
munity in which he resides. At present he 



is a member of the Marathon County Com- 
mittee on Emigration and Industries for 
Marathon county. The family attend the 
Catholic Church. 



GEORGE CHRISTIAN LICKEL is 
a typical self-made man, one who 
owes his success to his own enter- 
prise and industry. He has led a 
busy and useful life, and in the legitimate 
channels of business has acquired a compe- 
tency that now enables him to live retired. 
Mr. Lickel was born in the Province of 
Darmstadt, Germany, September 13, 1841. 
His father, John C. Lickel, also a native of 
Germany, was a miller by trade, and in the 
country of his birth was married, in 1838, 
to Catherine Gris. They became the parents 
of five children: George C. , subject of this 
sketch; Henry, who died in infancy; Will- 
iam, who died in Nashville, Tenn., in 1864, 
while in the employ of the government; 
Catherine, wife of John Metz — all four born 
in Germany; and Mary, who was born in 
this country. The family crossed the At- 
lantic about the year 1849, aud took up 
their residence in Ouincy, 111., where the 
father worked at his trade. While in Ger- 
many he had owned and operated his own 
mill, and had obtained a good business edu- 
cation. His death occurred July 27, 1881, 
that of his wife on February 9, 1876. She, 
too, was born in Germany, and was the 
daughter of a miller, but nothing more is 
known about her people, except that she 
was the youngest of a large family. John 
C. Lickel had one sister. Our subject was 
about eight years of age when he accom- 
panied his parents to the New World. He 
acquired his education in the public schools 
of Quincy, 111., and at the age of thirteen 
began learning the trade of wagon making. 
When he had thoroughly mastered the busi- 
ness, he established a shop of his own in 
Quincy, which he conducted some three 
years. 

On September 26, 1866, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Catherine Miller, who 
was born in Germany, in 1846, daughter of 
Peter and Elizabeth (Hitridge) Miller, both 



44 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECOSD. 



natives of Germany, the father born in 1796, 
the mother in 1800; they were the parents 
of four children: Lizzie (deceased), Caro- 
line, Mary, and Catherine. Mr. Miller was 
a merchant tailor by trade, a well-educated 
man, and a leader in politics in Germany, 
holding public offices there for many years. 
He was very prosperous in his business, 
which he followed not only in his native land, 
but also in Paris, France. In the Father- 
land he served in the arm\', for six years as 
an officer. In 1852 he came to the United 
States with his family, the voyage, which 
was made in a sailing vessel, occupying sixty 
days. Three months after their arrival in 
the country the family settled at Ouincy, 
111., where Mr. Miller became a speculator 
in real estate, etc., in which he continued up 
to his death, in 1892. His wife had passed 
away in 1875. A Republican on this side 
of the Atlantic, he took a great interest in 
politics, and was honored with election to 
several offices of trust. He was a member 
of the German Lutheran Church, and in all 
respects was highly esteemed. Mrs. Bolman, 
sister to Mrs. Lickel, died in 1867, just 
eleven weeks after her husband had been 
laid to rest, leaving five children, one of 
whom, Katie, Mrs. Lickel adopted. She 
(Katie) married Robert Megow, of Minne- 
apolis, Minn., and now Mrs. Lickel has her 
daughter, Lulu, adopted. Thus, if Mr. and 
Mrs. Lickel have no children of their own, 
they have been a father and mother to the 
children of others. 

Soon after his marriage Mr. Lickel pur- 
chased a hotel at Quincy, 111., which he con- 
ducted a number of years, when on account 
of his wife's failing health he removed to 
Wisconsin, locating at Necedah, Juneau 
county, where for several years he again 
carried on a hotel. In 1888 he came to 
Merrill, purchased a store and embarked in 
the grocery business, which he successfully 
conducted until January i, 1895, when he 
sold out. There have been few idle moments 
in his life, his time and attention having been 
given almost unceasingly to his business in- 
terests, until within the last few months, 
since when he has been enjoying a rest well 
earned and richly deserved. He has always 
affiliated with the Democratic party, and his 



fellow townsmen have frequently called him 
to office, he having twice served as super- 
visor, once as school commissioner, and once 
as alderman. In his younger years he took 
quite an active interest in Masonry, and is 
now a Knight Templar; is also a member of 
the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife 
hold membership with the Presbyterian 
Church, and are most highly-esteemed peo- 
ple, their many excellencies of character 
winning them the regard of all with whom 
they have been brought in contact. 



GEORGE E. O'CONNOR, the popu- 
lar and efficient sheriff of Vilas 
county, with residence at Eagle 
River, is a native of Wisconsin, born 
I August 31, 1865, a son of John O'Connor, 
! who first saw the light, in 1833, near the 
city of Newcastle, New Brunswick, Canada. 
! Edward O'Connor, grandfather of our 

I subject, was born in Tipperar}', Ireland, 
whence, when a young man, he emigrated to 
New Brunswick, where he married Miss 
Catherine Welch, by whom he had seven 
children, named respectively: John. Timo- 
thy, Kate, Richard, Mary, Maurice and 
Alice, the last two dying when quite young. 
In the spring of 1845 the family came to 
Wisconsin, locating in Milwaukee, where the 
father took up a homestead, near where the 
city hall now stands, and there remained 
some three years; but, thinking to better 
himself farther west, he abandoned his first 
Wisconsin home, and after a brief sojourn 
in Oshkosh settled on a farm in Brown 
county, whereon he passed the rest of his 
days, dying in 1859; his wife survived him 
till July, 1883, when she, too, passed to the 
"great unknown." He was a farmer and 
lumberman, prominent in politics as an 
ardent Whig and Republican. His ancestry 
in Ireland were all well-to-do agriculturists. 
John O'Connor, father of our subject, 
was twelve years old when the family took 
up their residence in Milwaukee, at the com- 
mon schools of which then village he receiv- 
ed a somewhat limited education, having in 
his boyhood to assist his father in getting out 
square timber and clearing the farm. At 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



45 



about the age of eighteen he commenced to 
work awa}- from home, finding employment 
in mills and at lumbering, when nineteen 
years old having charge of a mill as foreman. 
In 1855, in the meantime marrying, he 
moved to Oconto, having been offered, and 
accepted, the position of head sawyer in a 
mill at that place, also following the logging 
business. Here he remained till 1866, in 
which year he took up his residence in Green 
Bay, where in connection with his lumber- 
ing interests he conducted a hotel, and was 
also interested in a sailing vessel, which, 
however, was wrecked. After about eight 
years' residence in Green Bay, he removed 
to Eau Claire, where he resided some nine 
years, with the exception of three years 
passed in Texas and Arkansas, erecting 
there a mill which turned out a failure. In 
Eau Claire he followed lumbering, and in 
April, 1883, he came to Eagle River, buying 
a tract of one thousand acres of land, in 
August, same year, platting the town of 
Eagle River, which was described as the plat 
of the N. E. quarter of the N. \V. quarter of 
Section 33, Town 40 North, of Range 10 
East, being the first plat of the town. After- 
ward he added two additions known as the 
Original Plat, and then one called the Ann 
O'Connor Addition. He came to be known 
as "the father of Eagle River." Here he 
logged one winter, and then embarked in 
the real-estate business, including the buy- 
ing and selling of city property and pine 
lands, in connection with which he carried 
on a general supply store. He died July 4, 
1889, a stanch Republican in his political 
affiliations. He was a typical self-made 
man, one who was favored with few school 
privileges, but was a great reader and a close 
student of human nature. At the time of 
the Pike's Peak excitement, he passed some 
six months in that region. Although reared 
a strict Catholic, yet he was liberal toward 
all denominations, and was particularly 
charitable to the poor. He was never called 
upon to serve his adopted country as a sol- 
dier, but he had two brothers in the army — 
Timothy and Richard. 

In 1855, at Green Bay, Wis., John 
O'Connor was married to Miss Anna Gold- 
en, a native of County Sligo, Ireland, born 



in 1835, a daughter of William and Mary 
(Flatley) Golden, farming people, both also 
of Irish nativity, who came to America about 
the year 1838. For a time they sojourned 
in New York City, thence proceeding to 
Rome, N. Y. , whence after three years 
passed in that city they came to Wisconsin, 
settling at Wrightstown, Brown county, on 
wild land, where they passed the rest of their 
daj'S, the father dying in i860, the mother 
in 1868. They were the first settlers of 
Wrightstown, and the old log cabin wherein 
they lived is still standing. They had nine 
children, to wit: Thomas, Peter, Patrick, 
Mary, Martin, James, Margaret, Ellen and 
Anna. The father was a ' ' dyed-in-the-wool " 
Democrat. To John and Anna O'Connor 
were born ten children, named respectively: 
Mary, Edward, Ellen, Anna, George E. , 
Matilda, Henry C, Don and Walter F. 
(twins), and Harriet. 

George E. O'Connor, the subject proper 
of this memoir, was reared and educated in 
Eau Claire, and there at the early age of 
eleven years commenced learning the trade 
of printer, which he followed four years, af- 
ter which he worked for a time in a shingle 
mill, then learned the trade of plumber. In 
1883 he came to Eagle River with his fa- 
ther, whom he assisted in the latter's exten- 
sive lumbering interests — sometimes working 
in the woods, at other times running the river 
— so continuing some three years. At the 
age of twenty he entered the Northwestern 
Business College, at Madison, which institu- 
tion he attended two summer terms, work- 
ing in the woods winters, for a time keeping 
books for a lumber camp. In the fall of 
1888 he commenced the management of his 
father's store, and after the latter's death he 
was appointed administrator of the estate. 
Politically he is a stanch Republican, and in 
1894 he was elected to his present position 
of sheriff of Vilas county; for two years he 
served as town clerk, was secretary of the 
school board, and filled several minor offices. 
Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and K. of P. He has two brothers attend- 
ing school at Detroit, Mich., while another 
brother, Henry C, is studying for the pro- 
fession of dentist, at the University of Penn- 
sylvania, Philadelphia (at one time he was 



46 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



register of deeds for Oneida county. Wis.). 
Our subject has not yet joined the noble ar- 
m}' of Benedicts. 



HON. JEROME NELSON. In Am- 
herst township, Portage county, it 
might be difficult to find a name 
which the people would more delight 
to honor than that of Mr. Nelson. It is 
known throughout northern Wisconsin in 
connection with the milling product which 
he has made famous for its quality; it is 
known as that of a brave officer who served 
throughout the Rebellion; it is known as that 
of apioneer who has been identified with the 
material advancement of the State; it is 
known as that of a legislator. The name 
has been commemorated in the village Nel- 
sonville, named from him. He is public- 
spirited, and perhaps as well known as anj' 
one in the county. 

Mr. Nelson was born at Attica, N. Y. , 
January 9, 1829, the eldest child of Adin 
and Sally (Randall) Nelson. Adin Nelson 
was a native of Massachusetts, and at the 
age of sixteen moved with his parents to 
Genesee county, N. Y. In 1828 he was 
married, at Attica, to Sally, daughter of 
Miles Randall, a native of New Hampshire, 
who prior to the war of 18 12 moved with 
his wife to Canada, but was forced to return 
when hostilities opened because he would 
not take the oath of allegiance to King 
George. He settled in New York. His chil- 
dren were Betsy, Statira, John, Sally, 
Esther, Harriet, Horace and Aurilla. Adin 
Nelson was a farmer and a merchant. Seven 
years after his marriage he removed to 
Rochester, N. Y. , where he secured a posi- 
tion as overseer for the New York Central 
railroad during its construction. In 1836 
he moved to Michigan, where he engaged in 
farming in Hadley township, Lapeer county, 
until about 1850, and then selling his land 
he came to Fond du Lac count}'. Wis. , and 
opened a general store. In 1853 he sold 
out and moved to Amherst township. Port- 
age county, where he farmed and also car- 
ried on a small mercantile business until 
shortly before his death. Desiring to revisit 
the scenes of his childhood, he went east at 



the age of si.xty-nine years, and after a short 
illness died at the home of his sister in 
Massachusetts. His wife lived until 1892, 
when she died at the age of eighty-four 
years. To Adin and Sally Nelson six chil- 
dren were born: Jerome; Harriet, now Mrs. 
Amos Wilts, of St. Joseph, Mo.; Miles R., 
a salesman in a large New York City mer- 
antile house, who died while visiting his 
brother Jerome in Amherst, in 1856; 
George (i), who died when a boy; Orpha, 
who died in infancy; George (2), who mar- 
ried Miss Marion Phillips, of Amherst, and 
is now a merchant of Waukegan, Illinois. 

Jerome Nelson attended the schools of 
New York and Michigan in his boyhood, 
assisting on the farm and in the store up 
to the age of nineteen, when he started out 
in life for himself. He spent one summer 
in Chicago, then went down the Mississippi 
river to Vicksburg, Miss. , where he engaged 
to cut timber in the cypress swamp for $20 
per month. Two years later, with the 
money he had saved, he started in the same 
business for himself in partnership with 
Frank Johnson, a South Carolina planter. 
Following this successfully and profit- 
ably two years, he, in 1852, came to Wis- 
consin, and for a short time helped his 
father on the farm. He then opened and 
for two years conducted a store of general 
merchandise at Barton, Washington county. 
Trading this for real estate in the same 
county, he sold out two years later and 
settled in Amherst, where in the summer of 
1855 he had engaged in sawmilling. 

In October, 1861, Mr. Nelson enlisted in 
Company H, Third Wisconsin Cavalry. 
Entering winter quarters at Janesville, Wis. , 
the regiment was sent to St. Louis in 
March, 1862, and two months later to 
Leavenworth, Kans. Here its misson was 
to exterminate Quantrell's notorious guer- 
rilla band, then committing depredations 
and atrocities along the western border, and 
to guard supplj' trains from Fort Scott to 
Fort Gibson, on the Arkansas river. Mr. 
Nelson served in the West until the close of 
the war, and was promoted to first lieuten- 
ant during his service. When mustered out 
he returned to Amherst and resumed his 
milling operations. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



47 



In 1 8 5 5 Mr. Nelson built a sawmill, which, 
to use his own words, "wore out." In i868 
he erected the gristmill at Nelsonville; in 
1873 purchased a large flouring-mill at Am- 
herst, and in 1874 he put up a steam saw- 
mill in Nelson, all of which mills he has 
since operated, the product of them linding 
a market all over the State. He was the 
first man to build a dam at Nelsonville, and 
utilize the e.xcellent water-power there 
found. The land on which his mills and 
elegant home stand he bought of the gov- 
ernment in 1854. He is also interested in 
a sawmill in Oneida county, Wis., which 
cuts some ten million feet of lumber each 
season. Mr. Nelson furnished the capital, 
and the company is known as the Nelson 
Lumber and Boom Co., the industry being 
located on the Pelican river. 

In May, 1S53, Mr. Nelson was married, 
in Washington county. Wis., to Miss Mani- 
la A. Yerkes, who was born, in 1835, in 
Pennsylvania, a daughter of David and Caro- 
line (Calkins) Yerkes, the former a native of 
Pennsylvania, the latter of New York State. 
Thej- for a time resided in Michigan, whence 
about the year 1847 they came to Wiscon- 
sin, settling in Barton township, Washing- 
ton county, where Mr. Yerkes engaged in 
the sawmilling business. There they died, 
the mother in 1868, the father in 1893, the 
parents of seven children, as follows: Marion 
(now Mrs. Philips, of Amherst); Oliver J. 
(a farmer of Colby, Clark Co., Wis.), who 
was a soldier during the Civil war, in a New 
York Cavalry regiment; Hannah E., who 
died in Michigan at the age of fourteen; 
Marilla A. (Mrs. Jerome Nelson); Lovilla L. 
(Mrs. Baker), living in Kansas; George W., 
in Wisconsin; and Sara E. (Mrs. Eli Hanks), 
of Washington county, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. 
Nelson have no children of their own, but 
have an adopted daughter. Flora S., who 
has lived with them since her infancy; she is 
now the wife of John S. Loberg (who is in 
Mr. Nelson's employ), and they have three 
children: Russell Jerome, Ruby S. and Eva 
L. Mrs. Nelson is a prominent member of 
the Episcopal Church. Socially Mr. Nel- 
son has been a member of the F. and A. M., 
since joining Evergreen Lodge of Stevens 
Point, in 1878, and also of the Crusade 



Commandery, same place; but on account 
of the distance from his home he has been 
unable to attend the meetings with any de- 
gree of regularity. In politics he is a Repub- 
lican. In 1876 he was elected a member of 
the State Legislature; was elected justice of 
the peace, but refused to qualifj, for the 
reason that the judicial duties were distaste- 
ful to one of his sympathetic nature. He 
has served several terms on the town board. 
Mr. Nelson is foremost in all matters relat- 
ing to the welfare and improvement of his 
township and county, is public-spirited, and 
ever ready to encourage worthy enterprises. 
He is a typical self-made man, never having 
received assistance from any one. The in- 
dustry he has founded has proved a source 
of much revenue to the surrounding country. 



FREDERICK S. GARLAND, a lead- 
ing lumberman and representative 
citizen of northern Wisconsin, was 
born in Rock county. Wis. , near 
Evansville, September 12, 1858. 

Joseph C. Garland, his father, was born 
at Great Falls, N. H., in May, 1833. He 
attended the common schools, worked on 
the farm and in the cotton mills, and at the 
age of twenty came west and worked for a 
time in the pineries of Wisconsin, afterward 
settling on a farm in Green county. There 
he married Eliza N. Broadbent, a native of 
Goole, Yorkshire, England, daughter of 
Samuel and Alice Broadbent, who had two 
children: Sarah and Eliza N. Mrs. Eliza 
N. Garland's parents came to America when 
she was fourteen years of age. Her father 
was a baker by trade, but afterward devoted 
his time to agricultural pursuits in Green 
county. Wis., where he died in 1859. Mrs. 
Broadbent was later united in marriage with 
J. F. Eggleston, removing shortly afterward 
to Nebraska, where Mr. Eggleston died, his 
widow still residing there. Joseph C. Gar- 
land's family consisted of four children; 
F. S., Ida Maria, Alice Lucinda and Frank J. 
He spent his life as a lumberman, cutting 
the timber and rafting the logs down the 
river. He resided in and near Wausau, 
Wis., for twenty-five years, and died Janu- 
ary 21, 1893. The grandfather of the sub- 



48 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ject of our sketch, Hiram Garland, was a 
soldier in the war of 1812. He married a 
Lucinda Smith, who had six children, viz. : 
Franklin, Dudley, Ann, Angeline, Joseph C, 
and Winslow, the youngest, who was killed 
at the battle of Antietam, in September, 
1862. Hiram Garland was a farmer by oc- 
cupation. The grandparents both died in 
New Hampshire. 

The early life of Frederick S. Garland, 
the gentleman introduced at the commence- 
ment of this sketch, was spent in Wausau, 
■where he received his education and assisted 
his father in his business. At the age of 
twenty-one he entered into partnership with 
him in the wholesale lumber business, and 
since the latter's death has carried on the 
business himself, being an extensive dealer 
in lumber, piles, railroad ties, etc. Mr. 
Garland was married, in the fall of 1887, to 
Olive Goff, of Marathon county. Wis. , 
daughter of Benedict N. and Mary (Harris) 
Goff, who had eight children, viz. : Charles 
N., Daniel J., Mary M., Asa A., Oliver O., 
Laura L. , Olive and Albertine. Mr. Goff 
was born in Steuben county, N. Y., in 1830; 
his father and two brothers came from Eng- 
land. Mrs. Goff was born in Detroit, Mich., 
in I 840, of German descent. Mr. and Mrs. 
Garland have two children, viz.: Ruble V., 
born in November, 18S8, and Guy N., born 
in March, 1891. In politics Mr. Garland is 
a stanch Democrat, and takes a deep inter- 
est in public affairs, but is no office-seeker. 
He holds the position of supervisor of his 
ward, and by an upright life has won the 
respect of the entire community. 



HKLOSTERMAN, one of the repre- 
sentative prosperous citizens of Sha- 
wano county, agricultiirist, dealer in 
real estate, and capitalist, is a native 
of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Germany, 
born April 20, 1832. He is the eldest in 
the family of three sons and three daugh- 
ters born to Gerhard H. Klosterman, a tailor 
by trade in Oldenburg, where he passed all 
his days. 

Our subject received a somevvnat lim- 
ited common-school training in his native 
land, and was offered free education for the 



ministry, but declined. But what he may 
not have learned at school, where he was a 
quick and apt scholar, he made up for by 
home study and a close observation of men 
and things, and he also commenced earning 
money at a very early age, for at about the 
age of ten we find him herding cattle and 
sheep, receiving, it is true, very small 
wages. In his youth he displayed a pen- 
chant for carpentry, and, learning the trade, 
followed it till 1855, in which jear, in com- 
pany with his uncle, Edwin Wilke (his 
mother's brother), who kindly furnished him 
with the means, he came to the United 
States, the voyage being made on the sail- 
ing vessel '• Nelson" from Bremen for New 
York, the voyage occupying seven weeks, 
three days. From the latter cit\' the jour- 
ney was made by rail to Buffalo, thence by 
lake to Sheboygan, Wis., where our subject 
secured work among the farmers, the first 
money he earned in the United States be- 
ing at chopping cordwood, an " art " he was 
taught by a woman. Here he remained 
until early in the spring of 1857, when he 
moved to near Two Rivers, where his uncle 
lived, for whom he now worked, in order to 
repay him the price of his passage from 
Germany. Subsequently he worked for 
other farmers, and later in a sawmill and 
gristmill at or in the vicinity of Two Riv- 
ers, for three years, at the end of which 
time he went to Racine, Wis., and on the 
prairie near that cit)- worked as a farm hand, 
in the fall of the same year going into the 
lumber woods. 

In his somewhat varied experience Mr. 
Klosterman traveled considerably over the 
State of Wisconsin, and at one time while 
at Mayville, Dodge county, he bargained 
with Charles Rudebusch to drive some cat- 
tle from there to Shawano, at which latter 
place, then a mere hamlet of a few shanties, 
he in the fall of i860 found work in the 
lumber woods. In the following spring he 
married, an event that will be spoken of 
further on, and he and his young wife com- 
menced keeping house in a log building that 
stood near the present outskirts of the city; 
and even this humble home he did not own, 
for he bought on credit. He also bought a 
team of oxen and a couple of cows, and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



49 



with these oxen he went jobbing; but an 
unfortunate accident happened to him which 
f^ave to his now rising prospects a cruel set- 
back. One day, in the spring of t86i, 
while he was engaged at plowing his lot with 
this same \'oke of oxen, making ready to 
put in his crops, the tree-stumps obtruding 
themselves pretty thickly around, the plow 
accidentally caught on one of them, which 
caused the team to give a sudden jerk, 
whereby the plow handle struck Mr. Klos- 
terman a violent blow close by the knee of 
the left leg. This produced a fever sore, 
later a stiff limb with a running sore which 
left him helpless for a whole year. He had 
just been married, and his small pile of sav- 
ings was soon reduced to a minimum, ren- 
dering his condition, physically and finan- 
cially, anything but encouraging. He was 
helpless as far as manual labor was con- 
cerned, and it became clear that his atten- 
tion must be given to something else totally 
different to what he had been accustomed 
to; so he undertook whatever kind of work 
his enfeebled condition would permit him to 
do. In consequence of his already injured 
limb having in December, 1889, received a 
further hurt by being severely cut with an 
axe while he was chopping woodat his home, 
he suffered so severely that the leg had to 
be amputated September 6, 1890. 

For a time Mr. Klosterman kept a small 
saloon and grocery in Shawano, after which 
he served as justice of the peace of the vil- 
lage three years, then as register of deeds 
four years, deputy clerk two years, and he 
was county judge of Shawano county six- 
teen years, the longest term held by any in- 
cumbent in that office. In February, 1894, 
he became a member of the firm of An- 
drews & Klosterman, who conduct a general 
store in ShawE.no. 

On April 20, 1861, Mr. Klosterman was 
married in Shawano to Miss Ernstein Fink, 
a native of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Ger- 
many, born December 21, 1843, and to this 
union have been born children as follows: 
Louise, born January 18, 1862, died Sep- 
tember 17, 1862, and George H., born June 
26, 1869, living at home with his parents. 
In his political preferences our subject has 
been a Republican ever since Lincoln's first 



term, though his first vote was cast at Two 
Rivers for James Buchanan. In addition to 
his other interests which keep him busy he 
is vice-president of the Shawano County 
Bank, and deals extensively in real estate, 
owning at the present time between 600 and 
800 acres, chiefly timber land. He is in all 
respects a public-spirited citizen, of that 
stamen which is recognized as the bone and 
sinew of any new country and community. 



JOSEPH HOMIER, a private banker 
and a leading merchant of Mosinee, 
Marathon county, is not only one of 
the most prominent business men in 
that county, but his influence is much 
broader, and he is well-known throughout 
the entire State of Wisconsin. His train- 
ing has been that of a business man, both in 
early education and in the various vocations 
which he has pursued in life. All seemed 
directly or indirectly to be important in fit- 
ting him for the indispensible and all-im- 
portant field in which he has now for many 
years been engaged. 

Mr. Homier was born in Montreal, Can- 
ada, December 7, 1829, and is the son of 
Joseph and Margaret (Desnoier) Homier, 
both of whom were also natives of Canada. 
The father, who by occupation was a mer- 
chant tailor in Montreal, Canada, bestowed 
upon his son Joseph a course in an English 
Business College in that city. Later the 
young man studied French for tvvo years un- 
der a private teacher. After completing 
these studies, he was engaged for a year as 
salesman in a dry-goods store at Montreal, 
and for six months as salesman in a jewelry 
store. He was not yet sixteen years old 
when he left Canada for New York City, 
and after a year's residence in that city he 
went to New Orleans, where he enlisted in 
the quartermaster's department of the United 
States army, and served some seven months, 
or until the close of the Mexican war. Up- 
on his discharge Mr. Homier returned tcj 
New Orleans, and thence proceeded to Buf- 
falo, where for six years he was engaged in 
the hotel business with his father. Joining 
the strong tide of emigration which was 
then flowing to Wisconsin via Buffalo, Mr. 



5° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAVHICAL RECORD. 



Homier in 1852 moved to Sheboygan, and 
there opened a hotel which he conducted 
two years. That closed his experience as 
a hotel proprietor. He had become ac- 
quainted with the pioneer country, and the 
mercantile business seemed to offer tempt- 
ing possibilities. Accordingly, in 1854, Mr. 
Homier removed to Grand Rapids, Wis., 
and there opened a general merchandise 
business. Its success may be judged from 
the fact that he continued in the trade in 
that city some twenty years. In 1874, he 
removed his business to Wausau, and con- 
tinued in mercantile trade there for six 
years. Then, in 1880, he came to Mosinee, 
and in addition to general merchandising 
engaged in banking and lumbering. His 
business during the past fifteen years has 
grown to large proportions, and to-day Mr. 
Homier ranks among the most prominent 
business men of northern Wisconsin. 

In 1854 he was married, at Buffalo, 
N. Y., to Miss Caroline Martin, a native of 
the Province of Quebec; Mr. and Mrs. 
Homier have adopted five children, two of 
whom survive, Daisy Martin, wife of Frank 
McReynolds, bookkeeper for the Joseph 
Dessert Lumber Co. for the past sixteen 
years, and Hattie Martin, at home. Mr. 
and Mrs. Homier attend the Roman Cath- 
olic Church; in politics he is a Democrat. 



BALSER WILLIAMS, formerly a 
successful business man of Wausau, 
and now leading a retired life, was 
born in Prussia, Germany, June 3, 
1835, son of Anton and Caroline (Low) 
Williams, both of whom lived and died in 
the Fatherland. 

In his boyhood Balser attended the pub- 
lic schools, but he early evinced a liking for 
outdoor pursuits, and when his school-days 
were past he followed farming and stage 
driving until he attained his majority, when, 
in the year 1853, he emigrated to America. 
For nearly a year he lived at Reading, Penn. , 
finding employment in the iron mines near 
that city, and in August, 1854, came to 
Wausau, where he has ever since remained, 
a valuable and prominent citizen. Like 
many of the pioneers to this region Mr. 



Williams first engaged in lumbering and in 
rafting on the Wisconsin river. He was 
thus engaged nine years, and in 1866, he 
began a lumbering business of his own, fol- 
lowing it successfully for five years. Mr. 
Williams then gave his attention to real 
estate, in which he was engaged continuously 
until June, 1894, save two years when he 
conducted a liver}' business. He has pros- 
pered, and at the expiration of a forty-years" 
career he is well entitled to a surcease from 
active life. 

Mr. \\^illiams has been twice married. 
His first wife was Miss Katrina Kuhl. a na- 
tive of Germany, whom he married in Col- 
umbia count}-, W^is., and by whom there 
were three children: Charles A.; Margaret, 
wife of Henr}' Wolslegel, who died June 22, 
1886; and Mary, deceased in infanc}'. Mrs. 
W^illiams died April 16, 1862, and on July 
17, 1864, Mr. Williams was again united 
in marriage, this time to Miss Amelia Pes- 
sert, a native of Germany. Their two 
children are Caroline, wife of Jacob F. 
Emter, and Albert, a resident of \Vausau. Mr. 
Williams and family are members of St. 
Paul's Evangelical Church. In politics he 
is Democratic. He is a member of the A. 
O. U. W., and has twice, in 1878 and in 
1884, represented the First ward as alder- 
man in the common council. 



ANDREW WILLIAMS, sheriff of 
Waupaca county, has been identi- 
fied with its many interests all his 
life. He was born in the town of 
Scandinavia, Waupaca Co. , Wis. , August 
4, 1853, the son of Ora Wilhelm and Anna 
(Anderson) Boggton. The father was a 
Norwegian of liberal education and many 
accomplishments, the eldest of a family, 
which owned in the native land a large es- 
state, six miles square. He had two broth- 
ers and four sisters. In 1848 the father 
sold his interests in Norway, and with his 
wife and two children — Anna and Betsey — 
emigrated to America, coming to Wiscon- 
sin. For one year he resided at Milwaukee, 
then, in 1849, he settled on the farm in 
Waupaca county, where he still resides, 
and became one of the first settlers in Scan- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



51 



dinavia township. Eight other children 
were born in this country: Annie Betsey, 
WiUiani, Andrew, Dena, Bie, Edward, Louis 
and Anton. 

Our subject grew to manhood amidst 
the surroundings of this pioneer home, at- 
tending school during the winters, and by 
his unremitting labors helping to clear and 
cultivate his father's broad acres. But at 
the age of seventeen an opportunity pre- 
sented itself for his material advancement, 
and he was not slow to grasp it. The rail- 
road was pushing itself westward and north- 
ward, calling out for its construction the worl; 
of many hands. Andrew secured a position 
as foreman of the grading, and in that capac- 
ity followed road-building for two years. In 
1872 he went to Fort Howard, and learned 
the trade of machinist and blacksmith. He 
quickly turned his new acquisition to ac- 
count by opening and operating a machine 
shop at High Forest, Minn., with his brother 
as partner, the firm also handling farm ma- 
chinery. Mr. Williams remained in Minne- 
sota from 1S75 to 1882, sper.dinghis winters, 
however, at home at Waupaca. In 1883 he 
was married at Rochester, Minn. , to Mary M. 
King, a native of Illinois, and daughter of 
Ira and Harriet (Bradshaw) King. The 
father was born in Pennsylvania, and was 
of German descent. The mother was a 
native of New York. Mr. King had re- 
moved to Illinois with his wife and two 
daughters, Lizzie and Mary M., and here he 
enlisted in the army, and gave up his life in 
the Federal cause. After marriage Mr. 
Williams devoted himself extensively to 
farming. He settled on the home farm, 
leased another large tract of land, and con- 
ducted the two farms jointly. 

Mr. Williams' prominent official life in 
the county begins with his appointment as 
deputy sheriff and jailer in 1887. He served 
in that capacity two years, and was then 
elected sheriff, assuming the office January 
I, 1889. Two years later his brother Ed- 
ward was elected sheriff, and Andrew was 
again appointed deputy sheriff. In 1892 
the subject of this sketch was again honored 
with the office by his fellow citizens. His 
official life has been filled with stirring inci- 
dents, which brought out the sterling traits 



of his character. He has been relentless in 
running down criminals, and in consequence 
of the signal detective ability which he has 
displayed, he has done incalculable good for 
good government in Waupaca county. Many 
times has his life been threatened, and many 
inducements have been offered him to per- 
mit the guilty to escape; but Mr. Williams 
has marked out for himself one plain course 
of duty and faithfulness, and he never 
swerved therefrom. He made three trips 
to the Pacific coast for criminals, and two to 
the Atlantic coast. His terms of office have 
been marked by the trials of many cele- 
brated criminal cases, notably the Meade 
murder trial, and Mr. Williams won great 
praise for the able manner in which he ad- 
ministered the criminal affairs of the county. 
Mr. Williams is well known throughout 
the State. He is attached to the Repub- 
lican cause, and prominent in the party 
councils. He is interested especially in the 
welfare of his home county, and is an alder- 
man of Waupaca city. His society affilia- 
tions are with the Masons and Knights of 
Pythias. He has a beautiful home of 200 
acres adjoining the city of Waupaca, where 
he resides with his wife and children, Anna 
Belle, Robert E. , Andrew Lynde and Esther. 
Besides looking after general farming he is 
widely known as a breeder of fine sheep and 
other high-grade stock. He is a member of 
the Lutheran Church. His successful and 
useful life is the result of his own exertions 
and energies, and in every sense of the word 
Mr. Williams is a self-made man. 



LC. BOLD, the honored mayor of 
Shawano, and editor and manager of 
t\\Q Shmvano County WocJtciiblatt, is 
a native of Hessen-Nassau, Ger- 
many, born June 10, 1848, and a son of 
Christopher Bold, a highly-educated man, 
who was born January 7, 1824. He was 
instructed in some of the best educational 
institutions of Germany, won a high reputa- 
tion as a teacher, and was employed at sev- 
eral schools of the Province Hessen-Nassau. 
His death, which occurred August 7, 1894, 
was the cause of an extended obituary in 
the educational paper issued by the institu- 



52 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tion where he had given such excellent serv- 
ice for so many j'ears, winning a reputation 
that was far more than local. His family 
numbered six children — two sons and four 
daughters. 

Our subject attended the public schools 
until ten years of age, and then entered col- 
lege at Cassel; after which he pursued his 
studies. He acquired an excellent educa- 
tion, and then resolved to cross the Atlantic 
to America, which he believed offered a bet- 
ter field to ambitious young men than was 
afforded in his native country. In the sum- 
mer of 1868, at Bremen, he embarked on the 
vessel "Herrmann," which, after thirteen 
days, reached the harbor of New^ York. He 
remained for some time in the East, and in 
1872 was made a citizen of the United 
States in Jersey City, N. J. Soon after his 
arrival he entered a drug store, and con- 
tinued in that line of business for some time. 

In 1869 Mr. Bold was married in New 
York to Miss Babetta Lieb, a native of 
German}-, and to them were born three chil- 
dren: Paul, who was drowned in 1880; 
Charles F. , one of the prominent young 
men of Shawano, now employed in his 
father's newspaper office; and Louis, who is 
also connected with journalistic work. In 
November, 1884, Mr. Bold came to 
Shawano. At that time the Skaivaiio 
County Democrat was in the hands of 
the sheriff, the former proprietors having 
failed to make it a profitable investment. 
A company was formed, consisting of Au- 
gust Koepper, president; Ed Somers, sec- 
retarj-; and L. C. Bold, editor and mana- 
ger. The paper was changed to its present 
name, and the first copy appeared January 
15, 1885. In October, 1888, the company 
was incorporated as the Shawano Printing 
Association, and Mr. Bold is now president 
and secretary as well as editor and manager. 
The circulation has been greatly increased, 
Mr. Bold having successfully managed the 
enterprise, until the paper is now one of the 
leading German publications in northern 
Wisconsin. It is well-edited, and is a very 
readable sheet. The equipment of the office 
is by far the most modern in Shawano, hav- 
ing a cylinder press and other machinery for 
first-class work, driven by steam power. 



In politics Mr. Bold has always been a 
Democrat, but at local elections does not 
closely draw the party lines, preferring to 
support the man whom he thinks best quali- 
fied for office, regardless of his political com- 
plexion. In the spring of 1895 he was 
elected mayor of Shawano on the Citizen's 
ticket, defeating James Black by 59 majori- 
ty. From 1888 until 1890 he was justice of 
the peace; in 1891 was supervisor of the Sec- 
ond ward of the city of Shawano; in 1893 
was chairman of the county board of super- 
visors; and in 1894 was again appointed 
justice of the peace, serving until the spring 
of 1895 with the same fidelit}- that has 
marked his official career in its various ca- 
pacities. Socially Mr. Bold is a member of 
Neptune Lodge, No. 46, I. O. O. F., and 
has been delegate to two grand lodges. He 
is a member of the Germania Society of Mil- 
waukee, and organized Enterprise Encamp- 
ment I. O. O. F. He is one of the leading 
men of the city, prominently identified with 
its public interests, a man who faithfully does 
his dut}- to himself, to his neighbor, and to 
his country. His public and private career 
are alike above reproach, and all who know 
him respect him. 



JOHN H. COFFMAN, one of the most 
prominent citizens of the village of 
Marion, Waupaca county, where he 
owns a handsome home and a well- 
cultivated farm adjoining, is a retired rail- 
road man. For many jears he was connect- 
ed with several of the best western railroads, 
and when, as an official of the Milwaukee, 
Lake Shore & Western railroad, which was 
built through the rich virgin lands of northern 
Wisconsin, he saw the possible development 
of that region, he forthwith acquired a well- 
selected farm, and upon his retirement from 
active railroad life identified himself with the 
interests of the Upper Wisconsin \'alley. 

Mr. Coffman was born in Edgar county, 
111., September i, 1838, son of \\'illiam and 
Lydia (Akard) Coffman, natives of \'irginia, 
who at a very early day migrated by team 
to Edgar county, 111., and settled upon wild 
land in Grandview township. Mr. Coffman 
improved the land, devoted it to fruit cul- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



53^ 



ture, and made it his home for Hfe. He died 
from injuries caused by his being accident- 
ally run into by a railroad engine while 
walking on the track. His excellent wife 
preceded him to the grave, dying November 
5, 1 87 1. They reared a family of twelve 
children, as follows: James, a resident of 
Kansas, 111. ; Joseph, his twin brother, a 
resident of Dudley, 111. ; Susan, wife of 
Lindsay Welch, of Edgar county, 111. ; 
Jerome, a resident of Arkansas; John H. ; 
Caroline, wife of John Welch, of Evanston, 
111. ; Daniel, who occupies the old home- 
stead in Edgar county. 111. ; George, a depu- 
ty sheriff at Chicago, 111. ; Mary, now Airs. 
Ratz, of Kansas; Frank, of Arkansas; Belle, 
wife of Rev. Schuman, a M. E. minister, 
now of Kansas; and America, wife of Will- 
iam Low, of Paris, Illinois. 

Our subject was reared on the farm and 
educated in the schools of Grandview town- 
ship, and at the academy at Paris, 111. He 
enlisted at Paris June 14, 1862, in Company 
G, Seventieth 111. V. I., for three months, 
serving at Camp Butler and at Alton, 111., 
in guarding prisoners until mustered out in 
October, 1862. Returning to Edgar coun- 
ty, he sold histories of the war until 1865, 
when he entered the service of the Chicago 
& Alton road as a conductor. Remaining 
in that capacity six years on the C. & A. , he 
in 1 87 1 assisted in the construction of the 
Indiana, Bloomington & Western railroad, 
running the construction train between Pe- 
oria and Danville. The following year he 
accepted a run on the Chicago and North 
Western road, with headquarters at Clinton, 
Iowa. In 1877 he came to Wisconsin, run- 
ning as conductor on the Oconto branch, and 
on the Marshfield and Southern divisions. 
He was with the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & 
Western when the Northern division was built 
through to Ashland, and the station Marion 
— ^where he now lives — was by Manager 
Reed named after Mrs. Coffman's sister, 
Mary, who was Mrs. James Churchill. She 
was the first white woman to come to that 
section of the country. Mary Churchill died 
July 7, 1862. Mrs. Coffman was the first 
white woman to ride over the road from 
Clintonville to Sheboygan, a distance of 105 
miles. After serving for seven years as con- 



ductor, Mr. Coffman was, in 1884, promot- 
ed to the official title of roadmaster between 
Oshkosh and Milwaukee, a position which 
he filled until 1893. Since then he has en- 
gaged in farming. 

Mr. Coffman was married, in 1865, to 
Miss Sarah A. Warnick, a native of Canada, 
daughter of John C. and Ellen (Johnson) 
Warnick, the former a native of New York, 
the latter of Canada. John C. Warnick 
was a farmer, and in 185 1 moved from 
Canada to Grant township, Shawano Co. , 
Wis., and opened up a farm, the nearest 
market then being New London. Mr. War- 
nick died February 3, 1882, his wife Janu- 
ary 20, 1885. They reared a family of 
twelve children, of whom we have record as 
follows: Charlotte, who died at Eau Claire, 
Wis., in July, 1891; Eliza, who died in 
Clinton, Iowa; Mary, who died in Shawano 
county. Wis. ; Elizabeth, who also died on 
the home place; John, who enlisted in the 
Twenty-first Wis. V. I., served three years, 
and died February 22, 1877, at Clinton, 
Iowa; Thomas, who enlisted in the Eighth 
Wis. V. C, served three years, and died in 
Madison, Wis., in 1865; Isabelle, of Osh- 
kosh; James, who enlisted in a Wisconsin 
infantry regiment, and now resides on a farm 
in Oconto county; Joseph, of Kaukauna, 
Wis., a fireman on the Chicago & North 
Western railroad; Sarah A., Mrs. Coffman; 
Susan Burslam. died February 22, 1883; 
and Archibald Warnick, now living in Ta- 
coma, Washington. 

Mr. Coffman in politics is a Democrat. 
Himself and wife are members of the M. E. 
Church, of which he is also a trustee. They 
cleared the land that now constitutes their 
pleasant and commodious home, and have 
noted the rapid development of the country 
that has followed the advent of the iron horse. 



EDWARD J. ROLLER (deceased) was 
born March 25, 1857, in Watertown, 
Dodge Co., Wis., a son of John and 
Anna (Johis) Roller, natives of Aus- 
tria, who were the parents of six children — 
Mary, Augusta, Edward J., John, Anna and 
Amelia. 

In 1853 the parents of our subject came 



54 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



to America and to Wisconsin, settling in 
Watertown, Jefferson county, where they 
remained some ten years, then removing to 
Richwood, Dodge county, where the father 
is yet Hving, all these years following his 
trade, that of blacksmith, in connection 
with farming. The mother died November 
20, 1 886. John Roller, paternal grandfather 
of Edward J., came to America from Austria 
with his children, and died in June, 1891, 
at the age of eighty-eight years; the grand- 
mother, now at the patriarchal age of ninety 
years, is at present living at the home of 
her son John; they had two children — John 
and Anna. 

The subject proper of this memoir was 
reared on the farm, assisting his father until 
he was twenty-two years of age, at which 
time he went to Minneapolis, where he com- 
menced the trade of cooper, which he car- 
ried on there some live years, and then sell- 
ing out in 1883 embarked in the saloon trade, 
continuing thereat in Minneapolis till 1887, 
in which year he came to Tomahawk, Lin- 
coln county, and opened out a general mer- 
cantile business, one of the first in that line 
to be commenced in the place. By strict 
attention to the wants of his customers, 
honest dealing and courteous deportment, 
he succeeded in building up a remunerative 
business and surrounding himself with hosts 
of friends, among whom he was a recog- 
nized leader. In addition to his mercantile 
business he was interested in other indus- 
tries, including logging and handling of wood, 
etc. , for he was one of the most active busi- 
ness men in northern Wisconsin. But death 
interrupted his busy life, he being called from 
earth January 1, 1893, in the heyday of his 
early manhood and zenith of his usefulness, 
deeply mourned by all who knew him. 

In June, 1885, Mr. Roller was married 
to Miss Josephine M. Cabott, daughter of 
Martin and Henrietta Cabott, who were the 
parents of si.\ children, to wit: Michael, 
Leopold, Julia, Amelia, Leonard and Jose- 
phine M. Martin Cabott, father of this 
family, was born near Berlin, Prussia, in 
182 1, learned the trade of carpenter, was 
married in Posen, Germany, in 1840, and 
came to America in 1855, taking up his resi- 
dence in Detroit, Mich., where he died in 



1855. His wife was born in Berlin, Prussia, 
in 1822, a daughter of Judge John Van Zoe- 
bol, a man of considerable prominence in 
that city, who had a family of seven sons 
and five daughters. After the death of her 
husband Mrs. Henrietta Cabott moved from 
Detroit to Watertown, Wis., and was there 
married to a Mr. Howard, by whom she had 
five children, named respectively, Theodore, 
Albert, Rosa, Ferdinand and Henry. Mr. 
Howard died in the fall of 1893, but Mrs. 
Howard is yet living. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Roller were 
born two children — Julian A. . and George E. , 
who died in infancy. In National and State 
politics Mr. Roller was a Democrat, but in 
local affairs he invariably cast his ballot for 
the candidate he considered best suited for 
the position, regardless of party ties. He 
served as deputy sheriff two years, and con- 
stable four years, filling both offices with 
eminent satisfaction.. The entire family (as 
was also Mr. Roller himself) are consistent 
members of the Catholic Church, and enjoy 
the highest esteem and regard of the com- 
munity at large. 



ALBION F. LOMBARD. If the new 
and vigorous little settlement at Ar- 
nott, Stockton township. Portage 
county, ever grows to goodly pro- 
portions, its start on the road to prosperity 
will have been given it by A. F. Lombard. 
If the village does not so thrive, it will be 
because Mr. Lombard's efforts in its behalf 
are not seconded. In other words the sub- 
ject of this sketch is a public-spirited citizen, 
zealous in advancing the interests of the 
community in which he lives, and thor- 
oughly alive to the possibilities that might 
follow wise co-operation. 

Mr. Lombard is the son of an early 
pioneer. The family of Lombards in this 
country have descended from three brothers 
who many generations ago came to the 
United States from the Island of Corsica, 
and settled at Scituate, a small fishing town 
on the coast of Massachusetts. Albion F. 
was born at Readfield, Kennebec Co., 
Maine, October 7, 1842. His father, James 
Lombard, was born at Gorham, Maine, De- 




LA, (^T^^^S^^^^z^-t^^^/i-*^ 



COMMBMOBATIVB BIOGRAPHICAL BBCORD. 



55 



cember 2, 1796, and the grandfather and 
great-grandfather were Hkewise both named 
James. The father (James) was reared at 
Gorham, and there apprenticed to a saddler 
and harness-maker by his stepfather. James 
Lombard opened a shop at Readfield, 
Maine, where, September 7, 18 17, he mar- 
ried Isabella Currier, born August 31, 1799, 
at Readfield, daughter of Samuel Currier, 
the leading phj-sician of that village, whose 
practice years afterward fell to his son 
George. James Lombard's health was fail- 
ing at his trade, and he took up the study of 
medicine, preparing himself by a course at 
Bowdoin College. Practicing successfully 
at Readfield, Gorham, and Saccarappa, a 
suburb of Portland, Maine, Dr. Lombard in 
May, 1851, started with his family for Wis- 
consin. Coming by rail from Saccarappa 
to Buffalo, and by the lakes on the old 
"Wisconsin" from Buffalo to Sheboygan, 
they drove by team to Plover, where a son, 
Lewis, had preceded them. Dr. Lombard 
was a poor man, and sought a home away 
from the city where he might rear his large 
family. His children were James, Charles, 
Isabel, George, Lewis, Leonidas, Halbert, 
Orlando, Washington, Horace, Emily, 
Albion F. and Emma. Of these, George 
fa farmer of Stockton), Lewis (a farmer of 
Lanark township), Albion F. and Enmia 
(now Mrs. Sydney Stevens, of Livingston, 
Mont.), are the only survivors. His first 
settlement was in Section 32, Stockton 
township, where Lewis had pre-empted 160 
acres before the land was on sale, not re- 
ceiving his patent until 1858. Dr. Lombard 
died on that farm in 1858, from the effects 
of a long-standing complaint. He was 
buried in a private cemetery on the farm, 
which in 1891 became public, and is known 
as "Lombard Cemetery." Dr. Lombard 
was an intelligent, well-read man, far above 
the average of the early settlers. In politics 
he was a stanch Democrat. By the terms of 
the will the property was left to Albion F. 
and James, they to provide for the widowed 
mother, who survived until April 21, 1881, 
and was buried by the side of her husband. 
Albion F. Lombard attended the Maine 
schools diligently till the journey west. 
For several years there were no schools in 



Stockton, but in the winters of i860, 1861 
and 1862 he attended terms on "The 
Prairie," under that old-time instructor, 
James Walker. After his father's death 
he took charge of his half of the farm. In 
1863 many boy friends and acquaintances 
were enlisting in the army, and Albion F. 
was seized with a desire to become a sol- 
dier. He had about concluded to join the 
Seventh Wis. V. I., then stationed at 
Arlington Heights, in which an intimate 
friend, Michael Shortell, later killed on the 
Rappahannock river, had enlisted, when his 
brother Horace returned from service and 
pleaded with him not to volunteer. It took 
the united efforts of the family a long time 
to keep the boy out of service. He must go 
somewhere, however, for the spirit of ad- 
venture was in his veins. In the lumber 
country, along the Big Eau Plaine river, he 
became cook for the crew of a big raft of 
lumber and shingles bound for the South. 
Starting March 25, 1863, the first division 
of the raft collided at Clint's dam, and one 
of the crew perished, others narrowly 
escaping. The second division, containing 
Mr. Lombard, passed in safety. At Rock 
Island, 111., the raft struck one of the bridge 
piers in the Mississippi river, and was con- 
siderably damaged; but by the aid of tug 
boats repairs were made, and the one million 
feet of choice lumber loaded with shingles, 
which the raft contained, reached Quincy, 
and the lumber was sold for $18 per thou- 
sand feet. 

Receiving his pay, the young man started 
for Pike's Peak. Crossing the bridgeless 
Mississippi in a skifT, he reached St. Joe by 
rail, and staged it to Omaha. Impatiently 
waiting for a train to cross the Plains, he 
hired out to drive a team of four mules, 
hauling corn to Fort Laramie, Wyo., at 
forty dollars per month. He had to shell the 
corn himself, and started several days later. 
The wagon boss was brutal and insulting, 
and after several clashes Mr. Lombard left 
him, at Julesburg, Keb., obtaining his pay 
only after threats to sue. He had met trains 
bound for Denver at Ft. Kearney, and, join- 
ing one of them, paid his passage by work. 
Proceeding by stage to Mountain City, near 
Central City, Colo., where he expected to 



56 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



find his brother, Washington, he learned 
the latter had left for Idaho. Albion secured 
work as a laborer at a stamp mill, at $2.50 
per day; then worked in a mine at $3 per 
day, and later at the Gregory Lode at $3.50 
per day. His brother Horace joined him 
in the spring of 1865, and they worked as 
carpenters for a time, when Albion became 
foreman in a mine at California Gulch, 
Colo., at $3 per day in gold. Returning 
to Black Hawk, he, with the brother 
took a wagon train for Omaha. Here for a 
short time he worked for the Union Pacific 
Railway Co. , and, work becoming scarce, 
hired out in the spring of 1866 as a laborer 
in the construction of the Union Pacific 
road at Columbus, Neb., 100 miles west of 
Omaha. One month of this work was 
enough, and returning to Omaha he drove 
wagon to Denver, and mined during the 
summer. Back to Omaha he went again in 
the fall to find his brother Horace doing 
contracting work, and hired out to him as a 
carpenter, being a great help to him in 
time of misfortune. During the winter of 
1866-67 he hauled wheat to a mill twenty 
miles up the river from Omaha for Edward 
Creighton, afterward a multi-millionaire. 

Hiring out on bridge construction for the 
Union Pacific road in the spring of 1867, 
Mr. Lombard learned on reaching his desti- 
nation that "no hands were needed." A 
company of soldiers passing <■// route to 
Cheyenne, where barracks were to be erect- 
ed, he hired out to Col. Carlin for $100 per 
month. Six weeks later, because a comrade 
was discharged, he quit, too, and did job work 
at Cheyenne for$io per day. By fall he had 
saved several hundred dollars, and he re- 
turned to Wisconsin, where he spent the 
winter. Returning to Omaha in the spring, 
he was actively engaged in bridge and trestle 
building for the Union Pacific road as far 
west as Corinne, Utah. He witnessed the 
celebrated ceremonies attending the com- 
pletion of the road, June 9, 1869, and soon 
after, learning of the death of his brother 
James, he returned to Stockton township, 
Portage Co., Wis., and took charge of the 
farm. He also engaged in the sale of agri- 
cultural implements and farm machinery. 
In 1890 he sold the "home farm," and 



erected several buildings at Arnott Station, 
doing much to establish and improve busi- 
ness at that point. There he erected the 
first potato warehouse, a building 40 x 60 
feet, leasing it to Mr. Carley, who afterward 
bought it. He also sold other buildings, 
and thus diversified the interests at the lit- 
tle station. His business in implements and 
farm machiner}^ grew so rapidly that in 1893 
he built a large warehouse, and he has since 
added a select line of hardware. His pres- 
ent stock would be a credit to a larger town. 
On April 22, 1895, he met with a heavy 
loss by fire, amounting to some $3,500, on 
which he had an insurance of only $1,100; 
but in no ways discouraged, he has rebuilt, 
and has now an even finer place of business 
than was his old one. 

In politics Mr. Lombard is independent, 
and votes for the best man. He is well- 
informed on matters of general interest, and 
is widely known. He possesses the full con- 
fidence and friendship of his wide circle of 
acquaintances, and a more popular and 
genial man it would be difficult to find. 
Sufficiently provided with worldlj' goods to 
make labor unnecessary, he enjoys life by 
building up the interests of the locality in 
which he lives. 



REV. JOHN EISEN, pastor of St. 
John's Church of Marshfield, was 
born in the village of Weisendorf, 
Bavaria, Germany, April 22, 1856, 
and is a son of John Eisen, who was born in 
the same locality in 181 2. He married 
Margaret Bessler, who was born in Bavaria 
in 1818, and they became the parents of 
three children: Barbara, Michael and John, 
but the last named is the only one of the 
family that ever came to America. The sis- 
ter, Mrs. Stoehr, died in 1881. The father 
was called to the home beyond in 1865, and 
the mother, who survived him some years, 
passed away in 1 888. 

Father Eisen acquired his primary edu- 
cation in the public schools of his native 
land, which he attended until thirteen years 
of age, when he entered college in the city 
of Bamberg, there pursuing his studies until 
1878. In that year he entered the Univer- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



57 



sity of Louvain in Belgium, and in 1882 was 
ordained a priest at Luxemburg. His entire 
life has been devoted to the work of the 
ministry, and in his clerical calling he came 
to America in March, 1883, being first sta- 
tioned at Chippewa Falls, where he served 
as assistant priest for four months. He was 
then appointed pastor of the church in Ells- 
worth, Wis. , over which he remained in 
charge for eight years and ten months. His 
residence in Marshfield dates from May, 
1892, at which time he was called to the 
pastorate of St. John's Church. 

His labors here have been untiring, and 
it was largely through his instrumentality 
that the fine brick edifice which is now used 
as their house of worship was erected. A 
school is also conducted in connection with 
the church, in which six teachers are em- 
ployed and 462 pupils are enrolled. Father 
Eisen has given himself to his work with an 
unselfish devotion that has brought good re- 
sults to the churches with which he has been 
connected. He is an indefatigable worker, 
earnest!}' striving to benefit his people, and 
he has their confidence and respect in an 
eminent degree. 



CHARLES A. GARDNER, a promi- 
nent merchant of Mosinee, Mara- 
thon county, and senior member of 
the firm of C. Gardner & Co., was 
born in Mosinee in November, 1857, a son 
of Henry B. and Ellen R. (Priest) Gardner, 
who were born in New York State. 

Henry B. Gardner came west about the 
year 1853, and at first locating in Minne- 
sota; but after a short residence there re- 
moved to Marathon county. Wis., and set- 
tled near Mosinee, being among the pioneers 
of that district. After coming to Marathon 
county he worked in the pineries and at lum- 
bering and logging, was for some years en- 
gaged in shingle manufacturing, and for 
several years conducted a hotel called the 
" Prairie House," about four miles north of 
Mosinee, on the Wausau and Stevens Point 
road. Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Gardner 
were the parents of three children, all of 
whom are living, namely: Charles A., the 
subject of this sketch; and George F. and 



Henry A., lumber manufacturers, their mill 
being situated about six miles from Mosinee. 
In 1863 Henry B. Gardner enlisted in the 
Thirty-eighth Wis. V. L, and was killed in 
battle. 

Charles A. Gardner was educated in the 
public schools of Mosinee, Marathon Co., 
Wis., then engaged in lumbering and agri- 
cultural pursuits until July, 1887. In May, 
1887, in Oshkosh, Winnebago Co., Wis., 
he was united in marriage with Miss Effie P. 
Locke, and one son, Raymond Locke, has 
been born to them. Mrs. Gardner is a 
daughter of Alfred and Pauline Locke, the 
former of whom resides in Oshkosh; the lat- 
ter died in 1893. In July, 1887, Mr. Gard- 
ner, in connection with his brothers George 
F. and Henry A., embarked in mercantile 
pursuits. In 1890 George F. and Henr}' A. 
retired from the business, and our subject 
formed a co-partnership with Louis Dessert 
and Frank McReynolds, under the present 
firm name of C. Gardner & Co. 

Politically, Mr. Gardner is a stanch Re- 
publican, and he served as president of the 
village of Mosinee one term; socially, he is 
a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America. He is a live, progressive business 
man, enjoys the esteem not only of the resi- 
dents of Mosinee, but of all who are ac- 
quainted with him, and his high character 
and genial qualities have made him generally 
popular. 



HENRY W. REMINGTON, one of 
the pioneer settlers and a most popu- 
lar resident of Babcock, Wood coun- 
ty, was born in Pittsfield, Lorain 
Co., Ohio, August 9, 1823. He is a son of 
Henry and Matilda (Williams) Remington, 
and was the first white child born in the 
town. His parents were New Englanders, 
his father being a descendant of the Turkey 
Hills Remingtons of Connecticut, while his 
mother came of the Williams family of 
Rhode Island. In 1822 the father removed 
from Berkshire county, Mass., to Ohio, leav- 
ing Washington Mountain, Mass. , in Jan- 
uary of that year, and traveling all the way 
on a sled drawn by oxen, the trip consuming 
forty days, and during the last six miles of 



58 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the journey they had to cut their way 
through the dense forests. They were the 
first family to settle in Pittsfield, Ohio. 
There the birth of our subject occurred the 
following year. 

When Henry W. was a child of four 
years he accompanied his parents on a visit 
to Massachusetts, and there for the first time 
saw how people lived in civilization. In 1837 
the father again thought it best to go West 
and removed to Steuben county, Ind., locat- 
ing in the midst of a wilderness. There he 
went through all the hardships and priva- 
tions that are known to frontier life, and for 
three years struggled to maintain his health 
against the fevers and agues that prevailed 
in that new country. At one time he nearly 
died when twenty miles from his home, 
where were his wife and three sons and three 
daughters, all sick and unaware of his con- 
dition. This determined him to retrace his 
steps and leave the far western frontier for 
a time, so in January, 1840, he returned to 
Lorain county, Ohio, and settled in the town 
of Amherst, where his death occurred in 
January, 1891, he having reached the ad- 
vanced age of ninety-five years. His wife 
passed away in 1882, at the age of eighty- 
three years. 

Henry W. Remington had accompanied 
his parents on their various removals in his 
youth. The Presidential election of 1840 
aroused him to action, and he attended all 
of the political meetings possible, and often 
made speeches to the audiences assembled. 
Although he knew but little about schools at 
that time, he was very familiar with the his- 
tory of his country and its great men. His 
leisure hours in the woods and in his cabin 
home were often spent in study, and his 
mother proved to him a good teacher. The 
year following he obtained permission to 
leave home and began teaching school, 
which he followed at intervals until twenty 
years of age, also attending school within 
that period. He also worked as an assist- 
ant in the county treasurer's office, and while 
thus employed he studied surveying. 

About this time his father became finan- 
cially embarrassed, and was so discouraged 
that he expressed himself as ready to give up 
the contest for his home, but Henry W. , 



then just of age, looked more upon the 
bright side of life and determined to aid his 
father in the difficulty. He had but little 
time to act, but at once bought goods which 
he began to sell as a peddler, traveling as 
far east as Newport, R. I., and as far west 
as Nauvoo, 111., during the succeeding four 
months. At the latter place Joe Smith, the 
prophet, and his brother had just been killed, 
and the Mormon war was in progress. At 
Carthage, 111., he was captured by the anti- 
Mormons, and held prisoner for a week as a 
Mormon sympathizer. Soon after he was 
captured by the Mormons and imprisoned by 
them for three weeks. He was a witness of 
the killing of the sheriff of Hancock county, 
saw most of the incidents of the war, and 
was in that locality when the settlement was 
made in which the Mormons agreed to leave 
the State. He improved his time while a 
prisoner in buying up the heaviest claims 
against his father, these being held by Mor- 
mons then in Nauvoo, and when he suc- 
ceeded in getting away he was master of the 
situation as far as his father's debts were 
concerned. He then went down the Missis- 
sippi and up the Ohio river to Cincinnati, 
thence across the State to his home, having 
in about six months time paid off all his 
father's debts, besides seeing considerable of 
the world and saving to the family their 
home. 

On his return, Mr. Remington again en- 
tered the treasurer's office, but after a few 
months purchased i 50 acres of timber land 
on credit, and began farming. The same 
year he was married he cleared and fenced 
fifty acres of his land, and sowed it in 
wheat. This property he afterward disposed 
of. He had gone security for friends, who 
could not pay him, and so he could not meet 
the payments upon his own property, and in 
consequence he sold out, paid his debts, and 
gave to his father-in-law the remainder of his 
capital, to pay for the board of his wife and 
child as long as it would last. W'ith indomi- 
table courage Mr. Remington entered the law 
office of Judge Humphriville, of Medina, 
Ohio, with whom he studied for two years, 
when he was admitted to the bar, having 
snpported himself in the meantime by car- 
penter work, by teaching school, and by try- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



59 



ing cases in justice courts. He had also 
made a trip to Chicago, 111., and Madison 
and Milwaukee, Wis., with a team and ped- 
dler's wagon, returning to his home from the 
last named place by vvay of the lakes. 

In October, 1848, having completed his 
law studies, Mr. Remington packed up his 
carpenter's tools, surveyor's outfit, and a few 
books he had obtained, together with his 
household goods and, accompanied by his 
wife and little girl, took a steamer at Cleve- 
land for Milwaukee, where he landed No- 
vember I, 1848, so ill that he had to be 
helped ashore. He had only a few dollars 
in his pocket, and knew no one in that place. 
The roads were then almost impassable, but 
as soon as he was able to sit up he hired a 
man owning a team and lumber wagon, and 
after twelve hours of travel they found them- 
selves only fourteen miles from Milwaukee. 
After six days they reached Madison, and 
there the little daughter, after a three-weeks' 
illness, passed away on her second birthday. 
In Madison, Mr. Remington's skill as a sur- 
veyor became known, and he was soon profit- 
ably employed, being appointed by Gov. 
Dewey to appraise school lands, which oc- 
cupied his time for one year. He also had 
letters of introduction to Judge Hubbell, 
then judge of the Madison and Milwaukee 
circuit court, which he presented, and was 
admitted to the bar. Shortly after he was 
established in a large and lucrative practice, 
and in the following year formed a partner- 
ship with Judge L. B. Vilas, father of U. S. 
Senator William F. Vilas, but after a few 
years, his sight and health failing him, he in 
a great degree turned his law business over 
to others, and engaged in the construction 
of the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien rail- 
road through to the Mississippi;aIso in improv- 
ing the streets of Madison, in constructing 
the Watertown & Madison railroad, and in 
building up the village of Black Earth. In 
1857, misfortune again overtook him. Dur- 
ing a long and severe attack of typhoid fe- 
ver his wife became insane. In the month 
of January she left him, and the care of 
their three young children devolved on him 
alone. Three days later a large amount of 
his property at Black Earth was destroyed 
by fire, shortly after a bank failed by which 



he lost $16,000, and by the collapse of the 
Watertown & Madison railroad he lost as 
much more, so that within a year the accu- 
mulations of many years of hardships and 
privations were all swept away. 

During all this time Mr. Remington was 
prominent in political matters, and succeed- 
ed in introducing into the Legislature resolu- 
tion for the closing of saloons on election 
days, for he believed that drunkenness 
caused much of the ill-feeling and trouble 
that occurred on those days. This resolu- 
tion resulted in the passage of the present law 
in regard to the closing of all liquor saloons 
at the time of elections, and this work has 
brought to him more satisfaction than he 
would have obtained had the highest polit- 
ical favors been bestowed upon him. He 
was nominated for district attorney in 1856, 
and after a hotly contested election was 
beaten by the saloon influence by sixteen 
votes, his opponent being Hon. M. H. Or- 
ton. He warmly advocates Democratic 
principles, but has really never cared for polit- 
ical preferment. 

In i860, Mr. Remington came to Wood 
county, and engaged in the lumbering busi- 
ness and the cultivation of cranberries, and 
was also instrumental in the building of the 
Valley railroad from Tomah to Wausau, 
Wis., and was vice-president of the com- 
pany. He has repeadily served as chairman 
of the town and county boards of supervis- 
ors, and has served one term in the State 
Legislature, and has been prominently con- 
nected with all public enterprises calculated 
to advance the general welfare. He has now 
partially retired from active business (spends 
some of his time writing for the Press on 
various subjects), and is living in the town of 
Remington, which was named in his honor. 

Mr. Remington was twice married, first 
wedding Betsy Wiling, by whom he had 
three children: Dora, wife of Eber Steile, 
of Amherst, Ohio; William H. ; and Amanda 
Ellen, wife of Adelbert Cleveland, of Rem- 
ington. In 1858, in Madison, Wis., he 
wedded Susan McGlyn, widow of Andrew 
Clavin, and they have a son, Henry, a con- 
ductor on the St. Paul & Duluth railroad, 
residing at St. Paul, Minn. Mr. Reming- 
ton is one of the oldest residents of Wood 



6o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



county, highly-esteemed for his keen intelli- 
gence and unswen-ing integrity, is recognized 
as a gentleman of unmistakable ability, and 
is respected throughout the county. 



HERMAN C. EICHE, mayor of Marsh- 
field, is one of the highly-esteemed 
and prominent citizensofWoodcoun- 
ty, and his unselfish devotion to pub- 
lic interests has won him the commendation 
of all concerned. He is numbered among 
Wisconsin's native sons, his birth having 
occurred in Meeme, Manitowoc county, 
February 8, 1856. He is descended from 
sterling German ancestry. 

His grandfather John Eiche, who was 
an officer under the Prussian government, 
was the father of two children — John B. and 
Nannie — the former of whom is the founder 
of the family in America. He was born in 
Prussia in 181 5, and in his younger years 
learned the cabinet maker's trade which he 
followed in the Fatherland until his emigra- 
tion. At the age of twenty-eight he crossed 
the Atlantic to America, and coming to 
■Wisconsin took up his residence in Mani- 
towoc county. Wis. In 1845 he was unit- 
ed in marriage with Catherine Walters, also 
a native of Prussia, who came to this coun- 
try with her three brothers: Fred, Herman 
and Joseph. They all settled in Meeme 
township, Manitowoc county, where they en- 
gaged in farming, though Herman subsequent- 
ly carried on a furniture store in Sheboygan, 
Wis., until his death. The parents of this 
family died in Prussia when Mrs. Eiche was 
only thirteen years of age. On coming to 
Wisconsin, John B. Eiche secured a farm, 
and he is yet living on the old homestead, 
having devoted his entire time and atten- 
tion to its improvement. Eight children 
were born of his marraige to Miss Walters, 
one of whom died in infancy, the others 
being George D., Leopold C., Herman, 
Mary, Anna, Nannie and Louisa. The 
mother passed away in 1 889. 

In taking up the personal history of Her- 
man C. Eiche, we present to our readers 
the life record of one who is widely and 
favorably known in Wood county — a self- 
made man, whose industrious efforts have 



brought him well-merited success. His 
earl^' years were quietly passed upon the 
home farm, while his education was acquired 
in the district school, to which he had to 
walk a distance of two and a half miles. At 
the age of sixteen he left home to fit himself 
for earning his living in some other way 
than farm labor, and began to learn the 
shoemaker's trade in Centerville, where he 
remained three years. He then learned the 
business of manufacturing cheese, and car- 
ried on a cheese factory for his father two 
years, when his father gave him the plant, 
and he operated it in his own interest one 
year. Selling out in 1879, he then removed 
to Sheboygan Falls, where he remained for 
a year, at the expiration of which time he 
purchased a saloon in Brillion, Wis., suc- 
cessfully conducting it for five years. In 
1887 he sold out that business, and has 
since been identified with Marshfield's inter- 
ests, building here, in the spring of 1888, a 
store-room, in which he began a retail 
business in wines and liquors, changing it, 
however, to a wholesale trade in 189 1. He 
manages his interests on strict business prin- 
ciples, and is always straightforward and 
honorable in his dealings. 

Mr. Eiche takes great delight in his 
home. In 1879 he married Lena Fester- 
ling, who was born in the town of Mosel, 
Sheboygan county, Wis. , a daughter of An- 
drew C. and Louisa Festerling, natives of 
Prussia, who came to America in 1847, set- 
tling on a farm in Sheboygan county. Their 
family numbered eight children as follows: 
Fred, Herman, Charles, Gustol, Menna, 
Augusta, Louisa and Lena. The mother 
died in 1890, but the father is still living. 
Four children have been given Mr. and 
Mrs. Eiche: Laura, Adelia, Reuben and 
Melvin. The principles of Democracy are 
advocated by Mr. Eiche, and he takes quite 
an active interest in political affairs. While 
residing in Brillion, Wis., he served for 
three years as school treasurer; for two 
terms has been alderman of Marshfield, and 
in 1 894 was elected its mayor, which posi- 
tion he is now creditably and acceptably 
filling. It is his earnest desire to advance 
the city's welfare, and promote all interests 
which will add to its improvement and up- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPBIOAL RECORD. 



6l 



building. Socially, he is connected with 
the I. O. O. F. and the Sons of Hermann, 
in which he has filled ail the offices. With 
no special advantages in his youth, he started 
out to fight life's battles unaided, and has 
won the victory over poverty and other diffi- 
culties, securing for himself a comfortable 
competence. 



SOLOMON TRUDEAU was born in 
Canada East (now the Province of 
Quebec) May 13, 183 1, son of 
Stephen and Constance Trudeau, 
who were born in Canada of French ances- 
try, and are now both deceased. They had 
born to them ten children, of whom six are 
still living, namely: Marie, wife of Oliver 
Vigeault, residing in the Province of Quebec, 
Canada; Eloise, a sister in the Providence 
Convent at Montreal, Canada; Solomon, 
the subject of this sketch; Malena, wife of 
Conzaque Berard; Domitile and Orostile, 
residing in the Province of Quebec, Canada. 
Solomon Trudeau was reared and edu- 
cated in Canada, and when twenty-four 
years of age came to the United States, 
locating in Wausau, Marathon Co., Wis., 
where he has been a continuous resident 
some forty years. He worked in the piner- 
ies, also at rafting lumber on the Wisconsin 
river, and as foreman in sawmills for about 
twenty-eight years, since which he has not 
been engaged in any active business. In 
1879 Solomon Trudeau was united in mar- 
riage with Malena, widow of Moses Turner, 
and daughter of the late John La Messurier. 
They have had no children by this marriage. 
Mr. Trudeau is one of the few men who 
came to Wausau at an early period of its 
history, and have lived to see it grow from 
an obscure logging camp and Indian village 
to a city of prosperity and note. He is a 
man of high character, much esteemed in 
the community in which he lives. 

Malena, second living daughter of John 
La Messurier, and wife of Solomon Tru- 
deau, was born in the Isle of Guernsey 
January 7, 1837, accompanied her parents 
to America, when but four years of age, has 
been a resident of Wausau for upward of 
fifty years, and has been married three 



times. Her first husband was Isaac Coul- 
thirst, to whom she was wedded at Pine 
River, Lincoln Co. , Wis. , and by him she 
had three children, two of whom are now 
living: Ellen Maria, wife of C. W. Nut- 
ter, of Wausau; and Mary Ann, wife of 
Richard Cosgrove, residing at Chippewa 
Falls, Wis. Mrs. Trudeau's second hus- 
band was Moses Turner, by whom she had 
four children, two of whom at present re- 
side in Wausau: Alice, wife of Frederick 
Burt, and Aarah M., wife of Albert Empey. 
In 1879 occurred her marriage to Solomon 
Trudeau, as already stated. John La Mes- 
surier, father of Mrs. Solomon Trudeau, 
and one of the very earliest settlers 
in Marathon county, was born in the 
Island of Guernsey, in the English Channel, 
February 2, 1799, where he was reared and 
educated. He was united in marriage in 
Guernsey with Elizabeth H. Allej', who was 
born at Newton-Bushel, England, June 7, 
1779, and to their union were born three 
children, who came with them to America, 
and two of whom are yet living, viz. : 
Malena, wife of Solomon Trudeau, and 
Priscilla, wife of Eli R. Chase, a promi- 
nent lawyer, formerly a resident of Wausau, 
but now of Contra Costa, Cal. Coming to 
this country in 1839, Mr. La Messurier lo- 
cated at Sauk Prairie, Wis., where he 
erected the first house, the first store, and 
the first blacksmith shop ever built in the 
upper town; he also owned and operated the 
first ferry at that point on the Wisconsin 
river. He removed to Wausau, Marathon 
county, in 1846, and was a constant and 
highly-esteemed resident of that city, taking 
an active part in matters pertaining to the 
welfare of the county and of his fellowmen. 
He continued to make Wausau his home 
until his death, which occurred April 20, 
1885. His faithful wife was the third white 
woman to locate in Marathon county. 

Priscilla, youngest living daughter of 
John La Messurier, was born in the Island 
of Guernsey May 11, 1839, came to Wau- 
sau, Wis., with her parents when nine 
years of age, and lived in Wausau, Mara- 
thon county, until 1873, since which date 
she has been a resident of Contra Costa, 
Cal. In June, 1858, she was united in mar- 



62 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



riage with Eli R. Chase, who was born in 
New York State, and was a prominent law- 
yer and resident of Wausau up to 1873. 
They had four children: Margaret Adelia, 
born at ^^'ausau where she died in infancy; 
John L. , who died at the age of thirty-one 
years, and Anna, deceased when fifteen 
(they were both born in Wausau, and both 
died in California), and Gertrude, born in 
California, and died at the age of nineteen 
years. 



HON. JAMES J. NELSON. The 
Kingdom of Norway, that cradle 
of the redoubtable and hardy Norse- 
men of old, the Vikings of history 
and poetry, who were wont to make the 
nations of the earth tremble with awe at 
their deeds of valor, daring and prowess, 
has given to America many of her most 
useful, enterprising, loyal and brave citi- 
zens. In them still lingers a strong leaven 
of the old Norse ardor, resolution and 
indomitable perseverance, as well as of that 
unquenchable spirit of adventure that im- 
pelled Norwegian navigators, with their 
white-winged ships, to seek out every 
quarter of the earth, some of whom left 
their footprints on the shores of this vast 
continent hundreds of years before either 
Cabot, or Cartier, or Columbus opened his 
eyes to the world. To be descended from 
such a noble race is a proud distinction, in- 
deed, one that the subject of these lines is 
justly entitled to by virtue of his blood, his 
heritage and his instincts. 

Mr. Nelson is in the heyday of his man- 
hood, having been born April 8, 1846, in 
Porsgrund, Bratsbergs Amt, Norwaj-, a son 
of Nels Andersen Toldnes and Anna Helvik 
Jacobson Hogstad (Toldnes), both also of 
Norwegian birth, the father born April 14, 
1802, in Slemdahl, the mother born, in 
1804, at the same place. In his youth the 
father learned tailoring in Porsgrund, where 
by industry he accumulated a snug property, 
following his trade till his emigration to 
the United States. He and his wife were 
the parents of children as follows, all born 
in Porsgrund, Norway: Isaac, born Janu- 
ary 27, 1827, married Anna Pernille Erik- 



son, by whom he had three children — 
Edward, Carrie P. (deceased) and Adolph 
— and after her death he married Maren 
Gullickson, by whom he had one child — 
Anna. Ingeborg Karine, born November 
27, 1829, married Jacob P. Toldnes, a 
blacksmith, and had four children — Inger 
Andrea, Maren (deceased), Mariane and. 
Nicolai. Andrew M. (who is a banker in Am- 
herst), born April 14, 1843, married for hie 
first wife Isaphena Smith, by whom he had 
one child — Henry I. (now deceased) — and 
after her decease wedded Agnes Louise 
Boss, by whom he had three children — 
Elizabeth Maud, Nellie Ernestine and Agnes 
Louis; the mother of these dying, he mar- 
ried, for his third wife, Julia Nelson, and 
they also had three children — Minnie 
Eburna, Beulah Genivieve and Winifred 
Rosamond. James J. is the subject proper 
of this biographical sketch. The mother of 
this family died in Norway in 1846, and in 
1857 the father sold his property in Pors- 
grund for twelve hundred dollars, then with 
his family set sail from the port of Pors- 
grund on the 20th of April, same year, on 
the good ship " Sjofna," Capt. P. M. Peter- 
sen, bound for Quebec, Canada, reaching 
her destination after a voyage of five weeks 
and five days. From that quaint "Gibraltar 
of America " the family at once came to 
Wisconsin via Buffalo and Milwaukee, from 
which latter city they journeyed by wagon 
to Oshkosh, thence by steamer up the Wolf 
river to Northport. The then new settle- 
ment of Scandinavia being their objective 
point, they traveled from Northport thither 
on foot, the journey occupying some seven- 
teen hours, and their first day there they 
passed with a friend, after which for a year 
they lived at the home of Isaac N. Toldnes 
(brother of our subject), who had preceded 
them to America in 1848. At the end of 
that time the father of the family purchased 
eighty acres of partially-improved land in 
Scandinavia township, Waupaca county, 
whereon he built a comfortable, if not lu.\- 
uriant, log house, where he passed the rest 
of his days, dying August 27, 1863. He was 
a son of Andreas Oleson and Isane Isaac- 
son, who lived and died in Norway, the 
parents of children as follows: Ole (who 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



63 



located in southern Wisconsin early in the 
"forties" and died there), Nels, Anders, 
Karen and Anna, all deceased. The name 
of our subject's maternal grandfather was 
Jacob Jenson, that of the grandmother be- 
ing Ingeborg Oleson. 

James J. Nelson, the subject proper of 
this review, accompanied his father and his 
brother Andrew M. to the New World in 
1857, being then a bright boy of some 
eleven summers. In Scandinavia township, 
Waupaca Co., Wis., his early educational 
training was received at the common winter 
schools of the "neighborhood," for a few 
years, his attendance being somewhat handi- 
capped, however, by the disadvantages of 
living two or three miles from the school 
house, which distance he had to tramp 
daily, the way lying through woods and 
swamps. During the summers he assisted 
his father on the farm, clearing the land of 
timber and brush, and converting it into 
smiling fields of golden grain or honey- 
laden clover. After the death of his father, 
the lad, now sixteen years old, left the old 
homestead in Scandinavia, and journeying 
to Waupaca found employment there with 
Dr. George H. Calkins, doing various 
chores for his board and farther schooling. 
At the end of five months, being an apt 
and willing student, he found himself com- 
petent to accept a position in the drug store 
of James A. Chesley, of Waupaca, and 
there remained till the following June, 
when we next find him in Oshkosh, work- 
ing in the harvest field for F. F. Kees — all 
these his younger-day experiences illustrat- 
ing with what facility he could apply him- 
self to any conditions of life, no matter 
how irksome or laborious. 

This now brings us to our subject's en- 
listment at Waupaca August 16, 1S64, in 
Company A, Forty-second Wis. V. I., Capt. 
Duncan McGregor, which regiment soon 
thereafter was ordered to Madison, Wis., 
where the companies were drilled about two 
weeks, and then sent to Cairo, 111. Here 
the colonel, E. T. Sprague, who took com- 
mand of the regiment, promoted Private 
Nelson to the position of his orderly. After 
serving eight months, he was taken sick and 
was sent to hospital, where he remained 



two months and thirteen days, at the end of 
which time he returned to Waupaca on fur- 
lough; but he had barely arrived home when 
he received orders to proceed at once to 
Madison for the purpose of receiving his 
discharge, same being granted him June 2, 

1865. On the occasion of this visit to Mad- 
ison, Mr. Nelson partook of an exceedingly 
frugal meal, consisting of a ten-cent loaf of 
bread, which he carried to the suburbs of 
the city, and there ate with a relish. (What 
a contrast within the space of a few years!) 
On regaining his health, which had been 
much impaired, he left Waupaca for Scan- 
dinavia, and for a couple of months worked 
as a farm hand for his cousin Isaac Oleson 
Solverud; then journeying to Stevens Point 
he secured work as a porter in Mrs. Kol- 
lock's hotel; but at the end of two months 
he once more came to Waupaca, and ac- 
cepted a position as clerk in the store of H. 
J. & A. Stetson, with whom he remained 
two and one-half years. On November 28, 

1866, he and his brother, Andrew M., em- 
barked in mercantile business at Amherst, 
our subject continuing, however, with the 
Stetson firm for a year after the opening out 
of the Amherst business. In 1S67 he mar- 
ried, an event that will presently be record- 
ed, and then moved from Waupaca to Am- 
herst, at once assuming charge of his inter- 
ests in the firm of A. M. & J. J. Nelson. 
This relationship continued until October, 
1870, when the partnership was dissolved, 
and our subject commenced in the same line 
for his own account, and in his present place 
of business at Amherst. 

On October 14, 1867, at Waupaca, Mr. 
Nelson was united in marriage with Miss 
Juniata Patton Andrews, Rev. M. F. Soren- 
son officiating, and children as follows have 
come to them: Herbert Sprague, born 
May 8, 1869, now a resident of Idaho 
Springs, Colo. ; George Bliss, born May 2 1 , 
1876, at present attending Wisconsin State 
University, Madison; and Laura Perry, born 
February 17, 1882. Mrs. Nelson is a mem- 
ber of the Episcopal Church. She is a most 
amiable, talented and educated lady, be- 
loved by all who know her, and she presides 
over the home with dignified grace, and with 
the hospitality and kindly greeting proverbial 



64 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of the entire home. She is a native of Wis- 
consin, born July 23, 1849, in Janesville, 
Rock county, a daughter of John V. and 
Aurelia (Saxton) Andrews, the former of 
whom was born May 17, 181 8, the latter on 
November 9, 1823. Grandfather Andrews 
was born in Connecticut in 1787, and his 
wife April 8, 1797, in Broome county, N. Y., 
and they had children as follows: Solomon, 
Harmon, John V., Phelinda (now Mrs. Carl 
H. Marckstadt, of Princeton, Wis.), and 
Walter. Grandfather Saxton was born in 
Bennington county, Vt., April 8, 1785, was 
a soldier in the war of 181 2, and died some 
time in the "fifties;" he married Rosetta 
Shellhouse, who was born at Ferrisburg, 
Vt., October 12, 1792, and lived to be 102 
years old. 

John V. Andrews (Mrs. Nelson's father) 
came from Cortland county, N. Y., to Wis- 
consin in 1837, and settled in Rochester, 
Racine county, where he married, afterward 
removing to Janesville, and thence, after 
some years (in 1855), coming to Waupaca. 
Here he carried on the trade of millwright, 
which was his vocation after marriage, prior 
to which he had followed agricultural pur- 
suits. In 1 869 he removed to Rea, Andrew 
Co., Mo., where he is now living on a farm. 
During the Civil war he was in the employ 
of the government, working at his trade in 
Nashville, Tenn. The record of the chil- 
dren born to John V. and Aurelia (Saxton) 
Andrews is as follows: Edwin R. was a 
soldier in the Twenty-first Wis. V. I., serv- 
ing two and a half years in the Civil war; 
he married Virginia Harron, by whom he 
had four sons, and died in East Rockport, 
Ohio, May 30, 1887. Myra died in in- 
fancy. Mary is also deceased. Juniata P. 
is the wife of James J. Nelson. Emma re- 
sides in Waupaca. Frank M. is a resident 
of St. Joe, Mo. Anna Alma lives in King 
City, Mo. Erminie resides in Rea, Andrew 
Co., Missouri. 

In his political preferences our subject is 
a strong Republican, and, though he has 
never sought office, has yet been honored 
with positions of honor, both State and local. 
He is well-known among the politicians of 
the State. In 1894 he was a delegate to 
the State Convention, and he helped to 



nominate W. H. Upham for governor, having 
on a previous occasion been of similar assist- 
ance to Gov. Rusk. On May 17, 1895, he 
was' appointed, by Gov. Upham, commis- 
sioner of immigration for the State of Wis- 
consin. Socially, he has been affiliated with 
the F. & A. M. ; since joining the Fraternity 
at Waupaca, in 1877, has attained the 32nd 
degree, and is a member of the Mystic Shrine ; 
is also associated with Capt. Eckels Post, 
G. A. R. , at Amherst. He was baptized and 
confirmed in the Lutheran faith. In 1876 
he attended the Centennial Exhibition at 
Philadelphia. In -the early spring of 1882, in 
company with Rev. Perry Miller, he crossed 
the Atlantic in the " Devonia." and journey- 
ed through Scotland, visiting Edinburgh, 
Glasgow and the Highlands, also traveling 
through England, France, Germany, Sweden, 
Denmark and Norway, in the latter country 
visiting his old home, and the most northerly 
town in Europe — Hammerfest, in the " land 
of the midnight sun." The trip occupied 
five months, and the wanderers returned 
home by way of Glasgow, recrossing the 
Atlantic to New York in the "Furnesia." 
During the summer of 1 892, accompanied by 
his wife and children, Mr. Nelson visited the 
chief places of interest in the West, including 
Denver, Salt Lake City, Yellowstone Park, 
etc., being absent over two months on this 
delightful trip. 

Mr. Nelson is noted for his genial man- 
ners, social nature, cordiality and courtesy, 
attributes well becoming his fine physique, 
quick intuition and generous sympathies. 
These, all combined, have militated in 
making him deservedly most popular among 
all classes, and in winning for him the 
success in business, which has been built 
and reared on his well-established reputa- 
tion for integrity. Success seldom fails to 
come when it is entirely deserved. Certainly 
it has not in the case of Mr. Nelson. Wealth 
and friends have been given him, and he and 
his faithful life partner enjoy them all with 
no trace of that offensive ostentation that has 
so often shaded the lives of others. It is a 
pleasure to bear willing testimony to real 
worth, and this last testimony voices the 
sentiments of the entire community in which 
they live. In addition to his extensive busi- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



65 



ness, the largest of the kind in Amherst, Mr. 
Nelson is closely associated with property 
interests and enterprises outside of that city. 
Few men are to be found who, unaided, have 
made in their early manhood so enviable a 
success. He is recognized as one of the most 
liberal-minded of men, believing in the es- 
sense of the golden rule — "do unto others 
as you would they should do unto you" — 
seldom a day passing without some tangible 
evidence of his philanthropical nature being 
made manifest. His delight is in helping 
others when worthy of assistance, and there 
is nothing he would not do for a friend in 
need, as many a grateful heart knows. But 
his liberality is not confined to those in dis- 
tress and affliction, for others have felt and 
appreciated the open-handedness and frank- 
ness of his generosity. When he and Rev. 
Perry Miller took their never-to-be-forgotten 
trip to Europe in 1882 (above referred to), 
all the latter's expenses were generously de- 
frayed by Mr. Nelson. 

For seven years the family lived in the 
apartments over the store, but in 1877 Mr. 
Nelson commenced building his present mod- 
ern residence, from time to time adding to 
it. The dwelling is both elegant and com- 
modious, situated in large, well-kept grounds 
ornamented with graceful trees, picturesque 
shrubbery and beautiful lawns, the mansion 
inside being furnished with all modern acces- 
sories to be found in a refined and cultivated 
home — treasures in art and bric-a-brac col- 
lected from all quarters of the world, and a 
large and carefully selected library, them- 
selves presenting evidence of the literary 
taste and accomplishments of their owners — 
the hJNi cnscuiblc presenting the refle.x of 
chaste and cultivated minds. 



IRA J. BISHOP is one of the honored 
pioneers of Waupaca county, to whom 
the experiences of frontier life are very 
familiar, for he has lived in this State 
since the time when the greater part of the 
land was in the possession of the govern- 
ment, when settlements were widely scat- 
tered, and when Indians were still frequent- 
ly seen. He was the third white child born 
in the town of Plymouth, Sheboygan Co., 



Wis. — a son of Hiram and Amanda (Bald- 
win) Bishop, natives of Oswego county. 
New York. 

Hiram Bishop's early life was spent 
mostly on the farm, where he enjoyed but 
limited educational privileges. He, however, 
abandoned the farm while yet a boy in his 
"teens," and became a sailor. In this he 
was assisted by his brother-in-law, Capt. 
Chapman, who was a man of stern de- 
meanor, but under the rough exterior there 
existed a very kind heart, and many a one 
did he help in various ways. He secured 
for Mr. Bishop a position on the lakes, 
which gave him a start in life, and Hiram 
was steadily promoted until he finally be- 
came a sailing master. He was very am- 
bitious, not content with mediocrity, but al- 
ways working his way to something better. 
He continued a sailor upon the lakes until 
twenty-two years of age, and in 1844 emi- 
grated to Sheboygan county. Wis., where 
he purchased wild land from the govern- 
ment, transforming it into one of the finest 
farms of the neighborhood. He still retains 
possession of the original eighty acres, and, 
although now seventy-two years of age, 
operates it. His wife, but six weeks his 
junior, has shared with him in all the trials 
and hardships of life, and has rejoiced with 
him as prosperity has come to them. He 
was a man of great muscular power, often 
astonishing his companions by exhibitions of 
his strength. The winter after his arrival 
in this State he boarded with a neighboring 
family, and having business in Milwaukee 
he went on foot to that place, a distance of 
sixty miles, following the Indian trails, for 
there were no roads. As hotel accomoda- 
tions there were very limited, he walked 
back ten miles in order to obtain shelter for 
the night, these seventy miles being accom- 
plished in one day. Ten months previous 
he had left. his trunk at the only hotel in Mil- 
waukee, and had hid some money in it. The 
landlord was very much surprised when he 
saw him return and secure the money. In 
the fall of I 845 he went to New York, and 
in July, 1846, married Amanda Baldwin. 

In August, 1846, Mr. Bishop brought his 
bride to the little log cabin he had erected 
on his Wisconsin farm. In payment for the 



66 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPBICAL RECORD. 



previous winter's board he had cut the tim- 
ber from the first acre of land cleared on 
what now constitutes the site of the city of 
Plymouth, and on that ground now stand 
three churches. He ripened the first apple 
in Pljmouth, and many people came to see 
it, while Ira J., then a little boy, was often 
held up that he might also view the fruit. 
In the little home there was at first no floor 
and no windows, as lumber and building 
material were hard to get, there being no 
sawmill nearer than Sheboygan, fourteen 
miles away. These were soon supplied, but 
for a year and a half Mr. Bishop had no 
team. He would work for two days for a 
neighbor in order to get the use of an ox- 
team for a da\', but after a few years he be- 
came the owner of the best ox-team in the 
county, taking premium at the first county 
fair held in Sheboygan county. He contin- 
ued to cultivate his farm with the aid of his 
noble wife and children, until to-day the 
property is valued at several thousand dol- 
lars, (i) Ira J. Bishop is the eldest in the 
family. (2) Mary Sophia, who was born 
July 5, 185 1, and was a cultured young 
lady, died at the age of twenty-five. 

(3) Lester Tyler, born September 12, 1855, 
is engaged in merchandising and other lines 
of business in Sheboygan ; he married Eva- 
line Barnard, daughter of his partner, 
George W. Barnard; this estimable lady died 
June 15, 1895, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 
at Plymouth, being inadequate to accommo- 
date those who attended the funeral rites, 
evidence of the esteem in which she was 
held by those who knew her; she left two 
daughters, aged fourteen and ten respective- 
ly, and a son one year old; Lester pos- 
sesses excellent business ability; has been 
clerk of the court, and alderman, also city 
clerk of Plymouth, and though he is a Dem- 
crat receives a large Republican support, 
which indicates his popularity and the high 
regard in which he is held; he is accounted 
one of the prominent citizens of Sheboygan. 

(4) H. Fayette, born May 10, 1859, went 
to California in 1887, to engage in mining, 
and no news was heard of him until January 
II, 1895, when he was married. Feeling 
the necessity of an education for his chil- 
dren, Hiram Bishop turned his home into a 



school room, and gave his children as good 
advantages as were possible. All remained 
at home until after they had attained adult 
age, and strong family ties still draw them 
to the parental roof. 

In 1 861, at the earh" age of fourteen, 
Ira Bishop began teaching school, receiving 
$15 per month, out of which he paid $6 for 
board. In that work he was very success- 
ful, and won a high reputation by untiring 
application. The first school, held in a 
building 16 x 20 feet, numbered fifty pupils. 
He followed teaching fourteen }ears, and 
his wages were gradually increased to $75 
per month; but on account of ill health he 
was obliged to abandon that work. Two 
years previous he purchased 160 acres of 
land in Waupaca county, still in its primi- 
tive condition, covered with a dense growth 
of hard-wood timber, and in 1876 took up 
his residence thereon. He was then almost 
a physical wreck. He purchased two horse- 
teams, and his father gave him some grain 
to feed them until he should get located and 
at work; but he could not load the twelve 
bags of oats into the sleigh, and it required 
three days and two nights for him to drive 
from Plymouth to Symco, Wis. For al- 
most a year he boarded with Mrs. Z. Bald- 
win, his aunt, then returned and taught a 
select school of young teachers. His health 
had rapidly improved under out-door exer- 
cise, but this school warned him of the re- 
turn of difficulty, and he returned to his 
farm, on which he built a log shanty, 14 x 
20 feet, and only six feet high, having pre- 
viously made a small clearing. In it he 
lived alone for three years, cooking his food, 
when a frame house was built a short dis- 
tance off, which has since been remodeled, 
making a comfortable home. At one time 
a bear visited him while he was cutting some 
logs away from home. His lumbering was 
done on the land, and afforded him some 
means of living. 

Mr. Bishop was married December 30, 
1879, to Catherine, daughter of David and 
Catherine (Remus) Wolfred, who were of 
Holland lineage. Mrs. Bishop was born in 
Holland, and at the age of six months was 
brought to America. Her father, a farmer 
by occupation, died while en route, leaving 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPBICAL RECORD. 



67 



three children: Ehzabeth, wife of Isaac 
Eernesse, who died in 1890, leaving twelve 
children; George C. , now a farmer of Indi- 
ana, and Mrs. Bishop, the youngest. The 
mother afterward married Peter Dillman, 
who was of the same country. She had 
brought the remains of her first husband to 
Chicago, where he was laid to rest, and thus 
she was left alone in a strange country with 
three children to support. She then went 
to Sheboygan county. Wis., where her 
father-in-law, Christopher Wolfred, lived, 
and worked hard to support her family, 
often walking three miles to do a day's wash- 
ing. The children were early forced to earn 
their own living, George starting alone for 
Indiana at the age of fifteen. There he se- 
cured work, and through honorable dealing 
has secured a good home; he is married and 
now has a family of five children. By her 
second marriage Mrs. Dillman became the 
mother of five children: John, a fisherman 
of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. ; Peter, who oper- 
ates the old homestead, and cares for his 
mother, who is now seventy-two years of 
age; Crena, wife of Jacob Verdoin, a resi- 
dent of Sheboygan, Wis., and two who died 
in infancy. 

Mrs. Bishop began earning her living at 
the age of fourteen, and later learned the 
dress-making trade, which she followed until 
the time of her marriage, accumulating con- 
siderable money, with which she furnished 
her home at the time of her marriage. To- 
gether Mr. and Mrs. Bishop have labored, 
transforming the rugged wilderness into an 
inviting home, and the success which has 
come to them is due no more to the industry 
and enterprise of the husband than to the 
economy and good management of the wife. 
The privations and discouragements of pio- 
neer life have been theirs in common with 
all who have striven to extend the bounds 
of civilization. In connection with farming 
Mr. Bishop is engaged in raising hogs and 
in the dairy business, and during the winter 
of 1894 his wife made eleven hundred 
pounds of butter. This worthy couple have 
the highest regard of all who know them, 
for their many e.xcellencies of character 
command admiration and respect. They 
are earnest advocates of the cause of popu- 



lar education. Socially Mr. Bishop is con- 
nected with Plymouth Lodge No. 71, I. O. 
O. F. From the Territorial days of Wis- 
consin he has resided within her borders, 
has witnessed her entire growth as a State, 
and has ever borne his part in the work of 
upbuilding and advancement, being num- 
bered among her valued citizens, as well as 
honored pioneers. 



NATHAN S. LOCKE, one of the 
prominent and influential citizens of 
Antigo, is a native of the "Old 
Granite State," his birth having 
taken place October 27, 1837, in the town 
of Hopkintown, New Hampshire. 

The Lockes are a well-known family in 
New England, and date their ancestry back to 
John Locke, who was born in London, Eng- 
land, Sept. 16, 1618, and came to New Eng- 
land about 1638. He was a man of great 
energy and courage, serving as captain in 
the French and Indian wars of the early 
days, and was so instrumental in defeating 
the Indians in several of their descents upon 
the town as to incur their special enmity. 
As afterward appeared, eight of their num- 
ber journeyed from Canada to Rye, N. H., 
with the express purpose of killing him. 
They succeeded in their attempt August 26, 
1692, but found the task one of difficulty 
and danger. He was attacked while reap- 
ing grain in the field, and the sickle with 
which the brave man stoutly defended 
himself, and which was broken in the com- 
bat, is now in the museum of the State His- 
torical Society, and on exhibition at their 
family reunions. Capt. John Locke's de- 
scendants now form a numerous and in- 
fluential family. • More than two hundred, 
including representatives of the fifth to the 
ninth generation, were present at the re- 
union held August 26, 1892, at Rye, N. H., 
where their reunions are held in honor of 
the memory of their heroic ancestor. Capt. 
John Locke was the great-grandfather of 
Jonathan Locke, who was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war, and served at the battle 
of Bunker Hill with great distinction. 

Jonathan Locke's son David, father of 
Nathan S. Locke, our subject, was born at 



68 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Epsom, N. H., January 19, 1795. He was 
a wheelwright by trade; he also owned a 
farm which he managed with success. He 
was an only son, and had five sisters. He 
was a man of enterprise and integrity. On 
December 23, 181 8, he married Elizabeth 
S. Chase, who was born at Pittsfield, N. H., 
May II, 1 796, and who was a relative of 
Chief Justice Chase, and also of Bishop 
Chase. Ten children were born of this mar- 
riage, as follows: Drusilla L. , Alpheus C, 
Mary E., Sarah C, Milton P., Ann M., 
Silas M., Nathaniel C, Nathan S. and 
George H. Neither of these six sons has 
ever used tobacco or liquors of any kind, nor 
has their father. This family inherited hab- 
its of frugality and industry, so productive 
of success with the true New Englander, 
by which some of them have won for them- 
selves positions of honor and usefulness they 
now enjoy, and by which all have attained 
a competency, some having become wealthy. 
These brothers have given the world some 
of the most valuable inventions that have 
ever been produced for controlling the pres- 
sure of steam and water; they have valu- 
able patents, in England, Germany and 
France, on devices which regulate steam 
and water pressures. They own a large 
plant at Salem, Mass., and manufacture 
their own machines. Nathaniel C, the well- 
known inventor, has made this a special 
study for more than twenty-five years, and 
is probably one of the best-informed men in 
the world to-day on this subject. The 
mother of this family, after a noble Chris- 
tian life, died at Hopkintown, N. H., in 
1869; the father, David Locke, after a 
quiet, useful life, died at the same place in 
1886. 

Nathan S. Locke, of this family, was 
given all the advantages of good schools, 
and was a student for two years in the 
Claremont (N. H.) Seminary, by careful 
improvement of his time becoming quite 
skilled in the trade of house building. At 
the age of twenty-one he went to Lewiston, 
Maine, living in the home of his oldest 
brother, Alpheus. About this time he 
learned the art of photography, and followed 
the business for five years in Lewiston, also 
two years in Boston. In 1865 he came 



west, locating at Green Bay, Wis., where 
he pursued his former vocation for a short 
period of time, after which he purchased a 
farm in Outagamie county. Wis., and began 
the enterprise of farming with all the per- 
sistent industry which characterizes his na- 
ture, and in the course of a few years he be- 
came a successful and well-to-do farmer. 
He was married November 7, 1865, to Ab- 
bie G. Ware, who was born in Kennebec 
county, Maine, daughter of Cyrus E. and 
Nancy A. (Mitchell) Ware, who were the 
parents of five children, whose names are: 
Mary M., Abbie G. , Emma H., Nancy E. 
and James F. Her father's famil}' came 
west in 1855, and settled in Outagamie 
county, Wis., where Mr. Ware engaged in 
lumbering and general mercantile business. 
He was an active business man, and amassed 
a fortune. He was a Republican in poli- 
tics, and during his lifetime held numerous 
public offices, though in no sense an office- 
seeker. His son James F., an attorney-at- 
law, is a graduate of Lawrence University, 
Wis., and also of Ann Arbor (Mich.) Law 
School. He was a member of the State 
Assembly in 1880, 1881, 1883, and he was 
elected State Senator in 1884, in which ca- 
pacity he remained until 1888, proving a 
hard worker, never shirking responsibility, 
but by honest endeavor proving himself ca- 
pable of filling the prominent positions into 
which he was frequently placed. He also 
created and worked for the passage of im- 
portant bills which have proved to be for 
the betterment of the people of Wisconsin; 
the establishing of the Home for Friendless 
Children at Sparta, Wis., and other bills 
which have greatly improved the State laws 
relative to social purity. Abbie G., of this 
family, wife of Nathan S. Locke, was form- 
erly a student at Lawrence University, and 
was for eight j-ears a successful and favorite 
teacher in the public schools of Outagamie 
county. Wis. , where she was universally es- 
teemed for her many virtues, and correct 
Christian living. She became early identi- 
fied with the Woman's Christian Temper- 
ance organization, to which she is ardentl}' 
attached. In May, 1866, Nathan S. Locke 
and wife united with the Congregational 
Church at Hortonviile, Wis., wherein Mr. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



69 



Locke was a leading and influential member, 
and superintendent of the Sunday-school for 
years. And through all these years of char- 
acter building they have sought instruction 
from the great Giver of all our blessings. 

Mr. Locke sold his farming interests in 
1882, and moved to Antigo. which was then 
in its infancy. He invested in village lots, 
and land, and began building houses to sell 
and rent. He has had a prosperous busi- 
ness, building generally for himself, though 
he has built quite a number for other people. 
He has aided several societies in securing 
houses of worship and parsonages; was a 
liberal contributor toward securing the rail- 
road improvements at Antigo; he has al- 
ways aided financially in the temperance 
work of the place, of which cause both he 
and his wife are strong advocates. He is 
closely identified with the growth of the 
town, and takes great interest in its advance- 
ment and prosperity. He owns quite a 
large amount of real estate, both in the city 
and county, and is one of those who add 
largely to the upbuilding of their commu- 
nity. 



EDWARD W. WHITSON. It is be- 
lieved the Whitson family, of whom 
this gentleman is a worthy represen- 
tative, were of Welsh descent, im- 
migrating to this country about the time the 
English captured New Amsterdam (now 
Long Island) from the Dutch. They were 
all Quakers, and, as a rule, followed agri- 
cultural pursuits. 

Abraham Underbill Whitson, the father 
of our subject, was born on Long Island, in 
Queens county, in 1810, where he received 
his primary education and was employed 
about the farm. In early manhood he was 
united in marriage with Hannah C. Willis, 
of Long Island, where she was born in 18 10, 
of English parentage. To this union were 
born si.\ children, viz. : Ann, now Mrs. 
Miles (a widowj, living in Marquette county, 
Wis. ; Sarah, now Mrs. Frink, a resident of 
the same place; Abraham, the eldest son, 
who went west and was killed by the Indi- 
ans (when last heard from he was in Idaho) ; 
Daniel, unmarried, and living in southern 



Nebraska; Townsend W., married, and living 
on the old homestead, in Packwaukee, Mar- 
quette Co., Wis., where the father settled 
in 185 1, and died in in 18.S0; the mother's 
death occurred in 1892. 

Edward W. Whitson is the youngest of 
the family, having been born on Long Island, 
April I, 1851. He was but an infant when 
his parents came to Wisconsin in 1851, and 
here he received his primary education 
in the common schools, but later in life at- 
tended the academy at Madison, Dane Co., 
Wis., for two years. During his early life 
Mr. Whitson was employed about the farm; 
but on attaining his majority he accepted a 
position as clerk in a store at Madison, re- 
maining there one year. In 1882 he was 
married to Anna D. Jones, at Montello, 
Marquette Co., Wis., and immediately after- 
ward entered the employ of D. J. Spauld- 
ing, of Unity, Clark Co., Wis., as clerk and 
lumber shipper, remaining there three years. 
He then moved to Merrill, Lincoln Co., 
Wis., and engaged in the lumber business. 
In 1889 Mr. Whitson came to Tomahawk and 
entered theemployof the Tomahawk Lumber 
Co., as foreman of their lumberyard, which 
position he filled one year; but being a young 
man of great ambition, he soon afterward 
engaged in the mercantile business for him- 
self, which he still continues to carry on, 
having been very successful. In 1878, be- 
fore his marriage, Mr. W^hitson worked for 
one year in the Black Hills mines, being em- 
ployed by a government surveying party, 
and also by a stage company for one year. 
Mrs. Whitson is a daughter of John C. and 
Jane (Pritchard) Jones, both natives of 
Wales, who came to America when very 
young. They were married in Pennsylvania. 
Mr. Jones was a farmer by occupation, a 
highly-educated man, very much respected, 
and one to whom people often went for 
advice. His death occurred in 1867; his 
widow is still living. Mrs. Whitson is one 
of a family of ten children, viz. : John C, 
Richard L. , Anna D., Maggie, William C. 
Elias, David C, Robert R. , Edward and 
Ellen. Mr. and Mrs. Whitson have four 
children: Anna E., Grace M., Mabel and 
Edward. 

Mr. Whitson has always been a stanch 



7° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Republican, a man of strong character and 
great influence, and is looked up to, respect- 
ed and admired by the entire community. 
In 1 874 he was elected mayor of Tomahawk, 
this being his first public office. Socially, 
he is a Mason, being a charter member of 
Tomahawk Lodge No. 243, and has filled 
all the chairs, having been a member of this 
society since he was twenty-two years of 
age; he still takes an active part in the work. 
In religious faith the family are members of 
the Congregational Church. 



JOHN FINCH. That a review of the 
life of such an energetic and enter- 
prising individual, as is the subject of 
this memoir, should have prominent 
place in the pages of a work of this kind is 
peculiarly proper; because a knowledge of 
men, whose substantial record rests upon 
their attainments, character and success, 
must at all times e.xert a wholesome influence 
upon the rising generation of the American 
people, and can not fail to be more or less 
interesting to those of maturer years. 

Mr. Finch is a native of Niles, Berrien 
Co., Mich., born May 18, 1834, to Benoni 
W. and Elizabeth (Hollimond) Finch, who 
were of English and Scotch descent, re- 
spectively, the father born in Dutchess 
county, N. Y., the mother in Woodville, 
Miss. Benoni Finch was captain of a boat 
that plied on the St. Joseph river, Michigan, 
between Niles and St. Joseph, and in 1835 
he moved with his family, consisting of wife 
and eight children, to Milwaukee, Wis., 
where he engaged in the manufacture of 
brick. He built the first brick house ever 
erected in Milwaukee, and was the first sheriff 
of Milwaukee county — in fact active in all 
the affairs of a public nature at that early 
period. He died of cholera morbus August 
15, 1 85 1, and lies buried near Fort Atkinson, 
Wis., whither he had moved in 1841, follow- 
ing farming there until 1846, in which year 
he came to Stevens Point, where he carried 
on lumbering operations; and it was while 
on a visit to Fort Atkinson that death over- 
took him as above related. In his political 
predilections he was a Whig. 

The subject proper of this memoir re- 



ceived a liberal common-school education, 
and when seventeen years old, the time of 
his father's decease, took up the lumbering 
business, with which he has ever since been 
prominently identified — logging and running 
lumber on the Wisconsin river by contract, 
commonl}' known as " piloting," by which 
it will be seen that he is a pioneer in that 
industry in this section of the State. From 
boyhood Mr. Finch has been a consistent 
Democrat, the only vote he ever recorded 
on the Republican ticket having been for 
Abraham Lincoln when he first ran for 
President, and he has always, as a leader in 
his party, taken an active interest in poli- 
tics. His ability and administrative qualifi- 
cations have received substantial recogni- 
tion by the people, he having been several 
times placed in positions of honor and re- 
sponsibility. In 1877 he was elected sheriff 
of Portage county by a flattering majority 
of 190, and after serving two years he was 
re-elected in 1882, this time for a three- 
years' incumbency, after which he served 
four years as under sheriff. In 1886 he re- 
ceived the appointment of chief of police at 
Stevens Point, in which capacity he served 
five years, proving himself a most active 
official, and a terror to evil-doers. While 
he was under sheriff Mr. Finch attended to 
all the criminal business. 

In 1855 Mr. Finch was married to Miss 
Malinda jjarrett, daughter of Joel Barrett, 
a farmer and lumberman by occupation, who 
came to Wisconsin from Montreal, Canada, 
and to this union were born nine children, a 
brief record of whom is as follows: Frankie 
H. is married to E. R. Week, of Alexandria, 
Ind. ; Marion L. is the wife of August Fulker, 
a druggist of Merrill, Wis. ; Lizzie A. is mar- 
ried to Eugene Martin, of Cadott, Wis., in 
the lumber business; Carrie E. is married to 
Charles E. Smith, who is engaged in rail- 
road insurance business at Chicago, 111. ; 
Henry J., assistant postmaster at Stevens 
Point, is married to Josie Main; Addie L. 
is the wife of Frederick Perkins, a locomo- 
tive engineer, with residence in Abbottsford, 
Wis. ; while Robert B. , Merle E. and John 
H. are all yet at home. Of these, Mrs. 
Frankie H. Week, from the age of six- 
teen to the time of her marriage, was a sue- 





"/X^-- cr^^^-^-w:^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPSICAL RECORD. 



7^ 



cessful teacher in the public schools, chiefly 
of Portage county, also in the La Crosse 
High School, all in Wisconsin, and for three 
terms was president of the board of educa- 
tion. 

Politically Mr. Finch is a stanch Demo- 
crat, and April i6, 1893, he was appointed 
to his present position of postmaster at 
Stevens Point, taking possession of the office 
May 27, 1893. He is by nature admirably 
qualified to fill any public office of trust, and 
during his several incumbencies he has never 
been charged with anything approaching 
even a tinge of impropriety or informality, 
in all business relationships proving himself 
a thoroughly efficient and competent officer. 



CAPT. ELMER E. AMES. In pre- 
senting to our readers the life record 
of this gentleman we record the 
history of a self-made man, a public 
spirited citizen, and of one who in the esteem 
of those who know him occupies a most 
enviable position. He was born in Durand, 
111., on the 8th of May, 1861, and is de- 
scended from one of the early New England 
families. His grandfather, Allen Ames, 
was one of a family of seven brothers and 
sisters, and during his boyhood removed 
from his native State, Massachusetts, to 
New York, where he was reared to man- 
hood. He there married Aloma Thompson, 
and they became the parents of six children: 
Milo, Anice, Lorinda, Hila, Lavern and one 
who died in infancy. In his early life Allen 
Ames worked in a sawmill and lumberyards, 
but subsequently gave his attention to agri- 
cultural pursuits. He is still living near 
Jamestown, N. Y. , but his wife died about 
1868. 

Milo E. Ames, Capt. Ames' father, was 
born in the town of Stockton, Chautauqua 
Co., N. Y., in 1826, and having arrived at 
years of maturity married Lydia D. Childs, 
who was born in Massachusetts, but in early 
life was taken to the Empire State. Her 
mother Dolora (Crawford) Childs, died in 
Massachusetts, when she was only eight 
years of age, after which the father married, 
again, having one child by the second union. 



His death occurred in New York. In the 
Empire State, Milo E. Ames carried on 
farming until 1844, when he removed with 
his family to Rock county, Wis., but after 
a short time went to Durand, 111., where he 
engaged in the furniture business. In 1868 
he returned with his family to New York, 
where his wife died the following year, while 
he survived her only until 1871. Their 
children, seven in number, bear the names 
of Lona D., Flora E., Belle D., Elmer E., 
Solon H., Ella C. and Eunice D. 

Captain Ames was left an orphan at the 
age of ten years. The family was then 
broken up, and in order to earn a living he 
worked as a farm hand through the summer 
months, while in the winter season he at- 
tended school, his time being thus passed 
until he was nineteen years of age. When 
a youth of twelve years he decided to come 
to Wisconsin and, making the journey alone, 
at length arrived at the home of his moth- 
er's brother in Mayville, Dodge county. 
Seven years later he went to Ripon, Wis., 
and learning the miller's trade, followed that 
pursuit for six years, or until the spring of 
1886, when he came to Marshfield and en- 
tered the employ of the Upham Manufactur- 
ing Company, with whom he remained for 
two years as second miller. He then acted 
as their traveling salesman for two years, 
and in the spring of 1891 embarked in the 
furniture business in connection with G. W. 
Upham, under the firm name of E. E. 
Ames & Co., the partnership continuing un- 
til May, 1894. He then sold his interest to 
Mr. Upham, and organized the Marshfield 
Bedding Company, of which he is the 
heaviest stockholder. He was elected its 
secretary and treasurer, and soon became 
general manager and superintendent of what 
is now one of the leading enterprises of the 
city. Employment is furnished to thirty 
workmen, and the industry is managed on 
strict business principles; the employes are 
paid good wages, are treated with considera- 
tion, and in return labor for the interests of 
the company, and turn out first-class work, 
which finds a ready sale in the market. 
Ever fair and honorable in all business 
transactions, Mr. Ames has won the confi- 
dence and good wishes of those with whom 



72 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he has had dealings, and prosperity is now 
attending his efforts. 

In Ripon, Wis., October 15, 1884, was 
celebrated the marriage of Captain Ames 
and Lulu Belle Stephens, who was born in 
Wisconsin in 1863, a daughter of James and 
Abbie S. (Derby) Stephens. The parents 
were natives of Lewis county, N. Y., the 
father born in 1822, and in the family were 
three children: Lulu Belle, Carlos D., and 
Clara S. The grandfather, James Steph- 
ens, belonged to a family that were of the 
Quaker faith. The maternal grandparents, 
James and Abbie Stephens, emigrated to 
Wisconsin in 1850, and the former died 
in March, 1886. The family of Mr. and 
Mrs. Ames numbers two interesting daugh- 
ters, Clara Belle and Gladys Lona. 

The Captain supports the Republican 
party, and though he never seeks office for 
himself labors in the interest of his friends. 
Socially he is connected with the Masonic 
fraternity. He won his title as commander 
of Company A, Second Regiment Wis. N. G. 
He took an active part in the organization 
of the regiment in 1888, at which time he 
was elected first lieutenant, and in August, 
1889, he was chosen captain. It was first 
organized as an independent company, but 
was mustered into the State service in 1888, 
and in the fall of 1893 was made the Sec- 
ond Regiment. Mr. Ames ranks as the 
eighth captain in the State, and is an hon- 
ored commander, very popular with the 
members of his company, and esteemed by 
all who know him. 



CHARLES EDWARD WEBSTER. 
This well-known prominent farmer- 
citizen, and present treasurer of 
Portage county, is a native of the 
State of Maine, born December 15, 1839, 
in Carritunk plantation, Somerset county. 

He is a son of Enoch and Lydia H. 
(Fletcher) Webster, also of Maine, where 
the father conducted a farming and lumber- 
ing business, coming west from there with 
his family in August, 1845, and locating for 
a time in Lyons, Walworth Co. , Wis. In 
1847 they moved to Rosendale, Fond du Lac 
county, and in 1855 to Amherst, Portage 



county, where the father followed farming 
and other business until retiring into private 
life; he is now in his eighty-second year. 
He served as postmaster at Amherst sixteen 
years, justice of the peace thirty-si.\ years, 
besides in various minor offices, such as 
supervisor, county commissioner, etc. In 
1863 he was elected a member of the State 
Assembly, and served one term. His wife 
died in Amherst in 1892. The Webster 
family, of whom our subject is a member, 
are descended from Thomas Webster, an 
Englishman, who came to this country in 
1636, locating in the neighborhood of Ports- 
mouth, N. H. ; the Fletchers were also an 
old family who settled in the neighborhood 
of Boston and Concord, Mass., about the 
year 1630. 

The subject proper of these lines receiv- 
ed his education in the schools of Fond du 
Lac and Portage counties, and remained un- 
der the parental roof until the spring of 
1 86 1, when he moved to Minnesota, and 
there took up a claim in Waseca county. 
About that time the war of the Rebellion had 
broken out, and our subject, fired with the 
spirit of patriotism, enlisted May 20, that 
year, in Company G, First Minn. V. I. , in 
which he served two years, when he was 
honorably discharged on account of sickness. 
He participated in the first battle of Bull 
Run, Ball's Bluff, and was with McClellan 
during the Peninsular campaign, also in the 
engagements at Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, 
etc. On January 30, 1865, he re-enlisted, 
this time in Company B, Forty-sixth Wis. 
V. I., taking rank as sergeant, from which 
he was promoted to sergeant-major, and 
served through Tennessee and Alabama 
until the close of the war, being finally mus- 
tered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 
27, 1865. Returning north, he came to 
Wisconsin and bought a farm in Almond 
township. Portage county, and at once com- 
menced agricultural pursuits, in which he 
continued till September, 1893, when he 
moved into the village of Amherst and par- 
tially retired from active life. At one time 
he owned about six hundred acres of land in 
Almond and adjoining townships. 

On March 27, 1866, Mr. Webster was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary Frost, 



COHMBMOBATIVB BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



73 



daughter of Daniel B. and Jane (Cowan) 
Frost, and five children have been born to 
them, as follows: Daniel Edward, a grad- 
uate of the University of Wisconsin, and 
now in the employ of the Westinghouse Co., 
in Pittsburg, Penn., as electrician, as is also 
John E., who was a student at the Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin, where he graduated in 
June, 1894; Genevieve, attending the Nor- 
mal school at Stevens Point; Oscar F., at 
home, and Rollin F. , who died at Almond, 
Wis. , in 1880, aged twelve years. Politically 
our subject is a Republican, and he served 
three years as township clerk of Amherst 
township; in 1869 was elected a member of 
the county board from Amond township, and 
with the exception of two years served con- 
tinuously until September, 1893; also served 
as chairman of the county board several 
years, and as justice of the peace in Almond 
township sixteen years. During the session 
of 1887 he was appointed and served as 
transcribing clerk of the Wisconsin State 
Senate; in November, 1893, he was ap- 
pointed, by the county board, treasurer of 
Portage county, to fill a vacancy, and is 
now serving as such, having been elected in 
the fall of 1894. He has always been an 
active worker in politics, and has several 
times served as delegate to both State and 
Congressional conventions. Socially, he is a 
member of the I. O. O. F. and G. A. R. 
Although Mr. Webster is practically retired, 
he to some extent deals in real estate, and 
looks after his private affairs, which still 
occupy much of his attention. 



RUDOLPH KRATCHE, an enterpris- 
ing, energetic citizen of Antigo, Lang- 
lade county, is a native of Wiscon- 
sin, born February 8, 1865, in Man- 
itowoc county, a son of Paul Kratche, a 
Bohemian by birth, who first saw the light 
in 1828. 

Paul Kratche came to the United States 
in 1850, settling in Mishicott township, 
Manitowoc Co., Wis., where he married 
Miss Anna Holup, a lady of European birth, 
by whom he had five children: Mary, John, 
Joseph, Rudolph and Louis. The father of 
these, who was a farmer, died in October, 



1893; the mother is yet living, and is in 
comfortable circumstances. The paternal 
grandfather of our subject died in Europe, 
leaving a widow and four sons. 

Rudolph Kratche received a practical 
public-school education, and at the age of 
fifteen commenced clerking in a general 
store at Manitowoc, where he remained 
some five years, after which he went to Chi- 
cago, and in that city clerked for Marshall 
Field & Co. three years. From Chicago 
he came direct to Antigo, in 1887, and 
clerked for L. Strasser four years, or until 
the beginning of 1892, in February of which 
year he commenced business on his own ac- 
count, opening a dry-goods and ladies' fur- 
nishing store. He carries a full stock, an 
excellent line of goods, enjoys a lucrative 
trade, and has never had any help. In 
1890 Mr. Kratche was married to Miss 
Blanche Teitgen, also a native of Manito- 
woc county. Wis., and one little daughter, 
Viola, has come to brighten their home. 
In politics our subject affiliates with the 
Democratic party, but he is neither a poli- 
tician nor an office-seeker, his business re- 
quiring all his time. He and his amiable 
life partner are faithful members of the Ro- 
man Catholic Church of Antigo. 



DANIEL SULLIVAN, a leading lum- 
berman of northern Wisconsin, with 
residence in Rhinelander, Oneida 
county, is a native of Canada, born 
in the County of Chateauquay, Province of 
Quebec, April 4, 1838. 

Patrick Sullivan, father of our subject, 
was born in Ireland, in 1803, was married 
there to Margaret O'Malley, and in 1826 
they came to Canada, where they followed 
farming pursuits. They had seven children, 
namely: Two deceased in infancy, John and 
Daniel, both living, and Thomas, Cornelius 
and Mary Ann, deceased. The mother of 
these died in 1847, and the father subse- 
quently married Ellen Swords, by whom he 
had nine children, named respectively: Mag- 
gie, James, Theresa, Peter, Agnes, Veroni- 
ca, Andrew, Francis and Catherine. The 
father died in 1885. He had one brother, 
Daniel, who came to America, settling in 



74 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 



New York State, where he was a lumber- 
man, and died leaving a family of six chil- 
dren^ — two sons (Michael and Daniel), and 
four daughters. 

The subject of this memoir was educated 
at the public schools of the neighborhood of 
his place of birth, and at the age of sixteen 
left home to work in the lumber woods of 
Canada two winters, running logs down the 
Grand river, in the Province of Quebec, dur- 
ing the summer months. In 1857 he came 
to the State of Wisconsin, locating at Wau- 
sau, where he made his home some twenty 
years, all that long period of time engaged 
as superintendent of Walter D. Mclndoe & 
Co.'s mills and camps; also looking up and 
locating pine land (after the first two years 
he worked by contract). He then returned 
to Canada, purchased a farm in the Parish 
of St. John Chrysostome, Chateauquay Co., 
Quebec, and conducted same four years, at 
the end of that time selling out, and once 
more coming to Wisconsin, in 1882, settling 
at Rhinelander, where he again took up lum- 
bering, which he followed until 1887. On 
July I, 1889, he was appointed "govern- 
ment farmer" on the Indian Reservation at 
Lac du Flambeau, in Vilas county. Here he 
remained five years, at the end of which 
time he resigned his position, and returning 
to Rhinelander resumed the lumber busi- 
ness, in company with John Curran. 

In September, 1863, in Canada, Mr. Sul- 
livan was married to Miss Cordelia Sloan, 
who was born in 1847, at Napierville, Can- 
ada, daughter of Patrick and Julia Ann 
(Atkins) Sloan, natives of Ireland who emi- 
grated to Canada, and were there married. 
They were pioneer farming people who cut the 
timber, cleared the land and built the house 
wherein they are yet living, at Napierville, 
Quebec. They had thirteen children, two 
of whom died in infancy, eleven growing to 
manhood and womanhood, their names 
being: Jane, Cordelia, Lizzie, Catherine, 
Mary Ann, William, Charles, Albert, 
George, Theresa and Isabella. Mr. Sloan 
was captain in the Canadian militia 
during the rebellion in that country of 1837- 
38. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan have no children. 
He is a stanch Republican, and, in addition 
to the government position he held at Lac 



du Flambeau, he has served as supervisor 
of Pelican township, Oneida county. In 
religious faith he and his estimable wife are 
members of the Catholic Church. 



ADAM PAULUS, proprietor of the 
Marshficld Nnvs, and postmaster 
at Marshfield, Wood count)', is a 
native of Wisconsin, born at Chil- 
ton, June 29, 1866. 

In boyhood he learned the printer's trade 
in the Times office at Chilton, and subse- 
quently held positions in the offices of the 
Scn/iih'l, Milwaukee, and Sun, Kaukauna, 
Wis. In August, 1889, he came to Marsh- 
field, and in company with John P. Hume 
established the Ncios. He was chairman 
of the Democratic City Committee in 1892- 
93, till his appointment as postmaster at 
Marshfield, September 7, 1893. In No- 
vember, 1894, he bought out the interest of 
John P. Hume in the Xczvs, becoming sole 
proprietor. The paper is a lively, newsy 
sheet, Democratic in its political leanings 
and influences, and enjoys the largest circu- 
lation of any in Wood county. 



OWEN CLARK, a well-known pro- 
minent and prosperous agriculturist 
and lumberman of Portage county, 
is a native of New York State, born 
February 15, 1840, in Oneida county, in 
the town of Deerfield, about one and one- 
half miles from Utica. 

Owen Clark, father of our subject, was 
a farmer by occupation, and in 1849 came 
to Wisconsin with his children, for about 
one year sojourning in Milwaukee, but in 
the fall of 1850 entering 160 acres of land 
two-and-one-half miles northeast of Mon- 
tello, Marquette Co., Wis. He after- 
ward acquired more land, becoming quite an 
extensive farmer, and he died in the fall of 
1875, when aged ninety-four years, at the 
home of his son Owen in Stevens Point. 
His wife Mary (Condon) died in New York 
State when our subject was between four 
and five years old. They were both natives 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHWAL RECORD. 



75 



of Ireland, the father being fifteen years old 
when he arrived on the shores of the New 
World, and they were married in Utica, 
New York. 

The subject proper of these lines came 
to the Upper Wisconsin \'alley in the fall of 
1856, locating in Knowlton, Marathon 
county, where he was engaged in lumbering 
both in the woods and on the river for about 
a year, at the end of which time he moved 
to Wausau, and here was given charge of a 
sawmill, part of the time working by con- 
tract. In February, 1864, he enlisted in 
Company C, Third Wis. V. I., which was 
attached to the First Brigade, First Divi- 
sion, Twentieth Army Corps, commanded by 
Gen. Hooker, and shortly after his enlist- 
ment he joined his regiment at Fayetteville, 
Tenn. After three months from his first en- 
listment he commenced to see active service, 
taking part in the battles of Buzzard's 
Roost and Resaca, Ga. , also at Dallas, 
Kenesaw Mountain, and in all the engage- 
ments up to Atlanta, and was with Sherman's 
army on its memorable march to the sea. 
Mr. Clark also participated with his regi- 
ment in numerous other engagements and 
skirmishes from Buzzard's Roost to Atlanta, 
and thence to the sea; then through North 
and South Carolina to Washington. In fact 
he was with his company continually, never 
missing a roll-call or a meal from sickness 
or any other cause, and marched the entire 
distance, nearly three thousand miles, 
covered by his compan}' in its several cam- 
paigns. He was present at the final Grand 
Review in Washington, May 24, 1865, and 
was mustered out of service in August, 
same year, as corporal, to which rank he 
had been promoted in the preceding June. 
Returning home, he in the spring of 1866 
secured employment as general manager of 
the Goodhue & Bellsmir Mill on the Plover 
river, east of Stevens Point, where he re- 
mained over summer, and then in the fall of 
the same year he was employed in William 
Avery's mill at Stevens Point, after about a 
year and a half buying the mill, which he 
operated for his own account until the spring 
of 1 89 1, when it was destroyed by fire. 
Since then he has been retired from the 
lumber business, and has devoted his time 



and attention exclusively to his farm of 420 
acres just west and adjoining the city limits 
of Stevens Point. 

On November 30, 1867, Mr. Clark was 
united in marriage with Miss Anna E. Gar- 
diner, daughter of John W. and Lucinda M. 
(Raney) Gardiner, the former of whom was 
born in Cherry Valley, N. Y. , of English 
origin and of patriotic Revolutionary stock, 
grandfather Gardiner (who was a brother of 
Lord James Gardiner) having served in the 
war of Independence. He was living at Cherry 
Valley at the time of the Indian massacre at 
that place, but was absent, serving in Wash- 
ington's army, his wife, children and servant 
being left at home. The latter reported to 
Mrs. Gardiner that the Indians were coming, 
and the mother escaped into the woods with 
her children, where they remained in hiding, 
and she had frequently to stifle the cries of 
the youngest one by stuffing her apron into 
its mouth, fearing the savages might hear 
it. John Gardiner, son of this Revolu- 
tionary warrior, and father of John W. Gar- 
diner, served in the war of 1812, participat- 
ing in the battle of Lundy's Lane. John 
W. Gardiner, when a young man, went to 
Lower Canada (now Province of Quebec) 
and there married Lucinda M. Raney. In 
1839 he came to Wisconsin, locating at 
Evansville, Rock county, where he erected 
a gristmill and followed the milling business 
until 1848, the year of his coming to Stevens 
Point, leaving his family behind. Here he 
invested in several hundred acres of land, 
heavily timbered with pine, and in 1850 he 
brought his wife and ten children to their 
new home; the names of the latter are John 
W. , James I., Ellen, Jane M., Emeline, 
Elizabeth M., Almond, Anna E., Henrietta 
and Franklin. Of these John and Almond 
were soldiers in the Union army, the latter 
enlisting when but si.xteen years old. Mr. 
Gardiner was engaged in the lumber busi- 
ness on a large scale, and became very suc- 
cessful; he was public-spirited and popular, 
much given to works of benevolence, and he 
donated the timber for the building of the 
first Methodist Church and the first Episco- 
pal Church buildings ever erected at Stevens 
Point. In 185 I he built the residence (now 
occupied by his widow) on the south side of 



76 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Main street, between George and Church 
streets. He was killed by an accident, in 
1852, while running his lumber over the 
Little Ball Falls, Wisconsin river, and was 
buried under the auspices of the Temper- 
ance Society, of which he was an ardent 
member. 

The children that have come to the mar- 
riage of Mr. and Mrs. Clark are Byron F., 
born August 15, 1869, educated at Notre 
Dame, Ind. ; Hallie M., born July 27, 1874, 
now attending Knox College at Galesburg, 
111.; Owen W. , born November 29, 1877, 
and Raney J., born July 12, 1880, all living 
at home except Hallie M., as above men- 
tioned. Politically Mr. Clark is a Demo- 
crat, has served as alderman of Stevens 
Point sixteen years, as mayor three terms, 
and is now serving his fourth. Socially, he 
is a member of the G. A. R. , Stevens Post 
No. 156, of which he has been commander 
three times, and is now serving the fourth 
time. He is a thoroughly representative, 
progressive and liberal-minded American 
citizen. 



CARL H. MUELLER. Anomalies 
exist in the lives of many prominent 
men that perplex unless the key to 
their solution is found. It might 
seem strange that Carl H. Mueller, now a 
prominent attorney of Wausau, should, as 
the scion of a prominent German family, 
flee the Fatherland in order to escape con- 
scription in the German army, only to espouse 
with ardor the Union cause in America, and 
enthusiastically give it the best years of his 
life. Yet such is the case. The explana- 
tion is that the conscription was compulsive 
and tyrannous, and that in America he 
quickly imbibed the spirit of national lib- 
berty and unity, and was ready to yield his 
life's blood for its perpetuity. 

Mr. Mueller was born in Schwelm, West- 
phalia, Prussia, July 16, 1839, son of Her- 
mann Henry and Amelia (Langewiesche) 
Mueller, of whose four children three sur- 
vive: Carl H., and two in Germany — 
Marie, widow of Rudolph Kline, and Her- 
mann, both of Schwelm. Hermann Mueller 
was a merchant of high standing in that vil- 



lage, a member of a family in which large 
landed interests in Westphalia have been 
entailed since the year 800 A. D., now in 
the possession of Carl's cousin. Two of 
Mrs. Mueller's brothers were lieutenants in 
the German army. Carl H. attended the 
common schools at home, and the commer- 
cial college of Ebberfeld, after which he en- 
tered the ofifice of a wholesale hardware 
store, and at the age of eighteen was a com- 
mercial traveler. He expected to escape 
conscription, as his father was over sixty 
years of age, and his one brother was only 
eight years old; but at twenty he received 
the fatal notice that he must serve four years, 
and then go into the Landwehr, and be lia- 
ble for service for maneuvres, or during 
war, until he was forty-two years old. A 
cousin from Houghton, Mich., was then vis- 
iting the old country, and before the time 
arrived for taking the oath Carl was on his 
way to America with his cousin. Landing 
at New York in 1859 they proceeded to 
Houghton, Mich. Unable to speak English, 
and thus unable to use his commercial train- 
ing, Carl found work as a common laborer 
in the mines until the fall of i860, when he 
entered the employ of Ransom Sheldon, a 
merchant of Houghton. 

When the call for volunteers came, the 
young German emigrant was among the first 
to enroll his name, enlisting in Company F, 
First Mich. V. I., and was hurried to the 
front. He participated in the battles of 
Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mills, the seven-days' 
fight before Richmond, Peach Orchard, 
White Oak Swamp, Savage Station, Mal- 
vern Hill, the retreat to Harrison's Land- 
ing and the consequent skirmishes, Gaines- 
ville, second Bull Run, Antietam, Shep- 
herdsville and Shepherdstown. At the lat- 
ter place, October i, 1862, he suddenly be- 
came ill, for ten days being insensible, and 
on regaining consciousness he found himself 
in the hospital at David's Island, New York. 
He was there three weeks, and was dis- 
charged November 2, 1862, on account of 
double hernia. During his service he had 
been sergeant, and for some time had acted 
as adjutant's clerk. In the fall of 1863 he 
returned to Houghton, Mich., acting as re- 
cruiting officer until the spring of 1 864, when, 



COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPEICAL RECORD. 



77 



under a captain's commission, he reported 
to the provost marshal at Corunna, \Iich., 
with 135 recruits. He was assigned to Com- 
pany I, Thirty-first Mich. V. I., but was re- 
fused muster on account of disabiHty, and 
was again honorably discharged. Later he 
acted as recruiting officer on the Upper 
Peninsula of Michigan, where he had entire 
charge of the different recruiting offices in 
that vicinity. Again he reported at Corunna 
with eighty-three men, and thus saved the 
Lake Superior region from draft. 

Returning to Houghton Mr. Mueller re- 
entered the employ of Mr. Sheldon, and 
soon had the management of the express 
business, and of the post office at that city. 
In the spring of 1865 he established a gro- 
cery and fruit business, and sold out in 1 866, 
preparatory to a return to Germany, in re- 
sponse to the entreaties of his parents. He 
reached his native place as an American 
citizen, and a crippled soldier; but he was 
so thoroughly Americanized that a continued 
stay in the monarchical Germany was im- 
possible, and in the fall of the same year he 
returned to his adopted country. Wintering 
at Milwaukee, he commenced working at the 
lumber business at Wausau in the spring of 
1867, supplementing that occupation with 
teaching, bookkeeping, etc.; in 1869 he was 
elected justice of the peace, serving three 
years. In 1872 he was admitted to the bar, 
since when he has served seven terms as 
city attorney of Wausau, and two terms as 
district attorney of Marathon county. In 
1887 he was re-elected justice of the peace, 
and held that position until the spring of 
1895. Mr. Mueller is also president of the 
Wausau Cemetery Association, commissioner 
of the Marathon County Soldiers' Relief 
Fund, and a circuit court commissioner. 
He is a charter member of Wausau Lodge, 
No. 215, I. O. O. F., and of Marathon En- 
campment, No. 17; also Cutler Post, No. 
55, G. A. R., which he has served as com- 
mander and vice-commander. 

At Houghton, Mich., March 3, 1864, 
Mr. Mueller was married to Miss Anna K. 
Keidel, daughter of Henry Keidel, of Alsfeld, 
Hessen, Germany, and two children were 
born to them: Herman, who was drowned 
at the age of nine years in the Wisconsin 



river at Wausau, July 6, 1873, and Ida E., 
wife of Jacob Mortonson, a prominent lum- 
berman of Wausau. Mr. Mueller has been 
a prominent citizen of Marathon county 
since his residence there. 



WINSLOW HALE HOLMES first 
saw the light of day in Concord, 
Jackson Co., Mich., December 
18, 1843, and is a son of David 
Holmes, a miller and stone mason. 

David Holmes built the mills for the 
Padocks in Concord sometime in the " thir- 
ties " when Michigan was a Territory, and 
many cobble-stone houses, with sandstone 
trimmings and old-fashioned gables, stand 
to-day as monuments to his skill. He was 
born in Pennsylvania in 1795. His father, 
John Holmes, was born in the North of Ire- 
land, and married Miss Sarah Moore, who 
was born in Scotland. Mrs. Lucinda (Wat- 
son) Holmes, mother of our subject was a 
daughter of William Watson, a native of 
Massachusetts, his father coming of early 
New England stock who came from old Eng- 
land. The mother was a native of Ireland, 
her name being Anna Hamilton. The father 
of Winslow Hale Holmes lived in Ohio dur- 
ing the early formation of the negro " under- 
ground railway," and was an active worker 
toward helping slaves to gain their freedom. 
He was the father of eleven children — five 
sons and si.x daughters. He died in 1851, 
his widow in 1861. Of the family, Wins- 
low (the youngest) and two sisters only are 
now living, two of the brothers having been 
killed in the war for the Union (three were 
in the service). 

Our subject learned the printer's trade 
with his brother David in the office of the 
Jackson (Michigan) Citizen, under the tutor- 
age of Col. C. V. DeLand in 1858-59-60. 
His early schooling was gained by walking 
three miles a day to a district school in Pu- 
laski, Mich., in winters, and working on a 
farm in the summer time. In the winters 
of 1858 and i860 he attended the Union 
School in Jackson, Mich. In 1863 he was 
foreman of the Three Rivers (Michigan) 
Reporter, and while there married a daugh- 
ter of Dr. T. Oaks, of Marcellus, Mich. Mr. 



78 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPSICAL RECORD. 



and Mrs. Holmes reared one daughter, the 
mother of whom died in 1873. Mr. Holmes 
married Miss Hetta K. , daughter of M. J. 
Lathrop, in May,. 1874, at Hastings, Mich. 
Four sons and two daughters have blessed 
this union; one of the daughters died in 
1 89 1. Mr. Holmes was forman of the Ann 
Arbor (Michigan) Courier in 1861-62; fore- 
man of the Marshall (Michigan) Statesman 
in 1867-68; held a business interest in and 
was foreman of the Charlotte (Michigan) 
Republican in 1869-70; foreman of and held 
a business interest in the Hastings (Michi- 
gan) Banner in 1 870-73 ; then was half-owner 
in the Hastings yf;/;-^*?/ until 1880. Remov- 
ing to Wisconsin, he was foreman of the 
'^\^on Free Press in 1880-82; bought the 
Waupaca Republican in 1883, and still con- 
tinues as its editor and publisher. He was 
city clerk from 1889 to 1893, has taken an 
active part in helping to herald the beauties 
and resources of Waupaca, and encourage 
the establishment of enterprises of various 
kinds in the city, having taken an active 
part in establishing a rival telephone line 
and exchange, "The Badger," in the city, 
he being manager of the exchange in Wau- 
paca. Mr. Holmes is also secretary of the 
Humane Society and recorder in the Uni- 
form Rank K. of P. 



HON. HENRY W. WRIGHT. Under 
different circumstances and in the 
many varieties of human character 
we find exhibited in biography some- 
thing to instruct us in our duty, something 
to encourage our efforts under every emer- 
gency and, perhaps there is no combination 
of events which produces this effect more 
certainly than the steps by which distinc- 
tion and positions of honor have been 
acquired through the unaided efforts of 
youthful enterprise, as illustrated in the life 
of Henry W. Wright. 

A native of Wisconsin, he first saw the 
light at Racine, March 10, 1846, and is a 
son of Thomas W. Wright, who was born 
in the city of Manchester, England, a son 
of James Wright, also of English birth, 
who was married in the Mother country, 
some years later emigrating to the New 



World, and settling on a farm in Michigan 
where he died. The son Thomas W., 
however, had come to this continent prior 
to this, making his first American home in 
Syracuse, N. Y., where he married Miss 
Angeline Knowles, a native of New York 
State, by whom he had a family of eight 
children: Thomas, James (I), Lydia, Mary, 
Henry W. , James (H), Charles and Belle, 
all born in Wisconsin except Thomas and 
James (I). In an early day Thomas W. 
Wright and his wife came to Wisconsin, at first 
making their home at Geneva, afterward 
removing to Racine. By trade he was a 
carpenter, and was engaged in the manu- 
facture of wagons. In 1854 he went to 
California, and died there; his wife was 
called from earth May 6, 1882, while resid- 
ing in Racine. 

The subject proper of this writing re- 
ceived his education at the common and high 
schools of Racine, Wis. ; but at the age of 
seventeen he laid aside his books for the 
rifle, enlisting, in 1862, in Company K, 
Seventh Missouri Cavalry, in which he saw 
active service two and one-half years, when 
he was appointed second lieutenant of Com- 
pany H, First Missouri Cavalry, having 
previously been promoted, while in the 
Seventh, to sergeant and sergeant-major, 
respectively. While scouting he was cap- 
tured by the enemy, but succeeded in mak- 
ing his escape twelve hours afterward. He 
participated in the battles of Memphis, 
(Mo.), Prairie Grove (Ark.), Springfield 
(Mo.), Cassville (Mo.), and Helena, Little 
Rock, Pine Bluff, and Saline River, or 
Jenkins Ferry (Ark.). He was mustered out 
of the service in June, 1865, with an excel- 
lent war record, and returned to Racine, 
Wis., where for a year he was employed on 
the railroad, afterward keeping books for 
several prominent commercial firms. 

In 1 87 1 Mr. Wright commenced busi- 
ness for himself in Racine, in the manufac- 
ture of sash, doors and blinds, an enterprise 
he successfully conducted until September, 
1 88 1, when he sold out and, in company 
with ex-Congressman Myron H. McCord, 
commenced business in Merrill, Lincoln 
county, and laid the foundation for the 
present vast plant of the H. W. Wright 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



79 



Lumber Co., of which our subject is the 
chief moving spirit — "the head and front." 
The firm have the most extensive plant of 
the kind in the Upper Wisconsin Valley, 
consisting of sawmills, sash, door and blind 
factory, etc. , which, combined, give employ- 
ment to an average of 300 men, at times as 
many as 640 names being on the pay-roll. 
The buildings, which in every respect are first- 
class, are equipped with all modern im- 
provements, and are lighted throughout 
with electricity. With all his employes Mr. 
Wright is on the most friendly terms, and if 
there are any wrongs to be righted or favors 
granted, he is appealed to individually. 

On November i, 1871, Mr. Wright was 
united in marriage with Miss Carrie Buchan, 
who was born in Dover, Racine Co. , Wis. , 
daughterof Edward and Jane (Tillie)Buchan, 
who were the parents of eight children, 
named-respectively: Andrew, Oliver, Mary, 
Edwin, Alfred, Samuel, Carrie and Thomas, 
all born in America. The parents were 
both natives of Scotland, whence, about the 
year 1840 they came to the United States, 
and here Atr. Buchan for a time followed 
his trade, that of miller; but his health fail- 
ing him, he settled on a farm near Dover, 
Racine Co., Wis., whereon he passed the 
rest of his days. He died in 18 — ; his widow 
is yet living, now at the advanced age of 
eighty-three years. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Wright have been born three children: 
James A., manager of his father's lumber 
yard; Alfred H., in his father's office, and 
Nettie E., attending school at Kemper I-Iall, 
Kenosha, Wis. Mrs. Wright is a member 
of the Presbyterian Church. 

In politics Mr. Wright is an uncompro- 
mising Republican, and, as a local paper 
has said of him, ' ' while he has never sought 
an office of honor or emoluments in his life, 
yet he has filled responsibilities of trust, and 
helped to shape the policy of the Republican 
party in Wisconsin. " While a resident of 
Racine he served as postmaster for nearly 
six years, having been appointed to that po- 
sition by President Hayes; he was also alder- 
man and supervisor of that city. Since 
coming to Merrill he has served as alder- 
man of the Fifth ward, and filled the may- 
or's chair one year, during which adminis- 



tration it was demonstrated that the man- 
agement of the city affairs could not be im- 
proved upon. At present Mr. Wright takes 
no more interest in politics than any good 
citizen ought, being too closely engaged in 
business to devote more than a little time to 
political affairs. While a resident of Ra- 
cine he was secretary of the Building Com- 
mittee of that city. In Merrill he is a 
stockholder in the First National Bank; is a 
member of the Lumberman's Association of 
the Wisconsin Valley, and of the F. & A. 
M. , in high standing. Mr. Wright is a man 
of commanding presence, possessed of great 
force of character, and "when he under- 
takes to do anything the work is almost done 
before it is begun. Such men are generally 
stern men, not easily swayed from any given 
path, and this can be said of the subject of 
this sketch. Yet he has a heart as tender 
as a woman, and no man, woman or child 
ever went to good, big-hearted Henry W. 
Wright with a tale of woe without coming 
away helped and encouraged." 



JAMES B. DAWLEY. There is more 
of the romantic and pathetic in some 
life histories than in others, yet if the 
depths of each could be sounded rom- 
mance might perhaps be found in all. But 
however that may be, it is certain that the 
early struggles of the Dawley family in Port- 
age county, and the golden character thereby 
developed from the straits into which these 
pioneers were forced by circumstances makes 
an appealing and interesting recital. It is 
the story of a man who, on the verge of the 
grave, comes into a wilderness, and with al- 
most superhuman efforts seeks to make a 
home for his wife and little ones before 
death takes him away, and then of the brave 
efforts made by the widow to continue the 
toilsome undertaking thus inaugurated. 

The subject of this sketch was born in 
Providence, R. I., June 12, 1850, son of 
Jesse B. and Lydia (Searles) Dawley, both 
natives of Rhode Island. Jesse B. Dawley 
was born May 9, 1823, his wife September 
5, 1822. He was a carpenter and joiner, 
practically without means, and a victim of 
consumption. Yearning for a home of his 



8o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



own he in the fall of 1852 with his wife and 
family, then consisting of two sons, started 
from Newport, R. I., for Providence, same 
State, from which city he embarked for Mil- 
waukee. Three days later he was in Jeffer- 
son county, Wis., with fifty cents in his 
pocket. For a year he supported his family 
here by day's work, then in October, 1853, 
he pushed northward to what is now Section 
6, Stockton township. Portage county. It 
was then in a primitive condition. Not a 
stick of timber had been cut. Mr. Dawley 
had for a little while indulged the fond delu- 
sion that the change of climate might bene- 
fit his health, but this was quickly dispelled, 
and his only aim was to secure a home for 
his family. He knew nothing of farming, 
but he was ambitious and anxious to learn. 
With his own hands he built a log cabin, the 
first habitation on the farm. Gradually 
growing worse, he died August 23, 1857, 
and was buried in a private cemetery on the 
farm. A widow was left to mourn and to 
provide for four small children, the eldest 
not yet nine years of age. Inspired by her 
affection for the children, the brave woman 
struggled on amid the hardships of the fron- 
tier, beneath which men often quailed. She 
kept her family together, and the children 
appreciate her efforts. They are as follows: 
La Fayette D., born February 23, 1849, 
now a carpenter and contractor of Ada, 
Minn., who never learned his trade, but in- 
herited from his father a marked mechanical 
ability, and whose family consists of Mabel 
F., Etha I., Lillian E. and Ivan B. ; James 
B., born in Providence, R. I; Julius E., born 
in Jefferson county, Wis., April 23, 1852, 
now head clerk in a large general store at 
Aitkin, Minn., and who has one child, Regi- 
nald E. ; Emma I., born June 29, 1854, now 
at home. 

James B. Dawley has remained from his 
early boyhood until now upon the farm, ex- 
cepting seventeen months, which he spent 
on a farm in Rock county. Wis., when he 
was fifteen or sixteen years old. His school 
advantages were meager, but, largely by his 
own individual study, he has picked up a 
common education. He was one of the three 
brothers who, by their united efforts, in 1870, 
built a good home, doing all the work them- 



selves. James B. was married October 30, 
1889, in Wautoma, to Letitia T. Cogswell, 
a native of that village, and daughter of 
Asa A. Cogswell. To Mr. and Mrs. Daw- 
ley two children have been born. Royal M. 
and Jessie R. In politics Mr. Dawley is a 
Republican. He has served as town clerk, 
and his reports were the best prepared of 
any submitted that year to the county offi- 
cials. For two years he was township treas- 
urer, and for ten years he has served as jus- 
tice of the peace. For many years he has 
served either as clerk or as assistant clerk at 
all elections. In 1887 he was elected sec- 
retary of the Stockton Fire Insurance Co., 
and still serves in that capacity. His busi- 
ness calls him all over the fourteen town- 
ships of Portage county, and has given him 
an extensive acquaintance. In his business 
relations he is guided by his sense of right, 
and unswervingly adheres to his convictions 
when once formed. Mr. Dawley is one of 
the best citizens of the county, and has led 
a useful and active life. His services are 
sought in every movement or meeting of 
general interest in the township. The wid- 
owed mother still lives at the age of seventy- 
two years, and makes her home with her 
son. She is a member of the Brethren 
Church. 



ANTONI BREITENSTEIN. It seems 
to be the mission of some lives to 
show the possibilities of human na- 
ture, to show how, for example, a 
young man, without advantages of any kind, 
may so seize the present, so adapt himself to 
circumstances, and then mold those circum- 
stances to his own well-being, that he rides 
ever upon the crest of the wave, and steers 
the fragile bark of human endeavor through 
the tossing sea of adverse fate into the har- 
bor of peace and plenty. There are men so 
wise and prudent, so determined and ener- 
getic, that they would succeed in any sphere 
of life, and one of them is he whose name 
appears above. 

Antoni Breitenstein is the son of a poor 
peasant of Alsace, France (now Germany), 
Michael Breitenstein, who had met with busi- 
ness reverses in his native land, and who in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICA.L RECORD. 



8i 



February, 1843, resolved to mend his for- 
tunes in America. He had barely means 
enough to make the journey with his wife, 
Catherine (Goss), and two children. Antoni 
and Barbara. Antoni was born April 11, 
1830, and was therefore only twelve years 
of age when he took passage from Havre 
with his parents and sister, in the American 
sailing vessel "St. Nicholas," which, after a 
passage of thirty-five days, landed them at 
New York. They reached Pittsburg, Penn. , 
with a capital of two dollars. After living 
with his son-in-law for some time Michael 
Breitenstein rented a farm in Robinson 
township, Allegheny Co., Penn., near Pitts- 
burg, and three years later, while pulling 
sweet potatoes, he was bitten in the hand by 
a copperhead snake. Despite the best medi- 
cal aid the wound resulted fatally, several 
days afterward. Misfortunes multiplied, for 
the mother died several weeks later, after a 
brief illness, and a daughter, Mary, was 
called away at about the same time. Michael 
Breitenstein and wife were members of the 
Catholic Church, and were buried in Troy 
Hill Cemetery, Allegheny. Of their ten 
children six died young; Mary married in Al- 
sace, and died in Pittsburg; Lawrence, an 
officer in the French army, died in the serv- 
ice; Antoni and Barbara were the sole sur- 
vivors, the latter being now Mrs. Lawrence 
Hagennauer, of Pittsburg. 

Our subject was sixteen years old when 
thus orphaned. He had mastered the Eng- 
lish language within six weeks after he 
reached America, and in a year his foreign 
nativity could not be detected from his con- 
versation. Though still a boy, he resolved to 
continue the gardening life of his parents. He 
was industrious and energetic, and felt compe- 
tent for the work. He hired help, and had 
credit, and for a term of years successfully car- 
ried on the business, each year adding to his 
capital. He was married, in February, 1854, 
at Birmingham, a suburb of Pittsburg, to 
Miss Mary Beck, who was born in Wurtem- 
berg, Germany, in 1832, daughter of Wit- 
bold and Theresa (Biechle) Beck, and who 
at the age of eighteen, with a brother and 
sister, crossed the ocean from Havre to New 
York in twenty-one days, and settled in 
Pittsburg, \\here another brother then lived. 



At the time of his marriage Mr. Breitenstein 
was a well-to-do young man. He was well 
equipped with farming tools, and by his good 
management and industry had prospered. 
He continued farming in the Chartiers Val- 
ley, Allegheny Co., Penn., until February, 
1865, when he migrated to what is now 
Stockton township, Portage Co. , Wis. ; 
while still at Pittsburg he had bought land 
in Marathon county, but he never lived 
there. He came with his family to Wis- 
consin by rail as far as Berlin, then the 
northern terminus of the railroad, and by 
team continued the journey to Stevens Point 
with his family, then consisting of five chil- 
dren. For six years he lived near Stockton 
station, then moved to Section 6, same 
township, where he has since remained. He 
erected the first building on the place. His 
first 160 acres were enlarged by subsequent 
purchases until Mr. Breitenstein owned 720 
acres. This has now been reduced to 560 
acres by donations to his children. His 
family is as follows: Lawrence, proprietor 
of a planing-mill at Knowlton, Wis. ; Lena, 
now Mrs. John Gerdes, of Stevens Point; 
Louisa, at home; Michael, a telegraph oper- 
ator; Antoni W. , a potato merchant of 
Stockton and Custer, Wis. ; Richard, a car- 
penter and merchant of Stevens Point, 
member of the firm of Breitenstein & Ger- 
des; Charles, an operator; Mary, at home. 
In politics Mr. Breitenstein was once an 
active Democrat, but he is now to some de- 
gree an independent, and votes in local elec- 
tions for the better candidate, regardless of 
politics. He has declined office himself, 
preferring to devote his time to personal 
business. Himself and family are members 
of the Catholic Church. Mr. Breitenstein 
is one of Stockton's best farmers, and he 
owes his prosperity to his own efforts. He 
never attended an English school. His 
struggle in early years was a bitter one, and 
the manner in which he has attained his 
comfortable competence has won for him 
the respect and esteem of all who know 
him. His sons and daughters are prosper- 
ous young men and women, and though 
sixty-five years have come and gone in the 
life of this worthy man he still has a large 
reserve fund of vitality. He can yet, if he so 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



elects, perform any kind of farm work. His 
good wife has nobly borne her share of toil 
and responsibility in life's hard battle, and 
enjoys equally with her husband the esteem 
and best wishes of her many acquaintances. 
Had his early advantages been better, it is 
impossible to sa\- what wider sphere in life 
Mr. Breitenstein might not, with his native 
talents, ha\e creditably filled. But in the 
life which he has lived none could more 
manfully have met and overcome the bars 
to deserved good fortune. 



CHRISTIAN OSSWALD, a promi- 
nent baker and merchant, is one of 
the progressive business men of 
Wausau. Like many other suc- 
cessful men, Mr. Osswald, in his youth, 
learned a trade, and by using this trade as 
his capital, and by watching his opportuni- 
ties, the way to a prosperous and active ca- 
reer in time presented itself to him. 

He is of German birth, the son of John 
M. and Katrina (Getterj Osswald, and was 
born in \Vurtemburg, Germany, March 12, 
1834, both natives of the Fatherland. Of 
the family of six Christian is the eldest sur- 
vivor. Three sisters and the aged mother 
are supposed at this writing to survive in 
Germany, and the father died in 1854. 
Christian received in Germany the thorough 
elementary education which that country 
now guarantees its youth, and after leaving 
the schools he was apprenticed to a baker. 
Upon completing the trade he worked in 
Germany for a short time, but in the fall of 
1854, at the age of nineteen, he immigrated 
to America. Going to Utica, N. Y. , he 
there learned the trade of a brewer, remain- 
ing two years. In 1856, deeming the West 
richer in opportunities, and desiring to re- 
turn to his earlier trade, he migrated to Mil- 
waukee, and for ten years was steadily em- 
ployed in a baking establishment. Then he 
came to Wausau, and for five years worked 
on the Wisconsin river, and in the logging 
camps as a cook. At last he saw what he 
thought was the right opening for himself, 
and in August, 1871, he engaged for him- 
self in the bakery business at Wausau, at 
his present location. His judgment was 



correct. Mr. Osswald applied himself dili- 
gently to the work of building up for himself 
a large and profitable trade, and he has suc- 
ceeded to an admirable degree; and during 
his residence there for a period of more than 
a score of years, he has thoroughly ingra- 
tiated himself into the well wishes and es- 
teem of his fellow citizens, and is now uni- 
versally regarded as one of the city's deserv- 
ing and most substantial citizens. He at 
present represents the Second ward of the 
city in the common council as alderman, and 
is a member of Wausau Lodge No. 215, I. 
O. O. F. ; also of the Sons of Hermann, and 
the A. O. U. W. Mr. Osswald's political 
affiliations are w-ith the Democratic party. 
The family attend St. Paul's Evangelical 
Church. 

Mr. Osswald was married at Milwaukee, 
in 1 86 1, to Miss Elizabeth Dresel, daughter 
of Bernard and Sabina Dresel, natives of 
Germany. To this union twelve children 
have been born, seven of whom survive, as 
follows: John Frederick, a baker, at Wau- 
sau; Katrina, wife of H. J. Zentner, of Osh- 
kosh; Gustave Adolph, a partner in the bak- 
ery business with his brother, John F. ; Ber- 
tha Marie; Henry; Emma Carolina; and 
Alexander. 



REV. GUSTAVE SOLOMON MUN- 
DINGER, pastor of the Lutheran 
Church of Manawa, Waupaca coun- 
ty, is a representative of one of the 
honored and respected families of this sec- 
tion. He was born January i, 1869, in 
Bloomfield township, Waushara county, a 
son of Solomon and Julia (Abraham) Mun- 
dinger, the former of whom was born Jan- 
uary I, 1830, in Wurtemburg, Germany, 
and the latter December 6, 1839, also in 
Germany. The father was a son of John 
Mundinger, who was descended from a noble 
family. 

In his younger days the father followed 
weaving, and in 1856 came to America, 
first locating in New York City, whence 
after a few months he removed to Cook 
county. 111., being there engaged in farm- 
ing. On leaving Illinois he came to Bloom- 
field township, Waushara Co., Wis., and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPmCAL RECORD. 



83 



having sold his property purchased land ly- 
ing in Sections 16, 21 and 22, all of which 
was in its primitive condition. He was very 
kind to the pioneers of his own nationality, 
often buying land, which he would sell to 
them on time. The year after his arrival 
in the county he married Miss Abraham, a 
daughter of Martin Abraham, who had come 
to America with her parents and grand- 
mother, and located in Bloomfield town- 
ship, where the latter died at the advanced 
age of ninety-four years. 

At the time of his marriage Solomon 
Mundinger had a very small clearing made 
upon his land and a log house erected, in 
which they began their domestic life, but 
the farm is now numbered among the best 
in this section of the State. He was ever 
a prominent and leading citizen of the com- 
munity, being instrumental in securing many 
public improvements which were for the 
good of the locality, and served in nearly 
all the township offices. He was one of 
the founders of the Lutheran Church in his 
neighborhood, and many of the early meet- 
ings were held at his home. His death oc- 
curred in Bloomfield township, January 16, 
1886, and there his remains are now in- 
terred. No man in the community was 
more widely or favorably known, and his 
memory will long be cherished by the peo- 
ple of the township and county generally. 
Mrs. Mundinger still lives on a part of the 
old homestead, and has now reached the 
age of fifty-five years. In the family were 
nine children — Ferdinand and William, both 
deceased; Fred, a carpenter of Manawa, 
Waupaca county; William, who is living on 
the home farm in Bloomfield township; 
Gustaf Adolph, deceased; Adelina, wife of 
Gustave Bartel, a farmer of Bloomfield 
township; Gustave S., our subject; Henry 
R. , a teacher of New London, Wis., and 
Julia, deceased. 

Rev. Mr. Mundinger obtained his pri- 
mary education in the common schools, but 
at the age of seven years he entered a Ger- 
man school three-and-a-half miles distant 
from his home, and when fourteen he entered 
Concordia College, Milwaukee, where betook 
a four-years' course. For the following two 
years he continued his studies in Fort 



Wayne, Ind. .after which he became a student 
in Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, where he 
took a three-years' course, this completing 
his literary education. His first pastorate 
was at Manawa, Waupaca county, where he 
still remains, having served the congregation 
there since August 2, 1 891, on which day he 
was ordained and installed as a minister of 
the Lutheran Church. His congregation 
now numbers 150 families, including 100 
voting members. He is well liked, not 
only by the people of his own Church, but 
of other denominations as well, and he 
has gained the love and confidence of all 
with whom he has come in contact. He 
belongs to the Wisconsin District of the 
Missouri Synod. 

On May 12, 1892, Rev. Mr. Mundinger 
was united in marriage with Miss Clara 
Behrens, daughter of Carl and Margaret 
(Conrad) Behrens, natives of Germany, who 
on their arrival in the New World located 
at St. Louis, Mo. To this union has come 
one child — Carl S., born February i, 1894. 
Rev. Mr. Mundinger takes no active part in 
political affairs, giving his support to no par- 
ticular party, but leaves himself free to vote 
for the man he thinks best qualified to fill 
the office 



JOSEPH RAYMOND. Had Charles 
Dickens had a knowledge of the 
wrongs and privations suffered by 
Joseph Raymond during the latter's 
boyhood and youth, he might have written 
a story as deep in pathos, as grand in its 
lessons, as any which the world yet delights 
to read. Unlettered and unlearned, the 
simple-hearted boy had in his nature a native 
pride of character that starvation could not 
have subdued, a robust determination to be 
truthful and independent that withstood 
the fiery trial of many years. Sub- 
limely his rugged, honest nature has been 
preserved within him, and glorious has been 
the victory he has achieved. 

Joseph Raymond is now a wealthy farmer 
of Stockton township, Portage county. He 
was born in Canada about the year 1835, 
son of Joseph Raymond, a native of that 
land, a farmer by occupation, and a man of 



84 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



unsteady habits, wealthy at one time, but 
later in life plunged in poverty. The mother 
died at Montreal when Joseph was about 
eight years old, the eldest of four children. 
The three sisters were Xepere, now married 
and living in Michigan; Lizzie, in Canada, 
and Mary Louise, deceased. The father 
did not keep the family together, and little 
Joe, as he was known, saw none of the 
comforts of home until after his marriage. 
The support of one of the sisters fell upon 
him, and he began life for himself in his 
tender years by working for four cents a 
day. He lacked proper clothing and nour- 
ishment, but he was too proud to beg and 
preferred bleeding feet to borrowed shoes. 
At the age of fifteen years his earnings had 
risen to twenty-five dollars per year. With 
a few dollars he had saved he concluded to 
come to Grand Rapids, Wis. , where lived a 
family he had known. His money was ex- 
hausted before he reached his destination, 
and for four days and four nights he walked 
on the way. Reaching Grand Rapids he 
was a penniless, friendless lad. Pushing on 
to Plover, he met John Boursier, a farmer 
of Stockton, who happened there on busi- 
ness, and secured work with him. After 
three weeks he grew desperately lonesome, 
for he could not then speak English, and, 
•with all his earthly possessions in a sack, 
he walked back to Grand Rapids, where 
several of his countrymen lived. There he re- 
mained three weeks, but could find no work; 
he slept outdoors and procured eatables 
wherever he could. The lumber season 
was opening, and he hired out for fifteen 
dollars per month, and worked all winter in 
the woods. He had no mittens, and suf- 
fered terribly from exposure. Worse still, 
his employers were irresponsible men, and 
he did not receive a cent for his winter's 
work. With threadbare clothes he began to 
chop wood for his board. Going to Plover 
he again met John Boursier, and in April 
of that year again began working for him, 
at which time he could easily carry his 
clothes under his arm. For fourteen months 
he remained with Mr. Boursier, and during 
this time he did the hardest work of his life. 
Mr. Raymond was a " green boy," as he ex- 
pressed it, and strove hard to please his 



employer. He hauled rails to Plover, start- 
ing at 2 o'clock in the morning and reach- 
ing his destination before daylight. Though 
possessing great natural strength, and an 
over-willingness to work, he often over- 
taxed his strength. Mr. Raymond then 
worked in a mill at Grand Rapids, and at 
driving team, and various other kinds of 
employment. He finally secured work with 
Frank Biron, and it speaks well for his 
efficiency and-steady character that he re- 
mained with Mr. Biron until his accumulated 
wages amounted to eight thousand dollars. 
On May 8, 1870, he was married to Miss 
Anna Boivin, a native of Canada, born 
August 15, 1850, daughter of Louis Boivin, 
a baker by trade. She was visiting her sis- 
ter, Mrs. Biron, and there met her future hus- 
band. After his marriage Mr. Raymond 
continued to work for Mr. Biron until the 
latter's death. During the winter of 1876- 
yy he went to Canada to settle up his large 
accounts with the Biron estate. In that 
country Frank Biron was "Lord Biron." 
In 1878 Mr. Raymond purchased 160 acres 
in Sections 28 and 29, Stockton township, 
which he now occupies, and he has added 
to it from time to time until the acreage has 
reached 400. In addition to his farm he 
has large financial interests. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Raymond eight children were born: 
Joseph (deceased), Eugene, Laura, Arthur, 
Mary (deceased), Fred, Hannah (deceased), 
and Frank (deceased). In politics our sub- 
ject is a Democrat, and in religion is a 
member of the Catholic Church. He is a 
representative farmer of Portage county, 
and his life demonstrates the possibilities 
open to a poor boy of industry and pluck. 
His good wife has by her thrift and good 
management been of inestimable aid to Mr. 
Raymond, and deserves great credit for her 
devotion and attention to his large interests. 



M 



ORRIS C. HYMAN a prominent 
and popular citizen of Tomahawk, 
Lincoln county, is a native of 
Prussia, having first seen the light 
there November 26, 1859, in which country 
was also born his father, Isaac Hyman. 
The latter was married in early life, and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



had a family of eight children, six of whom 
are now living, viz.: Morris C. , Abe D., 
Isaac, Rachel, Lena L. and Sarah. The 
mother of these died in January, 1891. At 
one time Isaac Hyman was a hotel-keeper, 
but later in life he engaged in the milling 
business, and at present he is the owner of 
a large gristmill. He visited his sons in 
America in 1893, remaining here one year, 
then returning to Europe. 

The subject proper of this sketch re- 
ceived a good common-school education, 
and is also well versed in the Hebrew lan- 
guage. He came to America at the age of 
sixteen, and secured a situation in a notion 
store in Chicago, 111., where he remained 
one year; then went on the road, selling 
jewelry, continuing thus for five years. In 
course of time he and another opened a 
clothing store in Minneapolis, Minn., which 
they carried on for one year, then sold out, 
and in 1883 Mr. Hyman located in Merrill, 
Lincoln Co., Wis., and commenced the 
saloon business with his brother Abe, who 
had joined him. In the fall of 1887 he re- 
moved to Tomahawk and opened a saloon, 
the brothers still continuing the business at 
Merrill, both wholesale and retail, also con- 
ducting a similar establishment at Raum, 
Wis. , and they have been in business to- 
gether ever since the arrival of Abe in 
America. The Hyman Brothers have also 
dealt quite extensively in pine lands and 
hardwood in Wisconsin, besides owning 
city property at Merrill. In addition to 
their place of business at Tomahawk, a 
brick store and other similar property, they 
are interested in real estate, in which they 
deal extensively. They are representative 
self-made men and typical "hustlers," re- 
spected for their honest straightforward way 
of doing business. Morris C. Hyman in 
politics is a Democrat, an active worker in 
the ranks of the party, and was a delegate 
to the county conventions. He was one of 
the first aldermen of Tomahawk, and in the 
spring of 1895 was elected mayor of that 
city, the campaign proving a very hot one. 
Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
Lodge at Tomahawk. Mr. Hyman has not 
yet enlisted into the noble army of Bene- 
dicts, being still single. 



ISRAEL E. BUCKNAM, proprietor of 
the leading shoe store in Antigo, and 
one of the most highly respected citi- 
zens of Langlade county, is a native of 
Maine, born in Falmouth, Cumberland coun- 
ty, March 28, 1830, a son of Israel and 
Mary E. (Morse) Bucknam, of the same 
nativity. John Bucknam, father of Israel 
Bucknam, Sr. , was also born in Maine, and 
was a farmer by occupation. Israel Buck- 
nam, Sr. , was a common laborer, and he 
and his wife, Mary Bucknam, both died 'n 
Maine, the parents of four children, namely: 
Israel E. , William H., and Elizabeth E. and 
Mehitabel E. (both now deceased). 

Israel E. Bucknam commenced as a 
section hand on a railroad in the East when 
but eighteen years old, followed railroading 
in all some thirty years, and rose to the 
position of roadmaster. He married Sarah 
J. Badger, who was born in Maine in Febru- 
ary, 1830, and they had two children: 
Louis E., of whom special mention will 
presently be made, and Charles, who died at 
the age of two years; they have also an 
adopted daughter, Alice A., now the wife of 
Daniel Sweeny. The parents of Mrs. Israel 
E. Bucknam, Samuel W. and Mary Badger, 
the former of whom was a farmer, were both 
born in Maine, and had a family of twelve 
children. In the spring of 1855 Mr. Buck- 
nam moved west, followed agricultural pur- 
suits for a short time near Minneapolis, 
Minn., and in 1858 came to Wisconsin, set- 
tling at Watertown, where he engaged in 
railroad work. In August, 1S64, he enlisted 
in Company L, First Wisconsin Artillery, 
served in the forts about Washington, and 
was discharged in 1865. On account of his 
health he was obliged to give up railroading 
in 1884, at which time he came to Antigo, 
where in June, 18S5, he established his pres- 
ent business. In politics he is a Republi- 
can, and was a member of the city council 
one year; socially, he is affiliated with the 
K. of P. and I. O. O. F. 

Louis E. Bucknam, cashier of the 
Bank of Antigo, Antigo, Langlade county, 
is a native of Wisconsin, born in Kenosha, 
October 19, 1869. He received a liberal 
education at Fort Howard High School, 
also at Green Bay Business College, where 



86 



COMMEMORATIVE SIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 



he graduated in 1885, in which year he came 
to Antigo, where for some twelve months he 
worked as a common laborer. In the spring 
of 1886 he entered the Langlade County 
Bank as bookkeeper, filling that incumbency 
until 1 89 1, at which time, the Bank of An- 
tigo having been reorganized, he associated 
himself with that institution as a stock- 
holder, and soon afterward was appointed 
cashier, his present position. 

On March 6, 1889, Louis E. Bucknam 
was united in marriage at Antigo with Miss 
Marian McDonald, who was born near 
Prophetstown, 111., daughter of . Charles D. 
and Elsie (Briggs) McDonald, and a bright 
little daughter, Margaret, has come to cheer 
their home. Politically Mr. Bucknam is a 
Republican, and is chairman of the county 
committee, as well as its secretary. So- 
cially, he is a member of the F. & A. M., 
and secretary of the Chapter; is also a 
member of the Antigo Fire Department. 
He is a representative, pushing young 
business man, self-made, and his present 
responsible position is evidence sufficient of 
what pluck, ambition and honest endeavor 
will accomplish. 



JAMES K. POLK COON (deceased). 
Prominent among the names of the 
representative business men of Lincoln 
county, more especially of the city of 
Merrill, is found that of this gentleman, who 
for several years was a leader in the com- 
munity, and became a martyr in his devo- 
tion to his country. 

He was born September 27, 1844, in 
West Edmeston, Otsego Co., N. Y. , a son 
of Elijah H. and Prudence C. Coon, the 
former of whom was also a native of New 
York State, born of Scottish ancestry, and 
was a son of Jabez Coon. The latter was 
one of five brothers who came to America, 
settling in Otsego county, N. Y. , on farms 
near Coonsville, in that county, which vill- 
age was named after them. Jabez Coon 
married Matilda Holmes, by whom he had 
thirteen children, six reaching mature age, 
viz. : Elijah H. (the eldest in the family). 
Nelson, Daniel, Joshua, Jefferson and Bet- 
sey, the others dying when young. Jabez 



Coon was one of a hardy, robust race, was 
a man of influence in his day, and was re- 
spected far and wide for his many good 
qualities, as was also the entire family. Mrs. 
Prudence C. Coon, mother of James K. 
Polk Coon, was an adopted child (brought 
up by her uncle. Rev. Daniel Coon, who 
was a brother of her mother, Mrs. Nancy 
Coon Bowler), her right name being Prud- 
ence Coon Bowler, and she was of Scotch 
and Irish descent. Rev. Daniel Coon and 
two other of her uncles were noted ministers 
of their day. 

Elijah H. and Prudence Coon were the 
parents of eight children, to wit: Fannie 
A., now the widow of Albert Burdick, and 
living at Merrill; Elijah Morgan, also of 
Merrill; Cortland J., deceased; William M., 
deceased; James K. P., deceased, subject of 
sketch; Julius J., of Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. 
Emma Witter, of Wausau, Wis. ; and Mrs. 
Alice Champagne Fleming, of Merrill. The 
father was b\- vocation a manufacturer of 
and dealer in furniture; was something of a 
politician, and held many prominent public 
offices. He was a man of sterling charac- 
ter, well educated, a leader of men, enjoy- 
ing to the day of his death the esteem and 
respect of all classes. He died in Delaware 
county, N. Y. , in 1853, his wife surviving 
him till August 16, 1887, when, in the city 
of Merrill, she too passed away. 

James K. Polk Coon, the subject proper 
of this memoir, received but a limited edu- 
cation at the common schools of his native 
county, remaining with his mother up to the 
time of his enlistment in the army, in the 
meantime working out among the neighbor- 
ing farmers. He had a war record worthy 
of prominent mention, and suffered much 
while in the service of the Union. At the 
age of seventeen, October 14, 1861, he en- 
listed at Friendship. Allegany Co., N. Y., in 
Company C, Eighty-fifth N. Y. V. I., three 
years' service, and was honorablj- discharged 
April 24, 1865. He participated in the 
siege of Yorktovvn, V'a., battles of Williams- 
burg and Fair Oaks, and in the se\en-days' 
retreat. In the campaign along the railroad 
between Newbern and Goldsboro, N. C, 
his regiment was under the fire of the Con- 
federates seven days; thence it proceeded to 




■^<XP 



COMMEMORATIVE BWGUAPUWAL RECORD. 



87 



Plymouth, and was in the attack on Fort 
Gray, where, after three days' hard fighting, 
the entire command was taken prisoners, 
Mr. Coon along with the rest. He was first 
confined in Andersonville and Charleston, 
S. C, whence, October 8, 1864, he was 
transferred to the stockade at Florence, 
where, on January 9, 1865, he and four 
others ' ' made a break " for freedom. Their 
flight, however, was soon discovered, and 
bloodhounds being put on their track, they 
were captured seven days afterward at the 
Little Pee Dee river and taken to Wilming- 
ton, thence to Goldsboro, Raleigh and Salis- 
bury, making short stops at each place till 
they came to the last named. On February 
26, 1865, the end of the struggle being now 
at hand, our subject and the rest of the 
prisoners were sent to Greensboro, N. C, 
where they were paroled and allowed to 
make the best of their way to Wilmington, 
N. C, at which point the Union forces were 
stationed, Mr. Coon arriving there March i, 
1865, whence he was sent to Parole Camp, 
Annapolis, Md., where he was laid up with 
fever, brought about by severe hardships 
and lack of proper food, etc. ; but, receiving 
a furlough, he set out for his old home and 
to his mother, who, until she received a let- 
ter from him, written at Annapolis after his 
release from captivity, thought him dead. 
He reached home the night of President 
Lincoln's assassination. 

After his return to the pursuits of peace 
Mr. Coon was engaged some twelve years in 
the manufacture of butter and cheese in 
New York State, and in 1878 he came to 
Merrill, his first employment being with P. 
B. Champagne, merchant and lumberman. 
In the following year (1879) our subject 
went to Illinois, where he again took up, 
near Peoria, the cheese-manufacturing in- 
dustry; but in 1880 he returned to Wiscon- 
sin, again entering the employ of P. B. 
Champagne, having charge of his general 
store at Merrill. In December, 1884, he 
was appointed secretary and treasurer of 
the Champagne Lumber Co., which incum- 
bency he filled two years, or until 1886, 
when he attended the anniversary of the 
Grand Army of the Republic, held at San 
Francisco, Cal. On Februar}' i, 1887, he 



took up the insurance business; later, in com- 
pany with Mr. Bruce, he engaged in the real- 
estate and insurance business at Merrill, in 
which he continued up to the time of his 
death. He died February 21, 1893, at 
Tucson, Ariz., whither he had gone for the 
benefit of his health. He was a public- 
spirited, generous-hearted and whole-souled 
man, one who made many friends, who 
deeply mourned the taking away, in the 
prime of life, of a good man. He left a 
sorrowing widow and two children, mention 
of whom will be made further on. In poli- 
tics he was a zealous Democrat, but no office- 
seeker, and though often urged to accept 
office invariably declined the honor, prefer- 
ring, rather, to work for his friends. In so- 
cial affiliations he was a thirty-second degree 
Mason, always taking a lively interest in the 
affairs of the Order, and he was also promi- 
nent in the G. A. R., having served Lincoln 
Post No. 131, at Merrill, as commander, and 
was junior vice-commander during the in- 
cumbency of General Weissert, as com- 
mander of the State department. He was 
also aid-de-camp on the staff of Gen. Lucius 
Fairchild during the years 1886 and 1887, 
up to his decease — in fact he ever took a 
most active interest in the G. A. R. , and was 
a zealous, untiring worker in its interests. 

On December 5, 1865, Mr. Coon was 
married to Miss Alice Vilmina Withey, who 
was born in the town of Wirt, in the west- 
ern part of Allegany county, N. Y., March 
9, 1849, daughter of George and Catherine 
(Mover) Withey, who were the parents of 
seven children, viz. : Mary, Caroline, Sarah, 
Alvira, Alice V., Jennie and Helen. The 
father of these children was born in Otsego 
county, N. Y. , in 1807, and died in western 
Allegany county, N. Y., in January, 1879; 
he was a son of Stephen and Lydia Withey, 
who had four children: Alva, Eliza, George 
and Harriet. Stephen Withey was born 
about the year 1769, and lived to be ninety- 
two years of age. The mother of Mrs. 
Alice V. Coon was born in Germany July 
22, 1 82 1, and died April 15, 1893, at Boli- 
var, Allegany Co., N. Y. ; she was a daugh- 
ter of Jacob and Mary Moyer, farming peo- 
ple, who had a family of eight children, 
named respectively: Caroline, Dorothy, 



88 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Elizabeth, Mary, Jacob, John, Catherine and 
Louis, all born in Germany. The parents 
came with their family to America about 
the year 1833 on account of the father's 
health, and decided to remain; but he did 
not long survive his arrival in the New 
World. To Mr. and Mrs. Coon have been 
born two children: Mamie Genevieve, 
born in Richburg, Allegany Co., N. Y. , 
March 2 1 , 1 870, married to Herman Charles 
Wolff (sketch of whom follows) ; and Georgia 
Prue, born in Merrill, Wis. , September 24, 
1880, and entered Kemper Hall school at 
Kenosha, Wis., on her fifteenth birthday. 

Herman Charles Wolff was born in 
Grossborkenhagen, Germany, August 3, 
i860, a son of Gottlieb and Caroline 
(Kluetz) Wolff, who were the parents of 
four children — Herman C. , Edward J., 
Willy J. and Mary A. The father of these, 
who was an agriculturist, came to the 
United States and landed in New York City 
July 7, 1869. He settled on a farm in Win- 
nebago county. Wis., although he was not 
dependent on farming for a living, as he was 
a man of means when he came to this 
country. On August 16, 1876, the family 
moved into the village of Jenny (now city 
of Merrill), and here the father, who was 
born March 31, 1810, died August 20, 1891, 
and the mother, born June 15, 1832, is yet 
living. He had been twice married, the 
children by his first wife being Tena, Au- 
gust, Carl and Caroline. 

Herman C. Wolff received a liberal ed- 
ucation at the district schools of Winnebago 
county, and worked on a farm until coming 
to Jenny (now Merrill). He then entered 
his uncle's store, clerking there some three 
years, at the end of which time, in 1879, he 
went to Milwaukee, where he filled the po- 
sition of bookkeeper for a wholesale com- 
mission house some eighteen months. Re- 
turning to Merrill, he was employed in de- 
partment stores until 1888, at which time 
he was elected clerk of the circuit court, 
serving two years, and then, in association 
with a partner, conducted a grocery busi- 
ness. On February 20, 1893, he entered 
the First National Bank of Merrill as book- 
keeper, his present position, which he is 
filling with characteristic ability and fidelity. 



JOSEPH THOMAS is the proprietor of 
a fine hotel in Marshfield, and a repre- 
sentative business man. As he has a 

wide acquaintance in the city we feel 
assured that the record of his life will prove 
of interest to many of our readers, and gladly 
give it a place in this volume. He was 
born in the city of Teller, Prussia, October 
10, 1837, and is a son of Urborn Thomas, 
who was born in the same place June 29, 
1809. By trade he was a cooper, and he 
possessed considerable musical ability, com- 
ing of a family of musicians. He was one 
five brothers, intelligent and highly-educated 
men, two of the number engaging in school 
teaching. The names of the members of 
the family are Cornelius, Jacob, John, Sy- 
billa, Elizabeth and Anna Maria. The eld- 
est brother has two sons who became Catho- 
lic priests, and John A. also has a son who 
is a priest. 

Having arrived at years of maturity, the 
father of our subject was married, in 1837, 
to Anna Maria Holesmir, and ere leaving 
their native land they became the parents of 
the following children: Joseph, Anna, John, 
Sophisand Sybilla. After coming to America 
their family circle was increased by the birth 
of Anton, Fidelia, Jacob and Peter. They 
also lost three children in infancy. The 
year 1845 witnessed the emigration of the 
family to the New World, and they stepped 
from the sailing vessel on American soil in 
New York City on the 4th of July, At once 
continuing their westward journey, they at 
length reached Washington county. Wis., 
the father securing a tract of wild land in 
Addison township when there were only 
twelve families within its borders. At differ- 
ent times he was interested in other busi- 
ness ventures, but made farming his princi- 
pal occupation through life, and he died in 
the town where he had first located, in 
May, 1874. His wife, surviving him a num- 
ber of years, passed away in November, 1891. 

The eldest child of this worthy couple is 
Joseph Thomas, who was a lad of only seven 
summers when his parents crossed the At- 
lantic to America and took up their resi- 
dence upon a wild farm, which he aided in 
bringing under cultivation as soon as he was 
old enough to handle the plow. For two 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S9 



years his father was ill, and he was com- 
pelled to work for neighborin;; farmers in 
order to support the family. There was no 
school in the new country, so his educational 
advantages were necessarily limited. He 
worked out, giving his earnings to his par- 
ents until twenty-four years of age, being 
employed to a considerable e.xtent in build- 
ing levees in the South. He had also 
learned the cooper's trade which he followed 
for a time, and thus in various ways did he 
gain a livelihood. 

At the time of the breaking out of the 
Civil war Mr. Thomas was in Little Rock, 
Ark., and was obliged to run down the river; 
also walked a long distance, and even then 
had trouble in getting home. Soon after 
his return he was married June 12, 1861, 
to Lena Kopf, who was born in France in 
1 84 1, a daughter of George and Catherine 
(Buchart) Kopf, who came to America in 
1847, locating on a Wisconsin farm. Their 
family numbered seven children: Lena, 
Sophia, Frances, Michael, Bartell, Adam 
(deceased), and John. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Thomas were born the following children: 
Anna, Katie, Frances, Lena, John, George, 
Joseph, Michael, August and William, who 
are yet living; and Joseph and William, now 
deceased. Upon his marriage Mr. Thomas 
rented a farm and cultivated same eight 
years, when he purchased another tract of 
land which he operated until 1884; then 
sold out and came toMarshfield, purchasing 
some lots on which stood a frame hotel. 
There he began business, and success attend- 
ed his efforts until June 27, 1887, when the 
hotel was destroyed in the great Marshfield 
fire. With characteristic energy he began 
building his present fine brick hotel, which 
he has since carried on with the exception 
of three years, when he rented it to his son- 
in-law. He is the present genial and pop- 
ular proprietor, and the place is a favorite 
with the traveling public. 

In his political views, Mr. Thomas is a 
Democrat, and has been honored with a 
number of local offices. For five years he 
served as supervisor of his township, and for 
four years after coming to the city held the 
same position, serving in that capacity at 
the present time by appointment from the 



council. His fidelity to duty is well-known, 
and he is accounted one of the ablest officers 
on the board; at one time he was a candidate 
for city assessor. From his parents he re- 
ceived $300, and all that he has over and 
above that he has accumulated through his 
own efforts. In the rush and hurry of business 
he has not neglected the holier duties of life, 
and is a prominent member and active work- 
er in the Catholic Church, having served as 
a member of the building committee when 
the present fine church edifice was erected. 



M 



ARK NEUMAN, a leading and pop- 
ular clothing merchant of Antigo, 
Langlade county, is a native of 
Wisconsin, born January 13, 1861, 
at LaCrosse, a son of Simon and Hanchen 
(Hoffman) Neuman, both natives of Prussia, 
the former born in 1822, the latter in 1839. 
The father of our subject had two broth- 
ers and three sisters, all of whom came to 
America except one sister, who remained in 
the Fatherland with her parents. Simon 
emigrated in 1850, first locating, for any 
length of time, at Granville, Washington 
Co., N. Y. , in the general merchandising 
business, having followed the trade of hat 
and cap maker in New York for a short 
time, at which he had previously worked in 
London (England). About the year 1855 
he came to Wisconsin, and in the city of 
LaCrosse established a dry-goods store, 
which he conducted some twenty-five years, 
or until 1881, when he moved to Racine, 
and there for four years carried on a cloth- 
ing business. In 1885 he came to Antigo 
and opened out the clothing establishment 
now managed by his son Mark. At Mil- 
waukee, in 1859, Simon Neuman was mar- 
ried to Miss Hanchen Hoffman, who was 
born in Prussia in 1839, and came alone to 
this country in her girlhood. She has one 
brother, William, living, and had one sister, 
Fredericka, now deceased. Mr. Neuman 
died April 13, 1893, respected and regretted 
by a wide circle of relatives and friends; his 
widow now has her home in Duluth, Minn. 
They were the parents of four children, 
namely: Mark, Rebecca (now Mrs, M. Kas- 



90 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



triner, of Duluth), Louis (in business at that 
city) and Hulda. 

Mark Neuman, the subject proper of 
these Hnes, received his education at the 
common schools of his native place, after 
which he was employed in his father's store 
until 1890, at which time he was given a 
half interest in the Antigo business, and 
since his father's death has had the control 
and management of the entire concern, his 
mother retaining a half interest in the same. 

On May 2, 1894, our subject was united 
in marriage with Miss Ida DeLee, of Chi- 
cago, who was born at Cold Spring, on the 
Hudson, New York State, daughter of Mor- 
ris fa wholesale clothier in Chicago) and 
Dora DeLee, natives, the father of Poland, 
the mother of Germany. They have a fam- 
ily of eight children, viz.: Solomon T. , 
Charles, Abraham, Joseph, Augusta, Ida, 
Nettie and Anette. To Mr. and Mrs. Neu- 
man has been born one child, named Ruth 
Hertha. In his political preferences our 
subject is a Republican; socially, he is a 
member of the F. and A. M., and K. of P., 
in which latter order he is a charter member 
of the lodge at Antigo, and is master of the 
exchequer. 



JOSEPH GAUTHIER, of Keshena, Sha- 
wano county, was born August 18, 181 8, 
at Rock Island, 111., and is nearly a 
full-blooded Menominee Indian. His 
father's name was Shaw-nah-wah-quah-hah, 
and his mother's name was Sho-sha-quaer, 
a daughter of Kanote, who was a sub-chief 
and a brother of Tomah, the head chief of 
the tribe, and a noted Indian of his time. 
Both Kanote and Tomah had some white 
blood in their veins from a distant ancestor. 
Mr. Gauthier's Indian name was Mah- 
chickeney, and he was an only son. His 
father died when he was eight years old, and 
his mother afterward married Antoine Gau- 
thier, an employe of the American Fur 
Compay, who were extensive traders with 
the Indians all over the Northwest. Antoine 
Gauthier remained with this company for 
about thirty-five years. He then went to 
farming in Henry county. 111., where he re- 
mained until his family grew up and were 



scattered, when he went to Kansas and died 
in Kansas City, Mo., in September, 1856. 
After his mother's second marriage, Mr. 
Gauthier took his step-father's name, which 
he still retains. By the second marriage of 
Mr. Gauthier's mother, children were born 
as follows: Antoine, who for many years 
was interpreter for the Sacs and Fox Indi- 
ans, but afterward married a daughter of 
Muck-Kunth, the chief of the Chippewa and 
Munsee tribe; he died in 1875. Louis also 
married into the same tribe and family as 
his brother, Antoine, and died in 1892; Frank, 
who married into the same tribe, died in 
1870; John, who married into the Sacs and 
Fox tribe, was a farmer near Rock Island, 
111., all his life, and died there in 1845; Susan 
married a half-breed Menominee, is still 
living, and since the death of Mr. Gauthier's 
wife has been his housekeeper; Margaret 
married a son of Muck-Kunth, the chief of 
the Chippewa and Munsee Indians; she died 
in 1862, and her husband in 1888. 

Joseph Gauthier's younger days were 
spent in the vicinity of Rock Island, 111., and 
he received some education by attending the 
primitive schools of that period, and from 
what the officers of the fort taught him, 
which he improved as he grew older. In 
his boyhood days he knew Gen. Harney, 
Gen. Scott, Gen. Banks, and other officers 
who became noted soldiers later on, and was 
always a favorite with the officers and sol- 
diers at the fort. Mr. Gauthier was four- 
teen years old at the time of the Black Hawk 
war, and has a vivid recollection of the stir- 
ring times of that period. He was enrolled 
with the militia and carried a musket with 
the balance, but being young was not sent 
into the field. He was one of the pioneer 
lumber boys of the State, working for several 
years on Black river for D. B. Seers & Co., 
of Moline, 111. In 1850 he rejoined his tribe, 
who were located at Poygan, Wis., a few 
miles above Oshkosh. After working on a 
boat on Fox river one season he was given a 
position in the government blacksmith shop 
conducted for the benefit of the Indians at 
Winneconne. In 1852 the Menominees 
were removed on to their present reservation 
in Shawano county, and Mr. Gauthier came 
with them and continued to work in the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



blacksmith shop. Shortly afterward he was 
appointed the boss of the shop at $40 a 
month, which was large wages for those 
days, and he continued in that position until 
1857, when he was appointed the official in- 
terpreter for the tribe, which position he 
held until i860, when a change of agents 
took place, and for political reasons he was 
removed. He then engaged in the mercan- 
tile business at Keshena under the firm name 
of Gauthier & Upham, his f)artner being 
Charles M. Upham, of Shawano, Wis., who 
is a brother of the present governor of the 
State. Mr. Gauthier continued in the mer- 
cantile business until 1866, when he was 
again appointed interpreter, which place he 
has held ever since, with the exception of 
about one year and a half. 

During the Civil war Mr. Gauthier was 
an enthusiastic Union man, and if he could 
have arranged his business matters satisfac- 
torily would have been to the front with his 
musket. As it was, he encouraged enlist- 
ments among the Indians, and was the prime 
mover in raising Company K, Thirty-seventh 
Wis. V. I., paying the expenses of trans- 
porting the company to Madison, and sup- 
porting many of the families of the men who 
enlisted. He accompanied the company to 
Madison, and was appointed special quarter- 
master for the services he had rendered. It 
is well enough to say here that Company K, 
Thirty-seventh Wis. V. I. were all Indians 
but two. They were mustered into service 
June 27, 1864. On July 31, 1864, they 
were in the front of Petersburg, and were 
caught in the explosion of the mine cele- 
brated in the history of that fight, and nine- 
teen of the company were killed, and several 
others wounded. 

In 1852 Joseph Gauthier was married to 
Mary Ann Mo-sha-quah-toe-kiew, whose 
father died when she was a small child. 
They had one child, Frank, who died in in- 
fancy. Mr. and Mrs. Gauthier adopted a 
small boy, and brought him up as their son. 
His name is Joseph F. Gauthier, and he is 
now a prosperous merchant and lumberman, 
and resides at Keshena, Wis. Mrs. Gauthier 
died July 12, 1892, when about sixty-seven 
years old, loved and respected by all. 

Joseph Gauthier is a member of the 



Catholic Church, and a regular attendant. 
Although he is partly blind, he retains all 
his mental faculties, and is respected and 
held in high esteem both by the Indians and 
whites. The present Chief of the Menomi- 
nees is Ne-oh-pet, a son of the celebrated 
chief, Oshkosh. Ne-oh-pet, Chickeney and 
Nah-tah-wah-pah-my are the present judges 
of the Indian court, and try all Indian cases 
arising on the reservation. Mr. Gauthier 
acts as interpreter for the court. The de- 
cisions of this court are so pure and just 
that many white judges could learn a lesson 
from them in equity and justice. 



JUDGE MUNSON M. ROSS, of Lang- 
lade county, was the first attorney in 
the county, and is now serving as mu- 
nicipal judge. He is a native of Wis- 
consin, born in Manitowoc, August 22, 1853, 
and is a son of Norris and Eliza (Edwards) 
Ross. 

Norris Ross was born in the town of 
Windsor, Hartford Co., Conn., in 18 16. His 
father, who was a farmer, removed to Cleve- 
land, Ohio, when Norris was a two-year-old 
child. The latter left home when about six- 
teen years old, and going to Milwaukee 
worked at carpentering and ship-building. 
Later he came to Manitowoc, and in 1836 
built the first vessel ever constructed there, 
and which was named the "Citizen." He 
was here married to Miss Eliza Edwards, 
who was born in Monmouth county, N. J., 
December 30, 1830, a daughter of Joseph 
and Amy (Johnson) Edwards, whose fami- 
ly comprised the following children: Henr}', 
Daniel, Joseph, Perry, Eliza, Gertrude, 
Phcebe, Jennie and Emma. The father was 
a lake captain for many years, owning and 
sailing his own vessels; he served in the Civil 
war. His sons are all sailors. Mr. Ed- 
wards died in 1866, his wife in 1887. Norris 
Ross also sailed the lakes for some years, 
owning and sailing his own vessels. He is 
still living at a good old age, and makes his 
home with the subject of this sketch. Mrs. 
Ross died April 30, i88r. They were the 
parents of five children as follows: Ella, 
now Mrs. George H. Hoffman, of Antigo; Jes- 
sie, Mrs. Albert Ross, also residing in Anti- 



92 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



go; Julia, who married C. Deda, of Kewau- 
nee, and is deceased; lone, who married 
Richard Hampton, a farmer, and resides in 
Langlade county; and Munson M., who is 
the second child in order of birth. 

Our subject was educated in the common 
schools of Manitowoc, and learned the trade 
of a printer, at which he worked some seven 
years, one year of that time on the Milwau- 
kee Sentinel. He was then obliged to give 
up work for two years on account of his 
health. At the age of twenty-five Mr. Ross, 
having decided to study law, entered the 
office of H. G. and W. J. Turner. Here he 
remained about four years, was admitted to 
the bar in 1881, and in July of that year 
came to Antigo, and opened an office, being, 
as already stated, the first attorney to take 
up his residence in Langlade county. He 
had practiced here only one year, when he 
was elected register of deeds, and held that 
office four years, succeeding R. G. Webb, 
who was the first man to hold that office in 
the county. Hs was then elected mayor, 
and after his term expired he moved on his 
farm near Antigo, where he remained, how- 
ever, only eight months. Then he came 
back to the city, and purchased a hardware 
store, which he carried on for two years, 
when he sold out, and built a sawmill near 
his farm. This, however, proving a financial 
failure, he again moved onto his farm, where 
he lived one year. 

In the spring of 1895 Mr. Ross was elect- 
ed municipal judge of the county, and now 
resides in Antigo. Judge Ross was married, 
in 1 88 1, to Sarah J. Edwards, who was 
born in Milwaukee, Wis., December 6, 1857, 
daughter of Robert and Mary (Jones) Ed- 
wards, one of eight children, whose names 
are: Sarah J., Anna, Maggie, Laura, Mattie, 
Thomas, Robert and John. Her parents, 
who were natives of Wales, came to Ameri- 
ca when young, and were married in Mil- 
waukee. Her father was a sailor, first on 
the ocean, and afterward on the lakes, and 
is now living at Two Rivers, Wis. Her 
mother died in February, 1895. Three chil- 
dren have been born to Judge Ross and his 
wife, Thomas M., Anieta and Munson M. 
The judge is a stanch Democrat, and an act- 
ive worker. He has been a member of the 



school board ever since coming to Antigo, 
and takes a great interest in educational 
matters. He is identified with the Episco- 
pal Church, and is a member of the I. O. O. 
F. and K. of P. 



HERMAN A. HERMANSON, one of 
the extensive landowners and lum- 
bermen of Tola, Waupaca county, 
was born September 19, 185 1, in 
Norway, son of Herman Hermanson, who 
was a mill employe in that country. Our 
subject also had one sister born in Norway, 
Christina, now Mrs. Goodman Amanson, of 
lola, and one born in America, Annie, now 
Mrs. Carl Hagen, of Helvetia township, 
Waupaca county. 

In the spring of 1852 the father, accom- 
panied by the mother and two children, 
crossed the Atlantic, being eleven weeks in 
making the voyage, and landed at Quebec, 
Canada. Their destination was Winnebago 
county. Wis. , whither they came by way of 
Buffalo and the lakes. The father kept a 
store at Winneconne for a year and a half, 
but his capital was quite small, being limited 
to what he could realize from the sale of 
such possessions as he had. In the fall of 
1853 the family arrived in Waupaca county, 
locating in Scandinavia township, where a 
great many of their countrymen resided, 
which fact, and the cheapness of the land, 
proved a great attraction. The father there 
purchased the northwest quarter of Section 
3, which was quite wild, with very little 
clearing done, and a few rude improvements. 
To make a farm of it required much labor, 
but although not experienced in farming, 
Mr. Hermanson was strong and robust, and 
the thoughts of owning a home inspired him. 
Work was plentiful, but at first progressed 
slowly, yet as he became more accustomed 
to his new calling he made better headway. 
The place was at last free from debt, and he 
added to his possessions until at one time he 
owned 260 acres of good land. He con- 
tinued to reside upon the farm until 1885, 
when he removed to lola, there living re- 
tired until his death, which occurred March 
19, 1892; his good wife had preceded him to 
the final rest, dying March 19, 1889, and as 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



93 



his birth had occurred August 2, 1819, and 
her's on August 8, 18 16, each was seventj-- 
three years old at the time of decease. They 
now He buried in the old cemetery at Scan- 
dinavia. The father was large, being six 
feet tall, was an industrious, hard-working 
man, and entirely self-made. Politically he 
was first a supporter of the Democratic 
party, until Abraham Lincoln's candidacy, 
when the Republican platform, with its 
patriotic planks, seemed to please him, and 
thereafter always found in him a warm friend, 
stanch supporter and regular voter, as well 
as a faithful servant in minor township of- 
fices. He also held the position of school 
trustee. He was a devout member of the 
Lutheran Church, to which his family also 
belonged, and helped to erect the first house 
of worship for that denomination in Scandi- 
navia, to which he was always a liberal con- 
tributor. 

The common schools afforded Herman 
A. Hermanson his literary education. His 
first teacher was Amelia Ingersol, in District 
No. 3, Scandinavia township, Waupaca 
county, the primitive school house furnished 
with old-fashioned benches for seats, and 
other furniture in keeping. The terms were 
short, and poorly conducted, and at the age 
of sixteen he left the school room in order 
to give his whole time to farm work, which 
he has always assisted in from mere child- 
hood. At the age of seven years he helped 
take the wheat to Waupaca, and the flour 
to Weyauwega, all being done with oxen, 
which he could lead. Wheat was the main 
crop in those days, and the father raised as 
much as 700 bushels, thirty to the acre be- 
ing nothing unusual, fn hauling flour to 
Weyauwega they would start at 2 o'clock 
in the morning, and with cattle, make the 
round trip in a day, the price per bushel re- 
ceived for wheat being so small that they 
could not afford the hotel expenses over 
night. Mr. Hermanson remained on the 
home farm until he had reached the age of 
twenty-two, when he entered the employ of 
Thompson &Howen, of Amherst, Wis., as a 
clerk, remaining with them some eight 
months, when the firm changed, and he re- 
turned home. Later he was again em- 
ployed by Mr. Howen, with whom he worked 



six months. In 1875, while looking up pine 
lands in Township 26, Range 10, Waupaca 
county, he was accidentally shot through the 
hip, causing a wound which kept him from 
business for two years, and represented quite 
a loss, as in those days valuable pine tim- 
ber was being located all over northern Wis- 
consin, and he was prevented from partici- 
pating in the hunt. 

On October 7, 1885, the marriage of 
Mr. Hermanson and Clara Hoyerd was cel- 
ebrated in the Lutheran Church, of Scan- 
dinavia. She was born in Scandinavia 
township, Waupaca county, Februry 27, 
1866, daughter of O. P. Hoyerd. After 
their marriage the young couple lived for 
some time with his parents, and when the 
latter removed to Tola he took entire charge 
of the farm, though he had for some time 
previous been the mainstay of the place. 
Mr. Hermanson continued to follow farming 
here, but in the fall of 1889 he bought an 
interest in a flouring-mill at Scandinavia, in 
connection with the Sither Brothers & John 
Wrolstad, who sold their interest to the 
firm, continuing as Wrolstad & Hermanson 
until the following spring, when our subject 
sold his interest and returned to his farm. 
Here he continued to carry on agricultural 
pursuits until October, 1890, when he be- 
came interested in a general store in Scan- 
dinavia with Carl Peterson, under the firm 
name of Peterson & Hermanson, they hav- 
ing purchased the stock of N. I. Nelson. 
This business Mr. Hermanson followed un- 
til June 24, 1 89 1, when he disposed of his 
interest, and bought pine lands in Helvetia 
and Wyoming townships. At the same 
time he started a mill, and has since con- 
tinued the lumber business with good suc- 
cess, purchasing the pine on almost nine 
hundred acres. He yet retains eighty acres 
of the home place, as well as 280 acres in 
lola and Scandinavia townships, Waupaca 
county, and he also owns a house and lot in 
lola besides his place of business. 

While not an office-seeker, Mr. Her- 
manson takes considerable interest in polit- 
ical matters, always casting his ballot in 
support of the Republican party, and for 
six years served as justice of the peace. He 
and his wife are members of the Lutheran 



94 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 



Church, of which he is one of the trustees, 
and socially he belongs to the I. O. O. F. 
Lodge at lola. No. 282. He is exceedingly 
generous and benevolent in nature, and in 
the last ten years has lost some $5,000, going 
bail for friends, and in other ways. He is 
numbered among the foremost men of lola, 
and seems destined to become a wealthy 
man. Public-spirited and enterprising, he 
has done much for the advancement of the 
community, and is numbered among her re- 
spected citizens. 



BYRON B. PARK, an active and wide- 
awake attorney at law of Stevens 
Point, Portage county, is a native of 
that city, born October 6, 1858, a 
son of the late Hon. Gilbert L. Park. He 
graduated at the high school of that place, 
and afterward, in 1876, entered the Wiscon- 
sin State University at Madison, taking a 
special three-years' course preparatory to be- 
coming a law student. In the fall of 1879 
he commenced the study of law in the office 
of Jones & Sanborn, Stevens Point, so con- 
tinuing until 1880, when he became a stu- 
dent in the Law Department of the State 
University at Madison, graduating from there 
in June, 18S1, at which time he was also ad- 
mitted to the bar. He then moved to Mil- 
waukee, and there entered the office of Win- 
field & A. A. L. Smith, a prominent law 
firm of that city, and with them remained 
one year, when, owing to the illness of his 
father, who was obliged to go to California 
for his health, he returned to Stevens Point, 
in order to give his attention to his father's 
business. The latter dying in June, 1884, 
our subject during the next two years was 
engaged in settling up his father's estate and 
private affairs; then in the spring of 1886 
he formed a parnership with Frank B. Lam- 
oreux, under the firm name of Lamoreux & 
Park, which continued until December, 
1891, when J. O. Raymond was admitted 
as a partner, the firm names becoming Ray- 
mond, Lamoreux & Park, which still exists, 
Mr. Park as a rule having charge of the trial 
branch of the business, though each member 
of the firm is more or less actively engaged in 
all departments of law. Our subject practices 



before all State, United States and District 
courts, and is full}' recognized as one of the 
prominent attorneys of northern Wisconsin. 
The firm enjoy a wide and lucrative clientage 
throughout this section of the State, and, 
probably, have the most extensive practice, 
locally, of any in the profession. 

Politicall)- Mr. Park is a Democrat, and 
has always taken an active part in the coun- 
cils of the part}-; was a delegate to the Demo- 
cratic State Convention held at Madison in 
1888, and has been a delegate to ever}' State 
Convention since; was also a delegate to the 
Congressional Conventions held in 1884, 
1888 and 1892. In 1888-89 he served as 
city attorney; in 1891-92 as mayor of Stev- 
ens Point; in 1892 was elected district attor- 
ney, and is now (1895) serving as such. In 
February, 1892, he was appointed regent of 
State Normal schools by Gov. Peck, and was 
re-appointed in February, 1894. In every 
political campaign he has been active on the 
"stump," his services always being in de- 
mand and highly appreciated. Socially our 
subject is a member of the F. & A. M., Blue 
Lodge, and of Forest Chapter at Stevens 
Point ; also member of the Knights of Pythias, 
Phoenix Lodge No. 33. On September 29, 
1886, he was married to Miss Bertha N. 
Wyatt, daughter of William Wyatt, of 
Stevens Point, and two children have come 
to brighten their home, named respectively: 
Gladys and Laurence W. 



JOHN RUSSELL FLEMING. To the 
land of Scott and Burns the United 
States is indebted for many of her 
most loyal, most progressive and most 
successful of citizens, not a few of whom 
are to be found in the State of Wisconsin. 
In this connection it is a pleasure to here 
outline the life of the gentleman whose name 
introduces this sketch. 

Mr. Fleming was born in Lanarkshire, 
Scotland, near the city of Glasgow, Novem- 
ber 22, 1846, and is a son of William and 
Janet (Mclndoe) Fleming, both also natives 
of the "land of the heather," where they 
followed agricultural pursuits, and were 
highly respected and esteemed for their 
many virtues. The father was born near 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



95 



Bathgate, in 1820, the mother in Dumbar- 
tonshire, in 1825; she died in Scotland in 
1 87 1. They were the parents of nine chil- 
dren, a brief record ftf whom is as follows: 
John Russell, the subject of these lines, is 
the eldest; Catherine is now the wife of R. 
Crum, and lives in Idaho; Jessie is de- 
ceased; Peter is a wool-grower and sheep 
raiser in Idaho; William is in Montana, 
Walter in Australia, and James in Idaho; 
Hugh was engaged in the sheep industry in 
Idaho, where, in 1894, he was killed by 
cowboys while protecting his flock; Agnes 
was married in Scotland, and emigrated to 
Australia, where she died. 

John Russell was the first of the family 
to come to the United States, the date of 
his immigration being June 2, 1868. The 
rest of them followed him to the New 
World soon afterward, except the father, 
who did not come till 1889, and he is now 
living near IMinocqua, Vilas county. Our 
subject followed farming some nine months 
in Canada, at the end of which time, his 
uncle, Hon. Walter Duncan Mclndoe, being 
a prominent resident of Wausau, Wis., he 
moved thither, and for three years was em- 
ployed in the pineries in various pursuits. 
In 1872 he went to Nevada, but did not re- 
main there long, Idaho appearing to him to 
be more inviting for his purposes, and ac- 
cordingly he proceeded to that then Terri- 
tory. In Idaho he remained nearly twenty 
years, engaged in the rearing of sheep, cat- 
tle and horses, besides extensive farming, 
and during those years he had some thrill- 
ing experiences with the Indians, Mormons, 
cowboys and sheep owners, with all of 
whom he had considerable business dealings 
from time to time. For nearly two years 
he held a government position as agent 
over the Bannock and Shoshone Indians 
while at war with the whites. In 1892 he 
returned to Wisconsin, and is now a resi- 
dent of Merrill, Lincoln county. 

On November 28, 1893, Mr. Fleming 
was united in marriage with Mrs. Alice G. 
Champagne, widow of Hon. P. B. Cham- 
pagne. He is a pleasant, genial gentleman, 
and although his education in boyhood and 
youth did not extend beyond the limits of 
the common schools of his native county, 



Lanarkshire, yet by culture and close ob- 
servation of men and nature he has become 
a man of superior literary attainments, as 
is evidenced by his many contributions of 
poetry and description to the public press; he 
is also a producer of music and art of high 
rank. A lover of fine horses, he finds no 
enjoyment more congenial or healthy than 
driving some fine team, and at the present 
time he is owner of a superb pair of 
"blacks." A familiar figure in the com- 
munity, possessed of an ever-cheerful coun- 
tenance, he has a smile and cheery word for 
all whom he meets, and no one in the county 
possesses more fully the esteem, good will 
and respect of his fellow-citizens than does 
John Russell Fleming, 



OLE G. FROGNER, one of the fore- 
most citizens and successful business 
men of lola, Waupaca county, is 
now serving as president of the vil- 
lage. He was born near Skien, Norway, 
May 29, 1852, and is asonofGunder Frog- 
ner, who was head sawyer in a mill in his 
native land. In 1872 the father, accom- 
panied by his family of five children, came 
to the United States, the passage being made 
in a sailing vessel, and occupying seven 
weeks and three days. They first located in 
New Hope, Portage Co., Wis., where a 
temporary home was made on rented land; 
but soon after the father purchased land in 
Section 2, Scandinavia township, Waupaca 
county, and began farmmg it. This was the 
first land he ever owned in the United 
States, and it was here that he followed 
agricultural pursuits during his active life. 
On landing in this country he had limited 
means; but at the time of his death he was 
possessed of a comfortable amount of world- 
ly goods. He passed away July 2, 1886, 
and was buried in the Lutheran Cemetery, 
of Scandinavia, of which Church he was a 
faithful member. Though no politician, he 
regularly cast his ballot in support of the 
men and measures of the Republican party. 
His widow now makes her home with our 
subject. In the family were the following 
children: Louis, of the firm of Frogner 
Brothers, of lola; Olc G. ; Mary, wife of Ole 



96 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Gordon, of Nelsonville, Portage Co., Wis.; 
John, also a member of the firm of Frogner 
Brothers; and Gusta. 

The educational advantages which Ole 
G. Frogner received were very limited, al- 
though he learned very readily. He attended 
school to some e.xtent in his native land, but 
after coming to the New World most of his 
time had to be given to work instead of 
study. At the age of nineteen years, while 
in the old country, he began learning the 
trade of wagon making, and in the fall of 
1872 commenced work at his trade with 
Martin Perkins, of Stevens Point, whose 
death caused him to lose what wages were 
due him, some seventy dollars, and he was 
thus left with no money, having to borrow 
to pay his board. He then worked at the 
carpenter's trade for three or four years. In 
the fall of 1 877 he bought the wagon shop of 
Harrison Warren at lola, with whom he had 
previously worked four months, and he con- 
ducted the business alone until January, 
1878, when his brother Louis became a 
member of the firm, and later John also be- 
came interested in the business. In 1 884 they 
added a blacksmith shop, which they car- 
ried on until 1893, when they sold to Han- 
sen & Johnson Brothers, who had formerly 
been in their employ. The firm in 1885, in 
connection with their other business, also be- 
gan wagon making in Scandinavia, of which 
our subject had charge, and has two work- 
men under him; but later the employes 
bought out the business. In 1879 they 
added farm implements to their stock, and 
for four years also had a wagon on the road 
for the sale of pumps. Their plant has been 
enlarged, and many new improvements 
added, including an engine, which was put 
in in 1887; in 1890 an Atlas engine and saw 
outfit was added, and also a planing depart- 
ment. In 1892 a steam dry-kiln was put in 
operation. Three years later they sold out 
the implement business with the exception 
of the sale of mowers, binders and steam- 
threshing outfits, which they continue to 
supply. Repairing of machinery and boilers 
forms a part of their business, and this 
branch is under the charge of John, who dis- 
plays great natural mechanical ability. The 
firm of Frogner Brothers is widely known 



in Waupaca county, and they have built up 
an extensive and paying business. 

On June 30, 1878, Mr. Frogner was 
joined in wedlock with Miss Christina Pe- 
terson, of Scandinavia, Waupaca county, a 
daughter of Simon Peterson, a leading 
farmer of that community. To this worthy 
couple seven children were born: Hans J., 
who died at the age of one year and six 
months; and Hannah J., Myrtle T., Guj- 
S., Oliver C, Arthur W. and Herbert N.. 
all at home. After his marriage Mr. Frog- 
ner located in lola, but in the fall of 1886 
Frogner Brothers purchased the father's 
farm, on which our subject resided about a 
year, when he returned to lola, where he 
remained until the spring of 1895. At that 
time he bought his present farm of 120 
acres, near the village, on which he now 
makes his home. 

Mr. Frogner is a stalwart supporter of 
the principles of the Republican party, and 
is one of its leaders in the community. For 
ten years he was township treasurer; was 
the first treasurer of the village of lola; and 
in the spring of 1893 was elected president 
of the village, which office he is now ac- 
ceptably filling. After serving two terms 
as school clerk he resigned in order to be- 
come eligible to bid on the erection of a 
new school house. Mr. Frogner is promi- 
nently connected with the I. O. O. F. , be- 
longing to lola Lodge, No. 282, in which he 
has filled all the offices, being noble grand 
in 1882. He often attends the State meet- 
ings of the Order; has been State delegate 
to the Grand Lodge, and was district deputy 
grand master in 1890 and 1891. Himself 
and wife are charter members of Rebecca 
Lodge, No. 331, at lola, and their religious 
connections are with the Lutheran Church. 

Mr. Frogner has ever been an untiring 
worker, and has been an important factor 
in the building up of one of the most lead- 
ing industries of Waupaca county. His 
success is only the more creditable when it 
is considered that he had little or no educa- 
tion in English, that in fact in his first 
business correspondence he had to consult 
friends in order to learn the contents of his 
letters. Too much praise can not be be- 
stowed upon him for the success he has 



COMMEMORATIVE BWOEAPffWAL RECORD. 



97 



made, and his energetic disposition caused 
him to fill a sick bed for two years and a 
half, the result of overwork. Though many 
predicted disaster when they saw the firm of 
Frogner Brothers adding to their business, 
they have met with nothing but success, 
which is well-merited. 



CHARLES S. LEYKOM. In pre- 
senting a record of the lives of rep- 
resentative self-made men of north- 
ern Wisconsin, more especially of 
Langlade county and the city of Antigo, it 
is a pleasure to include that of the gentle- 
man whose name is here given, because it is 
men of his caliber who have made this com- 
paritavely new State what it is, and brought 
it to its present condition of prosperity. 

Mr. Leykom is a native of Wisconsin, 
born in the city of Manitowoc November 
14, 1858, a son of John and Ann (Wallace) 
Leykom, the father born in Bavaria. Ger- 
many, in 1 807, the mother in Quebec, Canada, 
in 1830. The parents and brothers and sisters 
of John Leykom all died in Germany, 
John, alone, emigrating to Canada. He 
was reared by an uncle, John Hoffman, and 
before crossing the Atlantic he served in the 
German army. He had a family of eleven 
children, of whom John R., Harriet (now 
Mrs. H. A. Kohl), Catherine (now Mrs. G. 
W. Hill, of Antigo), Mary Ann and Charles 
S. , are the only survivors. All the eleven chil- 
dren were born in Canada except Catherine 
and Charles S., who are of Wisconsin birth. 
The family came to Wisconsin in 1845, set- 
tling in Manitowoc, where the father is yet 
living, and where the mother died in 1887. 
John R. and James served in the Union 
army during the Civil war, James enlisting 
when seventeen years old, serving eighteen 
months; in 1868 he was drowned in the 
wreck of the ill-fated " Seabird." Thomas 
died in Manitowoc at the age of seventeen, 
Albert when twenty-six, while other mem- 
bers of the family passed away in infancy. 
The mother, Mrs. Ann (Wallace) Leykom, 
was a daughter of James and Ruth Wall- 
ace, the former of whom, a mason by trade, 
died in Canada, the father of two sons and 
four daughters, one son, only, now living. 



Charles S. Leykom, the subject proper 
of these lines, who is the youngest in his 
father's family, received a liberal common- 
school education in the city of his birth, 
and when fourteen years old commenced 
learning the trade of cigar maker, which he 
followed some eighteen months, but had to 
abandon on account of impaired health. 
Later he clerked in a hardware store in 
Manitowoc three years, then in a grocery 
store one year, after which he returned to 
the hardware store and clerked there an- 
other three years. In July, 1881, he 
came to Antigo, Langlade county, where, 
in company with Mr. John Hessel he em- 
barked in the hardware business, the firm 
(Hessel & Leykom) building their own 
store, the first of the kind in Antigo, and 
they have met with the success due to 
enterprise and indefatigable energy. At that 
time the place was in a very primitive con- 
dition, the nearest railroad station being 
fifteen miles distant, and Mr. Leykom had to 
come on foot to the then village of 1 50 
inhabitants. 

In 1883 Mr. Leykom was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Nellie A. Williams, who was 
born in Potsdam, N. Y. , in 1864, daughter 
of G. C. and Alois (Heath) Williams, both 
natives of Vermont, who came to Wiscon- 
sin in 1882, settling on a farm; they had a 
family of eight children, of whom Abbie, 
Winnie, Nellie A. , Bertha and Jennie are 
living, the others having died in infancy. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Leykom have been born 
two children: John W. and Charles S. 
In his political preferences our subject is a 
Republican, and he has served as member 
of the school board; socially he is affiliated 
with the A. O. U. W., and is very active in 
that Order; in religious faith he and his wife 
are members of the Episcopal Church. He 
is recognized as one of the wide-awake 
pushing men of Antigo, in the building up 
of which young city he has always taken 
the deepest interest, and given substantial 
aid. At the present time he is president of 
the Langlade County Bank; treasurer of the 
Antigo Electric Light Plant Company; and 
president of the Agriculturial Society, and 
of the Antigo Cemetery Association. He 
and his amiable wife are proverbial for their 



98 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



hospitality and genialit\', and enjoy the well- 
merited respect and esteem of the entire 
community. 



JAMES BUCHANAN CHURCHILL in 
point of residence is the oldest settler 
of Grant township, Shawano county. 
In 1857 he purchased from the Fox 
River Improvement Co. a tract of 160 acres 
in Section 35, Grant township, distant a 
scant mile from the present flourishing little 
village of Marion, Waupaca count}'. This 
pioneer home was then under the territorial 
jurisdiction of Matteson township, and in- 
cluded what is now Grant, Pella, Matteson, 
Fairbanks and Split Rock townships. The 
little log house which he built stood in the 
midst of the dense forests, and here for 
many years he lived, a pioneer, when pio- 
neers were few, and when frontier life meant 
hardships and privations almost innumer- 
able. 

Mr. Churchill was born in Lock town- 
ship, Cayuga Co., N. Y. , in 1831, son of 
David A. and Martha (Buchanan) Churchill. 
David A. Churchill was the son of Daniel 
and Marion (Clark) Churchill, both of New 
York nativity and English ancestry. Daniel 
Churchill was a captain in the Continental 
army in the war of 1812, and died in Cayuga 
county, N. Y., where he was a large land- 
owner. Miriam Buchanan was the daugh- 
ter of John and Miriam (Yaeger) Buchanan. 
John Buchanan was a native of Ireland, and 
served during the Revolutionary war as a 
captain in the Patriot army. He was a re- 
lative of President Buchanan, and a farmer 
by occupation, living through life on a farm 
in Orange county, N. Y. David A. Churchill, 
father of James B., was a currier and shoe- 
maker by trade, and in 1845 moved from 
Cayuga county, N. Y. , to Tioga county, 
Penn., where he remained until 1867. In 
that year he came to the Wisconsin home 
of his son, and remained there until his 
death, in 1880; his wife died in 1887. Their 
family of eight children consisted of Clark 
L. , a lumberman, who died in i85 5,inSimcoe 
county, Canada West (now Ontario); James 
Buchanan, subject of this sketch; [erome, 
of Tioga county, Penn; Wilber, a resident 



of the same county, who enlisted in a Penn- 
sylvania cavalr}' regiment and served three 
years; William, his twin brother, now a re- 
sident of Larrabee township, Waupaca coun- 
ty, who also saw active service in a Penn- 
sylvania infantry regiment; David, also of 
Larrabee township, Waupaca county, and a 
veteran of a New York regiment; Daniel, 
who died in Maryland while in the service, 
January i, 1862; and Martha, wife of Eben- 
ezer Burley (also a Union soldier), of Tioga 
count}', Pennsjlvania. 

James B. Churchill attended the district 
schools of Cayuga county, N. Y., and at the 
age of thirteen years accompanied his father's 
family to Tioga county, Penn., remaining 
there, engaged in farm labors, until the age 
of twenty. In 1 851 he went to Canada, 
and there followed lumbering, and six years 
later was married to Miss Mary Warnick, a 
native of Canada, after which, with his 
young wife, he started for his prospective 
home in the wilds of Wisconsin. The jour- 
ney was made by rail to Fond du Lac, thence 
via boat to New London, and the balance of 
the waj' afoot through the primeval forests. 
There were then no roads, and here in the 
fastnesses of the woods the hardy and ven- 
turesome pioneer lived for years. For several 
years after their settlement their only beasts 
of burden were oxen, and the only vehicle a 
wood-shod sleigh, which was used summer 
and winter, no wagons having yet been 
brought into the settlement. In going any 
distance in any direction streams of all kinds 
had to be forded. Their flour was all bought 
at New London, and brought by boat up to 
Clintonville, from which point Mr. Churchill 
would bring a lOO-lb. sack on his shoulder 
to his home, a distance of ten miles as the 
roads run. The first interment in the adjoin- 
ing graveyard at Marion was in 1872. In 
1864 Mr. Churchill enlisted at Menasha, 
Wis., in Company K, First Wisconsin Heavy 
Artillery, which was assigned to the Twenty- 
second Army Corps and stationed at Arling- 
ton Heights and Ft. Lyons, Alexandria, on 
garrison duty. He was mustered out at 
Washington, D. C, in July, 1865, and re- 
turned to Shawano county. Wisconsin. 

Mr. Churchill's first \\ife died in July, 
1862, and in September, 1865, he was mar- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



99 



ried in Bear Creek township, Waupaca 
county, to Miss Elizabeth Hehman, a lady of 
Holland birth, whose parents, Gerhard and 
Bertha (Haytink) Hehman, emigrated in 
November, 1856, from Holland to Milwau- 
kee, Wis., and in May, 1857, settled in 
Section 18, Pella township, Shawano county. 
Their nearest neighbor then was fourteen 
miles distant. Mr. Hehman cut a road 
through the woods from a point two miles 
below Buckbee, Larrabee township, Wau- 
paca county, to Pella, Shawano county, and 
from the farm to Embarrass village. He 
built a shanty 10. \ 12 feet, and lived in it 
from May to November, by which time he 
had erected a log cabin, quite commodious 
in comparison. By faithful and persistent 
labor he improved the farm, and he died at 
this pioneer home in 1872, his wife surviv- 
ing until 1879. Their five children were: 
Henrietta, wife of Fred Strausburg, of Mar- 
ion, Wis. ; William, formerly of Seneca, Sha- 
wano county, who died of heart disease July 
4, 1895; John, who died in Grant township 
in March, 1893; Mrs. Churchill; and Ger- 
hard, who lives in Sugar Bush, Outagamie 
county. 

After his second marriage Mr. Churchill 
settled in Bear Creek township, and oper- 
ated the Welcome Hyde farm for about five 
years. He then returned to his old farm, 
which he improved, and in 1883 equipped 
with a good one-and-a-half-story dwelling 
16 X 28, with an L i6.\ 16 feet, and having 
a one-story kitchen 14 x 15; his substantial 
barn, an imposing structure 36x56 feet, 
with 18-foot posts, he erected in 1869. 
Here Mr. Churchill is engaged in farming, 
and in raising an excellent grade of stock. 
In politics he is a Democrat, and he is one 
of the most public-spirited and enterprising 
citizens of the prosperous community in 
which he lives. In 1859 he served as com- 
missioner of Matteson township, and in 
1869 he assisted actively in organizing Grant 
township. He was instrumental in building 
many of the roads throughout the township, 
and in various ways contributed liberally to 
the convenience and welfare of the tide of 
immigrants who later filled up this wild land 
and converted it into an expanse of happy 
and prosperous homes. In matters of local 



history Mr. Churchill is an undisputed au- 
thority, and none stand higher than he in 
the esteem and respect of his fellow-citizens. 
Though not a member of any Church or de- 
nomination, he has been a liberal con- 
tributor to the different churches of his 
neighborhood, having assisted all of them 
by donations at different times, for their 
erection and afterward in their support. 
Socially he is a member of Shawano Lodge, 
I. O. O. F. 



JOHN BOURSIER, Jr., one of the rep- 
resentative young farmers of Stockton 
township, Portage county, and one of 
its most prosperous citizens, was born 
August 21, 1852, son of John Boursier, Sr., 
who is one of the earliest pioneers in that 
part of the county. 

The father was born in LaPrairie, near 
the St. Lawrence river, June 2, 18 19. His 
father, whose name was also John, was a 
farmer in ordinary circumstances, and had 
a large family. He was twice married, and 
John is now the only surviving child by the 
first marriage. When fourteen years of age, 
or in 1833, the latter left home. His moth- 
er had died when he was two years old, and 
his step-mother reared him. The lad made 
his way westward to Detroit, and after work- 
ing there on the lakes some time he walked 
the entire distance to Chicago, and grubbed 
in what is now that city. He was of a rov- 
ing disposition as a boy, and in his wander- 
ings reached Manitowoc, Wis. Working 
there four months, he went to Green Bay. 
Then he went afoot to the mining regions 
of Illinois and Iowa. In the spring he raft- 
ed on the Mississippi river as far as St. 
Louis, and at Prairie du Chien, Wis., he 
was sick five months with ague. Proceed- 
ing to Galena, 111., he hired out to Robert 
Bloomer, a lumber operator, and with three 
others walked thence to Portage county. 
Wis., where he learned of certain dissatis- 
faction in the lumber country, and he walked 
to Green Bay. Next proceeding to Wood 
county. Wis., in 1839, he worked in the 
woods until 1850. In 1849 he bought eighty 
acres in Section 32, of what is now Stock- 
ton township. Portage county, buying it as 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a claim, and securing title for it and an ad- 
joining eighty acres from the government, 
in 1852. 

Mr. Boiirsier was married, July 26, 1847, 
at Mill Creek, Wood county, to Miss Mary 
Young, born July 26, 1827, in Corina, Me., 
and daughter of Simon and Lois (Knowles) 
Young, who in 1838 removed from Maine to 
Illinois. Miss Young, with a brother, was 
visiting in Mill Creek, and while cii route she 
first met her husband. After marriage he 
lived in a log house on Mill creek until he 
removed to his farm in Stockton township, 
April 18, 1850, at which time there was no 
building on the farm and but one house on 
"the prairie." Their first house was a 
shanty 12 x 16. Mr. Boursier was a strong 
man physically, and proceeded at once to 
improve the farm. For forty-five years he 
has lived here, a longer residence, perhaps, 
than anyone else in the township can claim. 
Starting with eighty acres, he now owns 
320, well improved. In politics he is a 
Democrat, and while not a member of the 
Church, attends the services of Protestant 
denomination. Socially he is a Mason. He 
has met with many reverses. Twice he was 
burned out. When the "Old Horicon " 
railroad was projected he, with many others, 
pledged assistance; it cost him $2,000. In 
1892 Mr. Boursier retired from active farm 
work. The winter of 1891-92 he spent 
with his wife in California. He has been a 
self-made man in the full sense of the word, 
and has done Spartan service in developing 
the material interests of Stockton township. 
He possesses a rare sense of personal honor, 
and when his home was burned he felt com- 
pelled to decline the generous offers of 
friends to assist him in rebuilding, prefer- 
ring to bear the entire cost himself. The 
children of John and Mary Boursier are as 
follows: Arvesta, now Mrs. Orleziam De- 
Rosier, of Stockton; Arvilla, now Mrs. 
Thomas H. Hackett, of Escondido, Cal. ; 
Zoa J., now Mrs. Warren Onan, of Buena 
Vista township; John, a farmer, subject of 
this sketch. 

John Boursier, Jr. has always lived at 
home, attending the district schools and as- 
sisting his father until the latter's retire- 
ment, several years ago, since when he has 



conducted the farm. He was married, De- 
cember 25, 1874, at Plover, to Miss Eliza- 
beth Baker, born December 3, 1857, in 
Tioga county. Penn., daughter of James H. 
and Eliza (Bartlett) Baker, who in 1863 re- 
moved with their family to Wisconsin. Mrs. 
Boursier has a good education, and before 
her marriage she taught school. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Boursier have been born four chil- 
dren — Myra M., a teacher, born in August, 
1875, no^v attending Normal school; Grace 
E. , also a teacher, born in June, 1878, a 
student at Stevens Point Normal; Clair J., 
born in April, 1880, and Cecil F. , born 
April 30, 1885, both at home. Mr. Bour- 
sier is a Democrat in politics, has Protestant 
S3'mpathies, and is a member of the Masonic 
order. He is an enterprising and progress- 
ive farmer, . popular and influential among 
his many friends. 



PETER McMILLIN, one of the best 
known citizens of Stockton town- 
ship. Portage county, and an ex- 
soldier, is a native of the Green 
Mountain State. He was born in Alburg, 
Grand Isle Co., Vt., September 20, 1824, 
son of Peter and Sarah H. fSowles) Mc- 
Alillin. 

The father of our subject was a farmer 
and carpenter, comfortably situated in life. 
He was born in Jersey City, N. J., son of 
emigrants from Edinburgh, Scotland, and 
after learning his trade at Jersey City re- 
moved to Grand Isle county, Vt., where he 
married and reared a family of nine children, 
as follows: Jane, who married Nathan 
Miles, and died in Vermont; Harriet, who 
died when a young woman; Maria, who mar- 
ried Isban Kenyon, and died in Hinesburg 
in 1894; Philyer, who died a farmer in Mis- 
souri; William, a railway engineer, who died 
at Burlington, Vt. ; Peter, subject of this 
sketch; Gustavus, who went to California 
during the gold fever, and has never since 
been heard from; Norman, a carpenter, of 
Denver; Sarah H., now Mrs. Noel Potter, 
of Bombay, Franklin Co., N. Y. The 
father was an Old-line Whig, and died in 
Vermont at the age of sixtj'-three; the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



mother died at the age of forty. They 
were members of the Universalist Church. 
Peter McMillin was only eight years old 
when his mother died. Sisters took her 
place, and the boy remained at home until 
he was eighteen. He received a district- 
school education, much more meager then 
than now, and at his home, by precept and 
and example, learned the value of honesty 
and straightforwardness. Beginning farm 
work for others at the age of eighteen, in 
Essex county, N. Y. , he several years later 
went to Tioga county, and worked for a few 
months in a sawmill. With a young com- 
panion he undertook the venture of getting 
out some timber, but the failure of higfi 
waters in the stream which was to carry 
the lumber to market made the enterprise 
unremunerative. In the fall of i<S49 he put 
into execution a cherished plan by coming 
west. Traveling by lake to Milwaukee, he 
walked to Oshkosh, took boat for Gill's 
Landing, on Wolf river, and came afoot 
through the woods to Plover. Here he 
found work teaming goods from Madison to 
Plover for C. S. Ogden, now a merchant of 
Waupaca. In June, 1850, he pre-empted 
160 acres in Section 32, of what is now 
Stockton township. The land was then 
undisturbed, and there were only three or 
four settlers on the prairie. There was lit- 
tle timber on the tract, but burr oak sur- 
rounded the site selected by Mr. McMillin 
for his primitive habitation, a rude shanty, 
16 x 16. He at once began to break this 
land, and in the fall of the same year, No- 
vember 17, 1850, he was married at Plover 
to Miranda Dimond, born in Canada Octo- 
ber I, 1820, daughter of Enos and Miranda 
(Richmond) Dimond, New Englanders by 
birth. Enos was twice married, and Mi- 
randa, his second wife, bore him six children: 
Fannie, Miranda, Sanford, Royal, Paulina 
and Clara. Miranda in 1849 came to Plover 
with her brother Royal, and was employed 
as a domestic in the same household her 
husband worked for. The couple began 
housekeeping at once, in the little shanty on 
the farm they still occupy. The rude habi- 
tation was scantily furnished, but the hap- 
piest five years of their married life were 
spent there. Mr. McMillin improved the 



place during the summers, and in the winter 
followed teaming. The present dwelling, 
with various alterations and additions, suc- 
ceeded the shanty. To Mr. and Mrs. 
McMillin were born these children: Emma 
M., who was born October i, 1851, and 
married James Bremmer, of Stevens 
Point, January 28, 1873; Edith S., born 
May 18, 1855, married December 25, 
1876, to Oscar Drake, of Stevens Point 
(she passed from earth. May 30, 1895, her 
death being the first in the family); William 
P., born May 18, 1856, a farmer of Lincoln 
county. Wash.; Sidney G., born January 8, 
1859, a resident of Oregon; Annie J., born 
October 4, i860, married December 12, 
1885, to George Iverson, and now living on 
the home farm; Carrie A., born May 12, 
1866, and married January 3, 1888, to 
Merritt Kenyon, of Stevens Point. For 
several years, in addition to farming, Mr. 
McMillin followed lumbering operations ex- 
tensively during the winter. 

In November, 1861, he enlisted, at 
Plover, in Company E, Eighteenth Wis. V. 
I. The regiment was ordered from Mil- 
waukee to Tennessee, and at Shiloh saw its 
first active engagement, Exposure and dis- 
ease cost more lives during the war than 
bullets, and Mr. McMillin, though possess- 
ing a naturally rugged constitution, was one 
of those who succumbed to the climatic 
conditions of the South under the exposures 
to which troops were necessarily subjected. 
His health was ruined, and at Corinth, in 
Ausust, 1862, he was discharged on account 
of disability. From Corinth he came di- 
rectly home, and the ailment he contracted 
in service has never since disappeared. 
To-day he is almost a physical wreck. Mr. 
McMillin in a later year of the war was 
drafted, but at La Crosse, Wis., he was 
rejected for ill health, before entering active 
service. He has continued farmingoperations 
since the war, but during the past five years 
has given up active work. Politically he is 
an earnest Republican in National affairs, 
but in local matters he is independent. For 
two years he served Stockton township as 
assessor. Mrs. McMillin is a member of the 
Baptist Church. Though deprived of the 
benefits of good schools in his youth, Mr. 



COHMEMOEATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



McMillin is as strong an advocate of thor- 
ough education as may be found in Stockton 
township, and by observation and judicious 
reading he has more than overcome the de- 
ficiencies of his own opportunities. He is 
widely known and highly esteemed as one 
of Stockton's oldest and best residents. 



ALANSON C. NORWAY, who is now 
living on a small farm of forty acres 
within the corporation limits of Mer- 
rill, Lincoln county, is one of the 
honored pioneers of that section, having ar- 
rived in that place in 1851, when the city 
was called Jenny, and had not more than 
one hundred white inhabitants, though there 
were a great many Indians still living in the 
neighborhood. Wild game was to be had 
in abundance, and furnished many a meal 
for the early settlers. 

The State of New York has furnished 
many worthy citizens to Lincoln county, 
not least among whom is numbered Mr. 
Norway, who was born in the town of Lis- 
bon, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. , June 11, 
1824, and is a son of Charles Norway, a na- 
tive of New Jersey. The grandfather, who 
bore the name of Charles, came to this coun- 
try from Scotland when a young man, locat- 
ing in New Jersey, where he carried on farm- 
ing. Later he removed to New York, where 
both he and his wife died. In their family 
were si.\ children — five sons: William, John, 
James, Gregor and Charles, and one daugh- 
ter whose name is not known. 

The father of our subject was reared to 
manhood on the home farm, after which he 
married Esther Sheldon, a daughter of Ne- 
hemiah and Sarah Sheldon, and to them 
were born nine children: Alanson C, Will- 
iam and Jeremiah, who are still living; and 
Jerod, Sheldon, Geddin, Elizabeth, Claris- 
sa and Sarah, who have passed away. Will- 
iam and Geddin were soldiers during the 
Civil war, fighting Indians in Minnesota in 
1862. The father followed agricultural pur- 
suits most of his life, though at an early 
day he ran a flatboat between Ogdensburg, 
N. Y., and Montreal. He was a member of 
the Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and a man of high moral principals, while 



politically he was an Abolitionist. His death 
occurred in New York in 1872. His wife, a 
woman of firm, decided character, died in 
1883, greatly beloved by all who knew her. 

Alanson C. Norway, the subject of this 
sketch, was the second in his father's fam- 
ily, and upon the home farm he remained, 
assisting in the labors of the field until he 
had attained his majority. He was allowed 
to attend school only about two months 
during the year, and his literary education 
was completed at the age of eighteen. He 
worked some for others while still in New 
York, and at one time went with a raft of 
square lumber to Quebec. In the winter of 
1849 Mr. Norway came west, stopping at 
Saginaw, Mich., where he was employed in 
the woods until the following spring, when 
he continued his journey to Walworth 
county, Wis. In that county he engaged 
in farm labor during the summer, but in the 
fall returned to New York, where he re- 
mained all winter, and then again came to 
Wisconsin, spending another summer in 
Walworth county. At the end of that time, 
in the fall of 1851, he came to Merrill, 
locating here when the town had but one /■ 
industry — an old sawmill owned by An- 
drew Warren. For one season Mr. Norway 
worked in the lumber woods, after which he 
made a contract with Jones & Goodard to 
cut and put in their logs. From that time 
on he followed lumbering for a number of 
years, meeting with a well-deserved suc- 
cess. In 1866, owing to poor health, he 
gave up that occupation and purchased a 
hotel, known then as the "Jenny House," 
but later the name was changed to the 
"Merrill. ' This he successfully conducted 
for sixteen years, when he built his present 
home on the bank of Prairie river, a beau- 
tiful spot, and his place consists of fort)' 
acres. For some time he owned an addi- 
tion to West Merrill, but this he disposed of/ 
in 1880. 

In Merrill, September 1, 1856, Mr. Nor- 
way wedded Martha Crown, a native of 
Groton, Caledonia Co., Vt., born Septem- 
ber 13, 1838, to Alanson and Amity (Steb- 
bins) Crown. She is one of a family of ten 
children: Harriet, Maria, Moses, Martha, 
Horace, Hannah, Cynthia, Aldin, Orin and 




s^^^ U ^f/o-utyu 



^ 



COMMEMORA TIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



103 



Frank. The parents were both born in 
Caledonia county, Vt. , and removed to Wis- 
consin with their family in 1848, locating in 
Green Lake county, where the father's death 
occurred in 1886. He was a farmer by oc- 
cupation. The mother, who died in 1880, 
was a daughter of Horace Stebbins, a black- 
smith, of Vermont, in which State he mar- 
ried Hannah Eaton, £.nd to them were born 
a family of four sons and four daughters. 
The paternal great-grandfather of Mrs. Nor- 
way was a native of Scotland, and came 
when a small boy with his parents to Amer- 
ica, locating in Vermont. Crown Point, 
that State, was named in honor of his 
father. Ebins Crown, Mrs. Norway's grand- 
father was captured by the Indians when a 
boy about nine years of age, and held by 
them until he was sixteen, when he was 
assisted to escape by a young squaw, who 
never dared to return to her tribe. He was 
afterward employed at Crown Point as an 
interpreter by the traders. Alanson Crown 
and his wife were earnest Christian people, 
holding membership for many years with 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Norway were born six 
children, only two of whom survive — the 
eldest and youngest — Charles A. and Myron. 
Those deceased are: Homer, who died 
while young; Clarissa, who died at the age 
of one year; Elnora, who died at the age of 
three; and Burton, who died in infancy. In 
politics, Mr. Norway is a steadfast adherent 
to the principles formulated by the Republi- 
can party, although not a seeker after offi- 
cial positions. For six years he served as 
county judge of Lincoln county; has been 
chairman of the town and city boards; and 
was also assessor, in which offices he has 
served with credit to himself and to the sat- 
isfaction of all concerned. In religious views 
he is liberal, believing that every one has a 
right to his own opinion, and being endowed 
with many virtues and a genial, hospitable 
manner, he receives the respect and con- 
fidence of the entire community. 

Charles A. Norway, a representative 
of one of the honored pioneer families of 
Lincoln county. Wis., is at present one of 
the leading business men of Merrill, being 
connected with several of the most impor- 



tant industries of the county. He is a na- 
tive of this State, his birth having occurred 
in Wausau September 29, 1859, and is a son 
of Alanson C. Norway, one of the highly- 
respected early settlers of this portion of 
the State. 

The primary education of Charles A. 
Norway was received in the common schools 
of Merrill, where he also attended the high 
school, and later entered the normal school 
at Oshkosh, Wis. At the age of seventeen 
he began work in the hotel owned by his 
father, and was admitted into partnership 
in the business when he was but twenty 
years of age. That connection continued 
for three years, after which he began con- 
tracting and building, following that occupa- 
tion for about a year. In 1882 he was 
elected register of deeds of Lincoln county, 
serving four years, during which time he 
opened a real-estate office and purchased 
the abstracts of the county. He admitted 
to partnership C. L. Wiley, and they re- 
mained in that business until the spring of 
1890, when they sold out and erected a saw- 
mill in the town of Harshaw, Wis., which 
they still own. They cut about fifteen mil- 
lion feet of lumber per year, and are doing 
a good business, in connection with which 
they have a general store at the same place. 
In 1893 their mill was burned, but they re- 
built without delay, and immediately re- 
sumed work. Mr. Norway is also interested 
in a drug store in Merrill, and in 1894, in 
company with J. R. Babcock, he built and 
established a factory for the manufacture of 
boxes, the firm being known as the C. A. 
Norway Box and Lumber Company. Here 
he is also meeting with success, giving em- 
ployment to fifty men. 

In 1881 Mr. Norway was united in mar- 
riage with Frances Kimball, who was born 
at Stevens Point, Wis., and is a daughter of 
Bryant B. Kimball. Unto our subject and 
his estimable wife has been born one child, 
a son, Jerry A. In politics, Mr. Norway is a 
Republican, and is in favor of any move- 
ment that is for the benefit of the communi- 
ty, or calculated to elevate the tone of so- 
ciety in general. He served for one year as 
alderman of the city. He is also interested 
in civic societies, holding membership with 



104 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPBICAL RECORD. 



the I. O. O. F., and of the F. and A. M. 
(being a Knight Templar) of Wausau. He 
is an industrious, energetic business man, 
and everything he undertakes he carries for- 
ward to completion if it lies within his 
power. 



HON. GILBERT L. PARK, deceased. 
The family from which this gentle- 
man descended were of English 
origin, and early settlers in America 
during Colonial days. Joel Park, grand- 
father of Gilbert L. , was a soldier in the 
war of the Revolution, and was present at 
the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne's army. 

The subject of these lines was born 
August 31, 1825, at Scipio, Cayuga Co., 
N. Y. , a son of Elisha and Sarah (Mc- 
Dowell) Park, prosperous and highly-es- 
teemed farming people of that State. The 
lad received a liberal education at the 
schools of his native place till the age of 
fifteen, when, without in anyway consult- 
ing his parents, he left the parental roof — 
in other words "ran away from home" — 
and enlisted in the service of the Hudson 
Bay Company. With a party of their em- 
ployes he went up the Ottawa river, in Can- 
ada, in the direction of Hudson Bay, and as 
far north as Fort Churchill on the river 
Severn. Returning, however, southward at 
the end of a year, by way of the Georgian 
Bay, he there left the company and took 
passage on a steamer for Detroit, thence 
proceeded to Port Dover, county of Norfolk, 
Upper Canada (now Province of Ontario), 
where his father's family had recently set- 
tled. The next three years Mr. Park spent 
at an academy in Millville, Orleans Co. , 
N. Y. , then once more proceeded to Can- 
ada, where he embarked in business as a 
lumberman, meeting with encouraging suc- 
cess for some two years, or till in 1848, 
when he had the misfortune to lose a large 
raft of logs which had broken up on Lake 
Erie, nearly every ' ' stick " floating over the 
Falls of Niagara This caused him to close 
out his business, and he then commenced 
the study of law at Kalamazoo, Mich., in 
the office of Hon. N. A. Balch of that place. 
He was admitted to the bar of that county. 



in September, 1851, and in November, same 
year, he removed to Wisconsin, where, his 
funds being e.xhausted, he went to work 
cutting saw logs on the Wisconsin river, at 
which he continued until the summer of 
1852, when he formed a law partnership 
with James S. Alban, at Plover, at that time 
the county seat of Portage county, which 
firm conducted business until 1855, when it 
was dissolved. Mr. Park then removed to 
Stevens Point, where he opened up an office 
and established a law practice, which con- 
tinued up to the time of his death. He dis- 
tinguished himself as one of the ablest mem- 
bers of his profession in northern Wiscon- 
sin, and his energy and vigor, both of mind 
and body, his command of speech and pen, 
inspired the people with such full confidence 
in his ability and integrity that they early 
honored him with election to local positions 
of responsibility and trust. None, perhaps, 
ever exercised more influence on the people, 
or more impressed them with his own 
merits, than Mr. Park. In 1854 he was 
elected district attorney of Portage county, 
in which incumbency he served four years; 
was mayor of Stevens Point at the time of 
the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, 
and being a "War-Democrat" he resigned 
the office in order to take up the sword in 
defense of the integrity of the Union, as ad- 
jutant of the Eighteenth Regiment Wis. 
V. I., afterward accepting the captaincy of 
Company G. same regiment. He accom- 
panied his regiment in all its fortunes for a 
period of nearly three and one-half years, 
during which he participated, among other 
engagements, in the famous battle of Look- 
out Mountain, where they "fought above 
the clouds," also at Vicksburg, and Corinth, 
and with Sherman on his march to Atlanta. 
Although never wounded, he experienced 
several narrow escapes, at one time his 
horse being shot under him, at another a 
bullet striking his scabbard (while the sword 
was sheathed), a portion of the sword blade 
being broken off. On retiring from his 
service in the army. Judge Park, in the 
spring of 1865, returned to Stevens Point, 
Wis., and resumed the practice of his pro- 
fession, at the same time applying himself 
to the study of advanced legal lore so assidu- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



105 



ously that before very long he became both 
a jury and consulting lawyer of no little 
reputation, probably, if anything, excelling 
in the latter capacity. He died June 5, 
1884, of Bright's disease, and was buried 
under the auspices of the Masonic Frater- 
nity. He had been in ill health for some 
time, and had traveled considerably in Cali- 
fornia in the hope of bettering his physical 
condition; but he returned home in 1883, 
little improved, and in January, 1884, be- 
came a patient in the Sanitarium at Wau- 
kesha, Wis., where he succumbed to the 
disease which had so long and painfully 
afflicted him. 

Judge Gilbert L. Park, as has already 
been remarked in this article, was a " War- 
Democrat," but in earlier days he voted 
with the old Whig party. On March i, 
1875, he was appointed, by Gov. Taylor, 
circuit judge, to fill a two-years' vacancy, 
and in April following was elected by the 
people. In 1878 he was re-elected for the 
full term, but owing to ill health he was 
obliged to resign in July, 1883, before the 
expiry of the term. As a jurist he was cool, 
clear-headed, candid and logical; he pre- 
sided with ease and dignity, and with the 
utmost fairness and impartiality. As an 
evidence of his popularity it may be men- 
tioned that while serving in the army he 
was nominated (without his knowledge or 
consent), and run by his party, for State 
Senator on two or three occasions; he was 
also urged to bring himself forward as can- 
didate for the lieutenant-governorship of 
Wisconsin, and also for member of Con- 
gress. 

On February 26, 1856, he was married 
to Miss Mary D. Beach, daughter of John 
and Anna (Waterhouse) Beach, and three 
children were born to this union, to wit: 
Byron B., sketch of whom follows; Gilbert 
L. (practicing law in Stevens Point), and 
Anna, both living at the old homestead in 
Stevens Point. The mother of these died 
November 9, 1893, and she and her husband 
lie side by side in the cemetery of the Church 
of the Intercession (Episcopal) at Stevens 
Point. Mrs. Park was, however, associated 
with the Methodist Church. The Judge was 
a prominent member of the F. & A. M., 



had reached the thirty-second degree, and 
was a Knight Templar. He was an ardent 
student and lover of Nature and Nature's 
God, and, as described by one who knew 
him well, was a man who saw something 
beautiful in every phase and form of life; 
one who was the delight of every social 
group — young or old; one whose smile would 
lighten a household, whose frown would 
cause a pang; the quiet ease, the social 
converse, the varied learning — all were his, 
and no one ever sat in his company without 
feeling disquieted at his departure; he was 
never boisterous, never rude, and always 
mindful of the feelings of others. In do- 
mestic life he was a lovable character, a 
kind husband, and loving father, and true 
friend to his children. 



D LLOYD JONES. This leading 
member of the bar, one of the ex- 
perienced and reliable attorneys of 
Portage county, is conspicuous not 
only as such, but as one of the best-known 
and widely-respected citizens in this portion 
of the State. 

He is a native of North Wales, born Oc- 
tober 9, 1 84 1, in the parish of Llanfair, 
Denbighshire, a son of Edward and Anna 
Maria (Lloyd) Jones, well-to-do farming 
people of North Wales, who lived at Graig 
Cottage. The father died at Graig Cottage 
in 1856, the mother at Rock Cliffe, North 
Wales, in 1881, and both their remains re- 
pose in the cemetery of Llanfair's Parish 
Church. They were members of the Epis- 
copal and Congregational Churches, respect- 
ively. 

Our subject received his education in 
part at the British and Foreign School at 
Ruthin, Denbighshire, North Wales, and in 
part at a Church school in Wrexham, Flint- 
shire, after which, February 18, 1856, he 
entered the North and South Wales Bank as 
junior clerk, in which capacity he served in 
that institution two years, at Liverpool, 
Chester and Wrexham. On May 15, 1858, 
he emigrated to America, sailing from Liv- 
erpool on the "Jeremiah Quin," of the 
Black Ball Line, and arriving in New York 
in June. After remaining there a couple of 



io6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



weeks endeavoring to secure a position in 
one or other of the banking institutions of 
that city, he came to Wisconsin, for a brief 
space sojourning in Milwaukee; but he soon 
found employment on a farm near Wau- 
kesha. At the end of a month he moved to 
near Oshkosh, to the home of his uncle, 
George Griffiths, where and in the vicinity 
he remained until the spring of i860. He 
then proceeded to Lake Emily, near Fox 
Lake, and worked on a farm until his enlist- 
ment at Beaver Dam, Dodge county, in 
Company C, Sixteenth Wis. V. I., in De- 
cember, 1 86 1, with which regiment he par- 
ticipated in the battles of Shiloh and Cor- 
inth, siege of Vicksburg and Atlanta, and 
many minor engagements, and Sherman's 
march to the sea, during which latter, 
toward the close of. the march, he had 
charge of the foragers for his brigade. In 
October, 1862, after the battle of Corinth, 
he was promoted to first sergeant; in July, 
1864, after the battle of Atlanta, was pro- 
moted to second lieutenant; in December, 
1864, was appointed adjutant of the regi- 
ment, and July 12, 1865, was mustered out 
of the service with the latter rank. On 
July 21, 1864, while making a charge on 
the works at Leggett's Hill, before Atlanta, 
he received a bullet wound in the back part 
of the neck, rendering him unconscious, so 
that he had to be carried from the field. It 
was a very narrow escape for him from 
death, as had the bullet struck him a little 
higher or a little lower the result would 
have been instant death. After leaving the 
army he returned to the peaceful pursuits 
of agriculture, and so continued till Jan- 
uary, 1866, when he was appointed, by 
State Treasurer W. E. Smith, clerk in the 
treasurer's office at Madison, in which capac- 
ity he remained until October, 1871. In 
the meantime he took up the study of 
law, in September, 1870, entering the Uni- 
versity Law School at Madison, where he 
graduated in June, 1871, at the same time 
being admitted to the bar of the supreme 
court. In October, 1 871, he came to 
Stevens Point, where he commenced the 
practice of his profession, in partnership 
with G. L. Park, under the firm name of 
Park & Jones. In 1875 Mr. Park was 



elected circuit judge, and the partnership 
was dissolved, Mr. Jones then conducting 
the business alone until August, 1876, at 
which time he associated himself with A. W. 
Sanborn, the firm being known as Jones & 
Sanborn till March, 1886, when Judge Gate 
was admitted into partnership, the style of 
the firm becoming Cate, Jones & Sanborn, 
and has since so remained, Mr. Jones having 
charge of all the supreme court work of the 
firm, and giving his special attention to 
corporation, real-estate and commercial 
law business. 

On May i, 1867, Mr. Jones was united 
in marriage with Miss Addie Purple, daugh- 
ter of Chauncey H. Purple, at that time as- 
sistant State treasurer. Two children have 
been born to this union, viz. : Grace Pur- 
ple, married to George S. Rodd, and Chaun- 
cey Lloyd, now a student of law. Politically 
our subject is a Republican, and for five 
3'ears he represented his ward in the council 
as alderman, part of the time filling the 
president's chair. In 1872 he was appoint- 
ed United States commissioner for the West- 
ern District of W^isconsin, which office he 
yet fills. In religious faith he and his wife 
are members of the Episcopal Church, of 
which he is one of the vestrymen. Socially, 
since 1870 he has been a member of the F. 
& A. M., was in Madison Lodge No. 5, and 
is now a member of Evergreen Lodge No. 
93, of Stevens Point; has passed all the 
minor degrees up to and including that of 
Knight Templar, is member of the Wiscon- 
sin Consistory, Scottish Rite, Milwaukee, 
and is a member of Crusade Commandery 
No. 17, Stevens Point. In 1891 he was 
elected grand commander, Knights Templar 
of the State of Wisconsin, serving as such 
one year; was commander of Crusade Com- 
mandery six years, high priest of the Chap- 
ter four years, and at the present time is 
master of the lodge at Stevens Point. By 
virtue of his honorable service in the Union 
army during the Civil war, he is a member 
of the G. A. R., Stevens Post No. 156, of 
which he has been commander, and has 
served in the Council of Administration of 
the Department of Wisconsin; also was 
judge advocate on the staff of Col. Upham 
while the latter was department commander. 



COMMEMOHATIVE EIOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 



107 



LEVI MONTGOMERY GREGORY, 
M. D. Among the eminent phy- 
sicians and surgeons of Portage coun- 
ty, the more prominent of wliom find 
place in this volume, none enjoys to a great- 
er extent the confidence and esteem of the 
community at large than the gentleman 
whose name is here recorded. 

Our subject is an Ohioan by birth, hav- 
ing first seen the light at Harpersfield, Ash- 
tabula county, August 17, 1827, a son of 
Ezra and Eve (Brakeman) Gregory, natives 
of Schoharie county, N. Y. , the former of 
Scottish ancestry, the latter of German. 
The father, who was a farmer by occupa- 
tion, came with his family to Walworth 
county, Wis., in 1846, afterward moving to 
Sauk county, where he died at his home in 
Winfield township. He was a Whig of the 
old school, and at one time served as sheriff 
of Ashtabula county, Ohio; also as justice of 
the peace, and in other positions of honor 
and trust, after coming to Wisconsin, in- 
variably winning and retaining the confi- 
dence and esteem of those with whom he 
was associated. Courteous, genial and kind- 
hearted, he was universally liked, and was 
extremely popular. In Sauk county he filled 
various offices, such as justice of the peace, 
supervisor, etc. , and so valuable were his 
services that he was almost continually called 
upon to serve the community in which he 
lived in an official capacity of some kind or 
another. 

The subject proper of these lines received 
his education at the public schools of Ohio, 
and at the age of fourteen commenced read- 
ing medicine in the office of Ur. Jerome 
Gregory, of Harpersfield, Ohio, with whom 
he remained till coming to Wisconsin with 
the rest of his father's family in 1846. Here 
he resumed his medical studies in the office 
of his brother, H. N. Gregory, at Fort At- 
kinson, Jefferson county, and then attended 
the Indiana Medical College at Laporte, 
Ind., two sessions, and keeping up his 
studies closely ultimately graduated from 
Cleveland Medical College, at Cleveland, 
Ohio. In 1850 he located in Plover, Port- 
age Co., Wis., and at once commenced the 
practice of his profession, being the only 
physician in the place at that time, and here 



remained until the spring of 1887, the time 
of his removal to Stevens Point, since when 
he has been in active practice as physician 
and surgeon in that prosperous and progress- 
ive city. 

On February 22, 1852, Dr. Gregory was 
united in marriage with Miss Olive S. Bab- 
cock, and they have two children, namely: 
Frances R., born July 27, 1855, and Will 
W., born September 16, 1870, living at home 
with his parents. Politically the Doctor is a 
stanch Republican, and for four years, under 
the administration of Garfield and Arthur, 
he served as pension examiner. His full 
time has been given to his profession, to 
which he is devoted, and as he is a busy 
man at all times, he finds leisure time for 
little else. A prominent member of the F. 
& A. M., he has been a Knight Templar for 
the past nine years, and he is highly re- 
spected and esteemed by the community. 



THOMAS LOVE is proprietor of the 
"Love Hotel," Grand Rapids, and 
probably no resident of Wood county 
is better or more favorably known 
than he. Mr. Love is universally esteemed 
by those who have the pleasure of his ac- 
quaintance, and no better evidence of his 
worth can be given to the public than a record 
of his personal history in this volume. 

Our subject was born in Canada, about 
twenty miles west of Quebec, July 24, 1838, 
and is a son of Patrick and Isabella (Beatie) 
Love (natives of Ireland), both now de- 
ceased. The father was a farmer by occu- 
pation, but taught school for thirty-five 
years in one district in Canada. The family 
comprised twelve children, of whom nine are 
still living, namely: Mary, who resides in 
Milwaukee, Wis. ; Patrick, a resident of 
Rochester, N. Y. ; Catherine, wife of James 
Mehan, who makes his home in Milwaukee; 
Elizabeth, who also lives in Rochester, N. 
Y. ; William and Thomas, both of Grand 
Rapids, Wis. ; Eugene, residing in Rochester, 
N. Y. ; James, of the same city; and Alex- 
ander, who lives at Stevens Point, Wis. 
The father died March 10, 1876. 

The subject of this sketch was reared 
and educated in Canada, and after leaving 



io8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



school engaged in aggricultural pursuits un- 
til he was twenty-iive years of age, when on 
the 5th of February, 1864, he left home for 
Rochester, N. Y. In Orleans county, that 
State, he went to work for H. H. Benedict, 
and continued in his employ until November 
of the same year. On November 12, 1864, 
he removed to Grand Rapids, Wis. , where he 
has since made his home. The trip from 
New Lisbon, N. Y., to Grand Rapids, was 
made by stage and occupied three days. 
During the first winter after his arrival Mr. 
Love worked in the lumber woods for James 
Mehan; the following year he engaged with 
John Rablin at carpentering and building, 
and was also employed in a mill. He con- 
tinued in that employ until 1873, when he 
started his present business, that of hotel- 
keeping. 

On June 4, i860, Mr. Love wedded Ma- 
tilda Reinhart, who was born December 
15, 1842, daughter of Jonathan and Lucinda 
(McWilliams) Reinhart, who had a family 
of five children: Mary M., born November 
17, 1 841; Matilda (Mrs. Love); J. G., born 
October 15, 1844; M. L. , born January i, 
1850; and Jonathan, born April 12, 1S52. 
Mr. Love's brothers were born as follows: 
William, born July 19, 1836; Eugene, August 
6, 1840; Stephen, December 7, 1843; James, 
October 6, 1845; and Alexander, Octo- 
bers, 1849. The mother of these died Oc- 
tober 12, 1863. The children who bless 
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Love 
are John Graves, born June 2, 1861, who is 
foreign or commercial agent for the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company, 
with residence at Centralia, Wis. ; Peter, 
born March 24, 1863, an engineer on the 
Green Bay, Winona & St. Paul railroad, his 
home being in Grand Rapids; Mary M., born 
April 20, 1865, died November 4, 1868; 
William E., born April 26, 1867, a train 
dispatcher on the Wisconsin Central rail- 
road; Arthur T. , born October 8, 1871, 
cashier in the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul railroad office at Centralia, Wis. ; Lavin 
M., born April 18, 1874, died October 5, 
1874; Ale.xander Raymond, born October 
21, 1875, has just graduated with honors 
from the schools of Grand Rapids; James 
Irving, born December 18, 1877; Francis 



Roger L. , born September 2, 1879; Paul 
Carl, born September 28, 1 88 1 ; and Matilda 
M., born January 17, 1886, died September 
28, 1888. 

Mr. Love and his family are devout 
members of the Roman Catholic Church; 
in his political views he is a Democrat, and 
stanchly supports the principles of that 
party. In everything pertaining to the wel- 
fare of Grand Rapids he takes an active 
part, and is numbered among her honored 
and respected citizens. 



THOMAS CHRISTY, a leadingblack- 
smith and wagonmaker of Merrill, 
Lincoln county, is conducting a suc- 
cessful and well-established business, 
one that occupies a prominent place among 
the various industries of that thriving city. 
He is a man of high standing in the com- 
munity, as he conducts his business on 
strictly honest principles, and is looked upon 
as a useful and honorable citizen. 

The birth of Mr. Christy occurred in 
New Brunswick, Canada, August 13, 1835, 
and he is a son of John Christy, who was 
born in the same province in 1801. The 
grandfather, Jesse Christy, was born in New 
Hampshire August i, 1755, and went to 
Canada in 1762 with the first colony that 
settled along the St. John river. He was 
there married in 1781 to Easter Burpee, a 
native of the same place in New Hamp- 
shire, born May 3, 1759, also a member of 
the colony. They became the parents of 
thirteen children, their names and dates of 
birth being as follows: Agnes, January 12, 
1782, died 1828; James, February 2, 1783; 
Thomas, June 12, 1784, died 1853; Mary, 
June 14, 1786, died 1835; Jesse, September 
25, 1787, died 1789; Jesse, June 16, 1789; 
Hepzibah, May 3, 1791; Elizabeth, March 
I. 1793; Peter, February 15, 1795; Joshua, 
September 28, 1797; Jeremiah, June 16, 
1799; John (the father ot our subject), 
September 5, 1801, died September 5, 
1872; George, January 3, 1803. Jesse 
Christy and his wife were highly-respected 
people, honored and esteemed. They both 
died in Canada, at a ripe old age, where he 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



109 



for many years had carried on agricultural 
pursuits. 

John Christy, father of our subject, was 
a millwright by trade, which occupation he 
followed some fifty years. He was twice 
married — first time August 2, 1828, to Par- 
melia Quint, who was born in September, 
1809, in the State of Maine, daughter of 
William and Susan (Payne) Quint, both also 
natives of Maine (the former born Novem- 
ber 20, 1785; they were married in 1808), 
where the father was a sailor during the 
earlier years of his life. They removed to 
New Brunswick in 1723, where Mr. Quint 
was engaged in lumbering, and Mrs. Quint 
died. They were the parents of ten chil- 
dren, to wit: Permelia, born September i, 
1809. married in 1828, died in 1836; Jo- 
annes, born March 28, 181 1, died 1812; 
Diana, born February 5, 1813, married 
1833, died 1892. Eliza, born August 18, 
1816, married 1834, died 1842; William 
Payne, born December i, 181 8, married 
1846; Amsom Parker, born May 11, 1824, 
married 1855; Susan Payne, born July 26, 
1826, married 1846, died 1861; Jane Al- 
lingham, born May 13, 1829, married 1853; 
Elizabeth E., born October 13, 1832, died 
1842; Henry D., born August 25, 1835, 
married 1866. The father of these died in 
1843, the mother in 1865. Samuel Payne, 
maternal grandfather of Mrs. Permelia 
Christy, was a Revolutionary soldier. To 
John and Permelia Christy were born chil- 
dren as follows: Mary Ann, May 11, 1829; 
John P., December i, 1830; Diana, Feb- 
ruary 21, 1833; and Thomas, August 13, 

1835. The mother of these died May 27, 

1836, and in 1845 Mr. Christy, for his sec- 
ond wife, married Miss Jane B. Perley, who 
was born December 4, 1808, daughter of 
Thomas Perley; she died September 21, 
1871. 

Thomas Christy, whose name introduces 
this record, received his education in the 
common schools of his native country, and 
remained at home until he had attained his 
twenty-fifth year, working with his father 
at the millwright's trade. He then started 
out in life for himself, following lumbering 
and milling for some six years. At the end 
of that time he began blacksmithing in New 



Brunswick, and was thus employed ten years, 
when he sold out and purchased a saw and 
grist mill, operating the same some five 
years. In September, 1881, he came to 
Wisconsin, locating at Wausau, where he 
worked at his trade for others about four 
years. He then removed to Scofield, Wis. , 
remaining there about a year, when he 
came to Merrill and built his present black- 
smith shop, which he has since conducted. 
He has in his employ five workmen, and the 
work he turns out is all of a first-class de- 
scription. During his residence in this State 
Mr. Christy has also superintended the con- 
struction of many dams in Michigan, Mon- 
tana, Iowa and Wisconsin. He has had a 
great amount of experience in his line of 
work, for when at home he often aided his 
father who was an expert in that line of 
business. 

On September 3, 1868, in Canada, 
Mr. Christy was united in marriage with 
Miss Helen White, who was born in that 
country June 23, 1851, a daughter of 
Peter and Esther (Wiggins) White, who 
were the parents of ten children, named 
respectively: Ebenezer H., Elizabeth A., 
Henry K., Helen, Esther R. , Amelia M., 
Neville V., Rebecca A., Carrie E. and Eva 

E. The father was a carpenter and mill- 
wright by trade, and he died in New Bruns- 
wick May 2, 1867, his wife in the spring of 
1894, in Duluth, Minn. His grandparents, 
who were Loyalists, removed to Canada from 
the United States at the time of the Revolu- 
tion. To our subject and wife have come 
two sons — John K., born September 26, 
1869, and Wesley H., born June 8, 1871, 
both connected in business with their father. 

The cause of temperance has always 
received the earnest support of Mr. Christy, 
and he now stanchly advocates the principles 
of the Prohibition party, with which he casts 
his ballot, though he is no politician ; he is now 
serving as alderman of the Fourth ward of 
Merrill. With the Presbyterian Church he 
holds membership, and is at present one of 
its elders; socially, he is a member of the 

F. & A. M. In business he has won a well- 
merited success, and in connection with his 
sons not only does general blacksmithing 
and repairing, but also deals in wagons. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



cutters, sleighs, etc. They conduct a hicra- 
tive trade, and rank among the best firms 
of the city. 



IVI 



ICHAEL RUPLINGER, an ex- 
tensive manufacturer and general 
merchant at Hewitt, Wood coun- 
ty, has grown by slow degrees to 
his present active and influential life from a 
start as modest as ever fell to the lot of a 
poor boy. He commenced with no capital, 
and directing his attention to an industry 
that permitted the use of an abundance of 
hard work and energy, he has gradually 
broadened his sphere of action. An unin- 
terrupted continuance of this course has 
brought him wealth and prosperity. 

Mr. Ruplinger was born in Polk town- 
ship, Washington Co., Wis., July 22, 1850, 
son of Nicholas and Magdalena (Wahlen) 
Ruplinger, who in 1846 emigrated from 
Prussia, their native land, and settled on a 
farm in W^ashington county, Wis., where he 
remained through life. Of their si.\ chil- 
dren — Mathias, John, Joseph, Michael, 
Mary and Margaret — two were born in Ger- 
many, one on the ocean and three in Wis- 
consin. Michael was reared on his father's 
farm, and attended the district schools in 
that neighborhood. At the age of sixteen 
he began life for himself, for three years 
worked out on a farm, then at the age of 
nineteen entered upon business operations 
of his own. In partnership with Henry 
Knapp he began, in the town of West Bend, 
the manufacture of staves with horse-power. 
For eight years they followed this work suc- 
cessfully, when Mr. Ruplinger, believing 
that steam-power would prove profitable, 
risked the construction of a steam plant at 
the city of West Bend; his judgment proved 
correct; but in 1879 he met with misfortune 
in the shape of a fire that destroyed the fac- 
tory, by which he lost everything, less about 
$500. However, he rebuilt, and continued to 
operate the plant successfully until 18S5. The 
northern part of the State seeming to offer 
greater opportunities in the way of material, 
Mr. Ruplinger in that year decided to locate 
in Wood county. In company with two 
others he built a large stave and heading 



factory at Hewitt. Wise management made 
the venture a success, and in 1887 a saw- 
mill was added. In the same year they 
started a general store, the partners being 
his brother John R. , and Baltus Christmann. 
In 1889 Mr. Ruplinger, in company with 
Mr. Uthmeir, opened a general store at 
Marshfield. In 1883, in companj- with his 
brother John, he still further extended his 
business interests to a stave factory and lum- 
ber yard at Allenton, Washington county, 
some twenty men being employed, John 
Ruplinger looking after the lumber yard at 
Allenton; he was a soldier during the war of 
the Rebellion, serving in the First Wis. V. 
C. In 1 89 1 Mr. Ruplinger, in company 
with his brother John R. , Baltus Christ- 
mann and William Uthmeir, started a steam 
and heating foundry at Loyal, Clark Co., 
Wis., and also a general store. In 1892 he 
bought out the company, and purchased 
1,500 acres of timber land in order to 
supply their mill for future years. The 
general store in Marshfield, which is one 
of the finest in the county, carries a stock 
valued at $8,000, and handles all kinds of 
farm produce. Mr. Ruplinger also deals to 
some extent in land, timber, etc. He has 
been a heavy loser, not only by fire, but also 
through endorsing for others, losing within 
a couple of years as much as $9,000, by 
signing for the accommodation of others. 

In 1872 Mr. Ruplinger was married, in 
Milwaukee, to Miss Mary Ritger, a native 
of New York. Her parents, Philip and 
Katherine (Wolf) Ritger, emigrated from 
Bavaria, Germany, to America, in 1848, and, 
after residing for some time in New York 
State, moved to Washington county, Wis. , 
where they died. Their children were John, 
Philip, Jacob, Peter, August, Frank, Mary 
and Paulina. To Mr. and Mrs. Ruplinger 
ten children have been born, as follows: 
Philip M., Anna K., Peter L. , Edward, 
Joseph and Richard B., all living at home, 
and John, Mary, Rosa, and an infant, all 
four deceased. Philip M. is clerking in the 
store at Marshfield. In politics Mr. Rup- 
linger is a Democrat. Against his wishes 
he was nominated on his party's ticket for 
member of the State Legislature in 1894, 
for his private affairs do not permit the de- 




-^yt^f^i^AJ^/yy fd^t^^^yU-^r^y^/O^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAFUIVAL RECORD. 



votion of his time to politics. He talces a 
lively interest in school matters, and for six 
years was school treasurer at Hewitt. In 
religious affiliation he is a member of the 
Catholic Church. Mr. Ruplinger is dis- 
tinctively a self-made man. He owns a fine 
home, and his large business interests and 
sterling character have given him an influen- 
tial standing in Wood county. He is "one 
of the people," for, whatever may be his po- 
sition in life, he is thoroughly permeated 
with the essence of the Democratic princi- 
ples upon which the American form of gov- 
ernment is based. 



JOHN P. CHRISTY, though a recent 
arrival in Merrill, Lincoln county, has 
already won the respect and esteem of 
all with whom he has come in contact. 
He is a brother of Thomas Christy, the well- 
known blacksmith and wagon maker of Mer- 
rill, in whose sketch a full record of the 
family is given. 

The subject of these lines was born in 
New Brunswick, Canada, December i, 1830, 
and in that country during his boyhood and 
youth was educated, attending the common 
schools of the neighborhood of his home. 
He was there reared, and with his father 
learned the trade of a millwright, remaining 
with him until the latter's death, in 1872. 
Since then he has made that occupation his 
life work, and is recognized as a thorough 
expert. He remained in his native country 
until 1892, when, accompanied by his family, 
he came to Wisconsin, locating in Merrill, 
which he now makes his home. 

In New Brunswick Mr. Christy was mar- 
ried, in 1869, to Miss Frances Mitchell, a 
native of that country, and a daughter of 
William and Anna (Doby) Mitchell, who had 
a family of eight children, John, James, 
William, George, Alexander, Janet, Mary 
Ann and Frances. Both the parents were 
natives of Scotland, and were married in 
Canada, where the father engaged in farm- 
ing. To Mr. and Mrs. Christy have been 
born two sons, both of whom arc at home — 
Alexander, who is working in the mills at 
Merrill (he holds membership with the 



I.O.O.F.); and William, who is still attend- 
ing school. The father belongs to no secret 
society; in religious faith he is a member of 
the Presbyterian Church, and is a consistent 
Christian gentleman. He bears a high char- 
acter for sterling integrity, and his honesty 
is unquestioned. 



EDWARD D. GLENNON, editor and 
proprietor of The Gazette of Stevens 
Point, Portage county, is a native of 
that city, having been born there 
September 3, 1857, when it was a village of 
but a few hundred inhabitants. 

Until about the age of fourteen years he 
attended the public schools of his native 
place, after which he became an apprentice 
in the Journal office, remaining there until 
1877. He then established a job-printing 
establishment and confectionery store; later, 
on July 17, 1878, in company with H. W. 
Lee and W. C. Krembs, started the Portage 
County Gazette. The newspaper firm was 
known as Glennon, Krembs & Co., for some 
eighteen months, at the end of which time 
it was changed to Glennon & Cooper, Clay 
C. Cooper having bought out the interests 
of the other partners. In May, 1883, Mr. 
Glennon became sole proprietor, and has 
since so continued to the present time. Tlie 
Gazette is an active local publication, enjoy- 
ing a circulation extending throughout the 
county and neighboring cities and towns. 

On March 31, 1880, Mr. Glennon was 
married to Miss Annie M. Krembs, eldest 
daughter of Charles Krembs (now deceased) 
who during his life time was a leading hard- 
ware merchant of Stevens Point. To this 
union have been born six children: Mar- 
guerite, Edward, Carl, George, Katherine 
and Grace, the eldest being now (Septem- 
ber, 1895) fourteen years old, and the 
youngest an infant of seven months. Mr. 
Glennon in politics is a Democrat, has been 
a member of the board of education for ten 
years, and president of the local branch, C. 
K. of W., nine years. His father, who was 
born in Ireland, coming to this country when 
a boy, is living at Stevens Point in the en- 
joyment of good health at the age of sixty- 
eight years. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



JAMES O. RAYMOND, one of the 
oldest established attorneys at law of 
Stevens Point, Portage county, has long 
held, in the opinion of those competent 
to judge, an enviable place in the front rank 
of the array of legal talent which constitutes 
the bar of this State. 

Mr. Raymond is a native of New York 
State, born May 30, 1831, in McDonough, 
Chenango county, a son of Edward and 
Maria (Osborn) Raymond, who were of En- 
glish and Irish extraction respectively, the 
former a native of Athol, Worcester Co., 
Mass., the latter of Washington county, N. 
Y. Our subject received his education at 
the public schools of Chenango and Tioga 
(N. Y.) counties, at Newark Valley (N. Y.) 
High School, and at the academy at Owego, 
Tioga county, after which he taught school 
some four terms. When twenty-two years 
old, in 1853, he commenced the study of law 
in the office of John M. Parker, of Owego, 
N. Y., remaining under his preceptorship 
two years, or until 1855, when he came west 
to Wisconsin, and in Fond du Lac continued 
his law studies in the office of Edward & 
Bragg. In the fall of the same year he 
moved to Plover, Portage county, where he 
taught school one term. On May 26, 1856, 
he was admitted to the bar at Plover, and at 
once commenced the practice of his chosen 
profession. On February 20, 1866, he was 
admitted to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, 
and on June 5, 1873, to the United States 
Circuit and District Courts. In July, 1873, 
he moved to Stevens Point, where he has 
since resided. At first, and for some years, 
Mr. Raymond conducted a general practice, 
being employed on many important cases; 
but for the past five years he has restricted 
himself more exclusively to acting as coun- 
sel, appearing only occasionally in court to 
argue cases, generally in the supreme court. 
The cases he argued in that court numbered 
over one hundred, and altogether it may be 
said that he has been identified with and in- 
terested in more important cases than, prob- 
ably, any other attorney in this section of 
the State. In 1856 he was elected, on the 
Republican ticket, district attorney of Port- 
age county, re-elected in 1858, and again in 
1866, and he was a member of the board of 



supervisors of Plover for some years. In 
1865 he was elected to the Assembly, and in 
1 88 1 he was appointed postmaster at Stevens 
Point, serving four years. During the Civil 
war, February i, 1865, he enlisted in Com- 
pany C, Fifty-second Wis. V. I., at its for- 
mation, and on the organization of the com- 
pany he was appointed first sergeant. He 
saw service at St. Louis and Pilot Knob, 
Mo., also at Ft. Leavenworth, Kans. , and 
at the expiration of his service was brevetted 
second lieutenant. 

On October 25, 1857, Mr. Raymond was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary Eliza 
Harris, of Canton, Ohio, and three children 
were born to them, only one of whom grew 
to maturity — Mitchell Harris Raymond, now 
cashier of the Merchants State Bank, of 
Rhinelander, Wis. The wife and mother 
died in October, 1864, and April 15, 1867, 
our subject was married to Mrs. Lucinda 
Hanchett, widow of Hon. Luther Hanchett, 
a former partner of Mr. Raymond, and who 
died while a member of Congress. Socially 
Mr. Raymond has been a member of the F. 
& A. M. since September, 1856, is a Royal 
Arch Mason, belongs to the Chapter, and is 
a Knight Templar; while a resident of Plover 
he served as Master of Blue Lodge No. 76, 
and after coming to Stevens Point was mas- 
ter for a tune of Evergreen Lodge, of that 
city. He is also a member of the G. A. R. , 
Stevens Point Post No. 56, was its first 
commander, and held that position some 
three years. He is one of the most popular 
men of Portage county, is possessed of 
marked abilit}', and has acquired a reputa- 
tion for business tact and fairness greatly to 
his credit. 



JOHN OELHAFEN, a prominent and 
influential citizen of Tomahawk, Lin- 
coln county, is a native of Bavaria, 
Germany, born January 22, 1836, a 
son of Andrew Oelhafen. 

The father of our subject was born in 
Bavaria, Germany, June 15, 1806. and was 
a man of rank and owner of a large estate. 
He came to America in 1845, landing in 
Milwaukee, and purchased a quarter section 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



113 



of government land in Washington county, 
Wis., which he cleared and cultivated, liv- 
ing there until 1863. He then removed to 
Milwaukee, residing there until his death, 
in 1875. He was united in marriage with 
Elizabeth Beck, daughter of a well-to-do 
farmer, and one of a large family. Their 
children were: John, Jacob, Maria E. , 
Margaret E., Fritz, Frederick, Elizabeth, 
Ludwick and Marguerite. 

John Oelhafen, the subject proper of this 
sketch, came to America with his parents 
when eight years of age, and his childhood 
days were spent on the farm, his primary 
education being received in the village 
schools. He remained on the farm, assist- 
ing his father until he reached his majority, 
although at the age of seventeen he com- 
menced working in the pineries, giving his 
earnings to his father to help in the support 
of the family. In September, 1861, he was 
united in marriage with Anna S. Miller, 
daughter of Andrew and Mary (Krouse) Mil- 
ler, the former of whom was an extensive 
landowner in Germany. Anna S. came to 
America, alone, at the age of seventeen. To 
this union were born six children, viz. : 
Anna E., born October 3, 1862, now the 
wife of August Zastrow, living in Toma- 
hawk; Andrew, born February 29, 1864, 
married, and is clerk in his father's store; 
John W., born May 11, 1866, married, and 
also a clerk in his father's store; Mary E., 
born June 28, 1868, now the wife of George 
Pfeiffer, of Wausau, Wis. ; William, born 
April 2, 1872, and Anna L. , born November 
19, 1878. After their marriage Mr. Oelha- 
fen and his wife removed to a farm in Wash- 
ington county, where they remained for 
about two years. Mr. Oelhafen then sold 
his interest in the farm and removed to Mil- 
waukee, where he opened a general store, 
remaining there some ten years. In 1872 
he removed to Wausau, at which place he 
opened a general store, and also engaged in 
the lumbering business, both in Wausau and 
in Millbank, S. Dak., where he still has 
large interests in farm lands and city prop- 
erty. In July, 1887, he erected the first 
building in Tomahawk, Lincoln county, be- 
fore the days of railroads in that section of 
the countr}'. At Tomahawk he again opened 



a general store, which he still carries on, be- 
ing assisted by his three sons. 

Mr. Oelhafen has invested heavily, but 
profitably, in pine and farm lands all through 
the northern part of the State. He owns a 
very handsome residence in Wausau, and 
has always been an enterprising and influen- 
tial citizen. He at one time filled the office 
of vice-president of the first bank of Toma- 
hawk, now Bradley's private bank. The 
family are all leading members of the Lu- 
theran Church. In politics Mr. Oelhafen is 
a Republican, and although often urged by 
his friends would never accept any office. 
He is a man of considerable means, which 
he has acquired by a life of industry. 



DENNIS LAUGHLIN, one of the 
most prosperous farmers of Stockton 
township. Portage county, is the son 
of an old pioneer, and though still a 
young man, has lived to witness the mar- 
velous changes that have occurred in the 
Upper Wisconsin Valley during the past 
forty years. He was born in Toronto, Up- 
per Canada, August 9, 1853, son of Patrick 
and Margaret (Cullon) Laughlin, natives of 
County Wicklow, Ireland, where Patrick 
was born, in 181 5, the son of Dennis Laugh- 
lin, a stock farmer of some means, and 
where Margaret was born, January 10, 1826, 
daughter of Thomas Cullon. 

Soon after their marriage Patrick and 
Margaret Laughlin crossed the Atlantic in a 
sailing vessel, starting from New Ross and 
landing at New York City in June, 1847, 
after a seven-weeks' voyage. At Utica, N. 
Y., they secured employment as attendants 
in the insane asylum. They moved to Can- 
ada early in the year 1853, where Mr. 
Laughlin entered the grocery business, but 
within a year he returned to the United States, 
coming in the fall of 1853 to Wisconsin. 
They reached Stevens Point November 2, 
1853. It was election day, and the site of 
the present " Curran Hotel " was on the out- 
skirts of the village. Election excitement 
was high that day, for between the hotel 
site and the Wisconsin river fourteen fist 
fights were in progress at one time. The 
journey was made from Milwaukee by team. 



114 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Laughlin bought two lots at Stevens 
Point, which the family still owns. He also 
purchased from the government 120 acres 
in Section 28 of what is now Stockton town- 
ship. During the winter of 1853-54 the 
family lived at Stevens Point; but in the fol- 
lowing spring removed to the farm, where 
they lived in a shanty 16x20 feet, which 
Mr. Laughlin had built, the first habitation 
on the farm. The father at once began to 
improve the place, and he lived here until 
his death, May 8, 1885, after a brief illness. 
He was the owner of 360 acres of land in 
Stockton and New Hope townships. In 
politics he was a Democrat, and his religion 
was that of the Catholic Church. The 
widow still lives on the farm with her son 
« Dennis. The children of Patrick and Mar- 
garet Laughlin were Mary, born in Utica, 
N. Y. , and now the widow of John McGin- 
ley, of Almond township; Dennis; Margaret, 
now Mrs. Patrick Ryan, acting postmaster 
at Custer post office; Catherine, now Mrs. 
Michael Lally, of Rhinelander, Wis. ; Eliza- 
beth, now Mrs. M. O'Keefe, of Stockton 
township; Theresa, Mrs. George Wood- 
north, of Helena, Mont.; Martha, a teacher, 
at home. 

Dennis Laughlin was a babe when he 
was brought to Portage county. He was 
reared on the farm he owns, spending the 
winters in the woods. All told, he has fol- 
lowed lumbering for twenty-two winters. 
He was married July 10, 1S79, in Stockton 
township, to Miss Margaret Conniff, who 
was born in Beloit, Wis., December 18, 
1855, daughter of John and Winifred 
(O'Rourkej Conniff, natives of County Gal- 
way, Ireland. The family of Dennis and 
Margaret Laughlin consists of Amanda W. , 
John Thomas, Mary F. , Stanley P., Daniel 
F., and Ruth A.; Margaret E. died in in- 
fancy. After his marriage Mr. Laughlin 
began housekeeping on the home farm, and 
in 1885, after the death of his father, he 
completed a large stone residence, which is 
the finest in the township. He is the owner 
of over 400 acres of land, and one of the 
most prominent citizens of the township. 
He is a member of the Catholic Church, and 
in politics is a Democrat. In the spring of 
1894 he was elected town chairman, and is 



generally regarded as one of the political 
leaders of the township. Under President 
Harrison's administration he was appointed 
postmaster at Custer, and has since held that 
office, giving over the details of the work to 
his brother-in-law and sister. Mr. Laughlin 
has a remarkable memory, and is gifted with 
a high order of business ability. 



ANTON LIEG & SON is the name 
of one of the most prominent business 
firms of Shawano, and these gentle- 
man demonstrate what can be accom- 
plished through industry, diligence and per- 
severance. The senior member of the firm 
was born in Prussia June 22, 1835, and is 
a son of Kasler Lieg, a tailor by trade. 
The father died when Anton was only 
seven years of age, leaving the widow with 
two children — Anton and John. 

After obtaining an ordinary education, 
Anton Lieg at the age of fourteen began 
working as a slater, and when seventeen he 
came to the United States, going down the 
Rhine to Rotterdam, thence sailing across 
the North Sea to Hull, England, and from 
there journeying by rail to Liverpool, where 
he boarded a sailing vessel, which sixty days 
later reached New York harbor in safety. 
From there traveling westward, his funds 
were exhausted at Erie, Penn., in conse- 
quence of which he was forced to seek work 
there, and obtaining a position as a farm 
hand, remained there from August, 1852, 
until Jul}', 1853, when he came by boat to 
Milwaukee. He had been employed on the 
construction of the Lake Shore & Michigan 
Southern railroad, but through a dishonest 
contractor lost his wages. In Milwaukee, 
he secured work in a brickyard, receiving 
from $25 to $30 per month, and in that 
locality he remained until 1856, when he 
went to Green Bay, Wis., where he again 
secured work in a brickyard. 

On October 20, 1864, in Green Bay, 
Wis., Mr. Lieg married Miss Gertrude 
Bibelhausen, a native of Germany, born 
February 18, 1844. When a child she 
came to the United States with her father, 
John Bibelhausen, who engaged in farming 
in DePere township. Brown Co. , Wis. For 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEWAL RECORD. 



"5 



four years Mr. Lieg continued his connec- 
tion with the brickyard, then worked as a 
gardener in the summer and chopped cord 
wood in the winter. He also clerked for 
two winters in a store there, purchasing a 
house on Main street near Rahr's brewery, 
and kept boarders. In 1871 he came to 
Shawano — traveling by stage — and here 
worked as a gardener, while his wife con- 
ducted a little store, beginning with a capi- 
tal of only $60. In the fall of 1871 they re- 
turned to Green Bay, where for a short 
time Mr. Lieg was employed as overseer of 
a gang of men. In the spring of 1872 he 
again came to Shawano, and purchasing 
twenty-two acres of land began the manu- 
facture of brick. He had disposed of his 
property in Green Bay, and now had a cap- 
ital of $1, 100; but the new business proved 
a failure, and left him with only $200. 
With this he began merchandising, at first 
renting his store room, but after thirteen 
days he purchased it. He first opened with 
a stock of groceries, and subsequently add- 
ed dry goods, later developing a general 
store. At first the family lived in the store 
room which was 40 x 20 feet, as they did 
not wish to go beyond their means; but as 
time passed prosperity attended the new 
undertaking, and to-day the establishment 
is one of the best mercantile houses in 
Shawano, occupying as it does a brick build- 
ing 82 X 20 feet. 

The firm of Anton Lieg & Son have car- 
ried on a successful business, and fair and 
honorable dealing, courteous treatment and 
earnest desire to please their patrons have 
been the important factors in their success. 
Theirs is one of the most substantial firms 
in Shawano, and in connection with general 
merchandising, they are interested in the 
Shawano Water Power and River Improve- 
ment Co., the Shawano Shoe Factory, and 
the Shawano County Bank. The business 
history of this locality would be incomplete 
without the record of their lives, for they 
have greatly promoted commercial activity 
in this region, and while promoting individual 
prosperity have advanced the material wel- 
fare of the community. 

While living in Green Bay, the follow- 
ing children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 



Lieg: Catherine who died in infancy; John 
A., a member of the firm of Lieg & Son; 
John, who died at the age of five years; and 
Mary, who died at the age of ten. Since 
coming to Shawano the family circle has 
been increased by the birth of the follow- 
ing children: Catherine and Frank, who 
are employed in their father's store; Charles, , 
who died in infancy; Peter and Joseph, at 
home. In politics, Mr. Anton Lieg has al- 
ways been a Democrat, and served as alder- 
man for five years, but has never been a politi- 
cian in the sense of office seeking. In 
religious belief he is a Catholic, and helped 
to build the beautiful church in Shawano. 
He also belongs to St. Bonifacius Society 
of Green Bay. — [Since the above was writ- 
ten Mr. Anton Lieg died at his home August 
12, 1895.] 

John A. Lieg, the wide-awake and 
enterprising young business man of the firm, 
was educated in the common schools of 
Shawano, and has been connected with the 
mercantile store here from the beginning. 
He has served as a member of the city 
council for two years. 



GOTTLIEB KUSSMANN, now one 
of the wealthiest and most prosper- 
ous citizens of Stockton township, 
Portage county, has not always en- 
joyed the comforts of his present life. He 
can look back over many years of hardships 
and struggles, more perhaps than fall to the 
lot of most men, and through them all he 
can trace the threads which have guided him 
upward to a plane considerably above the 
high-water mark of restless want. Those 
threads are patience, steadiness of purpose, 
industry and good management. 

Mr. Kussmann was born in Prussia, May 
20, 1833. His father, John Kussmann, was 
a common laborer, who owned a small piece 
of land, and had five sons and one daughter 
to support — Christian, Peter, John, Gott- 
lieb, William and Regina. With little 
schooling the boys were early put to work. 
Gottlieb at ten years of age began herding 
I cattle, and a little later sheep. His earn- 
' ings barely sufficed for a scanty livelihood. 
At seventeen he was apprenticed to a tailor, 



ii6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and for three and a quarter years received 
no wages. Following his trade for a few 
years, conducting a shop of his own for one 
and a half years, he saved a few dollars with 
which he resolved to pay his passage to 
America. In Germany he saw no hope of 
attaining a home. Bidding farewell to 
friends he took passage August lo, 1856, at 
Hamburg, in the sailing vessel " Elizabeth," 
bound for New York. An incident at sea 
was a collision with another craft in mid- 
ocean, resulting not more seriously, fortun- 
ately, than in the loss of a mast. Another 
feature of the trip was that aboard was the 
young woman whom Gottlieb afterward 
made his wife. She too, with her mother, 
stepfather and brothers and sisters was 
journeying to a land of greater opportunities. 
After six weeks and two days the ' ' Eliza- 
beth " reached New York. Gottlieb's in- 
tended destination was Montello, Marquette 
Co., Wis., where friends lived. At Green 
Lake Prairie he struck his first job, and for 
si.x weeks' work received fifteen dollars, 
which was paid in gold dollars, queer little 
coins indeed as they seemed to the German 
boy. During the winter he worked at his 
trade, and May 3, 1857, came to Stevens 
Point by team. En route he spied some 
Indians, and the aborigines frightened him 
somewhat. Stevens Point was then a primi- 
tive village, and pine trees stood in the pub- 
lic square. Gottlieb secured work with a 
farmer, Dewey Brown. 

In June, 1857, Mr. Kussmann was mar- 
ried, at Stevens Point, to Henriette Heiman, 
his sweetheart on the "Elizabeth." She 
was born in Germany June 25, 1834. Dur- 
ing the harvesting season he visited Green 
Lake Prairie, and in the fall returning to 
Stevens Point worked at his trade. With 
his brother he ran the river during the sum- 
mer of 1858, making four trips to Galena, 
111., Alton, 111., and Dubuque, Iowa. They 
had several narrow escapes from drowning. 
For twelve years Mr. Kussmann worked 
land he had rented, then, about 1870, he 
bought on credit 120 acres in Section 18, 
Stockton township, only ten acres of which 
had been broken, and it was destitute of 
buildings. Where his house now stands 
were large oak trees. Mr. Kussmann erect- 



ed buildings, and has ever since resided on 
this farm, adding to it until it now includes 
240 acres. To Mr. and Mrs. Kussmann were 
born the following children: Julius, a farmer 
of Lanark township; Anna, who married 
Frank Pollard, and died in Stockton town- 
ship; John, a farmer, of Stockton township; 
Samuel, at home; Fred, a grain buyer of 
Fall Creek, Eau Claire Co., Wis.; Lena, 
now Mrs. Rupert Ward, of Stockton town- 
ship; Ernest, at home. 

For two years after coming to America 
Mr. Kussmann was a Democrat. He has 
ever since been a Republican, and all his 
sons are Republicans. He has never sought 
office, but one year served as path master. 
Himself and family are members of the Lu- 
theran Church at Stevens Point. In the 
early days he hauled wheat with ox-teams to 
Berlin, a distance of sixty miles, and sold it 
for from 30 to 40 cents a bushel, and other 
pioneer experiences were on a par with this 
one. He is now one of the leading farmers 
of the township, and no family is more high- 
ly respected than his. 



JAMES O'CONNOR, deceased. While 
transmitting to posterity the memory 
of such men as was the subject of this 
sketch, it will instill into the minds of 
our children the important lessons that honor 
and station are the sure reward of continual 
exertion; and that, compared to indomitable 
will power, abundant experience, coupled 
with habits of honest industry and judicious 
economy, the greatest fortune would be but 
a poor inheritance. 

The subject of this memoir was a native 
of Wisconsin, born April 19, 1853, in Mar- 
quette county, to Edward and Bridget 
(O'Connor) O'Connor, the former of whom 
was born in Ireland, whence when a young 
man he emigrated to Canada, where he mar- 
ried, and where his four eldest children — 
Margaret, Catherine, Thomas and Timothy 
— were born, of whom Margaret and Cath- 
erine died when young; the other two chil- 
dren in the family — James and Charles — 
were born in \\^isconsin. Early in 1853 
the family came to the "Badger State," 
the father having been attracted hither by 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1.7 



the bright promises held out for the then 
young State, and here, in Marquette county, 
near the county seat, they settled on a farm, 
which, by cultivation, they brought to a 
high state of perfection. Here the mother 
died in 1874, the father afterward passing 
away in Portage City, Wis. Thomas, their 
eldest son, was a soldier in the Union army, 
and died while in the service. 

James, the third son, and the subject 
proper of this sketch, was reared on his 
father's farm, and received his education at 
the district school of the neighborhood, re- 
maining at home until the death of his 
mother, when he moved to Lincoln county, 
locating in what was then known as the 
village of Jenny, now the bustling city of 
Merrill, and for several years worked in the 
lumber woods. He then formed a partner- 
ship with J. N. Cotter, under the firm name 
of Cotter & O'Connor, in the logging and 
lumbering and real-estate businesses, which 
continued until the spring of 1886, when the 
death of Mr. O'Connor, which occurred 
April 20, severed the partnership. He was 
reared in the Roman Catholic faith, and 
died in same. Politically he was a Demo- 
crat, but no office-seeker, simply quietly re- 
cording his vote at the polls according to the 
dictates of his conscience. 

On January i, 1884, Mr. O'Connor was 
united in marriage with Miss Prue Cotter, 
who was born in Franklin county, N. Y. , 
a daughter of John Cotter, and the result of 
this union is one child, Prue L. O'Connor, 
who is brightening the home of her widowed 
mother, in Merrill. As a representative self- 
made man Mr. O'Connor in his day had few 
equals, and he deserved the highest credit 
for the success he secured within the short 
twelve years of his experience in Lincoln 
county — from the time he came here with all 
his worldly effects contained in a small par- 
cel to the day death summoned him from 
his labors. 



C ROWEL W. WHITE, in his varied 
but successful career as farmer, lum- 
berman and merchant in the Upper 
Wisconsin Valley, has run almost 
the entire gamut of fortune from the pinch- 



ing poverty of the struggling pioneer, labor- 
ing without adequate tools, to the affluence 
which is the fruitage of his many years of 
intelligent and determined effort. He was 
born at Locke, Cayuga Co., N. Y., Novem- 
ber 27, 1 8 19, son of Joseph and Catherine 
(Moyer) White, both natives of the Empire 
State. Joseph was the son of John White, 
a farmer, and had nine children: Crowel 
W. ; Harriet, who died in Michigan; Phcebe, 
now Mrs. Deporter, of Michigan; Adonijah, 
a blacksmith and farmer, in New York; 
William, by trade a shoemaker, now living 
in Iowa; Emily, widow of William Kline, a 
jeweler; Achsah, who died at the age of 
sixteen years; John, by trade an engineer, 
living in Pennsylvania; and one child who 
died in infancy. 

As the eldest child of this family Crowel 
W. White was deprived of the opportunity 
for a good education. He attended school 
during winters until he was twelve years of 
age, and was then " buckled into the collar." 
His father owned fifty acres of poor land, 
and was engaged principally in lime burning 
rather than farming. Crowel helped his 
father until he was sixteen, then worked for 
E. Newman one summer for twelve dollars 
per month. He then hired out to the same 
man until he was twenty-one years old for 
his board and clothes, and for $100 and two 
suits of clothes, to be paid when the term of 
service expired His mother had died in 
1833, when Crowel was still at home. After 
his children had all left the homestead the 
father married a widow, Mrs. Towne, and 
died about 1870. 

Reaching his majority and receiving the 
promised stipend from Mr.- Newman, Mr. 
White drove team six months on railroad 
construction in Allegany county, N. Y. , then 
scored timber in Pennsylvania. In 1842 he 
went to Galena, 111., and mined for two 
years, then in 1844 moved to Grand Rapids, 
Wis. , and for several years followed saw- 
milling and lumbering. Here he was mar- 
ried, October 3, 1848, to Elizabeth P. 
Anthony, born in Oswego county, N. Y. , 
Novemljer 9, 1826, daughter of Abraham 
and Mary (Allen) Anthony, the former 
a native of New York, the latter of Massa- 
chusetts. Abraham Anthonv, who was a 



iiS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



farmer, reared a family of four children: 
Sarah, Elizabeth, Allen and Mary, Eliza- 
beth, wife of Mr. White, being the only sur- 
vivor. In 1844 Abraham Anthony purchased 
and moved upon eighty acres of wild land in 
Dane county. Wis., which he engaged in 
clearing, but several years later moved to 
Grand Rapids, and there embarked in the 
lumber business. About 1853 he returned 
to Dane county, and in 1S58 sold his farm 
and came to Almond township. Portage 
county, where he and his wife lived with 
their daughter and son-in-law. Mr. An- 
thony was instantly killed by lightning, and 
his wife died nine days later, from the effects 
of the same shock. 

After his marriage Crowel W. White re- 
mained in Grand Rapids until the spring of 
1853, when he moved to Almond township. 
He purchased eighty acres of wild land in 
Section 7, now owned by Joseph Springer, 
and lived two months with a neighbor, until 
a log shanty, 12 x 12, could be built. They 
moved into this, and in turn gave shelter to 
another family, the two families numbering 
twelve people. In the fall a frame house 
was built, which still stands. Mr. White 
had brought with him a team of horses, but 
he was without farming implements, and the 
work of breaking the land proceeded slowly. 
It was only by the hard and toilsome efforts 
of both Mr. and Mrs. White, aided by their 
children, that they succeeded. After twelve 
years on the farm Mr. White returned to 
Grand Rapids, and for about seven years 
quite profitably conducted a meat market. 
He then engaged in the general merchandise 
trade for thrfee years, also very successfully. 
Returning to Almond township, where he 
then owned 160 acres, he built a store at 
Lone Pine, and engaged in general trading. 
Three years later he erected a commodious 
two-story residence 16x24, with two one- 
and-one-half-story Ls, each 16x24, sold his 
business, and moved to the farm. Again 
taking charge of the store, he sold it after- 
ward to Michael Curtis, whose widow now 
conducts it. Mr. White now owns an ex- 
cellent farm of 200 acres. He is a Republi- 
can in politics, and has for three years been 
a member of the side board. Four children 
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. White: 



Alonzo A., born July 22, 1850, died at the 
age of sixteen years; S. Melissa, born July 
27, 1852, died aged five years; Emma A., 
born August 30, 1854, and Bert E., born 
March 27, 1868. The two j'ounger children 
have always remained at home, and have 
been of great assistance to their parents. 



JULIUS THIELMAN. Amongwell-to- 
do citizens of Merrill, Lincoln county, 
not the least worthy of special mention 
in the pages of this volume is the gen- 
tleman whose name here appears, who is a 
thoroughly representative, progressive Ger- 
man-American. 

He is a native of Wisconsin, born in 
Watertown, Jefferson county, September 20, 
i860, a son of Gottfried and Julia (Baum) 
Thielman, natives of Prussia, Germany, 
where the father was born, in 1829, and 
where they were married. They came to 
the United States in 1852, making their 
home in Watertown, Wis., where the fa- 
ther followed the business of contractor and 
builder, for many years also being employed 
on the Chicago, l^Iilwaukee & St. Paul rail- 
road. In 1888 he came to Merrill, Lincoln 
count}', where he and his wife are at present 
residing. To them were born eleven chil- 
dren, named respectively: Alvina, Louisa, 
Julius, Emil, Albert, Robert, Helen, Louis, 
Theodore, Amanda, and Mollie. Julius, 
the subject proper of this article, received 
his education at the common schools of 
Watertown, Wis., and at the age of four- 
teen commenced to learn the trade of butch- 
er. When eighteen years old, in 1S78, he 
started in the same line of business for him- 
self at Grand Rapids, Wis. , which he con- 
tinued until the spring of 1881, when he sold 
out there, and, coming to Merrill, opened out 
a first-class butchering establishment, the 
business of which has since so increased 
that now he has two leading markets in that 
city, besides one in the city of Tomahawk, 
in the same county; these are, it is unneces- 
sary to say, retail establishments, and in ad- 
dition he does a lucrative wholesale business. 
On April 20, 1879, at Grand Rapids, 
Wis., Mr. Thielman was married to Miss 
Minnie Plahmcr, a native of German\', 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



H9 



whose parents, John and Carolina (Knutt) 
Plahmer, came with their nine children to 
America in 1870, settling at Grand Rapids, 
Wis., where the father followed farming 
pursuits. He is now living in the town of 
Grant, near Grand Rapids. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Thielman have been born three chil- 
dren: Amanda, Lillian, and William. In 
politics our subject is a strong Democrat, 
active at all times in the workings of the 
part}', and for three years he was chairman 
of the Democratic County Central Commit- 
tee; was mayor of Merrill one year; chair- 
man of the county board of supervisors, and 
alderman two terms. In July, 1893, he was 
appointed postmaster at Merrill, an office in 
which he gives unbounded satisfaction, and 
each and every one of these incumbencies 
he has filled with scrupulous integrity. For 
six 3ears he was secretary of the Central 
Manufacturing Co., which establishment 
burned in May, 1S94, and he is a director 
of the First National Bank of Merrill. In 
religious faith he and his wife are members 
of the Lutheran Church. 

Mr. Thielman is a typical self-made man, 
one whose only capital, when at the age of 
fourteen, he vaulted into the arena of busi- 
ness life, was naught save a level head, a 
stout heart and a willing pair of hands, and 
bearing for his motto the words: "Fort una 
fai-ct fort! bus. " He is now one of the lead- 
ing business men of Merrill, is a power in 
his party, and a leader in the development 
of all enterprises tending to the growth and 
prosperity of the city of his adoption — a 
typical Western man. Without ostenta- 
tion, either in their manner or style of life, 
he and his amiable life partner always main- 
tain a high social position, and are at all 
times in the enjoyment of the highest 
esteem and regard of the community in 
which they live. 



JOHN H. LIVINGSTON began life in 
the Upper Wisconsin Valley under the 
most unpropitious circumstances. The 
burdens of unusual responsibilities had 
been thrown upon his young shoulders. As a 
boy he helped to support his widowed mother 
and his younger brothers and sisters. When 



eighteen years of age he came to Wisconsin 
with his mother and her four younger chil- 
dren, supporting them by his daily labor. 
Four years later he entered forty acres of 
land in Almond township. Portage county, 
but was too poor to pay for an axe with 
which to clear the farm. But Mr. Living- 
ston has overcome all difficulties. He has 
successfully passed the trying ordeal of those 
stern, forbidding years, and is now one of Al- 
mond township's most prosperous farmers. 
His life has been one of struggle and triumph. 
Mr. Livingston was born in Chazy, Clin- 
ton Co., N. Y., July 3, 1832, son of Will- 
iam and Polly (Newman) Livingston. The 
grandfather of Polly Newman was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary war. William Liv- 
ingston was a blacksmith and a native of 
Milton, Vt., son of Rensselaer and Mary Liv- 
ingston. Rensselaer was also a blacksmith, 
and from him his son, William, learned 
his trade. After marriage William and Polly 
Livingston migrated from Vermont to Clin- 
ton county, N. Y. They had ten children: 
Harriet, deceased wife of Alexander Irwin, 
a merchant of Knowlton; Olive, deceased 
wife of Cludius McLaughlin, a farmer, of 
Oasis, Waushara county; Catherine, de- 
ceased wife of William Fellows, a mer- 
chant of Stevens Point; John H. ; Frederick, 
deceased; Marj', deceased wife of Silas S. 
Walsworth, a lumberman, of Stevens Point; 
Ardelia, now Mrs. Mott, of Oklahoma; Nor- 
man, deceased; and two who died in infancy. 
William Livingston died about 1845, when 
John H., the eldest son, was only thirteen 
years old. He had little opportunity for an 
education, and began work at 25 cents per 
day; but a little later secured a position in an 
hotel at $10 per month. Remaining there 
three years, he saved enough money to buy 
a small home and a cow for his mother. 
They remained there until 1850, when he 
concluded to bring his mother and her four 
younger children to Stevens Point. Here 
he rented a house and secured work at raft- 
ing at $1.50 per day, which seemed like a 
fortune. Remaining at Stevens Point four 
years, he in 1854 purchased forty acres in 
Almond township, buying a claim from one 
Robert Huston. It contained a small log 
house, 16 X 24, which stood just back of Mr. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Livingston's present residence, and to this 
habitation he brought his mother's family. 
He had no team; he purchased an axe on 
credit, and began the work of clearing up 
the oak openings of his little farm. The 
first crop, a diversified one, consisting of 
wheat, corn, oats and potatoes, yielded well, 
and he was soon the happy possessor of an 
ox-team. He added gradually to his farm 
until it grew to 240 acres of well-cultivated 
land. Polly (Newman) Livingston, wife of 
William Livingston, died at Stevens Point 
in 1882. Our subject was married, March 
3. 1869, to Laura M. Hinkley, born in Con- 
necticut January 13, 1842, daughter of 
Lucius and Laura (Waterman) Hinkley. 

Mrs. Laura M. (Hinkley) Livingston is a 
lineal descendant of Samuel Hinkley, who 
was the ancestor of all of the name in Ameri- 
ca, coming in the spring of 1635 to New 
England, with his wife Sarah, and four chil- 
dren, the voyage from the mother country 
being made in the ship, " Hercules," Capt. 
John Witherly. They landed at Boston, and 
settled at Scituate, a town situated about 
thirty miles from Boston, but within the 
boundaries of the old Plymouth Colony. In 
1639 he removed with all his family and ef- 
fects to Barnstable, on Cape Cod, being one 
of the first settlers of that town. His first 
wife (Sarah) died in Barnstable, August 18, 
1656, and December 15, 1657, he married 
Mrs. Bridget Bodfish, widow of Robert Bod- 
fish, of Sandwich. Samuel Hinkley died in 
Barnstable October 31, 1662, leaving a large 
landed estate. The homestead remained in 
the possession of the family until the com- 
mencement of the present century, the last 
occupant being Squire Isaac Hinkley. 

Thomas Hinkley, eldest in the family of 
eleven children of Samuel Hinkley (all by 
his first wife Sarah), was born in England, 
in 161 8, and came with his father to New 
England. He was twice married, first time 
December 4, 1640, to Mary Richards, daugh- 
ter of Thomas and Welthean (Loring) Rich- 
ards, of Weymouth, Mass. She died De- 
cember 4, 1659, and for his second wife 
Thomas Hinkley was married March 16, 
1660, to Mrs. Mary (Smith) Glover, widow 
of Nathaniel Glover, of Dorchester, Mass. 
She was born at Toxteth Park, Lancashire, 



England, July 20, 1630, and died at Barns- 
table, Mass., July 29, 1703. Thomas Hink- 
ley died at Barnstable April 25, 1705, aged 
eighty-seven years. He was a lawyer by 
profession, and one of the most prominent 
and influential men of his day, having been 
a deputy magistrate, governor's assistant, 
commissioner of the confederated colonies of 
New England, and governor of Plymouth 
Colony. He had seventeen children in all 
— eight by his first wife, and nine by his 
second. 

Samuel Hinkley, son of the above and 
his first wife (and fifth in the order of birth), 
was born at Barnstable, Mass., February 14, 
1652, and died at Barnstable (Great Marsh- 
es) March 19, 1687. He was married No- 
vember 13, 1676, to Sarah Pope, of Sand- 
wich, Mass., daughter of John Pope, and 
they had a family of ten children. She sur- 
vived her husband, and married again, after 
which the family of children removed to 
Harwich, a town situated about twelve miles 
from Barnstable, lower down toward the ex- 
tremity of the Cape. 

Thomas Hinkley, third child of Samuel 
and Sarah (Pope) Hinkley, was born at 
Barnstable March 19, 1681, removed to Har- 
wich, as above related, and was there mar- 
ried to Mercy . [The family history is 

here incomplete.] Thomas appears to have 
died young, probably in 17 10, as administra- 
tion on his estate was granted to his widow 
October 11, 17 10. 

Thomas Hinkley, second child of Thom- 
as and Mercy Hinkley, was born at Harwich, 
Mass., March 11, 1708-09, and was a 
blacksmith by trade. He was thrice mar- 
ried: first time March 31, 1730, to Ruth My- 
rick, of Harwich; second wife was Lydia 
Nickerson, of Chatham, married March 17, 
1765; third wife was Hannah Severance, of 
Harwich. [The family record is again in- 
complete.] 

Seth Hinkley, eldest child of Thomas 
and Ruth (Myrick) Hinkley, was born at 
Harwich, Mass., September 2, 1730, and died 
at Hardwick, Worcester Co., Mass., April 
21, 1797. He was married in Harwich Feb- 
ruary 2, 1755, to Sarah Berry, daughter of 
Judah Berry, and who died in Hardwick 
Aprils, 1 81 3, aged eighty-one years. They 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



appear to have removed to Hardwick soon 
after marriage, as the births of all of their 
eight children are recorded here. [They 
were the great-grandparents of Lucius Hink- 
ley.] 

Scottoway Hinkley, seventh child of the 
eight children of Seth and Sarah (Berry) 
Hinkley, was born at Hardwick, Mass., 
April lo, 1 77 1, settled in Vernon, Conn., 
and there married Eunice Kellogg, who was 
born November 15, 1773, daughter of Rev. 
Ebenezer and Hannah (Wright) Kellogg. 
He died in Vernon, in August, 1849; his 
wife passed away in November, 1823. He 
was a physician, and a very large man, weigh- 
ing, it is said, 300 pounds. They had six 
children. 

Lucius Hinkley, eldest of the six chil- 
dren born to Dr. Scottoway and Eunice 
(Kellogg) Hinkley, was born in Vernon, 
Conn., September 6, 1799, married at Bol- 
ton, Conn., November 9, 1830, to Miss 
Laura (Waterman), born at the same place 
in February, 1805, daughter of Charles and 
Anna Waterman. Lucius Hinkley was a 
manufacturer of woolen goods, merchant 
and farmer. He removed from Connecticut 
to Troy, N. Y. , about 1842, and became a 
grocer. Ten years later he came to Wau- 
pun. Wis., and in 1855 to Pine Grove 
township. Portage county, where he pre- 
empted a farm of 160 acres and erected a 
one-story log house, I4.\ 24, into which he 
moved with his family. The parents in 
1 872 removed from Pine Grove township 
to Marcus, Iowa, where Mr. Hinkley died, 
April 23 1883; his wife, November 16, 
1893. They had six children, their names 
and dates of birth being as follows: Jane 
Gray, December 2, 1831; Lucius Dwight, 
November 8, 1834; Julian Wisner, March 
12, 1838; Laura Maria, January 13, 1842; 
Mary Amelia, February 14, 1844; and 
Myron Edward, February 15, 1846. Of 
these, Jane G. is married to William H. 
Wilson, and resides in Milwaukee; Lucius 
D. is a dealer in pumps and windmills at 
Waupun; Julian W. is a contractor and 
builder, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; Laura M. 
is the wife of John H. Livingston; Mary A. 
died in 1894; and Myron E. is a nursery- 
man at Marcus, Iowa. 



The children born to John H. and Laura 
M. Livingston are Stacia, born April 16, 
1870, a student at Oshkosh; Olive, born 
December 2, i87[, a school teacher at 
Plainfield; Zella, born December 27, 1876, 
a student at Oshkosh; Ralph Allen, born 
March 26, 1885. In politics Mr. Living- 
ston is a stanch Republican. He has been 
a member of the side board, and for twenty- 
two years has been school treasurer. He 
is now vice-president of the Stockton In- 
surance Company. 



ADELBERT D. ROGERS. Many 
of the early pioneers of Wisconsin 
are the descendants of pioneers. 
From the New England and other 
Eastern States the more active and enter- 
prising element of society migrated to the 
outposts of civilization, and by successive 
waves of migration extended farther and 
farther westward. It was so with the Rog- 
ers family. It settled originally in Vermont. 
Then many years ago its representatives 
sought Western homes in Oneida county, 
N. Y. Another movement brought the 
family to the wilderness of Wisconsin, in 
Almond township, Portage county. 

Our subject was born in Vernon, Oneida 
Co., N. Y., August 4, 1844, son of Orim 
and Velinda (Wood) Rogers. Orim Rogers 
was a native of Vermont, and in his earlier 
years had moved to New York, where he en- 
gaged successfully in farming and dairying. 
He had four children: Caroline, now Mrs. 
Albert Wood, of Almond township; George, 
also of Almond township; Sarah, wife of 
Edwin Forsyth, a carpenter, of New York; 
and Adelbert D. Sarah, at the age of sev- 
enteen years, had married Mr. Forsyth. 
The other children were still at home in 
1855, when the parents sold their New 
York property and came to Almond town- 
ship, Portage Co., Wis. Here Orim Rog- 
ers purchased eighty acres of government 
land in Section 18, paying $1.25 per acre 
for it; it was wild land, innocent of any im- 
provement whatever. For a time the family 
lived with Albert Wood, but in the spring 
of 1856 they built a frame house, 16x24, 
in which they lived about twelve years. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPMICAL ItBCOM). 



Mr. Rogers had purchased a yoke of oxen 
in the southern part of Wisconsin, and drove 
through to the new home. The work of 
breaking the land began, but progressed slow- 
ly at first. The mother at one time received 
some money from the settlement of her broth- 
er's estate, and contributed the amount to the 
general welfare of the family. Mr. Rogers 
added forty acres to his original purchase, 
and remained on this homestead of I20 acres 
until his death. May 28, 1892, he dying at 
the age of eighty-two years; his wife died 
February 22, 1870, at the age of sixty-three 
years. 

Adelbert D. Rogers received only a 
common-school education. He was ten 
years of age when he came with his parents 
to Wisconsin, and he has ever since remain- 
ed on the home farm, assisting in breaking 
the land and taking charge' of the farm 
since the death of his mother. He has 
added eighty acres to the land, which is 
now a well-improved farm of 196 acres. 
Mr. Rogers was married December 19, 1869, 
to Eliza Monday, the eldest child of Ed- 
ward and Emma Monday, of Almond 
township. To Mr. and Mrs. Rogers two 
children have been born: Reuben S., now at 
home, and Lyman, who died at the age of 
ten years. Politically Mr. Rogers is a Re- 
publican. He is a thorough and successful 
farmer, and highly respected by all who 
know him. 



M 



RS. ARABELLA BEGGS, who 

now conducts a large and excel- 
lent farm in Almond township, 
Portage county, is the worthy 
representative of an early and influential 
pioneer family of this locality. 

She was born in Freemansburg, Penn., 
August 27, 1839, daughter of Jeremiah and 
Caroline (Merrill) Roseberry. Jeremiah 
Roseberry was born in Warren county, N. 
J., August 15, 1812, son of Michael and 
Margaret fMackey) Roseberry. Caroline 
Merrill, a native of Pennsylvania, was the 
daughter of Otis and Susanna (Ravenau) 
Merrill. To Jeremiah and Caroline Rose- 
berry were born eleven children, as follows: 
Freelove E., who died at the age of sixteen 



years; Arabella, subject of this sketch; Anna 
M., now Mrs. Leman Pratt, of Minnesota; 
Charles O., who died in Andersonville prison 
during the Civil war; Robert I., a farmer of 
Pine Grove township; George A., deceased; 
Laura J., now Mrs. William Beggs, of Plain- 
field; William M., deceased; John A., de- 
ceased; Lillie M., deceased; Harriet, now 
Mrs. Everett Beggs, living on the old Rose- 
berry homestead in Pine Grove township. 
Jeremiah Roseberry was a physician, practic- 
ing at Alexandria, Va. , in 1854. Ill health 
induced him to abandon his profession, and 
to seek renewed strength in the great piner- 
ies of the Northwest. Accordingly in that 
year he migrated with his family to Wiscon- 
sin, and took up a farm in Pine Grove town- 
ship. Portage county, of 1 50 acres mostly 
covered with oak openings. Dr. Roseberry 
remained a resident of the farm until his 
death, December 3, 1888, at the age seventy- 
six years. He bore a high reputation for 
honesty and fair dealing, and was a success- 
ful and influential citizen of the new coun- 
try, respected and esteemed by all who 
knew him. 

Arabella Roseberry was fifteen years of 
age when she came with her parents to Wis- 
consin. She had meager opportunities for 
a finished education, yet from her native in- 
telligence, and from her association with her 
father, who was a cultured man, she fared 
much better by way of education than many 
others whose lot was cast in the pioneer 
land. She was married to James Beggs, 
and with him began housekeeping on his 
farm in Pine Grove township. In 1864 
James Beggs enlisted in Company F, Fifth 
Wis. V. I. , and was mustered into the service 
at Madison; his brother Albert was in the 
same regiment. The regiment was pushed 
right to the front, and at Petersburg Al- 
bert was killed by a Rebel bullet. James 
Beggs served in Virginia until the surrender 
of Lee's army, the crowning victory of 
Northern arms, which was witnessed by Mr. 
Beggs. After his return from the army he 
bought 140 acres of land in Almond town- 
ship. Portage county, which is a portion of 
the farm now occupied by Mrs. Beggs. He 
removed there with his wife, and engaged in 
practical farming, adding to his possessions 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



"3 



until at the time of his death, January 3, 
1890, they had reached 200 acres. The 
death of Mr. Beggs was hastened by in- 
juries which he had received in the army. 
It was a severe blow to the bereaved wife 
and family. In politics Mr. Beggs was a 
Democrat. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
Beggs are Charles A., a bookkeeper of Plain- 
field; Harmon H., of Almond township; and 
Frank R. The latter was married February 
22, 1892, to Miss Maggie Gould, who was 
born in Canada, near Ontario, December 
29, 1 87 1 , daughter of Robert and Jane (Liv- 
ingston) Gould, whose eight children are 
John, Lizzie, Jane, Maggie, William, Margie, 
Mary and Lottie. At the time of her mar- 
riage Maggie Gould was a school teacher. 
Frank R. and Maggie Beggs have one child, 
Genevieve. 



M 



AJOR HENRY CURRAN, senior 
member of the widely-known firm 
of H. & J. D. Curran, the popu- 
lar and genial proprietors of the 
"Curran House," Stevens Point, Portage 
county, is a native of the State of Illinois, 
born in Winnebago county, near Mt. Carroll, 
January i, 1841. 

The grandfather of our subject, also 
named Henry, who was a man of no small 
degree of prominence, descended from a dis- 
tinguished family in Ireland, and was a well- 
to-do agriculturist in that country, owning 
eighty acres of land, besides renting other 
farmsteads. He came to this country with 
his family, and died at the home of his son 
John, at Plover, Portage Co., Wis., in 1849, 
at a very advanced age; his wife had prece- 
ded him to the grave in Ireland. John Cur- 
ran, the son just referred to, was born 
in County Carlow, Ireland, and came to the 
United States in 1830, locating in Illinois, 
near Mt. Carroll. At Galena, in that State, 
he married Miss Mary Ann Code, a native of 
Missouri, and they had four children. The 
father came to Plover, Wis., in 1847, be- 
coming an Indian trader in the Wisconsin 
Valle)', and in Plover he opened a general 
supply store which he operated until a short 
time before his death, which occurred No- 



vember 2, 1852, caused by neuralgia of the 
heart. His widow died in June, 1S56, and 
they as well as his father, sleep their last 
sleep in the Plover burying ground. They 
were all members of the Roman Catholic 
Church, and all died in that faith. 

The subject proper of this memoir re- 
ceived a fair!}' liberal education at the com- 
mon schools of Plover, Wis. , and at the 
early age of twelve years commenced to 
"hustle" for himself. When fourteen he 
began lumbering, part of his duties being 
the running of lumber down the Wisconsin 
river as far as St. Louis, Mo. ; and he so 
continued until the breaking out of the war 
of the Rebellion when he enlisted May 10, 
1 86 1, at Madison, Wis., in company E (a 
Jeffersonville company). Fifth Wis. V. I., 
which soon afterward was sent to the front, 
the first active hostilities our subject partici- 
pated in being at Centerville, Va. , in a skir- 
mish with the enemy. He served until July, 
1864, his term of enlistment then expiring. 
Veteranizing, he re-enlisted September 30, 
1864, becoming sergeant-major of the re- 
organized Fifth Wis. V. I., in December, 

1864, in which he was promoted to second 
lieutenant of Company A; in February, 

1865, he was further promoted to captain 
of Company G, and, finally, after the battles 
of Petersburg and Sailors Creek, "for gal- 
lant and meritorious conduct," he was bre- 
vetted major. He served faithfully and 
well to the close of the war, being mustered 
out in June, 1865. Major Curran partici- 
pated in all the battles of the army of the 
Potomac (except that of first Bull Run) up 
to May 5, 1864, the day he was wounded 
at the battle of the Wilderness, a minie 
ball striking him in the left leg below the 
knee, which laid him up till the middle of 
the following July; he was also injured in 
the same battle, on the stomach, by a bullet 
striking the brass plate of his belt with ter- 
rific force, causing a severe and painful con- 
tusion; afterward, from November, 1864, to 
the close of the campaign, he participated 
in all the battles fought by the army of the 
Potomac. The brevet commission was giv- 
en to our subject for the following acts of 
bravery: at Petersburg the conunand led by 
him was the first to yntcr the enemy's 



124 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



works at the storming of the place; at 
Sailors Creek, Capt. Curran and his com- 
mand were in charge of the skirmish line on 
the enemy's left, when, just toward the 
close of the battle. Gen. Ewell, of the Con- 
federate service, and staff raised a white 
flag as a signal of truce. Thereupon Capt. 
Curran detailed Sergt. Cameron of Com- 
pany A to meet Gen. Ewell and see what 
he wanted; the sergeant did so, and returned 
with Ewell and his entire staff who desired 
to surrender, and were accordingly sent to 
the rear to report to Gen. Wright or to Gen. 
Sheridan, and soon afterward Ewell surrend- 
ered with his army of 7,000 men (this was 
April 6, 1865, three days before Gen. Lee's 
surrender) ; after this engagement had been in 
progress some time, Col. T. S. Allen, com- 
manding the Fifth Wis. V. I., asked Capt. 
Curran if he would not charge the enemy's 
skirmish line, and drive them in or capture 
them, to which the Captain responded that he 
" would try," so, taking Companies G andA, 
he advanced on the Rebels in skirmishing or- 
der, drove in the picket line and took many 
prisoners. The Major participated in the 
Grand Review held at Washington in 1865. 

On returning to civil life Major Curran 
resumed citizenship in Portage county, first 
in the capacity of manager of " Phelps' 
Hotel, " Stevens Point, so continuing until 
December 2, 1866, when he bought the 
hotel he has since successfully conducted in 
partnership with J. D. Curran. On October 
II, 1866, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Addie Walker, daughter of James 
Walker, and three children were born to 
them as follows: John D., a graduate of 
Stevens Point High School, also of St. John's 
Military Academy at Delafield, Wis., and 
was a teacher in that institution for two 
years (he is now attending Wisconsin State 
University); Florence Gratia and Henry, Jr., 
both at home; they have also an adopted 
son, Russell W. Walker, whom they reared 
as their own from the age of two years, is 
now a resident of Astoria, Oreg. , and is 
studying law. 

Major Curran is a Republican, filled the 
position of alderman at Stevens Point some 
fifteen years, and is looked upon as one of 
the most substantial men of the place. 



standing high in the community, has always 
been active in politics and influential in the 
affairs of his party. 



HERMAN FELKER, one of the 
progressive young farmers of Al- 
mond township. Portage county, 
lives on the farm from which the 
present village of Almond was carved, and 
which was settled by his father, Isaiah 
Felker, over forty years ago. The land 
was partly timbered by oak, and parti}' 
prairie, and hence was easily cleared. Mr. 
Felker has one of the two stump machines 
that are owned in that part of Portage 
county, and it has helped greatly in prepar- 
ing the land for cultivation. Of the orig- 
inal 240 acres which the father possessed, 
Herman now owns and cultivates 120 acres. 
Isaiah Felker, the father, was born in 
Stratford, Stratford Co., N. H., in 1820. 
He was well-educated, and in his younger 
days was a school superintendent near Bos- 
ton, Mass. He came west to Wisconsin 
about 1854, and purchased a farm in Al- 
mond township, and also a half-interest in 
a hotel where the village of Almond now 
stands. In 1857 he was married to Chris- 
tina Ferber, who was born in Baden, Ger- 
man}', daughter of John P. and Barbara 
(Buerkle) Ferber, the eldest of whose five 
children is Barbara, now Mrs. Michael 
Milure, of Almond township; the second, 
Elizabeth, is Mrs. D. Shafer, of Almond; 
the third is Mrs. Felker; the fourth, Mary, 
now Mrs. George Tysan; the fifth, Mar- 
garet, now Mrs. Albert Young, of Almond. 
In the fall of 1846 John and Barbara Fer- 
ber emigrated to America, were eight weeks 
in crossing the ocean, and came direct to 
Racine, Wis. Mr. Ferber bought 160 
acres of partially-improved land ten miles 
from Racine, and lived there until 1854, 
when he came to Almond township. Portage 
county. Here Mr. Ferber bought 260 
acres of land, where Albert Young now 
lives. It was mostly prairie land, and con- 
tained a small building. The parents occu- 
pied and improved this farm until their 
death, many years later. After their mar- 
riage Isaiah and Christina Felker engaged 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



125 



in farming and conducting the hotel at Al- 
mond until the death of Mr. Felker, Nov. 24, 
1874. He had four children, Anna Rosetta, 
now Mrs. William Walker; Herman, who 
now owns the old homestead; and twins who 
died in infancy. Politically, Isaiah Felker 
was a Republican, and for many years he 
was postmaster at Almond. The widow, 
Mrs. Felker, now lives at Stevens Point. 

Herman Felker was born in Almond 
township July 6, 1862. He was educated 
in the common schools, and when quite 
young assisted in clearing the land. He 
was only twelve years old when his father 
died, and at that early age he took his place 
at the head of his mother's household. Mr. 
Felker has ever since engaged in farming, 
and now plants about twelve acres of pota- 
toes. On March 27, 18S9, he was married 
to Carrie J. McCrossen, born in Waupaca 
county, daughter of John and Rachel 
(McDougle) McCrossen, both natives of 
Maine, and of Scotch-Irish extraction. 
John McCrossen was a successful farmer 
and lumberman, and about 1856 emigrated 
with his family to Waupaca county, where 
he purchased and opened up a farm. The 
parents now live in Waupaca, at the ages 
of seventy-three and sixty-nine years re- 
spectively. The children of John and 
Rachel McCrossen were Mary, now wife of 
W. Chady, a merchant in Waupaca; Will- 
iam, who died at the age of twelve years; 
and Carrie J., wife of Mr. Felker. Mr. 
Felker is in politics a Republican, and is 
well and favorably known throughout the 
southern portion of Portage county as one 
of the most enterprising and influential citi- 
zens. 



LD. SCOTT is one of the foremost 
citizens of Belmont township. Port- 
age county — foremost in enterprise, 
foremost in enlightened opinion, fore- 
most in public spirit. He is a self-made 
man, and one of the pioneers of the Upper 
Wisconsin Valley. 

Born in Tioga county, Penn., August 2, 
1 83 1, he is a son of Luke and Julia 
(Seeley) Scott, the former of whom, who 
was a farmer, died in 1836, leaving a 



widow and a large family of chil- 
dren, as follows: Lucretia, Levi, Julius, 
Charlotte, Abigail, James, Charles, Julia, 
Phoebe, L. D. and Hester A. The oldest 
brother took charge of the farm, and the 
family remained together. The mother died 
in Tioga county, Penn., October 17, 1858, 
aged 64 years, 8 months, 22 days. L. D. 
Scott, who was the youngest son, remained on 
the home farm, attending the district schools 
and assisting in the farm work until he was 
twenty-one or twenty-two years of age, 
when he went into the lumber woods. In 
the fall of 1855 he came to Oshkosh, Wis., 
traveling by rail to Sheboygan, and thence 
by stage to his destination. In the winter 
he worked in the woods, and during the en- 
suing summer he was employed in a sawmill 
at Oshkosh; then, in the fall of 1856, he 
came to Portage county, and worked in the 
pinery on the Big Plover, running the river 
the following summer. He bought land in 
Springwater township, Waushara county, 
but never occupied it. For several years 
longer he followed lumbering, then in the 
fall of 1 86 1 he purchased eighty acres oi 
poorly-improved land in Section 8, Belmont 
township. 

Mr. Scott was married, March 29, 1862, 
in Oconomowoc, Wis., to Susan E. Dopp, 
who was born in Oneida county, N. Y., May 
16, 1832, daughter of John W. and Cather- 
ine (Miller) Dopp. Mrs. Scott migrated to 
Waukesha county. Wis., May, 1846, with her 
parents, coming via the Erie canal to Buf- 
falo, thence by lake to Milwaukee, and 
thence to Waukesha county. She was the 
youngest of six children, and before she was 
eighteen she began teaching school. She 
taught eighteen or twenty terms, and it is 
an evidence of her ability that she received 
unusually high wages for those times. Her 
first term was for fourteen shillings per 
week, extraordinary wages then, and in 
later years she received as high as twenty 
dollars per month, .\fter his marriage Mr. 
Scott lived for about six months on his 
eighty-acre tract, then in the fall of 1862 he 
moved to his present farm, where he has 
lived ever since, engaged in farming. He 
now owns 200 acres of land, highly im- 
proved, it being one of the excellent farms 



126 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of the township. Two children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Scott: Mattie A., 
September 12, 1866 (now Mrs. John H. 
Johnson, of Blaine, Wis.), and Bertha E., 
December 12, 1871 (now Mrs. Frank Casey, 
and living with her parents). On October 
4, 1864, L. D. Scott left home to join the 
army, was discharged from Jeffersonville 
Hospital, and reached home Julj' 22, 1865. 
In 1893 and 1894 Mr. Scott was engaged 
in mercantile pursuits at Blaine. In politics 
he is a Republican, and voted for John C. 
Fremont in 1856. He has held various 
local offices, including those of town chair- 
man, supervisor and treasurer of District 
No. 6; has been an active advocate of Re- 
publican principles in Belmont township, 
and from his influential position has been 
one of the chief advisors of his party in 
his section. For fifteen years, from Sep- 
tember 4, 1878, to December 25, 1893, he 
was postmaster at Blaine, conducting the 
office in his house. Successful in business, 
always active in public matters, well-in- 
formed and happy in his domestic relations, 
Mr. Scott is most highly esteemed by a 
large circle of friends and acquaintances. 



AUGUST H. STANCE, president and 
manager of the A. H. Stange Co., 
Merrill, and whose enterprise, en- 
ergy and business tact and public- 
spiritedness have done so much toward 
the building up of the city of his adop- 
tion since he came to it, is by birth a 
German, having been born near the city of , 
Berlin October 10, 1853. 

Charles F. Stange, his father, also a na- 
tive of Germany, born in 1820, was married 
in the Fatherland to Miss Caroline Boetcher, 
of the same nativit}', the date of her birth 
being February 6, 1826. In Germany three 
children — Caroline, August H. and Charles 
— were born to them, and in 1856 the fam- 
ily came to America, settling in Watertown, 
Jefferson Co., Wis., where six more chil- 
dren were born — Ida, Augusta, Anna and 
Emma, living, and two that died in infancy. 
The father was called from earth in 1886, 



while a resident of Merrill, Lincoln Co., 
Wis., having been an invalid for eleven 
years; the mother is yet living. 

The subject proper of these lines se- 
cured but a limited education, as on account 
of his father's ill-health he had early to 
commence work in order to aid in the sup- 
port of the family. To the astonishingly 
rapid development of lumber manufactures 
in Wisconsin during the past quarter of a 
century Mr. Stange has conspicuously and 
effectually contributed, and he entered the 
arena of business with a vigor and energ}' 
which has never flagged. At the age of 
thirteen we find him in a sash, door and 
blind factory, giving all his earnings to his 
parents, which, in fact, he did until he was 
married. When eighteen years old he went 
to Racine, Wis. , to accept the position of 
foreman in a sash and door factory, where 
he remained eleven years, or until com- 
ing to Merrill in the sprmg of 1882, in 
company with H. W. Wright, working for 
him on salary until the organization of the 
H. W. Wright Lumber Co. , of which he be- 
came a member. After two years, however, 
he sold his interest, and in partnership with 
Mr. Mihill, bought the present plant consist- 
ing of sawmill, sash, door and blind factory, 
which he has vastly increased and improved, 
employment being now given to an average 
of 350 hands. Within one year Mr. Stange 
bought out his partner's interest, and the 
business was conducted in Mr. Stange's own 
name until January, 1895, when it was or- 
ganized into a stock company, know as the 
A. H. Stange Co., of which he is president, 
a part of the stock being distributed among 
his trusted employes, Mr. Stange owning the 
controlling interests. When he bought his 
present plant, it was far from new, and con- 
siderably run down; but his energy and busi- 
ness ability soon built it up to its present 
standard of efficiency, and to-day the con- 
cern stands at the head of all similar indus- 
tries in Northern Wisconsin. Mr. Stange 
enjoys the unqualified esteem and respect 
of his employes, for reasons, chief among 
which, probably, is his thorough personal 
knowledge of the business in every detail, 
there not being a single machine in all the 
extensive plant that he can not operate him- 




Oi^^^^w^ 



UOMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



127 



self — well-establishing his claim to be recog- 
nized as a master of every department of 
the industry. 

In February, 1874, at Racine, Wis., Mr. 
Stange was married to Miss Emily Miller, a 
native of that city, and daughter of William 
and Hattie Miller, Germans by birth. Six 
children have been born to this union, named 
respectively: Hattie, Charles, Adaly, Au- 
gust, Emily and Lydia. In religious faith the 
entire familj' are identified with the Lutheran 
Church, while, socially, they are held in the 
highest esteem by the community. 

Mr. Stange's business interests will not 
permit of his taking much, if an}', active 
part in politics; but his popularity is such 
that he has, even in a measure against his 
inclination, been placed in public offices of 
trust and honor. For six years — or in fact 
until he positively declined to act longer — he 
served the city of Merrill as alderman, and 
in the spring of 1895, although a Demo- 
crat, he was offered the nomination for 
mayor of his adopted city by the best rep- 
resentatives of the Republican party of 
Merrill. We have said he does not take 
active part in politics, but he is looked upon 
as such an able adviser that he is repeatedly 
waited on and consulted on political ques- 
tions of moment. One of his business capa- 
city, administrative ability and unblemished 
integrity is certain to be sought after to fill 
positions where experience and sound judg- 
ment are essential, and to-day Mr. Stange 
is vice-president of the First National Bank, 
as well as one of the directors of the Na- 
tional Bank of Merrill. He takes great inter- 
est in the welfare and advancement of the 
city. Liberal in his views, and charitable 
almost to a fault, yet quiet and unostenta- 
tious, as becomes a man of modest mien, he 
has ever been a powerful supporter of any 
philanthropic or similar cause to which he 
could conscientiously give his sanction. 



JOHN S. COWAN, who is one of the 
most enterprising farmers of Alinond 
township. Portage county, has thor- 
oughly experienced in his career as a 
pioneer the vicissitudes antl hardships which 



are inseparable from life on the outskirts of 
civilization, and has lived to witness the won- 
derful development of the Upper Wisconsin 
\'alley. 

He was born in Oshkosh, April iS, 1S49, 
son of James and Mary (West) Cowan, na- 
tives of County Armagh, Ireland, who in 
1828 emigrated to America. From Mon- 
treal they went to Genesee, N. Y. , whence 
Mr. Cowan moved to Rochester, N. Y. , and 
afterward to Erie, Penn., where he was en- 
gaged on the Erie canal. He then went 
to W^arren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, where he 
bought a small unimproved farm, and began 
to clear it. In 1846 he pre-empted and oc- 
cupied 1 20 acres of land in Algoma township, 
Winnebago county, near Oshkosh. That 
city then consisted of one store and one 
blacksmith shop. Settlers were few, and 
wild beasts abounded in the unbroken for- 
ests. Mr. Cowan came from Ohio in com- 
pany with Noah and Clark Miles. He be- 
gan life in Wisconsin without a team, but 
prospered and remained on the homestead- 
in Algoma township until his death, April 
14, 1882, the wife surviving him until Octo- 
ber 27, 1889. Their children were Jane, 
now Mrs. D. B. Frost ; Margaret (deceased) ; 
David ; William (also deceased); Sarah ; 
Mary Ellen ; Martha ; William, now with 
his brother John ; Jefferson ; John S., the 
subject of this sketch ; and West, who oc- 
cupies the old homestead in Winnebago 
county. 

In his boyhood John S. Cowan attended 
the public schools, also the city high school, 
and graduated from the business college at 
Oshkosh. In 1870 he left his father's home 
and came to Almond township. Portage 
county, where for three years he was in the 
employof hissister,who was then a widow. In 
1873 he went to Lincoln county, S. Dak., 
and homesteaded a farm of 160 acres, con- 
sisting of prairie land. He remained here, 
engaged in wheat growing, until December 
I, 1876. Mr. Cowan was married March 
16, 1876, to Etta Frost, daughter of Locke 
and Maria J. (Frost) Frost, who emigrated 
to Wisconsin from Arlington, Mass. Taking 
his bride to the Dakota home Mr. Cowan re- 
mained there until the following winter, when, 
I his wife being homesick and not liking the 



[28 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



new country, they decided to return to Wis- 
consin. Starting in December they made 
the entire journey in an emigrant wagon, 
using sled runners when the snow permitted, 
and were seventeen days in reaching Ahnond 
township, Portage county. Until the fol- 
lowing spring Mr. and Mrs. Cowan remained 
with her parents, then purchased from Mr. 
Frost a farm of 120 acres in Sections 22 
and 27, Almond township. About forty 
acres were cleared and in good farming con- 
dition. Mr. Cowan constructed a frame 
house, 16 X 24, which is now a portion of 
their residence. Here they started anew in 
life. The team with which they drove 
through from Dakota, they lost, and the 
only stock they had on the new farm was a 
colt given them by his father. Plainfield, 
the nearest market, was eight miles distant. 
The work of clearing proceeded slowly but 
surely, and to-day Mr. Cowan has his whole 
farm under cultivation. In 1884 he pur- 
chased seventy acres of additional land, cov- 
ered with hardwood timber, and easy to clear. 
In 1885 he made a one-and-a-half-story ad- 
dition, i8.\ 26, to his house. He built a sub- 
stantial barn, 24 x 36, and each year has wit- 
nessed new improvements. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cowan have two children: Wayne F., born 
January 15, 1879, and Etta Irene, born 
July 14, 1881, both at home, and attending 
school. The son is at this writing prepar- 
ing to enter the Normal school at Stevens 
Point, in 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Cowan are 
Spiritualists, and in politics he is a Repub- 
lican. He was town clerk four yeai's, and 
has served as assessor two terms. He was 
appointed chairman in 1893 to fill a va- 
cancy, and in the following year was elected 
to that office. He is now serving his sec- 
ond year as school district clerk. Mr. 
Cowan is one of the prominent citizens of 
Almond township, and one of its most in- 
fluential farmers. 



LEVI PARSONS POWERS. There 
was no more progressive, well-known 
or more highly-esteemed citizen in 
Wood county than the gentleman 
whose name introduces this memoir — a man 
of but few words, quiet and undemonstra- 



tive, but of great force of character, and a 
credit to the profession to which he devoted 
his life. 

Mr. Powers was born May 9, 1828, in 
Marshfield, Vt., and was a son of Parsons 
and Susan (Cooper) Powers. He was edu- 
cated in his native town, and his early years 
were passed upon his father's farm; but at 
the age of sixteen he began teaching school, 
at the same time spending his leisure hours 
in the study of law. He began reading for 
the legal profession with a Mr. Wilkinson, 
and afterward continued his studies with 
Judge Poland, of Vermont. Coming west 
in 1 849, he spent one year in southern Wis- 
consin, and then after two years' residence 
in Sauk City came, in 1852, to Grand 
Rapids. During his early residence here he 
was engaged in various lines of business; but 
after a time he entered upon the practice of 
his chosen profession, and was soon in the 
foremost ranks of the legal fraternity, being 
considered one of the best counsellors in this 
section of the State. He was fitted for 
leadership, being a broad-minded man, pos- 
sessed of keen discernment and progressive 
views. In politics he was a stalwart Demo- 
crat, and when Wood county was organized 
he was elected clerk of the board of super- 
visors, holding that office for several terms. 
He served in the State Legislature of Wis- 
consin in 1863, and was the vice-president 
of the Wisconsin Valley Railroad Company, 
in the organization of which corporation he 
was an active and efficient mover, while up 
to the time of his death he served as its at- 
torney. 

Mr. Powers was possessed of a marvel- 
ous memory, and it was generally conceded 
that he had few rivals in his knowledge of 
law records, and also the history of Wood 
county and the State from the time of his 
residence within its borders. New settlers 
learned to look to and rely upon him for 
suggestions, aid and counsel in almost every- 
thing that pertained to their interests, and 
especially so in legal matters, until his fame 
became known throughout his adopted State 
and even beyond its limits, while his friends 
were legion. In his appearance he was unos- 
tentatious, but in his convictions he stood as 
firm as the mountains among which his early 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



childhood was passed, yet he readily yielded 
to logical reasoning, and was ever earnest 
and untiring in his search for the key that 
would solve the problems presented to him 
through his life, doubting when he could not 
demonstrate. In religion it can not be said 
that he was an unbeliever. He had no fear 
of death, but the question of the hereafter 
he could not solve to his satisfaction. He 
never tired of studying and pondering upon 
religious and scientific subjects, and his ever 
honorable and upright life assures us that if 
existence is continued beyond the grave he 
will live in immortality. In his practice he 
made considerable money, but more often 
his services were unrequited by pecuniary 
remuneration. He seldom asked for a 
stated sum, letting his patrons give him 
what they believed to be his just due. He 
was generous and benevolent, ever kind and 
thoughtful of others, none could speak aught 
against him, and he probably had not a 
single enemy in his wide circle of acquaint- 
ances. 

Mr. Powers was married, in Grand 
Rapids, September 8, 1870, to Mary Eliza- 
beth, daughter of Robert and Mary Ann 
(Brown) Dickerson, and one daughter, Alta 
Charlotte, was born to them January 22, 
1876. The devoted husband and father 
passed peacefully away on the morning of 
September 24, 1S88. He has left an im- 
press upon this State and her laws that will 
be seen and felt for many generations, and 
in the records of the courts has built for 
himself a monument more splendid and en- 
during than could have been made by the 
sculptor, and his memory will be cherished 
throughout Wood county and Wisconsin 
while the friends who have known him are 
still in life. 



NICHOLAS GROSS. Among the en- 
terprising, wide-awake hustlers of 
Stevens Point none is more deserv- 
ing of special mention in the col- 
umns of this work than the gentleman 
whose name is here recorded. 

Mr. Gross is a native of Lorraine, France 
(now in Germany), born April 4, 1854, a son 
of Nicholas and Christina (Deminerle) Gross, 



highly respectable and well-to-do farming 
people of that historic province. In 1865, 
accompanied by their then family of eight 
children, they set sail from Havre, France, 
in the ship "Bremen," and after a passage 
of forty-two days landed at New York, when 
they at once proceeded to Wisconsin via 
Buffalo, where they remained a short time. 
In the spring of 1866 they came to Portage 
county, and in the town of Sharon, at Po- 
land Corners, the father, in 1867, built a 
tavern, which was known far and near as 
the "Poland Corner Tavern," the first 
hostelry ever seen in that neighborhood. 
Here he died, in comfortable circumstances, 
in 1876, his wife passing away at Stevens 
Point in 1892, and they were buried, the 
father at Poland Corners, the mother at 
Stevens Point. In religious faith they were 
members of the Catholic Church, and in 
political affiliation Mr. Gross was a Demo- 
crat. Their family of children were as fol- 
lows: Born in Lorraine — Richard, a resi- 
dent of Stockton, Portage Co., Wis. ; Cath- 
erine, now Mrs. N. Jacobs, of Stevens 
Point; Victor, of the same place; Nicholas, 
our subject; Henry, living in W^ausau, Wis., 
representing the Pabst Brewing Co. ; Aloy- 
sius, member of the hardware firm of Gross 
& Jacobs, Stevens Point; Christina, now 
Mrs. John Khiel, of Stevens Point; Felix, who 
died at Poland Corners when twelve years 
old; those born in the United States are — 
Mary, a Sister of the Order of Notre Dame; 
and Rosa, now Mrs. John Martini. The 
father of this family at one time owned 
some land in this country, but never lived 
on it. 

The subject proper of these lines re- 
ceived his primary education at the schools 
of his native place, and after coming to this 
country attended a short time a German 
school at Buffalo, N. Y., while the family 
were remaining there while on their west- 
ward journey. At the age of seventeen he 
left the parental roof, and coming to Stev- 
ens Point made his home here with a Mr. 
Jacobs, and attended the Second Ward 
School. For a time he found employment 
in a supply store; but prior to this he went 
up the river to Big Eau Claire to work on a 
lumber raft bound for St. Louis, Mo., in 



130 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



which expedition he came near losing his 
Hfe, for on running down the Little Bull 
Falls he was accidentally knocked off the 
raft into the water. James McHugh, the 
pilot, made an effort to save him, Mr. Gross 
being unable to swim, in which effort (un- 
successful, it seems) McHugh lost his pocket- 
book, containing $250, and our subject a 
trouser leg. Mr. Gross finally succeeded in 
reaching shore through what is known 
among lumbermen as the " emptying of an 
eddy," his ardor for raft-running being 
thoroughly cooled. This occurred at a place 
called Mosinee, and by the time the raft 
reached Stevens Point, Mr. Gross conclud- 
ed he had had enough of aquatic adventures, 
and embarked in the less perilous stream of 
commercial life, securing a position in a 
supply store, as already related. In 1877 
he thought he would vary the monotony of 
life by trying his hand at railroad life, and 
proceeding to Colby he worked on the con- 
struction of the Wisconsin Central railway 
a couple of days, "riding the crowbar;" 
then once more returned to Stevens Point, 
making the trip on a freight train, whereof 
James Doi^sey was conductor. For a time 
after this Mr. Gross worked in a supply 
store for Thomas Gray, the result of which 
was that in the fall of 1874 he opened up a 
saloon business on Main street, Stevens 
Point, between First street and the square, 
John O. Herren being his partner; but the 
business was not a success, and at the end 
of some six months was closed out. Our 
subject next tended bar for his brother-in- 
law, Nicholas Jacobs, at the "Jacobs 
House," and with him remained until 1877. 
From 1878 to 1881 he was employed in the 
machine shops of John and James Rice, 
keeping books and running machinery; then 
again opened out a saloon on the northeast 
.corner of the Square, in which he continued 
alone until the spring of 1882, when he re- 
moved his business to the Lutz Block, on 
Main street, Peter Eiden becoming his part- 
ner. There Gross & Eiden continued the 
saloon till June, 1883, when Mr. (iross sold 
out to A. Watke, and began the handling of 
Pabst's beer, selling it by the carload from 
October, 1883, to May, 1884, since when he 
has been local representative at Stevens 



Point for that vast brewery, the trade of 
which has considerably increased under his 
careful management and thorough business 
capacity. On November 21, 1875, Mr. 
Gross was married at Stevens Point to Miss 
Johanna C. Splawn, who was born in Hart- 
ford, Washington Co., Wis., a daughter of 
Patrick Splawn, a native of Ireland; she 
was brought to Portage county when a year 
old, and was here reared and educated. 
The children born of this marriage were as 
follows: Nicholas, who died at the age of 
two years and two months; Alice, born 
November 7, 1882, still at home; and Ma- 
bel, who died when three years and sixteen 
days old. In politics Mr. Gross is a Demo- 
crat, and in 1878 he was a member of the 
school board; socially he is affiliated with 
the Catholic Knights, the Catholic Order of 
Foresters, and has served as trustee of each, 
at the present time being trustee of the 
Knights. In 1894 he built one of the finest 
dwelling-houses in Stevens Point, and he 
has every home comfort due to a man who 
has earned it well and is deserving of all 
he owns. 



JAMES BARR. In every agricultural 
community there are some men who are 
generally known as poor farmers, and 
others who have the reputation of be- 
ing good farmers. Among the latter class 
are a few who excel even among the excel- 
lent. The reputation of James Barr, of 
Belmont township, Portage county, is that 
he is one of the best farmers in the county. 
He is not specially interested in politics. It 
is the farm that interests him, and as a re- 
sult he is a model for the man who wishes 
to make farming a successful business. 

Mr. Barr comes of sound Scotch stock. 
Now, at the age of seventy, he is a very 
well-preserved man. He is one of a family 
of twelve children, all of whom lived to the 
age of twenty-one years, and six of whom 
now survive. He was born in Renfrew- 
shire, Scotland, June 2i, 1825, son of Rob- 
ert and Janet (Pettiker) Barr. Robert Barr 
was a joiner, and supported his family in 
Scotland by working at his trade. Becom- 
ing discontented there, he made a prelimin- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



131 



ary prospective trip to New Brunswick, and 
soon after, in 1827, he emigrated with his 
family, then consisting of four children, to 
a farm in Lower Canada, in a new and 
wooded country. He was a poor man, and 
sought a cheap home. On the farm he 
thus settled he lived through life, and died 
aged seventy-five years, his wife surviving 
to the age of eighty-six. Their family was 
as follows: Janet, now' Mrs. Gilmour Dan- 
skin, of Iowa county, Iowa; Jane, who 
married and died in England; James, sub- 
ject of this sketch; Mary, who married and 
died in Michigan; Robert, of British Colum- 
bia; John, who died in Lower Canada; 
William, of Indiana; Margaret, widow of 
George Ma.xwell, of Lower Canada; Eliza- 
beth, who married and died in Iowa; Isabel, 
who married and died in Lower Canada; 
Peter, of Lower Canada; and Allan, who 
died in Lower Canada. 

James Barr was reared in a new country 
in Canada, where there were no schools for 
years ; but, nevertheless, he got education 
enough to carry him through. When about 
eighteen years old he started out in life for 
himself, working at whatever he could find 
to do, chiefly lumbering for a while. For 
some time he worked in Lower Canada, then 
went to Upper Canada where for four years 
he was engaged in loading and unloading 
vessels at Port Ryerse, and during these 
years secured his start in life from wages of 
from twelve to eighteen dollars per month. 
He first came to Wisconsin in the winter of 
1854-55, when he was engaged in lumber- 
ing on the Big Eau Claire river. Returning 
to Canada, he again came to Wisconsin in 
the spring of 1856, and settled on 120 acres 
in Section 21, Lanark township, Portage 
county, which he had purchased a year pre- 
vious. It was a new piece of land, without 
buildings, and for three years he spent the 
summers in improving it, passing the win- 
ters in lumbering. 

In 1 860 he was married, in Lanark town- 
ship, to Mary Donavan, who was born Sep- 
tember 22, 1841, in New Brunswick, daugh- 
ter of Patrick and Julia (Coughlin) Dona- 
van). Patrick was a mason and stone cut- 
ter, and a great traveler. He lived succes- 
sively in New Brunswick (Canada), Fall 



River (Mass.), Richmond (Vt.), Rensse- 
laer county (N. Y.), Willimantic (Conn.), 
Upper Canada near the Suspension bridge, 
and in various points in Ohio. In the fall 
of 1854 he came with his family to Wau- 
paca, Wis., and later bought forty acres in 
Lanark township, Portage county, also pre- 
empting 120 acres and making the first im- 
provements on the farm. The family first 
lived in Lanark township in a shanty twelve 
feet square, boarded up and down, and here 
during severe winters they suffered little from 
the cold as the house was so small it was 
easily kept warm. Mr. and Mrs. Donavan 
had ten children — five sons and five daugh- 
ters. The parents both died in Lanark 
township, the father at the age of seventy- 
five, and the mother when fifty-three. Mrs. 
Barr when a girl of fourteen summers worked 
away from home, and as a domestic received 
wages as low as fifty cents per week. After 
marriage Mr. Barr began housekeeping in 
Section 21, Lanark township ; in 1873 he 
removed to Section 19, Belmont township, 
where he had purchased 160 acres, and has 
lived here since. His four living children — 
John, William, Jessie L. and Allan — are all 
at home : three children, Robert, Anna and 
Jane, died young. Since coming to Bel- 
mont township, Mr. Barr has engaged solely 
in farming, and has erected all the substan- 
tial buildings which the farm now possesses. 
He is a great reader, and always has daily 
and weekly newspapers in his home. 



FRANK FLETCHER, a representa- 
tive citizen of Portage county, was 
born 'in the town of Burton-on-the- 
Water, Gloucestershire, England, 
December 18, 1848, and is a son of John 
and Charlotte (Humphries) Fletcher, who 
were also natives of that locality. The 
father learned and followed the trade of a 
baker in his native land, and in the spring 
of 1841 was married. In the spring of 1854, 
accompanied by his family, he sailed for this 
country on the "George Washington," a 
merchant vessel. They had previously in- 
tended sailing, but were fortunately preven- 
ted from doing so, for on the vessel on which 
they had intended taking passage yellow 



132 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fever broke out, and nearly all on board 
died. 

The Fletchers spent thirty-three dajs 
upon the water, and then continued their 
journey by rail to Oshkosh, Wis., where 
Mrs. Fletcher had an uncle living. Two 
years later they came to Portage county and 
located a claim, but after six months were 
obliged to leave, for it was found that a cer- 
tain John Gray had a prior claim to the 
farm. In Buena Vista township the father 
secured eighty acres, which, however, re- 
verted to the original owner. He ne.\t rent- 
ed land for two years, and then purchased 
forty acres in Section i6, Buena Vista town- 
ship, and now became more prosperous. 
He afterward bought an additional eighty 
acres, later the eighty-acre farm on which 
our subject resides, and subsequently a quar- 
ter section on which his son George is living, 
and eighty acres on which a nephew is liv- 
ing. He also owned forty acres of timber 
land, making in all 360 acres. In politics 
he was a Republican, and he was a valued 
citizen. His death occurred May 29, 1890, 
on the old homestead, when he was aged 
seventy-one years. His wife, who was born 
September 18, 18 19, died a Christian in 
April, 1890. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher were the parents 
of eight children, viz.: (i) Arthur, a farmer 
of Belmont township. Portage county, mar- 
ried Sarah Handel (he served in the Union 
army throughout the Civil war); (2) Mary 
Ann is the deceased wife of Charles Went- 
worth, a farmer of Kansas, by whom she 
had one son, Louis, who married Margaret 
Gasman, and had two children — John and 
Perry; (3) William died in infancy; (4) 
Frank is the ne.\t younger; (5) Caroline is 
the wife of Gilbert Puariea, and they have 
six children — Charles, Fred, Daisy, Bessie, 
Ollie and Wayne (they reside in Buena Vista 
township); (6) Charles R., a farmer of Stev- 
ens Point, Wis., married Hattie Wanty, 
and they have four children — Pearl, Roy, 
Harry and Ray Arthur; (7) George, a farmer 
of Beuna Vista township, married Emma 
Wanty, and they have six children — Eugenia, 
Irene, who died in infancy, John, Clara, 
Millie and Ward; (8) Herman D. is a car 
inspector in the employ of the Wisconsin 



Central Railroad Company at Stevens Point 
(he married Josie Grover, and they had 
three children — Guinevere, Gladys, and one 
that died in infancy. 

Our subject was about seven years old 
when his parents came to America. He 
began his education in England and com- 
pleted it in Buena Vista township; but much 
of his youth was spent in work upon the 
home farm. He also worked for others as a 
farm hand, and was in the lumber woods 
during two winters, also rafted lumber down 
the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers as far 
as Hannibal. In May, 1874, he was mar- 
ried in Belmont, Wis., by Ira Whipple, 
justice of the peace, to Miss Sarah A. Berry, 
a daughter of Andrew and Angeline (John- 
son) Berrj', the former a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, the latter of Sweden. Mrs. Fletcher 
was born near Wausau, Wis., in the lumber 
region, where her father kept a boarding 
house. He was born August 4, 18 14, and 
his wife on February 9, 1835. The)' still 
reside on the old homestead in Buena Vista 
township. Portage county; they had six 
children, of whom Mrs. Fletcher is the 
eldest; after her came Clara, born March 12, 
1856, deceased wife of Nelson Winslow, a 
lumberman; Mary B., a milliner of Am- 
herst, Wis. ; William, who died in infancy; 
Andrew B., first married to Emma Young, 
and afterward to Barbara Young, by whom 
he has two children — Effie and Robert P. ; 
Alice, born August 13, 1865, died in Sep- 
tember, 1886. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Flet- 
cher located on the farm which is still their 
home. His father had given him a deed to 
eighty acres of land, and to this he added 
140 acres. Fortenj^ears they lived in a small 
frame dwelling, one of the first homes in 
the township, and in 1884 erected a com- 
modious modern residence, in which they 
reside with their only child, Clarence, who 
was born April 6, 1878, and is now at- 
tending school in Buena Vista township. 
Mrs. Fletcher is a member of the Methodist 
Church at Liberty Corners, and takes quite 
an active part in Church work. In politics 
Mr. Fletcher is a stanch Republican, and 
has served as supervisor about eight years, 
being at present a member of the board 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



133 



He has been clerk of the school board 
eighteen years, is a warm friend of the cause 
of education, and gives his hearty support 
to all worthy enterprises and interests cal- 
culated to prove of public benefit. 



ALMON MAXFIELD holds a leading 
place among the enterprising and 
prominent men of Plover, Portage 
county, where he is now carrying on 
a successful mercantile business. He is a 
native of New Hampshire, born in Goshen, 
November 5, 1829, and is a son of Jonathan 
C. (a farmer) and Judith (Cheney) Maxfield, 
who had a family of three children: Almon, 
Electa E., wife of John Patterson, a lum- 
berman (they have a family of children), 
and Leander, a miner of New Me.xico. 

The educational privileges of Almon 
Maxfield were but meagre, all the literary 
training he received being obtained in an 
old log school house. He was early inured 
to hard labor, however, and began life for 
himself at an early age. In 1840, accom- 
panied by his parents, he moved with their 
children to Janesville, Wis., and here our 
subject was engaged in work by the day. 
Wisconsin at that time was considered on 
the frontier, and there were few inhabitants 
in the section where they located. Almon 
made his home in that vicinity until 1850, 
in which year he came to Plover. His 
mother for many years had been an invalid, 
and it was mainly on account of her health 
that the family had come west; her death 
occurred in Janesville in 1842. The re- 
mainder of the family arrived in Portage 
county in 1852, and for many years the 
father made his home at Stockton; he died 
at the home of our subject in 1892, at the 
age of eighty-three years. 

Almon Maxfield engaged in general labor 
for about five years after coming to Plover, 
at the end of which time he purchased 120 
acres of totally unimproved land. For two 
years he made his home with a family who 
were living upon his farm, and then on June 
20, 1 86 1, he was married to Miss Mary 
Elizabeth Rice, a native of New York, and 
daughter of Benona and Mary (Livingston) 



Rice, who also had a son, Lemuel G., a 
merchant of McDill, Wis. Her father fol- 
lowed the vocation of farming, and with his 
family emigrated to Wisconsin about the 
year 1852, locating in Plover; since 1894 
both he and his wife have resided with our 
subject. Mr. Rice has now reached the 
ripe old age of eighty-three, his wife being 
eighty-one. To Mr. and Mrs. Maxfield 
have been born four children: Irene, now 
the wife of W. W. Dake, who operates her 
father's farm in Plover township; Cora E., 
now employed as bookkeeper for a merchant 
in Gladstone, Mich.; Marion E., attending 
the Normal School at Stevens Point; and 
Julian P., at school. 

Until 1886 Mr. Maxfield carried on agri- 
cultural pursuits in Plover township, Port- 
age county, and during that period cleared 
and developed his .fine farm of 120 acres. 
In that year he removed into the village of 
Plover, and has since engaged in merchandis- 
ing, carrying a stock valued at $3,000. He 
has a well-appointed store, in which he con- 
ducts a lucrative business, receiving a liberal 
patronage from the people of Plover and 
the surrounding country. Politically he al- 
ways supports the Republican party, and on 
its ticket was elected supervisor for four 
years; he also served as justice of the peace. 
He possesses the entire confidence of the 
community in which he lives, and is held in 
the highest respect by all with whom he 
comes in contact. Mrs. Maxfield is a true 
Christian woman, and a consistent member 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to whose 
Aid Society she belongs. 

HENRY KOLLOCK, one of the early 
pioneers and successful farmers of 
Almond township. Portage county, 
was born in New Brunswick, Novem- 
ber 12, 1828, son of Shepherd F. and Mary 
Eliza (Taylor) Kollock, both natives of New 
Brunswick. 

Shepherd F. Kollock was by occupation 
a lumberman and fisherman, and the shift- 
ing center of the lumbering interests induced 
him several times to move. He lived for 
some years in Maine, and in 1836, soon 
after the death of his wife, he moved west, 



134 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 



settling near Detroit, Mich., where he en- 
gaged in fanning. Four years later he came 
to Waukesha, and followed lumbering, liv- 
ing with his eldest son, William, who owned 
land. Here the father died in 1843. He 
had nine children, as follows: William, who 
died in Kansas; Jane, who married Thomas 
Curry, a harness maker, and died in Michi- 
gan; Wellington, a resident of Buena Vista 
township, who was killed in the tornado of 
1863; AnnC, who, as the widow of Michael 
Little, lives with her children at Detroit, 
Mich.; George, an hotel keeper at Merrill; 
Mary Eliza, wife of George Sanford, a 
farmer and lumberman at Hustisford, Dodge 
county; Henry, of Almond township; Nel- 
son, a farmer of Almond township; and 
Frances, widow of B. F. Cooper, of West 
Superior. 

Until the tender age of eight years our 
subject received some educational advan- 
tages in the East, and he can remember 
when a teacher could be employed for $1 
per week; on coming west with his father 
his school days were less frequent. After 
the father's death, which occurred when 
Henry was fifteen years old, he remained at 
the home of his brother William for three 
years, then with his brother Nelson he came 
to Wausau, and for six years they worked 
in the pineries. Then, in 1852, the two 
brothers came to Almond township, where 
they bought a claim of 320 acres, at that 
time unsurveyed. They lived for a time 
with their brother Wellington, in Buena 
Vista township, and their nearest neighbor 
was John Moss, who occupied the land now 
known as the Dickson place. The brothers 
had oxen, and at once began breaking up 
the land. Henry was married, March 20, 
1854, to Permelia Barber, daughter of Ches- 
ter Barber, a cooper by trade, who had been 
a soldier of the war of 1812, and who came 
from New York to W^aushara county. Wis., 
about 1847, engaging in farming until his 
death, several years later. When Henry 
Kollock was married about fifty acres of the 
land was under the plow. He built a frame 
house, 16x24, and here the two brothers 
lived. They speculated in land to some ex- 
tent, and remained in partnership until 
1873, when they divided 560 acres between 



them. Henry now owns 200 acres. He is 
the father of four children, as follows: Ella 
A., who married Walter Nugent, of Plain- 
field, Wis., and died at the age of thirty-five 
years, leaving one child, Cora E. ; Cora D., 
now Mrs. William Brady, of Almond town- 
ship; Edith, now Mrs. Charles H. Pratt; 
and Shepherd F., at home. All the children 
have been school teachers except Shepherd 
F. The latter was married November 12, 
1894, to Anna Smith, daughter of Osborn 
and Sarah (Clark) Smith. Osborn Smith, a 
plumber by trade, is now a farmer of Buena 
Vista, and is the father of twelve children, 
as follows: William (deceased), Jennie, 
Anna, Alice, Ella, Maggie, William (2), 
Catherine Reece, Maria, Theresa, Adeline 
and James. Politically Mr. Kollock is a Re- 
publican, and in ante-bellum times he was, 
like his father, a Whig. He is a prominent 
member of Plainfield Lodge No. 208, F. & 
A. M., and is one of the most influential 
and most highly-respected citizens of Almond 
township. 



FREDERICK SHOEMAKER. It has 
been said that the life of every man, 
if properly written, would be as in- 
teresting as a romance. Few lives 
perhaps have so well typified the rewards 
that come to a man of honor, bravery and 
fidelity after a prolonged battle against ad- 
verse fate, as that of him whose name appears 
above, one of the most highly honored citi- 
zens of Dayton township, Waupaca county. 
He was born in Alsace, France (now 
Germany), August 27, 1826, son of Jacob 
and Elizabeth Shoemaker, the former of 
whom, who was a farmer, died when Fred- 
erick was fourteen years of age, the eldest 
of thvee children. The property was ample 
but incumbered, and upon the shoulders of 
the young lad fell the main burden of the 
fight against accumulating interest and fore- 
closure. The struggle was manful, and for 
a time kept the little family at home with 
the mother. In 1845 and 1846 there was a 
notable exodus of emigrants to the United 
States, the promised land of liberty and 
plenty. It was partially with the hope of 
placing his mother beyond want that Fred- 







^L^^t^'X^^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



135 



erick, too, a lad of twenty, in the year 1846 
resolved to try his fortune in the new country. 
Bidding his mother, brother and sister adieu, 
he proceeded via Strasburg, Paris, Rouen 
and Havre to New York, landing with but 
iive dollars in his pocket. Unable to speak 
English, he in vain sought work for several 
weeks, and his little fund was exhausted. 
Finally he succeeded in borrowing ten dol- 
lars to take him to his uncle, who lived in 
Orangeville, Wyoming Co., N. Y. He 
reached Attica, ten miles from his destina- 
tion, penniless, and started afoot for his 
relative's home. All night, in the blustering 
month of March, he tramped in the cold and 
snow, but lost his way and was compelled 
to turn back. Not daring to go to the hotel, 
for he was without money, he hung around 
the depot till directed anew, and this time 
he succeeded in reaching his destination. 
He remained there a month, then lived out 
at seven dollars per month with Marshall 
Cowdin, " if he suited, " and remained seven 
months. Then he worked near Attica, 
N. Y. , for eight dollars per month. Re- 
turning to Orangeville, N. Y. , good fortune 
awaited him. His services were engaged by 
Truman Lewis, a prominent farmer and 
dairyman, and for three and a half years he 
remained on that farm. Better fortune 
still, he in 1850 married Miss Jane Lewis, 
daughter of his employer. She was born 
June 30, 1826, of Puritan extraction. Tru- 
man Lewis was one of the most prominent 
men of his county, and at one time was a 
member of the New York Legislature. 

Having saved his money, though much 
of it was sent to his widowed mother, Mr. 
Shoemaker purchased a farm in Weathers- 
freld township, Wyoming Co., N. Y. , which 
he occupied two years. He then returned 
and worked for his father-in-law. In the 
spring of 1853 he started with his wife for a 
Western home. Oshkosh, Wis., was his 
destination, which was reached via the 
lakes, stage, and lake again. Here he 
met an acquaintance, and while looking 
around he was advised by an Oshkosh mer- 
chant to go to the Indian land then just 
opened up. Acting on the advice, he pro- 
ceeded by boat to Gill's Landing. Leaving 
his wife here, he proceeded to Dayton town- 



ship, and by chance met Lyman Dayton, 
formerly of Attica, N. Y., who he was. sur- 
prised to discover was a personal friend of 
his father-in-law, Truman Lewis. Mr. 
Dayton interested himself in the newcomer, 
and gave him some valuable hints upon 
making a location. Mr. Shoemaker finally 
purchased the southwest quarter of Section 
1 5 from Thomas Morgan, who had made 
some improvements on that place, clearing 
three acres and building a small house, and 
in May, 1853, in an ox-wagon, the pur- 
chaser brought his wife and small outfit to 
their new home. The first purchase of 
ninety acres was augmented from time to 
time until, in 1893. previous to the transfer 
of some 270 acres to his sons, the farm in- 
cluded 450 acres. Meantime matters had 
not prospered in the old country, for the old 
home was sold, leaving the mother in 
straightened circumstances. She lived to 
the age of seventy-five, and her support 
came largely from Wisconsin. Elizabeth, 
the only sister of Frederick, married Charles 
Haenel in Europe, and emigrated to the 
United States. Her husband died in New 
York City, and she returned to Alsace. 
Again coming to New York City, she mar- 
ried Christian Schuekle, and died in that city 
in 1885. Jacob, the only brother of Fred- 
erick, entered the F'rench army, and on ac- 
count of his superior military presence be- 
came a member of Louis Napoleon's body 
guard. He is now a station agent at Mon- 
cel, on one of the government railroads of 
France. The children of Frederick and 
Jane Shoemaker are Lewis F., Lucy (now 
Mrs. A. R. Potts), Truman and Corinne, all 
residents of Dayton except Corinne, who is 
living at home. 

In politics Mr. Shoemaker is a stanch 
Republican, and though he has not been an 
office seeker has twice served his township 
as supervisor. For thirty-five years he has 
been an elder in the Presbyterian Church, 
of which he and his wife are members. He 
was trustee also, for years was Sunday- 
school superintendent and chorister, and in 
1 883 was a delegate to the General Assembly 
of the Presbyterian Church, at Saratoga, 
N. Y. While nearly seventy years old, he 
has the health and strength of a man many 



136 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



years younger. Thoroughness, honesty and 
fairness have been the characteristics of 
his successful Hfe. He is one of the best 
types of self-made men, and is most hap- 
pily situated at the old homestead, in the 
midst of his children, who are following in 
his footsteps and thus exemplifying a high 
citizenship. 



JACOB H. VAN DOREN, an extensive 
manufacturer at Birnamwood, Shawano 
county, was born December 17, 1846, 
in Steuben county, N. Y. , near Naples. 
Isaac O. Van Doren, father of our subject, 
was probably born in Holland, at any rate 
he was of Dutch descent; his father was 
married in New Jersey to Rebecca Smith, 
and they became the parents of six children: 
Abraham, Mary Ann, Isaac O., Jacob, Will- 
iam and Samuel. He was an early settler 
in New York, and came to \Msconsin in 
1853, settling near Oshkosh, where he re- 
mained until his death in 1864; his wife 
passed away in 1862. 

Isaac O. Van Doren, father of our sub- 
ject, was married in Naples, N. Y. , to 
Sarah Bush, who was born in that town in 
1824, one in a family of eight children, viz. : 
Paulina. Sarah, Vinna, Jane, Myra, Rufus, 
John H. and Arthur. Both the parents died 
in New York. By this marriage Isaac O. 
Van Doren became the father of nine chil- 
dren, as follows: Adelaide, James, Jacob 
H., Alfrida, Ella, Wheeler, Frank, May and 
Charles. He was a farmer by occupation, 
and came to Wisconsin in 1854, settling on 
a farm in Winnebago county, near Oshkosh, 
also carrying on a hotel. The mother dying 
at this home in 1880, the father married 
again; he is now living in Brown Valley, 
Minnesota. 

Jacob H. Van Doren, the subject of this 
sketch, attended the common schools in his 
native State, also after coming to \\'iscon- 
sin, and assisted his father upon a farm until 
he was twent\-oue years of age. He then 
went to Menasha and bought a livery stable, 
which he managed one year, when he sold 
out and embarked in the lumber business in 
Shawano count}', remaining there one year. 
His next step was to buy a farm near Osh- 



kosh which he operated two years, and 
then purchased a farm in Green Lake 
county. Here he lived for four years, 
when he again disposed of his property, and 
moving to Oshkosh engaged in the grocery 
business, which he carried on some eight 
years. In June, 1S84, he sold out his store, 
and coming to Birnamwood bought a small 
mill. In July he sold a one-half interest in 
this to his present partner, B. B. Andrews, 
and they are now carrying on an extensive 
business, which has grown from an invest- 
ment of $2,000 to the value of $50,000. 
Their plant consists of a sawmill, shingle- 
mill, stavemill, planing-mill and an excel- 
sior factory, and they employ forty men the 
year round; they also conduct a general store 
in connection with their establishment. 
These various industries, which have done 
so much for the growth and prosperity of this 
section of the county, are managed with 
much abilit}', and by the latest and most 
approved methods, and testify to the fore- 
sight and good judgment of their owners. 
The town, which numbered only one hun- 
dred people when these factories were 
started, now has a population of four hun- 
dred, and is a growing and prosperous vil- 
lage. 

Mr. Van Doren was married March 20, 
1870, to Miss Anna Cook, who was born 
in Winnebago county November 20, 1850, 
daughter of Levi and Harriet (Shelton) 
Cook, natives of \'ermont, who came to 
Wisconsin in an early day, where the father 
engaged in farming. He died in 1879, 
leaving a family of six children: Clara, Anna, 
Charles, Albert, Julia and Flora; the mother 
is still living. To our subject and estimable 
wife five children have been born: Guy, who 
superintends the store and is bookkeeper for 
the company; Flora, now Mrs. Thomas Can- 
non; Ray, attending Wisconsin State Uni- 
versity at Madison; and Dee and Clyde, both 
still at home. Politically Mr. Van Doren 
is a Republican, and he has been a school di- 
rector six 3'ears, having ever taken a deep in- 
terest in the cause of education. He is self- 
made, and ever ready to help those who are 
striving to make a way for themselves in the 
world. Though an energetic business man, 
he yet takes time to do much charitable 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



137 



work, and is liberal to the Church and all 
worthy objects. He is highly respected in 
the community of which he is a valuable cit- 
izen. Birnamwood was organized as a vil- 
lage in the spring of 1895, ^"d Mr. Van- 
Doren was chosen it sfirst president. With 
his family he attends the Congregational 
Church. He was too young to go into the 
army during the Civil war, but one of his 
brothers, James K., when he was seventeen 
years old enlisted in the First Wisconsin 
Cavalry, and served throughout the war, in 
all five years. He had some exciting ex- 
periences, and was made prisoner three times. 

REV, E. J. HOMME, owner and man- 
ager of the Orphans' Home and 
Home for homeless old people at 
W'ittenberg, Shawano county. Wis., 
was born at Thelemarken, Norway, October 
17, 1S43, a son of John and Carrie (Lundj 
Homme. 

John Homme, father of our subject, also 
a Norwegian by birth, born in 1817, was a 
cabinet maker in his native land, a business 
he made a success of, and was married in 
Norway to Miss Carrie Lund, by whom he 
had eight children, as follows: Evan J., 
subject of sketch; Ole, now a resident of 
Houston county, Minn. ; Osmond, a wagon 
maker and carpenter in Wittenberg, Wis. 
(he is married and has five children); Miss 
Helga, who has charge of the boy's depart- 
ment in the Orphans' Home, Wittenberg, in 
the capacity of assistant matron; Birgitte, 
married and living in Clay county, Minn. ; 
Annie, who married Oscar Frohling, and 
died leaving a family of children, three of 
whom are inmates of the Orphans' Home at 
Wittenberg; Andrew, an engineer with resi- 
dence at Grand Forks, N. Dak. ; and Fred- 
erick, foreman of Kemnitz Manufacturing 
Company, at Green Bay, Wis. In 1854 the 
parents came to America, locating in Dane 
county. Wis., where for two years the father 
worked at his trade, or until 1856, in that 
year moving to Houston county, Minn., set- 
tling on a piece of land, and there combined 
farming with cabinet making during the rest 
of his busy life, dying in 1885 at the age of 
sixty-seven years; his widow is now passing 



her declining years with her son, Ole, in 
Houston county, Minnesota. 

Rev. E. J. Homme, the subject proper 
of these lines, after attending elementary 
schools, at the age of nineteen entered col- 
lege, taking a two-years' course, and then 
proceeded to St. Louis, Mo., where, at Con- 
cordia Seminary, he commenced the study 
of theology, at the end of three years being or- 
dained a minister of the Norwegian Lutheran 
Church of America. He then, in 1867, took 
up his abode in Winchester, Winnebago Co., 
Wis. , and was pastor of the Lutheran Church 
there some fourteen years, thence in 1880 
coming to what is now Wittenberg, of which 
village he may be said to be the founder, 
there not being a human being in the place 
when he came to it. He walked all the way 
from Tigerton (a distance of nine miles), 
which at that time was the terminus of the 
Lake Shore & Western railroad. 

From a pamphlet, published in 1894, at 
Wittenberg in the interest of the Orphans' 
Home at that village, is gleaned the follow- 
ing: The village of Wittenberg was founded 
February 13, 1880, by Rev. E. J. Homme, 
which event happened in the following way: 
The Norwegian Synod, to which Rev. Homme 
belonged at that time, had for several years 
discussed the great need of a home for 
orphan children and homeless old people, as 
no such institution existed among the Nor- 
wegian Lutherans of America. Rev. Homme 
declared his willingness to take the lead in 
this move toward the establishment of such 
a home, on the condition that he be at liberty 
to select the place for it. To this the Synod 
agreed, but declared that he should consider 
this as a private enterprise, and not under- 
take the erection of buildings with the idea 
that the Synod should be obliged to pay for 
them. On the other hand, the Synod 
promised to lend their support to every hon- 
est means he might make use of in further- 
ing the cause. On the 27th of January, 
1880, a number of German Lutheran clergy- 
men resolved to form an association for the 
purpose of establishing a high school (an 
academy or progynmasium) for the congrega- 
tions in this section of the State. Rev. 
Homme was a member of this association. 
The German brethren resolved to locate 



I3S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



their high school in the same place where 
Rev. Homme thought of building his Or- 
phans' Home. At the same meeting it was 
■decided to select a location between Clinton- 
ville and Wausau on the Milwaukee, Lake 
Shore & Western railway, which was then 
being built through the western portion of 
Shawano county. A committee was elected 
to inspect and choose a site, said committee 
consisting of Jonas Swenholt, of Scandina- 
via, Wis., John Uvas, of \\'inchester \\'is. , 
Aug. Kraenke, of Reedfield, Wis., and Rev. 
Homme (at that time stationed at Win- 
chester, Wis.). The committee accom- 
plished its mission the 9th and loth of Feb- 
ruary of the same year (1880), and chose 
this region for the founding of a Wittenberg. 
Rev. Homme immediately wrote a pe- 
tition to the railroad company, that the 
station which was then in contemplation of 
establishment might be named Wittenberg, 
to which the railroad company responded 
favorably. The railroad had at that time 
not reached that far, and the whole region 
about was a dark and lonely wilderness, de- 
void of the habitation of man. The first 
sign of civilization in Wittenberg was a log 
cabin made by the railroad company for 
some of its laborers; the first frame building 
in the town was a store, built in the spring 
of 1880 by Jonas Swenholt, of Scandinavia, 
Wis. The following year Rev. Homme 
built his residence there, and moved thither 
with his family November 4, 1881. By 
August 26, 1882, the Orphans' Home was 
completed, and on that day was opened 
with an enrollment of four children and one 
aged man. During the next summer, 1883, 
Rev. Homme built a second building (school 
house) for the use of the orphans, and on 
October 31 the whole institution was sol- 
emnly dedicated. Rev. A. Mikkelson, of 
Chicago, officiating. This institution was 
located in the southern part of the village, 
•on Blocks 30 and 31. The same fall of 
1883 the German Lutheran clergymen had 
their high-school building completed, and 
school began on the ist of September. 
After a course of six months, however, the 
building was utterly consumed by fire, and 
school was again resumed in Rev. Homme's 
Orphans' Home. In the summer of 1884 



the building was rebuilt by Rev. Homme, 
but the school was not continued any 
longer. The next year the school was con- 
verted into the present German Orphans' 
Home. 

In 1882, on motion of Rev. Homme, a 
committee was appointed by the Norwegian 
Synod to investigate what could be done in 
regard to the founding of an Indian mission 
in that vicinity. As the Synod did not take 
any steps to realize the Indian mission, this 
committee went to work independently to 
establish an Indian mission. It selected a 
place three and one-half miles west of the 
village of Wittenberg, where in the fall of 
1884 a small school was established, and 
engaged a teacher for some Indian children. 

In 1885 the committee resolved to move 
the Indian Mission School nearer to the 
village. A large building, the erection of 
which was superintended by Rev. Homme, 
was completed, and dedicated by Rev. J. 
EUestad in the summer of 18S6. Rev. T. 
Larson, of Harmony, Minn., was chosen 
by the committee as principal of this In- 
dian mission. Rev. Homme made an appli- 
cation to the National Gov'ernment for pe- 
cuniary aid for the Indian Mission School, 
which was complied with. In 1887 the 
Norwegian Synod obtained full possession of 
the Indian mission, and has continued it till 
the present date. 

Through the exertions of Rev. Ellestad 
and Rev. Homme a Normal school was es- 
tablished here in 1887 in connection with 
the Orphans' Home. The school was con- 
tinued for three years till the establishment 
of the United Lutheran Church, in 1890. 
In 1885 Rev. Homme built and equipped a 
printing office in connection with the Or- 
phans' Home. From this institution "For 
Gammel og Ung " has been issued every 
week, and has reached its 14th volume. 
Out of this institution are also sent forth 
two weekly Sunday-school papers [Son- 
ihigsskoh- Bladct and Sunday School 
Helper) respectively, the first Norwegian 
and English Sunday-school papers issued 
among the Norwegians in America. The 
Orphans' Home has been in existence for 
thirteen years, and during this time two 
hundred children and aged persons have at 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHIGAL RECORD. 



139 



different times had their homes here. At 
present writing there are seventy-five chil- 
dren and nine aged people at the Home. 
On June 11, 1882, a Norwegian Lutheran 
congregation was formed, which now num- 
bers fort}- families, exclusive of the inmates 
of the Orphans' Home. The trustees of the 
congregation are Peter Olson, Ole Johnson 
and Andreas Grimstad. The minister serv- 
ing this congregation and the Orphans' 
Home is Rev. E. J. Homme; H. Madson 
is deacon of the congregation. The corner 
stone for this new Orphans' Home was laid 
September 23, 1894, by Rev. G. Hoyme, 
of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. — So much for 
what we glean from the pamphlet. 

In truth it reads more like a fairy talc 
than a bare statement of facts, and a view 
of the grounds, whereon stand the Home 
and collateral industries, reminds one more 
of the work of an enchanter than of a single- 
handed mortal. Mr. Homme came to Wit- 
tenberg a poor man, yet fearlessly and hope- 
fully built and equipped a school which fur- 
nished a retreat for some seventy-five home- 
less boys and girls, which he soon began to 
realize was too small for his philanthropic 
purpose. Securing a tract of 360 acres of 
heavily-timbered land on the Embarrass 
river, one and one-half miles from Witten- 
berg, he there established a fine water 
power, and in 1892 erected a sawmill with a 
capacity of 35,000 feet per diem, a planer 
and matcher, and also a shingle-mill. In 
1894 he began the erection of his new 
Home, which is now (July, 1895) under roof, 
and will be completed for occupation in 
1896; when finished it will accommodate 
two hundred children, have an excellent 
school and a select library. The old build- 
ing will be converted into a Home for home- 
less old people. He has also erected a fac- 
tory, equipped with a sixt3'-five horse-power 
steam engine, and here it is his intention to 
manufacture church furniture, thus furnish- 
ing the children with employment, at the 
same time teaching them a trade, thereby 
making it as nearly as possible a self-sup- 
porting Industrial School. Mr. Homme 
has nearly one hundred and fifty acres of 
land under cultivation, where the bov's are 
taught the science of agriculture, and in con- 



nection with the Home he will in the near 
future erect a gristmill, in addition to all 
which it is his intention to introduce other 
industries, thus making the locality a man- 
ufacturing center. It is stated in another 
part of this sketch that Mr. Homme was 
instrumental in founding and erecting the 
Indian Mission and the German Lutheran 
Orphans' Home, but he is now in no way 
connected with either. 

In 1869 Rev. E. J. Homme and Miss 
Ingeborg Swenholt were united in marriage, 
and eight children have been born to them, 
named respectively: William (a graduate of 
Northfield College), Clara J., Carl J., luga, 
Mariin, Anna, Francke and Gerhard. Mrs. 
Homme was born, in 1845, ^f Stone Bank, 
Waukesha Co., Wis., daughter of John and 
Ingeborg Swenholt, natives of Norwa\', who 
came to this country in 1844, finally set- 
tling in Scandinavia. Waupaca Co., Wis., 
where the father died and the mother is yet 
living. In his political preferences our sub- 
ject is a stanch Republican, and he is one 
of the most highly respected citizens of 
Shawano county, popular in the extreme. 
In 1893 he was nominated against his 
wishes for the State Senate, and although 
defeated received a highly flattering support. 
In all his marvelous success, the result of 
indefatigable perseverance, assiduous in- 
dustry, and sound judgment, Mr. Homme 
never forgets to give his amiable wife due 
credit for her share in the labor of love, 
which has by no means been a small one. 



LUTE RICH, one of the most pro- 
gressive and public-spirited young 
agriculturists of St. Lawrence town- 
ship, Waupaca county, is the adopted 
son of Henry A. Rich, a sketch of whom 
follows. 

Our subject was born October 20, 1865, 
and when an infant of eleven months was 
adopted into the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
Henry A. Rich. He attended the common 
schools of the vicinity of his new home, 
and also received instruction from his foster- 
mother, Mrs. Rich; was reared on a farm, 
and has spent some time in the lumber 
woods — never, however, being absent from 



"140 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his foster parents for more than two months. 
He was married December 10, 1884, at 
Ogdensburg, ^^'aupaca Co. , \\'is. , to Miss 
Ella A. Pray, who was born July 15, 1862, 
in Sherman township, Sheboj-gan Co. , Wis. , 
daughter of Edward and Marj- J. (Sweet) 
Pray, both now deceased, the father, who 
was born in February, 1874, and was 
a soldier in the Civil war, dying July 18, 
1864, of a wound, in a hospital at Philadel- 
phia, the mother, who was born in July, 
1824, passing away in St. Lawrence town- 
ship, Waupaca county, February 8, 1890. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Lute Rich have come two 
children: Ada M., born October 15, 1885, 
and Roy, born February 20, 1889. In his 
political preferences Mr. Rich was a Dem- 
ocrat until 1894, since when he has been as 
active in the ranks of the Republican party 
as he had previously been in those of the 
other. He is regarded as one of the exem- 
plary young men of his township, a good 
farmer, possessed of sound business methods, 
and enjoying the esteem of many warm 
friends and admirers. 

Henry A. Rich was born April 28, 1822, 
in the town of Bucksport, Hancock Co., 
Maine, a son of Benjamin Rich, a sailor bj- 
vocation, who by his wife Debora (Ayery), 
had a familj- of ten children — two sons, 
Benjamin, Jr., and Henry A., the former of 
whom was a farmer and died at Bucksport, 
Maine, at the age of eighty-five years, and 
eight daughters who all married and all died 
in their native State. Benjamin Rich, Sr. , 
the father of these, died in Bucksport, 
Maine, in the full faith of the Universalist 
Church, of which all the rest of the family 
were members. 

Henry A. Rich was reared on a farm, 
and remained under the parental roof until 
he was twenty-one years of age, at which 
time he went to sea as a cod fisher on the 
Grand Banks of Newfoundland, being em- 
ployed by parties who make that a regular 
business. This he followed si.\ months, or 
until December, 1847, at which time he was 
married, an event that will be presently fully 
spoken of. He and hisj-oung wife then took up 
housekeeping on the Isle of Wetmore, Han- 
cock Co., Maine, situated at the mouth of 
the Penobscot river, where he was employed 



cutting wood, thence in the spring of 1848 
moving to near the town of Bucksport, same 
county, where for a couple of years he lived 
on a farm with his brother Benjamin, after 
which he removed to Prospect, in the same 
county, and during four summers was em- 
ployed on the construction of Fort Knox, on 
the Penobscot river, holding the responsible 
and often dangerous position of head blaster 
on that work. In the fall of 1854 he re- 
moved to Wisconsin with his family, taking 
steamer from Bucksport to Boston, thence 
rail to Buffalo, from there by boat to De- 
troit, from which city they took rail to Chi- 
cago, then boat to Milwaukee, thence stage 
to Fond du Lac, again boat to Oshkosh, 
thence up Wolf river to Mukwa township, 
from the landing place to the home of Mrs. 
Rich's parents in Little Wolf township. [In 
1850 ^Ir. Rich had \isited Wisconsin, and 
was in the vicinity of Oshkosh and Wolf 
river prospecting for a home, but could find 
nothing to suit him, in fact was rather dis- 
gusted than otherwise, declaring that he 
would not accept a certain 160-acre tract of 
land (where Oshkosh now stands) "if it 
were tendered him as a gift. "] 

For a year Mr. and Mrs. Rich made 
their home with James Eldredge (her father), 
Mr. Rich's first work in his new western 
home being in the woods; then in the spring 
of 1855 he took a business trip to Maine, 
his wife during his absence filling the posi- 
tion of temporary teacher of the first school 
in Royalton township, which was held in a 
partially completed store room in the vil- 
lage of Royalton, that township, the regular 
teacher, Lizzie Crane, being sick. In the 
fall of 1855 he bought eighty acres of land 
in Section 24, St. Lawrence township, Wau- 
paca county, on which not a stick of timber 
had been cut by white man, and here a farm 
house was the first building to be erected, a 
good one for those times, and later on he 
bought forty acres of marsh land. The only 
inhabitants in that town when Mr. and Mrs. 
Rich arrived were: Judge Ogden and 
Dreutzer, Simeon Hopkins, Marshall Levitt, 
William Shambeau, Henry \\'. Eldredge, 
Smith L. Wait, William Cain, Hiram Col- 
lier, Smith Collier, Henry Carrick, Levi 
Carrick and Peter Shepherd. Ogden & 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Dreutzer were building the first mill at 
Ogdensburg, Henry Eldredge being the 
millwright. For fifteen winters after com- 
ing to Wisconsin Mr. Rich followed 
lumbering in the woods, his summers occu- 
pied in improving his farm. Mrs. Rich 
taught the first school in their district in her 
own house. 

On December 29, 1847, Mr. Rich was 
married on the Isle of Wet more, Maine, to 
Miss Elizabeth A. Eldredge, who was born 
December 29, 1829, in Bucksport, Hancock 
Co., Maine, daughter of James and Susan 
(Warren) Eldredge, both also natives of that 
State, the former a millwright by trade, 
born March 11, 1800, in Bucksport, the 
latter in Troy (near Augusta) May 28, 1801. 
They had a family of thirteen children, as 
follows: The first child died in infancy, 
David (at the age of seventeen years was 
lost at sea on the schooner Capt. Ginn, near 
Cape Cod), Henry W. (died at Little Wolf, 
Waupaca county, at the age of sixty-nine 
years), Elizabeth (deceased at the age of 
two years), James, of La Crosse, Wis. (a 
natural sailor, ex-captain of a Wolf river 
steamboat, and who served in the navy 
during the war), Elizabeth A. (Mrs. Rich); 
Harriet (married to Watson Wadwell, died 
in St. Lawrence township), Alvira (married 
to Smith Wait, and also died in St. Law- 
rence township), John (died in town of 
Little Wolf, Waupaca Co.), Isabella (mar- 
ried to Edson Casey, and died in St. Law- 
rence), also three that died in infancy un- 
named. 

In 1850 Mr. and Mrs. Eldredge migrated 
westward to Wisconsin, settling in Little 
W^olf township as pioneers of the almost un- 
explored region, and here hewed out a com- 
fortable home. He and his wife both died in 
St. Lawrence township, November 9, 1861, 
and January 24, 1886, respectively, and 
sleep their last sleep in Ogdensburg Park 
Cemetery. 

Henry A. Rich died August 18, 1887, 
after a two- years' illness, and also lies buried 
in Ogdensburg Park Cemetery. He was a 
medium -sized man, wiry and energetic, a 
good citizen and excellent farmer, leaving a 
comfortable competence, the result of his 
individual industry and perseverance. Since 



his death his widow has continued to reside 
on the old home farm. She is a most in- 
telligent and interesting old lady, possessed 
of a very retentive memory, and consequently 
is a charming conversationalist. She is a 
member of no particular Church, believing 
in the broad and humane Church of Christ, 
and a straightfoward course through life, 
with charity to all. She and her husband 
had no children, but adopted Lute Rich as 
related in sketch. 



AUSTIN ALEXANDER BIERCE, 
treasurer of the village of lola, 
Waupaca county, was born March 
II, 1829, at Hudson City, Colum- 
bia Co., N. Y. , a son of Alexander Neely 
Bierce, who was a native of Massachusetts, 
and a direct lineal descendant of William 
Bradford, who landed at Plymouth Rock in 
1620, and was first governor of the Plym- 
outh Colony. The mother, Deborah A. 
(Morrison) Bierce, was a native- of New 
York. 

When our subject was but one year old 
the family moved to Greene county, N. Y. , 
where they resided until 1835, when they 
removed to Schoharie county, N. Y., and 
here our subject's boyhood was spent in 
laboring on the farm and in a sawmill. As 
one of the older children of a family of 
eight, his work during his younger days was 
necessarily severe. When he had reached 
the age of nineteen his parents, stricken 
with the western fever, again moved, this 
time in May, 1848, to Illinois, at that time 
a wilderness, and settled near the then 
small town of Dixon, the county seat of 
Lee county. Austin here apprenticed him- 
self to one Charles Edson, and learned the 
trade of carpenter. 

On July 4, 1850, at China, 111., he was 
married to Lydia Alice Hopkins, daughter 
of William W. and Salome (Adams) Hop- 
kins, both natives of Connecticut. Mr. 
Hopkins was a lineal descendant of Stephen 
Hopkins, one of the signers of the Declara- 
tion of Independence. Mrs. Hopkins was 
a lineal descendant of Governor Bradford 
through another of his sons, of which he 
had three. Thus two distant branches of 



142 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



this Colonial family were united. Lydia 
Alica Hopkins was born September 2 1 , 
1832, at New Milford, Penn. , and was 
brought by her parents to Illinois in 1845. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bierce's first child, Mar- 
tha J., was born May 26, 185 i, and August 
3, 1855, a son, Neely, was born, but lived 
only one short 3'ear, dying August 4, 1856. 
In 1858 the cry of new country struck into 
the minds of the }"oung couple, and in May 
of that year they came to Wisconsin, set- 
tling at lola, Waupaca county, where they 
now reside. Another daughter, Lenora 
May, was born to them, May 3, i860. 
Shortly thereafter the voice of war began to 
be heard, and December 3, 1863, Mr. Bierce 
left his wife and children to answer to the 
call of his country, enlisting in Company K, 
Tenth Wis. V. I., as private. After serv- 
ing in this regiment for eleven months he 
was transferred as corporal to Company K, 
Twenty-first Wis. \'. I., where he was soon 
promoted to sergeant, and in which he 
served until the close of the struggle. His 
war service took him with Gen. Sherman 
on that memorable march to the sea from 
Chattanooga, Tenn., to Savannah, Ga. , 
and through the Carolinas and Virginia to 
Washington, where he took part in the 
Grand Review of the war veterans. His 
regiment was then transported by train and 
boat to Louisville, Ky. , where they were 
mustered out June 18, 1865. For nearly 
two years after the war Mr. Bierce was un- 
able to work at his trade as carpenter, on 
account of rheumatism contracted in the 
service. Six months of this time were 
spent with relations in Illinois. 

On May 30, 1868, his last child. Burton 
L. , was born, and two years later, May 3 1 , 
1870, his eldest child, Martha, died. In 
1885 Mr. Bierce was granted a pension of 
six dollars per month, and in June, 1890, 
this was increased to sixteen dollars per 
month. At this time, the old trouble, sci- 
atic rheumatism, had made almost a cripple 
of him, and he is still most severely troubled 
with it. 

Mr. Bierce settled in lola when it 
could hardly be called a hamlet; where the 
now beautiful streets lie it was but a wilder- 
ness. For thirty-five years his residence 



has been on the same lot on which it now 
stands, his two remaining children being 
located near by- — the son on one side and 
the daughter at the opposite side of the 
parental home. Mr. Bierce has been a 
Republican in politics from his first vote to 
the present time, his first vote for President 
being cast for '• Rough-and-Ready " Zach. 
Taylor. Never an office-seeker, he has 
held at different times town oflices, and in 
1893 was elected treasurer of the village of 
lola. He was re-elected in 1894, and is 
the present incumbent. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Bierce have been active members of the 
M. E. Church for years, and are members 
of the M. E. Church at lola at the present 
time. Mr. Bierce is also an active member 
of the G. A. R. , and the present commander 
of lola Post No. 99, lola. 



FINN LAWLER. The Province of 
New Brunswick, Canada, has given 
to the United States, and to the 
State of Wisconsin, especially, a 
goodly number of her stalwart, industrious 
and loyal citizens, among whom the sub- 
ject of this sketch stands prominent. 

Mr. Lawler was born in Douglas, North- 
umberland Co., New Brunswick, May 8, 
1845, ^ son of John Lawler, who was of 
the same nativity, having first seen the light 
about the j'ear 1825. The family are of 
Irish descent, grandfather Patrick Lawler 
having been born in Queen's County. Ire- 
land, where he married Miss Margaret Finn. 
In 1824 they came to Canada, settling in 
Northumberland county. New Brunswick, 
where they died, the grandfather in 1877, 
the grandmother in 1880. They had a 
family of seventeen children, of whom only 
the names of the following six are re- 
membered: John, James, Mary, Margaret, 
Jane and Elisha. Patrick Lawler and his 
wife were employed some thirty years 
in the Marine Hospital which was estab- 
lished in Northumberland county, N. B., 
by the British Government. John Lawler, 
father of Finn Lawler, is at present living 
at Newcastle, N. B., four miles from where 
he was born. He was educated at St. John, 
same province, and became a licensed school 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEICAL RECORD. 



H.T 



teacher, a profession he followed many years, 
some of his old scholars now holding gov- 
ernment offices in both the United States 
and Canada, not a few of them being mem- 
bers of Parliament. In 1862 he was ap- 
pointed register of deeds for Northumber- 
land county, which office he still holds, and 
is also a magistrate by government appoint- 
'ment, his commission, which is dated 1863, 
bearing the signature of Queen Victoria. 
On November 6, 1844, Mr. Lawler was 
married to Miss Sarah Landy, who was born 
on the ocean, daughter of John and Sarah 
Landy, natives of Ireland, the former of 
whom worked in the shipyard at Douglas, 
N. B., and was drowned in the river Mir- 
amichi. Mrs. Sarah (Landy) Lawler had 
one brother — John — and three sisters — Ann, 
Mary and Betsy. To John and Sarah 
Lawler were born thirteen children, as fol- 
lows: Margaret, Jane, Finn, Richard, James, 
Rogers, John, Eliza, Mary Ann, and four 
that died in infancy. On November 6, 
1894, the parents celebrated their "golden 
wedding." 

The subject proper of these lines, whose 
name appears at the opening of this sketch, 
received his education under his father's able 
tuition, and when the latter became register 
of deeds he took his son, Finn, into the 
registry office with him. Here the lad re- 
mained about three 3-ears, or until October, 
1863, when, at that time eighteen years old, 
he went to New York City, where he found 
employment with a lumber company for the 
first three days as common laborer; but his 
employer, discovering his aptitude for figures, 
at once promoted him to the position of 
tally-keeper. In February, 1866, he came 
to Wisconsin, spending a few months among 
relatives at Shullsburg, Lafayette county, 
then in the spring moving to Chicago, 
whence after a short time he returned to 
Wisconsin, and in the then village of Oshkosh 
found employment in a clothing store some 
sixteen months. The proprietors of the 
store, concluding to open a branch establish- 
ment at Neenah, sent our subject there to 
take charge; but in 1868 he left that busi- 
ness, and moving to Shawano, Wis., clerked 
in a hotel there one winter, in the following 
spring taking up his residence in Portage, 



where he was once more employed by the 
clothing firm he had previously worked for. At 
the end of eighteen months the firm dissolved, 
and our subject, then turning his attention to 
the Wolf River Valley, in December, 1871, 
set out via the military road for Rice Lake 
(on the Wolf river), a place boasting at that 
time of but one house, and here, in company 
with William Johnson, he commenced trad- 
ing with the Indians, so continuing some 
two years. During this time he had con- 
siderable experience as a woodsman, and in 
1875, in company with one Perry, he came 
to Eagle River, where he has since resided, 
his chief occupation being connected with 
timber lands — prospecting, estimating, sur- 
veying, etc — and for several years he served 
as deputy county surveyor. He handles 
hardwood, pine and spruce timber, and 
timber is estimated and sold on commission, 
taxes also being paid for non-residents. In 
this he is in partnership with A. A. Den- 
ton, the style of the firm being Denton & 
Lawler. They are also considerably inter- 
ested in land in Wisconsin and Minnesota. 
In his political preferments Mr. Lawler 
is a Democrat; was the first chairman of the 
town, first school clerk, and in the spring of 
1895 was elected assessor. Much thought 
of by his neighbors, he enjoys the respect 
and esteem of many warm friends in Eagle 
River, in which rising young city he takes 
an active interest. Mr. Lawler has two 
brothers living in New Brunswick, the one, 
Richard A., a lawyer in Chatham, the other 
a commission merchant in Newcastle, who 
is also deputy registrar of deeds for the 
county of Northumberland; he has also two 
brothers, John and James, both residing at 
Eagle River, lumbermen by occupation. 
Our subject is the only one of them, no 
doubt, who can boast of being able to speak 
the Chippewa (Indian) language. He has 
just completed a cosy residence on the bank 
of Eagle river, in a grove of maples and 
balsams, among the trees which he loves 
and where he has spent a large part of his 
lifetime. He owns some village and con- 
siderable outside property which will in time 
no doubt become valuable. Mr. Lawler has 
not yet married, but unless all signs fail he 
may in the near future. 



M4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



CHARLES E. SEARL, the pioneer 
jeweler of Merrill, Lincoln count}', 
still continues in the same line in 
that city, where he is one of the 
leading business men. He was born in 
<jrand Rapids, Wis., March 14, 1851, and 
is a son of J. K. Searl, a native of the Buck- 
ej-e State, born on June 2, 1818. The 
paternal grandfather, Elisha Searl, was 
born in \'ermont, and by his marriage with 
Miss Boborety, who was of German descent, 
became the father of si.\" children, namely: 
William, Frank, J. K., a daughter whose 
name is not given, Loretta and Jemima. 
Near Dayton, Ohio, he carried on a hotel, 
but later removed to Illinois, locating near 
Rock Island, but afterward went to Iowa, 
where he passed his last days. 

J. K. Searl, who was next to the \oung- 
est in his father's family, acquired his educa- 
tion in the common schools. On reaching 
man's estate he was married in Illinois to 
Miss Leah Kline, who was born in Nunda 
Valley, N. Y. , in 1824, a daughter of George 
Kline. Her parents were both natives of 
■German}', where they were married, and to 
them was born a family of eight children: 
George, John, William, Elizabeth, Sarah, 
Leah, Charles and Mary. Her father was 
a contractor and builder, and on first coming 
west, located in Illinois, but in 1838 re- 
moved to Grand Rapids, Wis. His eldest 
son, George Kline, Jr., was among the first 
settlers of the latter place, arriving there in 
1833. The son's wife was the first white 
woman north of Fort Winnebago; she was 
the widow of Daniel Whitney, who built the 
first sawmill on the Wisconsin river. George 
Kline, Jr. , also erected a mill at Grand Rapids 
at an early day, and his father's death occur- 
red there in 1853; the mother of Mrs. Searl 
died in 1870. George, Jr., went to Califor- 
nia about the year 1851. 

The father of our subject also located in 
Grand Rapids, Wis., in 1844, where he 
lumbered, afterward dealing extensively m 
horses, andwas something of a politician, hold- 
ing many minor offices. He departed this 
life in December, 1892, in Merrill, though his 
home at the time was at Wautoma, Wis. 
To him and his worthy wife were born 
twelve children, two of whom died in in- 



fancy. The others are Mary J. , Alonzo W. , 
Charles E. , Lillian, Henry, Emma E., 
Elbert F. , Ernest E., Nila B. and Vinnie 
D. E. The mother after her marriage 
taught the first school in Grand Rapids, or 
in fact north of Fort Winnebago; this was 
in 1846, and was a private school. She 
was called to her final rest January 4, 1888. 
The eldest brother of our subject served 
during the Civil war as a member of the 
Fifty-second \\^is. \'. I. 

Until he had reached the age of eight- 
een Charles E. Searl was able to attend 
school, thus acquiring a good common- 
school education, and then carried the mail 
from Grand Rapids to Friendship, Wis., 
for his father. In the spring of 1870 he 
accompanied his parents to Adams county. 
Wis., but in the following fall he returned 
to Grand Rapids and commenced to learn 
the trade of jeweler with his uncle, Will- 
iam Kline, for whom he worked four years. 
In 1875 he went to Wautoma, Wis., and 
started in business for himself, at which 
place he continued three years, when he re- 
moved to Westfield, Wis., remaining there 
but one year, during the fall of 1879 clos- 
ing out his business there and coming to 
Jennie, now known as Merrill. When he 
arrived here the village contained only 
about five hundred inhabitants, while now 
it is a flourishing little city of nine thousand. 
He was the first jeweler in the place, and 
still continues to conduct the same business, 
in which he has met with excellent success. 

On December 23, 1875, Mr. Searl was 
united in marriage at Wautoma, Wis., with 
Miss Emma A. Bean, who was born in that 
city, in 1859, to Albert and Arvilla (Conner) 
Bean, both of whom were natives of New 
Hampshire, and is one of a family of eight 
children — Charles, John, Francena, George, 
Fred, Katie, Ed and Emma A. Her parents 
came to Wisconsin in 1856, where her 
father followed his trade of blacksmithing; 
his death occurred in 1872, that of his wife 
in 1 880. To Mr. and Mrs. Searl were born 
six children, to wit: Ed, who is married 
and lives in Merrill; Harl, Ethel, Arthur 
and Nile at home; and Glen, who died at 
the age of about eighteen months. 

Mr. Searl may be properly classed 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



H5 



among the self-made men of Lincoln coun- 
ty, who by the exercise of their own in- 
dustry and perseverance have not only 
gained for themselves a competence, but 
have materially assisted in the progress and 
advancement of the country around them. 
He has made many friends since coming to 
Merrill, and by all with whom he comes in 
contact is held in the highest respect. So- 
cially he is a member of the Modern Wood- 
men of America, while politically he casts 
his vote with the Prohibition party as it 
embodies his views on the temperance ques- 
tion. 



GOODMAN AMUNDSON, one of the 
honored and respected pioneers of 
Waupaca county, now makes his 
home in Tola. His birth occurred 
in Norway, December 27, 1S43, and he is a 
son of Amand Olson, a farmer of but ordi- 
nary means. In 1849 the father with his 
family of five children left Norway for the 
United States, and were six weeks and five 
days on the ocean, landing on American soil 
in the latter part of August. From New 
York City they proceeded up the Hudson, 
and by the Erie canal to Buffalo, N. Y., 
thence around the lakes to Milwaukee. They 
located on a farm in the town of Muskego, 
\\'aukesha county. 

In the summer of 1852 the father brought 
his family to Waupaca county, where land 
was cheaper and more of his cauntrymen 
then lived. There were no railroads at this 
time, and two yokes of cattle hauled them 
and their household goods, while their stock 
was driven. They came by the way of Berlin, 
•Wis., the road being through a new country, 
and where now are good farms at that 
time was an unbroken forest. They located 
on a farm in Scandinavia township, it being 
in Town 23, Range 11 east, and was in this 
primitive condition, they making the first 
improvements. A portion of it was covered 
with timber, but the almost annual forest 
fires at that time had destroyed most of the 
trees, and nothing but bushes remained. 
After the settlers came in the fires were not 
so numerous, and soon clumps of oak trees 
grew up and are standing as timber today. 



where, easily within the memory of our sub- 
ject, there was nothing but brush at one 
time. His father followed farming during 
the remainder of his active life, and his death 
occurred March 9, 1895, at the age of ninety 
years. His wife was called to her final rest 
in July, 1 891, when she had reached the ex- 
treme age of ninety-seven years. Both 
were buried in the Lutheran Cemetery in 
Scandinavia, Wis., of which Church they 
were among the first members. The father 
possessed great vitality even at his ad- 
vanced age, and shortly before his death 
performed labor becoming even a man 
sixty years his junior. He was a good 
farmer, very energetic, and was respected 
by all who knew him. In his political 
affiliations he was a Republican. 

Mr. Amundson was reared as a pioneer 
farmer boy, and to quote him: " His ed- 
ucation or schooling was begun in early life, 
and consisted principally in handling a yoke 
of cattle and a breaking plow." Much of 
this was to be done, and his attendance at 
school was quite brief, as few if any schools 
were in existence in the township when he 
arrived. He lived at home until the age of 
eighteen when he began the trade of a black- 
smith with Samuel Silvei thorn, at Wau- 
paca, where he was at work when President 
Lincoln called for troops to aid in the 
preservation of the Union. Being a young 
man, robust and strong, Mr. Amundson en- 
listed in the service of his adopted country, 
becoming a member of Company G, Twenty- 
first Wis. V. I., August 12, 1862, at Wau- 
paca. From there he went with the regi- 
ment to Oshkosh, Wis., later to Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, and Covington, Ky. , and thence 
to Louisville where the campaign opened. 
He was ill during the battles of Perryville 
and Stone River, so that his first engage- 
ment was at Chickamauga, after which he 
remained with his regiment, never losing a 
day off duty until August 6, 1864, when be- 
fore Atlanta. He was struck with a burst- 
ing shell which exploded above him, the 
force of it hurling him fifteen yards. His 
companions thought that he was dead, and 
though badly hurt, he insisted on going with 
the regiment, which the doctors finally per- 
mitted, but for ten days was unable to do 



146 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 



active duty. His regiment went with Sher- 
man to Savannah, and he participated in the 
campaigns of North and South CaroHna, 
later taking part in the Grand Review at 
Washington, D. C. He was discharged in 
that city June 25, 1865, but the regiment 
remained intact until reaching Milwaukee, 
Wis., where it was mustered out. Mr. 
Amundson immediately returned to Wau- 
paca county, and in Scandinavia township, 
in 1867, married Miss Christina Hermanson, 
a native of Winneconne, Wis., daughter of 
Herman Hermanson, " Little Holt, " who 
came from Norway to America in 1852. To 
them were born seven children: Augusta, 
wife of Rev. L. K. Abarg, of the Lutheran 
Church in South Dakota: Hattie, who died 
at the age of fifteen; and Agnes E., Lillian 
R., Hilda, Ada and Edna, at home. 

After his marriage Mr. Amundson located 
at Amherst, Wis., where he built a shop, 
and for ten years carried on blacksmithing, 
after which he engaged in the same business 
for three years in Winchester, Winnebago 
county. He then returned to Amherst 
where he still owned property, which later 
he traded for a farm in Alban township. 
Portage county. After farming there for a 
year and a half, he in the fall of 1886 came 
to lola, and for three years was in the em- 
ploy of Frogner Brothers, since which time 
he has conducted a shop of his own with 
good success. For the last fifteen years he 
has suffered from rheumatism, which greath' 
handicaps him, but he is still enterprising 
and industrious. 

Mr. Amundson has never taken a very 
active part in political affairs, but alwaj-s 
votes with the Republican party, and for 
one year served as township treasurer. He 
was one of the organizers of lola Post, No. 
99, G. A. R. , in which he has held various 
offices, and is now serving as senior vice 
commander. Himself and wife are con- 
nected with the Lutheran Church, and while 
a resident of Amherst he was one of the of- 
ficers in that religious body. By his own 
industrious efforts he has become a well-to- 
do man, and still owns a good farm of one 
hundred and twenty acres in Alban town- 
ship, Portage Co., Wis. He has seen the 
many changes that have taken place in the 



country where he lives; can remember when 
wild game was very plentiful; and deer could 
be shot from the cabin door. He has 
hunted the cows on the present site of lola, 
when for miles and miles there were no 
fences. Farming was then carried on with 
very crude implements, and he used to come 
to mill at lola in the cold winters on an old 
sled, wearing no overcoat or overshoes, yet 
could stand the cold better than with the 
modern equipments of the present day. He 
is well known in this community where he 
has long resided, and by all is held in the 
highest esteem. 



ANTON G. WILLIAMS was born 
August 24, 1862, on the farm which 
he now owns and occupies in the 
township of Scandinavia, Waupaca 
county. 

His father, Ove \\'illiamson, was born 
in Norway January 20, 18 19, was educated 
in the schools of his native land, and the 
days of his boyhood and youth were passed 
upon the farm. His marriage to Miss Annie 
Kjos took place in Norway in 1844, and five 
years later, in 1849, he crossed the Atlantic 
in a sailing vessel to the New World, where 
he hoped to secure a home and compe- 
tence. He first located in Muskego, \\'is., 
where he worked as a common laborer some 
three years, coming thence to \\'aupaca 
county in 1853. He was one of the first 
settlers, and is now the second oldest living 
resident in Scandinavia township. The hard- 
ships and trials of pioneer life are familiar to 
him, and the history of that county is known 
to him from the days when it was an almost 
unbroken wilderness, inhabited mostly by 
Indians. He has borne an important part 
in the work of development, transforming 
the land from its uncultivated condition into 
rich and valuable farms. Here he purchased 
160 acres of wild land, on which not a 
furrow had been turned or an impro\ement 
made, and successful!)' continued its cultiva- 
tion until 1884, when enfeebled health caused 
him to lay aside business cares, and he is 
now living a retired life. He worked for 
many years on the river rafting logs, and his 
career has been that of an industrious ener- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



147 



getic man, bringing to him a well-merited 
competence. Mrs. Williamson.who was born 
in Norway, September 29, 1820, is also yet 
living. He is a stanch Republican in politics 
and has served in several local offices with 
credit to himself and satisfaction to his con- 
stituents. He filled the office of assessor 
for twelve jears, and has also been township 
treasurer. He and his family are members 
of the Lutheran Church. The children were 
Annie, now the wife of August Larson, a 
resident of Wausau; William, who is living 
in La Crosse, Wis. ; Andrew, the efficient 
sheriff of Waupaca county; Berit, deceased; 
Denah; Buck, who is located in lola. Wis.; 
Edward Ove, of Waupaca; Anton G., sub- 
ject of this sketch; and Lewis B., deceased. 
Anton G. Williams conned his lessons in 
the public schools near his home, and ac- 
quired a good practical educations. Under 
the parental roof he was reared to manhood, 
and at an early age he began work in the 
fields, so that he was soon familiar with farm 
work in its various departments. He now 
owns and operates the old home farm on 
which he was born, comprising 120 acres of 
land, the greater part of which is under cul- 
tivation and improved in a manner that in- 
dicates his practical and progressive spirit, 
and makes his farm one of the best in the 
community. He is accounted one of the 
representative agriculturists of Waupaca 
county, as well as one of its most prominent 
citizens. He has been called to official 
honors, having served as a member of the 
town board of supervisors and as treasurer of 
the school district, and in his political views 
has followed his father's e.xample by always 
supporting the Republican party. Like the 
honored family V) which he belongs he is 
•connected with the Lutheran Church. 



REV. JACOB PATCH. This ven- 
erable gentleman, now in the eighty- 
first year of his age and the forty- 
ninth of his ministry in the Presby- 
terian Church, is one of the best known 
and most highly esteemed clergymen of 
Portage county, an earnest Christian, and a 
zealous worker in the Lord's vineyard. 

Mr. Patch was born in Groton, Mass., 



January 12, 181 5, and is a son of Zara and 
Susan (Nutting) Patch, who were also born 
in Massachusetts, and were descendants of 
i good old Puritan stock, the ancestors hav- 
ing come over during the year 1600. The 
grandfather was a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary war of 1776, and the father a par- 
ticipant in the war of 18 12. Zara and 
Susan Patch were the parents of eight chil- 
dren, of whom but two now survive: Zara, 
who is still living in Groton, Mass., and 
Jacob, the subject of this sketch; when the 
latter was twelve years old the father died. 

At the age of sixteen our subject went to 
Sharon, Conn. He was educated at the 
Western Reserve College at Hudson, Ohio, 
and took his theological course at the The- 
ological Seminary in the same town, grad- 
uating from the latter institution in 1845. 
Soon afterward he engaged in the ministry, 
his first charge being at Orland, Ind. In 
1845, at Honeoye Falls, N. Y. , Rev. 
Jacob Patch was married to Miss Jane Bush, 
and they became the parents of six children, 
of whom two are deceased. The following 
is a brief account of the four who are yet 
living: George H., an artist of more than 
ordinary merit, married Miss Lauretta 
Ramsey, of Barton, Washington Co. Wis., 
and they have a family of four children; 
Jennie B., an invalid, is now residing in 
California for the benefit of her health; 
Mary H., a physician, and now residing at 
Stevens Point, is a graduate of Holyoke 
College, Mass., also of the Medical College 
of Chicago, and of the Training Hospital 
for Nurses at Hartford, Conn. ; Martha 
Ann, now the wife of Dr. Daniel Campbell, 
of Canfield, Ohio, is a graduate of the Ox- 
ford Female Seminary, of Oxford, Ohio, 
and was principal of Poynette Academy, 
Poynette, Columbia Co., Wis., for the first 
six years of its history. 

At Lima, Ind., in 1S46, Rev. Jacob 
Patch was regularly ordained a minister of 
the Presbyterian Church, and he was pastor 
of the parish of Orland, Ind., for twenty 
years. In 1866, on account of ill health, 
being obliged to resign the pastorate of this 
parish, he removed to Stevens Point, Port- 
age Co. , Wis. , where he took charge of the 
First Presbyterian Church, which at that 



I4S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



time had a membership of only ten persons, 
but under his ministration of four years it 
increased to fort}'. In 1872, having re- 
gained his health, he was solicited to return 
to his old parish at Orland, Ind., and ac- 
cordingly he again ministered to the spirit- 
ual wants of that parish, continuing there 
for a period of three years, then returning 
to Stevens Point. Since that time he has 
been engaged principally in missionary work, 
in towns along the line of the Wisconsin 
Central railroad, though frequently occupy- 
ing pulpits in various other churches. He 
was also the organizer of the Presbyterian 
Churches at Phillips, Price county. Wis., 
and Marshfield, Wood Co., Wis. In social 
life Rev. Mr. Patch is a man of ardent and 
sincere attachments, ever ready and willing 
to serve his friends, often in the face of re- 
sponsibility or personal risk. When duty 
has called, he has gone forward without 
faltering or shrinking by reason of apparent 
difficulty or threatened dangers, by day or 
by night, at home or abroad. An earnest 
worker in the field of his Master, a genial 
and companionable friend, an able organ- 
izer and executor, read}' for any task that 
can rightly bring help or comfort to the 
burdened, he has won the respect and es- 
teem of a large circle of friends, and been 
endeared to them by his Christian walk in 
life. 



AUGUSTUS SCHROEDER, a pros- 
perous agriculturist of Little Wolf 
township, Waupaca county, is a na- 
tive of Prussia, Germany, born 
October 22, 1838, a son of Henry and Caro- 
line (Ulrich) Schroeder, who were the par- 
ents of eight children: Minnie (who, and 
four others, died in Germany), Augustus, 
Caroline (now Mrs. Weisgerber, of Weyau- 
wega, who has five children), and Albert (a 
farmer of Lind township, Waupaca county). 
In 1857 Henry Schroeder, with his wife 
and children, emigrated to the United 
States, and coming to Wisconsin, settled in 
Lind township, Waupaca county, where he 
purchased forty acres of land, none of 
which was cleared e.xcept two acres, but 
not having much timber growth on any por- 



tion. A dwelling, 16x24 feet, had been 
erected, and here the family commenced 
their New- World home, numbering among 
the first settlers of that locality, \\'aupaca 
being then but a small village. Later the 
father purchased another eighty-acre tract 
adjoining his first purchase, and he and his 
wife are yet living on the old homestead, he 
at the advanced age of eighty-two years, 
she being some four years younger. For 
his age the venerable father is unusually 
active, and it is worthy of mention that in 
1893 he walked from his own home to that of 
his son, a distance of twelve miles. 

The subject proper of these lines, whose 
name introduces this sketch, received a 
fairly liberal common-school education, and 
was reared to practical farm life under the 
instruction of his father. At the age of 
twenty-one years he rented a small piece of 
land near the homestead, in Lind township, 
Waupaca county, and worked it with his 
father's implements and team, so continuing 
until 1S62, when he purchased eighty acres 
of wild land in the same locality, which he 
improved and cultivated till the fall of 1864. 
At that time, on October 15, he enlisted in 
Company C, Forty-fourth Wis. V. I., 
which regiment was sent to Nashville, there 
remaining on guard duty, as part of the re- 
serve force until February, 1865, at which 
time it was sent to Kentucky. Here our 
subject was stationed until August, 1S65, 
when he was discharged and returned home, 
and once more he devoted his time and at- 
tention to the improvement of his land. In 
1872 he moved into the village of Weyau- 
wega, and there opened a meat market 
which he conducted altogether about two 
and one half years, after which he bought a 
hotel in the same village, being proprietor 
of the same some six years, or until 1882, 
when he traded the hotel propert}" for the 
farm he now owns in Little Wolf township, 
consisting of 1 1 5 acres, twenty of which are 
in good arable condition. On January 11, 
1866, he was united in marriage with Mrs. 
Rhoda (Smith) Van Vorst, whose husband, 
Asa Van Vorst, died in the Civil war, leav- 
ing two children: Dora (now Mrs. Fred 
Zastrow, of Royalton), and William (living 
at the present time with his step-father). 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



149. 



To Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder were born two 
children: Alice (married to George A. Mc- 
Kinley of Iowa, but died leaving one son, 
Neil, who passed from earth in infancy) 
and Mary (now a school teacher, and living 
at home). In politics our subject has been a 
Republican for the past twelve years, and 
Mrs. Schroeder and her children are all 
members of the Methodist Church, in which 
she takes an active interest. 

Mrs. Rhoda Schroeder, wife of Augus- 
tus Schroeder, was born November 29, i S38, 
in Herkimer county, N. Y. , daughter of 
Oliver and Lydia (Cross) Smith, well-to-do 
farming people, who had a family of twelve 
children, as follows: Oliver, a carpenter of 
Shiocton, Wis. ; Elizabeth, now living in 
^^'eyauwega, Wis.; Owen, who now lives in 
Royalton, Wis., retired; Sarah. Nancy and 
Mary, all three deceased; Rhoda, Mrs. 
Schroeder; Jerome, who died in the war; 
Lydia, now wife of William Kurtz, a farmer 
of Dayton; John, deceased; Garrett, and 
Lucretia, wife of Isidore Como, in the em- 
ploy of a railroad company at Stevens 
Point, Wis. In 1850 the family came to 
Wisconsin, settling in Lind township, Wau- 
paca county, where the father bought 160 
acres of land, at which time Weyauwega 
was a hamlet of but two or three shanties. 
Here the parents of Mrs. Schroeder passed 
the rest of their honored lives, dying, the 
father December i, i860, the mother Janu- 
ary 23, 1879. 



RICHARD A. COOK, proprietor of 
the Central City Iron Works, at 
Stevens Point, Portage county, is a 
highly esteemed citizen and one of 
the leading manufacturers in that city. He 
was born of English ancestry in Netherton, 
near Huddersfield, England, May 24, 1850, 
and is a son of John and Jane Cook, who 
were the parents of five children, three of 
whom survive, namely: Richard A.; Mary 
Etta, wife of John D. Shaffer, a prominent 
dry-goods merchant of Stevens Point, and 
George W., a machinist and roundhouse 
foreman on the Wisconsin Central railroad 
at Waukesha, W^aukesha county, Wisconsin. 
John Cook, with his family, came to the 



United States about the year 1S55, located 
in Burlington, Racine county. Wis., and 
there pursued his vocation of woolen man- 
ufacturer. In 1866 he removed with his 
family to Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac coun- 
ty, and died there soon afterward; his widow 
still survives, and resides in Stevens Point. 
The son, Richard A., who was a five-year- 
old lad when the family came to the United 
States, was reared and educated in Burling- 
ton, Racine Co., Wis., went to Fond du 
Lac with his parents in 1866, there learned 
the trade of machinist, and resided there 
until 1875. In that year he removed to 
Stevens Point, where, in connection with 
Daniel Seyler, he purchased the Pinery Iroa 
Works, and conducted business under the 
firm name of Seyler & Cook for four years. 
About 1879 this partnership was dissolved 
and a new one formed with George A. Pack- 
ard, under the firm name of R. A. Cook & 
Co. , under which the business was carried 
on until 1883, when Mr. Cook purchased 
Mr. Packard's share in the business. 

The works were destroyed by fire in 
October, 1889, and during the following 
summer the extensive estabhshment known 
as the Central City Iron Works was 
erected. 

In April, 1882, at Sheboygan Falls, 
Shebo3'gan Co. , W^is. , Richard A. Cook was 
united in marriage with Miss Eliza A. Trow- 
bridge, and two children were born to them, 
one of whom survives, Alice Estelle. Mrs. 
Cook died at Stevens Point, October 4, 
1888, and May 19, 1890, Mr. Cook married 
Miss Delia E. Damp, of Oshkosh, to which 
union has been born one child, Ralph A. 
Mr. Cook is a member of Evergreen Lodge, 
No. 93, F. & A. M., of Crusade Command- 
ery. No. 17, and of Forest Chapter. He is 
a stanch Republican in his political views; 
in religious affiliation the family attend the 
Episcopal Church. Mr. Cook has the most 
e.xtensive and best equipped foundry in 
Stevens Point, if not in the whole of north- 
ern Wisconsin, turns out everything con- 
nected with sawmill and gristmill machinery, 
as well as other classes of iron work, and 
furnishes the Wisconsin Central Railroad 
Company with all their castings, with the 
exception of car-wheels. He is a prosper- 



150 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ous and progressive manufacturer, of unusual 
culture and brilliant faculties, takes a deep 
interest in matters tending to the welfare of 
the city and county generally; is represented 
in the city council from the Second ward, 
having been elected at the last election for 
the term of two years. Mr. Cook has a high 
character for honesty and integrity, and his 
genial manner has won him hosts of friends. 



JAMES E. ROGERS. This well known 
and popular citzen of Stevens Point, 
Portage county, was born in Jefferson 
county, N. Y. , December i8, 1842, and 
is a son of James N. and Eliza (Adams) 
Rogers, who were born in New York State, 
and who came to Wisconsin in June, 1852, 
locating in Hartford, Washington county. 
James N. Rogers, father of the subject 
of this sketch, worked at his trade of black- 
smith in Hartford, Wis., in connection with 
the building of the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
St. Paul railway, and in 1853 removed with 
his family to Mayville, Dodge county, where 
he resided till 186S. A portion of this time 
he worked at the blacksmith trade, and later 
engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1868 
they removed to Portage county, and pur- 
chased a farm in the town of Stockton, 
where they passed their remaining years, 
each living to an advanced age. They were 
the parents of seven children, of whom five 
areliving, namely: Maria, wife of Ira John- 
son, residing in the State of Washington; 
James E. ; Cornelius L. , residing in Stevens 
Point, Portage county; Josephine, wife of 
George Rhodes, residing in Dakota; and 
Henry, residing in Stevens Point. There is 
also a daughter by a former marriage, now 
the wife of N. C. Lawrence, residing in 
Stevens Point. Mrs. Rogers died in March, 
1890, at the age of eighty-one, and Mr. 
Rogers in November of the same year, aged 
eighty-three. 

James E. Rogers, subject of sketch, 
came to Wisconsin with his parents when he 
was but ten years of age, received a com- 
mon school education in the village schools 
of Mayville, Dodge county, Wis., and was 
afterward employed during the summer 
on his father's farm, and in the winter 



teaching school. In the spring of 1871 he 
was elected clerk of the courts for Portage 
county, and filled that position till January, 
1 88 1. In the fall of 1880 he was elected to 
the Legislature, representing Portage county 
one term. In the summer of 1881 he re- 
ceived an appointment as examiner in the 
pension office at Washington, resigned after 
one year, on account of ill health, and re- 
turned to Stevens Point. After remaining 
here about a year, and having regained his 
health, he was re-appointed to the pension 
office, returned to \\'ashington in the spring of 
1883, and remained there through the sum- 
mer. In the fall of the same year he was 
detailed from the office as a special exam- 
iner for a portion of the State of Iowa and 
of southern Dakota, and filled that position 
four years, at the end of which time, or in 
the fall of 1887, he returned to Washington, 
and was engaged in quarrying two years. In 
the spring of 1890 he was chosen city clerk 
of Stevens Point, which position he resigned 
July II, 1895, having discharged the duties 
thereof for upward of five years, with honor 
to himself and to the entire satisfaction of 
the citizens generall}\ 

In December, 1890, in Waupaca, Wau- 
paca county, Wis., James E. Rogers was 
married to Miss Mary Baker, of Stockton, 
Portage count}', and to this union have been 
born two children, only one of whom, Mabel, 
is now living. Mr. Rogers is an active mem- 
ber of the Republican part}', and represented 
the Second ward of Stevens Point during 
1879 and up to the spring of 1881. He is 
an enterprising and progressive citizen, and 
has many friends. The family are consist- 
ent members of the Baptist Church. 



NATHANIEL POPE, one of the lead- 
ind farmers of Lind township, Wau- 
paca county, and an e.xpert and suc- 
cessful cattle buyer, was born in 
Chautauqua county, N. Y., June 3, 1829, 
son of Nathaniel and Ida (Mattox) Pope, 
the father a native of Connecticut, the 
mother of \'ermont. 

Nathaniel Pope, Sr. , was by trade a 
shoemaker, and in addition to following that 
vocation made an effort to win a better live- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lihood by (arming. The family of children 
consisted of George M., who died in Lind 
township; Sarah A., widow of A. Gardner, 
of the same township; Pliny, a lake captain, 
who was drowned in Lake Michigan on the 
brig "Tuscarora; " Alexander, of Erie 
county, Penn. ; Alvin, of Nebraska; Alfred, 
who died in infancy; Nathaniel; Albert, of 
Lind township; and Mary Ida, now Mrs. 
David Parrish, of Waupaca. 

Nathaniel, the subject of this sketch, 
received such an education as the schools of 
Erie county, Penn., afforded. He was a 
studious lad, with an active and inquiring 
mind, and he preferred the fireside with a 
book of instruction or adventure to the 
wilder sports of country boys. Yet his 
father's means were limited, and the boy 
could not indulge his studious habits to any 
great extent. At the early age of fourteen 
he commenced for himself the battle of life. 
While yet a mere boy he began to sail on 
the lakes, and as early as 1847 touched 
Green Bay, Wis., and visited other ports in 
that State. For six j'ears he was on the 
lakes. A desire to see more of the world, 
and perhaps, too, the greater opportunities 
open to an ocean sailor induced him, in 1849, 
at the age of twenty years, to take a trip 
from Racine, W'is. , to New Orleans. There 
he shipped for New York, Philadelphia and 
Boston, making one trip from New York to 
Philadelphia as mate. The California gold 
fever was then raging throughout the United 
States, and in 1849 he went round the 
"Horn" on the schooner " Kate. " The 
vessel put in at Valparaiso to refit, and Mr. 
Pope, leaving her, reshipped on a Spanish 
bark which reached San Francisco on the 
Sunday morning of the great fire which de- 
stroyed that city. Remaining in San Fran- 
cisco for about a month, he spent eighteen 
months in the gold-mining country, and then 
returned to New York via the Isthmus; 
reaching his father's home in Erie county, 
Penn., a few days later, he was seized with 
a fever which disabled him for two years. 
The young man had seen the world, and 
was ready to settle down. In the spring of 
1853 he started with his brother Alvin for 
Wisconsin, the brothers reaching Sheboygan 
by boat, thence proceeding across the county 



to Oshkosh embarked on the steamboat for 
Gill's Landing, and made their way through 
the wilderness to Lind township, Waupaca 
county, were Nathaniel and his brother 
Alvin purchased 160 acres of land in Sec- 
tion 16. A few weeks later the parents 
joined him, and made their home thereafter 
with hini until their death, which occurred 
many years later. 

In 1855 Mr. Pope was married in Wau- 
paca county to Miss Eliza J. Loomis, who 
was born in Pennsylvania in 1S38, daughter 
of Lyman Loomis. Their children were as 
follows: Ella, now Mrs. Leroy Jones, of 
Lind township; Pliny, also of Lind town- 
ship; Charles L., who died at the age of 
twenty-six years; Rush L., of Lind town; 
Alice, who died aged three years; Ola, now 
Mrs. Henry West, of Lind township; Gale, 
Guy, x-Mbert, Bertha, Lyle, all of Lind town- 
ship, and Ethel, who was drowned at the 
age of fourteen years. Mrs. Pope, who was 
a member of the M. E. Church, died July 
21, 1886. 

Mr. Pope has prospered greatly during 
his residence of more than forty years in 
Lind township. It was here that he did 
his first farming for himself, and here that 
he drove his first ox-team. In addition to 
general farming he began to deal in stock 
soon after his arrival, and for forty years he 
has bought and sold cattle. A better judge 
of cattle it would be difficult to find, and it 
has been his keen perception of the value of 
stock, together with his business ability, 
that has made him so successful as a dealer. 
He now owns about 360 acres of land. 
Politically Mr. Pope is a Democrat in prin- 
ciple, and he supports the party when its 
principles are nhaintained. He has filled 
many local offices, including those of super- 
visor, clerk, treasurer, pathmaster and 
school director. He is a self-made man, 
for his capital in early life was only his 
courage and ambition. He gave himself a 
thorough practical education, and has al- 
ways been a hard worker. In his youth he 
was as poor as a young man could well be, 
yet he not only has amassed a competence, 
but to his parents he gave aid and comfort 
throughout their lives. When young he 
spent money freely, but he afterward ac- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



quired a practical knowledge of its value. 
His first suit of clothes, after the homespun 
with which in his boyhood he was attired, 
he earned as a sailor. He had taken ad- 
vantage of his father's trade when a boy, and 
could at one time make an excellent pair of 
boots or shoes. Gifted with mechanical ap- 
titude and powers of observation, Mr. Pope 
was equipped by nature to make a success 
in life. Casting his lot among the pioneers 
of northern \\'isconsin, he has rightfully 
risen to the commanding esteem and respect 
in which he is held by his fellow men. 



ALBERT A. DENTON. This gen- 
tleman, who is well known as a 
prominent and enterprising citizen 
of Eagle River, Vilas county, was 
born in Kent county, Mich., near Grand 
Rapids, June i8, 1847. His grandfather 
Denton was a British soldier during the 
Revolutionary struggle, and at one of the 
battles received a bullet in his leg, which 
memento of the war he carried to his grave. 
John W. Denton, father of our subject, 
was born in Pennsylvania, of English ances- 
try, and had four brothers — Samuel, George, 
William and Daniel — and three sisters — 
Mary Ann, Caroline and Joanna. He married 
Minerva Bartholomew, by whom he had si.\ 
children: Mary J., L. Bradley, Albert A., 
Charles F., Ella M. and John^W., Jr. In 
1839 he moved to Michigan, for a time mak- 
ing his home in Kent county, near Grand 
Rapids, whence, in 1850, he moved to Mill 
Point, Ottawa county, same State. In 1852 
he built a large store and hotel at Eastman- 
ville, also in Ottawa county, Mich., known 
as the " Denton House, " which in 1861 he 
sold, and then removed to Grand Rapids, 
purchasing an elegant dwelling there; but 
in 1862 he moved to a farm south of Lowell, 
Kent county, which and his city property, 
however, he soon afterward traded for a fine 
farm in Kecne township, Ionia county, also 
in Michigan. In the fall of 186S he and his 
two sons took a canoe trip up the Muskegon 
river to Houghton Lake, a distance of some 
two hundred miles, hunting, fishing and 
looking up pine lands, after which he made 
annual trips to the same locality, ultimately 



locating a homestead at Houghton Lake, 
renting his Keene township (Ionia county) 
farm and moving his family to his new prop- 
erty. In the fall of 1877 he returned to the 
farm, and passed the rest of his days there- 
on; he died in 1885, while on a visit to his 
son Albert; his widow is still living. He 
built the first logging railroad in Michigan, 
which was known as the " Barbers rail- 
road. " In his political leanings he was a 
strong Democrat, but never aspired to office, 
and he had the reputation of a worth}-, hon- 
orable citizen, kind-hearted and charitable. 

Albert A. Denton, the subject proper of 
these lines, was educated at the common 
schools of the locality of his boyhood home, 
and remained under the parental roof until 
his marriage. In 1870 he went to Hough- 
ton Lake, and for ten years was there en- 
gaged in lumbering, taking a homestead. In 
1880 he sold out and bought property at 
East Saginaw, Mich., whither he removed 
his famil)', and then took a trip to Central 
America for the purpose of looking up valu- 
able timber, coming direct from there to 
Eagle River, Wis. ; but this was not his first 
visit to Wisconsin, as he had already, some 
years before, traveled considerably through- 
out the State. Here his family rejoined him, 
and in April, 1884, he bought property, built 
the " Denton House," which he conducted 
six years, or till July, 1890, when he sold it. 
Mr. Denton then went on an exploring ex- 
pedition to northern Minnesota, passing 
three years there, having located govern- 
ment land, and then returned to Eagle 
River, where he has since made his home, 
his chief occupation being that of land 
broker and timber estimator. 

In 1868 our subject was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Elizabeth Hart, who was 
born in 1848, daughter of Lewis and Nancy 
(Shermanj Hart, natives of Herkimer 
county, N. Y. , where they were married, and 
whence they came to Michigan about the 
year 1845, settling in Keene township, Ionia 
county, where their daughter Elizabeth was 
born. They were the parents of eight chil- 
dren, their names being: Henrietta, Mary, 
Phebe, Elizabeth, George, Franklin, May- 
land and Milo. The father of these died in 
1888; he was a Republican in politics, and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



153 



served his county as treasurer, also holding 
many minor offices. The mother is yet liv- 
ing. The family are descendants of German 
immigrants who settled in the Mohawk Val- 
ley many years ago. To ^fr. and Mrs. Den- 
ton has been born one child, a son, Louis, 
at present attending school at \'alparaiso, 
Ind. In politics our subject is a Democrat, 
and has been chairman of the town; was as- 
sessor and also postmaster under the Dem- 
ocrat administration; while a resident of 
Michigan he served as postmaster, was 
county treasurer, also sheriff, and held var- 
ious other offices; he assisted in the organiza- 
tion of Roscommon county, Mich. ; was also 
a member of the county board at the time 
of the setting off of Oneida county. Wis. 
He is and has been all his life a typical 
frontiersman, and is recognized as a useful 
citizen and member of the community. 



FIvED M. MASON, county superin- 
tendent of schools, Oneida county, 
with residence at Rhinelander, was 
born at Charleston, S. C, June 3, 
1S42, a grandson of James Mason, a native 
of England, whence, when a boy, he came 
to Virginia with his parents. 

Morgan Afason, father of the subject of 
these lines, was born in Virginia in Febru- 
ary, 1799, at the proper age entered college, 
and was a graduate of Yale, and of Harvard 
Law School. In the State of New York he 
married Anna Morgan, daughter of General 
Morgan of the Revolutionary army, and 
soon after marriage they settled in Charles- 
ton, S. C, where, with the exception of 
the four years during the Civil war they 
lived in Cleveland, Ohio, the father passed 
the rest of his days; the mother died in 
June, 1842. They had a family of children 
as follows: Edward B., Edith A., John Y. , 
Edwin, Ada, Anna, and Fred M. For his 
second wife Morgan Mason married Mrs. 
Catherine Potts, by whom he had two chil- 
dren: Adeline and Ida. The father de- 
parted this life in 1893, a strong loyal 
Southern man to his last hour. He was a 
large planter, owning considerable land, and 
was a judge of the supreme court of the 
State, recognized as an able jurist; during 



the Mexican war, he was colonel of the 
Second South Carolina Infantry, serving in 
that memorable struggle with distinction. 

Our subject, whose name introduces this 
sketch, received his earlier education at the 
State Military Academy, Columbia, S. C. , 
and for three years was a cadet at West 
Point, but did not complete his course. In 
April, 1 86 1, he was detailed into the army 
as instructor of military tactics, and as- 
signed to duty at Cleveland, Ohio. In July, 
same j'ear, he reported to Gen. McClellan, 
who at the time was in West Virginia, and 
had just assumed command of the armj', 
from which time Mr. Mason served under 
Gen. Rosecrans. That same year he was 
taken prisoner by the Confederates, and for 
about eight months was confined in prison, 
chiefly at Salisbury, N. C, and in Libby. 
Being exchanged, he was assigned to duty 
in the U. S. Signal Corps, Army of the 
Potomac, and with that branch of the serv- 
ice he remained until Lee's surrender. On 
June 17, 1S64, he was promoted on the 
field in front of Petersburg, to first lieuten- 
ant, by Gen. Grant, for bravery displayed 
in securing and conveying information to 
Burnside's line in that day's fighting. He 
remained in the regular army until Decem- 
ber 16, 1868, when he resigned on account 
of impaired health, the latter part of his 
soldier life being passed in the Topographi- 
cal Department of the army. After resign- 
ing he went to Bay City, Mich., and for 
four years was manager of A. Ballon & 
Co. 's general store, after which he was, in 
1 87 1, elected CQunty superintendent of Bay 
county, which incumbency he filled four 
years. In 1876 he went to Reed City, 
Mich., where for one year he filled the office 
of county superintendent of schools, and 
three years that of deputy United States 
timber agent. In 1890 he came to Rhine- 
lander, where he took up the business of 
contractor and builder, and in 1894 he was 
elected county superintendent of schools of 
Oneida county. 

On October 13, 1870, Mr. Mason was 
married at Bay City, Mich., to Miss Rhoda 
Ammerman, who was born January 3, 1842, 
daughter of Isaac and Mary (Drake) Ammer- 
man, all natives of New Jersey. The mother 



'54 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was a direct descendant of Sir Francis 
Drake, admiral of the British navy during 
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The parents 
of Mrs. Mason came to Michigan from New 
Jersey, and both died there, the mother in 
1 89 1, the father in 1893. To our subject 
and wife were born five children, three of 
whom are living: Maude, Eva and Theresa. 
Politically, Mr. Mason is a Republican, 
socially, he is a member of the F. & A. M. , 
I. O. O. F., and G. A. R. 



JA^fES E. LYTLE. This well-known 
and most highly esteemed resident of 
Stevens Point, who is probably the 
oldest living pioneer settler in Portage 
county, was born in Richmond, \'a.. May 
17, 1816. James Lytle, father of our sub- 
ject, and a Southerner by birth, followed 
the trade of ship carpenter. He married 
Miss Hannah Stent, who was born in Eng- 
land, a daughter of an English sea captain 
who owned vessels; but losing her parents 
when young she was adopted by a wealth}' 
Virginia family. James Lytle was accident- 
ally drowned through the capsizing of a boat 
in a wind squall, within sight of his home, 
and while returning to Richmond after a 
year's absence. 

After the death of his father, James E. 
Lytle, then a six-year-old lad, removed with 
his mother to Franklin county, N. Y. , where 
he was reared to manhood, receiving a 
limited education in the district schools, af- 
terward following the occupation of teamster 
and stage dri\er until he was about twenty- 
five years old, when he purchased a farm in 
Hopkinton township, St. Lawrence Co., N. 
Y. , where he continued farming until April, 
1846, the date of his coming to Wisconsin, 
and locating in Pederville (now called Wau- 
kesha). At the end of three years he removed 
to Plover, Portage count}", being among the 
pioneer settlers of the place, and here en- 
gaged in the trades of mason and plasterer 
for about three years, after which he again 
followed agricultural pursuits up to the year 
1870, when, his health failing, he rented his 
farm and took up the subscription-book bus- 
iness as agent for a Chicago publishing 
house, in which line he continued till 1889, 



when he returned to Stevens Point, and 
retired from active business life. 

In 1840, at Fort Covington, N. Y., Mr. 
Lytle was married to Miss Frances Maria 
Diamond, daughter of Enos and Miranda 
(Richmond; Diamond, and nine children 
were born to them, four of whom survive, 
as follows: George Hamlin, residing in 
Rome, Ga. , married to Miss Alice Smith, a 
daughter of Charles and Mary Smith 1 they 
had a family of four children, two of 
whom survive: Frankie May, wife of John 
Ferguson, residing in Knoxville, Tenn., and 
James, at home); Alfred, city engineer of 
Merrill, Lincoln Co. , Wis., married to Miss 
Sarah Nutting (they had four children, 
two yet living: Arthur E. and Bertie A.); 
William, residing in Stevens Point, Wis., 
married June 19, 1878, to Miss Jennie 
Pierce, a daughter of Ira and Rosetta 
(Whitne\) Pierce, natives of Penobscot, 
Maine (they had six children, four of whom 
are living: Maudlin. Earl D., Blanch E., 
and Chester E. j;John D., residing in At- 
lanta, Ga. , married to Miss Nellie Smith 
(now deceased) ihas one living child named 
Elsie Lyliani. 

The mother of the above named family, 
who was born in Magog, Canada, passed 
peacefully from earth, December 3, 1 893, 
at the age of seventy-five years, twenty-five 
days. She was an exemplary Christian wo- 
man, a devoted mother and faithful wife, 
for fifty-four years a consistent member of 
the Methodist Church, as has also been her 
husband. At her demise the following lines 
were contributed by a friend: 

Religion filled her soul with peace. 

Upon a dying' bed: 
Let faith look up, let sorrow cease. 

She lives with Christ o'erhead. 

Yes. faith beholds her where she sits 

With Jesus clothed in white. 
Our loss is her eternal gain; 

She dwells in cloudless light. 

Politically, Mr. Lytle was originally a 
Whig, and since the organization of the 
party has been a stanch Republican, though 
not an active one during the past six years. 
He has served faithfully as treasurer of 
Stockton township. Portage county, and 
also as assessor for six consecutive years, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



155 



and he is known by his neighbors as a friend 
in time of need, a counselor in trouble, and 
a genial companion at all times. 



JENS HANSEN, an e.\tensi\e wagon 
and carriage manufacturer of Wau- 
paca, was born in Boesholm, near 
Helsingor, Nort Sjeland, Denmark, in 
July, 1838, son of H. C. Rasmusson, a 
blacksmith, who made the best wagons and 
carriages in all that region. The father 
married Meta Marie Larson Monk, and to 
them were born the following children: 
Peter (deceased), Jens, Bertha L. , Anna C. 
and Marie (deceased), Petronelle, Rasmina, 
Bentine and Peter, besides two children 
who died in infancy. The mother died in 
1857, and the father subsequently married 
Marion Anderson, by whom he had two 
children: Andrew M., and one who died 
in Denmark. 

Our subject learned the trade of black- 
smith and carriage-maker from his father, 
and received a good common-school educa- 
tion, attending the schools from the age of 
seven to fourteen years. In 1864 he enlist- 
ed in the artillery service of his country, 
serving fourteen months in the war between 
Denmark and Germany, and retiring with 
the rank of corporal. Returning home, he 
assisted in his father's shop until 1869, 
when he emigrated to the United States. 
Waupaca was his destination, and there he 
found work with H. D. Prior, but before 
the close of the year he had purchased the 
business for himself. In 1870 Mr. Hansen 
returned to Denmark, and brought back 
with him his father, who until his death in 
1879 worked in the son's shop. Each year 
Mr. Hansen's business has increased. His 
motto — " Live and let live" — is prominent- 
ly displayed on the shop, and the principle 
is religiously observed in a business way. 
Mr. Hansen employs about twelve men, and 
manufactures wagons, carriages and sleighs, 
besides doing a general blacksmith business 
and handling farm machinery of all kinds. 
In 1S90 he built the handsome and substan- 
tial shop which he now occupies; he has 
also made some extensive investments in 
city real estate. 



Mr. Hansen was married on Christmas 
Day, 1869, to Miss Johanna M. Person, a 
native of Sweden. Her father died in that 
country and the widow with her children — 
two sons (both now deceased) and two 
daughters (both yet living) — came to Ameri- 
ca. Politically Mr. Hansen is a Republi- 
can. Though frequently urged to permit 
the use of his name for office he has invaria- 
bly refused. His religious affiliations are 
with the Danish Lutheran Church, and he 
is a member of the Danish Home Society. 
Mr. Hansen is a thorough business man, 
and one of the substantial and influential 
citizens of Waupaca county. 



GHARLES GIBSON (deceased) was 
for many years one of the leading 
citizens of Lind, Waupaca county. 
He was not content in business mat- 
ters to follow beaten paths, but branched 
out into original and successful enterprises. 
He was energetic in his methods, but his ac- 
tions were controlled by conscience. In- 
tegrity and regard for others marked every 
deed, and his active sympathies and weighty 
influence were enlisted in whatever good 
causes for the public welfare became the 
questions or issues of the day. 

Mr. Gibson was born in St. Armand, 
Canada, April 3, 1833, son of Royal and 
Harriet (Thorn) Gibson. He was reared a 
farmer boy, attending the common schools 
of his home district. In 1853 he came to 
Wisconsin, when a youth of twenty years, 
and settled in Lind, Waupaca county, fol- 
lowing his brother, Hollis, who had migrat- 
ed to the new country the year previous. 
He was married, at Weyauwega, Alarch 27, 
1875, to Miss Fannie L. Rice, who was born 
in Chautauqua county, N. Y., January 10, 
1S47, daughter of Alvaris and Sarah A. 
(Darron) Rice, who migrated to Wisconsin 
soon after, when it was yet a Territory, liv- 
ing for several years in Racine county, and 
in I851 removing to Waupaca county, set- 
tling in Lind, there becoming prominent 
pioneers. Here on the frontier of civiliza- 
tion Mrs. Gibson was reared. The children 
of Mr. and Mrs. Gibson are Ira R. , born 



156 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



January i8, 1876; Paul R. , born April 24, 
1878, and Brena C, born July 18, 1881. 

Mr. Gibson died at his home December 
4, 1889, and is buried in Lind Cemetery. 
During earlier life he was a Republican, but 
later became, by conviction and principle, a 
stanch Prohibitionist. He was a leading 
member of the Wesle3'an Church. Perhaps 
none were more active and zealous in relig- 
ious devotion than he. A liberal contributor 
and an officer of the Church, he was one of 
its stanchest supporters. During the civil 
conflict Mr. Gibson took up arms in defense 
of the Nation's perpetuity, and served cred- 
itably and honorably from the time he en- 
listed to the close of the war. In civic life he 
served his fellow men iu various local offices. 
Mr. Gibson was distinctively a self-made 
man. For many years he owned and 
operated a threshing machine throughout 
the county, making solid friends of whomso- 
ever he met in a business relationship. He 
built and operated the pioneer cheese fac- 
tory of his section, and the superiority of 
the product was known far and wide. It 
took the sweepstakes premium at the Wis- 
consin State Fair, also in Iowa and other 
fairs. The factor}' which he built is still in 
operation. Though generous in donations 
for religious and other deserving causes, 
Mr. Gibson was a thorough business man, 
and he left his family in comfortable circum- 
stances. Since his death his widow has had 
charge of the business which he left, and has 
displayed rare judgment and ability in her 
management. She is a member of the Wes- 
leyan Church, and is most highlj- esteemed 
and respected by her hosts of friends. 



WH. ELSBURY, one of the brave 
defenders of the Union who served 
nearly all through the war of the 
Rebellion, is a farmer by vocation 
and one of the oldest settlers in his section 
of Larrabee township, Waupaca county, 
He was born in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , 
in 1840, the son of James and Mary (Kief) 
Elsbury, natives of England, who came to 
Es.se.\ county, N. Y., in an early day. 

James Elsbury was a farmer, and after 
settling in Essex made that for the most 



part his home; his death occurred in 1854, 
and that of his widow in 1881, in Essex 
count}', N. Y. They became the parents of 
the following children: James, residing in 
Essex county, N. Y. ; Martha, widow of 
Amos Boardman, of Essex county, N. Y. ; 
Thomas, residing in Essex county, N. Y. ; 
John, who enlisted for three years in the 
Eighty-fourth X. Y. V. I., and was killed 
June 20, I 864, in front of Petersburg, \'a. ; 
W. H., subject of this sketch; and Mary 
Ann, wife of Peter Long, of Buckbee, Lar- 
rabee township, Waupaca Co., Wisconsin. 

W. H. Elsbury was reared in Essex 
county, N. Y. , to farm life, and educated in 
the schools of that county. In November, 
1 86 1, he enlisted in Company K, Ninety- 
sixth N. Y. V. I., for three years or during 
the war, and was mustered into service at 
Plattsburg, N. Y. He was first in the 
Seventh Army Corps, and was in the Pen- 
insular Campaign. At Williamsburg, in 
1863, he was transferred to the Eighteenth 
Army Corps, and was at Goldsboro, N. C, 
Newbern, and Suffolk, N. C. In 1864 he 
again enlisted, in the same company and 
regiment, for three years or doing the war, 
and went to City Point, Va., Drury's Bluff, 
Fredericksburg, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, 
and thence in front of Richmond, \'a. , and 
was stationed there and at Fredericksburg. 
He was honorably discharged at City Point, 
\'a. , February 6, 1 866, and mustered out 
as corporal. He then returned to Essex 
county, N. Y., remained till July, 1866, 
then came to Oshkosh, Winnebago Co., 
Wis., and worked at day's labor until, in 
1869, he came to Clintonville, Larrabee 
township, Waupaca county, then a small 
place, and remained there two years. At that 
time there were in Clintonville and in all 
Larrabee township only forty-two voters. 

At Clintonville, Waupaca Co., Wis., in 
1869, W. H. Elsbury was united in marriage 
with Miss Catharine Quinn, and they have 
become the parents of seven children, 
namely: Michael, Mary Ann (wife of Louis 
Bohanan, of Keshena, Shawano Co., Wis)., 
William, Frederick, Maggie, John and 
Martha. Mrs. ^^'. H. Elsbury is the daugh- 
ter of Michael and Margaret (McGrath) 
Ouinn, natives of Ireland now deceased. Mr. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPHIOAL RECORD. 



157 



Elsbury bought a tract of eighty acres in the 
woods with no clearing, in Section 2 1 , Lar- 
rabee township, where he now resides, and 
here located in 1871. At that time there 
was only one other family in this section, 
and he cut a road through the forest to get 
to his farm. This property he has since 
improved, and he now has fifty acres cleared. 
In 1 888 he erected here a story-and-a-half 
frame house, 18 x 26 feet in the main part, 
and with an L 16 x 24 feet. As a pioneer 
of this section of Waupaca county he has 
seen much of its development from its prim- 
itive condition. In political belief Mr. 
Elsbury is a Republican, and takes an active 
interest in the affairs of the partj-. He has 
been a member of the school board, and 
chairman of the township for one term. 



WILLIAM H. McINTYRE is one of 
Portage count3''s native sons. He 
was born in Belmont township, 
September 16, 1861, and comes of 
one of the honored pioneer families of Wis- 
consin. His father, William Mclntyre, 
was born in New York about 1829, and in 
an early daj- came with his parents to the 
Badger State, the family locating in Milford 
township, Jefferson county. His school 
privileges were those afforded in the neigh- 
borhood, and he was reared upon the home 
farm, the days of his youth being quietly 
passed. In the family were five children, 
Abraham, William, Henry, Eliza and 
Amanda, and they shared in the experiences 
and hardships peculiar to life on the frontier. 
In Belmont township. Portage county, 
in December, i860, at the home of the 
bride, was celebrated the marriage of Will- 
iam Mclntyre, Sr. , and Clara Turner, who 
had removed with her family from Jefferson 
count)'. The young couple began house- 
keeping in Milford township, Jefferson 
county, upon a farm owned by the husband, 
but after a time took up their residence in 
Belmont township, where October 2, 1861, 
Mr. Mclntyre joined the Third Wisconsin 
Light Artillery and went to the war. On 
December i, following, he returned to Jef- 
ferson county, where his wife had passed 
the time of his absence with his parents. 



Two weeks later he was taken with measles 
and after a five-days' illness passed away, 
Januarys, 1862, his remains being interred 
in Milford township. In politics he was a 
Republican, and he was a highly respected 
citizen. After his death, Mrs. Mclntyre 
went to her father's home, and afterward 
married John M. Collier. 

William H. Mclntyre, who is the only 
child, acquired his elementary education in 
the schools of the neighborhood, which 
was supplemented with a short attendance 
at the State Normal School, where he pre- 
pared himself for teaching, a profession he 
followed in District No. 5, Belmont town- 
ship. He lived with his mother for some 
time after her second marriage, or until his 
own marriage, which was celebrated in 
Waupaca, Wis., April 12, 1888, the lady 
of his choice being Miss Anna Wagner, who 
was born in Almond township, Portage 
county, June 20, 1863, a daughter of 
Michael and Elizabeth (Rice; Wagner, the 
former a native of France, the latter of 
Illinois. Mrs. Mclntyre obtained her ed- 
ucation in the Oshkosh Normal School, and 
at the age of nineteen began teaching, 
which profession she successfully followed 
eleven terms. By her marriage she has be- 
come the mother of an interesting little son, 
Milan H., born June 21, 1890. 

Upon his marriage, Mr. Mclntyre 
rented the farm which is now his home, and 
in 1891 he became its owner, the tract com- 
prising 150 acres in Section 17, Belmont, 
one-half of which has been placed under the 
plow and yields to him a good income in re- 
turn for the care and labor he bestows upon 
it. He is recognized as a prosperous young 
farmer of good business and executive abil- 
ity, who through his own efforts has become 
well-to-do, and is an intelligent young man, 
highly esteemed b\- all who know him. By 
his ballot he supports the Republican 
party. 



JOSEPH GLINSKI, one of the most 
enterprising and successful tailors of 
Stevens Point, Portage count}-, is a 
native of Poland, born September 17, 
1858, in Valental, County of Starogart, a 



i^S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



son of Joseph and Josephine (Pawlowski) 
Ghnski, who were born in same country. The 
father was a stock buyer, becoming a very 
successful man. At his death, which occur- 
red in 1 868, he left five children, all of whom 
are still living, to wit: Frank, a saloon 
keeper at Stevens Point; Joseph, subject of 
sketch: Jacob, a tailor of Stevens Point, 
now in the employ of his brother, Joseph; 
Effie, wife of Joseph Jekobouski, who is also 
employed b\' our subject; and Mary, wife of 
E. L. Blodgett, a merchant of Stevens Point. 

Mr. Glinski, whose name appears at the 
beginning of this record, received his educa- 
tion in the common schools of Germany, 
and then at the age of sixteen commenced 
to learn his trade. In 1872 the family 
started for America, embarking on the sail- 
ing vessel, " Agda," and after a long and 
stormy voyage of eleven weeks and three days 
they landed at Quebec, Canada. They did 
not remain long in that city, however, but 
came direct to Milwaukee, Wis., where the}' 
made their home some eight months. On 
leaving the latter city the family removed to 
Stevens Point, where Mr. Lubinski purchased 
160 acres of wild timber land, and our subject 
aided in clearing and developing the same. 
The farm was sold, however, at the end of 
a 3-ear and a half, and the family then re- 
moved to Stevens Point, where the step- 
father began working at the tailor's trade, 
which he still continues. The mother's death 
occurred in the fall of 1891, at the age of 
sixty-three years. Mr. Glinski was em- 
ployed b}' others until 1881, when he began 
business for himself. In 1891 he purchased 
a lot and erected a two-story brick building 
82x25 feet, in which he now carries on 
business and has an excellent trade. By- 
good management he has gained a liberal 
patronage, and now has in his employ fifteen 
men. He has one of the leading tailoring 
establishments of the city. 

In 1879 Mr. Glinski was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Paulina M. Boyar, a daugh- 
ter of John and Marthina Boyar, and one 
of a family of children, as follows: Paul- 
ina M., Leo, John, Jr., Frank, Ragan, 
Joseph, Mary, Anna, August and Adam 
(twins), Catherine, Alexander, Anthony, 
Bernard, all of whom are living with the ex- 



ception of Anthonj-. The parents of this 
family were both born in Poland, in which 
country the father was engaged as a brewer, 
and also followed the same business after 
coming to America; but he and his wife are 
now living retired at Stevens Point. The 
family crossed the Atlantic in 1863. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Glinski have been born the 
following children: Mary, Joseph, Jr., John, 
De Loss, Varona, Ganewefa and Chesle}-, 
all of whom are still with their parents. 

Mr. Glinski has held a number of offices 
of honor and trust in Stevens Point, includ- 
ing that of alderman, which he filled for five 
years — from 1888 to 1893. He has always 
been faithful to every trust reposed in him 
whether public or private, and is held in the 
highest esteem and confidence. With St. 
Peter's Catholic Church he holds member- 
ship, and has served as secretary of the 
same, while socially he belongs to the Cath- 
olic Knights of Wisconsin, Catholic Forest- 
ers of Wisconsin, St. Peter's Society, and 
the Sacred Heart Society. 



EMIL RUDER (deceased), who for 
some twelve years conducted the 
well-known brewery owned by him 
at Merrill, Lincoln county, was born 
November 29, 1859, at Stevens Point, Wis., 
a son of George and Louisa (Schmidt) 
Ruder. 

George Ruder was born September 7, 
1827, in Nuremberg, Bavaria, and was a 
son of Wolfe and Katrina Ruder. The 
family are of German ancestry, and Wolfe 
Ruder, as was his father before him, was 
born in Germany. George Ruder was edu- 
cated in his native land, and in early life 
learned the trade of brewer in his father's 
brewery, afterward worked at his trade in 
some of the large cities of Europe, and 
traveled extensively through Germany. In 
1S54 he came to the United States, locating 
first in Milwaukee, where he worked at his 
trade upward of two years, and then, in 
1856, he removed to Stevens Point, Portage 
county, purchased a brewery there, and con- 
ducted it some four years. At Stevens Point 
he married Miss Louisa Schmidt, who was 
born in the Province of Posen, Germany, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



159' 



April 25, 1835, and children as follows were 
born to them: Louis, Emil, Herman, 
Louisa, Clara, Emma (wife of Henry Mom- 
bart, residing in Wausau), Edward (in Mer- 
rill, Lincoln county), Henry (in Wausau, 
Marathon county), William and Lena, of 
whom Emil, Louisa and Lena are now de- 
ceased. In i860 George Ruder removed to 
Wausau, Marathon county, and there 
erected a brewery w^hich he conducted up to 
1887, when he retired from active business, 
the following year, accompanied by his wife 
and daughter, Emma, visiting his native 
land, and spending upward of twelve 
months in travel and sight-seeing, among 
other places visiting Berlin and Munich. 
His death occurred December 29, 1893, at 
Milwaukee, Wis., whither he had gone for 
medical treatment, and was buried in ^^'au- 
sau cemetery. He was a member of the 
L O. O. F., was president of the village, 
and alderman of the city of \\'ausau four 
years. 

Emil Ruder, whose name appears at the 
opening of this sketch, on leaving school 
entered his father's brewery in Wausau, in 
order to learn the business, and in 1882 ac- 
companied him to Merrill. Here in 18S6 
he bought the brewery built by his father, 
and which he enlarged and improved, con- 
ducting same until his death, which occurred 
May 23, 1894. He left a widow and six 
children to mourn the early taking away of 
a loving husband and kind, indulgent father, 
besides many sorrowing friends who knew 
him as an active business man, generous- 
hearted and highly respected by all. Polit- 
ically a Democrat, he served the city of 
Merrill as alderman; socially, he was a 
member of the Sons of Hermann, and a 
member of the Order of Druids of Merrill, 
and of the German Benevolent Society. 

On July 27, 1884, Mr. Ruder was mar- 
ried, in Wausau, Wis., to Jiliss Mary La;s- 
sig, who was born in Chicago, 111., daughter 
of Edward and Janette (Baenen) Laessig, 
w^ho were the parents of twelve children : Ed- 
ward, Mary, Henry, Augusta, Minnie, Fred- 
erick, Frank, Charles, Louis, Julia, Anna 
and Nellie, the last named dying in infancy. 
The father was born July 15, 1S35, in 
Saxony, Germany, whence when a young 



man he came to America, and for several 
years worked as a common laborer. In 
1856, in Chicago, 111., he married Miss 
Janette Baenen, who w-as born in Holland, 
in January. 1838, and same year came to 
America with her parents, who had a family 
of seven children, namely: Frank. Mary, 
Janette, John, Henry, Bell and Minnie. 
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Laessig moved 
to Green Bay, Wis., and there resided nine 
years, when they moved to Wausau, and at 
the end of four years bought a farm in Mar- 
athon county. Wis., whither they removed 
and where they are yet residing. The chil- 
dren born to Emil Ruder are Lena, Lizzie, 
George, Edward, Willie and baby Emil. 

William Ruder, a younger son of the late 
George Ruder, by his wife, Louisa (Schmidt), 
was born in \\'ausau. Wis., Aug. 12, 1873. 
Until he was fifteen years of age he attended 
school at Wausau, and then went to Mil- 
waukee, where he took a course in a business 
college in that city, graduating from same in 
June, 1889. In the following August he 
came to Merrill, where he entered the em- 
ploy of his brother Emil, in the capacity of 
bookkeeper, collector, etc., positions he 
held until the death of the latter, since when 
he has had entire charge of the business for 
behoof of the widow. Though yet a young 
man, he has made many friends among the 
business men of Merrill. In his political 
affiliation he is a sound Democrat, while 
socially he is a member of the Sons of Her- 
mann, the German Benevolent Society and 
the Order of Druids of Merrill, of which 
latter he is secretary. 

On April 24, 1894, W^illiam Ruder and 
Theresa Bott were married at Wausau, 
Wis. She is a native of Illinois, born at 
Rockford, daughter of Marcus and Eva 
(Harris) Bott, who were the pare'nts of five 
children: Theresa, Tillie, John, Frank, 
and one that died in infancy. Mr. Bott was 
a native of Germany, and came to America 
when a young man; a mason by trade, he 
followed it successfully until his death in 
Merrill, April, 1885. His widow was born 
in Wisconsin, near Milwaukee; she remar- 
ried, her second husband being Henry J. 
Hampel, by whom she has two children: 
Henry and George. 



i6o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



CALVIN CHAFEE, proprietor of a 
first-class livery stable in Rhine- 
lander, Oneida county, is a native of 
New York State, born October 25, 
1835, in Hulburton, Orleans county, of 
Scottish ancestry. 

Isaac Chafee, grandfather of oursubject, 
was born December 26, 1768, perhaps in 
Scotland, but more probably, it is thought, 
in America; he was married in the latter 
country to Mary Burnside, born in the New 
England States. Nine children Were the 
result of this union, viz. : Rufus, Adolphus, 
Mary, Isaac M. (i), Walter, Lucinda, Isaac 
M. (2), Llo3'd and Isaac M. (3), of whom 
Isaac M. (ij, Lucinda and Isaac M. (2) are 
deceased. The father of these, who was a 
musical instrument maker, died March 8, 
1835, the mother in December, 1848. 

Lloyd Chafee, father of Calvin, was born 
at Guildhall, Essex Co., \i.. May 12, 1S12, 
and married Elizabeth Garnsey, who was 
born at Stamford, Conn., October 7, 1S17, 
daughter of Ezra and Lanah (Bennett) 
Garnsey, natives of Connecticut, the father 
born April 12, 1780, the mother on March 
II, 1787; they both died in New York 
State, he in 1857, she Febuary 3, 1856, the 
parents of twelve children, named respect- 
ively: Catherine, Rosetta B., Sarah A., 
Jesse H., Solomon S., James B., Phcebe S., 
Elizabeth, Samuel B., ^VilliamH., Ezra M. 
and Leonard H. To Mr. and Mrs. Chafee 
were born fourteen children — Calvin, Emily 
M., Edward and Edwin (twinsj, Charles, 
Sarah, Emeline S., Franklin, Henry, Leon- 
ard, Ezra G., Lanah B., Rufus and Rosetta 
E. — nine of whom lived to maturity. In 
1845 Lloyd Chafee brought his family to 
Wisconsin, and for one year he worked at 
his trade, shoemaking, at Watertown, Jef- 
ferson county, and then for eight years 
carried on agricultural pursuits on a farm 
near Oshkosh, after which he moved to 
Waushara county, passing the rest of his 
days on a farm there, at the same time 
working at his trade. He died in Waushara 
county, November 28, 1872, his wife sur- 
viving him until September 25, 1893. Mr. 
Chafee was a well-read man and well- 
informed on all topics, a leader among men, 
holding manv local offices of honor and 



trust, and taking a wide interest in educa- 
tional affairs. Sociallj', he was a member 
of the F. & A. M. 

Calvin Chafee, the subject proper of 
these lines, who was ten years old when the 
family came to Wisconsin, received a fairl}- 
liberal education at the common schools of 
the period, and being the eldest in the 
famil}' early in life commenced assisting his 
father in clearing the farms, so continuing 
until he reached his majority. He then 
worked in the lumber woods, winters, and 
running the river, summers, until his mar- 
riage, when he settled on his farm in 
Waushara county, which he successfully 
conducted till 1891, the j'ear of his com- 
ing to Rhinelander. and engaging in his 
present prosperous livery stable business. 
In June, 1861, he was married to Miss 
Tamar E. Rozell, who was born October 30, 
1 84 1, in Tioga county, Penn., daughter of 
Hopkins D. and Catherine (Cooper) Rozell, 
the former of whom was a son of James 
Rozell, who in his younger days was a dyer, 
in later life a farmer, and was married to 
Lucia Byron, by whom he had five children: 
Hopkins D. , Edwin, Alfred, William and 
Susan. The famil}- came to Wisconsin in 
1855. Hopkins D. Rozell was a native of 
Dutchess county, N. Y., born June 23, 
1873, and died in Waushara county, Wis., 
January 6, 1891. He was a shoemaker by 
trade, and also followed farming. His wife, 
Catherine (Cooper) Rozell, was born in 
New York, in 18 14, and died in Februar\', 
1894, in Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Cal- 
vin Chafee were born si.x children: Robert 
E. (now a druggist in Rhinelander), Cather- 
ine E. (married to William M. Weld, a 
farmer of Waushara county. Wis.), Frank 
H. (deceased at the age of three years), 
Leonard H., Letta (who died in infancy) 
and Charles E. 

On November 21, 1863, Mr. Chafee en- 
listed in Company G, Thirtieth Wis. V. I., 
and received an honorable discharge Sep- 
tember 20, 1865. His regiment served in 
the West, chiefly on detail duty, only one 
company at a time being stationed at any 
point. Our subject has been a Republican 
since the organization of the party, and held 
public offices of trust in Waushara county 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



i6l 



some twenty j-ears. He has been an active 
Freemason for a long time, and is a mem- 
ber of the G. A. R. The entire family are 
identified with the M. E. Church. 



JOHN F. SAWYER, a substantial citi- 
zen of Wausau, Marathon county, was 
born in Hampden, Maine, November 8, 
1 85 1. His parents, Emerson M. and 
Sarah Patterson Sawyer, were both born in 
the State of Maine, of English and Scotch an- 
cestry, and were early settlers of Waupaca 
county, Wis., having located in the town- 
ship of Dayton, in that county, in 1855. 

To Emerson M. Sawyer and his wife was 
born a family of nine children, of whom six 
are living, namely: R. Dwynel, a member 
of the Wausau city fire department; Charles 
H., residing in Minneapolis, Minn.; John 
F. , the subject of this sketch; Arthur E., 
residing in Chicago; Rual Willis, an agri- 
culturist in the township of Dayton, Wau- 
paca county; and Edward C, in Traill 
county, N. Dak. James O. Sawyer, the 
eldest son in the family, served in Company 
G, Eighteenth Wis. V. I., and died in hos- 
pital in Indiana from the effects of hardships 
incurred during the war. After locating in 
Dayton township, in 1855, Emerson M. 
Sawyer engaged in agricultural pursuits in 
Dayton township, and in Marion, Dupont 
township, Waupaca county, until about 
1884, when he retired from active business 
life and made his home with his son John, 
coming with him to Wausau on his removal 
here. He is still living, at the advanced 
age of eighty-three years. His wife, Sarah, 
mother of the family above mentioned, died 
at Marion, Dupont township, Waupaca 
county, in 1888. 

John F. Sawyer was reared a farmer's 
boy, and educated in the public schools of 
Waupaca county. After leaving school he 
engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1883, 
during which period he operated a threshing 
machine throughout Waupaca county. In 
the village of Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence 
township, ^^'aupaca county, August 6, 1871, 
John F. Sawyer married Annie Shannon, 
and they have three children, namely: 
Schuyler C, a harness maker, residing at 



Rhinelander, Oneida Co., Wis.; Clyde S., 
a harness maker at Wausau, Marathon 
county; and Erdix A., at home. The par- 
ents of Mrs. Sawyer, John and Harriet 
(Dewey) Shannon, were born on Wolfe 
Island, Canada. 

In 1883 Mr. Sawyer went to Marion, Du- 
pont township, Waupaca county, and was 
in the livery business there until 1893, in 
February of which year he removed to 
Wausau, Marathon county, continuing here 
the same occupation. For eight or ten 
years he was engaged in teaming provisions, 
etc., from Wausau to the lumber camps as 
far as Eagle River, Onedia Co. , Wis. , and 
also to Escanaba, Mich., the round trip oc- 
cupying thirteen days, and during this time 
he had many thrilling adventures with wild 
animals. Mr. Sawyer conducts one of the 
largest and best equipped livery stables in 
Wausau, and is highly respected as an 
honorable and upright business man and a 
valuable citizen. In political views he is 
liberal. The family attend the Methodist 
Church. 



GILBERT GILSON belongs to that 
class of sturdy Norwegians who 
have been an important factor in 
the upbuilding and development of 
Waupaca county. He was born June i, 
1839, in Norway, as was his father, Gilbert 
Christenson, whose birth occurred in the 
year 1800. The latter followed lumbering 
in his native country, and was there united in 
marriage with Martha Larson, whose birth 
occurred in Norway in 1802. The grand- 
father. Christen Erickson, was a man of 
considerable prominence and influence in 
the community in which he made his home, 
and two of his sons were soldiers in the war 
which occurred between Norway and Swe- 
den from 1807 to 1 814, and helped to gain 
for the former her freedom and her new 
constitution. 

In 1852 Mr. Christenson left his old 
home, and bidding good-by to friends 
and native land sailed with his family for 
the United States. He located in Norway 
township, Racine Co., Wis., where he 
worked as a common laborer for about a 



1 62 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



year. In 1853 he came to Scandinavia 
township, Waupaca county, and purchased 
160 acres of land, to the development and 
improvement of which he devoted his en- 
ergies until his death, which occurred in 
1877. His wife survived him two years, 
passing away in 1879. They were ad- 
herents of the Lutheran faith, and in politics 
he was a Republican. Gilbert Gilson, our 
subject, was thirteen years of age when he 
came to America. He attended school but 
three months; but being naturally talented 
and fond of study he through his own efforts 
obtained a good education, and is recog- 
nized as one of the most intellectual men 
of his township. His early boyhood days 
were passed upon his father's farm, but 
when he was still quite young he engaged as 
a postal clerk in the Waupaca postoffice, in 
which position he efficiently served for three 
years. He was then employed in a drug store 
in Waupaca for a period of two years, after 
which he worked in the pineries until the 
breaking out of the Civil war. He was 
deeply interested in the events which at- 
tended the opening of that struggle, and in 
1863 he offered his services to the govern- 
ment, becoming one of the " boys in blue " 
of Company K, Tenth Wis. V. I. After- 
ward he was transferred to Company D, 
Twenty-fourth Wis. V. I., and subsequently 
became a member of Company B, Third 
Wisconsin Veteran Regiment. He took 
part in the battles of Resaca, Altoona, 
Kenesaw Mountain and Peach Tree Creek, 
and when the South had laid down its arms, 
and the war was over, he was honorably 
discharged at Louisville, Ky.,in July, 1865. 
He now receives a pension from the govern- 
ment, for the hardships of army life caused 
disability from which he has never yet fully 
recovered. 

When his services were no longer needed, 
Mr. Gilson at once returned to his home, 
and purchased a farm of 100 acres in Scan- 
dinavia township. Since that time he has 
followed farming, and is numbered among 
the representative agriculturists of the com- 
munit}', for his practical and progressive 
ideas make him a leader among his fellow 
townsmen. His life has been a busy and 
useful one, yet he has found time to devote 



to public interests, having filled various 
offices of honor and trust in his township. 
He has served as township supervisor, for 
three years was chairman of the board, was 
assessor, is now serving as town clerk, and 
for twenty-two consecutive years has been 
justice of the peace. His long service well 
indicates his fidelity to duty and the confi- 
dence aud trust reposed in him. In his 
social relations he is connected with the 
Grand Army Post, while in religious faith 
he is connected with the Lutheran Church, 
as are the members of his family. 

Mr. Gilson was married in Waupaca, 
November 26, 1862, to Miss Emily Jagers, 
daughter of Jager and Betsy Thompson, 
who were natives of Norway, in which 
country Mrs. Gilson was born in 1837. 
They became the parents of six children, of 
whom Martha, and two sons, both named 
Gilbert J., are now deceased. Josephine 
B. is the wife of Nels Dalielson; Gustave 
Martin and Louis Christian are at home. 



ADELBERT S. HARTWELL was 
born in Milwaukee, Wis., October 
21, 1850, and is descended from an- 
cestors who have long resided in this 
country. His grandfather, William Hart- 
well, was born in New York, and followed 
the occupation of farming. He wedded 
Betsy Heath, and their si.x sons were named 
John, William, Horace, Orin, Lewis and 
George. During the war of 1 8 1 2 grandfather 
Hartwell served as an infantry soldier. 

John Hartwell, father of our subject, 
was born in Cattaraugus count}', N. Y. , in 
1 8 14, and he, too, carried on agricultural 
pursuits. In the Empire State he wedded 
Mary Ray, daughter of John and Mary Ray, 
the former of whom was a major general in 
the Revolution, serving with great distinc- 
tion in that struggle. In his family were 
five children — Otis, Mary, Marcia, Augusta, 
and Caroline. John Hartwell and his wife 
had four children — Theresa, Frances, Au- 
gusta and Adelbert. The father became one 
of the early settlers of Milwaukee, \\'is. , and 
purchased a farm which is now comprised in 
the center of that city. The family located 
in Shiawassee county, Mich., in 1855, and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



163 



there the mother died the following year, 
after which the father wedded Mrs. Merriam, 
a widow lad}'. The children on the death 
of their mother had returned to Wisconsin 
to live with their grandfather, who in the 
meantime had removed from New York to 
Pewaukee, Waukesha Co., Wis., where he 
died in 1875. John Hartwell passed away 
in 1877. 

Adelbert S. Hartwell was a child of only 
si.\ summers when his mother died, and he 
then went to live with his grandfather with 
whom he remained until i860, when he 
went to the western part of the State and 
resided with an uncle two years. At the age 
of fourteen he commenced the battle of life 
for himself, sometimes working on the river, 
and again on a farm in Minnesota. At the 
age of fifteen he went into the lumber woods 
and securing employment in a sawmill 
worked his way steadily upward, having for 
the past six years held the responsible posi- 
tion of head sawyer with the Upham Manu- 
facturing Company. 

In 1879, Mr. Hartwell married Miss 
Imogene Manning, a nati\-e of Jefferson 
county, Wis., and daughter of Adkins and 
Helen (Grover) Manning, the former a na- 
tive of New York, the latter of Wisconsin. 
They lived upon a farm in Jefferson county 
and had three children: Imogene, Lucia and 
Clara. The mother died in 1866, the father 
in 1880. Mr. Hartwell was called upon to 
mourn the loss of his wife in 1888, and in 
October, 1891, he married Anna Judson, 
who was born in Rome, Jefferson Co. , Wis., 
a daughter of Lyman T. and Angeline 
(Foss) Judson. Her father was born in 
Canada in 1829, and during the Civil war 
served for three years in the First Wiscon- 
sin Artillery, when he was honorably dis- 
charged. His wife was a native of Wiscon- 
sin, and died in 1884, leaving three children. 
Anna, Willis E. and Ernest. The father is 
now living with his daughter, Mrs. Hart- 
well, who by her marriage has one son. 
Earl Adelbert. 

Mr. Hartwell exercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the Republican party, 
and has been honored with several local of- 
fices, including that of alderman, while resid- 
ing in Merrill, Wis. He belongs to the 



Masonic, Knights of Pythias and Modern 
Woodmen fraternities, and is a plain, unas- 
suming man, devoting himself to his busi- 
ness interests, and by his quiet, upright life 
has won the respect and confidence of all 
with whom he has been brought in contact. 



AW. SHELTON, a leading attorney 
at law of Oneida county, with res- 
idence at Rhinelander, is a native 
of Minnesota, born in 1859 at New- 
port, a son of Charles N. and Ann Shelton. 
He graduated from the University of 
Wisconsin in the engineering course in 
1883, in the law course in 1885, and in Jan- 
uary of the following year commenced the 
practice of law in Rhinelander. From 
1 89 1 to 1893 he served as district attorney 
of Oneida county, and from 1894 to 1895 
was city attorney of Rhinelander. In 1892 
he bought the Rhinelander Herald, and 
organized the Herald Publishing Co., of 
which he is president, Mrs. Shelton being 
secretary. Our subject has been connected, 
with uniform success, with all of the munici- 
pal litigation which followed the organiza- 
tion of Oneida county, which litigation has 
been considerable, and, some of it, im- 
portant. In 1886, at Oregon, Wis., he was 
united in marriage with Mary M. Howe, 
daughter of Judge Isaac Howe and Sarah 
Howe. Mrs. Shelton graduated from the 
University of Wisconsin in 1884, and re- 
ceived the degree of Master of Science in 
History from that institution in 1892. After 
her marriage she was superintendent of 
schools for Oneida county from 1887 to 
1889, and, again, from 1893 to 1895. At 
the present time she is a member of the 
School board of the city of Rhinelander. 



M 



ARTEN HANSEN. The love of 
home and native land, and the 
love of liberty and wider oppor- 
tunities, have waged a long war- 
fare in the mind of this most estimable 
citizen and prosperous merchant of Wau- 
paca. Thrice he has emigrated to America, 
and twice has he returned to the Danish 
hearthstone intending to remain there. The 



164 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



love of home is strongly implanted in the 
heart of the Dane, and it costs a great 
struggle to cast aside relatives and life- 
time, or even inherited, associations, and to 
transplant one's self to an unknown soil 
where conditions are new and strange. This 
intense affection for home is one of the 
strongest and most valuable traits of hu- 
manit}-. It is the feeling which makes 
patriots of the highest type, and it is a 
happy circumstance indeed that the Upper 
Wisconsin Valley has been settled so largely 
by people of this class. 

Marten Hansen was born in Denmark 
April I, 1840, the son of Hans and Ellen 
(Hansen) Jacobson, whose si.\ children were 
Jacob, Bodel, Kaun, Marten, and two who 
died in infancy. Hans Jacobson was a 
weaver of cloth, and died in 1 849 when 
Marten, the youngest living child, was nine 
years old. Marten attended school until he 
was fourteen years of age, and in 1855 was 
apprenticed to a shoemaker, for whom he 
worked three 3'ears for his board. He was 
ambitious, and in i860, at the age of 
twenty, he started a shop of his own in the 
village of Karleby. But his advance to- 
ward a competence was slow, and in 1866 
he came to America. For two years he 
worked steadily at his trade in Oshkosh, 
Wis., and in 1S68 he came to Waupaca, 
becoming a workman in the shop of Ole 
Larson. Here he remained four years, lay- 
ing by a neat little sum of money. In the 
summer of 1872 he returned to Denmark, 
and while there married Karen Jergensen, 
by whom he has had three children: Chris- 
tian H., Charles and Erwin Hansen. Re- 
maining in his native land ten months Mr. 
Hansen, in the spring of 1873, returned 
with his wife to Waupaca. Here he worked 
for others until 1876, when he started in 
business for himself. Though he prospered he 
was not yet wholly reconciled to America, 
and in 1883 he returned to Denmark with 
his family, intending to remain there. But 
he saw the contrast between the new and 
the old, and the conditions of life under the 
old order of things grew distasteful. After 
a ten-months' visit Mr. Hansen crossed the 
Atlantic ocean for the fifth time, and once 
more become the industrious and faithful 



shoe merchant at Waupaca. In 1893 he 
erected the handsome and substantial block 
in which his store is now located; he has 
also built for himself a line residence. Both 
he and his wife are members of the Luther- 
an Church, and in politics he is a Republi- 
can. His eldest son is a photographer; the 
second is a clerk in the city postoffice. Mr. 
Hansen is pleasantly situated in life, and is 
one of the prosperous and successful busi- 
ness men of Waupaca. 



ALBERT F. GERWING is numbered 
among the self-made men of Marsh- 
field, Wood county, and has been 
prominently connected with the bus- 
iness and political history of that city. 
Public-spirited and progressive, he labors for 
the best interests of the community in 
which he resides, and in public and private 
life is both an honored and respected 
citizen. 

Mr. Gerwing was born in the town of 
Hubbard, Dodge Co., Wis., March 23, 
1853, and is of German lineage. The grand- 
father, William Gerwing, was born in Ger- 
many, and there died of cholera at the age 
of forty-five years, leaving a widow and 
three children — one son and two daugh- 
ters. The son, who also bore the 
name of William, was born in Germany 
in 1 8 18, and, learning the trade of a 
brick maker, followed that pursuit for a 
number of years. Ere leaving his native 
land he married Wilhelmina Risse, daugh- 
ter of Fred Risse, who for seven years, 
from 1807 to 1 8 14, was a soldier in the 
German army. During his service he was 
twice wounded, and he carried the King off 
the field when he was wounded. In 1848 
Mr. Gerwing sailed with his famil}' for the 
New World, and located upon a farm in 
Dodge county, Wis., which is still the home 
of himself and wife. He too was a soldier 
for three years while living in Europe, and 
in America he has ever been a loyal citizen, 
faithful to the interests of his adopted land. 
In the family were seven children, of whom 
William, Charles and Albert F. are living; 
August, Ernstena, Louisa and Henry are 
deceased. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



165. 



Upon the old homestead Albert F. 
Gerwing was reared, attending the common 
and parochial schools, and remaining with 
his parents until nineteen years of age when 
he began to earn his own livelihood. He 
was employed in various ways during the 
succeeding five years, working as a farm 
hand, in the lumber woods and in hotels. 
He then married, and settling in Marathon 
county. Wis., five miles north of Marsh- 
field, on a tract of wild land, he at once be- 
gan to clear and improve it, continuing its 
cultivation through the succeeding seven 
years. In T883 he entered into a general 
merchandise business in Boj'd, Chippewa 
county. There he remained a year and a 
half, coming in 1884 to Marshfield, where 
he carried on the same line of business until 
his establishment wag destroyed in the great 
Marshfield fire of 1887. He was a heavy- 
loser, but with indomitable perseverance he 
began anew and continued the business un- 
til the fall of 1 89 1. In the spring of 1892 
he was appointed city marshal and has 
thrice been re-appointed, serving in a highly 
creditable and able manner. In this com- 
munity his name inspires confidence in the 
honest man and causes terror to the evil 
doer. Fearless in the defense of his duty 
his trustworthiness and fidelity are well 
known, and he is accounted one of the most 
capable officers that has ever served as city 
marshal. 

In 1876 Mr. Gerwing married Cornelia 
Jacquot, who was born in 1854 in Outaga- 
mie county, Wis., a daughter of John Jac- 
quot, a native of France, born in 1820, and 
who came with his parents to America when 
quite young. His father, John Jacquot, a 
soldier of the French army, married Blanche 
Malarr, and had a family of seven children. 
The father of Mrs. Gerwing wedded Mary 
Linton, a native of Germany, who came to 
America with her father when a maiden of 
eleven summers, the mother having died in 
Germany. For many years Mr. and Mrs. 
Jacquot resided in Greenville township, 
Outagamie county, the father carrying on 
agricultural pursuits until his death, which 
occurred in 1S83; his wife survived him until 
1 89 1. Their family numbered si.x children — 
Alexander, Cornelia, Helen, Seraphine, 



Martin and John. Mrs. Gerwing's uncle, 
Lawrence, was a soldier in the Civil war for 
three and one-half years, bravely aiding in 
the defense of the Union. 

Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Gerwing, two of whom are yet living: 
Helen and Ida; Mary died at the age of 
fourteen, and Henrietta in infancy. The 
family have in Marshfield a fine home which 
is always open for the reception of their 
many friends. In politics Mr. Gerwing is a 
Democrat, and served both as alderman and 
supervisor while living in Marathon county. 
He is a member of the I. O. O. F., has 
filled all the chairs in the local lodge and 
has also attended the grand lodge. His life 
has been one of industry and enterprise, 
plain and unassuming, yet honorable and 
upright, and thus living so as to win the re- 
spect of all he has gained a large circle of 
warm friends. 



CHARLES TYRRELL, a successful 
agriculturist of Bear Creek township, 
Waupaca county, was born April 
18, 1845, in Ontario, Canada, and is- 
a son of John and Mary (Le Grue) Tyrrell. 

Charles Tyrrell remained at home until 
1865, when he assumed his own responsibil- 
ities, and has since maintained himself. On 
November 6, 1865, he was married to Mary 
Margaret Tyrrell, his cousin, and who is the 
daughter of George and Angeline (Perry) 
Tyrrell. Seven children have been born to 
them, as follows: Harry Albert, September 
28, 1867; Lorenzo Irving, December 8, 
1S69; William F., March 16, 1871; Lida 
Etta, April 10, 1873; Addie Addelide, May 
24, 1876; Ada Elnora, June 2, 1879; and 
Charles E., July 28, 1882. Of these, Lor- 
enzo I. died October 24, 1885, and Lida E. 
February 28, 1874. After their marriage 
they lived on the farm owned by Mrs. Tyr- 
rell's father for about three months, and 
then removed to the farm of Mr. Tyrrell's 
father, Charles Tyrrell going to work in the 
woods. He was engaged in the woods from, 
the time he was fifteen years old until about 
the year 1888. 

About three years after his marriage our 
subject bought forty acres of partly-improved 



1 66 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 



land in Section 36, Bear Creek township, 
and lived there about five years. After this 
had been sold to good advantage he bought 
sixty acres in Section 36, adjoining the 
former tract on the east, and nearly all im- 
proved, and here he has lived twenty-one 
years. He has now thirty acres of land in 
tillable condition, to which he devotes all 
his time Politically Mr. Tyrrell is a Re- 
publican. 



BENJAMIN A. CADY. This well 
known and popular lawyer of Birn- 
amwood and county attorney of 
Shawano county, who also has a 
\\arm place in every loyal heart as a veteran 
of the Civil war, is a native of Vermont, 
having been born in the town of Granville, 
Addison county, February 11,1 840. 

Jacob and Betsy (Coolidge) Cad}', 
parents of our subject, were also natives of 
the Green Mountain State, the father born 
about 1807, a son of Isaac Cady, a soldier 
who served under Gen. Stark at the battle 
of Bennington. The mother's parents were 
natives of Vermont and New York, respect- 
ively. The Cady family isHof Scotch and 
English descent, and the grandfathers on 
both sides were early settlers in America, 
most of their descendants being farmers. 
Jacob Cady came to Wisconsin from Lowell, 
Mass., making the trip from Buffalo to 
Milwaukee in a sailing vessel, and settling 
near the latter city April 6, 1850. His eldest 
son. Philander, walked all the way from 
Buffalo to Milwaukee with his brother-in- 
law, J. J. Richardson. At the home of this 
relative, near Milwaukee, Jacob Cady and 
his family visited for a while, then fitted out 
an o.x-team and went to the Indian lands 
near the city of Berlin. Here Mr. Cady 
located near a stream now known as Cady's 
Creek, and proceeded to clear the land and 
make a comfortable home. He spent the 
remainder of his life on this place, and 
there passed away in 1885; the mother still 
resides on the old homestead with her 
grandchild. Jacob Cady, although he had 
only a common-school education, was a man 
of unusual ability, and a leader among men. 
He was possessed of strong will power, was 



generous to the poor, liberal to the cause of 
religion and of unbounded hospitality; in the 
expressive parlance of those early days, it 
was said that " his latch-string was always 
out." He was no politician, but was made 
chairman of the town board, and held other 
minor offices. The children of this worthy 
pioneer were five in number: Lucinda L., 
Philander H., Mary A., Artemus \\'., and 
Benjamin A. 

The subject proper of this sketch, whose 
name appears at the opening, was but ten 
years old when his father settled in the 
wilds of Wisconsin, and his early days will 
never be forgotten. Wolves and deer were 
to be seen in the forests, snakes crossed the 
path through the underbrush, and the near- 
est neighbor was an Indian whose wigwam 
was a mile away. There were no schools 
for five years after their arrival in the coun- 
ty, but fortunately the boy had been in 
school in Lowell before he left the East, 
and under the instruction of his parents pur- 
sued his studies at home until he was eight- 
een years of age, when he entered the 
high school at Berlin, later going to Milton 
College. On November 24, 1863, he en- 
listed in Company I, Thirty-seventh Wis. V. 
I., of which company he was made clerk; 
in the spring of 1864 the regiment joined 
the Ninth Army Corps, at Cold Harbor. 
Mr. Cady was in several engagements in 
front of Petersburg, in one of which, June 
19, 1864, he was wounded in the right hand, 
in consequence of which he was sent to 
Lincoln Hospital, at Washington, thence 
transferred to Madison, Wis., where he re- 
ceived his discharge, April 20, 1865. He 
then returned to the farm, took up the 
study of law, and in March, 1867, was ad- 
mitted to the bar of Waushara county. Wis. 
Opening up an office in his own house, he 
commenced practicing, at the same time 
carrying on his farm and raising stock. He 
continued this busy life until 1881, when he 
sold out his interests there and removed to 
Wood county, engaging in lumbering at 
Milladore where he remained two years. In 
the fall of 1883 he closed out that business 
and came to Birnamwood, where he had 
made some investments, and entered into the 
mercantile business which he carried on (at 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



167 



the same time continuing his law practice) 
until 1892, since which time he has devoted 
himself entirely to his profession, in which 
he has been remarkably successful. 

Mr. Cady is a Republican in his political 
views, but has always been too busy to be- 
come an office-seeker; his fellow-citizens, 
however, have honored him by placing him 
in various public positions. He is now dis- 
trict attorney of Shawano county, having 
been elected in the fall of 1894. He had 
previously held the same office in Waushara 
county, two terms, and for eighteen years 
was chairman of the town board, during two 
years of which time he was chairman of the 
county board; he has been a member of the 
county board in his county, and is now chair- 
man of the Senatorial committee of this 
Senatorial District. Socially he is a Royal 
Arch Mason, being a member of Berlin 
Chapter and of Pine River Lodge No. 207. 

On May 3, 1S64, Mr. Cady was married 
to Julia A. Shepherd, daughter of Orson A. 
and Mary (Buck) Shepherd, natives of New 
York, whence they came to Wisconsin in an 
early day, first locating in Walworth county, 
later removing to Waushara county; both 
are now deceased. By this marriage Mr. 
Cady became the father of five children, as 
follows: Julia E., who married George 
Smith, and resides near her father; Artemus 
A., married and residing at Birnamwood; 
Frank P., a carpenter in Waushara county; 
Maggie M., residing at home; Myrtie R., 
who married George Cottrill, and lives in 
Waushara county. Mr. Cady's second mar- 
riage took place October 16, 1881, the bride 
being Miss Ada L. Empie, who was born in 
the town of Lake Mills, Jefferson Co., Wis. ; 
two children have been born to this mar- 
riage: Blanche A. and Arthur L. Mrs. 
Cady's parents, John H. and Mary (Mont- 
gomery) Empie, were natives of New York, 
coming to Wisconsin at an early day; they 
are still living in Shawano county. They 
had three children: Lawrence H., Ada L. 
and Alice F. Mr. Cady is a self-made man 
with a strong will and great energy, up to 
forty years of age was a tireless worker in the 
various pursuits in which he engaged, and 
still continues to labor zealously in his 
chosen profession. 



M 



ATT JENSEN. The subject of 
this sketch, who for many years 
was a prominent and extensive 
business man of Waupaca, has in- 
herited the indomitable pluck and persever- 
ance of the hardy Norsemen, a race to which 
he belongs. He has demonstrated by his 
life how a boy of determination, without 
means or advantages of any kind, may rise 
superior to circumstances and win for him- 
self an honorable and enviable position in 
society. He was born on the bleak shores 
of Jutland, Denmark, January 21, 1850, son 
of Thomas and Mary (Fransen) Jensen, and 
was one of a family of ten children, of whom 
only six now survive: Enger, Sine, Matt, 
James, Minnie and Nels. The father died 
in Denmark; the mother now lives with her 
son in Waupaca. 

Young Matt attended the country schools 
until he was fourteen, and then hired out to 
a gentleman for a year. When sixteen he 
determined to learn the tailor's trade, but 
after working two years the conviction im- 
pressed itself upon him that he had made a 
mistake. Here his grit stood him in good 
stead, for he threw away his two-years' serv- 
ice and set about learning the butcher's 
trade, working for three years without any 
wages. In 1872 he landed in America with 
but fifty cents in his pocket, and with a 
debt of $50., incurred in paying his passage. 
At Stockbridge, Calumet Co., Wis., he 
found work in a brickyard for three months, 
then worked at his trade in Oshkosh with 
Henry Midelstadt for a short time. Hiring 
out in a sawmill for a while, he next spent 
six months in the woods. For a year he 
worked at his trade in Neenah, and in March, 
1874, with a capital of $60., opened a mar- 
ket of his own at Waupaca. Gradually he 
gained experience. For six months he con- 
ducted the shop, and during the ensuing 
winter he butchered for others. Reopening 
his shop in 1875, he remained its proprietor 
until fire in 1879 consumed all his posses- 
sions and left him penniless, for he carried 
no insurance. Forming a partnership with 
Hans Peterson, he erected a brick building 
on borrowed capital, and therein conducted 
a meat market for five years. In 1884 he 
bought and built the place of business where 



i6S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he successfully followed his chosen occupa- 
tion until March, 1895, when he sold out, 
though he is still engaged to some extent in 
buying and selling stock. Until 1892 he 
bought cattle and hogs, slaughtered them, 
and shipped the products to many points in 
the north. His success as a business man 
is sufficiently attested by his present invest- 
ments. At Waupaca he owns four stores, 
four dwellings, and ten acres of land besides 
his own commodious and handsome home, 
one of the finest in the city. 

Mr. Jensen was married, at the Danish 
Lutheran Church in Waupaca, to Lena Jen- 
sen, who when nine years old emigrated to 
America from Denmark with her parents. 
Her father was a farmer in Lind township, 
and she has one brother now living, Soren 
Jensen. In politics Mr. Jensen is a Repub- 
lican, casting his first vote for Gen. Grant. 
He served his city one term as alderman, 
and both he and his wife are members of the 
Danish Lutheran Church. They visited his 
old home in Denmark, in 1882, remaining 
about six months. 



NICOLAY NEGAARD, one of the 
prosperous farmers of St. Lawrence 
township, like many of Waupaca 
county's best citizens, is a native of 
Norway, where he was born November 1 1 , 
1855, a son of Nels Nelson, who supported 
his famil}' by day's labor. 

Our subject received a good education 
in his native land, being able to attend 
school until seventeen years of age, after 
which he entered the .Government Military 
Academy, from which he graduated in less 
than three years. For some time during 
the winter seasons he was employed in scal- 
ing logs, and then engaged in the lumber 
business for himself. He concluded to 
come to the United States, however, where 
better opportunities are afforded young men, 
and, in the spring of 1883, bidding farewell 
to his home and friends, he left Christiania 
for England, where at Liverpool he took 
passage on an Anchor Line steamer for 
America. After eighteen days he arrived in 
Waupaca, Wis. , having stopped three days 
en route, and with him came Miss Mary 



Strand, who was to become his bride a few. 
days later. They were married at Scandi- 
navia, Wis., in July, 1883, and by their 
union were born two children who are yet 
living: John, born April 12, 1884, and 
Norman M., born August 26, 1888; the 
mother was called to her final rest Septem- 
ber 7, 1888, after a continued illness, and 
lies buried in Ogdensburg Cemetery. In 
St. Lawrence township, Waupaca county, in 
July, 1890, Mr. Negaard wedded Miss 
Jennie M. Westcot, only child of Lyman 
and Dorcas (Howland) Westcot, and to 
them has come a daughter. Alma D. , born 
July 30, 1 89 1. 

After his first marriage Mr. Negaard 
rented a house and worked at anything by 
which he could earn an honest dollar, 
chiefly employed, however, on farms and in 
the lumber woods. In 1887 he was able to 
purchase one hundred acres of land in Sec- 
tion 12, St. Lawrence township, Waupaca 
county, and began its improvement; it was 
wild undeveloped land, which he sold. He 
now has in his possession 170 acres of rich, 
arable land, in company with his father-in- 
law, and, although he has experienced the 
trials and difficulties of life in a new coun- 
try, he is now reaping his reward. He 
started out a poor boy; but by perseverance 
and good management has become a well- 
to-do citizen, held in the highest esteem by 
the entire community, and is an intelligent, 
well-educated man, being far above the 
average farmer of his nationality in that 
respect. On election day he never fails to 
cast his vote in support of the Republican 
party, but gives no time to politics, although 
he has held office in his School District 
No. 2. 

Lyman A. Westcot, father of Mrs. Ne- 
gaard, was born in Sudbury, Vt., August 
20, 1833, son of Oliver and Mary (Howland) 
Westcot, also natives of \^ermont, where 
they carried on agricultural pursuits. In the 
family were eight children — five sons and 
three daughters — in which Mr. Westcot was 
the sixth in order of birth. He attended 
the district schools until the age of fifteen, 
when for three months he pursued his 
studies in the high school, after which he 
began teaching, receiving a salary of ten 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPSWAL RECORD. 



169 



dollars per month, while the highest wages 
paid at that time was only fifteen dollars. 
On Januarj' i, 1862, in Brandon, Rutland 
Co., Vt., Mr. ^^'estcot was united in mar- 
riage with Dorcas J. Howland, who was 
born in Pittsford, that county, August 11, 
1842, a daughter of Oliver and Permelia 
Howland, who had seven children — four 
sons and three daughters — of whom Mrs. 
Westcot was second. By her marriage 
were born three children, of whom Clyde O. 
and Addie A. both died young; Jennie M., 
born March 21, 1866 (now Mrs. Nicolay 
Negaardj, being the only one living. 

Mr. and Mrs. Westcot began their do- 
mestic life in Hubbardton, Vt., where he 
engaged in farming. He had previously come 
west in 1855, locating at Stoughton, Dane 
Co., Wis., where he clerked in a store, but 
becoming ill with fever and ague returned 
east at the end of one year. On September 
10, 1866, with his wife he started from Hub- 
bardton, Vt., for Stoughton, Wis., where 
he had relatives living, and there spent the 
following winter. He rented a farm and 
made preparations to put in a crop, but in 
April, 1867, went to the town of Cato, Mani- 
towoc county, where his brother, Alfred H., 
resided. There our subject was employed 
in a sawmill during the summer, then in the 
fall purchased twenty acres of improved 
land, being able to pay but $50 on the same, 
having to go in debt for the remainder. He 
was very successful in this line, and added 
to his original tract until at one time he had 
over eighty acres. He lived in Manitowoc 
county until coming to St. Lawrence town- 
ship, Waupaca county, in March, 1882, 
where he had bought two hundred acres in 
Section 1 1 in June of the previous year. He 
later sold some of this, still owning, how- 
ever, 170 acres of rich farming land in com- 
pany with his son-in-law. 

On February 13, 1891, Mr. Westcot was 
called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, 
who is interred in Ogdensburg Park Ceme- 
tery. That he has made life a grand suc- 
cess is due to his untiring energy, affability, 
integrity and judicious business management. 
Politically he is independent, casting his bal- 
lot for the best man, regardless of party 
principles. 



ANDREW LUTZ, Jr., proprietor of 
a leading livery stable in Stevens 
Point, Portage county, was born in 
Baden, Germany, April 4, 1845, 
eldest surviving son of Andrew and Eliza- 
beth (Gaber) Lutz, also natives of the 
Fatherland. 

In 1853 our subject came to the United 
States with his mother, the husband and 
father having preceded them, in 1852, in 
order to prepare a home for them in Almond 
township. Portage Co., Wis. Here the 
young lad was reared and educated, and 
was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 
1888, when he removed to Stevens Point 
and opened out his present livery stable, 
which is one of the best in the city. 

In Almond township. Portage Co., Wis., 
October 30, 1S67, Mr. Lutz was united in 
marriage with Miss Mena Krohn, daughter of 
Fred and Mena Krohn, both natives of Ger- 
many, now residents of Stevens Point, and 
to this marriage were born twelve children, 
four of whom survive: Charles, Frank, 
Henry and Annie. In religious faith the 
family attend the services of the Lutheran 
Church. In his political views Mr. Lutz is 
a stanch Republican. He is a progressive, 
wide-awake citizen, standing high in the 
estimation of all who know him, or have had 
any dealings with him, for his personal in- 
tegrity and straightforward honest princi- 
ples. 



HIEL HEATH, a retired farmer of 
Amherst township, Portage county, 
was born in the town of Randolph, 
Orange Co., Vt., May 22, 18 12, and 
is the son of James Heath, born in Con- 
necticut April 22, 1776, and Sarah (Gloyd) 
Heath, born in Charlestown, Mass., in 1774. 
The first of the Heath family to emigrate 
to this country were two brothers, natives of 
the north of England, who came about the 
end of the seventeenth century, landing at 
Boston, Mass. One located on a farni in 
the suburbs of that city,- and the other went 
farther west and was never afterward heard 
from by his brother. Reuben Heath, a 
great-uncle of Hiel Heath, was born in 



170 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Massachusetts, and was one of a family of 
four brothers who fought at the battle of 
Bunker Hill, Reuben and William alone 
surviving. The children of Reuben were 
Nathaniel, Rachel, Sarah and Mary. Grand- 
father Heath owned a farm near Boston, 
where he died. His children were as fol- 
lows: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, a Methodist 
minister, who preached a few years in Ran- 
dolph, Vt., was called to Pennsylvania, and 
there died: and James, the father of Hiel 
Heath. The children remained on the home 
farm until after the death of their mother, 
then located on a farm in Randolph, \'er- 
mont. 

James Heath was educatetl and married 
in Massachusetts. He followed the trade of 
shoemaker there, and for a short time in 
Randolph, where he resided with the family 
for a few years. He then located on a farm 
in Middlebury. Addison county, \'t., where 
his wife died in 1852, and he in 1854 at the 
age of seventy-eight. Their children were 
as follows: Charles (deceased), born in 
1796, married to Caroline Chadwick, by 
whom he had four children, the three eldest 
being named Henry C, Benjamin Franklin 
and George; for his second wife Charles mar- 
ried Rosanna , by whom he had 

four sons: James, born in 1798, a lumber- 
man on the St. Lawrence, died at the age 
of twenty-seven; Libbeus, born in 1800, was 
engaged in the lumber business in Manito- 
woc county, ^^'is. , where he died, unmar- 
ried, in 1844. Daniel, born in 1804, was a 
horse dealer in \'ermont and New Hamp- 
shire; he married Mary Wadleigh in the lat- 
ter State, and had six children, the four 
eldest being named Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph 
and Daniel. Rebecca J., born in 1806, 
married Charles Pratt, a farmer in Fond du 
Lac county. Wis., by whom she had the fol- 
lowing children: Emeline, Norman J., Albert, 
Celestine (deceased), Sarah and H. Ellen. 
Maria, born in 1808, was twice married, her 
first husband being Dickerman.a lumberman, 
in Middlebury, \'t., her second, Sherman, a 
farmer near Ft. Ticonderoga, N. Y. Sarah, 
now deceased, became the wife of Eber 
Coggswell, by whom she had five children. 
Hiel is the subject of this sketch. Ann, 
born in 18 14, married Kneeland Olmstead, 



a carriage manufacturer, by whom she had 
six children, all daughters. Louisa, now 
deceased, born in 1818, was the wife of 
Solomon Thomas, a farmer in Addison 
county, Vt., by whom she had four children, 
all daughters. 

Hiel Heath received a common-school 
education in his native town, attending 
school three months in the year until he 
was eighteen, then, in the winters, until he 
was thirty jears of age, he went to the 
woods and drew logs with his father's team. 
In 1842 he journeyed to Wisconsin, going 
to Albany, N. Y. , by stage, to Buffalo by 
canal, and by the way of the lakes, on the 
steamer "Great Western," to Milwaukee, 
arriving in May, 1842. Sailing from there 
for Manitowoc, Manitowoc county, he stop- 
ped at Port Huron, the captain being 
obliged to attend a lawsuit at Green Bay. 
Mr. Heath proceeded on foot to Sheboygan, 
where his vessel met him, and took him to 
Manitowoc. He was accompanied on his 
journey from \'ermont by Hiram Champlin, 
who had bought a half interest in a thou- 
sand-acre tract of timberland and in a saw- 
mill in Manitowoc. Mr. Heath had only 
two shillings after his arrival, engaged 
board at a public house, and requested the 
landlord to trust him until he got employ- 
ment. He worked for Mr. Champlin over a 
year. Mr. Heath's brother Libbeus, who 
had come from Vermont to work for Mr. 
Champlin, was taken sick, and he nursed 
him for seventy-two dajs, being relieved but 
five nights during all that time. His brother 
died, unmarried, September 16, 1844, aged 
forty-four years and eight days. Mr. Heath 
owned and drove the first lumber wagon in 
Manitowoc. 

On December 28, 1852, in \\'aterford, 
Racine Co., Wis., Hiel Heath was united 
in marriage with Sarah L. Sheldon, who 
was born in 1825 in the town of Madrid, 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. , a daughter of 
Jonah and Sally P. Doane, both born in 
Massachusetts and at one time residents of 
Vermont, whence the)" removed to Madrid, 
N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Jonah Doane had 
children as follows: Norman M., a shoe- 
maker, who died in Caldwell, Racine Co., 
Wis., April 24, 1893; Mary, who is the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPEWAL RECORD. 



171 



widow of William Gilmore, by whom she 
had three children — Charles fnow deceased, 
who was a farmer in Madrid, St. Lawrence 
Co., N. Y. , married to Ellen Martin), Clark 
W. (with whom his mother is now living; he 
is now an attorne}' in Pipestone, Minn., was 
formerly a school teacher in Wisconsin and 
Minnesota; he married Carrie Mount, now 
deceased, by whom he had five children, 
three of whom are living) and Emma who 
was a school teacher in Wisconsin, and is 
married to Samuel Percy, a jeweler in 
Ogdensburg, N. Y. ; Azubah, deceased; 
Sarah L. , wife of Hiel Heath; and Oliver, a 
farmer in Vacoma, Washington Co., Ne- 
braska. 

Mr. Heath bought 120 acres of govern- 
ment land in the town of Cato, Manitowoc 
Co., Wis., in 1849, made a clearing, and built 
a rude log cabin, into which he moved after 
his marriage. In this the family lived some 
ten years, when he built a more pretentious 
home. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hiel 
Heath are as follows: Martha E., born in 
Cato December 30, 1853, died in infancy; 
Harriet E., born in Cato May 23, 1855, 
married Charles Simmons, a carpenter in 
Caldwell, Racine Co., Wis., by whom she 
had three children — Earl, Pearl and Carol; 
Angeline, born in Cato January 21, 1857, 
received her education in Cato, taught 
school for four years, attended the Oshkosh 
Normal School for three months in the 
spring of 1879, taught a year in Beaver, 
Minn., has taught twelve terms in Amherst, 
and is presiding sister of the Amherst Social 
Temple of Honor, being an indefatigable 
worker in the cause of temperance; Charles 
Henry, a farmer in Grand Rapids, Wood 
Co., Wis., married Carrie Norton, of Mc- 
Dill, Wis., and Oliver Kyle, born in Cato in 
1 86 1, attended school at Cato during the 
winter months until twenty years of age, 
since which time he has managed the home 
farm. 

In April, 1883, Hiel Heath disposed of 
his farm, of which seventy-four acres were 
then cleared, and he had a beautiful home 
and good outbuildings. His present farm, 
consisting of a quarter of Section 16, he 
bought in the latter part of April, 1883, 
since which time he has remodeled the 



house, and, with the assistance of his son, 
made great improvements on the farm. 

Mrs. Hiel Heath passed away in July, 
1894, and was buried in Greenwood cem- 
etery, Amherst. Ill health had for some 
time prevented her usual active participation 
in Church matters; she was an estimable 
lady, an excellent wife, a good and kind 
mother. Her family and a host of friends 
in Cato and Amherst deeply mourn her 
decease. Mr. Heath, though in his eighty- 
fourth year, enjoys good health, and is 
straight as an arrow. He is a stanch Re- 
publican, was assessor for some years in 
Cato, and was elected justice of the peace 
there three times, but would not accept the 
office. In religious affiliation the family are 
Methodists. 

Oliver K. Heath, the son, worked in 
the woods in the winter of 1884, and for six 
consecutive winters afterward was employed 
with team in taking supplies to lumber 
camps. Since his father has been unable to 
work he has had charge, and has proved a 
most successful farmer. He takes an active 
interest in political matters, and is a strong 
advocate of temperance and the Republican 
doctrine. 



JOHN ELSEN. In the career of this 
gentleman we find an excellent exam- 
ple for young men just embarking in 
the field of active life, of what may be 
accomplished by a man beginning poor, but 
honest, prudent and industrious. 

A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Elsen was 
born July 25, 1858, in Kenosha, a son of 
Adam Elsen, a native of Germany, who was 
one of a family of sixteen children, five of 
whom are yet living, the eldest being eighty 
years old. In December, 18 17, in the 
Province of Rhine, the father was born, and 
there wedded Susan Neises, whose birth oc- 
curred in 1823. Seven children were born 
of this marriage: J. Albert, Peter A., and 
John, who are still living; one who died in 
infancy; Jacob and Mary, who have also 
passed away; and Mathias, who died at the 
age of twenty-three. The father came alone 
to America about the year 1847, first being 
employed as foreman on a canal in Ohio, 



172 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and in 1850 he returned to the Fatherland, 
the following year bringing his wife to these 
shores. For a time he engaged in farming 
near Kenosha, Wis., but later sold out and 
opened a grocery store and hotel in that 
city. For many years he carried these on, 
though later he was the proprietor of a 
butcher shop; he was also employed in the 
lumber woods. His death occurred in Ke- 
nosha in 1886. Mrs. Elsen still makes that 
place her home; she is one of a family of 
twelve children. Her father, who was a 
farmer of Germany, also belonged to a 
large family numbering fourteen children, 
and his parents were also agriculturists. 

In the public and parochial Schools of 
Kenosha, Wis., John Elsen pursued his 
studies until the age of thirteen, remaining 
under the parental roof, however, until he 
was twent}' , giving the benefit of his labors 
to his father. At that time he went to 
Kansas, where for one 3ear he followed 
farming. On his return to Kenosha, he 
remained there only t\\'0 months, when he 
moved to Racine, Wis. , there working as a 
molder for three years, which trade he had 
previously learned in his native city. In 
18S2 he arri\'ed in Merrill, where for four 
\-ear3 he was employed by the McCord & 
Wright Manufacturing Company in their 
sash and blind factory. He then went to 
work for A. H. Stange, who was engaged 
in the same line of business; after a short time 
he was made foreman of the works, and, 
later, assistant superintendent. In January, 
1895, when the A. H. Stange Manufactur- 
ing Company was organized he was made 
vice-president and now holds that position; 
they ha\'e a sa\\'mill, and are engaged in the 
manufacture of sash, doors and blinds. It 
is one the leading firms of Merrill, and they 
are now doing an e.xcellent business. For 
two years our subject was also engaged in 
the hardware trade; he has dealt in real 
estate to some extent. 

On January 27, 1883, at Merrill, Mr. 
Elsen was married to Miss i\ugusta Stange, 
daughter of Carl and Caroline Stange, and 
to this union have been born three children 
— two spns and a daughter — Albert A., 
\\'illiam P. and Helen S. In politics Mr. 
Elsen is independent, desiring to cast his 



vote for the man whom he thinks best 
qualified to fill the office, regardless of part}' 
ties. For two years he has ser\-ed the peo- 
ple of the Fifth ward of Merrill as alder- 
man, and one year on the county board. 
He was a charter member of the first volun- 
teer fire company organized, in 1887, in 
Merrill, and has since been actively con- 
nected with it, having been foreman several 
times. At present he is president of the 
company, and with the exception of two 
years, has been since it was organized. 
He has the reputation of being a first-class 
businessman, reliable and energetic, and is a 
citizen of whom Merrill may be justly proud. 



EDWARD AND HENRY O. EVEN- 
SOX, hardware merchants of Tom- 
ahawk, Lincoln county, comprise 
the firm of Evenson Brothers, and 
carry on the leading store in their line in 
that city. They are men of energy and 
good judgment, finely adapted to their 
present business, which they take pride in 
conducting on the best known plans. Their 
stock is of the best grades, and they thus 
enjoy a liberal patronage. 

These brothers were born in Waupaca 
county. Wis., Edward on January 6, 1861, 
Henry on October 23, 1863. Their father, 
Harold Evenson, was born in Norway, in 
June, 1824, and is a son of Aaron Evenson, 
also a native of the same country. The 
grandfather was married in Norway and in 
his family were Harold, Halver, Erick and 
Ole, who accompanied their parents to 
America in 1845. The latter both died in 
Dane county. Wis. The maternal grand- 
parents with their children also came to the 
United States at the same time. Harold 
Evenson, the father, married Carrie Helge- 
son, in Norwaj-, in 1845, and they imme- 
diatel}- set sail for the New World. Locating 
near Madison, Wis., the father began con- 
tracting on the railroad, but later removed 
to Waupaca count}', Wis. , where he pur- 
chased land from the government, and there 
still resides. He had a family of ten chil- 
dren, all born in \\'isconsin: Edwin H., 
who graduated from the college at Decorah, 
Iowa, and the university at Madison, \\'is.. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



173 



was superintendent of schools in South 
Dakota, and professor of Greek and Latin 
in the State Normal there, and in Milton 
College of Wisconsin, but now lives in 
Seattle, Wash. ; Edward and Henry O. 
come next in the order of birth; Clara H. is 
now Mrs. Frogner, and lives in lola. Wis. ; 
Joseph T. comes next; four children died in 
infancy; Gustave A., who was also a gradu- 
ate of the college at Decorah, Iowa, died at 
the age of twentj'-eight years. Politically, 
the father is a Republican and a leader in 
his party in the county where he makes his 
home. He has held many public offices in 
his town, where he is an influential and 
highly-esteemed citizen, and the fine im- 
provements on his place indicate him to be 
a progressive aud prosperous farmer. Edu- 
cational matters have always received his 
earnest support, and he has given his chil- 
dren the best of school privileges. He is 
now passing his declining days at his pleas- 
ant home in Scandinavia township, Wau- 
paca county. 

"The brothers, whose names stand at the 
beginning of this sketch, were reared upon 
the home farm, their childhood days being 
passed in attendance at the country schools, 
and later in the village schools of lola. 
Wis. Henry also became a pupil in the 
high school of Waupaca, Wis., after which 
they both took a business course in Milton 
College. On leaving the schoolroom they 
assisted their father, who was a natural 
mechanic, mason, carpenter and painter, 
and with him learned those trades, but soon 
started out in life for themselves. They fol- 
lowed those occupations to some extent dur- 
ing the succeeding four years, and Henry 
also clerked in a hardware store, during 
which time he partially learned the trade of 
a tinner. Edward was employed in the 
lumber woods during the winter seasons, and 
for one year conducted a general store for 
T. Thompson, in Tola, Wis. They were 
very saving with their earnings, and in the 
fall of 1887, with their combined capital, 
Henry built and opened up a hardware store 
in Tomahawk, under the name of Evenson 
Brothers, and Edward who was clerking at 
the time soon gave up his position and joined 
his brother. It was the first store of the 



kind established in Tomahawk, and they 
have since continued business with excellent 
success. For two years they also dealt quite 
extensively in lumber and real estate — both 
city property and pine lands. 

Henr\" O. Evenson was married in June, 
1 89 1, to Miss Blanche Spaulding who was 
born in Outagamie county, Wis., daughter 
of James and Matilda (Hulbert) Spaulding, 
farming people, who have two children, 
Charles and Blanche. The parents are both 
natives of Maine; the father served as a 
soldier during the Civil war, in which he was 
wounded. The Evenson brothers are Re- 
publican in politics, and though neither of 
them are politicians, Edward was prevailed 
upon by his friends to accept the of^ce of 
school commissioner, which he held for two 
years, and is now serving on the county 
board, being elected from the Third ward. 
Religiously, they are members of the Nor- 
wegian Lutheran Church. They are indus- 
trious, energetic and progressive in nature, 
and are highly esteemed and respected by 
all who know them. 



SAMUEL W. SMITH, the genial and 
courteous "mine host" of the 
"Denton House," Eagle River, 
\^ilas county, and present postmaster, 
was born April 16, 1850, in Marquette coun- 
t)', Wisconsin. 

Judge A. I). Smith, father of our subject, 
was a native of New York State, born in 
1 81 3, in Ulster county, a son of John 
Smith, who had a family of seven children, 
as follows: Robert, Doll, Benjamin, An- 
geline, Susan, Rachel and Abraham D. 
The parents of these both died in New 
York State, and the father was well known 
as a great lover and successful breeder of 
fast horses. Judge A. D. Smith was a 
well-educated man, a carpenter by trade, 
becoming superintendent on the construc- 
tion of the docks and locks for the Lehigh 
Valley waterway. He was married, in 
1834, at Wilkesbarre, Penn., to Miss Pollie 
Bennett, who was born there in 18 19; she 
had two brothers: Samuel and Josiah. To 
Judge and Pollie Smith were born children 



174 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



as follows: Angelina (Mrs. L. B. Best), 
Susan (Mrs. O. N. Hillyer), Addie (Mrs. 
Henry Douglass), Rachel (deceased), Eliza 
and Sarah (both deceased in infancy), Jo- 
siah B., Robert N. (deceased), Samuel W., 
Benjamin F. , John A., Clara (Mrs. Gal- 
braith), and Charlotte O. (Mrs. McDonald), 
Judge Smith came with his family to Wis- 
consin in 1846, the journey from Pennsyl- 
vania being made with a covered wagon 
drawn by horses. They remained in the 
southern part of the State two years, and 
then established a homestead near Briggs- 
ville, Marquette county. The judge owned 
some 300 acres of land, partly in Marquette 
and partly in Adams county, and hereon he 
died in July, 1890, his wife following him 
to the grave in iSgr. He was a loyal, 
patriotic American, but would never accept 
public office; a firm temperance man, yet 
never obstrusive in his opinions on that sub- 
ject, and was strong in his likes and dis- 
likes, a sincere friend and a generous enemy. 
Samuel W. Smith, the subject proper of 
this sketch, was reared on a farm, and edu- 
cated at the district school, remaining at 
home most of the time till he was twenty- 
three years old, working in the woods, 
winters. After his marriage, in 1873, he 
commenced for his own account, his first 
venture being cranberry raising, and for 
three years he followed agricultural pursuits, 
after which he commenced lumbering as a 
jobber. Taking up his residence at Grand 
Rapids, he there, with the exception of two 
years, worked a farm. For six years he 
logged for the Sherrj' & Cameron Co., and, 
having both a logging and railroad outfit, 
filled railroad contracts during the summer 
seasons. In 1889 he came to Eagle River 
and bought his present property, known as 
the "Denton House," the leading hotel in 
the young city, which he has considerably 
added to and greatly improved since assum- 
ing charge of it. He has taken an active 
and prominent part in the building up of 
Eagle River, particularly, also, in the 
organization of Vilas county, much of his 
time being spent in Madison for that pur- 
pose. In politics he is a Democrat, and he 
was appointed postmaster at Eagle River 
by President Cleveland. He is a strong 



advocate of temperance, and a useful, popu- 
lar citizen. 

Samuel W. Smith was married to Miss 
Alice Walsh, who was born in Quebec, 
Canada, daughter of Patrick and Bridget 
(Murphy) Walsh, both of whom were of 
Irish nativity, the father born in Athlone. 
They were married in Canada, and had 
eight children, as follows: Jennie, Alice, 
Thomas, William, Patrick and James, 
living; and Mary and Sabina, deceased, the 
former when thirteen years old, the latter 
when fifteen. In 1868 the family came to 
Wisconsin, settling at Grand Rapids, Wood 
county, whence, in 1893, the father, who 
was a farmer by occupation, moved to 
Eagle River, Vilas county, where he died 
December 4, same year; his widow is yet 
living. John Walsh (father of Patrick 
Walsh), an only child, born in 1789, mar- 
ried Sabina Finn, by whom he had eight 
children — three sons and five daughters. In 
an early day the family emigrated to Can- 
ada, moving from there to Wisconsin, 
where John Walsh, the father, died in 
April, 1874. Mrs. Bridget Walsh, mother 
of Mrs. S. W. Smith, was fifteen years old 
when she came to Canada with her parents, 
who both died there; she had one brother, 
Thomas Murphy (who was a soldier in the 
British army twenty-one years), one sister, 
Alice, in Australia, and another, Mrs. Mary- 
Crowe, in San Francisco, Cal. Mrs. Bridget 
(Murphy) Walsh's mother was a Barry; she 
had two brothers — Luke and Timothy — 
who were educated for the Church, and 
were professors. 



FREDERICK WILLIAM BURT, the 
popular assistant postmaster at 
Grand Rapids, well deserves mention 
in the history of \\'ood county. From 
time immemorable it has been the custoni 
of all nations to extol in story and in song 
the gallant deeds in time of war, but it has 
been left to civilized nations to commemor- 
ate that truer manliness, that nobler courage 
which enables one to live uprighth' and deal 
justly, seeking no preferment or approval 
save that of the Higher power and their own 
consciences. Shall a soldier hero receive a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



175- 



greater tribute of respect than one who sil- 
ently and uncomplainingly takes up his bur- 
den and fights back the thousand adverse 
fate, that seek to block his pathway to suc- 
cess? The deeds of a good man should live 
after him, and in these days of wide dissemi- 
nation of thought and doctrine, the transmis- 
sion of the story from the father to the son 
is inadequate. Only through written record 
can we perpetuate his memory and extend 
his influence, making life an example for 
future generations. 

Of those of whom it is said that the 
world is better for his having lived is Mr. 
Burt. He was born in Newark, N. J., 
April 24, 1830, and is a son of William 
Hubbard and Elizabeth M. (Jones) Burt, 
both natives of New Jersey. The father, a 
shoemaker by trade, died of cholera in 1833, 
in New York City, directly opposite the resi- 
dence of his sister. He had gone thither for 
the purpose of purchasing stock for his busi- 
ness. Three years later, in 1836, the mother 
and three of her children removed to St. 
Catharines, Canada, and there they resided 
until Frederick was ten years of age. In 
the meantime his mother married again and 
then removed to Short Hills, about eight 
miles from St. Catharines, where our subject 
remained until 1850. 

Mr. Burt was educated in a private 
school at St. Catharines, spent one term in 
a district school in New York, and then en- 
gaged in farming, also learning the carpen- 
ter's trade. He continued in Canada until 
1850, when he came to Wisconsin, locating 
first in Dane county, where he carried on 
agricultural pursuits. Later he removed to 
Portage county, but after a few months, 
in the fall of 1855, he removed to Grand 
Rapids. Here he worked at carpentering 
until August, 1 86 1, when he went into the 
harvest fields. In September, same year, 
he enlisted at Grand Rapids in Company G, 
Seventh Wis. V. I., and was discharged 
March 28, 1862, on account of illness con- 
tracted in the service. He at once returned 
to his home, and upon his recovery obtained 
a position in the post office as assistant post- 
master, serving until 1870, and also acting 
as clerk in a general store. In 1869 he was 
elected clerk of the circuit court, which 



position he filled six years; in January, 1875, 
he again became assistant postmaster, and- 
had charge of the office until 1890, when he 
was elected postmaster, serving until Janu- 
ary, 1894. He was then succeeded by E. 
B. Brundage, with whom he has since- 
served as assistant. 

Mr. Burt was married in Portage City, 
Wis., June 17, 1855, to Miss Celeste Eliza, 
daughter of Peter and Calista (Sampson)' 
Jessey, natives of Vermont. Seven children 
were born to them: Jessie Eva, wife of 
George Brampton, a resident of Hartford, 
Conn.; Fredericka W. , who died at the age- 
of two years; Harry Andrew, who makes his 
home in Rhinelander, W'is., and is employed 
as a traveling salesman for the Flanner 
Lumber Company; Frederick W., who is 
living in Wausau, Wis. ; Walter Edwin, 
manager of the yard and purchasing agent 
for the Flanner Lumber Company of Rhine- 
lander, Wis. ; William, who makes his home 
in Green Bay, Wis. ; and Carson Otto, living 
with his father in Grand Rapids. 

The worth and ability of Mr. Burt have 
been recognized by his fellow townsmen who- 
have called him to office; in 1855 and 1856 
he served as justice of the peace, and he has 
also filled the position of town clerk. He 
takes considerable interest in civic societies, 
and is a member of Grand Rapids Lodge, 
No. 128, F. & A. M.; Forest Chapter, No. 
34, R. A. M. of Stevens Point, Wis. ; and 
of Grand Rapids Lodge, No. 91, I. O. O. F. ; 
also of Shaurett Encampment of the same 
fraternity. For a half century he has 
been a consistent member of the Methodist 
Church — his life being in harmony with his 
professions and true to his convictions of 
right and wrong. In his political views he 
is a stalwart Republican, is a public-spirited 
and progressive citizen, enjoying the high 
regard of all who know him. 



PATRICK SULLIVAN, one of the 
representative farmers of Lanark 
township. Portage county, was born 
May 31, 1^58, in Hull township, 
same county, son of Jeremiah and Bridget 
(Touhey) Sullivan, natives of County Cork^ 
Ireland, who came to America in 1849. 



176 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Jeremiah Sullivan was a poor man, and 
made his living by day's labor, for a number 
of years working on railroads. In 1857 he 
came to Portage county, and in Hull town- 
ship, homesteaded a farm, there remaining 
until his death January 15, 1862, which re- 
sulted from an accident. His children were 
as follows: Margaret, who married John 
Hopkins, and died in Lanark township; 
Ellen, a maiden lady; Patrick, subject of 
this sketch; Catherine, now Mrs. Edward 
Cooney, of Lanark township; and Daniel, 
a farmer, also of Lanark township. After 
the father's death the widow and her chil- 
dren became members of the family of 
Patrick Leary, whose wife was a sister of 
Mrs. Sullivan. Through the kindness of 
Mr. Leary the Sullivans remained with him 
until they had grown up, and were able to 
provide for themselves. Mrs. Sullivan now 
resides with her son Patrick. 

Our subject received a fair education in 
his boyhood days, but schools were not very 
numerous in those pioneer times, and he 
often had to walk from two and a half to 
three miles to school. He was reared a 
farmer's boy in the new country, at the age 
of ten years removing to Lanark township 
with his foster parents, who settled in Sec- 
tion 16, which at that time was all forest, 
their first house being a board shanty. As 
soon as Mr. Sullivan was old enough he 
went to work on the farm, and has success- 
fully followed agriculture ever since. He 
was married, November 22, 1888, in Buena 
Vista township, Portage county, to Miss 
Alice O'Connell, born in that township 
January 5, 1868, daughter of Daniel and 
Mary (Tracy) O'Connell. After marriage 
they began housekeeping on the farm which 
they have ever since occupied. The chil- 
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan were as 
follows: Mary, Daniel J. (deceased), Pat- 
rick J., Alice, and Agnes. Politically Mr. 
Sullivan is a stanch Democrat, and has 
served as supervisor and as school treasurer 
in District K'o. 7 five years. In 1893 he 
was elected chairman of the township, the 
yoimgest man who has ever filled that office 
in Lanark township. Though his own edu- 
cational opportunities were meagre, he is 
an earnest friend to the cause of edu- 



cation, and a strong advocate for better 
schools. While chairman he voted for 
the erection of a Normal School, but this 
display of enterprise and public spirit seems 
to have been somewhat in advance of the 
times, for certain voters of a non-progressive 
nature combined to defeat him at the next . 
election. Mr. Sullivan and family are 
members of the Catholic Church. He is 
an excellent farmer, and one of the best 
known young citizens in the township. 



DAVID D. TARR, a representative of 
one of the honored New England 
families who for generations have 
made their home in Maine, ;vas born 
in Salem, that State, in May, 1839. His 
father, Mark P. Tarr, also a native of 
Maine, married Sophrona P. Merchant, who 
was born in Massachusetts, and they became 
the parents of three children — Hiram P., 
Mary E. and David D. The father, who 
was a farmer and lumberman, died in the 
Pine Tree State in 1889, where his wife had 
passed away two years previously. The pa- 
ternal grandfather, John Tarr, lived all his 
life in Maine, and by his marriage became 
the father of eight children — John, Abraham. 
William, Rufus, Abigial, May, Harriet and 
Mark P. 

David D. Tarr, the subject of this sketch, 
was educated in the high school, and re- 
mained at home until he had attained his 
majorit}'. In May, 1861, he enlisted in 
Companj^ C, Second Maine V. I., becoming 
corporal, serving three months, during 
which time he participated in the first battle 
of Bull Run. At the end of that time he re- 
enlisted for two jears, remaining in the ser- 
vice until the spring of 1863, as a member of 
the Army of the Potomac. He was in the 
siege of Yorktown and Hanover Court 
House, and in the Chickahominy Swamps 
he was taken sick, on which account he 
was sent to the hospital at York, Penn., 
from which in time he was discharged, but 
after returning home he did not recover his 
health for over a year. P'or a time Mr. 
Tarr was employed in a mill, after which 
he made a trip to Omaha, Neb., for his 
health, and, in 1868, went to Minneapolis, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



177 



Minn., where for a year he clerked in a 
hotel. At the end of that time he went to 
Big Rapids, Mich., being in the employ of 

0. P. Pillsburj- & Co., remaining there ten 
years, serving in different capacities, includ- 
ing the positions of scaler, foreman and, 
later, as superintendent of their upper 
river branch. He also engaged in general 
merchandising in Stanwood and Hersey, 
Mich., and on selling out that business re- 
turned to Maine, where he remained one 
year. In May, 1884, he came to Wiscon- 
sin, in the employ of the Merrill Boom 
Compan}-, which belonged to the Milwau- 
kee & St. Paul Railroad Company. O. P. 
Pillsbury sent for Mr. Tarr to come to 
Merrill and accept the position of superin- 
tendent of Merrill Boom, in which capacity 
he still continues to serve, being held in the 
highest regard by his employers. This 
company employs about eighty men, and 
handles as high as one hundred forty million 
feet of lumber for Merrill, and one hundred 
million for parties down the river. 

On September 16, 1880, Mr. Tarr 
wedded Sarah Jane Palmer, who was born 
in Nobleboro, Maine, October 10, 1845, and 
is a daughter of Elisha R. and Sarah (Dun- 
bar) Palmer, who had eight children: Hal- 
sey H., Arlinda R., Bertha A., Orlando A., 
Gulinglus C, Sarah J., Byron W. and San- 
ford K. The parents were natives of Maine, 
where the father was employed as a ship- 
builder and carpenter until his death, which 
occurred November 10, 1868; the mother 
now makes her home with Mr. Tarr. She is 
of Scotch lineage, being a direct descendant 
of Earl George Dunbar, who on the occasion 
of his marriage was knighted by King James 

1. For a time he stood very high in the 
King's favor, but in March, 1425, he was 
arrested and imprisoned on suspicion, his 
estates being confiscated to the Crown. 
The Dunbar family occupies a conspicuous 
place all through Scottish history. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Tarr were born, June 18, 1882, 
twins: Arthur Jay and Alta May. Our 
subject takes a warm interest in public 
affairs, and uniformly casts his vote with the 
Republican party. For three years he 
served as postmaster at Stanwood. Socially 
he is identified with several civic societies, 



belonging to the F. & A. M., in which he is 
a Knight Templar, and the Grand Army of 
the Potomac. He is frank and open in the 
expression of his opinions, and has the con- 
fidence and respect of all. 



M 



RS. MARY BYRNES, of Grand 
Rapids, is a native of the Em- 
erald Isle, born in County Down, 
February 15, 1836, a daughter of 
Felix and Mary (Hale) Magenity, who were 
also natives of County Down, where they 
spent their entire lives. 

Their family consisted of seven chil- 
dren, four of whom still survive, and of 
these Mrs. Byrnes is the eldest. The others 
still living are Ale.xander, who is serving as 
inspector of customs in New York City; 
Alice, wife of William Mead, a resident of 
Belturbet, County Cavan, Ireland; and 
John, who is still living in County Down. 
One of her brothers, James, was drowned 
in the Columbia river, Oregon; another 
brother, Thomas, was a civil engineer in 
the employ of the British government, be- 
came a captain in the "Gordon Highland- 
ers," and with his command took part in 
the Crimean war, his death occurring at 
Bombay, India, while in the service. Re- 
ligiously this family were all connected with 
the Roman Catholic Church. The parents 
both died in Ireland. 

The lady, whose name introduces this 
sketch, spent her maidenhood days in her 
parents' home in the land of her nativity, 
and after she had reached womanhood 
she gave her hand in marriage to Edward 
Byrnes, the wedding being celebrated in 
1855, and the same year they crossed the 
Atlantic to America. Mr. Byrnes was also 
a native of County Down, Ireland, born 
November, i, 1825, a son of Bernard and 
Margaret (Byrnes) Byrnes. His childhood 
was similar to that of most farmer lads of 
his time, and the educational privileges 
which he received where those afforded by 
the public schools. He was one of a fam- 
ily of eleven children, and with five others 
he has passed to the life eternal. Those still 
living at this writing (the early part of 1895) 
are Elizabeth, wife of Timothy Hurley, a 



178 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPBICAL RECORD. 



resident of Centralia, Wis. ; Thomas, who 
makes his home in Grand Rapids; Mar- 
garet, wife of John Quirk, who is located in 
Saratoga, Wood Co., Wis.; Rose and Mary 
Ann, both of whom are still living inlreland. 

The wedding tour of Mr. and Mrs. 
Byrnes consisted of an ocean voyage — a trip 
across the Atlantic to the United States 
in search of a new home. They at once 
came to Wisconsin, locating first in Osh- 
kosh, but after a few-months' residence there 
they came to Grand Rapids, where Mr. 
Byrnes continued until his death. He was 
one of the first settlers of that place, and 
took an active part in its development, being 
prominently identified with its upbuilding. 
For a few years after his arrival here he engag- 
ed in lumbering, but in later years he turned 
his attention to agricultural pursuits, which 
he successfully carried on throughout his re- 
maining days, being recognized as one of 
the leading farmers of the neighborhood. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Edward Byrnes nine 
children were born as follows: James, born 
March 4, 1856, was drowned May 31, 1864, 
in the Wisconsin river; Edward A., born 
August II. 1858, now makes his home in 
Merrill, \\'is. ; George Andrew, born Feb- 
ruary 28, i860, died August 27, 1862; 
Mary Alice, born May 16, 1862, is now the 
wife of John Corbett, a resident of Glidden, 
Ashland Co., Wis.; William James, born 
September 17, 1864, was drowned in 
Grandfather Falls, Wisconsin river. May 
10, 1895; Margaret Theresa, born Decem- 
ber 14, 1866, is a teacher in the schools of 
Morse, Wis. ; Andrew Eugene, born May 
16, 1869, is living in Merrill; Rose Ellen, 
born June 9, 1873, is now successfully en- 
gaged in teaching in the public schools of 
Lincoln county. Wis. ; and Martha Eliza- 
beth, born September i, 1875, is also a 
school teacher of recognized ability. 

Mr. Byrnes was a man of sterling qual- 
ities, commanding the respect and admira- 
tion of all who knew him, as one of the use- 
ful, honorable and public-spirited men of 
the community. He passed peacefully 
away October 19. 1891, leaving a widow 
and seven children to mourn the loss of a 
loving husband and a kind and indulgent 
father. 



EDWARD T. BODETTE, a practical 
shoemaker, and an old and univer- 
sally respected citizen of Grand 
Rapids, Wood county, was born at 
Three Rivers, in the Province of Quebec, 
Canada, November 9, 1846. 

He is a son of Nelson and Amelia Bo- 
dette, also natives of Canada, who left that 
country for Rochester, N. Y. , both dying in 
Churchville, a village about fourteen miles 
from that city. Their family numbered five 
children, of whom we give brief mention as 
follows : Agnes, now the wife of John 
Spitzmerser, is a resident of Churchville, 
N. Y. ; Nelson is also living in that place; Ed- 
ward T. is the subject of this sketch; Elijah 
is living in Churchville; Mary, now the wife 
of William Faily, is located at South Byron, 
New York. 

When a year old, Edward T. Bodette 
was taken by his parents to the Empire 
State, and was reared to manhood in their 
home, while in the common schools of 
Churchville he obtained a fair knowledge of 
the common English branches of learning. 
On making choice of an occupation which 
he wished to follow for a livelihood, he de- 
termined upon shoe making, a trade he 
learned and has followed throughout his en- 
tire life. In the spring of 1857, when a 
youth of eleven years, he came with his 
parents to Grand Rapids, Wis. ; but they 
were not favorably impressed with this coun- 
try, which was then a wild and undeveloped 
region, and after a six-months' residence 
here returned to Rochester, N. Y. Mr. 
Bodette, however, again sought a home here 
in 1869. This time he came alone, and 
seeing a good opening for a shoemaker, he 
decided to remain, and established a shop 
which he has sirjce conducted. His ex- 
cellent workmanship, his pleasant and genial 
manner, and his efforts to please his cus- 
tomers, soon brought him a liberal patron- 
age, which increased as the town became 
more thickly settled, and he has done a 
good business. Indolence is not found in 
his nature, and idleness forms no part of his 
composition. He has led a busy and useful 
life, and has won the confidence and esteem 
of all with whom business or social relations 
have brought him in contact. Mr. Bodette 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



179 



exercises his right of franchise in support of 
the men and measures of the Repubhcan 
party, and in rehgious faith he and his family 
hold membership with the Roman Catholic 
Church. 

In November, 1873, our subject married 
Miss Bertha Zeaman, a daughter of Louis 
and Mary Zeaman, both of whom were born 
in Germany, but are now residents of 
Sigel township, Wood Co., Wis. Mr. and 
Mrs. Bodette are the parents of eight chil- 
dren, six of whom are yet living, as follows: 
Joseph Edward, Francis Nelson, William 
Arthur, Edward, George and Mabel Amelia. 



M 



ART. HIRZEL, a prosperous and 

representative business man of 

Vilas county, is a native of New 

York State, born in Erie county, 

March 26, 1864, of German descent. 

Grandfather Hirzel was born in Baden, 
Germany, where he married and whence he 
came to the United States, settling in an 
early day in Buffalo, N. Y., where he was 
proprietor of a meat market. This honored 
pioneer couple had five children, named 
respectively: George, Fred, Martin, David 
and Sarah. The parents of these and also 
their son George subsequently returned to 
Germany, and there died. Another son, 
David, father of our subject, was born at 
Williamsville, Erie Co., N. Y., in 1834, 
and for many years was a stock man in the 
Buffalo (N. Y.) stock yards. He there 
married Mary Sturt, who was born, in 1836, 
in Philadelphia, Penn., of German parents, 
who emigrated to this country shortly after 
their marriage, and died in Philadelphia the 
parents of three children: Martin, Godfrey 
and Mary. To David and Mary Hirzel 
were born ten children, named respectively: 
Mary, David, Emma, Godfrey, Martin, 
Albert, Alvin, William, Ella and Emil. Mr. 
Hirzel, in 1874, left Buffalo, and made his 
last earthly home on a fruit farm at Will- 
iamsville, N. Y. , where he passed the rest 
of his days, dying in 1883. The widowed 
mother sold this farm in 1893, and now 
lives with her daughter, Mrs. Schaffer, at 
Clare, Mich. David Hirzel's brother, Fred, 



died at Yorkshire, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. , 
and the other brother, Martin, lives at 
Whitehouse, Ohio, with the sister, Sarah. 

Mart. Hirzel, the subject proper of these 
lines, received his education at an academy 
at Williamsville, both in English and Ger- 
man. When seventeen years old he moved 
west to Michigan and worked in the woods, 
lumbering, until coming to Eagle River, 
August 28, 1885, where during the first 
summer he was employed in a sawmill — in 
the winter in the woods, and in the spring on 
the ••drive." In the spring of 1888 he em- 
barked in his present wholesale and retail 
coal, wood, ice, lime, brick, hair and 
cement business, in addition to which he is 
also agent for the Pabst Brewing Co. of 
Milwaukee. 

On July 22, 1 891, Mr. Hirzel was mar- 
ried, at Eagle River, to Miss Rosa B. Allen, 
who was born at Norfolk, Va., August 18, 
1 87 1, daughter of Perry C. and Fannie 
fWisej Allen, natives of Pennsylvania, who 
were the parents of three daugfiters: Lettie, 
Rosa B., and Hattie. The mother of these 
now lives at Eagle River. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hirzel have no children. They have an 
elegant and attractive home in Eagle River, 
in addition to which our subject owns other 
cit3' property, besides land in another part 
of the county. In his political predilections 
he is a Democrat, and he has served his city 
as supervisor and as superintendent of the 
water works. Socially, he is a member of 
the I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 109, Eagle 
River, of which he is recording secretary. 
As a typical self-made man, one who has, 
unaided, " hoed his own row," Mr. Hirzel 
stands conspicuously in the front rank of 
the successful ones. 



JOHN AND JAMES RICE, members of 
the well-known firm of John Rice & 
Brother Co. , proprietors of foundry and 
machine shops, etc. , and dealers in 
coal, agricultural implements, etc., Stevens 
Point, Portage county, rank among the 
most enterprising and progressive business 
men of the Northern Wisconsin Valley. 

They are natives of County Louth, Ire- 
land, born, John in 1838, and James in 



I So 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1843. James Rice, their father, born 
April 15, 181 1, came to America in 1842, 
when John and James were small boys, the 
family first locating at Geneva, N. Y. , 
thence proceeding to Milwaukee, Wis., and 
from there to Nekimi, Winnebago county, 
where the father carried on farming pur- 
suits, and was also engaged in railroad 
work as foreman. He was "boss" of a 
large gang of men employed on the con- 
struction of the "Darlington railroad," and 
was regarded as one of the most efficient 
foremen or superintendents in that line of 
work in the State. He subsequently moved 
to Eden township. Fond du Lac county, 
about eleven miles from the city of Fond 
du Lac, where he was engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits until moving to Oshkosh, in 
which place he was employed in Campbell's 
shingle mill. From there he ne.xt removed 
to Seymour, Outagamie county, and here 
bought a farm of fully 200 acres where he 
lived until February 15, 1884, the day of 
his death, which was caused by an accident. 
He was returning from a visit to the village 
of Seymour, two miles distant, was walk- 
ing along the track, and being muffled up, 
and, moreover, somewhat deaf, being 
seventy-three years old, did not hear the 
approaching train, which struck him, pro- 
ducing such injuries that he died nine days 
after, retaining consciousness to the last. 

The brothers were reared on the farm, 
John after a time learning the trade of car- 
penter, while James continued working on 
the homestead, also engaging in getting out 
logs by contract, each thus continuing for 
some years. John went to the gold fields 
"out West," and for seven or eight years 
met with remarkable success, having struck 
one of the richest and most productive fields 
in the entire "diggings." On his return he 
engaged in the sawmilling business in Oconto, 
becoming in course of a short time a partner 
in the industry, the firm name being Amy, 
Rice & Fitzgerald, which continued some 
four or five years, when Mr. Rice sold out 
and moved to Oshkosh, becoming interested 
in the tanner}' business in partnership with 
Mr. Reuben Dowd, under the firm style of 
Dowd & Rice. His next enterprise was in 
the Wolf River Transportation Co., of which 



he became part owner; then in partnership 
with Reuben Dowd he embarked in the log- 
ging business on Wolf river, James Rice 
acting as their foreman, this industry con- 
tinuing until 1S72, in which year John and 
James Rice entered into partnership in the 
establishment of a foundr}' and machine 
business in Weyauwega, Waupaca Co. , \\' is. , 
and after five years, in 1877, they located a 
branch business at Stevens Point (South 
Side), Portage county, where is now the 
John Week planing-mill, in 1880 removing 
their entire plant to thir present site on Clark 
street, Stevens Point, which has since been 
carried on successfully under the firm name 
of John Rice & Brother Co., with John Rice 
as president and James Rice as vice-presi- 
dent and general manager. They do a large 
business all around, giving employment in 
the foundry and machine shops alone to 
some twenty hands when running their full 
capacity. Among the leading articles turned 
out by the firm may be mentioned edgers, 
trimmers, bolters, pulleys, rope-feeds and 
and sawmill carriages and machinery gener- 
ally; also engines, boilers, all kinds of en- 
gine brasses, etc., in fact, everything con- 
nected with mills and mill machinery in gen- 
eral. The brothers also operated a sawmill 
in Bayfield countj-, W'is. , at Benoit, on the 
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha 
railroad, commencing business December 3, 
1889, and conducting same until July 4, 
1892, when it burned down. The firm was 
known as the Benoit Lumber Co., of which 
James Rice was president and John Rice 
secretary and treasurer. They still own 
320 acres of land in that vicinity. At the 
time of the construction of the Wisconsin 
Central railroad they took a large contract, 
which included the piling and bridging at 
Gill's Landing, across the W^)lf river and 
adjoining bayous. 

John Rice was married September 14, 
1869, to Miss Elvira Jones, a lady of Welsh 
descent, and three children were born to 
them, namely: Ellen, Ada and Margery, 
the last named beiivg deceased, having been 
suffocated to death at the burning of the 
Sisters' school at Lake Villa, near Madison, 
Wis., in 1893. John Rice served as chief 
of Stevens Point Fire Department, and was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



l8i 



a member of the county board of Portage 
county. 

James Rice was married at New London, 
Wis., January i, 1872, to Miss Helen Jane 
Micklejohn, and four children were born to 
them, as follows: Theodore James, a fire- 
man on the "Soo" railroad, who one 
stormy, sleety trip, November 25, 1892, 
fell (how was never known) a distance of 
65 feet from his engine at Marine Sation, 
Madison Co., Minn., and was instantly 
killed; John Francis, now studying law; 
Earl M., and Hazel May, both attending 
school. 

In political proclivities the brothers are 
both Democrats, with liberal and independ- 
ent tendencies, never aspiring to office, and 
they were both reared in the faith of the 
Roman Catholic Church. They are en- 
terprising in the true sense of the term, 
and have deservedly prospered, have done 
much toward the improvement of the city 
of their adoption, and at the present time, 
1895, are interested in the Stevens Point 
Land Improvement Company, and hold 
stock in the District Fair Association, 
toward which they liberally subscribed. 
James Rice was chief of the Fire Depart- 
ment in 1 891; he is a stockholder in the 
Citizens National Bank, Stevens Point. 



WP. NICHOLS, the well-known and 
popular treasurer of Dupont town- 
ship, Waupaca county, claims 
Ireland as the land of his nativity. 
He was born January 24, 1847, ^nd is a 
son of Patrick and Johanna (Griffin) 
Nichols, who were natives of County Lim- 
erick, Ireland. There the father spent his 
entire life, his death occurring in that 
county in 185 i. 

In 1853 the mother brought her family 
to America, locating first in Syracuse, N. Y. , 
from there going to Carlisle township, 
Lorain Co., Ohio, in 1858. Five years 
later she came to Dupont township, Wau- 
paca county, and the Nichols were the 
tenth family within its borders. Here the 
mother spent her remaining days, being 
called to the home beyond February 9, 
1885, leaving two sons, W. P. and Daniel 



J., both farmers of Dupont township. 
These boys accompanied their mother on 
her various removals, and the first named 
was educated in the common schools of 
Lorain county, Ohio, where he first en- 
gaged in business for_ himself, as a farm 
hand. Subsequently he followed teaming 
in Cleveland, and at the age of eighteen 
years he became a resident of Dupont town- 
ship, \\'aupaca county, where he aided in 
clearing the home farm. He also worked 
in the lumber woods on Pigeon river, and 
in those early dajs became familiar with all 
the experiences and hardships of frontier 
life. 

In New London, Wis., April 9, 1871,. 
was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Nichols 
and Miss Fannie Ruddy, who was born 
in Grafton township, Ozaukee Co., Wis., 
daughter of John and Bridget (Conniff) 
Ruddy, pioneers of that county and natives 
of the Emerald Isle. Her father came to 
this state a single man, and here met, 
wooed and won his estimable wife. For 
some years he was engaged in work on the 
river, running boats between New London 
and Oshkosh, and to Berlin. He afterward 
turned his attention to farming, locating a 
tract of wild land on Bear creek, Waupaca 
county, where he cleared and opened up a 
farm and spent the remainder of his life. 
He passed away February 20, 1883, and 
his widow, who still survives him. is }'et liv- 
ing on the old homestead. They reared a 
family of children as follows: Mrs. Nichols; 
William, a resident of Grant township, 
Shawano Co., Wis.; Charles, who is living 
in Idaho; James Fairbanks, also of Sha- 
wano county; Mrs. C. E. Beedle, of Clinton- 
ville. Wis. ; Mrs. Landon, of Minneapolis, 
Minn. ; and Louis, at home. In 1871, Mr. 
Nichols located on his present farm, on 
which not a furrow had been turned or an 
improvement made. He built a small log 
house, 16 X 20 feet, and it was his place of 
residence until 1892, when he erected a 
good frame dwelling, one story and a half 
in height, 16 x 24 feet with an L, 16 x 20 
feet. He also erected a large barn, 40 x 54 
feet, with 16 foot posts, and his farm com- 
prises eighty acres of land. In addition to its 
cultivation, he is also engaged in the lumber 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



business, and successfully manages both in- 
terests, being a man of good business and 
executive abilit}', energetic and progressive. 
In politics, Mr. Nichols is a Democrat, 
a leader of his party in this section of the 
•county. In 1871, Jie was elected town 
treasurer, had previously been town clerk, 
and has since served as town clerk and 
town supervisor. In 1S93 he was again 
elected treasurer of Dupont township, and 
is now filling that position in a creditable 
and acceptable manner with the same fideli- 
ty with which he discharges every trust re- 
posed in him. The cause of education finds 
in him a warm friend, and he does all in his 
power for the promotion of the schools of 
this communit}-. Both he and his wife hold 
■membership with the Catholic Church. 



EDWARD CLEARY, conductor on the 
Ashland division of the Chicago & 
North Western railroad, with resi- 
dence at Antigo, Langlade county, 
-was born in Lancaster, Worcester Co., 
Mass., October 25, 1855, son of Michael 
•Cleary, who was born in Ireland about the 
year 1827, son of Edward Cleary, who died 
in Ireland when Michael was but ten years 
of age, leaving a widow and six children, 
viz. : Maurice, Garret, Edward, Patrick, 
Michael and Ann. 

Michael Cleary, father of the subject of 
this sketch, came to America when twenty 
years of age, or in 1847, and settled in 
Massachusetts. Here he was married to 
TMary Powers, who was born in Ireland in 
1830, one of a family of seven children — 
Catherine, William, Patrick, John, Michael, 
Edmond and Mary — born to Edward and 
Margaret (Hayes) Powers, the former of 
^whom was a farmer and fisherman. In 
1855 the family came to America and 
settled in Massachusetts where the father 
died in 1867; the mother passed away in 
Appleton, June 11, 1894, aged ninety-eight 
years. To Michael and Mary (Powers) 
deary were born eight children, viz. : 
Maurice (who died in 1879 at the age of 
eighteen), Edward. Michael, Ellen, Kather- 
ine and Margaret, and two deceased in 
infancy. Michael Cleary, the father, came 



to Wisconsin, in 1863, first locating in 
Appleton, from which place he moved soon 
after to a farm and returned to Appleton 
where, in March, 1895, he died. Mrs. Ellen 
Cleary, widow of Edward Cleary and 
mother of Michael, followed her sons to 
America, and died at Michael's home in 
1878. 

Edward Cleary. the subject proper of 
this sketch, was given the advantages of the 
common schools, and remained at home on 
the farm with his parents until he was nine- 
teen years of age. He then went into the 
lumber woods, and worked there during the 
winters of four years, returning home in the 
summers to assist his father on the farm. In 
June, 1878, he was engaged on the right of 
way for the new railroad, chopping ties, and 
in the following December commenced 
braking on what was then the Milwaukee, 
Lake Shore and Western railroad, now the 
Ashland division of the Chicago & North 
Western. He has railroaded ever since, 
being one of the oldest men on this division, 
and has been promoted from time to time 
until in 1884 he was given a passenger run. 
In 1886 he took up his residence in Antigo. 
and having great faith in the prospects of 
the town, has done everything in his power 
to help in building it up; in 1891 he erected 
a fine block, and moreover is interested in 
several other blocks here. He is president 
of the J. C. Lewis Hardware Co., and has 
dealt extensively in outside lands. 

Mr. Cleary was married, in 1882, to Miss 
Margaret Morrissey, of Appleton, daughter 
of Patrick and Margaret (Landers) Morrissey, 
natives of Ireland, who emigrated to the 
United States, making their first New- World 
home in Massachusetts where they were 
married. They had a familj- of eight chil- 
dren: Patrick, John, Thomas, Catherine. 
Ellen, Margaret, Johannah and Mary Ann, 
three of whom are deceased, viz. : Patrick, 
Catherine and Mary Ann. Patrick was or- 
dained a Catholic priest in 1875, and died 
at St. Louis, Mo., May 10, 1892; John, who 
was ordained a priest in 1883, is now pastor 
of a congregation at Oshkosh; Thomas is 
married and lives in Antigo, Wis., where he 
is manager of the Delaglise estate; Ellen is 
a Sister of Charity at St. Agnes Convent, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



183 



Fond du Lac, Wis. The family came to 
this State in 1850, where the father followed 
agricultural pursuits; the mother died in 
March, 1885. To Mr. and Mrs. Cleary ha\e 
been born five children: John E., Agnes M., 
Raymond \V., Emmet \'., and Aloysius F. 
In his political predilections our subject 
is a Republican, and has served his adopted 
city as supervisor one year, and alderman 
two years. Socially, he is a member of the 
Order of Railroad Conductors of America; 
•was a delegate to Toledo, Ohio, in May, 
1893, and a delegate to Atlanta, Ga. , in 
1895, from the lodge at Ashland, Wis.; he 
was first chief conductor of the lodge at 
Ashland in 1SS9, and elected twice after- 
ward, serving in that incumbency three years 
in all. In religious faith the entire family 
are members of the Catholic Church. Mr. 
Cleary owns one of the handsomest homes 
in the city of Antigo, and figures as one of 
the representative men of the place. Being 
public-spirited, he is ever ready to advance 
any cause that he thinks will permanently 
aid the growth and prosperity of the cit}'. 
He is much respected by all who know him, 
the more so because he is known to have 
commenced at the bottom of the ladder, and 
with no assistance, save his own energy and 
attentiveness to business, worked himself up 
to a position of prominence and affluence. 
He is justly proud of the fact that, though 
he has been a railroad man nearly all of his 
life, he is not unfitted for other lines of use- 
fulness, and he is counted one of the prac- 
tical business men of Antigo. 



ERICK JACOBSON ISELAND. 
Among the energetic and progressive 
farmers of lola township, Waupaca 
county, is this gentleman, who is en- 
gaged in general farming in Section 28, 
where he has a good farm of eighty acres, 
which he has developed from its primitive 
•condition. 

Mr. Iseland was born in Norway in De- 
cember, 1825, and is a son of Jacob Erick- 
son, a farmer of moderate circumstances. 
He is the only one of the family who grew 
to adult age, and was but two and a half 
years old at the time of his mother's death. 



after which he was reared by others. His 
father also died when he had reached the age 
of thirteen, leaving very little property. 
His early life was that common to all farmer 
boys in Norway, and his opportunities for 
acquiring an education were quite limited. 
His only home was with the farmers for 
whom he worked, but he saved his wages 
until he had enough money to bring him to 
America, knowing that his chances of obtain- 
ing a home by his own efforts in Norway 
were iew. In company with Knute Erick- 
son, now of lola township, Waupaca county, 
he in the spring of 1849 left Skein, Norway, 
on a sailing vessel, which after a voyage of 
six weeks landed him on xAmerican soil. 

Mr. Iseland at once came to Waukesha 
county. Wis., and at the time had $70, but 
this all went to pay doctor bills. He was 
then employed as a farm hand, receiving 
from $10 to $15 per month, and remained 
in that county four years, at the end of which 
time he concluded to come to northern Wis- 
consin. As many of his countrymen were 
living in Waupaca county, he decided here 
to locate. With two others he made the 
trip in a single wagon. Knute Erickson, 
with whom he had crossed the ocean, was 
then living in lola township, and he made a 
temporary home with him some three years. 
He then bought his present farm, which 
comprised 120 acres, but he has since sold 
forty acres of it. The land was then in its 
primitive condition, mostly covered with 
timber and scrub oak, though there was a 
small piece of natural prairie. He imme- 
diately began clearing and developing this 
land, and erected a small log house, the first 
building upon the place. 

In lola, on Christmas Day, 1858, was 
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Iseland and 
Miss Mary Johnson, a native of Norway, 
born January i, 1843. and a daughter of 
Nels Johnson, who was a miner and com- 
mon laborer in his native land. In the 
spring of 1853 the father brought his family 
to America, there being at that time two 
children — Mary and Jens P. Nelson. He 
first located in Chicago, securing work on 
the railroads in Illinois, but the following 
spring came to lola township, making his 
home on a farm in Section 33. He soon 



iS4 



COMMEMOBATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



after went to Stevens Point, where he kept 
a boarding house for a time, after which he 
returned to lola township and engaged in 
agricultural pursuits. His death occurred 
in South Dakota at the age of sixty-nine 
years; his wife passed away in lola, at the 
age of seventy-seven. Mr. and Mrs. Iseland 
began their domestic life on his farm in their 
little shanty, which at that .time had not 
even a window, which he bought later at 
Stevens Point. Their home was brightened 
by the birth of ten children: Annie, now 
the wife of Carl Evenson, of Wausau, Wis. ; 
Julia, who was the wife of Andrew Daniel- 
son, and died September 23, 1891, at 
Stevens Point; Nellie, wife of Hans Olson, 
of Hazelhurst, Wis.; Julius, at home; Henry, 
a farm hand; Nettie, who died at the age of 
eighteen; Edwin, of Hazelhurst, Wis.; 
Josephine, a dress maker of Wausau, Wis. ; 
and Gena and Lewis, at home. 

For ten months Mr. Iseland served his 
adopted country as a soldier during the Civil 
war, enlisting in the fall of 1864 in Company 
C, F"orty-fourth Wis. V. I. , under Capt. 
Vaughn, and was mostly engaged in doing 
guard and patrol duty in Nashville, Tenn., 
during the winter of 1864-65. In the spring 
he went to Paducah, Ky., where he received 
his discharge and returned home in August, 
1865. 

In the early days during some seasons 
the crops were poor, and Mr. Iseland would 
then work on the Wisconsin Central rail- 
road, which was then being constructed, in 
order to support his family, leaving the 
farm, where it was a difficult matter to get 
enough to live on during a drought. All the 
improvements now found upon the place 
have been the work of himself and sons, 
who are industrious, enterprising young 
men, and his wife has also proved a faithful 
helpmeet. The family holds a high place 
in the esteem and confidence of their fellow 
citizens which they justly merit. Mr. Ise- 
land is a Republican in politics, but he does 
not care to take an active part in public 
life, though he cordially supports any meas- 
ure that will benefit the community or State 
at large. With the Lutheran Church of 
Scandinavia, himself and family hold mem- 
bership. 



JACOB STAUB is familiarly known to 
the people of Scandinavia township as 
one of the most enterprising and pro- 
gressive farmers of Waupaca county. 
He is a native of Switzerland, born in the 
village of Thalweil, Canton of Zurich, April 
4, 1850, and is a son of Jacob Staub, who 
was a farmer of ordinary means, and the 
father of nine children, eight of whom 
crossed the broad Atlantic to the New 
World. 

Our subject attended the schools of his 
native land, and remained under the par- 
ental roof until August 16, 1867, when he 
left the old home, determined to come to 
America, where he believed that better op- 
portunities were afforded young men. At 
Havre, France, he took passage on board 
the "Guiding Star," which left port on the 
2 1st of August. His destination was Van- 
Dyne, Wis., where he had acquaintances 
living, and near there he obtained work as a 
farm hand. At the end of two months, 
however, he came to Helvetia township, 
Waupaca county, and obtained employment 
with J. H. Leuthold with whom he remained 
1 during the winter of 1867-68, and then 
worked at whatever he could find to d(j in 
order to gain an honest living. 
I In the spring of 1868 the parents of Mr. 
; Staub started from Switzerland for the 
: United States, but while cit route, the father 
I died at Detroit, Mich., and was there buried. 
The widowed mother then came on to Helve- 
tia township, and as our subject, being the 
oldest son, was regarded as the head of the 
family, he lived with her until 1872 when he 
came to Scandinavia township, where his 
eldest sister, Wilhelmina, wife of Jacob 
Aeberle, resided. During the summer he 
rented a farm, but in the fall of that year 
purchased the same, which was 160 acres 
in Section 9, going in debt for the whole 
amount — one thousand dollars — on which he 
had to pay eight and ten per cent interest. 
At Black Wolf, Winnebago Co., Wis., 
on November 14, 1872, Mr. Staub was mar- 
ried to Miss Anna Laager, who was born 
January 10, 1854, in the city of Mollis, 
Canton Glarus, Switzerland, a daughter of 
Nicholas Laager, who was a decorator in a 
woolen factory. When sixteen years of age 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



i8= 



Mrs. Staub came alone to America, sailing 
from Havre, France, on the "Erie," and at 
the end of seventeen days landed at New 
York, from which city she came to Oshkosh, 
Wis. She had attended the common schools 
in her native land, but never an English 
school. In Mollis she began work in a 
woolen factory as decorator, saving her 
money, to which she added by borrowing 
from her brothers and sisters until she had 
$68, enough to bring her to the United 
States. Here she worked as a servant girl 
until she could repay the money, which re- 
quired a 3'ear and a half's industrious labor. 
Mr. and Mrs. Staub began their domestic 
life in a very modest little home on his farm, 
to which he has added until he now owns 
290 acres in Scandinavia township, and 
eighty acres in Helvetia. Two children 
have been born to them: Erick N. , a farmer, 
born January g, 1874; and Walter J., at 
home, born May 7, 1875. 

In political faith Mr. Staub is a Demo- 
crat, a stanch follower of the doctrines as 
formulated by that party, but gives little at- 
tention to political affairs, his time being 
fully occupied by the labors of his farm. 
For the prosperity that has come to him 
through his persistent efforts and intelligent 
management, he is greatly indebted to his 
wife, who has assisted him by every means 
in her power. Their comfortable residence 
is surrounded by a beautiful grove, and 
everj'thing about the place denotes the owner 
to be a progressive, industrious and energetic 
man. He has succeeded in life without the 
help of an education in English, but has 
observed closely, and thus prospered. He 
holds membership with the Reformed 
Church. 



NA. COLMAN. This gentleman, one 
of the busiest and most prom- 
inent citizens of Vilas county, is a 
native of Wisconsin, born in Green- 
bush, Sheboygan county. May 4, i860. 

His father, Charles B. Colman, was 
born February 4, 1822, in Warren, Litch- 
field Co., Conn. The family is of Eng- 
lish origin, the ancestry being traced back 
to three brothers who came from England 



to America in an early day, one of them 
making his home in Warren, Connecticut. 

Hon. C. B. Colman received his educa- 
tion at the Warren Academy. After finish- 
ing his education he taught school for some 
time, and in 1S42 started out to see "the 
West." He was pleased with Wisconsin, 
and took up a homestead in Sheboygan 
county, twenty miles west of Lake Mich- 
igan. Thus he came alone to Wisconsin 
leaving father, mother, one brother — Fred- 
rick — and three sisters — Lucia, Sarah and 
Elizabeth — in Connecticut. After being 
successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits 
for some time, he married Miss Emma 
Carter, of the same county, but after a brief 
married life she died leaving an infant 
daughter, Orpha E. 

Mr. Colman took for a second wife Miss 
Anna S. Stoddard, a native of New York, 
whose parents, Jonathan and Phcebe 
(Carter) Stoddard, were natives of Canada. 
By this marriage five children were born, 
\\z.: Florence, Niles A., Henry J., C. 
Francis and Emogene. The father of N. A. 
Colman is a stanch member of the Dem- 
ocratic party, and has always taken an act- 
ive part in political affairs. He has filled 
many town and county offices, besides serv- 
ing as member of the Assembly from She- 
boygan county. He is a man of well-known 
ability and mental activity. Hon. C. B. 
Colman and wife now make their home in 
Dunn county, Wisconsin. 

In June, 1892, N. A. Colman was mar- 
ried at Eagle River to Isliss Bessie B. Shank, 
who died March 8, 1894, leaving, a daugh- 
ter, Bessie D., nine days old. Mrs. N. A. 
Colman was a native of Michigan, born, in 
1874, in Osceola county, and a daughter of 
Alonzo M. and Essie Shank, who had four 
children — Cora, Byron, Bruce and Bessie 
B. Mr. Shank is a lumberman by occupa- 
tion. 

During the youth and early manhood of 
Mr. Colman he remained on his father's 
farm in Sheboygan county, attending the 
schools of Greenbush up to the age of 
eighteen when he commenced to teach in 
the district schools, continuing thus two 
years. After this he attended school at 
Oshkosh, and in the fall of 1S84 entered 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the University of Wisconsin at Madison. 
In 1887 he entered the Law Department of 
the University, attending until June 19, 
1889, when he graduated — being admitted 
to practice in all courts. 

Mr. Colman educated himself, teaching 
and studying alternately, and while in Mad- 
ison was in the office of William F. \'ilas. 
In July, after being admitted to the bar, he 
came to Rhinelander, Oneida county, re- 
maining there four months in the oflfice of 
Alban & Barnes, and on December i, 1889, 
opened a law office at Eagle River under 
the firm name of Alban, Barnes & Colman. 
This partnership continued two years, 
Messrs. Alban & Barnes withdrawing at the 
end of that time. Mr. Colman has since 
practiced alone, meeting with flattering suc- 
cess in his chosen profession, a success 
which he well deserves. 

Like his father before him, he is public- 
spirited, and the people, recognizing in him 
one who would attend to their interests 
with all the zeal and ability at his command, 
have chosen him to various offices of trust, 
the duties of which he has ever faithfully 
discharged. In 1 893 his assistance was 
proven valuable in the work of getting Vilas 
county set off from Oneida. His wide ac- 
quaintance with public men making him a 
strong ally; he spent much time at Madison, 
and finally, with others equally interested, 
succeeded in having the new county of \'ilas 
formed and the county seat fixed at Eagle 
River. On the organization of the county 
he was made district attorney, resigning 
the position of superintendent of schools of 
Oneida county (to which he had been 
elected in 1892) to accept. In the fall of 
1894 he was elected district attorney on the 
Democratic ticket, although the county 
otherwise went strongly Republican, a com- 
pliment which he did not fail to appreciate. 



M 



.\TTHIAS ELLINGSON, who at 
present is living retired on his 
farm in New Hope township. Port- 
age county, was born in Norway, 
June 23, 1838, a son of Elling and Karen 
(Mortonson) Johnson, natives of the same 



country, where the father engaged in farm- 
ing, an occupation he made his life work. 

In the spring of 1857, accompanied by 
his wife and children, Mr. Johnson emigrat- 
ed to America, sailing from Christiania on 
the "Argo," which dropped anchor in the 
harbor of Quebec at the end of seven weeks, 
and from that cit\' they came immediately 
to New Hope township, Portage county, 
making the journe\- by water, rail and 
wagon. On his arrival the father purchased 
eighty acres of wild land, on which not a 
tree had been cut or an improvement of any 
kind made. After clearing enough space he 
built a log house, where the family lived 
for many years and where his death occur- 
red. The mother then sold that place and 
bought another home in New Hope town- 
ship, but died at the home of her son Ole. 
The other children of the family besides our 
subject, who is. the eldest, were John, a 
farmer of Dakota, who enlisted in the 
Twelfth \\'is. V. I. during the war of the 
Rebellion, and served throughout the strug- 
gle; Christian, also a farmer of Dakota; 
Rhoda, wife of Nels Loberg, of New Hope; 
and Sina, deceased wife of John Johnson. 

In the common schools of his native 
land our subject acquired a very good edu- 
cation, and was reared to agricultural pur- 
suits. After coming to America he hired 
out as a farm hand, and was also employed 
for some years in a sawmill, and in the 
lumber woods near ilerrill, Wis. For four 
or five seasons before entering the Union 
service during the Civil war, he "ran on the 
river." In Scandinavia, Wis., August 27, 

1864, he enlisted as a private in Cohipany 
A, Forty-second Wis. V. I., under Capt. 
Duncan McGregor, and was enrolled for 
one year's service. After enlistment he 
went into camp at Madison, Wis., for a 
short time, whence he was sent to Cairo, 
111., where he remained until the close of 
hostilities, with the e.xception of an e.xpedi- 
tion he accompanied down to Neiv Orleans, 
conveying prisoners. At that city they re- 
mained about four days, when they returned 
to Cairo. At Madison, Wis., on June 20, 

1865, he was honorably discharged. 

On returning to New Hope township 
Mr. EUingson, in company with his brother 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



187 



Christian, bought 160 acres of land, of 
which onl}' ten had been cleared, and, prior 
to his brother's going to Dakota, he pur- 
chased the latter's interest. His farm, which 
is located in Sections 9 and 10, is one of 
the best in the township, and he has built 
thereon a comfortable dwelling. He now 
makes his home with the people who have 
rented his farm, as he is living retired. He 
affiliates with the Republican party, and is 
one of its most active adherents, though in 
no sense a politician. Religiously he is a 
communicant of the Norwegian Lutheran 
Church of New Hope, and he is one of the 
highly esteemed and honored citizens of the 
neiirhborhood. 



LYMAN J. COOK, member of the 
firm of Dickinson & Cook, the lead- 
ing general merchants and real-estate 
dealers of Eagle River, Vilas county, 
is a native of New York State, born Septem- 
ber 17, 1850, in North Norwich, Chenango 
county. 

Lyman D. Cook, father of our subject, 
first saw the light in Dutchess county, N. Y., 
being a son of Joseph Cook, who was of 
English descent. The latter was by occupa- 
tion a farmer and carpenter, and during the 
war of 1812 served as second lieutenant. 
In an early day he established a colony in 
Chenango county, purchasing a large tract 
of river flats, now part of the "Chenango 
Valley," no little sport being excited by his 
investing in such low land; but he lived to 
see his purchase become very valuable. He 
and his wife both died there, the parents of 
a numerous family: Lyman D., their son 
was reared to agricultural pursuits, which 
he made his life vocation. He was twice 
married: First to a Miss Fannie Fisher, by 
whom he had eight children who lived to 
maturit}-, viz. : Egbert, Alonzo, Almon, 
Thompson, Mary, Olive, Philenaand Rachel. 
After the death of the mother of these, Mr. 
Cook married Mary A. Bacon, by whom he 
had one child — Lyman J. This Mrs. Cook 
was a daughter of Horace and Mary (Rom- 
mer) Bacon, the former of whom was of 
English descent, the latter of French, her 
more immediate ancestors, whose names 



were Chevalier, having come over to America 
from France with La Fayette during the 
Revolutionary war, and served as soldiers 
under him. Lyman D. Cook participated 
in the Mexican war. In 1867 he came to 
Wisconsin, purchasing a farm in Black Creek 
township, Outagamie county, whereon he 
passed the rest of his days, dying in 1875; 
he was a strong Democrat in his political 
predilections, but voted for Lincoln. The 
widowed mother, after her husband's death, 
lived with her son Lyman J. up to her 
death, which occurred in 1889. 

The subject proper of these lines was 
reared on the farm, receiving his elementary 
education at the common schools, which 
was supplemented with two terms at the 
Union schools, and one term at select school. 
Early in life he assisted materially in the 
support of his parents, employing himself at 
both farming and lumbering until he was 
eighteen years old, when he went into the 
woods and for one winter wielded the axe in 
felling the trees. During the following 
eleven years or so he was engaged for his 
own account, alternately at farming in the 
summers and lumbering in the winters, 
which brings his life history down to 1879, 
in which year he moved to Marathon county, 
and in the village of Norrie built the second 
frame house, where he made his home nearly 
four years, conducting a general mercantile 
and drug business in partnershig with George 
P. Dickinson. In the spring of 1884 the 
firm removed to Eagle River, Vilas county, 
hauling their goods and chattels by wagon 
from Three Lakes, and for some time carry- 
ing on their business, which consisted of 
general merchandise, drugs, etc., in a tent, 
to which, later, they added real-estate deal- 
ings. Not long afterward a postoffice was 
established at Eagle River, Mr. Cook being 
appointed the first postmaster, and holding 
the position up to the time of Cleveland's 
first election; he had previously been post- 
master at Norrie, and was filling the incum- 
bency at the time of his leaving that village 
for Eagle River. The firm of Dickinson & 
Cook conduct the largest general store in 
this rising, hustling place, and are largely 
interested in lumbering, buying pine lands 
quite extensively. 



nSS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Mr. Cook has been twice married, first 
time to Miss Anna Eliza Butler, who was 
born in Sandusky, Ohio, daughter of Manara 
and Sarah Butler, natives of Ohio, who 
came to Wisconsin in an early day, and who 
had a family of two sons and four daughters: 
Daniel E., Nathan S., Dell, Emma E., 
Ettie C. and Anna Eliza. To this marriage 
were born three children: Grant D., Jay 
B. ,■ and one that died in infancy. The 
mother of these dying in 1877, Mr. Cook 
married, for his second wife, in 1S83, Miss 
Florence P. Thompson, who was born in 
Maine, near the city of Augusta, daughter of 
George W. and Charlotte Thompson, and 
this union has been blessed with five chil- 
dren: Paul L. , Lawrence (deceased at the 
age of seven yearsj, Morton, Mary and 
Florence. 

In politics our subject is a stanch Repub- 
lican; served as town treasurer of Eagle 
River si.\ years, and was chairman one year; 
was active in securing the organization of 
Vilas county, spending nearly an entire win- 
ter at Madison for that purpose. Socially 
he is a member of the F. & A. M. and I. O. 
O. F. Prior to embarking in mercantile 
pursuits Mr. Cook passed some two years in 
the South, with the view of locating there, 
but not liking the country returned to Wis- 
consin. He is one of the most influential 
business men in the county, and in a large 
measure enjoys the respect and esteem of 
his fellow men. 



ARTHUR TAYLOR, a highly re- 
spected citizen of Rhinelander, On- 
eida county, is a native of England, 
born in Ripley, Derbyshire, April 
16, 1858, son of Dr. Percival and Eliza 
(Bradley; Taylor. 

Benjamin Taylor, grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was postmaster at Ripley, Derbyshire, 
many years, and died in 1874, at the patri- 
archal age of ninety-eight years, while hold- 
ing that office; his wife lived to the great 
age of one hundred and two. 

Percival Taylor, father of our subject, 
was a graduate of medicine in England, 
which profession he more or less practiced 
until within the past few years. In his na- 



tive land he married Miss Eliza Bradley, 
b}' whom he had ten children, named re- 
spectively: William, Samuel, Walter, Mary, 
Hannah, Arthur, Ella, Anna, Percival H. 
(who died in 1868) and Percy. In the last 
named }'ear, in the month of February, the 
father and two of his sons — Samuel and 
Walter — crossed the Atlantic to Canada, 
locating in Montreal, the rest of the family 
following them in the month of June. In 
Sept., 1869, they moved to Upper Canada, 
settling on a large tract of land at Brace- 
bridge, Muskoka District, Ontario, and there 
remaining until 1882, in which year they 
came to Marinette, Wis., where thej* 
sojourned until 1885, then returning to 
Canada, to the old homestead in On- 
tario. In March, 1891, Dr. Taylor sold 
out and he and his wife moved to Chi- 
cago, 111., thence to Austin, 111., where he 
is now leading a retired life after practicing 
medicine over thirty years. On each of his 
children's birthda\'s he writes him or her a 
letter. 

Arthur Taylor, whose name introduces 
this sketch, was ten years old when the 
family left the shores of Old England for 
Canada, and at the age of thirteen he left 
the parental roof to begin " hustling " for 
himself, working as a farm hand in sum- 
mers, and for lumbermen in the woods, 
winters, occasionally visiting the old home. 
In October, 1879, he came to the United 
States, making his residence in Schoolcraft 
county, Mich., till April, 1881, when he 
and his brother, Walter, moved to Mari- 
nette, Wis., and here leased a hotel; but 
not liking the business, Arthur sold his in- 
terest to his brother, and again worked in 
the lumber woods. He thus continued till 
November, 1 887, at which time he and his 
brother Walter commenced the manufacture 
of soda water in Marinette; but in Decem- 
ber, 1890,' our subject sold out, and at once 
coming to Rhinelander purchased his pres- 
ent soda-water plant, which he has since 
enlarged to treble its capacity, having a 
read}' sale for the product in the smaller 
towns within a radius of sixty miles. 

On May 3, 1883, Mr. Ta\lor was married 
to Miss Mary E. Richardson, who was born 
at Cheboygan, Mich., February 10, 1865, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



189 



daughter of Thomas and Mary (Beloit) 
Richardson, who had eight children, viz. : 
Maggie, Joseph, Wilham, Addie and Eva 
(twins). Mar}- E. and Harriet S. (twins) 
and Thomas. To Mr. and Mrs. Taylor 
were born four children, only one of whom 
survives — Douglas A. ; Henry died in in- 
fancy; Lulu and Daphne died in 1891, the 
one on December 3, at the age of six j'ears, 
the other on December 6, aged four 3-ears. 
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are members of the 
Congregational Church of Rhinelander, of 
which he is secretary-treasurer and a trus- 
tee; politically he is a Democrat, and has 
served on the school board. Socially he 
is a member of the F. & A. M. (Blue 
Lodge), and R. A. M., Royal Arcanum and 
Knights of Pythias; in the first named 
Order he has been secretarj' of his Lodge 
three years, and is now filling the chair of 
senior warden. He is a wide-awake, useful 
and loyal citizen, one of whom Oneida 
county may well feel proud. 



CASPAR S^^TH, a worthy represent- 
ative of the agricultural interests of 
Portage county, was born in the 
village of A'olkershausen, Bavaria, 
August 21, 1S20, and is a son of Andrew and 
Barbara Smith. The father was also born 
in that village, and was a well-to-do farmer; 
the mother was born in the village of 
Stadten. In Church matters he was promi- 
nent, was a highly-esteemed man, and when 
called to his final rest in the fall of 1853 his 
death was much lamented. His wife sur- 
vived him ten years, when she too departed 
this life. Of the children: John operated 
the old homestead until his death; Eva, 
wife of Adam Burkhart, died in Germany; 
Caspar is the next in the family; Elizabeth 
is the deceased wife of George Hochrein; 
Maria M. is living in Bavaria, and is totally 
blind; Margaretta came to America in 1854, 
shortly after married John Frank, and died 
in London, Wis., in 1890. 

Caspar Smith attended the common 
schools of his native town until thirteen 
years of age, and then worked at any em- 
ployment that he could secure until his 



twenty-sixth year. In 1846, he married 
Margarette Frank, a native of Bavaria. She 
owned a farm in Volkershausen, and thither 
the young couple removed, but after a year 
sold out, preparatory to emigrating to 
America. The}- had three children born in 
America: George W. and Martha, who came 
with their parents to America, and one that 
died on the vojage. In 1862, Mr. Smith 
took passage on a sailing vessel at Bremen, 
accompanied b}- his famil}-, and after a voy- 
age of forty-seven days landed at New York, 
whence they proceeded direct to Chicago, 
where Mr. Smith was employed as a laborer 
for a short time. He then removed to 
Madison, Wis., where they were all taken 
ill with typhoid fever and the wife and 
daughter died. Placing his son George in 
the care of a family in Madison, Mr. Smith 
went to Waupun, where for three months 
he was employed on the construction of the 
prison. Returning to Madison, he for a time 
worked in a hotel, and leaving that place 
went to Lake Mills, where he was employed 
in various capacities. 

There, on August 13, 1862, he enlisted 
in Company D, Twenty-ninth Wis. V. I., 
and was mustered into the service on Sep- 
tember 27. The troops joined the Army of 
the Southwest, and from the 9th of January 
until the lOth of April were engaged in vari- 
ous expeditions. They were then assigned 
to the Thirteenth Army Corps, aided in the 
siege of Vicksburg, and going down the 
river to Milliken's Bend there disembarked 
and marched to Perkin's plantation. After 
participating in the battle of Port Gibson 
and man}- skirmishes, they were stationed 
in the rear of \'icksburg and aided in its cap- 
ture. On July 5, the}- were ordered to Jack- 
son, engaged in the siege of that place and 
after its capture returned to \'icksburg, 
\\'hence on August 16, they proceeded down 
the river, stopping at Natchez for a few 
days. On they went to Carroilton, La., 
and on September 15, proceeded by rail to 
Brashear City. From that time until Janu- 
ary I, 1864, they were with Gen. Banks' 
army in the operations in Louisiana. On 
January 5, they embarked on ocean steamers 
for Texas, and did picket and out-post duty 
at Pass Cavillo until February 18. when 



rgo 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the}' returned to Algiers and started on the 
Red river campaign under Gen. Banks. On 
April 8 occurred the hotly contested battle 
of Sabine Cross Roads, where the Union 
army was forced to retreat. This was the first 
time that the Twnety-ninth had met defeat 
since entering the service, and had it been 
properly supported the catastrophe would 
not have occurred. The troops gradually fell 
back to Alexandria, where they remained 
from April 25 until May 14, doing picket 
duty. There the Twentj-ninth was detailed 
to help construct the great Red river dam at 
that point for the purpose of getting the 
gunboats over the rapids, and when this was 
completed they started for Morganza, where 
they arrived May 23. On June 15 they 
reached Carrolton, La., and thence were 
ordered to Kentucky. Their rations were 
frequently limited, they often had no tents, 
had poor clothing, and all the hardships of 
war were endured by them. Jifr. Smith con- 
tracted rheumatism, but with the exception 
of a short time when confined in the hospital 
he was always with his regiment, faithful to 
every duty that devolved upon him. On 
June 13, 1865, Mr. Smith was mustered out 
and at once returned to Lake Mills, Wis. 
Shortly afterward he came to Amherst town- 
ship. Portage county, and bought forty acres 
of land, which he traded for a house and lot 
in Amherst Center. In October, 1879, he 
bought 1 10 acres of land, paying $900 in 
cash, and giving his home in town. His 
farm is located in Sections 28 and 29, Am- 
herst township, and 90 acres of the tract are 
cleared and under a high state of cultivation, 
yielding to the owner a golden tribute in re- 
turn for the care and cultivation he bestows 
upon it. 

Mr. Smith for his second wife was mar- 
ried, at Lake Mills, in 1855, to Amelia 
Feemier, a native of Germany, who died 
February 21, 1892. The children by this 
union are as follows: Sophia, wife of Ber- 
tram Harvey, a farmer of Amherst town- 
ship (they have one child, Verne); John G., 
a barber of Amherst, who married Anna 
Shattuck, and has two daughters, Mona and 
Ruth; and Caspar A. and Mary, both at 
home. George W. , Mr. Smith's eldest son, 
married Miss Sarah Wilson, and has four 



sons — DeForest D. , F. Clifford, Alfred G. 
and Willard W. 

Prior to 1861, Mr. Smith was a Demo- 
crat, but when the Republican party upheld 
the government during the war, he joined its 
ranks and with it afterward affiliated. He 
is a member of Captain Eckels Post, G. A. 
R. , of Amherst, and is an active member and 
leading worker in the Methodist Church. 
He has met with many reverses in life; but 
through energy and determination, diligence 
and capable management he has attained an 
enviable position among his fellow men, and 
acquired a handsome competency, which 
numbers him among the substantial citizens 
of his adopted county. [Since the above 
was written Mr. Smith died at his home of 
apoplexy March 21, 1895. 



GEORGE C. NEWBY, as one of the 
leading citizens of Portage county, 
well deserves representation in this 
volume. He was born in the town 
ofVaughan, Canada, July 5, 1830, a son 
of Thomas and Deborah (West) Newby. 

His father was a native of Yorkshire, 
England, and emigrated to Nova Scotia, 
where at the age of twenty he married, and 
the two eldest children were there born. 
He then removed to a farm near \'aughan, 
where his wife died about 185 1. In the 
spring of 1855 he came to Buena Vista 
township, Portage county, and purchased 
160 acres of government land in Section 
19, where his children (with the exception 
of two daughters who had married and re- 
mained in Canada) joined him the following 
fall. In this county the father subsequent- 
ly married Mrs. Elizabeth Stewart. His 
death occurred on the old homestead in 
November, 1877. His children, all born of 
the first marriage, were as follows: John, 
deceased, was a farmer of Plover, \\'is. ; 
he married Delilah Upthgrove, by whom he 
had six sons and two daughters, and for his 
second wife wedded Lavina Vanderwort. 
William, a farmer of Plover, Wis., mar- 
ried Matilda Barnett, now deceased, and 
had three sons and three daughters. Ann 
is the wife of Jacob Stimmers, of Canada. 
George C. is the next younger. Esther is 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the deceased wife of Christopher Hisley 
Thomas, a merchant of Buena \'ista, Wis. 
married Jane Brown, by whom he had four 
children, and after her death wedded Mrs. 
Sarah ^ Russell) Newman, widow of John 
Newman. Robert, a farmer of Idaho, is 
living with his second wife. Mary Jane be- 
came the wife of Charles Barker, and after 
his death wedded William W'hite, of Plover, 
Wis. Jemima is the wife of Jay Bennett, 
of Buena Vista, W'isconsin. 

Upon the home farm our subject was 
reared, and his educational advantages were 
very limited. Having arrived at years of 
maturity, he was married in Cayuga, Haldi- 
mand Co., Canada, May lo, 1852, to Eliza- 
beth Martha Russell, who was born between 
Rutland and Wallingford, Vt., December 
18, 1836, a daughter of James and Eliza- 
beth (Shannon) Russell, natives of County 
Tyrone, Ireland. There they were married 
and two children, Margaret and Samuel, 
were there born to them. They emigrated 
then to Newfoundland, where their eldest 
son died shortly after, and where their third 
child, George, was born. Removing to 
Vermont, they lived in that State until 
1 84 1, after which the}- spent a number of 
years in Toronto, Canada, then lived upon 
a farm near Rainham, in Haldimand county, 
until 1855. Settling then in Iowa, the 
mother died there the following year. After 
a short time Mr. Russell came to Portage 
county and purchased forty acres of land in 
Pine Grove township, but after several 
years he disposed of that property, and 
went to live with his daughter, Mrs. Thomas 
Newby, in Buena Vista township, where he 
died in 1879. 

The members of the family were as fol- 
lows: Margaret and Samuel, deceased; 
George; Sophia Jane, Mrs. Newby; Mary 
Ann, deceased; and Sarah. Our subject 
and his wife have eleven children: Margaret 
Ann, born April 17, 1853, is the wife of 
Mark A. W^oodbury, of Ada, Minn., and 
has two children, Pearl and Lillie; Jemima 
Jane, born May 25, 1855, is the wife of 
Fred H. Huntley, of Stevens Point, Wis., 
and their children are Hattie Belle and 
Ollie May; Thomas, born March 11, 1857, 
married Julia Shelburn, and has three chil- 



dren — Minnie, Mamie and Thomas; Harriet 
S., born March 6, 1859, became the wife oi 
Charles Thompson, by whom she had two 
children, W'illiam and Lula, and after the 
death of her first husband she married Fred- 
erick Allen; Letitia May, born December 

18, i860, is the wife of Charles Stewart, 
and has two children, Estella May and 
George L. ; Eli Benjamin, born April 29, 

1862, died at the age of two years and six 
months; Charles Austin, born September 9, 

1863, wedded Rose Pereau and with their 
daughter, Cecil Burdell, they reside in 
Wautoma. Wis. ; Belle Joanna, born May 
8, 1868, is the wife of John Springer, o£ 
Lone Pine, Wis. ; Cora Alice, born April 9, 
1870, is the wife of William Fisher, of 
Stevens Point, and has one child, Violet; 
William R., born February 20, 1872, is at 
home; Mable, born December 10, 1876, is a 
school teacher in Belmont, Wis. At the 
age of five Mrs. Newby went to live with a 
family in Canada, and from the age of nine- 
until her marriage she supported herself by 
working as a domestic. She is devoted to- 
her home and her family, and is a most 
estimable lady. 

After his marriage, Mr. Newby operated- 
his father's farm for a season, and then 
purchased land at Rainham, Canada, where 
he resided until coming to Buena \'ista 
township in the fall of 1855, when he dis- 
posed of his old home. On reaching this 
place he operated his father's farm, and 
then hired as a farm hand. In 1858, he- 
purchased eighty acres of land in Section 

19, Buena Vista township. Portage county, 
to which he has added 120 acres. He con- 
tinued farming until March, 1864, when he 
enlisted in Company C, Fifty-second Wis. 
V. I. He went to Madison, and after drill- 
ing for three weeks proceeded to St. Louis^ 
Mo., and three weeks later was ordered to 
Iron Mountain, same State. For two- 
weeks he did duty against the bushwhackers, 
and after a few days spent in St. Louis he 
started for Leavenworth, Kans. , where two 
months were passed. The command was 
then ordered to return to Madison, where 
Mr. Newby was honorably discharged in- 
September, 1865. Returning at once to 
his home he resumed farming, which he has- 



■192 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



since successfully followed. He has never 
souf];ht political preferment, but is a stalwart 
Republican. His career has been an hon- 
orable and useful one, and is that of a man 
who has done his duty to himself, his neigh- 
bors and his countr}'. 



JS. JACOBSON, a well-known citizen 
and enterprising and progressive busi- 
ness man of Ogdensburg, Waupaca 
county, is now e.xtensively engaged in 
dealing in potatoes. His birth occurred in 
Section 30, St. Lawrence township, the 
same county, January 16, i860, and he is a 
son of Stephen Jacobson, one of the well-to- 
do farmers of Scandinavia township, Wau- 
paca count}'. 

The father was born in Norwa}-, May 1 6, 
1834, and is the son of Jacob Jacobson, 
also an agriculturist. In the spring of 1852, 
the latter, with his wife and seven children, 
left Stavanger, on the sailing vessel "Rug- 
land," and at the end of seven weeks they 
were landed in New York, June 10, the 
vo3age being a stormy one. They had first 
intended to go to Dane count}', Wis., but 
being in company with a family whose sons 
had previously located in Scandinavia town- 
ship, Waupaca county, they decided to go 
there. They took a boat to Albany, thence 
up the Erie canal to Buffalo, and on the 
lakes came to Green Bay, Wis. They drove 
to Neenah, via Appleton, \^^is. , where they 
boarded a boat for Gill's Landing, and, by 
team, came to Scandinavia. The grand- 
father purchased 160 acres of partially im- 
proved land in Section 27, on which a log 
house had been built, but he did not live 
long to enjoy his new home, dying February 
10, 1853, of pneumonia, at the age of sixty 
years, and was buried near the school house, 
in district No. i, where it was intended to 
make a cemetery, but later the idea was 
abandoned. The grandmother, who long 
survived her husband, died at the home of a 
son in Minnesota, in the spring of 1884, at 
the advanced age of eighty-six years. In 
their family were seven children: Betsy S., 
wife of Stephen Torkolsen, of Minnesota; 
Tallak, who died in that State; Mary, widow 
■of Ole Raan, of the same State; Stephen, 



father of our subject; Carrie, who died in 
Scandinavia township in the fall of 1852; 
Elizabeth, widow of Ole Jorgensen, of ISIin- 
nesota; and Torkel of Minnesota. 

In the common schools of his native 
country Stephen Jacobson acquired his ed- 
ucation, and at the age of eighteen years, at 
the time of his arrival in Scandinavia town- 
ship, there were only three or four families 
and no schools had been established. Be- 
sides his farm duties, he also followed fish- 
ing on the west coast of Norway, and on 
coming to the United States spent six 
winters in the pineries of this State. He 
also ran on the river, taking lumber to \'ari- 
ous points along the Mississippi. 

On April 13, 1857, in Scandinavia, 
Stephen Jacobson wedded Miss Tora Knud- 
son, who is also a native of Norway, born 
May 18, 1840, and came with her parents 
to America in 1853, locating in Scandi- 
navia township. In his native land her 
father had followed carpentering, but, on 
his arrival here, gave his time and attention 
to the operation of his farm and to the saw- 
mill business. To Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson 
were born the following children: Jacob 
S., of this sketch; Benny, who died at the 
age of nineteen years; Ann C. , wife of Halver 
Thorson, a merchant of Scandina\ia; Stena, 
at home, as is also Thomas, Carl and 
Marten; Sophia, who is attending the 
academy in Scandinavia; Benjamin, who 
died in infancy; and El vine B., at home. 

After his marriage the father located in 
St. Lawrence township, Waupaca county, 
where for one winter be was employed in a 
sawmill, but since then has given his entire 
attention to the cultivation of his land, a 
tract of 1 20 acres, of which eighty are under 
a high state of cultivation, well improved 
with good buildings. He has seen almost 
the entire development of the township and 
county, as at the time of his arrival there 
were only a few families in Scandinavia 
township, and some of these still lived in 
their covered wagons. He is one of the 
trustees of the Lutheran Church to which 
his family also belong. He was one of the 
leading members of the Republican party in 
his township, where he has held many 
official positions, and his public service has 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



193 



always been marked by a faithful and com- 
petent discharge of duties. 

We now come to the personal history 
of Jacob S. Jacobson, whose name intro- 
duces this review. His chances for secur- 
ing an education were quite meagre, and the 
district schools he attended were not as 
good as those of the present day. At the 
age of si.xteen he left the school room, so 
that he might give his whole time to the 
labors of the field. It was then the custom 
to put children to work as soon as old 
enough, and usually when the best years for 
learning were arrived at, the school days 
were over. Such was our subject's case. 
He remained under the parental roof until 
eighteen years of age, when he went to 
Goodhue count}-, Minn., where the land 
was new and afforded splendid opportuni- 
ties to the early settlers who wished to se- 
cure homes. Work was plenty for a farm 
hand, and, being a robust \-oung man, he 
commanded good wages, receiving $20 per 
month, most of which, however, he sent 
home. In the second year of his residence 
there he engaged some m speculating in 
stock, etc., such as his limited capital would 
permit. 

At the end of two years Mr. Jacobson 
returned to Scandinavia township, W^au- 
paca county, where his parents were living, 
but was soon after taken ill, and was unable 
to perform any labor for some time. As 
soon as he had sufficiently recovered he be- 
gan farming for himself on rented land in 
Scandinavia township, which occupation he 
followed for one year, when he began deal- 
ing in potatoes at Scandinavia in connec- 
tion with Neil Krostu, now of Chicago, the 
firm name being Jacobson & Krostu. For 
two years this partnership continued when 
Olson & Johnson were admitted to the firm, 
carrying on business at several different 
places and buying large quantities of pota- 
toes. 

In January, 1888, Mr. Jacobson was 
married in Scandinavia township, the lady 
of his choice being Miss Emma M. Hopkins, 
a native of St. Lawrence township, Wau- 
paca county, and a daughter of Spencer 
Hopkins. To them have been born three 
children, Archie and Bernard, deceased, 



and Ellery. In the fall of 1887, Mr. Jacob- 
son began purchasing potatoes in Ogdens- 
burg, where he has since continued business 
with remarkable success. The increase in 
his business necessitated the erection of a 
warehouse, where his stock is stored. He 
has now been longer in the business than 
any other man in the village, and has paid 
out many thousands of dollars to the farm- 
ers during his experience in potato buying. 
He stands high in the estimation of the 
community as an honorable, upright and 
trustworthy young business man, and justly 
merits their respect. In Odgensburg he 
has erected a ver}' cozy home on a lot he 
purchased from J. R. Moses, from whom he 
also obtained the land on which his ware- 
house stands. Though not a politician in 
the sense of office seeking, he is deeply in- 
terested in the success of the Republican 
party, and religioush' he and his wife are 
Lutherans. 



HERMAN J. PANKOW, editor and 
proprietor of the Marshfield Demo- 
crat, and conducting one of the 
most successful German papers of 
the West, is a gentleman of abilit}-, stand- 
ing high among the representative citizens 
of ^^^ood county. Wisconsin claims him as 
one of her native sons, for he was born in 
Lebanon township. Dodge county, April 27, 
1847. His father, Rev. Erdmann Pankow, 
was a native of Prussia, his birth occurring in 
I 8 18, and he was there reared and married, 
Sophia Moldenhauer becoming his wife. By 
that union were born eight children, four of 
whom are now deceased — Sophia, John, 
Augustine and Michael — while Minnie, Her- 
man, Erdman, and the second, Michael, are 
still living. The family came to America in 
1843, stopping first at Watertown, Wis., 
where they remained one year. The father 
then removed to a farm and taught school 
for a number of years, when he was called 
to the ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran 
Church, and has since engaged in preaching 
the Gospel. His wife died in 1859, and he 
subsequently married Louisa Michaels Dam- 
bach. They have become the parents of 



194 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



nine children, of whom Augustine is now 
deceased, those living being Albert, Adolph, 
Anna, Oswald, Eva, Pauline, Agnes and 
Angella. The grandfather of our subject, 
Michael Pankow, was a common laborer 
in Prussia, where he married and had 
two children who came to America — Erd- 
mann and Minnie; he and his wife both died 
when Erdmann was quite young. 

Herman Pankow, whose name heads 
this sketch, received his education in the 
district and private schools until attaining 
his fourteenth year, when he went to work 
on the home farm, there remaining until 
twenty-two years of age. In 1872 he start- 
ed out in life for himself as a commission 
merchant in Oconomowoc, Wis., remaining 
in business there for one year, when he 
learned the art of photography, which he 
followed for some time; in 1878 he taught a 
private German school in Dodge county. 
Wis. He came to Marshiield in 1879, open- 
ing a hotel, which he conducted until 1886, 
being quite successful in that line of work. 
The purchase of the Marshfield Democrat 
was made in 1S84, he buying the paper 
from his brother Adolph, who had establish- 
ed it some six months previous, and has 
ever since been engaged in its management. 
The paper is conducted on a broad and 
liberal basis, giving clear and impartial 
views of the questions of the day, the edi- 
torials showing deep culture, marked withal 
by sound common sense. 

In 1875 Mr. Pankow was married to 
Ottilie Schelpeper, who was born in Wash- 
ington county. Wis., a daughter of Fred 
and Augusta (Derge) Schelpeper, both na- 
tives of Germany. By their union six chil- 
dren were born: Ella, Alma, Ottilie, Martha, 
Irena and Adelie, of whom Martha and 
Irena are now deceased. The mother of 
these, who was one of a family of live chil- 
dren — Augusta, William, Emily, Ottilie and 
Ida — passed away in 1887, and Mr. Pankow 
was again married in 1S92, on this occasion 
to Emma Froehlke, a native of Wiscon- 
sin, and daughter of John -and Johanna 
(Mahnke) Froehlke, of Manitowoc, Wis. 
Mr. Pankow was burned out in the Marsh- 
field fire of 1887, but immediately started 
in business again, which he has since carried 



on with marked success. In politics he is a 
supporter of the Democratic party and 
served as supervisor of his ward for two 
years. For the same length of time he also 
held the office of city treasurer, and has 
also been municipal judge, as well as filling 
other minor offices. He is a member of the 
Evangelical Lutheran Church, and has for 
fifteen years acted as its secretary, his social 
and moral worth giving him a high place in 
the regard of his fellow citizens. 



SAMUEL S. MILLER, senior mem- 
ber of the well-known leading firm 
of attorneys at law — Miller & Mc- 
Cormick — in Rhinelander, Oneida 
county, is a native of the State of Wisconsin, 
having been born July 17, 1850, in Chris- 
tiana township, Dane county. 

Stephen Miller, his grandfather, who was 
born in America of Scottish ancestry, mar- 
ried Miss Phcebe Hyde, a lady of English 
descent, related to the historic family of 
Hyde whose property, many j'ears ago, on 
account of their religious views, was con- 
fiscated. To Stephen and Phcebe Miller 
were born five children: Ambrose, Benjamin 
S., Edward, Gordon and Phcebe, the parents 
of whom both died in New York State. 
Benjamin S., the second in the family, was 
born in 1825, in New York State, received 
his education at the public schools of his 
boyhood period, and learned the trade of 
carpenter. In his native State he married 
Miss Martha Coon, who was born in 1820, 
and eight children came to them, as follows: 
Samuel S., Elmer, and Frances H. (now 
Mrs. Judge Bardeen, of Wausau), living, 
those deceased being: Florence (who mar- 
ried Joseph Stout, but left no issue), and 
Olive, Ida, Eugenie and James, all four of 
whom died in early life. The family came 
to Wisconsin in 1847, settling on a farm in 
Christiana township, Dane county, where 
the father followed his trades, those of car- 
penter and cabinet maker, in connection 
with agriculture. In 1876 he removed to 
Wausau where he and his wife are now liv- 
ing. During the Civil war he served as first 
lieutenant and quartermaster. He was no- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



195 



politician, but held several positions of trust, 
such as township clerk. 

The subject proper of these lines received 
his elementary education at the common 
schools of his native township, later attend- 
ing Albion College, Dane county, where he 
graduated in 1871, after which he took a 
course at the State University Law^ School, 
of Wisconsin, graduating from there in 1873. 
He then entered the law office of Meggett 
& Teall, at Eau Claire, Wis., where he 
continued in the more practical study of law 
until 1877, in the year following opening a 
law office in Whitehall, the county seat of 
Trempealeau county, Wis., where he prac- 
ticed ten years or till October, 1887, remov- 
ing to Rhinelander, Oneida county, where 
in partnership with Judge McCormick, under 
the firm name of Miller & McCormick, he 
has conducted a prosperous general business 
in law and equity. 

In 1878 Mr. Miller was married to Miss 
Anna M. Mosher, a native of the State of 
Maine, daughter of Charles P. (a mill-wright 
by trade), and Susan (Nash) Mosher, also 
born in Maine, parents of four children: 
Anna M. , Emma, Clara and Charles. The 
Mosher family came to Wisconsin in 1856, 
settling in Eau Claire where the parents are 
still residing. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller have 
been born three children, to wit: Helen E., 
Florence M. and Margaret J. In his polit- 
ical predilections our subject is a stanch Re- 
publican; while a resident of Trempealeau 
county he served as district attorney six 
years, and since coming to Rhinelander has 
been district attorney of Oneida county two 
years. In 1887 he was sent by the vote of 
the people to represent Trempealeau county 
in the Assembly, and gave eminent satisfac- 
tion to his constituents. He has served as 
chairman of the County Republican Com- 
mittee, and has been a delegate to State 
conventions; he has been a member of the 
Rhinelander school board five years, during 
which time he has proved himself an active 
and tireless worker in the cause of educa- 
tion. Socially, he is a member of the I. O. 
O. F. He is essentially a self-made man, 
his present enviable position at the bar being 
due to his own unaided efforts, and he paid 
for his college tuition entirely out of salaries 



he received for school teaching, a profession 
he commenced at the early age of seventeen 
years. 



JAMES A. NEWSOM is a practical and 
progressive farmer of Dayton township, 
Waupaca county, and is the owner of 
e.xtensive landed interests, which he 
successfully operates, and secures a good in- 
come thereby. His land is well tilled, and 
everything about the place kept in good re- 
pair, and the owner bids fair to become one 
of the wealthiest agriculturists of Waupaca 
county. He was born in Section 26, Day- 
ton township, December 19, 1868, and is a 
son of Joseph and Lecta M. (Larkin) New- 
som. The family is one of English line- 
age. The father was born in Steuben 
county, N. Y., November i, 1833, and when 
a young man migrated westward to Waupaca 
county, where he arrived in the autumn 
of 1854. Here he was first employed as a 
farm hand, but subsequently acquired land 
and carried on farming in his own interest. 
He first located in Section 36, Dayton 
township, but afterward removed to Section 
26. In that township he accumulated 400 
acres of land, and acquired forty-five acres 
elsewhere — the reward of his own well- 
directed efforts. 

Joseph Newsom was married April 18, 
i860, in Waupaca county, to Miss Larkin, 
who was born in New York, October 5, 
1834. They became the parents of the fol- 
lowing children: Jennie A., who was born 
January 29, 1862, and is still living on the 
old homestead; Mary N., who was born 
November 22, 1864, and died at the age of 
six years; James A. ; Mary B., who was born 
September 19, 1875, and died in infancy. 
In January, 1881, Mr. Newsom and wife 
adopted into their family Mary Padgum, 
then a child of four years, who is still at 
home and one of the family. In his polit- 
ical views the father was a Republican, and 
both he and his wife were members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. His death 
occurred in July, 1889, and his wife passed 
away in March, 1S88. 

On the home farm James A. Newsom 
was reared to manhood, and, as «oon as old 



196 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



enough to handle the plow, began work in 
the fields, becoming familiar with farm life 
in all of its various departments. His edu- 
cation was acquired in District School, No. 
3, Dayton township. As he was an only 
son much of the work of the farm devolved 
upon him, especially after his father's health 
began to fail, and he has since devoted his 
time and energies to the development and 
culti\'ation of the old homestead. 

Mr. Newsom was married August 30, 
1S93, in Farmington township, Waupaca 
county, the lady of his choice being Miss 
Abbie E. Ottman, a native of Onondaga 
county, N. Y. , born September 12, 1871, 
and a daughter of Jeremiah and Margaret 
(Krake) Ottman, who came to Wisconsin in 
1873. One child has been born to our sub- 
ject and his wife — Leslie O., born June 28, 
1894. Mrs. Newsom is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. New- 
som votes with the Republican party, but 
takes no active part in political matters, 
preferring to give his entire time and atten- 
tion to his business interests, in which he is 
meeting with good success. 



OLE A. MYHRE, an old soldier in the 
Union army, is now one of the 
prominent and representative farm- 
ers of St. Lawrence township, \\'au- 
paca county, where he owns a good tract of 
160 acres. He is a native of Norway, born 
August 29, 1826, and is a son of Andrew 
and Ann (Syne) Myhre, farming people of that 
country, where their deaths occurred. In 
the family were the following children: 
Inglebret, Sven, Elsie and Amond, deceased; 
OleA., of this sketch; Elsie, wife of Morton 
Gulickson, a farmer, of Norway; Anna, de- 
ceased; Simon, who died while in the serv- 
ice during the War of the Rebellion; Peter, 
who died in this country; Hans, a farmer of 
Waupaca county, and Hans and Simon, who 
both dieti in infancy. 

Ole A. Myhre began life in Norway as a 
common laborer, never having learned a 
trade, and his chances for securing an ed- 
ucation were very poor. In June, 1857, he 
reached the shores of the New World, land- 
ing at Quebec after a voyage of five weeks 



in a sailing vessel. He came direct to St. 
Lawrence township, Waupaca county, mak- 
ing the journey by boat as far as New 
London, Wis. For two j'ears he was en- 
gaged as a day laborer, when, in 1859, he 
bought forty acres of land in Section 18, 
which still forms a part of his present fine 
farm. His first home was a log cabin 14 
feet square, and for a year he had to per- 
form the arduous labors of clearing and de- 
veloping the land without the assistance of 
a team. He made the shingles that cov- 
ered his little home. There were no roads 
in the vicinity, and Scandinavia contained 
but one store. 

In 1859 Mr. Myhre led to the marriage 
altar Sarah Johnson, a native of Norway, 
who, in 1859, came to America with her 
parents, John and Martha Martinson. 
The parents located in St. Lawrence 
township, where they opened up a farm, on 
which they lived until the mother's death, 
when our subject bought the place, and the 
father went to Scandinavia township to live 
with his daughter, Mrs. Ole Wrolstred, 
whose husband is a farmer. By this union 
Mr. Myhre became the father of two chil- 
dren: Serena married Halman Peterson, a 
farmer of St. Lawrence township, and they 
have five children; and Andrew, who is still 
with his father. The mother of these chil- 
dren died, in 1865, of consumption, at the 
age of twenty-seven years, and now lies 
buried in the Scandinavia cemetery. In 
1867, Mr. Myhre wedded a cousin of his 
first wife, and to them have been born three 
children: John, Severt and Alfred, all at 
home. 

By his own industrious and well-directed 
efforts, Mr. Myhre has become the possessor 
of 160 acres of land, seventy of which have 
been cleared, broken and placed under a 
high state of cultivation. He has been ably 
assisted in his labors by his excellent wife 
and sons, who are industrious, painstaking 
young men. He enlisted, August 28, 1864, 
in Company A, Forty-second Wis. V. I., 
and was mustered into service at Madison, 
Wis. , whence the troops were sent to Cairo, 
111., where they did guard duty until their 
discharge June 3, 1865. Since casting his 
first vote Mr. Myhre has been a stanch Ke- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



197 



publican, always supporting the men and 
measures of that party. In religious belief 
he is a Lutheran. Since coming to the 
county he has gained many warm friends, 
and he is held in the highest esteem by all 
who know him. 



HARVEY J. MORGAN, a representa- 
tive pioneer farmer of Belle Plaine 
township, Shawano county, is a 
native of New York State, born June 
20, 1836, in Galen township, Wayne county. 
Patrick Morgan, father of our subject, a 
stone mason by trade, was born May i , 
1802, in County Down, Ireland, and, in 
1827, came to America, locating for a time 
in New York State. He married Miss 
Lovina Graves, who was born in Vermont 
about the year 1806, and nine children came 
to them, as follows: Elizabeth, who mar- 
ried, and died in Fonddu Lac county, Wis., 
leaving a husband and three children — Mary 
Ann, Eliza and Bernard; John, who was a 
farmer and carpenter, and died in Fond du 
Lac county, Wis., leaving a wife and one 
child, Harvey Thomas; Catherine, Mrs. 
John Patrick, of Greenbush, Sheboygan 
county. Wis. ; Harvey J. ; Roger, a farmer 
and blacksmith in Fond du Lac county, who 
is married and has children; Edward, also 
a farmer of Fond du Lac county; Francis 
W. , a farmer and carpenter of Fond du Lac 
county, who is married and has a family; 
and two that died in infancy. In 1848 the 
family came west to Wisconsin, locating in 
Fond du Lac county, where the father bought 
160 acres of wild land, distant some ten 
miles from any clearing, whereon they built a 
log shanty, covering it with split logs, the 
floor of it, both summer and winter, being 
simply Mother Earth, devoid of the slightest 
covering. Here they lived about eighteen 
months, at the end of which time a more 
commodious and substantial house was built 
in its place, and a few more of the comforts 
of a comparatively modern home were 
added. The nearest village of any kind was 
Fond du Lac, some fifteen miles distant, 
whence the father had to carry the family 
provisions on his back, frequently conveying 



thither in the same manner homemade maple 
sugar which he would trade at the rate of 
three cents per pound. A byroad, ten miles 
in length, leading to the mam road, was cut 
entirely by the family. At that time game 
of all kinds, including deer, was plentiful, 
while bears, wolves and panthers ( ' 'painters") 
roamed the forest, howling and growling as 
they went in search of prey. The farm im- 
plements of the family were simply an axe 
and grub hoe, and they were assisted in their 
work with their o.x-team and logging chain. 
The parents died on the homestead, the 
mother in 1879, the father in 1883. 

Pretty early in life did our subject " get 
into harness," as it can readily be under- 
stood, consequently his school experiences 
were very meagre, fourteen months being all 
the attendance he was ever able to give. 
His first writing lessons were of a very prim- 
itive description, being nothing better thaa 
tracing his "A B Cs" on the surface of the 
snow with the end of his whip, while he 
would be engaged in hauling logs in the 
woods. In 1856, having decided on com- 
mencing business on his own account, he 
moved to Shawano and engaged in the man- 
ufacture of shingles, then embarked in the 
lumber trade, which he followed some years, 
or until 1875, the tune of his purchasing in 
Belle Plaine township no acres of partly 
improved land, his present farm; since when 
he has been actively and successfully en- 
gaged in both agricultural pursuits and lum- 
bering. He has been enabled from time to 
time to increase his possessions, and at 
present owns 200 acres of land, eighty of 
which are under cultivation. 

In 1859 Mr. Morgan was married to Miss 
Laura A. Wilbur, daughter of Russell Wil- 
bur, and born, in 1838, in Massachusetts, 
whence when a girl she came to Wisconsin 
with her parents, locating in Shawano 
county. To this union were born four 
children, all yet living, as follows: Milton 
E., at home; Francis H., in Shawano; Will- 
iam Albert, residing at Whitcomb, Shawano 
county; and Josephine, now the wife of E. 
A. Guernsey. The mother of these died 
.April 18, 1873, at Shawano, and for his sec- 
ond wife our subject wedded Miss Anna P. 
Ollison. Politically Mr. Morgan is a Re- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



publican; socially he is a member of the 
Union League, and no one in Shawano 
•county stands higher in the esteem and re- 
gard of his fellow citizens. 



HERMAN MEISNER. In compiling, 
for the edification of the present 
generation and generations yet to 
come, a record of the lives of those 
men whose names are so closely interwoven 
with the history of certain portions of north- 
ern Wisconsin, the list would indeed be in- 
complete were prominent mention not made 
of the gentleman whose name is here re- 
-corded. 

Mr. Meisner is a native of New York 
State, born at Lockport April 2, 1856, a 
son of John D. and Justina (Krumbachj 
Meisner, natives of Brandenburg, Germany, 
who in 1855 came to the United States, in 
1863 settling in Belle Plaine township, 
Shawano Co., Wis., where they followed 
.agricultural pursuits; since 1884 they have 
been residents of Clintonville, Waupaca 
county. Of their thirteen children nine are 
yet living, as follows: John P., a merchant 
of Clintonville, Wis. ; William, a farmer of 
Belle Plaine township, Shawano county; 
Herman, subject of this sketch; August, also 
a resident of Clintonville; Augusta, wife of 
Herman Beyer, of Grant township, Shawano 
county; Anna, wife of John Frank, also of 
Grant township; David, living on the old 
farm; Emma, wife of Herman Prey, of 
Clintonville; and Albert, married, and resid- 
ing in Clintonville. 

As will be seen, our subject was about 
six years old when his parents brought him 
to Wisconsin and to Belle Plaine township, 
Shawano county, and here he was reared to 
manhood. Education, however, does not 
always come by reading and writing. The 
boy was possessed of vigorous, natural 
abilities, and the boy was father to the man. 
His opportunities for acquiring knowledge 
were indeed few, but he applied his powers 
•of observation upon the things which were 
nearest him, and thus became self-educated. 
Work was plentiful in his boyhood days, 
.and being a strong, robust lad he 



found ample employment about the farm 
and parental home. At the age of fourteen 
years he started out in life for himself, leav- 
ing Shawano county for Fond du Lac, his 
first work being on a farm in that county, 
which was followed bj' a somewhat versatile 
yet decidedly active experience, for a time in 
the lumber woods of the Upper Wolf, Red 
and Embarrass river countries, then in the 
Lake Superior (north shore) copper regions, 
Canadian side — all the time engaged in vari- 
ous capacities, sometimes as common laborer 
in the summer time, then in sawmills and in 
the woods during the winter months. In the 
spring of the year he " ran the river," and 
at one time was employed in the Extract 
Works at Clintonville, Waupaca county, 
where from hemlock bark was extracted the 
decoction use in tanning. At the age of 
twenty-three years he married, by which 
time he had saved a little over one hundred 
dollars in cash, and owned forty acres of 
wild land, which he had not yet commenced 
to work. After his marriage he found em- 
ployment on the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & 
Western railroad, on supply trains, hauling 
cordwood, etc. ; later was employed on gov- 
ernment vessels engaged in making improve- 
ments on the Fox river, and, still later, in 
a blast farnace at Appleton, to which city 
he removed. Concluding, however, to be- 
come his own employer, he in April, 1883, 
came to Wittenberg, which at that time was 
a mere hamlet in the midst of a dense forest, 
and here for twenty-five dollars bought a lot 
on Main street, which he at once commenced 
to improve. From the railroad station only 
one house, or rather shanty, was visible — 
the old " camp " built by the railroad com- 
pany, and once occupied by their employes 
— and our subject's first shelter here was a 
blanket stretched over the tops of a few poles 
placed in the ground. He had left his wife 
behind at Clintonville until such time as he 
should have a place prepared for her recep- 
tion; but one day he was not a little sur- 
prised to see his faithful spouse alight from 
a train at the Wittenberg depot. In answer 
to his inquiry as to why she came and where 
she expected to live, she replied: "To be 
beside you, and stay wherever you stay;" 
that settled it, so the blanket-roofed " wig- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



199 



warn " was the family house till the building 
he had commenced was completed. As soon 
as everything was ready, our subject em- 
barked in the hotel business, the first to open 
out in that line in the young village, his 
hostelry being known as the ' ' Wittenberg 
House." After about a year he sold out the 
tavern and purchased the ground where his 
present business block now stands, his next 
speculation being in the lumber industry, 
following the river in the proper seasons, and 
in general lumbering, chiefly as jobber until 
May, 1887, when he commenced mercantile 
trade in Wittenberg, his first stock of goods 
amounting to about $25., the business month 
by month increasing until May, 1894, when 
he sold out, retiring from mercantile pursuits 
with a comfortable competence. For the 
past six years he has been largely interested 
in real estate, at the present time interested 
in eighteen tracts of timber land, some of 
which is improved, besides village property, 
and he represents large tracts for other 
parties. 

In 1879 Mr. Meisner was married, at 
Clintonville, Wis., to Miss Augusta Heitzke, 
a native of Germany, coming to the United 
States with her parents, John and Louise 
(Koshel) Heitzke when she was ten years 
old. To this union have come seven chil- 
dren: Ella, George, Esther, Eva, Katie, 
Grover and Philip, all born in Wittenberg 
and all yet living at home. In his political 
preferences our subject has always been a 
stanch Democrat, a leader in the party in 
this part of the State, has been a member 
of the Congressional Committee, and at the 
present time is serving on the Democratic 
County Committee. He has twice been 
honored with appointment as postmaster at 
W^ittenberg, the first time in 1887, serving 
about two years, again in 1893, and he is at 
present filling the incumbency. He has 
served as deputy and under sheriff four terms; 
has been treasurer of Wittenberg township, 
also supervisor, and was school treasurer 
nine years; for a time he served as game 
warden for Shawano and Marathon counties. 
At present he is a director and trustee of the 
German Lutheran Orphans' Home at Wit- 
tenberg. In religious faith he and his wife 
are consistent members of the Lutheran 
13 



Church, and toward the erection of the 
house of worship for that denomination in 
Wittenberg he rendered substantial assist- 



CHKISTIAN JOHNSON, a native of 
Denmark, lived to the age of thirty- 
seven years in his native land and 
found himself approaching the noon- 
time of lifewithscarcely more of this world's 
goods than he had when he started in life 
for himself with only a clear brain and a 
pair of willing hands. He came to Ameri- 
ca, and has since become one of the pros- 
perous and well-respected citizens of Wau- 
paca. It was not due alone, perhaps not 
principally, to the change in location that 
resulted in a change in his fortunes; rather 
it was the result of the thoroughly honest 
and reliable character which Mr. Johnson 
possessed, and which has enabled him here 
to acquire and retain a modest competence. 
Mr. Johnson was born in Denmark No- 
vember 28, 1826, son of John and Mary 
(Nelson) Johnson, who were farmers. 
Christian was the youngest of five children 
— John, Soren, Nels, Sophia and Christian. 
The latter was reared on his father's farm, 
and attended the schools in the vicinity of 
his home. At the age of twenty-three years 
he entered the artillery service of the 
Danish government, and for three years 
participated in the war then waging between 
Denmark and Germany over the possession 
of the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein, 
His military duties ended, Mr. Johnson re- 
turned to farming, and he worked for others 
until his marriage, in 1856, to Dora Larson. 
It was in 1863 that he emigrated to Ameri- 
ca, and his financial resources were so slen- 
der that he reached Waupaca with an in- 
debtedness of fifty dollars hanging over him. 
He commenced working on a farm at twelve 
dollars per month, and for nine years worked 
as a common laborer. By that time he had 
accumulated a little capital, and he decided 
to utilize it for his own advancement in life. 
Accordingly, in 1874 he purchased a half in- 
terest in a tannery at Waupaca, and five 
years later he bought out the other half. 
He has since then continued in business, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



and at present he owns a pleasant residence, 
three well-located pieces of property, and 
two choice business locations on Main 
street. The tannery he has recently sold 
out, for he has decided to retire from busi- 
ness. Mr. Johnson has not lost his affec- 
tion for his native land. He visited Den- 
mark in 1882, and again in 1888, and dur- 
ing the winter of 1894-95 was arranging for 
a third trip across the Atlantic. Mr. John- 
son has no children, but an adopted son, 
Anton Johnson. In politics he is a stanch 
Republican, and he has served in the city 
council of Waupaca four terms. He is a 
member of the Scandinavian Lutheran 
Church. Mr. Johnson enjoys the esteem 
and respect of all who know him, and is one 
of the solid and influential business men of 
Waupaca county. 



married Bodel Hanson. Their 
were Rasmus, John H., Hans, 



JOHN H. EBBE has fairly won the 
name of being the father of Lincoln 
township. Wood county. He was a 
poor man when he came to the town- 
ship in 1867, a year before it was organized. 
He took an active part in the organization 
in 1868, and was its first supervisor. He 
was elected chairman in the year 1878, 
and held the office seven successive years 
and for three terms since then. For twen- 
ty-iive years he has served as a school 
director, and he was a justice of the peace 
for many years. He has always been a 
leader in public affairs. He laid out roads, 
helped to organize schools and churches; 
even made from slabs the coffins in which 
many of the early dead among the families 
of the pioneers were laid away at rest. He 
built many of the first dwellings in the town- 
ship, and erected the first house in Marsh- 
field. These and many other things were 
part of the pioneer record of John H. 
Ebbe. 

He was born in Denmark May 28, 1826, 
son of Hans and Bodel (Hanson) Rasmus- 
sen. Hans Rasmussen was born in 1792, 
and was one of a family of six children, con- 
sisting of himself, Peter, Robert, Carrie, 
Cecil and Anna. He was a farmer by oc- 
cupation, but was for four j-ears a soldier in 
the bodyguard of the King of Denmark. In 



1823 he 

children 

Lewis, Christian, Crist, Hannah, Anna, and 

two who died in infancy. The father died 

in 1847, the mother in 1888. 

John H. Ebbe was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Denmark, which he attended 
up to the age of fourteen. He learned read- 
j ily, and always stood at the head of his 
j class. He remained on his father's farm 
i until 1848; when he was drafted into the 
I Danish army. He served two and a half 
j years in the infantry during the insurrection 
I of Holstein, and participated in four severe 
j engagements, one lasting four days and four 
nights. He escaped injurj', but narrowly, 
; for several times bullets pierced his cloth- 
ing. After his honorable discharge, in 1851, 
he spent a year and a half in learning the 
wagon maker's trade. In 1863 his brother 
Crist came to America, and the year follow- 
ing John H. followed with his family. He 
I had in February, 1853, married Maria Hen- 
dersen, in Denmark, and his four children 
were Mary, Hans, Hannah and John, of 
whom, Hans and Hannah are deceased. 
Mr. Ebbe when he came to Wisconsin in 
1864, rented a farm in Lake Mills town- 
ship, Jefferson county. Here his wife died, 
and in the autumn of 1865 he married his 
present wife, Julia Oleson, who is of Nor- 
wegian birth. By this marriage he had 
seven children: William, Henry, Julia, 
Albert, Clarence, and two who died young. 
Mrs. Ebbe by a previous marriage had three 
children: Martha, Thomas and Lewis. In 
the fall of 1867 Mr. Ebbe came to Wood 
county, and settled on his present farm of 
160 acres in Lincoln township, making the 
journey with an ox-team, which he had 
hired. The land was covered with pine 
stumps, and at that time was considered 
very poor land, Mr. Ebbe paying only $100 
for the property. He was poor, and was 
obliged to work in the woods to support 
his family, but he continued to improve his 
farm, and to-day has one of the finest prop- 
erties in the township. He has also bought 
and sold other land extensively, and has 
given to his sons fine farms, upon which 
they have settled near him. Mr. Ebbe 
gave his attention to the lumber interests of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



the county many years ago, and his sons 
are still in the lumber camp. He was very 
prominent in the early history of the town- 
ship, and is still regarded as one of the most 
public-spirited citizens of the county. In 
politics he is a Republican, and in religious 
affiliation he and his wife are members of 
the Evane-elical Lutheran Church. 



REV. ANDERS LAUSEN JENSEN 
SOHOLM, pastor of the Danish 
Lutheran Church at Waupaca, is the 
sole representative of his father's 
family in America. He came as a mission- 
ary, in 1872, to help keep together in spirit- 
ual bonds the many members of the home 
Church who had in recent years crossed the 
ocean to found new homes and new associa- 
tions in a foreign land. For six years he 
labored in his ministerial capacity in the 
East, and then, in 1878, came to Waupaca 
and took charge of the Danish Lutheran 
Church here. It has been a fertile field for 
Church growth, for the hardy Danes have in 
large numbers peopled the shores and for- 
ests of the Upper Wisconsin Valley, and 
have made homes to bloom where before 
there was only dreariness and waste. Rev. 
Soholm in looking after the spiritual needs 
of this strong and honest race has done faith- 
ful and zealous work, as the flourishing 
charges now under his care most thoroughly 
attest. 

He was born in Jutland, Denmark, June 
16, 1844, son of Jens S. and Kirsten (Jen- 
sen) Soholm, to whom were born eight chil- 
dren: Soren, Karen, John, Marie, Mary, 
Mads, Hans and Anders L. Jens Soholm 
was born in Fyen, Denmark, in 1791, and 
was a farmer by occupation. He served as 
a soldier in the Danish army, and died in 
1849, when Anders L. . the youngest child, 
was but five years old. Anders lived at 
home with his mother until he was eighteen 
years old, then attended college for four 
years, thus completing his education in 1869. 
During the next three years he taught school, 
excepting eight months when he was in the 
military service of his country, serving in the 
infantry, and during that time he employed 
a substitute at the school. When Rev. 



Soholm came to .America, in 1872, as a min- 
ister he located at Perth Amboy, N. J., 
twenty-five miles distant from New York City, 
remaining there six years. Then, in 1878, he 
took charge of the Danish Lutheran charge 
at Waupaca, and has remained there, an 
earnest and devoted pastor, ever since. The 
Church has a membership of 400; Rev. So- 
holm also has four other charges in his care, 
including one at Belmont, one at Saxeville, 
Waushara county, one in Union township 
and one at Poy Sippi, Waushara county. 
Politically he is a Republican. 

On September 14, 1872, in New York, 
he was married to Anna Marie Kirstine 
Fogtman, who was born in Denmark and 
who emigrated to America that year. To 
I Rev. and Mrs. Soholm seven children have 
1 been born, as follows: Emma, Dora, Wal- 
ter, Clara, Hilda, Matilda, and Albert. 
Dora, one of the daughters, was married to 
Mr. W. Jersild December 27, 1894. He 
has a fruit and confectionery store at Wau- 
paca. 



JOHN D. BEGGS was born in Grand 
Isle county, Vt. , August 12, 1823, and 
is a son of Archibald and Sarah (Dodds) 
Beggs, who were early residents of 
Vermont. 

Archibald Beggs was a farmer by occu- 
pation. His wife was born in Vermont, 
and her father, John Dodds, was one of the 
early settlers there. Mr. and Mrs. Beggs 
were the parents of eight children — John 
D., the subject of this sketch; Jane, now 
widow of B. Worden, and residing in 
Almond township. Portage county; Hulda, 
now Mrs. John O'Neil, of Fond du Lac 
county. Wis. ; Robert, deceased; James, de- 
ceased, who lived ill Almond township; 
Matilda, deceased; Albert, who died at the 
siege of Petersburg, and William, a resident 
of Plainfield, Waushara Co., Wis. The 
children remained at home until of adult 
age. Finally, one by one, as the}- married, 
they left home. In 1840 the parents sold 
the homestead in Vermont, went to Clinton 
county, N. Y., and bought a farm on which 
they lived until 1850, when they sold out 
and came to Wisconsin. From Milwaukee 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



they came by wagon to Almond township, 
Portage county, and pre-empted i6o acres 
of land, on which they squatted, as it was 
termed. The land had just been bought 
from the Indians, and had not yet been sur- 
veNed. There were numerous openings, as 
they were called, partly timber and partly 
prairie. Clearing was at once commenced, 
but progressed slowly, as they had only 
rude tools with which to work. Lumber 
was brought from Stevens Point, Portage 
county, and a frame house built. First 
wheat was sowed, the land was strong, and, 
as the clearing was enlarged, they began to 
succeed better. Here the parents resided 
for the remainder of their lives, the death 
of Mr. Beggs occurring about 1865, and 
that of his widow, Mrs. Sarah Beggs, about 
1888. 

John D. Beggs received onl}- a common- 
school education. Being the eldest of the 
children, he was taken from school and had 
to assist in the work of the farm. He made 
the cradle with which the first wheat was 
cut on his father's farm in Almond town- 
ship, and cradled that day an acre of wheat. 
In New York State, on July 11, 1851, John 
D. Beggs married Susan Tucker, who was 
born in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , No- 
vember 14, 1829. They came to Wiscon- 
sin the year following their marriage, and 
still live on the homestead in Almond town- 
ship. Portage county, where they first set- 
tled. There have been born to them twelve 
children, namely: Gertrude M., Mrs. Asay 
Abbott, of Almond township; Edwin O., 
deceased; Everett O., a resident of Pine 
Grove, Wis.; Robert R., in Almond town- 
ship; Frederick W. , in Almond; Clara C, 
in Almond, widow of Mr. Abbott; Nelson 
H., living in Almond; Warren J., deceased; 
Catherine L. , no\V Mrs. S. Vroman, of 
Oasis; Herbert B., at home; Jessie S., in 
Almond; and Myron W. , at home. 

The parents of Mrs. John D. Beggs, 
Joseph and Catherine (Church) Tucker, 
reared a family of eleven children, as fol- 
lows: Adeline, now Mrs. A. Willard, of 
Oregon; Orilla J., in Almond; Harvey, who 
died in the war; Marvin, deceased; Susan, 
Mrs. Beggs; Maria, deceased; Catherine; 
Joseph, in New York, on the old 



homestead; Cephas, deceased; and Nelson 
and Joshua, in Sparta, Monroe Co., Wis. 
The father was a successful farmer. Both 
parents always lived in St. Lawrence county, 
N. Y. , and died there, Mrs. Tucker in 1863, 
Mr. Tucker in 1 864. 

Mr. Beggs is a Democrat, and has al- 
ways supported that partj'. He has been 
justice of the peace for probably thirty-five 
years; was the first town clerk; was assessor 
for twenty-five j'ears, and treasurer for 
twenty-three years. Coming to Almond 
township in an early day, he is widely and 
favorably known, and highl)' respected in 
the community as a substantial citizen and 
for his many sterling qualities. 



LARS S. LARSEN is one of the ener- 
getic and successful citizens of Wau- 
paca. He is senior member of the 
firm of Larsen & Yosham, who own 
the finest meat market in the city, and do 
the largest business in that line. He is 
energetic simply because he cannot help it. 
He is one of those fortunate men who are 
born with an unusually large stock of vitality, 
which if directed aright is certain to bring 
to its happy possessors success in whatever 
field of enterprise they engage. And Mr. 
Larsen has held his vitality well in check, 
for his life has been governed by good busi- 
ness principles. As a consequence he has 
been of service to the community in which 
he lives in many ways by means of his wise 
counsel and the exercise of his energies. 

He was born near the city of Holbek, 
Island of Sjeland, Denmark, November 14, 
1857, son of Ole Larsen, a farmer. Ole 
Larsen had for a year served in the Danish 
army during the campaign in the West 
Indies. He had a familj- of seven children, 
four of whom — Peter, Andrew, Maggie and 
Lars S. — lived to emigrate with him to 
America in 1 860. This was the second Dan- 
ish family to settle in Waupaca township, 
Waupaca Co., Wis. On his arrival Ole 
Larsen purchased torty acres of land in 
Waupaca township, but five years later he 
moved to Lind township, and for fifteen 
years superintended the farm of his son-in- 
law. Returning to Waupaca, this pioneer 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



203 



Dane died in that city in November, 1S83, 
surviving his uife two years. 

Lars S. Larsen, the youngest son, at- 
tended the district schools of Lind town- 
ship until he was fourteen jears old. He 
then went to work for a farmer, contractmg 
to remain eight months at twelve dollars 
per month. The thrifty habits of the boy 
may be seen from the fact that when his 
term of service was ended $91 remained 
to his credit. In the eight months he had 
drawn only five dollars. For two years he 
thus worked and saved, but the mone}' 
earned did not go to his own use It was 
devoted to the purchase of a home for 
his father in Waupaca. When seventeen 
years old he began going into the woods 
in winters, and working in sawmills during 
the summers. He kept up this life for 
three years, and at one time injured his 
hand severely with the saw. He was an 
athletic young fellow, weighing 175 pounds, 
and the strongest in a gang of seventeen 
lumbermen. Lars was married, in Decem- 
ber, 1876, to Nicalena Anderson, a native 
of Denmark. After marriage he rented a 
farm in Lind township and worked it for 
three years. It was by the merest acci- 
dent that his efforts were directed to the 
butchering line. Having five head of cat- 
tle for sale he found it impossible to 
dispose of them, and in sheer desperation 
he killed the animals and sold the meat. 
It proved profitable and the young man 
bought some more beeves and disposed of 
them in the same way. The following 
spring he bought a farm of four forty- 
acre tracts, unimproved, built a house, and 
cleared the farm in summer and butchered 
in winter. Four years later he sold the 
farm, moved to Waupaca, and for a year 
worked in a butcher shop. Then, in 1884, 
he went into business for himself, and has 
continued it ever since. 

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Larsen con- 
sists of Carrie M., Charles, Fred, Oscar, 
Emma, Marie, Eva and Jessie. Himself and 
wife are members of the Lutheran Church. 
Politically he is a Republican. He has been 
ward policeman, and for seven terms has 
been chief of police. He is a member of 
the Knights of Honor, of the Modern Wood- 



men, and is serving as chairman of the 
board of health. Besides his business, Mr. 
Larsen owns a fine residence and eleven 
city lots. He has attained to an influential 
position in the civic affairs of Waupaca. 



ERICK JACOBSON. Quite a num- 
ber of the leading and prominent 
r,citizens of Merrill, Lincoln county, 
are of alien birth, and among these 
there is none that is better known or more 
widely respected than the gentleman whose 
name appears at the beginning of this 
sketch. He is a native of Sweden, born 
November 12, 1854, in Dais Land, and is a 
son of Jacob and Britta S. (Olson) Isaac- 
son. His father was a blacksmith and 
wagon maker by trade and followed those 
occupations in Sweden until his death, 
which occurred in 1892. The paternal 
grandfather, Isaac Stam, was a soldier in 
the Swedish army, and by his marriage had 
five children, three sons and two daughters, 
of whom the daughters died while young; 
one son was accidentally shot; and another 
was killed in a flouring mill. The maternal 
grandfather, Nels Backfall, was also a sol- 
dier. The mother of our subject was the 
daughter of Ole Backfalt, and had one 
brother and three sisters: John, Lizzie, Kas- 
sa and Mary S. By her marriage she be- 
came the mother of two children, namely: 
Erick and Sophia, and since her husband's 
death she has come to the United States and 
now makes her home with her son. 

Mr. Jacobson obtained his education in 
the common schools of Sweden and remained 
at home until 1882, when he decided to 
come to America. In his native land he 
had part of the time worked on a railroad. 
On landing in New York City in April, 1882, 
he went direct to Chicago, where he ob- 
tained a position in a rolling mill. He there 
remained for a year and a half, or until the 
fall of 1883, when he came to Merrill and 
worked in the woods during the winter, but 
the following spring returned to Chica- 
go and again worked in a rolling mill for six 
months. At the end of that time he re- 
moved to Iowa, where for eighteen months 
he was employed in a coal mine, after which 



■204 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he again came to Merrill, and has since 
made this place his home. He obtained a 
position in a lumber yard during the sum- 
mers, while in the winter he was in the 
woods for two seasons, and at the same 
time kept a boarding house. This he fol- 
lowed until Ma}-, 1893, when he opened a 
temperance saloon, which he conducted for 
three months, and then put in a stock of 
groceries, which business he still continues 
with marked success. 

In 1884, in Chicago, our subject was 
united in marriage with Charlotte Aronson, 
who was born in Sweden, July 30, 1859, 
and is a daughter of Aaron and Mary L. 
Anderson, who were the parents of fourteen 
children, nine of whom are still living; 
Anna, August, Charlotte, Ricka, Eliza, Min- 
nie, Charles, John H. and Walfrid. Mrs. 
Jacobson came to the United States in 1883, 
but her parents still reside in Sweden, where 
the father is engaged in farming. Her pa- 
ternal grandfather, Andrew Anderson, was 
also an agriculturist, and by his marriage 
had a family of four children, all of whom 
are now deceased, with the exception of An- 
derson. 

Mr. Jacobson has never taken an active 
part in politics, but in performing the duties 
of an American citizen at the polls votes 
the straight Prohibition ticket. In religious 
matters he and his wife are consistent mem- 
bers of the Swedish Lutheran Church and 
their genuine social and moral worth gives 
them a high place in the regard of their fel- 
low citizens. 



ALBERTA. JEFFERS, a well-known 
farmer of Portage county, was born 
in Jefferson county, N. Y. , and is a 
son of George and Belinda (Cadwell) 
Jeffers. The grandfather, Thomas Jeffers, 
was a native of Connecticut and a descend- 
ant of Judge Jefferj'S of England, who was 
the founder of the family in America, and 
changed the name to its present spelling. 
George Jeffers was reared on a farm in New 
York, and in 1855 came to Wisconsin, lo- 
cating on a farm in F"armington township, 
Waupaca county, where his remaining da}s 
were passed. His wife, who was born 



April 21, 1806, in the State of Connecticut, 
is still living, and, though she has reached 
the age of eighty-nine, enjoys ver}' good 
health. She makes her home with our sub- 
ject and with her daughter, Mrs. Penny, of 
Sheridan. The children of the family are : 
Seymour, Eliza A., Henry C, Cornelia J., 
Truman G., Ellen M., Julius M., Albert A., 
Emma S., Earle L. , Laura S., Winfield S. 
and Washington B. 

On the maternal side Mr. Jeffers traces 
his ancestry back through many generations. 
His grandfather, Phineas Cadwell, was a 
son of Ashbel, and through Nehemiah, Ed- 
ward, Abraham, William Nehemiah, Mat- 
thew Edward, Daniel, David, Joseph Tim- 
othy, Aaron and Moses to Edward Cadwell, 
who, with his brother Matthew, sailed from 
England on the "Mayflower" in 1620. 
The famil}' had gone to that country from 
Holland and previouslj- lived in Scotland. 
The wife of Edward reached the advanced 
age of one hundred and three years. Phineas 
Cadwell, grandfather of our subject, was 
born in Hartford, Conn., and at the age of 
two years went with his parents to Litchfield 
county, where at the age of eighteen he en- 
tered the Colonial army, serving in the 
Revolutionar}' war until independence was 
achieved. He married Eleanor Hayden, 
and lived with his parents until the death of 
his father. In 1794, he removed his family 
to Town Hill, where he remained until 1800, 
keeping a public house for two j'ears. He 
then went with his family to Litchfield, 
Conn., and in December, 1801, took a trip 
to New York, and purchased a farm, to 
which he removed the following summer, 
the location being in Chenango county, now 
Madison county. In 1808, he removed to 
the shore of Oneida lake, locating in the 
wilderness, where for a time he was engaged 
in farming. In the spring of 1845, he went 
with his daughter to Fabius, and in 1849 
took up his residence at the home of his son, 
E. S. Cadwell. in Madison county, N. Y. , 
where he died February 1 1, 1857. at the age 
of ninety-nine years, eleven months and ten 
days. In 1856, he received from the govern- 
ment, for services rendered in the Revolu- 
tion, a land warrant for 160 acres, which he 
located in Racine county, Wis. His chil- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHIOAL RECORD. 



205 



dren were Polly A., born July 13, 1781; 
Polly A., born August 25, 1783; Mahala, 
born September 17, 1785; Ebenezer S. , 
born October 7, 1787; Eleanor, born April 
13, 1793; Emma, born October 16, 1795; 
Ashbel, born August 11, 1799; and Belinda, 
born April 21, 1S06. 

We now resume the personal history of 
Albert A. Jeffers, who acquired his educa- 
tion in the district schools of Waupaca 
county, and was reared upon his father's 
farm, remaining at home until his marriage. 
He wedded Jessie Le Prevost in Weyau- 
wega, Wis. , November 21,1 860. She was 
born in the town of Halifax, Nova Scotia, 
March 12, 1847, and is a daughter of Capt. 
Nicholas M. and Jennie (Streeter) Le Pre- 
vost. Her father was born on the Island 
of Guernsey, off the coast of France, was a 
son of Sir Nicholas Le Prevost, who owned 
a large estate on that island. The baronial 
castle was left to his daughters, who are 
still residing therein, and on the death of 
those ladies the estate will descend to 
George F. Le Prevost, a brother of Mrs. 
Jeffers, now residing in Philadelphia, Pa. 
He is a gentleman of culture, a graduate of 
one of the leading universities of this country. 
He was twice married, and his first wife, who 
died fourteen years ago, had three children, 
but all are now deceased. The sisters of 
Mrs. Jeffers are Mary J., wife of Alfred 
Tasker, a wealthy cotton and woolen manu- 
facturer who with his family spends the 
winter in London, England, and the re- 
mainder of the year in their beautiful sum- 
mer home in the heart of Kent county; 
Louisa R. , wife of William Warfel, who is 
living near Prairie Center, Neb. ; and Mar- 
garet L., who became the wife of J. H. 
Morgan, and died December 28, 1893, leav- 
ing six children. Captain Le Prevost was 
at one time an extensive ship owner; he is 
now deceased. 

During her early girlhood, Mrs. Jeffers 
attended a private school in Halifax. With 
her parents she sailed from that place, June 
9, 1856, on the "Eastern State," which in 
a dense fog collided with an inward bound 
vessel which sank immediately, not a soul 
being saved. The "Eastern State" was 
seriously damaged and this experience Mrs. 



Jeffers will never forget, for the shrieks of 
the doomed people could be plainly heard 
by those who were unable to render any 
assistance. For three weeks the Le Prevost 
family visited relatives in Boston, where the 
Captain served as chief witness and was in- 
strumental in securing the acquittal of Capt. 
W^ard, commander of the " Eastern State," 
to whose carelessness the accident was 
charged. The family then came to Farm- 
ington, Wis. Mrs. Jeffers is a remarkably 
well-informed lady, a fluent and pleasing 
talker and her kindliness and benevolence 
have won her the respect and love of all. 

To our subject and wife were born the 
following children: George N., born Sep- 
tember 6, 1866; Henry W., born December 
14, 1872, and is a graduate of the business 
college of Dixon, 111.; Ellen M., born No- 
vember 7, 1874, and for several terms a 
teacher, now attending the Normal School at 
Stevens Point; Bessie L. , born April 29, 
1S78, now attending school in Lanark, Wis., 
and Martha B., born December 11, 1880, 
who possesses considerable musical talent, 
and is now attending school in Lanark. 

During the Civil war, Mr. JefTers enlisted 
at Waupaca, October 7, 1861, in Company 
B, Fourteenth Wis. V. I., and after three 
weeks' drill at Weyauwega, joined his regi- 
ment at Fond du Lac, whence the command 
was ordered to St. Louis, thence to the 
South. He participated in the battles of 
Shiloh and Vicksburg, and a wound received 
at the latter caused his detention in the 
hospital for three months. He was also in 
the battles of luka. Pleasant Hill, Ciouters- 
ville. Cane River, Marksville, Yellow Bayou, 
Tupelo, Old Town Creek, Fort Blakely, 
Spanish Fort, Nashville, and Augusta. He 
was mustered out of the service at Mobile, 
Ala., October 12, 1865, immediately returned 
home and purchased 125 acres of land in 
Lanark township, Portage county. He after- 
ward disposed of a part of this and pur- 
chased land in Amherst township. He still 
has ninety acres, of which fifty acres are 
cleared, and he is rapidly transforming it into 
rich and fertile fields. In politics he is a 
Republican and keeps well informed on the 
issues of the day. He is a Protestant in re- 
ligious belief, and is a man who has the con- 



2o6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fidence and high regard of neighbors and 
friends, having won their esteem by his well- 
spent life. 

OLE LARSON, a prominent merchant 
of ^^'aupaca, now conducts a thriv- 
ing grocery store, and for many years 
has been identified with the growing 
business interests of this city. 

He is a native of Denmark, where he 
was born in December, 1826, son of Lars 
and Anna (Hanson) Hanson. Lars Hanson 
was a farmer, and had a family of twelve chil- 
dren, of whom Ole, the second son, is now 
the sole survivor. Ole was reared on a 
farm, and received a good common-school 
education. He was apprenticed to a shoe- 
maker and learned that trade in his native 
land. In 1856, at the age of twenty-nine 
years, he decided to emigrate to America. 
He located first at Pine Lake, Wis., where 
for a short time he worked on a farm. He 
then removed to Muskegon, Mich., and for 
three years worked in a sawmill. Return- 
ing to Wisconsin in the fall of 1859, he was 
occupied in different ways at Waupaca until 
in 1 86 1 he resumed the trade of his youth 
and opened a shoe shop. It proved a suc- 
cessful venture, for the business grew rapidly 
and he prospered. At one time he employed 
five men, and carried an extensive stock of 
goods. About 1870 he sold out his boot and 
shoe business and with L. Pedersen as a 
partner opened a grocery store. Disposing 
of his interest to his partner the ne.xt year 
Mr. Larson cultivated a small farm for a 
number of years, or until 1887, when he 
again entered the grocery business, and is 
now at the head of a mercantile establisment 
which commands a good trade. 

Mr. Larson was first married, in 1865, 
to Elizabeth Austin, of American birth. One 
son, Lewis Austin Larson, was born to them, 
and he now assists his father in the store. 
The mother died in 1878, and six years later 
Mr. Larson was married to Hannah Ever- 
son, a native of Norway. Politically Mr. 
Larson is a RDpublican, and for two terms 
he has served his ward as an alderman in 
the city council. He has been a member 
of the Danish Lutheran Church since 1859, 



and is a member of the Dane Home. Com- 
ing to America a poor young man, Mr. Lar- 
son has by his adherence to principles of 
honor and integrity won the confidence and 
high regard of the people of Waupaca and 
vicinit}'. He is now one of its most influen- 
tial and enterprising citizens. 



JOHN M. STAUBER. Wood county 
has many well-to-do and successful 
business men who are the architects of 
their own fortunes, and have been con- 
nected largel}' with its prosperity. Among 
these is the subject of this personal history, 
who at present is engaged in the manufac- 
ture of cigars in Marshfield, where he is con- 
ducting an excellent business, having in his 
employ three men most of the time. 

Mr. Stauber was born in Bohemia on 
the 6th of Ma}', 1858, and is a son of John 
Stauber, who is a farmer by occupation and 
is a land owner of Bohemia, where he and 
his wife are still living. The father married 
Elizabeth Thrlbeck, and they became the 
parents of eight children, as follows: Anton, 
Joseph, Fannie, Mary, Theresa, John M., 
Charles and Andrew. Our subject has one 
brother and one sister now residing in this 
country — Charles and Theresa. 

John M. Stauber was reared on his 
father's farm, and thus in early life became 
familiar with the work devolving on a gen- 
eral farmer. He attended the common 
schools of his native land, acquiring a good 
German education. He remained in Bo- 
hemia until twenty-three j'ears of age, when 
he determined to make America his future 
home, and in June, 1881, crossed the At- 
lantic. At the age of eighteen he had en- 
tered the army of his native land, in which 
he served four years as a musician. After 
landing in this country he came direct to 
Wisconsin, stopping first at Manitowoc, 
where he had friends living. There he 
learned the trade of cirgar-making, and re- 
mained in that city until September, 18S2, 
when he settled in Marshfield, which has 
since been his place of residence. He here 
worked at his trade in the employ of others, 
until December, 1890, when he started in 
business for himself, which has since been 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



307- 



successfully carried on. May 1st he made 
a change in his business to that of a bakery, 
confectionery and grocery store, which is 
styled the Marshfield Bakery. He is one of 
the self-made men of the community, having 
landed in the United States with only $20 
in his pocket. 

On April 27, 1885, Mr. Stauber was 
united in marriage, at Marshfield, with Anna 
M. Kohl, a native of Washington county, Wis. , 
and by this union have been born four chil- 
dren, namely: Joseph J., Rosa M., Frank 
A., and Dora B. In politics our subject is a 
Democrat, but has never been a politician 
in the sense of office seeking. He holds 
membership with the Catholic Church and 
also belongs to the Catholic Knights, 
and to the Modern Woodmen of America. 
He is a great lover of music, and is now 
serving as chief bugler of the Second Regi- 
ment Wis. N. G. He organized the Marshfield 
Band, consisting of eighteen pieces, and is at 
present its leader, a position he is well quali- 
fied to fill. Mr. Stauber is a man of good 
financial ability and of e.xcellent judgment, 
and since becoming a resident of this city 
has won the respect and confidence of the 
community, and occupies a leading position 
among its influential citizens. 



NEWELL GROVER, dealer in liquors 
at Amherst Junction, Portage coun- 
ty, was born in the town of Alle- 
gany, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. , July 
27, 1854, and is a son of Isaac Reed and 
Rosella (Devreau.x) Grover, natives of the 
Empire State. In 1855, the father came 
west in search of a location, and purchased 
eighty acres of wild land in Amherst town- 
ship. Portage county, upon which he made 
a clearing, then built a log cabin. In the 
spring of 1856, he sent for his family who 
joined him, and upon the first farm they 
lived for a 3'ear, when the father disposed of 
that property and bought a large tract of 
wild land on Waupaca river. There he 
built a log house and lived for two years, 
when he again sold out and bought forty 
acres on which Amherst Junction now 
stands. Later he purchased seven acres of 
what is called the old Turner farm. He 



erected the first house in Amherst Junction, 
a frame building and there lived for many 
years. This old house is still standing, 
though now in a dilapidated condition. 

While the father was in the Civil war, 
our subject and his brother made a number 
of improvements upon the farm. Newell 
attended the public schools until seventeen 
years of age, and worked in the fields dur- 
ing the summers. Later he was employed 
at various occupations, engaging in railroad- 
ing for eight years, after which he rented 
and operated a farm near Buena Vista, Wis., 
for one year. During the succeeding four 
years he was a traveling salesman, and upon 
his return to Amherst Junction engaged in- 
the livery business with Charles Dwinnell. 
At first they had only three horses, but 
when Mr. Grover sold out they had six. 
horses and an excellent stock of carriages. 
In February, 1891, he purchased the saloon 
which he still conducts, and in the spring of 
1893 he repurchased a half interest in the 
old livery barn, and in the autumn became 
sole proprietor. In August, 1894, he sold 
the livery business, but again bought it back 
in March, 1895. In May, 1893, he and Mr. 
Dwinnell purchased the Guyant saloon, 
which is conducted by the latter. By per- 
sistence and enterprise, Mr. Grover has ac- 
cumulated considerable property, and the 
only aid he ever received was a gift from 
his father of a lot on which he himself built 
a house shortly before his marriage. This 
was his home until 1885. 

Mr. Grover was married in East Gran- 
ville, Wis., April 8, 1877, to Betsey M. 
Hopkins, daughter of C. Perry and Martha 
(Woodard) Hopkins, the former born in 
Macomb county, Mich., April 10, 1828, and 
the latter in Indiana in 1831. Mr. Hopkins 
is a son of Sherman and Miranda Hopkins, 
natives of New York, who after their mar- 
riage emigrated to Michigan. In 1834, they 
located in Milwaukee, Wis., and were among 
its first settlers. Sherman Hopkins was an 
intimate friend of Solomon Juneau, said to 
have been the first white settler of Milwau- 
kee. After leaving that cit}' in 1854, he re- 
sided in various places in this State. Dur- 
ing the war of the Rebellion, he served as 
drum major. He was born in New York, 



20S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



March 17, 1808, and his wife was born in 
1 81 2. They are still living with their son 
George, at the ages of eighty-seven and 
eighty-four years, respectively. Their chil- 
dren are: C. Perr}-; George, a farmer of 
Dale, Wis. ; Jane, widow of Jesse Crouch, 
of Appleton, Wis.; James, a farmer of Ne- 
braska; and Russell, a carpenter of Antigo. 

When a young man. Perry Hopkins 
learned the mason's trade in Milwaukee, and 
in that city was married. He located on a 
farm a short distance from Oshkosh, Wis. , 
in 1854, and hiring a man to operate his 
land, worked at his trade in the town during 
the summer season. He there lived about 
fifteen years, when he sold out and removed 
with his family to Stevens Point, Wis., 
where for twelve years he followed mason 
work. Within that time his wife died, Sep- 
tember 4th, 1870. He then took his family 
to Appleton, Wis., where he lived for three 
years. There he married Anna Alder, by 
whom he had one child that lived but eight 
months. His wife died two years later, and 
he then returned to Stevens Point, where 
he wedded Miss Phcebe Faulkner. Since 
1894, he has resided in Amherst Junction. 
The children of the first marriage are Mary 
E., widow of Edward Tobie, of Amherst; 
William Wallace, a section foreman in the 
State of ^^'ashington; and Mrs. Grover (who 
supported herself from the age of fifteen 
until her marriage, at which time she was 
keeping house for her uncle, Daniel Small). 

The children of Isaac R. Grover were 
George, who married Mahala Post, lives at 
Rockford, Iowa, and is the father of Stella 
M., Perry M., and Herbert; Melvina L., the 
wife of Edmund Turner, a farmer of Mar- 
shall county, Kans. , and is the mother of 
Fred, Hattie, Ida and Charles; Ransom D., 
who married Sophia Dwinnell, and died 
leaving a daughter, Edith; Alzina R., wife 
of William H. Worden, and is the mother of 
Delbert, Burdette, Eli, Henry and Bertie; 
Newell and Martin, the latter a farmer of 
South Dakota, who married Katy Lesshart, 
and is the father of one child, Earle. 

The mother of our subject died on the 
old homestead, and the father was married 
in March, 1873, to Selina Russell, by whom 
he had five children: Ira; Agnes, deceased; 



Lilly; Esther and Frank. In 1861, Isaac 
Reed Grover enlisted at Amherst in Com- 
pany H, Third Wis. V. C, and served 
throughout the war. His death occurred 
January 12, 1883, and the community 
thereby lost one of its best citizens. He was 
a stalwart Republican, and a self-made man, 
who started out in life a poor boy, but be- 
came the possessor of a valuable property. 
Newell Grover is also a stanch Republi- 
can. His only child, Hattie M. , was born 
January i, 1882. Mr. Grover is a well in- 
formed man, of pleasant and genial disposi- 
tion, and his circle of friends is extensive. 
In October, 1894, he purchased his present 
place of business, which he has since re- 
modeled and to it made additions. He has 
also built on this lot a new dwellinc: house. 



REV. CHARLES BEYERLE, pastor 
of St. Peter and St. Paul's Roman 
Catholic Church, Grand Rapids, 
Wood county, was born in Strass- 
burg, Alsace, Germany, on August 12, 1848, 
and is the son of Phillip Frederick and Anne 
(Gobelin) Beyerle. He was reared in the 
city of his birth, and in its schools acquired 
his education, excepting one 3'ear's attend- 
ance at St. Francis Academy in Milwaukee, 
Wis., after his emigration to the United 
States. Being fitted for the priesthood of 
the Roman Catholic Church, he was or- 
dained for his chosen life work at the Pro- 
Cathedral of Green Bay, Wis., by the Right 
Rev. Bishop Melcher, June 16, 1871, and 
was assigned to duty in the parish of Duck 
Creek, together with other missions. There 
he performed his work faithfully for six 
3"ears, on the expiration of which period he 
was transferred to Marinette, Wis., \\-here 
he had charge of a church until 1S78. 

In that \ear Father Beyerle came to 
Grand Rapids, and has since been stationed 
here, his pastorate covering a period of more 
than sixteen years. He is a zealous worker, 
earnest and untiring, and is highly esteemed 
by the members of his large congregation. 
During his administration in this parish 
through his instrumentalit}' has been erected 
a house for the Sisters, a large school build- 
ing, which is now completed and ready for 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



209 



occupancy, and there have been added eight 
lots to the church property. He is an able 
minister of his denomination, and his long 
continuance with the church in Grand Rap- 
ids shows the place that he has won in the 
hearts of his parishioners. 



NAAMAN BELKNAP is a native of 
Massachusetts, born July 8, 1S28, a 
son of Joseph and Saber (Onthank) 
Belknap, who were also natives of 
the Bay State. There were ten children 
born to them, six of whom are dead. The 
four who are yet living are as follows: Levi, 
a farmer residing in Dunn county. Wis. ; 
Ebenezer, a resident of Milford, Jtfass. ; 
Valentine, who carries on agricultural pur- 
suits at Hopkinton, Afass. ; and Naaman. 
The parents of this family are both now 
deceased. They departed this life in Hop- 
kinton, and their remains were interred in 
the cemetery at that place. 

No event of special importance occur- 
red during the boyhood and youth of our 
subject, which were quietly passed upon 
the old home farm. He aided in the labors 
of the fields through the summer months, 
and in the winter seasons attended the 
common schools of Hopkinton until fifteen 
years of age, when, wishing to learn a 
trade he took up shoe making, and, hav- 
■ ing mastered it, made the business mainly 
a life work. During the past twlve years he 
has abandoned the bench and given his 
time to farming. He continued to reside in 
the State of his nativity for some time after 
he had attained his majority, but at length 
bade adieu to home and friends in the East 
and started for the Mississippi valley. In 
1856, he located in Waupun, Wis., where 
for two years he resided, going thence to 
Ripon, Wis., where the succeeding year 
was passed. He then went to Stevens 
Point, this State, where he also spent a 
year, and in June, i860, he came to Grand 
Rapids, which has now for more than a 
third of a century been his place of abode. 
Here he carried on shoe making for some 
time and did a good business along that line, 
but, as before stated, he took up farming 
about twelve years since, and has given his 



time and energies to the pursuit to which he 
was reared. 

In 1865, at Grand Rapids, Mr. Belknap 
was united in marriage with Mrs. Lavina 
Ketchum, a widow lady of this place, and 
to them were born two children, a daughter 
and son, Lida M., wife of George Shearer; 
and Charles James. Both are still residing 
in Grand Rapids. The family attend the Con- 
gregational Church, and in the communi- 
ty where they reside they have a large circle 
of friends and acquaintances. Mr. Belknap 
casts his ballot in support of Republican 
principles and is a wide-awake and pro- 
gressive citizen, who has taken an active 
part in all interests and enterprises calcu- 
lated to advance the general welfare. His 
life has been well spent, and all who know 
him hold him in high esteem for his sterling 
worth and strict integrit}-. 



WILLIAM RADLEY, one of the 
most highly respected citizens of 
Waupaca county, well deserving 
of mention in this volume, was 
born in Yorkshire, England, June 11, 1830, 
and his parents, John and Grace (Moslej-) 
Radley, were also natives of the same 
country. 

In his youth the father worked as a farm 
hand, and at the age of twenty began learn- 
ing the weaver's trade. In August, 1830, 
with his wife and two children, Ann and 
William, the latter only nine weeks old, 
he came to America. Two children, Joseph 
and James, died in their native land. For 
two years John Radley followed weaving in 
New York City, and, having saved a few dol- 
lars, went to Buffalo, where he intended to 
purchase land, but was robbed by foot-pads 
and left for dead. He recovered, however, 
and returned to New York City, but after a 
short time removed to Dutchess county, 
N. Y. , where he was employed for eighteen 
years in a calico factory. In 1846, he re- 
moved to Spring Prairie, Walworth county. 
Wis., and worked a farm on shares. On 
going to this county he left his family in the 
East, but they followed him, arriving there 
July 4, 1847. They traveled the entire 
distance by water. .\t this time the chil- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



dren of the family were: Ann, who had be- 
come the wife of Simeon Wilde, whom she 
married in Dutchess county, N. Y., and had 
two sons, John and William; our subject. 
next in order of birth; George, now of Day- 
ton; Allen, of Lind; Martha, who died in in- 
fancy; Mary, now Mrs. David Taylor of 
Farmington township, Waupaca county; 
and Eliza, wife of Charles Hutton of Pine 
River, Wis. It was in \\'alworth county 
that the sons were initiated into farming, 
for previousl}^ they had been employed in 
factories of the East amidst discipline and 
system, and in this new country they had 
unlimited sway. In later years the family, 
with the exception of our subject, removed 
to Green Lake county. Wis., and three 
years later came to Lind township, Wau- 
paca county, where the father died at the 
age of seventy-seven. His wife, surviving 
him two 3'ears, passed away at the same 
age. They were buried in Lind cemetery. 
In politics he was first a Democrat, but af- 
terward allied himself with no party. 

Our subject obtained the greater part of 
his education at Sunday schools and at night 
schools, there being no free schools in the 
neighborhood. At the tender age of nine 
years he began to earn his living in the fac- 
tories of the East, being employed for sev- 
eral years in a calico factory and afterward 
in a comb factory. The first free school he 
attended was in Walworth county, whither 
he came at the age of seventeen. In that 
county he married Cordelia C. Robbins, 
December 19, 1848, she being a native of 
Herkimer county, N. Y. , born October 17, 
1832, and a daughter of John A. and Lucy 
(Holridge) Robbins, who settled in Wal- 
worth county during the territorial days of 
the State. In their family were eleven 
children, Mrs. Radley being the eldest. 

In the spring after his marriage, Mr. 
Radley rented a farm, and for a year was 
employed in a nurser\-. In the spring of 
1850, he removed to Lind township, Wau- 
paca county, which was a sparselj- settled 
region; but, anxious to get a home, he 
bravely endured the hardships incident to 
pioneer life. His first house was a log cabin 
20 X 14 feet, and the farm comprised forty 
acres,' purchased at the government price, 



$1.25 per acre, and to pay for it he had to 
sell his yoke of cattle, which he had raised 
from calves. Before the removal to this 
farm a son, John A., was born August 12, 
1 849, and two sons were added to the 
family in Lind township, William W. , who 
was born November 27, 1853, now a car- 
penter and skilled mechanic of Rural, Wis. ; 
and Giles H., who was born ' August 5, 
1856, now a resident of Dayton township. 
The other children were born in Dayton 
township, and are Charles M., born April 7, 
1863, a teacher and carpenter of Rural, 
Wis.; and George A., born February 23, 
1866, also a carpenter of Rural. 

Mr. Radley, in 1861, traded his forty 
acres of land for eighty acres of wild land 
in Section 20, Dayton township, on which 
stood only a rude board shanty that was 
supplanted by a better home the following 
summer. He has developed one of the best 
farms in Waupaca county, highly cultivated 
and yielding to him a golden tribute in return 
for the care and labor he has bestowed upon 
it. For over forty years he has made a 
study of the diseases of horses and cattle and 
is a practical veterinary surgeon, who has 
been extremely successful in his treatment 
of domestic animals. On questions of 
national importance, Mr. Radley votes with 
the Democracy, but in local elections where 
no issue is involved casts his ballot inde- 
pendent of party questions. After their 
marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Radley had but 12 
shillings, and for their success in life deserve 
great credit. They are charitable and 
benevolent people, in whom the poor and 
needy find friends, and in Dayton township 
no one is more highly respected than this 
worthy couple. 



ROBERT G. MARSHALL, who for 
ten years has been a trusted employe 
of the Upham Manufacturing Com- 
pany, is numbered among the lead- 
ing and influential citizens of Marshfield, 
Wood county, prominent in public affairs 
and devoted to the best interests of the com- 
munity in which he makes his home. Any- 
thing calculated to promote the educational, 
social and moral welfare of the community 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



receives his endorsement and support and he 
therefore well deserves mention among the 
representative men of the county. 

Mr. Marshall was born in Toronto, Can- 
ada, Jnne 20, 1864, and is a son of Alexander 
Marshall, who was born in Canada in 1804. 
By occupation the father was a farmer, fol- 
lowing:; that pursuit throughout the greater 
part of his life. About 1834 he married 
Martha Livingston, and to them were born 
twelve children, of whom James, Alexander, 
Mary, Martha, Ann, Lizzie, Robert, Maggie 
and Louisa are still living; Sarah, the eldest, 
died in February, 1894; William died in 
Council Bluffs, Iowa, at the age of thirty- 
five, leaving a widow and three children; 
George died in 1867. The father of this 
family was called to his final rest July 16, 
1886. He was a highly respected man, hon- 
ored with a number of public offices of trust, 
and his well-spent life of more than eighty 
years furnishes an example deserving of emu- 
lation. His widow still survives him. 

The Marshall family is of Irish origin. 
James Marshall, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject sailed from the Emerald Isle to Can- 
ada when a young man. He there married 
Clarissa Winnie, and they became the par- 
ents of the following children: William, Mar- 
garet, James, Mary, Nellie, and two others of 
whom we have no record. The grand- 
father carried on agricultural pursuits and 
remained in Canada until his death. On 
the maternal side Robert Marshall is of 
Scotch descent, his grandparents both being 
natives of Scotland. In their family were 
seven children: Sallie, John, Martha, Fan- 
ny, Mary, Jane and William, the last named 
a soldier. 

The gentleman whose name opens this 
record remained on the old home farm until 
sixteen years of age, when he began learn- 
ing the carpenter's trade, serving an ap- 
prenticeship of two and a half years. During 
the winter of 1879 he went to Clinton, Iowa, 
where his brother James was living, remain- 
ing in that place for a year. He was there 
married in 1880, after which he took up 
railroading, but followed that pursuit only a 
short time, when he secured a position as 
saw-filer in the sawmill belonging to W. J. 
Young & Co. On leaving that position he 



leased a farm in Iowa, which he cultivated 
for three years, and then changed his place 
of residence, coming to Marshfield in Febru- 
ary, 1885. Here he entered the employ of 
the Upham Manufacturing Company, first 
working in the yards, but winning promo- 
tion from time to time until, in 1887, he 
was given the position of lumber inspector. 
He still serves in that capacity, faithfully 
discharging his duties, and has the entire 
confidence of his employers. 

The wedding celebrated in Clinton, Iowa, 
on the 25th of November, 1880, united the 
destinies of Mr. Marshall and Miss Helena 
M. Loucks, a daughter of Dewitt C. and 
Charlotte D. (Clendening) Loucks. They 
now have one son, Ernel Roy. Mr. Mar- 
shall is a supporter of the men and measures 
of the Republican party, and was elected 
alderman of the Third ward although the 
city is Democratic. This fact shows the 
esteem in which he is held by his fellow 
townsmen, a fact due to his personal popu- 
larity. He belongs to the Order of United 
Workmen, and is a charter member of the 
Marshfield Camp of Woodmen of the World. 
He and his wife hold membership with 
the Presbyterian Church and are deeply in- 
terested in its success and upbuilding. His 
life has not been marked with thrilling ex- 
periences, but is not without its points of in- 
terest as is that of every man who has done 
his duty to himself, his neighbor and his 
country. 



REV. RUFUS H. COLBY. In the 
person of this well-known minister, 
who is pastor of the Baptist Church 
in Waupaca, the city has a repre- 
sentative of Puritan stock and of a family 
that for generations has been actively iden- 
tified with the best growth, material, intel- 
lectual and spiritual, of the United States. 
Mr. Colby was born in Erie county, 
N. Y., near Buffalo, in June, 1835. His 
father, Jesse Colby, a farmer, was a native 
of Vermont, where he was born in 1805. 
The father of Jesse was Ezekiel Colby, a 
native of New Hampshire, and the father of 
the latter was also Ezekiel Colby, who was 
commissioned a captain bj- King George to 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



serve in the French and Indian war. And 
so the genealogy goes back to honest- 
hearted old Anthony Colby, who for the 
sake of his religious convictions crossed 
the ocean with the Pilgrim fathers and 
located a tract of land whereon to earn 
a livelihood, at the mouth of the Merrimac 
river. The family lineage is traced back to 
1560 at Oldstead Hall, and to Roos Hall, 
Beccles, England. The family name to 
Norfolk, 1 199. 

Ezekiel Colby, Sr. , great-grandfather of 
Rufus H., married a Miss Fowler, of an 
old Welsh family of Baptist faith. They 
had a family of eight children of whom Ezek- 
iel, Jr., married Ruth Davis. They reared 
a family of nine children, eight sons 
and one daughter, and in 1810 became 
pioneers of western New York. Ezekiel 
served as a non-commissioned officer in the 
war of 18 1 2, and his son Jonathan held the 
rank of colonel. Jesse, who was next to 
the youngest son of Ezekiel, married Mary 
Ann Odell, in 1833. She was born in 
Junius, Seneca county, N. Y., daughter of 
Jeremiah and Prudence (Lamphier) Odell, 
pioneers of western New York. Jeremiah 
Odell, who was a man of some literary 
tastes and ability, died in middle life, about 
1820, leaving a widow with ten children. 
But Prudence Odell was a remarkable 
woman, of Spartan courage and force of 
character, and proved equal to the task be- 
fore her. She raised the entire family of 
three sons and seven daughters to manhood 
and womanhood. Jesse Colby, while a 
farmer, was a man of deep religious nature. 
He was an e.xcellent musician, and closely 
attached to his home, which he endeared to 
his children. His tastes were quiet, and in 
no manner did he seek notoriety. The 
children of Jesse and Mary Ann Colby were 
Rufus H. ; Caroline, now wife of Rev. E. 
W. Green, of New York; Seymour J., who 
served in the Rebellion and who now lives 
at Ogdensburg, Waupaca county, and 
Nathan, who died in boyhood. The father 
in 1863 removed from New York to Wiscon- 
sin to be near his children, but died two 
years later at Waupaca, aged fifty-nine 
years. The mother died in New York in 
1875. 



Rufus H. Colby, the eldest child, re- 
mained on the farm until eighteen years of 
age. He then taught school in New York 
and in Canada, and the winter of 1856- 
57 he taught near Madison, Wis. Subse- 
quently attending school at the Springville 
Academy. Completing his education at the 
old Chicago University and the Theological 
Seminary, he entered the ministry in 1859, 
at the age of twenty-four years, his first 
call being at the Baptist Church at W^eyau- 
wega. Here he remained seven years, and 
then filled a pastorate for three years at 
Lamartine. In 1869, he accepted a call 
from his old church in Holland, Erie Co., 
N. Y., with which he had united as a mem- 
ber as a young man. In 1877, h^ ^^^s 
called to Buffalo, and there organized the 
Emanuel Church, serving for six years. 
Serving a number of other Churches in the 
East, the last being at Dundee, Rev. Colby 
in 1892 came west again as pastor of the 
Church at Waupaca. Since entering the 
ministry Rev. Colby has built up a number 
of new and weak Churches, having shown a 
great capacity for that important branch of 
ministerial labor. 

In 1 86 1 he was married to Miss Mary 
E. Sanders, daughter of David and Chloe 
(Tucker) Sanders and granddaughter of Job 
Sanders, a sea captain, who married Nancy 
Chase, an aunt of Alvin Chase, of Recipe 
Book fame. Mrs. Colby died at Gowanda. 
N. Y. , and was buried at Strykersville, 
N. Y. , her native home. By this marriage 
Rev. Colby has four children- — Merle D., 
Jesse Clair, Charles C. and Ray Harold. 
In 1892 he married Mrs. Mary (Lowell) 
Oakes, daughter of Rev. Josiah Lowell, of 
New York. Rev. Lowell was a native of 
Maine, and one of a family of six brothers, 
three of whom were ministers and three law- 
yers. He married Mary Wilcox, a native 
of Vermont, whose parents became early 
settlers in western New York. To Rev. Josiah 
and Mar\- Lowell four children were born: 
Childs, Adams, Josiah and Mary. Seth M. 
Oakes, the first husband of Mrs. Colby, was a 
native of New York. They were married in 
i860, and the following year settled on a 
farm in Waupaca county, W'is. Mr. Oakes, 
in 1876, opened a general store at Wau- 



COMMEMORATIVE BI06RAPHIVAL RECORD. 



313 



paca and remained in active business until 
his death in 1888. Mrs. Oakes continued in 
business for three years, and then sold out. 
Mr. Oakes was a strong temperance man, 
a Republican in politics, and was actively 
interested in the welfare of Waupaca. He 
was a member of the I. O. O. F., with 
which Order Rev. Colby is also connected. 



JOHN MERCER (deceased), who was 
one of the most prominent architects 
and contractors of Wausau, was born 
at Mona Mills, Canada West, May 10, 
1837. His parents, Robert and Mary Mer- 
cer, were residents of Canada for many years. 
There were born to Robert and Mary Mer- 
cer a family of ten children, of whom four 
are now living, namely: Thomas L., resid- 
ing at Orangeville, Province of Ontario, 
Canada; James A., at Tottenham, Ontario, 
Canada; Jitartha, wife of James Snell, at 
Mona Mills, Ontario, Canada; and Elizabeth, 
wife of Robert Richardson, at Bay City, 
Michigan. 

John Mercer was reared to manhood and 
educated in Mona Mills, Canada. After 
leaving school he learned cabinet making, but 
later studied architectural drawing, and en- 
gaged in carpenter work. At Orangeville, 
Canada West, June 12, 1859, John Mercer 
was united in marriage with Miss Agnes 
Moore; and to their union were born three 
children, as follows: Alzina A., at Port 
Elgin, Canada West, July 18, 1863; Jean- 
nette M., at Grand Rapids, Wood Co., Wis., 
May 17, 1870, and Thomas B., at Port Ed- 
wards, Wood county. Wis., February 20, 
1872. The parents of Mrs. Mercer, Adams 
and Jane (Currie) Moore, reside at Lisbon 
Center, N. Y. Mr. Mercer removed to Sag- 
inaw, Mich., in 1862, and was engaged there 
in contracting and building for about a year; 
then to Superior, Douglas Co. , Wis. , where 
he resided about two years. In 1865, he 
went to Grand Rapids, Wood Co., Wis., 
made his home there for seven years, and, 
in 1872, removed to Wausau, Marathon 
county, where he resided up to the time of 
his death, which occurred July 26, 1894. 

Mr. Mercer was a prominent member of 
the Masonic Fraternity, also of the Knights 



Templar. He was the architect and builder 
of most of the handsome edifices which adorn 
the city of Wausau, noticeable among which 
are the Plumer residence. First National 
Bank, and many other handsome and sub- 
stantial buildings, both public and private. 
In his death Wausau lost a most valuable 
and public-spirited citizen, his wife a devoted 
husband, his children a kind and indulgent 
father, and his memory will long be cher- 
ished. 



EDWARD H. MOREHOUSE, who 
is engaged in the milling business in 
Amherst township. Portage county, 
was born in Stockholm, N. Y., Sep- 
tember 27, 1852. His great-grandfather, 
Nathan Morehouse, was a native of England, 
and in that country was educated for the 
ministry. On crossing the Atlantic to 
America he settled on the present site of the 
city of Manchester, N. H., and in the 
Granite State followed his chosen calling for 
a number of years. He was then called to 
the pastorate of the church in St. Albans, 
Vt., where he spent his remaining days, 
dying at a ripe old age. He was, undoubt- 
edly, one of the most noted preachers in 
that section of the country. His son Nathan 
was born in Manchester, N. H. , was reared 
on a farm and with his parents went to St. 
Albans, Vt., where he was married and 
lived for some time. He then took his 
family to Alburgh Springs, Vt., where he 
departed this life. There were thirteen 
children in his family, and the record which 
our subject has of them is as follows: Ira 
(father of Edward H.), the eldest; Mary 
A., the wife of William Martin of Ross 
Point, Vt. ; Skiharzy, who married Moses 
Bohannan of Alburgh Springs; William, 
who served during the late war and died 
soon after its close from disease contracted 
in Libby prison; Minerva, the wife of Finn 
Helecar, living at Hay Island, Vt. ; Morrill, 
who was killed in the war of the Rebellion; 
and five children who died in infancy. 

A native of Alburgh Springs, Vt., Ira 
Morehouse was reared in the usual manner 
of farmer lads, and in Shoreham, that State, 
wedded Mary McCue. Immediately there- 



•214 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



after he removed to Stockholm, N. Y. , 
where he located upon a farm. Mrs. More- 
house was born in Ireland, and at the age 
of fourteen came with her two brothers to 
this country, landing in New York, where 
she made her home for four years. She 
then went to Shoreham, \'t., where she was 
employed as a domestic. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Morehouse were born five children: Nathan, 
who married Ada Batchan, and is living in 
Portage, Wis. ; Edward H. ; Brainard and 
Edna, deceased; and Edna, the second of 
that name, now Mrs. Prescott of Lebanon, 
New Hampshire. 

From early youth Edward H. More- 
house has been dependent on his own efforts, 
and may therefore truly be called a self-made 
man. He attended the schools of his native 
town until fourteen years of age, when he 
began learning the milling trade, serving a 
two-years' apprenticeship in Chautauqua, 
N. Y., and completing the business in 
Rochester, N. Y. Removing thence to 
Ashtabula, Ohio, he there worked at milling 
for three years, and subsequently spent a 
few years in the same business in Belleville, 
111. Returning east to Springfield, Mass., 
he was then employed for two years as head 
miller for John Bangs & Brother. 

In 1875, while in the East, Mr. More- 
house was married in Holyoke, Mass., to 
Miss Sarah Batchan, daughter of Eli and 
Minerva (Silver) Batchan of that place. 
Her father being dead, Mr. Morehouse is 
now looking after the estate of her mother. 
The young couple took up their residence in 
Springfield, where their home was blessed 
with one daughter — Edna, born May 20, 
1876. In the spring of 1877, with his little 
family, Mr. Morehouse removed to Minne- 
apolis, Minn., and after thirteen months 
went to Grand Rapids, Wis., where he was 
employed for a year in the mill of Coleman 
& Jackson. His next place of residence was 
in Plover, Wis., where he was employed in 
the mill of J. C. Harvey, and a year later 
he located in Amherst, obtaining the situa- 
tion of head miller with Jerome Nelson. 
That position he has filled continuously since 
in a most capable manner. He thoroughly 
understands his business in all its details, 
.and his excellent knowledge, combined with 



fine managerial ability, makes his work most 
satisfactorj' to his employer. 

In 1 89 1, Mr. Morehouse was called upon 
to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on 
the 3d of July. He was married March 
2, 1892, to Miss Jane Bangle, of Amherst, 
who was born at Stevens Point, Wis. , Sep- 
tember 23, 1848, and is a daughter of Philip 
and Polly fLong) Bangle, who were natives 
of Pennsylvania. In 1853, this family set- 
tled on a farm of 157 acres in Section 34, 
Amherst township. Portage county, becom- 
ing pioneers of this locality. The father is 
now deceased, but the mother is still living 
on the old homestead with her daughter, Me- 
lissa. She is noted throughout a wide e.xtent 
of territory for her most wonderful mem- 
ory. Her children were as follows: Melis- 
sa, at home; Stanton, deceased, who served 
in the Civil war; Charles, who was a soldier 
of the Union army and died during the war; 
Mrs. Morehouse; Ella, wife of Charles Grif- 
fiths, of Iowa, and Effie, wife of G. F. Hicks, 
of Clarksville, Iowa. 

Mr. Morehouse always votes the Repub- 
lican ticket, but has never been an office 
seeker. He is a man highly esteemed 
throughout the community, keeps himself 
well informed on all public questions, and is 
a pleasant and genial gentleman. In 1888, 
he visited the home of his childhood and his 
mother, who is now living with a daughter 
in Lebanon, N. H. The members of this 
family are cousins of the late Governor 
Morehouse of Missouri. 



SAMUEL S. CHANDLER, Jr. A 
pioneer, a patriot, a prominent and 
prosperous lumberman and farmer, 
and a popular politician and official, 
perhaps mark in rough outline the leading 
features of the life of Mr. Chandler. He 
hails from the State of New Hampshire, 
which has sent to the West so many of her 
favorite sons, having been born in Hanover, 
Grafton county, August 8, 1842. 

Samuels. Chandler, Sr.,fatherof our sub- 
ject, was born August 1 1, 1809, and was mar- 
ried to Sarah G. Colcord, who was born 
January 12, 1815, died February 20, 1872, 
at lola, Waupaca Co., Wis. Their chil- 




^-X. ^-^^-^^Z^^Cj^ 




COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



215 



•dren were as follows: D. Augustus, born 
April 24, 1834, died at lola. Wis., August 
5, 1865; Mary C. (Dewey), born May i, 
1836, lives in Chicago; Sarah F. (Osborn), 
born March 27, 1S38, died at lola, Wis., 
May 12, 1868; William Henry H., born 
April 5, 1840, died in the army June 25, 
1864. while serving in the Thirty-eighth 
Wis. V. I.; Samuel S., Jr., is the sub- 
ject of this sketch; Harriet J. (Dorr), 
born May 24, 1845, lives in Antigo, Wis.; 
and Martha F. (Levisee), born February 14, 
1848, lives in Clintonville, Wis. The father 
of this family is still hale and hearty, can 
read to some extent without the use of 
glasses, can shoot with rifle with any of the 
young men or boys, and can walk at least 
ten or fifteen miles per day. 

The subject proper of these lines when 
but four years of age came with his father 
to Racine, Wis. , three years later moving 
to Waupaca county, and consequently be- 
came familiar with the privations, as well as 
the pleasures, of pioneer life. From his 
earliest youth he has been very fond of 
hunting and other field sports, having been 
accustomed to handling a gun from the age 
of seven years, thereby becoming an e.xpert 
in its use. He hunted all the game in the 
county, and one fall, when but thirteen 
years old, killed seven deer and one bear; 
one year he killed as many as nineteen deer. 
He also hunted bear, a number of those 
animals falling victims to his gun, and he 
still enjoys an occasional autumn trip to the 
woods, when time permits, to camp and 
hunt. He received his education in the 
common schools, on the farm and in the 
mill. 

He had just passed his twentieth birth- 
day when, August 12, 1862, he enlisted in 
Company G, Twenty-first Regiment Wis. 
V. I., which was attached to the army of 
the West, and served under Grant and 
Sherman in their memorable and resistless 
campaigns. He was erroneously reported 
wounded at the battle of Atlanta, and 
though frequently under fire his nearest ap- 
proach to injury was at Bentonville, in the 
afternoon being hit by a ball so hard that at 
first he thought his leg must be badly injured, 
.but on examination he found only a bruise 



on the knee, aud later in the day was struck 
by a spent ball. At Nolensville, during the 
battle of Murfreesboro, he was, while sick, 
taken prisoner by Wheeler's cavalry, but 
was subsequently paroled. Promoted to 
sergeant for gallant service, he carried the 
colors of his regiment on the march of 
Sherman from Atlanta to the sea. Partici- 
pating in the Grand I'ieview at Washington, 
in 1865, Sergt. Chandler returned with his 
regiment to Wisconsin, and was discharged 
at Milwaukee June 17, 1865. During the 
ensuing winter he attended school, then for 
some fifteen years followed farming in sum- 
mer and lumbering in winter in \\'isconsin. 
In November, 1868, Mr. Chandler was 
married to Ella E. McKenzie, a native of 
New York and daughter of John J. and 
Eunice (Baldwin) McKenzie, the former of 
whom, a cabinet maker by occupation, of 
Scotch descent b\- birth, migrated from 
Nova Scotia to Waupaca county. Wis., 
many years ago; the mother was a native 
of Batavia, N. Y. The children of Mr. and 
Mrs. McKenzie were John M., PhcebeG., 
Ella E. , Adel, Julia and May. Both parents 
and Julia died in Waupaca. The next 
spring after his marriage Mr. Chandler pur- 
chased a farm in Iowa, which he tilled in 
summers, returning to the lumber regions of 
Wisconsin during the winters. From 1868- 
70 to the present time he has been quite 
extensivel}' interested in locating lands and 
estimating timber, following this employ- 
ment as well as farming and lumbering for 
about twenty years, and locating many 
thousand acres of land in Wisconsin, besides 
estimating some in Minnesota and Michigan 
during the past ten years. In 1873 he sold 
his Iowa farm and purchased his present 
home, consisting of 192 acres in Waupaca 
township, Waupaca Co., Wis., one and 
three-fourths miles from the business part 
of the city of Waupaca. He ranks among 
the leading and energetic farmers of his 
county, and justly prides himself upon his 
Red Poll cattle and fine buildings and prop- 
erty. An active and earnest Republican, he 
has been nominated for numerous local po- 
sitions of trust, and has found time to serve 
his township and county in a number of 
offices; he was chairman of his town for 



2l6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



three years; after tilling the office of town- 
ship treasurer for three years and assessor 
for one year, he was, in 1892, elected regis- 
ter of deeds for the county, a position for 
which he was renominated by acclamation 
in 1894. Socially Mr. Chandler is a mem- 
ber of the G. A. R., and of the A. O. U. W. 
His family consists of two children — Arthur 
M. and Clarence C. 



REV. LOUIS THOM, the esteemed 
pastor of the Lutheran Church of 
Marshiield, Wood Co., is num- 
bered among Wisconsin's native 
sons, born in Watertown, February 19, 
1857. He comes of a family of German 
lineage, and his father, Carl Thorn, was 
born in Germany, in 18 18, and in that 
country married Friedericke Heise, the wed- 
ding taking place in 1849. Five years later 
they sailed for the New World, and in 
1 8 54 were numbered among the early settlers 
of Watertown, Wis., where the father sup- 
ported his wife and son, their only child, by 
working at the mason's trade. The mother 
died in December, 1893, but the father is 
still living and makes his home with the 
subject of this review. 

One of the most highly respected citi- 
zens of Marshfield is the present pastor of 
the Lutheran Church, whose consistent 
life and sterling worth commands the con- 
fidence and admiration of all. His early 
education was obtained in the public and 
private schools of his native city, which 
he attended until fourteen years of age, 
when he entered the Northwestern Uni- 
versity of Watertown, a school conducted 
under the auspices of the Lutheran Church. 
There he completed the full course of seven 
years, being graduated from that institution 
in 1878, after which he attended the 
Lutheran Theological Seminary of Milwau- 
kee, graduating from that school in Febru- 
ary, 1882. He had determined to devote 
his life to the work of saving others and 
was thus fitted for his ministerial labors. 
Mr. Thorn was first married in April, 
1882, the lady whom he wedded being 
Miss Rosa Weimer, who was born in La- 
Crosse, Wis., where she departed this life 



in July, 1885, leaving a daughter, Emma. 
Her parents, \'alentine and Caroline (Split- 
ter) Weimer. were both natives of Germany, 
and her father became one of the well- 
known business men of La Crosse. Both 
he and his wife are dead, but three of their 
children still survive them. Mr. Thorn was 
a second time married on the 25th of Jul)', 
1889, when Miss Ida Kemnitz of Fort How- 
ard, Wis., became his wife. She is a 
daughter of Theodore and Catherine (Simon) 
Kemnitz, who were born in Germany, 
crossing the Atlantic from that country to 
America. Her father, one of the most 
prominent business men of Fort Howard, 
is president of the furniture company of that 
city. Mrs. Thom is one of a family of 
nine children, as follows: Ottilie, Ida, Ferdi- 
nand, Adelaide, Theodore, Edniond, Louis 
and Kate. Three children were given Mr. 
and Mrs. Thom — Theodore, Elsie and Karl, 
the daughter dying in infancy. The lady has 
been a true companion to her husband, and 
of great assistance to him in his work. 

The first pastorate of Mr. Thom was at 
Eldorado, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., where 
he remained from 1882 until September, 
1885, when he accepted a call from the 
Lutheran Church in Marshfield, over which 
he has since presided with mutual benefit to 
the congregation and community. When 
he located here there was a membership of 
only twenty-five, but now 135 families are 
on the church roll. An elegant brick edi- 
fice has been erected, a fine parsonage has 
been built, and in connection with the church 
there is a parochial school of ninety stu- 
dents. In the pulpit Mr. Thom is an 
earnest, fluent and forcible speaker, and in 
pastoral work he is a genial, social man 
who wins friends by being one. Not only 
in his own congregation, but throughout the 
community is he held in the highest esteem, 
and the ministry of the Lutheran Church 
numbers him among its able members. 



F 



ALBERT RUEDIGER was born 
June 26, 1843, in the town of Weisen- 
fels. Saxony, Germany, and is a son 
of John and Concordia (Gebler) Rue- 
diger. The father was born in the same town 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



217 



October 30, 1 807, the mother in the village 
of St. Michel, Saxony, February 24, 1805. 
The former was a nail manufacturer, as was 
his father before him. The latter was a na- 
tive of that locality and there spent his en- 
tire life, dying at the age of sixty-seven. 
His children were Frank, Charles, John and 
Theresa. The father of our subject died in 
the town of his nativit)' at the age of eighty- 
seven, and his wife at the age of seventy- 
eight. Their children were Ernest, Augusta, 
Henrietta and F. Albert. 

The last named acquired his education 
in the common schools, and when a mere boy 
sailed from Bremen, April 4, 1857, on the 
"Juverland," which after a stormy voyage 
of five weeks dropped anchor in the harbor 
of New York. A friend of his father, living 
in Greenbush, Wis. , had promised to leave 
money with a certain man in New York to 
pay Mr. Ruediger's fare to this State, but 
he learned that the money had not been de- 
posited as agreed upon. The gentleman 
with whom it was to be left then offered him 
a home until he could get word to his 
friends in Wisconsin, whom he wired and 
forthwith received the money. He reached 
Greenbush in due time, and spent two years 
in the employ of that gentleman, after which 
he began work as a farm hand in Oakfield, 
Wisconsin. 

Mr. Ruediger enlisted November 26, 
1862, in Company I, Thirty-first Wis. V. I., 
and during nearly three years' service was 
never absent a day. The regiment reached 
Columbus, Ky. , March 3, 1863, where it did 
picket and provost duty and other service. 
Near Cairo, 111., the following fall, they went 
into camp, and on October 5 left Nash- 
ville, marching to La Vergne, Tenn. , where 
they did guard duty until the 25th, then 
marched to Murfreesboro, where the regiment 
went into winter quarters. On the 6th of 
June, 1 864, the regiment started to Nashville, 
where it was assigned to post command and 
did guard and provost duty until the 1 6th of 
July, when they went by rail to Marietta, 
Ga. , thence to Peach Tree Creek battle 
ground, where they joined the brigade on 
the evening of the 20th. Then came the 
attack on Atlanta, and for many days during 
the siege the company to which Mr. Ruediger 



belonged was constantly under fire. His 
division was assigned the important duty of 
guarding the railroad bridge across the 
Chattahoochie river, and the regiment was 
stationed within the fortifications of Atlanta, 
save when engaged in two foraging expe- 
ditions, until they started on the memorable 
March to the Sea. On the 9th of Decem- 
ber, the progress of the vast column was 
stopped near Savannah by the enemy whose 
guns swept the road, across which fallen 
trees had been placed, making that route 
impassable. A swamp lay on one side and 
through this the Thirty-first Wisconsin was 
ordered to march and dislodge the enemy, 
which it did, its flag being the first to wave 
over Fort Harrison. During the attack on 
Savannah, it also did valiant service. Near 
that city they were obliged to go into camp 
on account of impassable roads caused by 
heavy rains, but on the 28th of January re- 
sumed the march and in Carolina engaged 
in many skirmishes and battles. On the 1st 
of March, 1865, the Thirty-first Wisconsin 
formed part of the advance column in the 
attack on Chesterfield, at Averysboro it was 
in the front line, and at Bentonville, with 
two other regiments, it was thrown forward 
without any support. They were attacked 
in front and on both flanks, but after re- 
treating a quarter of a mile they reformed in 
battle line and three times repulsed the 
enemy. On the 4th of March, at Goldsboro, 
N. C. , the Thirty-first was provided with 
new uniforms and equipments; on the loth 
of April reached Raleigh, and were present 
at Johnston's surrender on th^ 26th of that 
month. Four days later they started on 
the homeward march, and on the 24th of 
May participated in the grand review in 
W'ashington, then going into camp three 
miles east of the city, where orders came to 
go to Louisville, Ky. They reached that 
place June 15, 1865, and there Mr. Ruediger 
was mustered out on the 8th of July. Three 
days later he reached Madison, Wis., and 
on the 20th was at his old home in Green- 
bush. 

After his return from the service he 
worked on a farm and in a stave factory 
until September, when he determined to 
visit his parents and sailed from New York 



COliMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



on the 2 1 St of December, 1865. He had 
worn his army coat, and in Liverpool was 
sneered at, but the milHonaire in his broad- 
cloth felt not prouder than he in his faded 
blue blouse. On the "Sea Swallow" he 
sailed for Hamburg, and three days after 
reaching that place arrived at home. He 
had not written of his corning, and deter- 
mined to surprise the family. They were 
all congregated in a room of the house, and 
a son-in-law, hearing a slight noise went out 
and found Mr. Ruediger, whom he took to 
be a burglar, dispatching his sister for a 
policeman. All this time our subject had 
not spoken, wishing to see if his mother 
would know him. At the approach of the 
officer she came out of the house, and not- 
withstanding the change in appearance recog- 
nized her son in an instant. His return was 
followed by general rejoicing in the family, 
and he continued in the Fatherland for seven 
years. 

In August, 1S73, Mr. Ruediger again 
came to America, and for si.x weeks was 
engaged in the fur trade, when his employer 
failed, and he then went to Del Norte, Colo., 
where he was employed as a clerk at $30 
per month. Six months later he began 
prospecting, and with a complete miner's 
outfit started on foot for Elizabethtown, 
N. M. At Costilla, that State, he hired a 
Mexican to take his outfit over the moun- 
tains, and, when within ten miles of his des- 
tination, one of his horses broke its leg and 
he had to continue on foot over an unknown 
road, deeply covered with snow. He was 
accompanied by another prospector, an'd 
one would have to sleep while the other 
watched, to keep the wolves and wild ani- 
mals away. Their food gave out, their money 
was gone, and, on reaching Elizabethtown, 
they could secure nothing to relieve their 
distressed condition. One day passed, and 
at noon of the next day, as Mr. Ruediger 
was crossing a bridge he found a little roll 
of money. Hastening to his hut he counted 
it and found the amount to be $8.30. He 
then secured some food, the first he had 
eaten in about three days. Just as he was 
ready to partake of the meal a stranger came 
up, begging for food, and the scant}- supply 
was shared. With his remaining money he 



purchased provisions, and accompanied by 
this stranger started for Del Norte. The 
Rio Grande was much swollen, and they had 
to travel twent}-five miles before they could 
cross. On reaching their destination, Mr. 
Ruediger secured a position as clerk, but, 
after a few months, with two companions 
started out prospecting, and, two days later, 
located a mine, which they at once began to 
work. Our subject secured a third interest, 
and four weeks later purchased another 
third. They called the mine Frederick 
William, and operated it until their money 
gave out, when Mr. Ruediger returned to 
Del Norte and worked for a few months as a 
bartender. 

While at Del Norte, he received a letter 
from parties in New York wishing him to 
look after their interests in Florida, and, 
leaving his mine in the care of his partner, 
he went to the Empire State, and thence to 
Florida, where for some time he was em- 
ployed by John McDonald at $25 per month 
and board. He then engaged to manage 
the Fletcher gro\e at $50 per month, and 
continued with that employer until 1878. 
His mother's death occurred about this time, 
and he was forced to return to the Father- 
land to look after his interests there, ^^'hen 
his affairs were arranged at home, he went 
to Leipsic, Germany, where he engaged in 
the manufacture of shades and window cur- 
tains until 1882, when he sold out and sailed 
from Hamburg to New York on the steamer 
"Fresna." He started at once for Mon- 
tana, but at Racine, Wis. , met an old war 
comrade, Charles Schilling, who persuaded 
him to remain there, and he procured work 
in the J. I. Case factory. After two years 
thus passed, he was employed in a hotel for 
several years, then went to Plainfield, Wis. , 
to visit friends, where for a year he engaged 
in the saloon business. Selling out, he spent 
two years in working at the painter's trade 
in Chicago. 

During his stay there, Mr. Ruediger 
became acquainted with Christina Shaffer, 
and they were married. She is a daughter 
of Maximillian and Katrina (Miller) Shaf- 
fer, and was born in Phillipsburg, Baden, 
Germany, in 1859, coming to America 
in 1882, on the vessel, "Rotterdam." 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



219 



She at once joined her brother in Chi- 
cago, and there worked as a domestic 
until her marriage. She belongs to the 
Catholic Church, and has become the mother 
of five children: Alma T. , Hetwily C, 
Augusta E., Arthur E. and Charles C. 

On his marriage, Mr. Ruediger purchased 
a farm of eighty-four acres in Section 35, 
Amherst township, Portage Co. , Wis. , and 
has since been successfully engaged in farm- 
ing, the greater part of his land being under 
a high state of cultivation. In religious be- 
lief he is a Lutheran, and in political affilia- 
tions is a strong Republican. He possesses 
a jovial, genial disposition, and can relate 
many interesting incidents concerning his 
eventful career. 



JAMES MORGAN, a representative 
hustling self-made man, and a repre- 
sentative citizen of Eagle River, Vilas 
count}', is a native of England, born, 
in 1847, in the county of Sussex. 

His father, also named James, and of 
the same nativity, married Sophia Carey, 
by whom he had ten children, three of 
whom died in infancy, the others being 
James, Mary, Peter, Alfred, Fannie, Car- 
oline and Elizabeth, all still living in Eng- 
land (as are also the parents) e.xcept James 
(our subject), and Mary, who is in Aus- 
tralia. Our subject received a liberal pub- 
lic-school education in his native country, 
where, later, he worked in a gunpowder 
factory. In 1869 he paid a visit to Amer- 
ica, and returning to England was married 
October 30, 1873, to Miss Anna Gander. 
The young couple soon afterward emigrat- 
ing to the United States and to Wisconsin, 
making their first New- World home in Me- 
nominee, Mich., to which locality Mr. Mor- 
gan had already paid a visit. Here they 
remained till 1877, in which year they 
moved to Clintonville, where they followed 
farming until 1S87. Mr. Morgan not mak- 
ing a success of this, sold out there and re- 
moved to Wittenberg, Shawano county, and 
established a grocery and bakery in which 
business he made a fair success during the 
four years he carried it on; but seeing 
better advantages at Eagle River, he sold 



out and removed thither, building his pres- 
ent fine store and bakery, where he con- 
ducts a lucrative business, keeping a large 
stock of goods, and discounting his own 
bills. Five children have been born to him- 
self and wife, named respectively: Louis, 
Emma L. , Alfred B., Perry L. and Arthur 
S., all at home. 

In politics Mr. Morgan was formerly a 
Republican, but has been a Democrat since 
1885. Socially he is a member of the F. 
& A. M., and treasurer of his Lodge. The 
family are members of the Congregational 
Church. 



M 



URRAY BROTHERS is the name 
of one of the leading farming firms 
of Ogdensburg, Waupaca county, 
the originators being John and 
George C. Murray, enterprising and success- 
ful farmers, and representatives of one of 
the leading families in Waupaca count}-. 

Their father, A. B. Murray, was born 
in New Brunswick, May 12, 1S34, and is a 
son of W'illiam and Elvira (Bunten) Murra}'. 
William Murray was born in County Down, 
Ireland, January 9, 181 1, was reared on a 
farm, and at the age of twenty-one emi- 
grated to New Brunswick, where the follow- 
ing year he was married to Miss Bunten, 
who was there born in 181 5. William 
Murray followed farming in New Brunswick, 
and there his children were born, namely: 
A. B. ; Asenath, wife of William Leach, of 
Oshkosh, Wis. ; Mary, wife of T. H. Far- 
row, of Oshkosh; Robert, of Little Kaukau- 
na. Brown Co., Wis. ; Martha, wife of G. H. 
Backstaff, of Oshkosh, ex-Senator from 
his district; John, of Oshkosh; Myra, w^ife of 
Samuel Chase, of Oshkosh; Charles, who 
died in New Brunswick, at about the age of 
seven years; and Elvira, who there died at 
about the age of seven months. The mother 
of this family died in July, 1853, and Mr. 
Murray later married Miss Martin, of New 
Brunswick, by whom he had the following 
children: Alice, who married a sea captain 
and lives in New Brunswick; Annie, on the 
old home farm; Florence a school teacher 
of Oshkosh; Clyde and William at home. 
The grandfather, William Murray, followed 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



farming throughout his life and acquired a 
comfortable competence. He died in March, 
1889, and his widow is still living on the 
old home place in New Brunswick. 

A. B. Murraj' was reared on the farm, 
educated in the common schools, and Octo- 
ber I, 1855, left home for Oshkosh, Wis. 
He had saved the money to pay the e.xpenses 
of the trip, and on his arrival he engaged in 
lumbering, which he had previously followed 
in New Brunswick. On July 4, 1 861, he was 
married, at Ogdensburg, Wis., to Isabel 
Warren, who was born November 15, 1841, 
in Belfast, Me., a daughter of Mark and 
Abigail (Piper) Warren, who, in the fall of 
1859, came with their family to Wisconsin. 
The father was a farmer and settled in St. 
Lawrence township, Waupaca county. In 
the fall of 1855, A. B. Murray was in 
Ogdensburg en route for the lumbering 
regions, but did not make his home in this 
city until after his marriage. He then pur- 
chased eighty acres of land in Section 24, 
St. Lawrence township, of which only two 
acres were cleared. He built the first house 
upon the place, and gave his time to the 
cultivation of his land during the summer, 
and in the winter worked in the lumber 
woods from the fall of 1855 until the spring 
of 1873, with the exception of the winter of 
1864-5. 

On October 23, 1S64, A. B. Murray en- 
listed at Oshkosh, in Company C, Forty- 
fourth Wis. \'. I., and with his company was | 
stationed at Nashville until March, 1865, 
when he went to Paducah, Ky., doing guard 
dut\' at both places. He was there mustered j 
out and was honorably discharged at Madi- 
son, Wis., August 28, 1865. He then re- ! 
sumed farm work, and added to his farm 
until at one time it comprised nearly three 
hundred acres in St. Lawrence and Union 
townships, but he has since divided with 
his children — John and George C. His wife ! 
died December 10, 1893, and was buried in 
Ogdensburg Park Cemetery. In April, 1891, 
Mr. Murray removed to Ogdensburg, where 
he has since lived retired. He is a Repub- 
lican in politics, and has served as super- 
visor and school director for several years. 
He is a charter member of Chester A. 
Arthur Post, and the present Senior Vice- 



Commander. A well known citizen, he is 
highl}' esteemed for his sterling worth, and 
and is the head of one of the most prosper- 
ous families of St. Lawrence township. 

John Murray, a member of the firm of 
Murray Brothers, was born on the farm in 
Section 24, St. Lawrence township, August 
10, 1862, and acquired his education in a 
block school house, where he pursued his 
studies until nineteen years of age, when he 
spent two terms in the northern Indiana 
Normal School at Valparaiso. He spent 
several winters working in the lumber 
woods, but continued to make his home 
with his parents until his marriage. He 
worked for nine winters in the woods, and 
ran the Little ^^'olf and tributary rivers for 
two seasons. April 2, 1885, at New Lon- 
don, Wis., he married Miss Emma Axtell, 
who was born in St. Lawrence township, 
Waupaca county, November 4, 1862, a 
daughter of William and Salina (Parks) Ax- 
tell. They now have three children: George 
Ray, Allen R. and Lina Belle. In his po- 
litical views, John Murray is a Republican, 
and takes quite an active interest in politic- 
al affairs. He has filled the office of super- 
visor, and for nine years was school treas- 
urer. He owns one hundred and sixty acres 
of land, and is one of the well-to-do farmers 
of St. Lawrence township. An intelligent 
and esteemed citizen, he is wide-awake and 
progressive, and has a host of warm friends. 

George C. Murray was born on the 
home farm March 22, 1864, and he also 
pursued his lessons in the old block school 
house, his first teacher being Miss Belle 
Richie. At the age of seventeen he went to 
the Normal School of Valparaiso, Ind., and 
by reading and observation he has made 
himself a well-informed man, and keeps 
thoroughly posted on the questions of the 
day. Working in the lumber woods through 
the winter season for nine years, he often 
had with him a team, and frequently made 
as high as $85 per month. For se\en sum- 
mers he ran on the Little \\'olf river, and 
led a busy and industrious life, laying the 
foundation for future success. He is now 
the owner of a valuable farm of two hun- 
dred acres in St. Lawrence township, and is 
the most extensive farmer of his age in that 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



locality. Like the other members of the 
faniih', he keeps his land under a high state 
of cultivation, the place is well improved, 
and all is neat and thrifty in appearance. 

George C. Murray was married Septem- 
ber 23, 1885, at Ogdensburg, to Miss Kittie 
S. Livermore, who was born in Section 28, 
of the same township, July 23, 1866. She 
engaged in school teaching at the early age 
of fifteen, and followed that profession for 
four years. The young couple began their 
domestic life on the home farm, where the}- 
resided until in December, 1893, when they 
removed to Ogdensburg. Their home is 
blessed by the presence of three children: 
Francena Isabell, born June 5, 1886; Reid 
F. , born October 16, 1S87, and Myra A., 
born November 12, 1893. 

Supporting the men and measures of 
the Republican party, George Murray takes 
a deep interest in political affairs. He is 
a benevolent man, a friend of the poor and 
needy, and an advocate of all worthy inter- 
ests which are calculated to promote the 
general welfare. The members of the 
Murray family are all highly respected citi- 
zens, and the sons, with their excellent 
business ability and capable management, 
will no doubt some day become very wealthy 
men. 



OLAUS O. FOXEN, a representative 
farmer of New Hope township. Port- 
age county, was born in Albion, Dane 
county, Wis., January 24, 1859, and 
is a son of Ole K. and Sigred Jacobson, who 
were natives of Norway. They were mar- 
ried in that countr\', and soon after, in the 
spring of 1 849, sailed from Drammen to New 
York, whence they came direct to Dane 
county. Wis. There he purchased forty 
acres of wild land, which he cleared, build- 
ing a home thereon, and making it his place 
of residence until June, 1861, when with his 
family, he removed to New Hope township. 
Portage county. Here he bought eighty 
acres of wild land, and erected a part of the 
dwelling which is now the home of Olaus 
O. Foxen, making it his place of abode until 
his death, which occurred March 29, 1877. 
His wife, who was born Januar\- 6, 1818, is 



now living with our subject. Of the chil- 
dren born to Ole K. and Sigred Jacobson, 
Jacob O., born September 14, 1851, is a 
banker at Amherst, Wis., married Mary 
Ann Jensen, by whom he has a daughter, 
Mabel; Cornelius O., born February 18, 1853, 
is a farmer in the Red River Valley, N. D., 
married Lena Selmer, and their children are 
Emma, Ella, Ada and Oscar; Christina S., 
born November 18, 1854, married M. D. 
Sitzer, a farmer at Stockton, and their chil- 
dren are John, Webster, Lillie, Lewis, Myr- 
tle and Carrie W. ; Ann E., born February 
18, 1857, is the wife of F. O. Sitzer, a 
farmer of North Dakota, and their children 
are Nellie, Hiram and Dottie; Olaus O. ; 
Sigvert T., born March 7, 1S61, married 
Elvina M. Jensen, and with their children, 
Minerva, Edna and Belva, reside in Amherst, 
Wisconsin. 

Our subject was educated in the district 
schools near his home, was reared on the 
farm and has followed agricultural pursuits 
throughout his life. On his father's death 
he succeeded to the ownership of the home 
farm, and today he is one of the most in- 
telligent and scientific farmers of the county, 
owning a place whose neat and thrifty ap- 
pearance well indicates his careful supervi- 
sion. The fields are well tilled, and the im- 
provements are such as are found upon a 
model farm of the 19th century. 

Mr. Foxen was married in New Hope, 
Wis., June 29, 1882, by Rev. N. B. Berg, 
to Sina Rebecca Melun, who was born in 
New Hope, April 2, 1859, a daughter of 
Thory A. Melun, deceased. His children 
were: Lena, wife of O. Wrolstad, of Scan- 
dinavia, Wis. ; Simon, who wedded Carrie 
Olstad; Nettie, the wife of John Oleson, of 
New Hope, Wis. ; Thea, the wife of Charles 
Oleson, of Clark county. Wis. ; and Olaf, 
who wedded Ida Oleson, and resides in New 
Hope. The following children were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Foxen: Oscar R., born March 
17, 1883; Theodore J., born June 20, 1884; 
Henry S., born January 3, 1886; Stella M., 
born August 18, 1887; Nora, born Septem- 
ber 16, 1889; Elma, born February 13, 
1892; and Alice, born November 26, 1893. 
Mr. Foxen is now serving as clerk of the 
school board, having acceptably and credit- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEICAL RECORD. 



ably filled that office for many years. He is 
a stanch Republican in politics, and warmly 
advocates the principles of his party. He 
and his wife are members of the United Nor- 
wegian Church of New Hope, and he is a 
popular and honored citizen, whose upright 
life commands the respect of all. 



LEONARD B. RABAT is success- 
fully engaged in the manufacture of 
cigars in Tomahawk, Lincoln county, 
and is one of the leading citizens, a 
well-educated man, an interesting conver- 
sationalist, and one who has many friends 
in the community who esteem him highly 
for his genuine worth. The record of his 
life follows: 

Mr. Rabat was born in the city of 
Genasen, Province of Posen, Germany, 
February i, 1852. His father, Michael 
Rabat, was also born in that place, and there 
married Henrietta Jones, by whom he had 
six children, namely: Michael, Leopolt, 
Julia, Amelia, Leonard and Matilda. In 
1854 he brought his family to America, 
going to Detroit, Mich., and within a 
few days after their arrival the father was 
killed. The mother then removed with the 
family to \Vatertown, Wis., and subse- 
quentl}- married Matthew Hauer. She is 
still living and by her second marriage had 
five children — Abelt, Theodore, Ferdinand, 
Rose and Henry. 

Leonard Rabat came with his parents 
to America, and remained at home until 
thirteen years of age. He was then appren- 
ticed to a shoemaker, but after six months 
his health failed and he was obliged to give 
up that undertaking. He was next ap- 
prenticed to Wiginhorn Brothers, cigar 
makers, with whom he served for eighteen 
months, and at the age of fifteen years he 
went to La Crosse, Wis., where for two 
years and a half he followed his trade. He 
spent three months in St. Paul, Minn., then 
going to the East remained for a similar 
period in Buffalo, N. Y. , and for six months 
in Westfield, Mass. During the next seven- 
teen years he led a roving life, going from 
place to place. He is an expert cigar 
maker, and worked at his trade in every 



State east of the Mississippi, besides going 
to England in the spring of 1874, where he 
remained for four months. 

In August. 1882, Mr. Rabat was united 
in marriage with Minnie G. Weller, who 
was born in Peoria, 111. They now have 
two children — Leona M. and Aneta M. In 
1887 the husband went to Minneapolis, 
where a year later he was joined by his 
family, and in that city he engaged in the 
manufacture of cigars for the firm of 
Winckey & Doerr, wholesale dealers, who 
employed eight men. He continued in their 
service six years, or until 1892, the year of 
his arrival in Tomahawk, where he built a 
residence and at once began the manufac- 
ture of cigars. He sells his goods in the 
surrounding towns, and the excellent qual- 
ity insures a liberal patronage. He is an 
enterprising and industrious man, and what- 
ever success he has achieved in life is en- 
tirely the result of his own well-directed 
efforts. 

In politics Mr. Rabat was formerly a 
Republican and later became a Populist, 
but, in the spring of 1895, was elected on 
the Democratic ticket as alderman from the 
Third ward. In the fall of 1894 he was 
nominated by the Populists for the position 
of Representative, and made a thorough 
canvass of his district, declaring his p.^in- 
ciples and receiving a handsome support 
from many who were members of the old 
parties. He is a man well informed on all 
general subjects. His educational privi- 
leges were very meagre, but after he had at- 
tained the age of seventeen he realized how 
necessary is knowledge to a successful life, 
and began to read and study until he is now 
one of the most intelligent and best posted 
citizens of this localitj'. He has been es- 
pecially interested in the study of astronomy, 
and in 1881 purchased a good telescope in 
order that he might further pursue hi.>^ in- 
vestigations. 



ES. MIX, a farmer and prominent 
citizen of Lind township, Waupaca 
county, was born in the village of 
Waterford, Laporte Co., Ind., No- 
vember 13, 1849, arid is a son of Dr. Miles 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



223 



Mix, who was born in the southwestern por- 
tion of New York, toward the vicinity of 
Erie, Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Mix, who is a graduate of Racine 
College, Wis., married Louisa \\'heeler at 
Laporte, Ind., by whom he had the follow- 
ing children: E. S., the eldest, of whom 
this sketch treats; Jane, now Mrs. Almon 
Otterburn, of North Dakota; Sarah, who 
married Amos Skillings, and died at Berlin, 
Wis., in the spring of 1884; Caroline, now 
Mrs. Clark Page, of the town of Berlin; 
Miles, Jr., a farmer of Green Lake county. 
Wis. ; Horace, of Richland county, N. Dak. ; 
and Wheeler, of Green Lake county. Wis. 
About 1850, Dr. and Mrs. Mix came to the 
vicinity of Delhi, Wis., in the Fox River 
Valley, and were among the pioneers of that 
locality, the Doctor being then a man of but 
limited means. They lived near Delhi only 
a short time, and then removed to Berlin, 
where he practiced medicine, and where he 
yet lives at the age of seventy-six. His wife 
was born in Vermont, was a member of the 
Baptist Church, and died in March, 1877. 
Dr. Mix is also a member of the Baptist 
Church. He has never been a politician, 
but has confined himself to his practice. 
He was a \\'hig, later a Republican, and is 
now a Prohibitionist. 

E. S. Mix attended the common schools, 
and then the high school at Berlin, and re- 
mained at home the greater part of the time 
until nineteen years of age. Previous to this 
he had worked eighteen months in a drug 
store, his father conducting a drug store at 
Brandon, Fond du Lac county, and a branch 
store at Berlin. Failing hcElth induced him 
to give up this work, and, as his father had 
a farm near Berlin, Mr. Mix began work on 
it, and there remained employed until the 
spring of 1884. 

On September 28, 1S72, in Lind town- 
ship, Waupaca county, Mr. Mix was united 
in marriage with Miss Martha Gardner, who 
was born in the town of New Lyme, Ashta- 
bula Co., Ohio, April 3, 1850; and they 
have had the following children: George R., 
who died in infancy; Nellie E., now a dress- 
maker in Berlin; Sarah L. , who died at the 
age of sixteen; Mary E., who died in 1884; 
Winfield L. , now at home; Mabeth, who 



died in infancy; Edna V., at home; Carrie 
J. , at home, and her twin brother, Joseph C. , 
deceased. 

The parents of Mrs. Mix, Alonzo and 
Sarah A. (Pope) Gardner, came to Wiscon- 
sin, and located in Section 20, Lind town- 
ship, Waupaca county, when Mrs. Mix was 
but a child, coming by boat to Gill's Land- 
ing, and then by team to Lind township, 
and made the first improvements on the 
place. At this time there was plenty of 
game, deer, bears, etc., in that locality. 
Mr. Gardner engaged in the manufacture of 
shingles, finding a market in Berlin. Their 
children were: Llewellyn, now deceased; 
Winfield, who was a soldier in the Fourth 
Wisconsin; Ida E., deceased; Sarah, living 
in the town of Dayton, Waupaca Co., 
Wis.; Hattie, deceased; Martha; Ruth, de- 
ceased; and Ada, living at Cable, Wis. 
The father, Alonzo Gardner, was born 
in Buffalo, N. Y. , November 6, 18 10, and 
in early life was a sailor. He built the 
house in which our subject now resides. 
Mr. Gardner died February 26, 1891, at the 
age of eighty-four years, and was buried in 
Lind township. He was a member of the 
Wesley an Methodist Church (as is his widow), 
was a Republican in politics, and later a 
Prohibitionist. Mrs. Gardner was born in 
Vermont, July 31, 18 17, is a member of the 
\^■esleyan Methodist Church, and since her 
husband's death has been living with her 
son-in-law. Air. Mix. 

After his marriage Mr. Mix went to house- 
keeping on a farm which his father had, 
near Berlin, and lived there till the spring of 
1884, as noted in a preceding paragraph. 
Leaving there in March, he came to Lind 
township, and has since resided here, in 
Section 20, engaged in farming, and for five, 
years worked at threshing. In his political 
affiliations he was formerly a Republican, 
but is now a Prohibitionist. He has served 
as pathmaster, and was for three years 
treasurer of the township. In the spring of 
1890 he was elected chairman of the town- 
ship, and re-elected in 1894. He did not 
announce himself, but the office was ten- 
dered to him, as was the office of treasurer, 
which he was urged to accept. He is one 
of the political leaders of Lind township. 



,224 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and that he is popular is shown by the fact 
that he supplanted an old citizen of the 
township as chairman, without even asking 
for the office. He is a well-known and 
prosperous man, and both he and his wife 
are members of the Wesleyan Methodist 
Church. 



WE. S. JONES. No man in Wau- 
paca county is probably more 
worthy of representation in this 
work than the gentleman whose 
name introduces this record. He has been 
identified with the agricultural interests of 
this county from an early day, and now 
makes his home on his fine farm of one hun- 
dred and fifteen acres in Section 19, Helve- 
tia township. The place is one of the best 
farms in this section of the country, and in- 
dicates in its appointments the supervision of 
a man of intelligence and sound judgment. 
Mr. Jones was born at Trenton, Oneida 
Co., N. Y. , in September, 1832, and is a 
son of Robert and Sophia (Evans) Jones, 
the former also a native of Oneida county, 
N. Y. , where his death occurred when his 
son was quite young. In the family were 
six children, two sons and four daughters. 
At the age of seventeen years, our subject 
removed to Granville, Licking Co., Ohio. 
His mother died in Wisconsin, at the home 
of her daughter in Portage county, when past 
the age of sixty years. While in Licking 
county Mr. Jones was in the employ of Sals- 
bury & Pond, driving a team for which he 
received $8 per month. He hauled whiskey 
and pork barrels, provisions, rakes, cradles, 
etc., to the surrounding towns before the 
railroads had been completed. He there re- 
mained three years and a half when he was 
joined by his brother John, who was more 
than two years his junior, and they emi- 
grated to Coles county. 111., driving the en- 
tire distance. Our subject there secured 
work on a farm, where he spent one sum- 
mer, when he went to Oshkosh, Wis., but 
as he failed to find work in that city, he 
hired with C. J. Lewis, of Fond du Lac, to 
repair a sawmill at Shawano, Wis., whence 
he went by boat to New London, and then 
hy an Indian trail the remainder of the dis- 



tance. No wagon roads led through the 
countrj', and there were only three houses 
between New London and Shawano. At the 
latter place he remained a few months, when 
he returned to Illinois for a short time, but 
later came to Weyauwega, Waupaca count)-, 
where he was employed for a time as a 
cooper. On leaving that city he removed to 
lola, the same count}', where he worked at 
the carpenter's trade. 

At Weyauwega, Mr. Jones had bought a 
lot and erected on it a small house, to which 
he took his bride. He was married in that 
city to Morilla Hunt, a native of New York, 
and to them a daughter was born — May, 
now Mrs. Eugene Brazelton, of Hortonville, 
Wis. The mother died after the removal 
to lola. On October 6, i860, at that 
place, Mr. Jones wedded Miss Minerva 
Hopkins, who was born in New Milford, 
Pa., December 7, 1843, and is a daughter 
of William and Salom (Adams) Hopkins, 
the former a native of Rhode Island and 
the latter of Connecticut. Her parents later 
removed to Illinois, where her father died, 
after which her mother became the wife of 
Anthony Stearns, who came to lola about 
1857. Mrs. Jones received an excellent 
education, having attended the high school 
of Amboj-, 111., after which she taught for 
five terms, receiving $6 per month and 
boarding around among the scholars. She 
was engaged in teaching for three terms in 
District No. 2, lola township, ^^'aupaca 
county. By her marriage she has become 
the mother of five children — Josephus B., a 
farmer of lola township; Edith C, who 
became the wife of Halver Amberson and 
died in Stetsonville, \\'is. ; Effie, at home; 
Martha, a school teacher; and Lucy, at 
home. 

In December, 1863, our subject became 
a member of Company K, Tenth Wis. \'. I., 
under Captain Roby, who was then com- 
mander of the regiment, which had been 
terribly slaughtered, having only thirty-five 
men at the time of Mr. Jones' enlistment at 
Fond du Lac, Wis. They then went to 
Madison and were put in charge of three 
hundred conscripts, after which they pro- 
ceeded to Chattanooga. The first engage- 
ment in which Mr. Jones participated was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



at Buzzard's Roost. In the spring of 1S64, 
he was taken ill and sent to the hospital at 
Nashville, where he recovered conscious- 
ness. The authorities wished to send him 
home, to which he objected, and he did 
patrol and picket duty at Murfreesboro until 
the fall of 1864, when he rejoined his regi- 
ment at Marietta, Ga., which only had a 
few members remaining, and was later con- 
solidated with the Twenty-first Wis. V. I. 
At Savannah he was detailed to go to the first 
division hospital of the 14th Army Corps as 
carpenter, which trade he followed during 
the remainder of the campaign. After 
participating in the Grand Review at \\'ash- 
ington, D. C. , he proceeded to Louisville, 
Ky., where he was discharged August 14, 
1865, from the Third Wis. V. I., to which 
he had been transferred. He sustained his 
worst injuries on the forced march to Rich- 
mond, Va., after the conflict had closed. 

Soon after his second marriage our sub- 
ject had removed to a tract of unimproved 
land in Section iS, Helvetia township, and 
their home consisted of a little shanty twelve 
feet square. They had to set one bureau 
on top of another in order to have any 
room in their small house, but in the fall of 
1863 the}' removed to the village of lola, 
where Mr. Jones returned at the close of 
the war. During his absence his wife was 
left in a destitute condition; cut off from 
all communications with her husband, she 
was compelled to work at various kinds of 
labor, such as a man would usually do in 
order to support the family. She deserves 
great credit for her labors, and it was often 
the woman who remained at home who suf- 
fered most during that great struggle. For 
two years Mr. Jones endeavored to work at 
his trade of carpentering in lola, but on ^jb- 
count of his injuries was forced to give it 
up. He then removed to Section 19, Hel- 
vetia township, where he purchased seventy- 
five acres of land from Joseph Keajnng, and 
has since made that place his home, though 
he has added to his original tract until he 
now has one hundred and fifteen acres. All 
the buildings upon the place stand as monu- 
ments to his thrift and enterprise, having 
been erected since his residence there. Mr. 
Jones has ever been a patriotic and loyal 



citizen, serving his country faithfull}- in days 
of peace as well as on southern battlefields, 
where he was one of the boys in blue and so 
valiantly aided in the defense of the stars 
and stripes. As an honest man and worthy 
citizen he deserves the respect and esteem 
in which he is held by his fellow citizens. 
In politics he is a Republican, intelligently 
supporting his party bj- voice and vote, and 
before the war was ever a stanch Abolition- 
ist. For a few years he has been supervisor 
of his township, and has held a number of 
offices in the school district. 



S TILLMAN H. SAWYER is not only 
one of the best-known citizens of 
Belmont township, but also has a 
wide acquaintance throughout Port- 
age county, and is held in high esteem by a 
large circle of friends. A native of Maine, 
he was born in Gardiner, Columbia county, 
on the Kennebec river, November 2, 18 19, 
and is a son of James and Octavie (Libby) 
Sawyer. The father was a farmer, and died 
when Stillman was only twelve years of age, 
leaving a large family, of which our subject 
was the seventh child and third sen. He 
attended the common schools of his native 
count}', and remained upon the home farm 
until fifteen years of age, when he went 
to live with a brother-in-law in Bangor, 
Maine, there continuing his studies. He 
also learned saddlery and trunk making, and 
was employed along that line as a journey- 
man for some time. 

In the fall of 1845, at Bangor, Mr. 
Sawyer married Lucy Fogg, who was born 
in that city, in 1826, daughter of Greenleaf 
Fogg, a commission merchant in the lumber 
business. Soon after their marriage the}' 
removed to Ellsworth, Hancock Co., Maine, 
where Mr. Sawyer opened a shop. There 
his wife died in the fall of 1851, leaving 
four children: Georgiana, now Mrs. Royal 
M. Jones, of Wausau, Wis. ; Edla, wife of 
George W. Rogers, of Winchester, Winne- 
bago Co., Wis.; Charles M., who is living 
in Rochester, Minn. ; and Frederick, of New 
Bedford, Massachusetts. 

In the spring of 1852, Mr. Sawyer left 
three of his children with a sister, and his 



526 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



son Fred was adopted by a farmer, and 
went to California, around Cape Horn, on 
the brig, " Page," that was built for passenger 
service between New York and New Orleans. 
On the vo}-age they encountered "head 
winds," but after six months and six days 
landed at San Francisco. Our subject had 
intended working at his trade, but could 
find nothing to do there, so went to Stock- 
ton, Cal., thence to the mines in Tuolumne 
county, and along the river of that 
name. He began mining with some of the 
party which came with him from Maine, 
but signally failed in that work. He then 
hired as a cook in a restaurant at $8o per 
month, and, though he had had no previous 
experience in that line, succeeded. Later he 
was engaged in prospecting near Sonora, 
Cal., and in carrying on a shop at that 
place until his return to the East in 
August, 1855. He made the journey by 
the way of the Panama and Aspinwall 
route, going on the vessel, "Golden Gate," 
to the latter place and thence on the ship, 
" George Law," to New York, reaching Ban- 
gor in September. 

Deciding to try his fortune in Wisconsin, 
Mr. Sawyer went by rail to Chicago, by 
boat to Sheboygan, then drove across the 
country to Fond du Lac, by boat to Gill's 
Landing, by team to Waupaca, and on to 
Portage county, where he purchased, in 
Section 11, Belmont township, a tract of 
land. He afterward bought eighty acres 
in Section 12, his present farm. He then 
returned to Bangor, Maine, and wedded 
Mary M. Fogg, a sister of his first wife, 
and brought her and his children to the new 
home. Here the family circle was increased 
by the birth of the following children: Her- 
bert A., of Stevens Point, Wis.; Clarence 
A., a carpenter; D. W. , of Belmont town- 
ship; Luella, wife of William Morey, of 
Belmont, Wis.; and Irvin, who follows 
carpentering. Mrs. Sawyer died in 1S89, 
and was buried in Belmont township. She 
held membership with the Methodist Church, 
and was a most estimable lady, whose loss 
awakened deep regret throughout the com- 
munit}-. Mr. Sawyer gave the land on 
which to build the Methodist Church of East 
Belmont township. He has at different 



times been an extensive land owner, and 
now has a valuable tract of 240 acres. 

The political views of our subject are in 
harmony with Republican principles. At a 
meeting held in Lanark township for the 
purpose of organizing Belmont township, 
he was chosen as the first clerk of the town- 
ship, and as such served several years. In 
January, 1867, he became register of deeds 
of Portage county, and served for two terms 
of two years each. In 1871 he was ap- 
pointed deputy county treasurer, and served 
until elected to the office of treasurer in the 
fall of 1880, after which he was twice re- 
elected, acceptably filling the position for 
six j-ears. His frequent re-election was the 
highest testimonial of his fidelity to duty 
that could be given, and it also manifested his 
personal popularity and the confidence re- 
posed in him. 

Mr. Sawyer went to the defense of the 
Union, December 10, 1861, enlisting at 
Plover. He served as recruiting sergeant 
of Company E, Eighteenth \\'is. V. I., and 
after the company was organized for duty 
in Milwaukee, it went to St. Louis, March 
29, 1862, thence down the river to Pitts- 
burg Landing, and participated in that bat- 
tle which was its first engagement. After 
the battle he was the highest in rank left in 
the company, and commanded it until the 
4th of July. He participated in a number 
of important engagements prior to Novem- 
ber. 1863, when he was sent back to ^^'is- 
consin as recruiting sergeant. In April, 
1864, he went to Madison, then joined his 
regiment at Huntsville, Ala., continuing 
with it until October, 1864, when he was 
taken prisoner with three companies who 
were captured by the rebels when guarding 
a bridge a mile south of Altoona Pass. He 
was sent to Milan, Ga.. and after a captivity 
of forty days was taken to Savannah, where 
he was exchanged in November. 1864. He 
was then in the hospital at Annapolis, Md , 
until December i, when he was granted a 
thirty-days' furlough and returned home. 
On the 22d of January, 1865, he was honor- 
abh- discharged at Milwaukee. He has long 
been recognized as one of the leading and 
influential citizens of the community in 
which he now makes his home, and in his 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



227 



declining years he is quietly living a retired 
life on the old homestead, surrounded by 
many warm friends and acquaintances. 



ERNST MAAS was born in Prussia, 
Germany, July 11, 1841, and is a 
son of John and Charlotte (Silbers- 
dorf) Maas. The father was an 
architect and followed that business for fifty 
years. In 185 1, accompanied by his famil)', 
he sailed for America, landing at New York, 
and settled near Lockport in the Empire 
State, where they lived for three and a half 
years, during which time the father was en- 
gaged in da}' labor. He then started West, 
traveling by boat to Sheboygan, Wis., by 
wagon to Fond du Lac, by boat to Menasha 
and by team to New London. In that 
locality he purchased 200 acres of wild land. 
Two of his sons had previously come to this 
State and located the farm; also erected a 
log cabin. The work of clearing was at 
once begun, and was accomplished mostly 
with axe and grub hoe. Mr. Maas continued 
farming throughout his remaining days, and 
his land became a valuable, productive tract. 
His death occurred at the age of eighty- 
eight, and his wife passed away at the age 
of seventy-two. Nine children were born 
to John and Charlotte (Silbersdorf) Maas, 
namely : Frederick, Charles, Christian, 
Caroline, William, Henrietta, Wilhelmine, 
Ernst and Franz. Five of the number are 
hving. 

Amid the wild scenes of the frontier 
Ernst Maas was reared and educated, and 
an important event in his life was his enlist- 
ment in the Union army January i, 1862, 
as a member of Company I, Twelfth Wis- 
consin Battery, which was mustered into 
service at Milwaukee, and sent thence to 
Jefferson Barracks. He participated in the 
battles of Island No. 10 and Fort Pillow, and 
reached Shiloh after the engagement. Be- 
ing taken ill he was confined in the hospital 
at Jefferson Barracks for about three months, 
and was discharged on account of disability 
June 22, 1862. He returned to his home, 
but as soon as he had recovered, he re- 
enlisted on March i8th, 1864, in Company 
I, Seventeenth Regiment, Wis. V. I., and, 



after being mustered in at Green Bay, Wis. , 
was sent to Madison, and thence to Cairo, 
111., where the Seventeenth Corps was re- 
organized. With that command he went to 
Huntsville, then to Big Shanty, to Marietta 
and to Atlanta, and after a three-weeks' ill- 
ness again joined his regiment at Atlanta, 
and went with Sherman on the celebrated 
March to the Sea. The army then went to 
Beaufort, N. C, to Columbia, S. C. , to 
Goldsboro and to Raleigh, N. C, to Fred- 
ericksburg, to Richmond and to Petersburg, 
Va., and participated in the grand review 
in Washington. Mr. Maas then went with 
his command to Madison, where he was 
honorably discharged July 14, 1865, and 
returned at once to New London, Wis- 
consin. 

A short time after his return Mr. Maas 
married Miss Amanda Kittner, daughter of 
Ferdinand and Caroline (Schultz) Kittner, 
who were of German lineage and came to 
Wisconsin in 1859. Her mother is now 
living with her children in Illinois, but her 
father died in 1872. Ten children graced 
the union of our subject and his estimable 
wife: Albert, Anna, Minnie, Ida, William, 
Amos, Martha, Benjamin, Ollie and Louie. 

On his marriage Mr. Maas purchased a 
farm, but soon sold it and removed to Bo- 
vina, Outagamie county. Wis., where he 
again bought land and immediately began 
its cultivation. He continued its improve- 
ment until 1875, when he sold out and re- 
moved to Dupont township, W'aupaca coun- 
ty, purchasing 120 acres of land in Sections 
28 and 29. He could not drive to his farm, 
as no road had been cut, and, leaving his 
team with H. H. Quimby, he proceeded to 
it, a distance of three and a half miles, on 
foot. He built a log cabin 16 x 22 feet, and 
in that primitive home the family lived until 
1888, when it was replaced by their present 
frame residence. Today seventy acres of 
the farm is under cultivation, and many 
good improvements upon the place stand as 
monuments to his thrift and enterprise. 
Mr. Maas has led a busy and useful life, and 
IS now the possessor of a comfortable com- 
petency in reward for his labors. The Re- 
publican party finds in him a stalwart advo- 
cate, and the Grand Army Post of Clinton- 



228 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ville, Wis., numbers him among its leading 
and influential members. Himself and wife 
are members of the Seventh Day Adventist 
Church. 



ALFRED VINTON GEARHART, 
superintendent of the Water-works 
Department at Wausau, and one of 
the most active and enterprising 
young business men of that city, was born 
in Piaintield, Waushara county, March 22, 
1858, son of Charles H. and Louisa A. 
(Tabor) Gearhart, now residents of Chelsea, 
Taylor Co., Wis., where the father is en- 
gaged in the lumber and hotel businesses. 

Charles H. Gearhart is a native of Liv- 
ingston county, N. Y. , but his father and 
grandfather were both born in Pennsylvania. 
Louisa, wife of Charles H., was also born in 
Livingston county, N. Y. Her grandpar- 
ents were natives of Maine, and were rela- 
tives of the noted Rev. Dr. Vinton. To 
Charles H. and Louisa Gearhart six sons 
were born, as follows: Dennis, deceased at 
the age of twenty-one years; Frank, who 
died in infancy; George L. , a Wisconsin 
Central railroad engineer, killed in a train 
collision at Marshfield, May 29, 1894; Al- 
bertus A., of Chelsea, proprietor of a saw- 
mill; Alfred Vinton; and Nathaniel O. , a 
conductor on the Northern Division, Wiscon- 
sin Central railroad. The father served for 
three years during the Rebellion in the Si.\- 
teenth \\'isconsin Battery of Artillery, and 
while in service contracted disabilities which 
have since unfitted him for active life. 

Alfred V. Gearhart was reared on his 
father's farm in Almond township. Portage 
county, until he had reached the age of 
twelve years. He then returned to Plain- 
field with his parents, who for several years 
conducted a hotel at that village, and in 
1874 removed to Chelsea, Taylor Co., Wis. 
Alfred was educated in the public schools of 
Portage, Waushara and Taylor counties. In 
1878, at the age of twenty years, he was 
appointed station agent of the Wisconsin 
Central railroad at Auburndale. He was 
thence transferred to Ledgeville, Brown 
county. A year later he entered the train- 
dispatcher's office at Milwaukee, where he 



remained a year. Mr. Gearhart was then 
appointed assistant dispatcher at Stevens 
Point. He was thence transferred to station 
work at Colby, ^^'estboro and Junction City, 
respectively, and in [881 he accepted a posi- 
tion as assistant station agent at Wausau, 
for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail- 
road, and for the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & 
Western road. Two years later he was ap- 
pointed manager for the Western Union 
Telegraph Company in Wausau, and he 
filled that position eleven years. He re- 
signed to accept the superintendency of the 
Water-works Department, a position he now 
f^lls. 

On December 31, 1884, Mr. Gearhart 
was married to Miss Ada I. Barnum, daugh- 
ter of Mark H. and Phoebe Barnum. Mr. 
Barnum is editor of the Torch of Liberty. 
Two children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Gearhart, Louise and Marcus Vinton. 
Mr. Gearhart is senior warden of Forest 
Lodge No. 1 30, F. & A. M. He is a mem- 
ber of Wausau Chapter No. 5 i , and of the 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. 
The family attend the Universalist Church, 
and in politics Mr. Gearhart is a Repub- 
lican. 



REV. JACOB VAN RENSSELAER 
HUGHES.pastorof the Presbyterian 
Church at Merrill, Lincoln county, 
was born September 11, 1844, at 
Cape May, N. J., where, in 1689, Humph- 
rey Hughes, the first of the family to come 
from Wales, made a settlement — indeed 
four brothers came to America at the same 
time, Humphrey being one of them. 

Jacob Hughes (a farmer), great-grand- 
father of our subject, was born in 1 7 1 1 , and 
died in 1773; married Priscilla Hughes, 
who was born in 17 10, and died in 1758. 
Jacob Hughes, grandfather of our subject, 
was born Aug. 9, 1746, and died March 20, 
1796; married Ann Lawrence, who was 
born in August, 1753, daughter of Rev. 
Daniel Lawrence, and after the death of 
Jacob Hughes she married Jeremiah Ed- 
wards; she died November 27, 1817. James 
R. Hughes, her youngest son by her first 
husband, was born in Cape May county. 



COMMEMOBATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



529' 



N. J., in 1 791, and was married January 9, 
1815, to Eliza Eldridge, who was born at 
Cold Springs, N. J., July 6, 1791. Twelve 
children were born to this union, named re- 
spectively: Ann L. , Jeremiah E., Dan- 
iel L. , Joseph L. , William G., Harriet N., 
James P., Hannah E., Mary B., Emma 
M., Amelia F. and Jacob Van Rensselaer. 
Three of the sons — Daniel L. , James P. 
and Jacob Van R. — are ministers of the 
Gospel; and three of the daughters are 
married to ministers, to wit: Harriet N., 
to Rev. C. M. Oakley; EmmaM., to Rev. 
John S. Roberts, who has been a missionary 
to China for the past ten years; and Amelia 
F., to Rev. John Kershaw, of Brooklyn, 
N. Y. The father, though devoting the 
greater part of his life to agricultural pur- 
suits, was a well-educated man, possessed 
of a thorough academic education, and 
taught school m.any years. 

The subject proper of this sketch at- 
tended school at Cape May, N. J., until he 
was eleven years of age, and then studied 
at Edgehill School, Princeton, N. J., under 
the preceptorship of his brother James, who 
was one of the professors of that institution. 
While there he united with the First Pres- 
byterian Church, was graduated at Prince- 
ton (N. J.) College in 1867, and then en- 
tered the Theological Seminary at the same 
place, graduating from there in 1870, in 
the spring of which year he was licensed 
and ordained to preach by the Presbyterian 
Church of New Brunswick, N. J. Mr. 
Hughes then taught in Bellefonte (Penn.) 
Academy, from April, 1870, till June, 1873. 
His first charge as pastor was at Unionville, 
Center Co., Penn., where he was installed 
in 1874, remaining there about five years, 
or until 1878, when he accepted a call to 
the Presbyterian Church at Kilbourn City, 
Columbia Co., Wis. Here he continued 
three years, at the end of which time, in 
1 88 1, his health failing him, Mr. Hughes 
resigned the charge, and was looking about 
him for other fields of labor when his 
friends prevailed upon him to accept the 
postmastership of Kilbourn City, which was 
open to him, and he held the incumbency 
over four years. Having by this time re- 
gained his health, he received a call to a 



Presbyterian Church at Shawano, Wis., 
which he accepted, and here he labored 
in the vineyard from 1886 till October, 
1894, the time of his coming to Merrill to 
fill the pulpit of the Presbyterian Church 
at that place. 

Rev. Hughes has been twice married: 
First time July 27, 1870, to Miss Elizabeth 
C. McGinnis, daughter of Rev. J. Y. 
McGinnis, of Shade Gap, Penn., b}- which 
union there were four children: Lyda, 
Mary F., Harold D. and Alice M., the 
first named dying in infancy. The mother 
of these died May 11, 1888, a true Chris- 
tian woman, greatly beloved by all who knew 
her. On September 17, 1891, Mr. Hughes 
was married in New Jersey to Miss Mary C. 
Ayres, a native of that State, born in De- 
cember, 1858, daughter of Samuel and 
Margaret E. (Vail) Ayres, well-to-do farm- 
ing people, also of New Jersey birth, who 
were the parents of four children: Fred- 
erick v., Mary C, Emma L. and Arthur. 
The parents are yet living. Mr. Ayres was 
twice married, and by his first wife had two 
children: Henry C. and Jane L. The 
Ayres family trace their ancestry as far back 
as 1637, to John Ayer (for so the name was 
then spelled), who came in that year from 
(probably) Nottinghamshire, England, to 
Newbury, Mass., and of his nine children 
all except Obadiah remained in New Eng- 
land, where they have numerous descend- 
ants. Obadiah Ayer married Hannah Pike, 
and in 1669-70 moved to Woodbridge, N. J.; 
he also had nine children, the fourth of 
whom was named Obadiah. This Obadiah 
had ten children, all born at the old home- 
stead near Strawberry Hill; Robert, the sev- 
enth of these, had seven children, of whom, 
Frazee, the eldest child, had five children. 
Ellis, the first born of these five, had eleven 
children, and Ezra, the seventh child, had 
ten children, one of whom is Samuel Ayres, 
the father of Mrs. Jacob V. Hughes. The 
Vail family trace their ancestry in England 
as far back as 1630; those of them in this 
country were farmers in New Jersey, and it 
is known that several skirmishes during the 
Revolutionary struggle were fought on their 
farm. By his second marriage Mr. Hughes 
has two children: Margaret Vail Hughes 



230 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and Arthur \ . Our subject is a genial, 
whole-souled, popular man, broad and 
charitable in his views, and, withal, a 
thorough Christian gentleman. 



THOMAS COURT, an influential, 
successful and self-made farmer of 
Dajton township, Waupaca county, 
has lived an eventful life full of 
stirring incidents, and compassing in its 
boundaries a goodly portion of the globe. 

The son of an English brick maker, he 
was born May 5, 1839, in Milton, County 
of Kent. England. When ten years old his 
father died leaving the widow and her two 
sons — Thomas and George — in circum- 
stances so limited that the two lads were in 
early life thrown upon the world. "Tom" 
was a venturesome boy, and when fifteen 
years old he was apprenticed on the brig 
"Active," which was engaged in the 
coal trade between Whitstable, Kent, and 
the northern part of England, our subject's 
first voyage being between Whitstable and 
Newcastle, at which latter place the vessel 
was loaded with gas coal for New York. 
From the latter port she sailed to Wilming- 
ton, N. C, where she was loaded with tur- 
pentine, with which she sailed to Hull, Eng- 
land, where she discharged her cargo and 
then returned to Whitstable, after that 
making a few coasting trips. All this time 
young "Tom" Court was serving on 
her in the capacity of cabin boy. but re- 
ceived such severe treatment that he and 
another boy on the ship decided to run away 
from the vessel, so one evening they put 
their plans into execution by starting off on 
foot for the great city of London, their in- 
tention being, when they got there, to ship 
on board some vessel on which they might 
run a chance of receiving better fare and 
less harsh treatment; but when they had 
tramped about forty miles on their journey 
they were unfortunately caught and sent 
back to their ship at Whitstable, the skip- 
per having discovered their absence and 
telegraphed ahead of them. The next 
six months was a hard time for the 
poor boys, for they were subjected to 
still worse treatment than before, and 



"Tom." driven to desperation, resolved to 
make one more attempt to escape from such 
tyranny — l/i:s time alone — an opportunity 
presenting itself just about six months after 
his first effort, while the vessel, the "Active," 
was lying at Swansea, Wales. "Tom" 
slipped away quietly, and escaping from the 
ship walked forty miles to Cardiff. This 
was the "blackest night " Mr. Court says 
he ever experienced — without money, with- 
out friends, and with the constant dread of 
again being captured and taken back to the 
ship, there to suffer a repetition of his hard- 
ships. It was a dismal trip indeed for the 
plucky boy; but he ultimately arrived safely 
at Cardiff, where he at once found employ- 
ment at loading railroad iron on the ship 
"John Bunyan." When this vessel was 
all ready for sea, Mr. Court shipped aboard 
her in the capacity of "boy before the 
mast," and helped to navigate her to New 
York, at which port he shipped on the 
United States brig "Zachary," bound for 
the West Indies. In this vessel he made 
several trips, making in all five ports in 
Cuba and five in San Domingo. He next 
shipped at New York, on a vessel bound for 
several South American ports, including 
Enanam and Para, but after this voyage, 
and on arriving at New York, he left the 
vessel for a berth on the bark " Montauk," 
bound from New York to Galveston, Texas, 
and return. On this trip, while returning 
to New York and when off Cape Hatteras, 
they for seventeen days experienced such 
severely cold and stormy weather that 
seven of the crew were frozen so badly in 
the hands and feet as to be rendered help- 
less, only four able-bodied seamen, includ- 
ing our subject, being left to assist the 
captain in handling the vessel; after much 
hardship, however, they succeeded in navi- 
gating her as far as the quarantine point at 
the entrance to New York Bay. Here 
they found the bay so full of ice that all 
small or light steam vessels, including tugs, 
were laid up, and a steamboat of the larger 
class had to be employed to tow the ' ' Mon- 
tauk " from quarantine to the New York 
wharfs, for which service the vessel owners 
had to pay one thousand dollars. She 
arrived January 28, 1858, in the depth of a 




^l>^^?7^^^^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



231 



most severe winter, the ice in the East river 
being frozen so hard that heavily-laden 
teams were enabled to cross on it between 
New York and Brooklyn. Mr. Court passed 
between eight and nine years as boy and 
able seaman, during which period he made 
two trips to England, one to Hamburg, 
Germany, one to Nova Scotia, passing 
through the Bay of Fundy, also, during the 
same time, putting in three or four months 
on the Erie canal, which probably was the 
first step toward his coming to and finally 
settling in the West. For two seasons he 
followed the lakes in the summer, in winter 
time returning to New York, whence he 
made voyages to the West Indies — thus en- 
joying summer weather the year round. 
While on one of his lake voj'ages, and bus- 
iness being dull, he concluded to try his 
hand in the harvest field, so proceeding to 
Walworth county, Wis. , he readily found 
employment at that work there. At that 
time and place he also met the lad}- who 
afterward became his wife — ' ' met by 
chance, the usual way." The following 
winter was passed in Milwaukee, and in the 
spring he shipped as a sailor on the brig 
" Twilight," but he did not long remain with 
her for, on July 4, 1862, we again find hmi 
in Walworth county, working as a farm 
hand, which occupation of course was not 
what brought him there; it was "metal 
more attractive," no doubt. 

An Arcadian life such as that, however, 
did not seem to satisfy Mr. Court's restless 
disposition. The Civil war being now in 
full blast, he had to prove his loyalty to his 
adopted country by enlisting at Lyons, 
Walworth county, August 14, 1862, in 
Companj' C, Twenty-second Wis. V. I., 
and on the twenty-sixth of the same month 
he vvas married at Racine to Miss Adeline 
C. Lewis — the "sweetheart" he had met in 
Walworth county. His regiment being order- 
ed to Covington, Ky. , it was then equipped 
for active service, which it soon saw, for 
during the winter of 1862-63 it was operat- 
ing against Gen. John Morgan, and in the 
spring of 1863 embarked on transports at 
Louisville, Ky., bound for Nashville, Tenn., 
arriving at Fort Donelson the morning after 
the second battle at that place. From 



Nashville they were ordered to Franklin, 
Tenn., reaching that point in time to take 
part in the battle of Spring Hill, where half 
the regiment was captured (Mr. Court, 
being on detail duty at the time, escaped 
capture), the remainder of the Twenty-sec- 
ond retiring to Brentwood, Tenn. On the 
following Sunday our subject was detailed 
with four others to take as many (five) 
teams and wagons to Franklin, Tenn., where 
he was detained by the officer in charge, 
and so again escaped falling into the hands 
of the Confederates, as the remainder of the 
regiment was captured by Forrest and 
VanDorn at Brentwood, the same week. 
During the following six months Mr. Court 
was detailed as teamster, and kept with the 
ammunition train as far as Chattanooga, 
Tenn., when, his regiment having in the 
meantime been e.xchanged, he rejoined it at 
Murfreesboro, where it became embodied with 
Hooker's Twentieth Army Corps. Mr. Court 
took active part in the remainder of the 
campaign, participating in the battles of 
Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain and Peach Tree 
Creek, at which latter he was severely 
wounded in the left shoulder by a gunshot, 
the event occurring at 2:30 p. m., July 20, 
1 864, in consequence of which he was sent 
to the field hospital, and then to Chatta- 
nooga and Nashville, Tenn. After a fur- 
lough home in Walworth county, \\'is., he 
returned to Nashville, and was orderly for 
Quartermaster Hubbs at Gen. Rousseau's 
headquarters, the regiment having gone 
with Sherman on his famous march to the 
sea. He participated in the fight at Nash- 
ville December 15 and 16, 1864, remained 
in that vicinity until the close of the war, 
and was discharged at Madison, Wis., June 
14, 1865, after thirty-four months of service. 
Mr. Court as already stated had been 
married to Adeline C. Lewis, who was born 
near Middlebury, Vt., October 4, 1844. 
They began housekeeping in Lyons township, 
Walworth county, on rented land, and in 
the fall of 1867 went to Milwaukee, where 
he was engaged in teaming through the 
winter, and in the following spring they re- 
moved to Manitowoc. In the fall of iS6y 
Mr. Court and a partner took a lumbering 
contract in Glenmore township. Brown 



233 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



county, and here in Section 26 he bought 
some timber land and settled. In the spring 
of 18S3 he removed to Dayton township, 
Waupaca county, for a few months living 
on a rented farm, but in June of the same 
year he bought 180 acres of unimproved 
land in Sections 14 and 15, that township; 
the improvements he has made here are 
substantial well-constructed buildings. The 
family of Mr. and Mrs. Court consists of 
George F., a farmer of Dayton township; 
RomeliaJ., wife of Oscar Gotham, of the 
same township; Burtis C. ; Thomas Edgar, 
and Frank W. , at home. In Glenmore 
Mr. Court was a justice of the peace for 
some seven years. He has been a delegate 
to many county Republican conventions, 
and was a delegate to the Congressional 
Convention at Stevens Point in i 894, which 
nominated E. S. Minor for Congress. Soci- 
ally, he is a member of the R. A. M., at 
Waupaca, Chapter 39, and of Lodge No. 
153, F. & A. M. ; also a member of Gar- 
field Post, No. 21, G. A. R. Mrs. Court is 
serving her second j'ear as president of Wau- 
paca Relief Corps No. 93, au.xiliary to Gar- 
field Post. She is also a member of the 
M. E. Church at Parfreyville, and among 
the foremost in church work. 

• Mr. Court has, by an extensive course 
of reading, and by observation and travel, 
more than overcome the educational dis- 
advantages under which he labored in his 
youth. He is one of the best informed men 
of the township, and an authority upon 
many matters of vital interest to the farmer. 
His sympathies and efforts can be enlisted 
in any good movement for the general 
welfare. He is blessed with an intelligent 
and kind-hearted wife, possessed of an ex- 
cellent farm, and endowed with a ripe and 
generous judgment. His influence is wide 
and his friends are innumerable. 



CHAUNCEY K. RICHARDSON is 
classed among the leading and in- 
tluental citizens of Spencer, Wood 
county, where he has now made his 
home for twenty years. He is a native of 
Canada, born February 18, 1832, in Comp- 
ton. Province of Quebec, and is a son of 



Daniel C. Richardson, who was born in 
Plymouth, N. H., in 1793. The grand- 
father, David Richardson, who was born in 
1764, was a farmer by occupation, and he 
and his father, Zebediah Richardson, served- 
as soldiers during the Revolutionary war. 

When but eight years of age the father 
of our subject removed with his parents to 
Canada, where he grew to manhood and 
there married Olive Huntington, a native of 
Connecticut, born in December, 1801. 
They had a family of five children, one of 
whom died in infancy; those still living are 
Chauncey K., Emma H., Louisa O. and 
David F. The father was drafted into the 
British army in the war of 181 2, and partic- 
ipated in the battle of Plattsburg. He was 
a miller by occupation, owning a grist and 
saw mill, which he operated for many years. 
His death occurred in Canada in 1845, his 
wife surviving him several years, and dying 
in January, 1876. After the death of Mr. 
Richardson she married Benjamin Hitch- 
cock. 

The subject proper of this sketch was 
but thirteen years of age when his father 
died, and as his mother remarried two years 
later, he started out in life for himself. He 
had received a substantial education in the 
schools of his native countrj', and at the age 
of eighteen began teaching. In the spring 
of 1850 he came to Wisconsin, locating in 
Delton, where he taught school and also 
engaged in lumbering, there residing for 
eleven years, making his home with his 
uncle, L. Huntington, a brother of his 
mother. In September, 1861, Mr. Rich- 
ardson joined "the bo3'S in blue," becoming 
a member of Company E, Twelfth Wis. V. 
I., commanded by Col. George E. Bryant. 
He served for a year and a half, being dis- 
charged in March, 1S63, with the rank of 
sergeant. He belonged to the Western 
army, and \aliantly aided in the defense of 
his adopted country. After his return to 
Wisconsin, Mr. Richardson continued teach- 
ing during the winter months, while in the 
summer he was employed in mills, but 
later engaged in farming in Sauk county. 
Wis., at which occupation he remained four 
years. In November, 1875, ^^ came to 
Spencer, Marathon county, where he taught 



COJUMEMORATIVS BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



»33 



school one term, when he again engaged in 
milling, but later became a lumber grader 
and shipper. This business he followed 
until 1886, when on account of failing 
health he laid aside all business cares and 
has since lived a retired life. 

On September 24, 1861, Mr. Richardson 
was united in marriage with x\manda M. 
T3'ler, who is also a native of Canada, born 
in 1S40, daughter of Rev. Amos and Emogene 
(Todd) Tyler. By this union have been 
born three children, one of whom died in 
infancy; Daniel V. and \'erna are still 
living, and the former is now married and 
edits the Loyal Tribune, of Loyal, Wis. 
In political opinions Mr. Richardson sides 
with the Republicans, and is an important 
member of that party, though not a politi- 
cian. He has been justice of the peace and 
town clerk, serving in those offices to the 
satisfaction of all concerned. In religious 
belief he is a member of the Free Baptist 
Church, while socially he belongs to the 
Order of Good Templars, and also holds 
membership with the Grand Army of the 
Republic. His hand is never withheld from 
doing good, and he is a benevolent man as 
well as a worthy citizen, having the respect 
and confidence of the entire communitv. 



JUDGE WILLIAM HIRTH, one of 
the representative citizens of Marsh - 
field. Wood county, who is now serv- 
ing as municipal judge, was born in 
Prussia, Germany, January i, 1844, and is 
a son of Christian Hirth, who was born in 
the same locality in 1803. He enlisted in 
the German army as a private, but meri- 
torious conduct won him promotion to the 
rank of lieutenant, and for eighteen years he 
did service under his country's flag. In his 
native land he married Minnie Frank, and 
they had eight children, all born in Germany, 
namely: Albert, Frederick, William, Ernest, 
Amelia and Minnie, all living; and Henry 
and Julius, now deceased. These brothers 
were both soldiers in the Union army during 
the war of the Rebellion, and one was killed 
at the battle of Vicksburg, while the other 
died in a Rebel prison— thus giving their 
lives in defense of their adopted country. 



In 1848 the father resigned his position 
in the German army, and with his eldest son 
Albert, came to America. Later he re- 
turned to the land of his birth, sold his farm 
and other property, and brought his family 
to the United States, settling in Dodge 
county. Wis., on a farm near Mayville. 
This was in 1850, and he remained upon 
that farm until within four years of his death, 
when he removed to the city of Mayville, 
where he died in 1872. He was a man of 
scholarly attainments, highly educated, and 
was very popular, winning a host of warm 
friends. In political affairs he took an 
active interest, and was a stalwart advocate 
of the Republican party. The mother of 
our subject died in 1853, and the father 
afterward married Lenna Matta, by whom he 
had six children: Charles, Christian, Lenna, 
Arlenna, Emma and Bertha. The mother 
of this famil}' is still living. 

William Hirth was a lad of only six 
summers when by his parents he was brought 
to Wisconsin. Upon the home farm he was 
reared' to manhood, and in the log school 
house of the neighborhood his education was 
acquired. He aided his father in the labors 
of the fields until seventeen years of age, 
and then began work in his own interest, 
being employed as a farm hand until twenty- 
four years of age. Mr. Hirth was then 
united in marriage with Miss Johanna Miller, 
the wedding being celebrated in May, 1868. 
The lady is a native of German\' and a 
daughter of Mathew and Fredricke (Redle) 
Miller, farming people who came to America 
in 1852. Their family consisted of six chil- 
dren, namely: Fredericke, Johanna, Chris- 
tine, Mary, Carrie and John. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Hirth have been born two children, 
Emma and Charles. 

After his marriage Mr. Hirth took up 
work at the carpenter's trade which he suc- 
cessfully followed until 1892. He came to 
Marshheld in 18S2, and continued car- 
pentering, many evidences of his handiwork 
being seen in this place. At various times 
his fellow citizens have called him from 
private life to public office, and in all he has 
maintained his high reputation as a valued 
and prominent citizen. In 1883 he was 
elected justice of the peace and police jus- 



33 + 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tice, the first officer of the kind in Marsh- 
field, and four years later was elected 
municipal judge, in which capacity he has 
since served with credit to himself and satis- 
faction of his constituents. He is a warm 
advocate of Democratic principles, and has 
frequently been sent as delegate to county 
and State conventions, where he has been a 
leading member. During the Civil war he 
manifested his loj'alty to the government 
and the Union cause by several times at- 
tempting to enlist, but his father interfered 
with his entering the army on account of his 
e.xtreme youth. He has ever been devoted 
to the best interests of the community in 
which he makes his home, as a public- 
spirited and progressive citizen, and he and 
his wife hold membership with the German 
Lutheran Church. 



JAMES MILLER, one of the oldest 
residents and best known citizens of 
Grand Rapids, ^^^ood county, claims 
Pennsylvania as the State of his na- 
tivity, his birth having occurred in Luzerne 
county, July 31, 1828. He is a son of 
George T. and Mary (Search) Miller, who 
were also natives of the Keystone State. 

The early life of aur subject was quietly 
passed, he being reared to manhood under 
the parental roof, obtaining his education in 
the common schools of the neighborhood. 
His first independent effort in life was at the 
age of eighteen when he began learning the 
tailor's trade. He made himself thoroughly 
familiar with the business in all its details, 
and has since kept abreast of the time in 
styles and improvements. With the excep- 
tion of two years he has always followed his 
chosen vocation, and has secured a well- 
deserved success. In 1866 he came to 
Grand Rapids, and opening a tailoring estab- 
lishment has supplied the wants of the pub- 
lic in his line, good workmanship guarantee- 
ing him a liberal patronage. 

Mr. Miller has twice been married; first 
time to Miss Caroline Teats, of New Jersey 
(who died in 1S73), their wedding being cel- 
ebrated in eastern Pennsylvania ere his arri- 
val at Grand Rapids. Of their union four chil - 
dren were born, three of whom are yet living. 



namel)': William H. , a commercial traveler, 
residing in Duluth, Minn. ; Mary Emma, now 
the wife of E. B. Brundage, the efficient 
postmaster of Grand Rapids; and Arthur G., 
who is now located in Dexterville, Wis. In 
1874 Mr. Miller was again married, this time 
to Miss Alice Daugherty, daughter of John 
and Mary Daugherty, and they have five 
children, all living at this writing (July, 
1895), namely: Milton J., Guy Halifax, 
Harry, Carrie and Lloyd. Mr. Miller also 
has living one sister, Harriet Ellen, and one 
brother, Jesse Clinton, both residing in New 
Columbia, Pennsylvania. 

In his social relations Mr. Miller is a 
member of Grand Rapids Lodge No. 91, 
I. O. O. F. The family attend the services 
of the Methodist Church, and in this com- 
munity are people of prominence, their 
friends being many. Mr. Miller represented 
his ward in the city council for two years, 
and proved a trustworthy and capable offi- 
cial, but has never sought or desired political 
preferment. His duties of citizenship are 
faithfull}' performed, and he is both public- 
spirited and progressive. During his long 
residence in Grand Rapids his life has been 
a most honorable and upright one, winning 
him the confidence and high regard of all 
with whom business or social relations have 
brought him in contact. 



LEE M. WILLARD, M. D., a prom- 
inent young physician of ^^'ausau, 
who makes a specialty of diseases of 
the eye, ear and throat, was born in 
Neenah, Wis., only child born to Van R. 
Willard (attorney at law, of Merrill) and 
Cynthia (Perkins) Willard, the former a 
native of Wisconsin and the latter of New- 
York State. 

In the spring of 1874 the parents of our 
subject removed to Merrill, Wis., and here 
the Doctor was reared to manhood, receiv- 
ing his primary education in the public and 
high schools of that city. After completing 
his education he commenced the study of 
medicine with Dr. \\'ylie, and in 1887 en- 
tered the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
of Chicago, graduating from that institution 
with the class of 1891. He afterward took 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



235 



the competitive examination for resident 
surgeon, and was appointed house surgeon 
for the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear 
Infirmarj', and filled that position for one 
year, after which he commenced the practice 
of his profession in W'ausau, where his 
skillful treatment of diseases of the eye, ear 
and throat has earned for him an enviable 
reputation. 

In January, 1894, he was married, in 
Chicago, to Miss Eva May Pennywell, a 
daughter of M. F. and Alice Pennywell, resi- 
dents of Chicago, who had two daughters 
born to them, namely: Margaret, wife of 
Stephen Losh, of Saundersville, Ohio, and 
Eva Ma}', wife of Dr. Willard. The Doctor 
is a member of the American Medical Asso- 
ciation, and Myrtle Lodge No. 78, Knights 
of Pythias, of Merrill. He resides in Wau- 
sau, but practices his profession both in 
Wausau and Merrill, and enjoys the esteem 
of a large circle of friends and acquaint- 
ances. 



FREDRICK SPOEHR. This high- 
ly-respected citizen and prosperous 
merchant of Elmhurst, Langlade 
count}-, has also the honor of being 
the first settler in that thriving little town. 
He is of German nationality, having been 
born in the Province of Brunswick May 13, 
1833. His parents, Frederic and Rosina 
(Lane) Spoehr, were also of German birth, 
and his father was a carpenter by trade. 

The parental family of our subject com- 
prised eight children, of whom four died in 
infancy. The eldest child, Henry, died in 
Germany when twenty-eight years of age; 
Christiana died at Shiocton, Outagamie 
county. Wis., in 1891; Fredrick is our sub- 
ject; Ernest is a farmer, living in Outagamie 
county. Wis. The family emigrated to this 
country in 1856, with the e.xception of 
Fredrick, who had preceded them two 
years, coming over in 1854. The father 
purchased land in the town of Bovina in the 
above-mentioned county. It was all wild 
land, far from civilization, the nearest 
neighbor north being eighteen miles away. 
He at once set to work to clear away the 
forests, build roads, cultivate the fields and 



prepare a home for his loved ones. This he 
did with the help of his sons and his good 
wife, and he had the satisfaction of passing 
his last days in a beautiful home, surround- 
ed by all the comforts and conveniences of 
life. Here he died in September, 1869. 

Fredrick Spoehr obtained a common- 
school education in the excellent schools of 
his native land, and there learned the trade 
of a miller. He came to America when he 
reached his twentieth year, and worked in a 
gristmill at Green Bay until his parents 
came over, when he went upon the farm 
with them. On November 28, 1858, he 
was married to Christina Herman, a daugh- 
ter of Nicholas and Christina (Hegnauer) 
Herman, her birth taking place in Switzer- 
land October 5, 1831. She came to Amer- 
ica in 1854, her parents following her in 
1856; the father was a contractor and 
builder. They settled in Outagamie coun- 
ty, where the mother died in 1 863 and the 
father in 1878. Their family numbered ten 
children. 

After his marriage Mr. Spoehr bought 
some wild land near his father's farm, and 
proceeded to clear it and make improve- 
ments thereon. Here he lived until 1879, 
in the spring of which year he sold his farm 
and purchased a gristmill at Shiocton, Wis., 
where he also opened a general store. He 
remained there some two years, when his 
mill was destroyed by fire; so selling his 
other property he moved his goods to Elm- 
hurst and there opened a store. This ven- 
ture proved successful, and he is still in 
business there. To Mr. and Mrs. Spoehr 
nine children were born, two of whom sur- 
vive: Rosina, now Mrs. H. A. Carley, and 
Magdalene, Mrs. E. Nelson, whose husband 
owns a sawmill in Elmhurst; another daugh- 
ter, Christina Fisher, died in 1891, leaving 
two children, who- live with their grand- 
parents; one son Frederic, died at the age 
of twenty-three years. 

During the latter part of the Civil war 
Mr. Spoehr entered the army, enlisting Sep- 
tember 29, 1864, in Company B, Ninth 
Wis. V. I., which was assigned to the 
W'estern Division. He received his dis- 
charge June 3, 1865. Mr. Spoehr has al- 
ways taken a deep interest in the town of 



230 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Elmhurst, and in the* school and Evangel- 
ical Church, of which latter he is a member 
and the main support. He gave the church 
an organ and a bell, and his purse is ahvaj-s 
open to its needs. In politics he is a Re- 
publican, and being liked by all parties has 
held all the minor offices in town and school, 
and was made the first postmaster of the 
town, which office he held eleven years to 
the satisfaction of the public. He is a mem- 
ber of the Grand Army Post at Antigo. Mr. 
Spoehr is exceedingl}" popular in his com- 
munit}', being esteemed for his honorable 
methods of dealing, his unfailing charity and 
his public spirit and enterprise. 



REV. NELS S. NIELSEN, pastor of 
the Lutheran Church at Waupaca, 
was born near the city of \'eile, in 
Jutland, Denmark, July 25, 1859, 
the eldest son of S. C. and Catherina (An- 
derson) Nielsen. The father was born in 
1S33, and was a weaver bj' trade. S. C. 
Nielsen, who was one of si.\ brothers, in 1S5S 
was married to Catherina Anderson, daugh- 
ter of Andrew Jorgenson, and one of a 
family of seven children. They had twelve 
children, to wit: Nels S., Andrew S., 
Christ S., Mary, Anna M., Andrew C, 
Martin and Laura, all living, and four who 
died young. In the spring of 1873 S. C. 
Nielsen emigrated to America, and settled 
on a farm in Luck township, Polk Co., 
Wis., where he still lives and where his 
wife died January 26, 1889. 

Nels S. Nielsen, the subject of this 
sketch, when ten years old was hired out in 
Denmark to herd cattle in summer, and in 
winter he attended school. Three years 
later he came with his parents to America, 
and his youth was passed on the timber 
farm in Polk county, which he assisted in 
clearing and converting into a home. In 
the fall of 1874, when fifteen years old, he 
entered in a catechetical class at Luck be- 
fore the Rev. J. Peterson, and in the spring 
of 1875 was confirmed in the faith of the 
Lutheran Church. In 1880 he entered the 
Augsburg Seminary at Minneapolis, Minn., 
studying there three winters, and in 18S3 
attended the high school at Litchfield, Minn. 



He was obliged to teach school during the 
summers, and thus earn the money to finish 
his education. In the fall of 1884 he en- 
tered Trinity Seminary at Blair, Neb., re- 
maining a student for three years. On Ma}' 
8, 1887, he was ordained a minister, while 
at his first charge, Hampton, Hamilton Co., 
Neb. Rev. Nielsen has since filled a charge 
in Minnesota until the spring of 1892, when 
he was installed pastor at Waupaca. 

Rev. N'elsen was married, at Blair, Neb., 
September 2, 1888, to Miss Maren Clauson, 
a native of Denmark and daughter of Claus 
and Catherina (Thorkelson) Peterson, who 
in 1868 emigrated to America and were 
among the first pioneers of Polk county. 
Wis. , where the father still resides, a farmer 
and veterinary surgeon; the mother died 
Januarj^ 13, 1877. Their eleven children 
were as follows: Johanna M., Therkel, 
Mattie, Anna, Peter, Christine, Catherine, 
Maria, Maren, Delia and Soren. Maren 
was well educated, and had taught school 
for eight years in Polk count}-, her old 
home, also one year in the West. To Rev. 
and Mrs. Nielsen one child has been born, 
Aaron Christian. 



OTTO G. AUGUSTINE, who is prop- 
erly ranked among the self-made 
men of Waupaca county, began his 
career at the foot of the ladder in 
life, without other resources than his own 
indomitable will and steady industry. He 
is now engaged in the furniture and under- 
taking business in Clintonville, \N'aupaca 
county, where he has carried on this line of 
trade since 1883, and is meeting with excel- 
lent success. He has a one-story frame 
building, 24 x 60 feet, and keeps in stock a 
full line of goods, and is also owner of a 
hearse. He came to Clintonville from Ap- 
pleton. Wis., where he had previously en- 
gaged in the furniture business for fifteen 
months. 

Germany has furnished many of the 
worthy citizens of Wisconsin, and among 
these ma}' be numbered Mr. Augustine, who 
was born in Saxony in i 844, and is a son of 
Gottlieb and Fredricka Augustine, natives of 
the same country, who left the Fatherland 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



337 



for the United States in 1847, the voyage 
occupying seven weeks. They came direct 
to Wisconsin, locating on a farm in Mani- 
towoc county, where they made their home 
in the midst of the wilderness, afterward 
locating at Centervile, Wis., and later re- 
moving to Racine, Wis. , where the father's 
death occurred in 1885, the mother's a few 
weeks later. In their family were five sons: 
Henry, who died in Plymouth, Wis., in 1849; 
Sam, a furniture dealer of Racine, Wis. ; 
Dlougott, who went as a substitute during 
the Rebellion, serving nine months, then 
enlisting a second time, and died at Racine 
in 1S90; Robert, who enlisted in Manito- 
woc county in the Ninth Wis.V. I., in 1861, 
served for three years and then re-enlisted, 
ser\ing until the close of the war, and now 
makes his home near Glidden, Ashland Co. , 
Wis., where he is engaged in farming; and 
Otto G., our subject. 

The earlj' boyhood days of Otto G. Au- 
gustine were spent under the parental roof, 
he remaining upon the home farm in Mani- 
towoc county. Wis. , and there he received 
his school training. He aided in clearing 
and developing the land, and also learned 
the trade of cabinet maker. In 1866 he 
went to Racine, Wis., and there worked in 
the railroad shops, being employed by what 
was then the Racine & Mississippi Railroad 
Company. For fourteen 3-ears he was em- 
ployed by A. P. Tecke in the Fanning Mills, 
then removed to Appleton, Wis. , and thence 
to Clintonville. In Racine, Wis., May 19, 
1869, Mr. Augustine was married to Miss 
Theresa Helwig, a native of Saxony, Ger- 
many, and a daughter of Andrew Helwig, 
who died in Saxony about 1847. To this 
worthy couple has been born one child, 
Ella. 

Socially, Mr. Augustine belongs to the 
Modern Woodmen of America, and in re- 
ligion is a member of the German Evangel- 
ical Church, in which he is acting as one of 
its trustees. He affiliates with the Repub- 
lican party, and takes an active interest in 
political issues. He served as alderman of 
the First ward of Clintonville, discharging 
the duties of the office to the satisfaction of 
all concerned. For forty-seven years he 
has made Wisconsin his home, and has wit- 



nessed almost its entire development; has 
seen the many changes that have taken 
place in Clintonville, and has aided materi- 
allj' in its advancement, being prominent in 
most matters relating to its best interests. 



CONRAD WEINIG, son of Nicholas 
and Barbara (Seeph) Weinig, was 
born November 2, i860, in Baden, 
Germany, where both his parents 
were born, and where his mother died in 
1873, and his father, who is a farmer by 
occupation, still resides. 

There were eight children in the family 
of Nicholas and Barbara Weinig, of whom 
John resides in Baden, Germany; Martin, 
in Manistee, Mich. ; Conrad is the subject of 
this sketch; Anna resides in Baden; Katie is 
the wife of Mr. Schweinsaddle, of Manistee, 
Mich.; Jenofofa resides in Manistee, Mich., 
and Justina in Baden, German}. Conrad 
Weinig was reared in Baden, educated in 
the schools of the Fatherland, apprenticed 
for three years, and learned his trade at 
Taubesbischoffsheim. Coming to the United 
States, he landed in New York City, was 
four months on Staten Island, and five 
months in Connecticut; then returned to 
New York City, where he remained two 
years and a half, working at his trade. 
From there he came to Clintonville, Lar- 
rabee township, ^^'aupaca Co. , Wis. , in 
1 88 1, where he worked at his trade, on the 
railroad section, and in the woods, and 
thence came to Marion, Dupont township, 
Waupaca county. Here he commenced 
business in 1882, and in 1883 bought a 
building 30 x 16 feet, adding to it, until he 
had one building 50 x 16 feet, and two stor- 
ies in height, besides two others. 

In November, 1886, Conrad Weinig was 
united in marriage with Ottilia Joletz, who 
was born in Grant township, Shawano 
county, and they have three children : Laura, 
Edward and Olga. Mrs. Weinig's father, 
Frank Joletz, was an early pioneer of Grant 
township, came to the county in 1866, and 
lives on the farm. In 1890 Mr. We.nig 
erected a good two-story house, having main 
room 16 X 16 feet, with "L" 16x28, wings 
14x16, vestibule 6\6, kitchen 16x16, 



2-sS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and pantry 8 x 8 — as fine a residence as 
can be found in Marion, and in 1894 
another store building, 20 x 46, feet, and 
two stories in height. He has made a prac- 
tice of traveling on the road since he began 
the merchant-tailoring business here, and 
solicits trade in Shawano and Oconto coun- 
ties, in this State, also in upper Michigan. 
He does fine work, gives a good fit, and 
guarantees satisfaction. For three years he 
gave employment to from twelve to fifteen 
men, and now employs four. In politics 
Mr. Weinig votes with the Democratic party, 
and in religious faith he is a Catholic. He 
is a member of Marion Lodge No. 256, I. O. 
O. F. , was one of the charter members, and 
has been secretary of the lodge. He has 
seen many changes in this part of the State, 
has done his share in building up the village 
of Marion, and has always taken an interest 
in the prosperity of the town. — [Since the 
above was written, Mr. Weinig says he has 
sold out in Marion, and is now located at 
Shawano. 



HORACE QUIMBY, who is extensive- 
ly and successfully engaged in the 
dairy business in Dupont township, 
Waupaca county, was born in Knox 
county, Ohio, January 11, 1847. and is a 
son of Omer Alonzo and Amanda C. (Crippen) 
Ouimby. He was reared upon the old home 
farm until sixteen years of age when he be- 
gan learning the milling trade in Matteson, 
Wis. , carrying on that pursuit for two years. 
He then returned to Dupont township, and 
purchased 1200 acres of land, while during 
the succeeding twelve years he devoted his 
time and energies to the real-estate busi- 
ness, in which he met with a high degree of 
success. 

On July 4, 1 8/ 1, Mr. Ouimby was 
united in marriage with Miss Martha A. 
Robbins, daughter of Hiram and Jane 
(Brewer) Robbins, the former a native of 
New York, and the latter of Pennsylvania. 
At a very early day her parents came to 
Wisconsin and opened up a farm in Dupont 
township, Waupaca county, where they 
still reside. There were born to them eight 
children, as follows: Mary E. , wife of 



Jarvis McDonald, a millwright; George, at 
home; Mrs. Ouimby; Henry, deceased; 
Julia, wife of August Bussilan, a farmer of 
Dupont township; John, who is living in the 
latter township; Albert, deceased; and 
Jennie, wife of Adelbert Taylor. 

At the time of his marriage, Mr. Quim- 
by settled on a farm of 1 20 acres which he 
still owns. Seven children have been born 
of that union : Adelbert D , who is en- 
gaged in milling in Elmhurst, Wis. ; Arthur 
C., Joseph A. and Shirley, all at home; 
Teaman, deceased; Emory and Seaphy, who 
are still under the parental roof. 

For some time after his marriage, Mr. 
Quimby was still engaged in the real-estate 
business, while his farm was cultivated by 
hired men. Subsequently he disposed of all 
his land save 120 acres, and then turned 
his attention to the dairy business, which he 
yet successfully follows, keeping on hand 
for that purpose some fourteen cows, and 
turning out 250 pounds of butter per month. 
As the product of his dairy is of a very ex- 
cellent quality, it finds a ready sale in the 
market and commands the highest price. 
In connection with his other interests, Mr. 
Ouimby is engaged in loaning money. He 
is a wide-awake and enterprising business 
man, active and energetic, and the success 
that he has achieved is the just reward of 
his own labors. 



EC. MEAD. Families often move 
upward or downward by swift 
strides. A son is born who possesses 
qualities of unusual enterprise or 
ability, and he proceeds forthwith to aston- 
ish the friends and acquaintances of the 
family by an unexpected ascendency in 
fortune. Such has been the career of most 
great men; but, putting aside these notable 
examples of success, there are also in every 
community men who in a more moderate 
degree excel, who rise to prominence and 
influence by the force of the hidden talent 
within them. No flattery is intended, and 
perhaps none is conveyed, when it is pointed 
out that E. C. Mead, of Lind township, 
Waupaca county, illustrates in his lifework 
this disposition of certain members of society 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



239- 



— to rise as the result of unusual energy or 
ability. 

Henry Mead, his father, was born in the 
town of Wantage, Sussex Co., N. J., De- 
cember 29, 1805, son of EH and Betsey 
(Doty) Mead, who reared a family of eleven 
children, five sons and six daughters, and 
died in northern Pennsylvania. Eli Mead 
was a native of Pennsylvania, a cooper by 
trade, and owned a small farm which he 
permitted his family to cultivate while he 
worked at his trade. He was comfortably 
situated in life, was a Whig in politics, and 
a Baptist in religious faith, and lived to the 
age of seventy-three years There were only 
rude schools to attend in that day, and 
Henry Mead received little education. Be- 
fore he arrived at majority he had acquired 
by a single year's apprenticeship a good 
knowledge of the mason's trade. March 8, 
1828, he was married, in Sussex county, N. 
J., to Pamelia Patterson, who was born April 
16, 1S12, and to this marriage were born 
seven children: Margaret A., born Janu- 
ary 1, 1829, now Mrs. Oliver Whitehead, of 
Wetmore, Nemaha Co., Kans. ; Martha J., 
born March 24, 1831, now Mrs. Daniel 
Coleman, of Orange county, N. Y. ; Jere- 
miah, born October 26, 1832 (an invalid), a 
machinist by trade, of Port Jervis, N. Y. ; 
Eli, born February i, 1835, ^ railroad sec- 
tion boss at Port Jervis, N. Y., who served 
three years in the Civil war, being a mem- 
ber of Company G, Second Regiment Iowa 
Cavalry under Gen. Rosecrans, and had 
fourteen horses shot from under him; Darius, 
born November 18, 1837, a farmer who 
died in Dakota, and who had served two 
years in the late war as a member of Com- 
pany H, in a New York Regiment under 
Gen. McClellan, having participated in the 
battles of Bull Run and Williamsburg, and 
in the latter engagement was shot in the 
face; Sarah E. , born February 11, 1840, 
now Mrs. Peter Terwilliger, of Chicago; 
and John P., born February 4, 1844, who 
died in infancy. Mrs. Mead died in 1845, 
and Mr. Mead moved with his family to 
Orange county, N. Y. , where he farmed, 
followed his trade, cut logs, and worked at 
whatever other employment he could find. 
Here, November 8, 1845, he married Sally 



Clark, born January 3, 181 8, daughter of 
Ebenezer Clark, a cloth fuller by trade. By 
this marriage the children were: Alonzo, 
born June 29, i 848, now of Lind township, 
Waupaca Co. , Wis. , who served for a period 
of two years and three months in the One 
Hundred and Fifty- eighth Regiment, New 
York troops, and participated in the battles 
of Signal Hill, Strawberry Plains, Southside 
Railroad, Rushville, and was at the surren- 
der of Lee at Appomattox; Ebenezer C. 
(whose name introduces this sketch), born 
June 27, 1 851; Mary E., born December 
3, 1853, now Mrs. Ira Smith, of Minnesota; 
George H., born October 12, 1856, a resi- 
dent of Chicago; and Emma P., born in 
January, i860, and died in infancy. Mrs. 
Mead died in January, i860, and was buried 
in Orange county. New York. 

For his third wife Henry Mead married, 
January 12, 1864, Elizabeth Wilson. She 
was born in Orange county, N. Y. , August 
17, 1824, daughter of Jacob C. and Perme- 
lia (Patterson) Wilson. In the spring of 
1865 he removed to Lind township, Waupaca 
Co., Wis., where he has since been engaged 
in farming, excepting from 1888 to 1892, 
when he resided in Waupaca. Mr. Mead 
was a Whig in early life, and is now a Re- 
publican. He is a member of the Baptist 
Church, and though now almost ninety 
years of age he still retains possession of his 
faculties, aside from hearing. 

E. C. Mead was a boy of fourteen years 
when he came to Wisconsin. He had at- 
tended the schools in Orange county, N. Y., 
and completed his education in Lind town- 
ship, Waupaca county. For six winters he 
worked in the lumber woods in Shawano 
and Oconto counties, making his home with 
his parents except when away in the woods. 
He was married, June 7, 1876, in Wau- 
paca, to Miss Margaret McLean, who was 
born in Lind township December 5, 1857, 
daughter of Joseph and Eliza i Hall) McLean, 
early pioneers of the township from Warren 
county, N. Y. Mr. Mead purchased eighty 
acres of land in Section 28, only about 
twenty-five acres of which were broken. A 
small shanty adorned the premises, and this 
the young couple made their residence until 
the erection of their present comfortable 



240 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



home in 1890. Mr. Mead now owns 225 
acres of land, of which about 195 acres are 
cleared and under cultivation. For ten 
years he was more or less engaged in thresh- 
ing grain, and still follows that business to 
some e.xtent among his neighbors. The 
children of Mr. and Mrs. Mead are as fol- 
lows: Clark H., born November 4, 1877; 
Sarah, born April 24, 1880; Minnie .P., 
born September 6, 1882; Mae, born June 
10, 1886: Belle, born May 9, 1888; Rus- 
sell, born October 21, 1890; Glennie, born 
June 2, 1892, and Glad)'s, born January 27, 
1895, 3-11 of whom are living and at home. 
Mrs. Mead is a member of the M. E. 
Church. 

In politics Mr. E. C. Mead is an earn- 
est Republican. He is not an office-seeker, 
preferring to devote his time and attention 
to his personal interests. He has al- 
ways kept a number of Poland- China hogs, 
and is thoroughly acquainted with this 
branch of farming. He has few if an}' 
equals in the township for the signal success 
he has had, and his prosperity is due main- 
l}- to hard work and good management. He 
has paid upward of $6, 125 for his land, be- 
sides interest money at the rate of ten per 
cent. He has always enjoyed robust health, 
and to this is attributable in part the untir- 
ing energy which in a few years has ad- 
vanced him from a small landholder to one 
of the most prosperous of Lind township's 
manv successful farmers. 



EPHRAIM H. DOOLITTLE was 
born in Erie countj", Penn., Novem- 
ber I, 1825, son of William and 
Rebecca (Hall) Doolittle, the former 
a native of Vermont, the latter of Litchfield 
county, Conn. The}- had two children, 
Ephraim H., and Lydia, who died at the 
age of twenty-nine years. 

William Doolittle was a carpenter and 
joiner by trade, and owned a one-hundred- 
acre tract of timberland, inhabited only by 
a few deer, which he had cleared, hiring the 
labor. He died when our subject was only 
■six years of age, and si.\ years later Mrs. 
Doolittle married again, her second husband 
being Richard Marsh. Ephraim H. Doo- 



little losing his father when only a lad, he 
was "put into the harness " early in life, 
and received but a limited common-school 
education, having earned his own livelihood 
from early boyhood. On January 20, 1845, 
he was married to Miss Laura Ann Newton, 
daughter of Elias and Laura Newton; but 
this wife dying about a year after marriage 
he wedded, in January, 1847, Miss Mary A. 
Whitehill, daughter of James and Sophia 
(Plattj Whitehill. Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle 
remained on the homestead in Pennsylvania 
until 1858, when, in company with his son 
William, he came to Almond township. Por- 
tage Co., Wis., purchased 240 acres of land 
l}ing in Section 32 (timberland, on which 
not a stick had been cut). No road led to 
the place, and a small log house which Mr. 
Doolittle built was the only improvement on 
the land. Here his mother and sister came, 
and he was followed hither by the family 
(then consisting of his wife and si.x children), 
who came in about six months after he had 
located. He soon opened up the farm and 
commenced clearing, the second year of his 
residence there having raised 360 bushels of 
wheat. He continued to cultivate his land 
in Section 32 for seven years, when, on ac- 
count of his wife's failing health, he bought 
120 acres of Asa Cole, the place on which he 
now lives, which was partly improved; he 
has since sold the other property. In 1868 
Mrs. Doolittle died, from injuries caused by 
a run-away team, leaving six children. 

In 1870 Mr. Doolittle married his third 
wife, a Miss Rhoda C. Etheredge, daughter 
of John and Christina (Cortierj Etheredge, 
the former of whom, a farmer, now lives in 
Wild Rose, Waushara Co., Wis., aged 
seventy-five years; Mrs. Etheredge is now 
sixty-six years old. They had a family of 
four children: Rhoda (Mrs. Doolittle); 
Margery, deceased; Anna, Mrs. L. A. Jones, 
of Portage, Wis., and Andrew, living with 
his parents in ^^'ild Rose, Waushara county. 
Of these, Rhoda was born in England in 
1847, and in 1851 was brought by her 
parents to America, they locating first in 
Buffalo, N. Y. , where they lived about three 
years, coming thence, in 1853, to Wiscon- 
sin and settling in Wild Rose, where they 
have since had their home. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



241 



Of Mr. Doolittle's sons and daughters, 
James, now deceased, was a physician; 
Fitzaland L. is a resident of Stevens Point; 
Frank E. hves in Almond, Portage count}-; 
Benjamin D. (by the third wife) is at home; 
John died when four years old; Laura lives 
at home; Sophia, wife of Charles Maynard, 
a farmer, lives in Buena Vista, Portage 
county. Politically Mr. Doolittle has always 
been a Republican, and in religious affilia- 
tions he and his wife are members of the 
Methodist Church. 

William H. Doolittle, eldest son of 
Ephraim H. Doolittle, was born in 1849, 
came to Wisconsin with his father, and when 
eleven j'ears of age commenced working 
here and in the woods; but he had no liking 
for agricultural work, and could not make a 
success in that line. From early boyhood 
he manifested great interest in the study of 
law, and he finally gave up farming alto- 
gether, going east to his grandfather, who 
was well-to-do, and after four years of study 
was admitted to the bar. He now makes 
his home in Tacoma, Wash., and has be- 
come well-known as an able attorney and 
also as the representative of his District in 
Congress, where he is now serving his second 
term; he was first elected in 1S92, and re- 
elected in 1S94, being nominated the last 
time by acclamation. He is an unusually 
large man, being six feet four inches in 
height. 



DANIEL BLISS is one of the earliest 
pioneers of Royalton township, Wau- 
paca county, and one of its most 
highly esteemed citizens. He is of 
New England parentage and more remote 
ancestry, and in his earlier manhood, find- 
ing opportunities in the East somewhat 
limited, he cut the Gordian knot of his 
career in life by coming to the wilds of Wis- 
consin, here hewing out for himself a home 
and a competence from the primitive for- 
ests. If he has succeeded in life — and that 
is the verdict of his wide circle of friends 
and acquaintances — his success is due in his 
own estimation simply to industry. He has 
met obstacles, and by the power of well- 
directed labor he has overcome them. 



Mr. Bliss was born at ^^'est Fairlee, 
Orange Co., \'t., November 16, 1827, son of 
Simeon and Charlotte (Wild) Bliss, both na- 
tives of that town. Simeon was born in 
1796. His father, who was also Simeon 
Bliss, with his wife — Lucy (Southworth) 
Bliss — was of English ancestry, and mi- 
grated at an early date from Connecticut to 
\'ermont, becoming pioneers of the latter 
State. To Simeon and Charlotte Bliss were 
born the following children: Martha, wife 
of Alfred Sabine, of Detroit, Mich. ; Levi, a 
physician of Castleton, Vt., who now lives 
near Antigo, Wis. ; Lucy, his twin sister, 
wife of Joel Jaguith, of W^aupaca, Wis., 
Daniel; Sarah, who died in girlhood; Alden 
S., who died in childhood; and one who died 
in infancy. Simeon Bliss was a farmer, and 
in 1857, with his wife Charlotte, who was 
born in 1799, moved to Royalton, and lived 
with his son Daniel. The father died in 
1871, the mother in 1883. 

Daniel Bliss grew to manhood on the 
Vermont farm of his father, and received a 
good education, attending the academj' at 
Thetford Hill in his native count}'. He 
taught two terms of school in Vermont, but 
usually followed farming until 1851, when 
he found employment as brakeman in the 
yards of the Rutland & Burlington railroad, 
at Burlington, Vt. Later he was employed 
at the Faneuil Hall Market in Boston, Mass. , 
until 1855, when he came to Wisconsin. 
For a year he worked for others, and looked 
about for a favorable location. In 1856 he 
entered forty acres of land, situated in 
Royalton township, and a portion of his 
present farm. The land was heavily tim- 
bered, and he commenced the arduous task 
of clearing it. In 1856 he erected a good 
frame house, and as the years sped by the 
farm grew larger and larger, and the im- 
provements more substantial and notable. 
He now owns a well-improved and finely 
stocked farm of 160 acres, forty acres of 
which are in Waupaca township. Here he 
is engaged in general farming, besides mak- 
ing a specialty of raising Shropshire sheep 
and Poland-China hogs. On September i , 
1864, he enlisted at Madison in Company 
F, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, for one 
}ear or during the war. The battery was 



242 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



assigned to garrison duty at Alexandria, Va., 
at which city he was honorably discharged 
June 26, 1865. 

December 23, 1858, Mr. Bliss was mar- 
ried, in Waupaca township, to Miss Leppa 
S. Southworth, a native of New York. Her 
parents, Ralph Southworth, born in Ver- 
mont, and Susannah (Ward) Southworth, a 
native of Buckland, Mass., migrated from 
New York to Walworth countj'. Wis., and 
later became residents of Waupaca town- 
ship, ^^'aupaca count}'. To Daniel Bliss 
and wife six children were born, namely : 
Alden S., Sarah E., Roscoe C, Emma L. , 
W'ard H. and Ralph Josiah. Alden S. was 
graduated from Carleton College at North- 
field, Minn., and previously had been in at- 
tendance at the College located at Ripon for 
three years. He was married to Olive Irene 
Hills, of Faribault, Minn., and they have 
three children, Romney and Paul, twins, 
and Mirion. Alden S. is now in the employ 
of the P. Cornelius Lumber Co., at Strat- 
ford, Wis., was formerl}- fireman in the 
lumberyards of the Upham Mfg. Co., at 
Marshtield, Wis. Sarah E. , the second 
child of Daniel Bliss, is the wife of E. T. 
Nather, a farmer of Royalton township. 
The third child, Roscoe C. , married Alice 
Hayford, of Royalton, and is a resident of 
Ro\'alton township. The fourth child is Em- 
ma L. The fifth child. Ward H. is now in 
school at Waupaca. The sixth child died in 
infancy. 

In ante-bellum times Daniel Bliss was a 
W'hig, and now holds allegiance, from princi- 
ple, to the Prohibition cause. He has filled 
many of the local offices. Twice he was 
elected treasurer of the township, and for 
five or six years he held the office of asses- 
sor. He is an earnest, sincere and highly- 
respected resident of the now fruitful land, 
and in reclaiming which from its primitive 
wildness he has rendered material assistance. 



WILLIAM DORAN, a wide-awake 
and enterprising agriculturist of 
Little Wolf township, Waupaca 
county, was born in Ontario, Can- 
ada, July 12, 1844. His parents, William 
and Jane ( ManeyJ Doran, probably emigrated 



from Ireland to Canada at an early day, 
where the father was quite a successful 
farmer. To them were born eleven chil- 
dren, namely: Mary Ann, Lawrence, Cath- 
erine, Martin, Bridget, James, William, 
Peter and the next daughter (both of whom 
died in infancy), Elizabeth and Daniel. 
James is a resident of Hurley, Wis. ; Daniel 
lives in Gladstone, Minn. ; and the others, 
with the exception of our subject, reside in 
Canada. 

William Doran was reared to manhood 
under the parental roof, receiving his first 
knowledge of farming under his father's 
direction. His educational privileges were 
very limited as he was more anxious to work, 
and at the age of fifteen years he began 
working in the lumber woods, though he still 
continued to work upon the home farm dur- 
ing the summer months until the spring of 
1865, when he came to Waupaca county, 
Wis., locating in Little Wolf township, 
where he lived with James Carew. He 
sought employment at farm labor, but was 
chiefly engaged in the woods and on the 
river. He followed lumbering for almost 
twenty years, during which time by econom- 
ical living he had saved enough to purchase 
land and now owns 123 acres, which on 
coming into his possession was still unim- 
proved, not a stick of timber having been 
cut, or an acre placed under the plow. By 
his own labors he has cleared and developed 
fifty acres of that amount, and still engages 
in lumbering to some extent, having for 
three years been foreman of the Little Wolf 
Lumber Company. His possessions are the 
fruits of his own toil and industry, and he 
well deserves the success he has achieved. 

On January 3, 1874, Mr. Doran was 
united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Din- 
neen, a daughter of Dennis and Mary 
(Lyons) Dinneen, the former a native of 
Ireland, and the latter of Massachusetts. 
The father, who was a successful farmer, 
spent most of his life in \\'isconsin, as did 
also his wife. They died at Northport, this 
State. To Mr. and Mrs. Doran have been 
born nine children; Theresa E., wife of 
Gustave Voiland, a farmer of Royalton, 
Waupaca county; Frank, Mary, Estella, 
Catherine, Layola and Veronaca, who are 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



'43 



at home; Zita. who died in infancy; and 
Vincent, who is at home. 

Mr. Doran exercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the Democratic part}', 
and has served his fellow citizens as side 
supervisor for two years. The family hold 
membership with the Catholic Church, in 
which he is serving as treasurer of the build- 
ing committee, and is a member of the 
Order of Catholic Knights. 



GEORGE H. GUERNSEY became 
a resident of Clintonville, Waupaca 
county, in 1894, but is one of the 
honored pioneers of this State, hav- 
ing made his home for many years in Portage 
county, and has been closely identified with 
the history of this section of the State. 

He was born in New York, November 
21, 1830, and is a son of Jonathan and 
Frances ("Putnam) Guernsey, both natives 
of Berkshire county, Mass., but who re- 
moved at an early day to Guilford, N. Y. 
Although the father was a physician by pro- 
fession, he also followed school teaching, 
being a graduate of Dartmouth College, 
New Hampshire. He obtained his education 
by his own labor, earning the money with 
which he paid his tuition. He died in the 
State of New York, leaving a family of eight 
children: Caroline, Phcebe, Euphemia J., 
Addison W., George H., Henry R., Au- 
gustus H. and Frank M. All the children 
remained on the old home until they reached 
their majority, the father's death occurring 
when the youngest was about seventeen 
years of age. 

Mr. Guernsey, the subject of this sketch, 
received his education in the schools of New 
York, and there remained until 1855, when 
he came to Wisconsin. After a residence here 
of two years he was married, in 1857, to Miss 
Miranda Beare, a native of the Empire 
State, and a daughter of William and Laura 
(Page) Beare, the father a machinist by 
trade. To Mr. and Mrs. Guernsey have 
been born two daughters: Ada, now Mrs. 
Ulysses Puarica, of Buena Vista township, 
Portage Co., Wis. ; and Grace, a teacher in 
the public schools of Clintonville. Our 
subject came West in 1855, first locating in 



Berlin, Wis., where he remained for eight- 
een months engaged in clerking. On the 
expiration of that time he went to Almond, 
Portage Co., Wis., where, in connection 
with his brother Addison, he purchased 240 
acres of rich land, sixty of which had been 
improved, and there he engaged in agricult- 
ural pursuits for several years. His brother 
is a phj'sician, and still resides in Portage 
county, where he is engaged in the practice 
of his profession. They owned the land in 
partnership about fifteen years, when it was 
divided. In connection with farming our 
subject also dealt in real estate, and met 
with excellent success in that line. In 
April, 1894, he sold his farm of 140 acres of 
well-improved land, and removed to Clinton- 
ville, where he has since been engaged in the 
insurance business. 

Mr. Guernsey, politically, votes the 
straight Republican ticket, and has held 
various offices, the duties of which he has 
discharged intelligentl}- and with fidelity. He 
served one term as a member of the Wis- 
consin Legislature, for twenty-two years as 
town clerk, and for twelve years he acted as 
town treasurer, which offices he filled with 
credit to himself and satisfaction to his con- 
stituents. He takes an active interest 
in Church work, holding membership 
with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
Clintonville, of which he is now treasurer. 
He is honest, industrious and thoroughly 
honorable in all the walks of life, and enjoys 
the esteem and respect of the communit}- to 
a large extent. 



JOHN RAZIN, a well-to-do and highly 
respected agriculturist of Oneida coun- 
ty, with residence in Rhinelander, is a 
native of Canada, born in St. Remo, 
Province of Quebec, August 9, 1834, a son 
of Henry and Jane (Mooney) Razin. The 
parents were both natives of Ireland, the 
latter born in County Antrim in 1812, were 
married in Quebec and had a family of 
eight children — five sons and three daugh- 
ters — namely: William, John, Mary, James, 
Sarah Jane, Rebecca, Edward and Thomas, 
all living except Edward. The father, who 
was a farmer, died in 1873; the mother is 



244 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Still residing on the old homestead in Lower 
Canada (Province of Quebec); her parents 
both died in Ireland; she had six brothers 
and two sisters who came to America, but 
she was the only one in the family to come 
to Quebec. 

The subject proper of this sketch was 
reared on the home farm near Quebec, Can- 
ada, and was educated in the schools of the 
neighborhood. He remained with his par- 
ents until 1868, in which year he came to 
Wisconsin, settling on a piece of wild land 
in Wood county, near Grand Rapids, which 
he cleared and improved. Here he re- 
mained until the spring of 1886, when he 
came to Rhinelander in order to have better 
school advantages for his children. During 
the first three years he kept a boarding 
house, after which he was in the employ of 
Brown Bros., buying vacant lots in the city, 
building houses thereon and then selling at 
a profit. Near the city he bought himself a 
small farm, which he cultivates, and he also 
owns his fine residence in Rhinelander, in 
all respects developing evidence of a life of 
industry and economy. 

In January, 1870, Mr. Razin was united 
in marriage at Grand Rapids, Wis. , with 
Mrs. Ann (Canavan) McShane, who was 
born in Ireland in 1838, and came to Amer- 
ica with her parents when ten j-ears old, 
they settling in Elk county, Penn. In this 
family there were seven children, named re- 
spectively: Catherine, Ann, Ellen, Barnard, 
Daniel, Mary and Eliza. The father, who 
was a farmer in both Ireland and this coun- 
try, died about the year 1864. The latter 
had two brothers — Daniel and Thomas 
Canavan — who never came to America, and 
two sisters — Catherine and Rose. The 
mother of Mrs. Razin died in 1876; her 
parents, Arthur and Nancy (Trudin) Mc- 
Quone, came from Ireland to the United 
States before she did, and were early set- 
tlers of Elk county, Penn. ; they had ten 
children: Ellen, Mathew, Kittie, Edward, 
Nancy, Arthur, Mary, Alice, Eliza and 
Tarns. Mrs. Razin's first husband was 
John McShane, also a native of the Land of 
Erin, whom she married at Ridgeway, 
Penn., and, in 1855, they came to Wiscon- 
sin, settling at Port Edwards, Wood coun- 



ty, he becoming head sawyer at the mills 
there, and died in the spring of 1868, the 
father of seven children, as follows: Lizzie, 
Ellen, John. Henry, Catherine, Jane and 
Arthur, of whom Henry and Jane are de- 
ceased. 

To our subject and wife have been born 
four children, namely: William H., Addie 
M., Jennie B. and Anna (the last named 
deceased); the two daughters are now 
teachers in the public schools of Rhine- 
lander, while the son is employed in a drug 
store. In 1 893 Mrs. Razin paid a visit to 
her old home in Pennsylvania, the first time 
in thirty-si.x jears, and enjoyed the trip 
thoroughly. In politics Mr. Razin is a 
stanch Democrat, and in religious faith the 
entire family are members of the Roman 
Catholic Church, of which he, himself, is a 
strict communicant. 



GUSTAV F. KOEHLER, who is a 
German by birth, having been born 
in Prussia, April 19, 1854, is a son 
of Gotthilf Koehler, who was also a 
native of the Fatherland, born in 1S17. 
The father is one of five children, three of 
whom were August, Charles and Hulda. 
The parents died in Germany. In that 
country Gotthilf Koehler first served as a 
coachman, then acted as valet for a lord 
and afterward became a shepherd. At the 
age of twent3-si.\ he was married to Johanna 
Sage, and to them were born Wilhelmina, 
Herman, August, Frank, Gustav F., and 
George, three of whom, Frank, August and 
Gustav F., are living. The famil)- decided 
to make America their future home, so in 
1857 crossed the Atlantic, came direct to 
Wisconsin, and located on a farm near 
Bloomfield, W^aushara county. Two years 
later they removed to Marathon county. 
Wis., where the mother died in April, 1861. 
The father was again married, this time to 
Henrietta Tews, and they became the 
parents of three children. His wife died in 
1865, and later he wedded Amelia Tews, 
and to them have been born seven children 
who are yet living — Johonas, Amelia, Hul- 
da, Herman, Bertha, Frederick and Walter. 
They now make their home on a farm near 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



245. 



Merrill, Wis. For three years the father 
served as a soldier in the German army, and 
since coming to this country has ever been 
a loyal and worthy citizen. 

Gustav F. Koehler was but three years 
old on his arrival in the United States and 
here his early life was passed in a way sim- 
ilar to the average bo}' in those days, being 
reared to agricultural pursuits on the home 
farm. His educational advantages were lim- 
ited, he being allowed to attend school only 
a few months during the year, until at the 
age of seventeen. He then went to Wey- 
auwega, ^^'aupaca Co., Wis., where he 
learned the trade of a blacksmith, where he 
remained for a year and a half, when he re- 
moved to Wausau, there working for about 
the same length of time. On his arrival in 
Merrill, which was then known by the name 
of Jennie, he formed a partnership with 
Henr}' Beahmann and opened a black- 
smith shop in the fall of 1S74. Lincoln 
county was then newly organized, the first 
county officers being elected that fall. Af-. 
ter two years his former business connection 
was dissolved, and Mr. Koehler formed a 
partnership with John T. Adams, which 
continued for about three years, when Mr. 
Adams withdrew from the firm. Our sub- 
ject has since been m business alone which 
he has successfully conducted, carrying it 
on longer than any other blacksmith of the 
place, and has now an excellent trade. 

Mr. Koehler was united in marriage on 
June 9, 187S, with Wilhelmina Runge 
(the ceremony having taken place in Osh- 
kosh. Wis.); she is a native of Germany, 
where she was born November 20th, 1856, 
a daughter of Joachin and Charlotte (Gen- 
rich) Runge, who were the parents of eleven 
children, namely: Matilda, Frederick, Carl, 
.Amelia, Justina, Ferdinandina, Albert A. , 
Wilhelmina, who are still living; and three 
who are dead. The parents came to Amer- 
ica about 1864, locating near Oshkosh, 
where the father engaged in shoe-making 
and there died in February, 1879. The 
mother died in November, 1S91. To the 
subject of this sketch and wife have been 
born nine children, namely: Herman, Wal- 
ter, Agnes, Paul, George, Martha, Ernest, 
Gustav and Kurt. 



In politics Mr. Koehler is a stanch sup- 
porter of the Republican party, taking an 
active interest in its success. He served as 
alderman of the Third ward of Merrill for 
two years. He is president of the council, 
and though not a politician takes an active 
part in all elections. In religious belief he 
is a Lutheran, holding membership with 
that denomination. He is a self-made man, 
universally respected and one whose word is 
as good as his bond. 



CHRISTIAN J. HANSEN is numbered 
among the influential and prominent 
citizens of Lincoln county, who are 
indebted for their present prosperous 
condition to their own industry and energj'. 
He is one of the leading business men of 
Tomahawk, where he is carrying on a wagon 
and blacksmith shop, and is meeting with 
success. 

He was born in Forde, Norway, Novem- 
ber 17, 1 8 54, which was also the place of birth 
of his father. The latter was a wagonmaker 
and blacksmith by occupation. He married 
Christiana Christiansen, and to theni were 
born five children, as follows: Oleanna, 
Caroline, Rasmus, Anna and Christian. The 
mother died in Norway in 1857, after which 
the father wedded Pernelle Pederson. His 
death occurred in his native land in 1892. 
He was an industrious, hardworking man, 
and a consistent member of the Lutheran 
Church. The paternal grandfather was a 
restaurant keeper of Bergen, Norway. All 
of our subject's brothers and sisters, with 
the exception of one, had come to America 
before he arrived. He still has two sisters 
living in Wisconsin, and a brother in Min- 
nesota. 

Christian J. Hansen remained at home 
until reaching the age of seventeen years, 
during which time he was given a fair edu- 
cation. He had previously worked with his 
father in the wagon shop, but now began 
learning the trade of shoemaker, at which he 
served a two-and-a-half years' apprenticeship, 
receiving nothing in compensation for his 
services. After completing his trade, how- 
ever, he was compelled to give it up on ac- 



346 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



count of ill health, and for six months was 
employed in a ship yard, at the end of which 
time he finished learning wagon making in 
the city of Bergen. Feeling that the United 
States offered better opportunities to a 
young man, he in June. 1875, crossed the 
Atlantic, and on his arrival in this country 
first located at Wausau, Wis., where he 
worked at his trade until the spring of 
1889, when he came to Tomahawk. Dur- 
ing the last six months of his stay in 
Wausau, he had conducted an establishment 
of his own, having bought out a firm and 
erected a good shop. He now has a steam 
engine for turning his lathes, and other 
machinery used in the manufacture of 
heavy wagons and sleighs, and the work he 
turns out is all first class. 

In 1880, at Wausau, Wis., Mr. h<*nsen 
was united in marriage with Olea Larson, 
who was born in Laurvig, Norway, Jul}' 1 1, 
1859, and is a daughter of Ole and Karn M. 
(Anundson) Larson, who were the parents 
of four children: Anne, Olea, Louis and 
Severn. Her father, who was a ship carpen- 
ter, came to the United States in 1872, 
first locating in Chicago, where he remained 
one year, when he sent for his family who 
were still in the Old World, and, in the sum- 
mer of 1873, removed to Manitowoc, Wis. 
Here the mother died in 1874, after which 
Mr. Larson was again married, and by this 
union had two children, Carl and Martin. 
He had served as a soldier in the Norwegian 
army. He now makes his home at Dancy, 
Wis. The four children born to our subject 
and wife are Oscar H., Martha C, Henri- 
etta C. and Margaret L. 

Mr. Hansen with his family hold mem- 
bership with the Scandinavian Lutheran 
Church. In politics he is a Republican. His 
property has been acquired by the exercise 
of sound judgment, good business talents 
and industry. 



E 



H. JONES, M. D., one of the most 
successful medical practitioners of 
Waupaca county, has had his home 
in Weyauwega since 1884. He was 
born May 4, 1859, in Columbia county. 



Wis., and comes from New England pioneer 
stock, Nathaniel Jones, his paternal an- 
cestor some generations back, having em- 
igrated from England to Massachusetts in 
1669; while, on his mother's side, John 
Howard was one of the Massachusetts 
Puritans of 1620. 

The parents of Dr. Jones were Alonzo 
and Martha (Howard) Jones, the former of 
whom was the son of Norman Jones, a 
Vermont cabinet maker, and was born in 
that State in 1S19. His wife was the 
daughter of John and Martha (Bailej-) How- 
ard, natives of New York. Alonzo Jones 
was reared on a farm, and received his ed- 
ucation in Castleton, Vt. He was married 
at Fort Ann, Washington Co., N. Y. , and 
in 1847 migrated to Columbia county, 
Wis. , where he purchased 400 acres of gov- 
ernment land at $1.25 per acre, which he 
improved, afterward selling it for $50 per 
acre. Wisconsin was a Territory when 
Mr. Jones entered it, and he recorded a 
vote in favor of its admission as a State. 
In those early days he not infrequently 
carted wheat to Milwaukee with oxen. He 
was a Whig in politics, afterward a Repub- 
lican. He and his wife now reside at Poy- 
nette. Wis. Their family of seven children 
were of follows: Josephine, wife of John 
Low, of Slayton, Minn. ; Norman, a resi- 
dent of Minnesota, who died in 1885; Evan- 
geline, deceased in infancy; Dr. E. H. ; 
Fannie, wife of Walter Hoyt, of Ridgeway, 
Iowa; John Howard, a lawyer of Denver, 
Colo.; Helen, who died in 1889, wife of 
Halbert Norton, Poynette, Wisconsin. 

At the age of eighteen 3'ears E. H. Jones 
left his father's farm in Leeds, Wis., to en- 
ter a drug store in Poynette, remaining 
there one year; later he taught school in 
Winneshiek county, Iowa. In 1880, at the 
age of twenty-one, he entered Rush Medical 
College, Chicago, 111., graduating with the 
class of 1883, and during the years 1882 
and 1883 he took a course of lectures at the 
"Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary," also of 
Chicago. Dr. Jones first located at Ridge- 
way, Iowa, but the following year he moved 
to Weyauwega. Wis. , where he has since 
remained in the active practice of his pro- 
fession. Beginning his professional life un- 




^T>U^. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



247 



der great pecuniary disadvantages, he has, 
by close attention to business and an un- 
tiring zeal for his profession, surmounted 
these obstacles and built up an enviable and 
lucrative practice. He is a member of the 
Northwestern Medical Society, the Wiscon- 
sin State Medical Society, and of the Amer- 
ican Medical Association. 

In 1883 the Doctor was married, at 
Ridgeway, Iowa, to Miss Martha Blackburn, 
a native of Dane county. Wis., and daugh- 
ter of Thomas and Jessie (Stuart) Blackburn, 
the father a native of England, the mother 
of Scotland; they were married in Dane 
county, where they were pioneers, and now 
reside in Lincoln township Winneshiek Co. , 
Iowa. Dr. and Mrs. Jones have had three 
children: Alice Elta, born May 20, 1884, 
and Stuart Howard, born June 17, 1892, 
living; Leroy B., the second child, born 
August 8, 1888, died November 11, 1888. 

Dr. Jones is a Democrat of the Jeffer- 
sonian school, and has served several years 
as Health Officer of Weyauwega, and as a 
member of the county board. He is now a 
member and the secretary of the Waupaca 
board of U. S. Examining Surgeons for 
Pensions. Socially he is a member of We\- 
auwega Lodge No. 82 F. & A. M., of which 
he is worshipful master, and he is also a 
member of the Modern Woodmen. In Sep- 
tember, 1890, he became associated with 
A. L. Hutchinson, Esq., a prominent lawyer 
of Weyauwega, in the purchase of real 
estate in the city of Marshfield. Buying 
vacant and unimproved land, the\' built 
beautiful cottages and otherwise improved it, 
greatly enhancing the value of the property. 
In 1891 they began the publication of "The 
American Medical and Legal Exchange 
Bureau Bulletin," an enterprising bi-monthl\- 
publication. In 1895 they erected a large, 
handsome and commodious brick structure 
in the business center of Weyauwega, to be 
used for store and office purposes. He was 
founder and general manager of the Wolf 
River Telephone Co. His profession, how- 
ever, has always been his greatest pride; 
being ever ready to answer with equal 
promptness, all calls from the rich and the 
poor, the high and the low, he has always 
considered his own welfare secondary to that 



of his patients, and taken all in all, Dr, 
Jones is one of We}auwega's most progress- 
ive and public-spirited citizens. 



JULIAN BIRON is one of the worthy 
citizens of Merrill, Lincoln count}', who 
have come into the United States from 
Canada. He was born near Sherbrooke, 
Canada, in May, 1837, and is a son of An- 
toine Biron. The latter was born near 
Three Rivers, Canada, of French descent, 
his father being born in France. The latter 
was a young man on his arrival in Canada, 
and was there married, becoming the father 
of six children, namely: Gabriel, Augustine, 
Joseph, Agnes, Frances and Antoine. He 
was a native of Leo, France, and before 
crossing the Atlantic had served for a time 
in the French army. Both he and his wife 
died in Canada. Antoine Biron was a car- 
penter by trade, and died in 1848. He had 
married Isabel Buisier, who was also a na- 
tive of Canada and of French descent, and 
their union was blessed with six children, 
only two of whom, Eleanor and Julian, are 
living; those deceased are Sophia, who died 
at the age of twent)-; Matilda at the age of 
twenty-four; and the others who died in in- 
fancy. The mother died in 1861. 

The gentleman, whose name introduces 
this review, grew up in Canada, and there 
received a very meagre education. At the 
age of eighteen he left home going to Bos- 
ton, Mass., where he worked in a brickyard 
two summers, but the winters of those years 
he spent in Canada. In the spring of 1856 
he came to Two Rivers, Manitowoc Co., 
Wis. , and worked for three months in a saw- 
mill, at the end of which time he went on 
Lake Michigan as a fisherman. For three 
seasons he followed fishing when he hired 
out as a farm hand near Cooperstown, Wis., 
and there remained for a year and a half. 
In 1859, in company with nine others, he 
started for Pike's Peak, leaving Green Bay, 
Wis., with a horse-team and drove to Den- 
ver, Colo., where he was engaged in pros- 
pecting for some time, when, in the fall of 
1861, he returned to Wisconsin and resumed 
fishing. This he continued to follow until 
1864, when he went to Grand Rapids, 



248 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Wis., there hiring out as a common laborer 
for one winter. He commenced work in a 
sawmill as head sawyer in the spring of 
1865, at which occupation he continued until 
the fall of 1 879, when he came to Jennie, 
now Merrill, Lincoln county. He had ac- 
companied a Mr. Scott, and, at this place, 
rebuilt an old mill for that gentleman, and 
has since been in the employ of the Scott 
Lumber Company. He enlarged their mill 
from one with a rotary saw until it now has 
a capacity of i 50,000 feet of lumber per day. 
He seems to be a natural millwright, rank- 
ing among the first in that line, though 
never having learned the trade. 

In 1865 Mr. Biron at Grand Ivapids, 
Wis., was united in marriage with Harriet 
Bubloz, who was born in Switzerland in 
1848, and to the union were born the follow- 
ing named five children: Emma, Joseph, 
Elenore, Louis and Blanche. Mrs. Biron 
is a daughter of Louis and Louisa (Pan- 
chaud) Bubloz, and is one of three children, 
namely: Ellen, Charles and Harriet. Her 
father came to America in 1850, and three 
years later was joined by his family, they 
settling in Grand Rapids, Wis. , where his 
death occurred in 1855. Subsequently the 
mother married George Zenier, who was 
born in Metz, German}-, and by this mar- 
riage there were three children, George, 
Emma and Alexander. Mr. Zenier died in 
1890, and Mrs. Zenier in 1892. They were 
both members of the Congregational Church. 

The subject of this sketch is a man who 
is thoroughly honest, upright and reliable, 
and is a good workman, having aided in the 
erection of many of the largest mills in this 
portion of the State, among which are those 
at Grand Rapids and Port Edwards. He has 
the respect and esteem of the citizens of 
Merrill, and is a valued member of the com- 
munity. 



JAMES DOONEN (deceased) was born 
in the County of Monaghan, Ireland. 
In 1852, while a young man, he 
crossed the Atlantic to the United 
States, came to Wausau, Marathon Co., 
Wis., and after a residence of about two 
years returned to his native land. In 1856 



he again came to this country, and engaged 
in lumbering, in which he continued for the 
remainder of his life. During the latter 
year he was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary McCabe, who was also born in 
County Monaghan, Ireland, by whom he 
had four children, three of whom are living, 
namely: John J., Terrence and Frank B., 
residing in Wausau. The parents of Mrs. 
Doonen were John and Helen McCabe. 
James Doonen was for several terms treas- 
urer of the city of Wausau. His death oc- 
curred in 1863, at the age of forty-one 
years. In 1866 the widow of James Doonen 
was united in marriage with Peter Hunt, 
who was born in New York State, and three 
children have been born to their union, of 
whom two are now living — William and 
Charles. Mr. Hunt owns and operates a 
farm in the town of Maine, Marathon coun- 
ty. He has represented his ward as alder- 
man for several terms. 

Terrence, a son of James and Mary 
Doonen, was born in Wausau October 20, 
1858, and was reared and educated in his 
native town. At Wausau, October 12, 
1884, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Frances Gercher, a resident of Marathon, 
who died July 11, 1895, of heart trouble, 
leaving two children, one aged ten 3ears 
and an infant. 

Frank B., son of James and Mary 
Doonen, was born in Wausau September 
10, 1 86 1, where he was reared and educat- 
ed. In June, 1889, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Anna Allslebine, of Athens, 
Marathon Co., Wis., by whom he has had 
one child — Inez, born January 20, 1891. 



REV. HERMAN S. W. DAIB. When 
valuable public services, an unblem- 
ished integrity and a genuine private 
virtue, derivable only from the daily 
practice of religion and piety, contribute to 
adorn the character of an individual, then 
is it most proper to be set prominently 
forth as an example to those who would 
make themselves useful to their fellow men. 
And the writer cherishes the belief that he 
will perform this acceptable service to the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



249 



public in giving a brief sketch of this rever- 
end gentleman. 

Mr. Daib is a native of Ohio, having 
first seen the light in Bern township, Fair- 
field count}-, August 26, 1S62, and is a son 
of Rev. John L. Daib, who was born in 
Niederrimbach, in the Kingdom of Wuert- 
temberg, Germany, July 13, 1830, and who 
when thirteen years old lost his father by 
death, and his mother some few years be- 
fore. There were two sons and one daugh- 
ter in the family besides John L. At the 
age of nineteen years John L. Daib em- 
igrated from the Fatherland to the United 
States, locating in St. Louis, Mo., where 
he was persuaded to study for the ministry 
by Dr. W. Sihler, whereupon he attended 
the seminary at Fort Wayne, Ind. After 
his ordination he had charges in Indiana, 
Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, his last in- 
cumbency being in the first-named State, 
where he died December 31, 1894. He 
was there married to Susanna E., daughter 
of Nicolas and Catherine (Heiser) Zelt, 
both of German birth, came to America in 
1832, and here married, where they followed 
agricultural pursuits in the State of Indiana. 
Five children were born to them, viz. : 
Susanna E., John, Jacob, Margaret and 
Lucinda. To Rev. John L. Daib and wife 
were born twelve children, those yet living 
being Mary, Frederick, Sophia, Herman S. 
W., Emilie, Adelinde, Martin, Frieda and 
Lydia; the deceased were Theodore, Helen 
and Leonard. 

The subject proper of these lines received 
his primary education at the parochial 
school of Oshkosh, Wis. Subsequently he 
attended college at Fort Wayne, Ind., from 
which institution he was graduated in i88t ; 
then entered the Theological Seminary at 
St. Louis, from which he was graduated in 
1884. The first charge to which he was 
appointed was at Wittenberg, Wis., whence 
at the end of three years he removed to 
Antigo, in the same State, and, in August, 
1888, came to Merrill to accept the incum- 
bency as pastor of St. John's Lutheran 
Church, where he has since remained. 
Under his careful and watchful pastorate 
the congregation and church have been 
blessed with increase and prosperity, for 



when he came to the charge seven years ago 
there was a membership of but 45; now 
there are 1 20 voting members, who wor- 
ship in an elegant brick church, recently 
erected, to which is attached a growing 
parochial school of 1 20 scholars. 

In 1888 Rev. Herman S. W. Daib and 
Miss Hermine Dicke were united in marriage, 
and two children have come to brighten their 
home — Herbert and Kurt. Mrs. Daib is a 
native of Wisconsin, born in Belle Plaine 
township, Shawano county, a daughter of 
Rev. Henry and Catherine Dicke, who were 
the parents of nine children, all yet living 
and named respectively: Henry, Mary, 
Pauline, Hermine, William, Carl, John, 
Julia and Clara. Mr. and Mrs. Daib enjoy, 
equally, the sincere respect and esteem of 
not only the members of his fiock, but of 
the entire community, in which they are well 
known. 



NILSE EVJUE, superintendent of 
the Rib River Lumber Co., at 
Flanner, Wis., and one of the most 
highly respected citizens of Merrill, 
Lincoln count}', is a native of Norway, born 
in the city of Kongsberg, Buskerud, June 6, 
1852. Peter Evjue, his father, was of the 
same nativity, born in 1 809, a son of David 
Evjue, who was a common laborer in Nor- 
way, and owned a farm; David had two 
children — Peter, and a daughter whose name 
is not learned. Peter was a watchman at 
the celebrated silver mines at Kongsberg, 
was married to Martha Bryn, and died in 
1867. They had twelve children, only four 
of whom are now living, viz. : Johan, Matilda, 
Karen and Nilse; Hans lived to be mar- 
ried and have two children, Hans and Ma- 
tilda, and died in Norway; the rest of the 
children died }oung; the mother passed 
away in 1 869. 

The subject proper of these lines, Nilse 
Evjue, is the youngest in the family, and 
was about sixteen years old when he lost his 
father. He received a liberal education at 
the public schools of the district wherein he 
was born, after which he worked in the 
silver mines, already referred to, until in 
1869, when he emigrated to America with 



250 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



barely sufficient means to earn' him to Stev- 
ens Point, Wis., the place of his destina- 
tion. Arriving there, however in good 
health and spirits, he at once hired out 
to work for a lumber firm on the Little Eau 
Plaine river, being emploj'ed in the sawmill 
during the summer, and in the woods in the 
winter season. Leaving this firm in the 
spring of 1870, he for a time hired out to 
run lumber down the river to St. Louis, 
after which he found employment in the 
John Wicks sawmill on the Big Eau Plaine 
river, working there and in another mill three 
years, each season making a trip down the 
river with lumber. In the spring of 1874 
he moved to \\^ausau, where he worked 
as grader in a lumber yard for Peter 
Plummer, and at the end of a year hired out, 
in a similar capacity, to the Stewart Lum- 
ber Co., and with them remained four years, 
two years of the time as foreman of the 
green lumber department. In the spring 
of 1879 he came to Merrill, then called 
■"Jennie, " where for four years he worked 
as grader for the T. B. Scott Lumber Co., 
after which he was employed by the Cham- 
pagne Lumber Co., at first by the job, grad- 
ing and piling lumber, which occupied two 
more years of his life. During the ne.xt 
four years he was foreman of their mill and 
yard, and the following two \ears served as 
shipping clerk, remaining with this extensive 
•firm eight years in all. In 1891, he began 
an engagement with the Rib River Lumber 
Co., at Flanner, Wis., as general superin- 
tendent of their mill and yard, his present 
position. His residence, an elegant and 
commodious home, is in the city of Merrill, 
where he is surrounded by all the comforts 
due to an industrious and well-regulated life. 
In the fall of 1880 Mr. Evjue was mar- 
ried at Merrill to Miss Mary Erickson, who 
■was born in Norwaj' in 1858, one of the 
eleven children of Torger and Ronaug Erick- 
son, named as follows: Anna, Mary, George, 
Matthew, Pauline, Peter, Tenna, Ella and 
William, living, and Erick who died in Feb- 
ruary, 1862, and one that that passed awaj' 
in infancy. The father, who was a farmer, 
came to America in 1868, and settled in 
Scandinavia, Waupaca county Himself and 
wife now reside in Merrill. To our subject 



and wife have been born three children: 
William, Emma and Nellie. Mr. and Mrs. 
Evjue are prominent members of the Nor- 
wegian Lutheran Church, in the building up 
of which they took an active part. Politic- 
ally, the former affiliates with the Repub- 
lican party, and is recognized as one of the 
best representative, useful and loyal self- 
made men of northern Wisconsin, one who 
has by diligence, industry and econom\' de- 
servedly prospered. 



EVEN P. KALSTAD, a well-to-do 
farmer and merchant, and one of 
the intelligent citizens of Portage 
county, was born in Gausdal, Nor- 
way, April 5, 1846, and is a son of Peter 
and Aasta (Kalstad) Peterson, who were 
also born in the same place. The father 
was a farmer in comfortable circumstances, 
and, in the spring of 1848, disposed of his 
property in Norway, and with his wife and 
two daughters sailed from Christiania to 
New York, from which city they went di- 
rect to Milwaukee, and then to Ixonia, Jef- 
ferson Co., Wis., where the father pur- 
chased eighty acres of wild land, and built 
on it a home. There he resided until after 
the breaking out of the Civil war, when he 
enlisted in Company D, Fifteenth \\'is. 
\'. I., under Captain Campbell, and was 
mustered into the service at Madison De- 
cember 10, 1 86 1. After reaching Tennes- 
see he was taken ill, and left at luka. Mo. 
Later he was transferred to the hospital in 
Nashville, where he died December 20, 
1862, and was there buried in a soldier's 
grave. His wife remained on the old home- 
stead in Ixonia until 1870, when she sold 
that property and removed to Oconomowoc, 
where, purchasing a residence, she lived un- 
til her death. W^hile attempting to cross a 
railroad track in front of an engine she was 
killed September 17, 1885. There were 
five children in the family, namely: Maria, 
who died at the age of fifteen; Even; Inge- 
borg, wife of Ross Sigerson, a farmer of 
Barron county. Wis. ; Albert, who died at 
the age of sixteen, and Gabriel, who died 
in Oconomowoc, aged twenty years. 

Our subject being ill at the time of his 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



251 



parents' emigration to America, remained 
with his grandmother. He obtained an ex- 
cellent education in his native land, and in 
May, 1866, being then in his twentieth 
year, sailed from Christiania to Liverpool, 
where he engaged passage on the steamer 
Peruvian, of the Allen line, and, two weeks 
later, reached New York harbor, where the 
vessel laj' in quarantine seven weeks on ac- 
count of having cholera on board. He 
then, with some companions, went to Red 
Wing, Minn., where he was employed as a 
farm hand until fall, when he joined his 
mother at her home in I.xonia, Wis. Two 
years later he entered the Norwegian Lu- 
theran College in Decorah, Iowa, and, after 
pursuing his studies for two years, returned 
to accept a position in the Norwegian Lu- 
theran parochial school at Ixonia, in addi- 
tion to which he also carried on farming. 
In 1873 he came to New Hope, Wis., and 
was employed as a teacher in the parochial 
school until June, 1878, when in compli- 
ance with a physician's orders he journeyed 
to his native land in search of health. This 
time he crossed the Atlantic on the steamer 
' ' Britannic " of the White Star line, and from 
Liverpool went to Hull, England, whence 
he sailed on a vessel of the Wilson line for 
Norway. There he remained until Octo- 
ber, 1879, visiting with relatives and friends, 
after which he returned to New Hope. 

Mr. Kalstad now resumed teaching in 
the parochial school, and filled that posi- 
tion until 1886, when he began farming, 
purchasing a farm of eighty acres, to which 
he afterward added forty acres. His land 
is in Sections 34 and 35, New Hope town- 
ship; but at present he is renting his farm, 
while he devotes his energies to general 
merchandising. In 18S9 he bought of John 
Loberg the latter's store and the home in 
which he now resides, and has since suc- 
cessfully carried on business as a merchant. 
In the same year he was appointed post- 
master of New Hope, and has since credit- 
ably served in that position. He has pros- 
pered in his undertakings, and is now a 
substantial citizen, whose energy and en- 
terprise have brought to him a merited 
success. 

January i, 1893, at New Hope, Wis., 



Mr. Kalstad was united in marriage with 
Miss Karan Forseth, by Rev. O. K. Ram- 
berg, of the Norwegian Lutheran Church. 
The wife, a native of Norway, is a daughter 
of Simen and Agnethe (Fougner) Forseth, 
both born in Norway. The father was at 
one time a merchant in Christiania, and at 
the time of his death, which occurred in 
1893, was living on his farm in Gausdal, 
Norway. The mother still resides there 
with her son, Simen. To this union were born: 
Christina, deceased wife of Rev. Chris- 
tensen; Agnes, wife of Rev. Leisegang, a 
Norwegian Lutheran missionary, residing at 
Umpumulo, South Africa; Sophia, wife of 
Carl Larson, who is living in a suburb of 
Christiania; Simen, who resides on the old 
homestead, and Thorstein, who is also liv- 
ing on a farm in Gausdal. Mrs. Kalstad 
came to the United States in the fall of 
1892, prior to which time she had made her 
home for about three 3'ears with her sister 
in South Africa. 



LUCIUS E. PALMER was born in 
Allegany county, N. Y. , November 
22, 1829, and is a son of Edmon and 
Anna (Rice) Palmer, who were orig- 
inally from Vermont. Isaac Rice, father 
of Mrs. Palmer, served in the Revolution- 
ary war. Edmon Palmer was a wagon 
maker, which occupation he followed through 
life excepting for a period of eight years, 
during which time he operated a carding 
machine in Waupaca county. Wis. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Palmer were born seven children, 
as follows: Caroline L. , now the wife of 
Eldad Post, a farmer of Wautoma, \\'au- 
shara Co., Wis.; Roderick B., who died in 
August, 1894. in Buena Vista, Portage Co., 
Wis., leaving a widow and six children; 
Lucius E. ; Jane, deceased wife of Allen 
Smith, who left three children; Ellen, now 
Mrs. George Reynolds, of Oregon; Simeon, 
an Episcopal minister, who preached two 
years in Appleton, Wis., and died leaving a 
widow and one child, now residents of Den- 
ver, Colo.; and Heman B., who belonged 
to the Third Wisconsin Battery during the 
Civil war, participated at Chickamauga. 
Lookout Mountain, Stone River, and in 



^52 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



other important battles, and died while at 
home on a furlough. The children all re- 
mained at home until of adult age, and four 
of them taught school. 

In 1852 Edmon Palmer and wife went 
to Brandon, Fond du Lac county, where 
the former bought eight}- acres of partly im- 
proved land and began further improve- 
ments. After remaining in Fond du Lac 
county about eight years, he sold out, went 
to New Hope, Portage county, and bought 
land in Amherst, that county. He built a 
house there, which he occupied till about 
1865, when he went to Parfreyville, Dayton 
township, Waupaca county, and engaged in 
running a carding machine. Here he spent 
the remainder of his life, dying in 1868. 
His widow then lived with her children 
until her death, which occurred in 1878. 

Lucius E. Palmer received a common- 
school education in New York State. After 
his parents moved west he, in 1853, came 
to Brandon, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., and 
remained there with them one year, then 
went east, married Miss S. A. Gearhart, and 
January i, 1856, they came by wagon and 
sleigh to Almond township, Portage county, 
where he bought 160 acres of land which he 
now owns. This was timber land. He 
first built a 12 .\ 16 shant}-, with roof slant- 
ing one way, in which he lived one year, 
when he built a larger house, 16x22 feet, 
which now forms a part of his dwelling. At 
that time he had a yoke of oxen (there being 
only one pair of horses in the township). 
The nearest flouring-mill was sixteen miles 
away, and their market was Berlin, Green 
Lake county, forty miles distant. An axe 
and a wagon were his principal tools, and 
he began to clear the land. One of his 
neighbors who had been here some two or 
three years, on buying a new plow, gave 
him his old one. The people held their 
first religious services in Dr. Guernsey's 
house, afterward got a schoolhouse, and 
finally a church building. Mr. Palmer was 
ordained in i860, and has since presided 
over the meetings, and for thirty-five years 
has proclaimed the truths of the Bible, and 
preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a 
Regular Baptist minister. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lucius E. Palmer became 



the parents of six children, namely: Charles 
A., a school teacher, now in Nebraska; 
Fred, in Almond township. Portage countj-; 
Nettie, now Mrs. T. W. Stephens of Plain- 
field; Anna, now Mrs. D. Forest McLaugh- 
lin; Clella, who was Mrs. C. H. Weed, and 
died leaving one child; and Sidney, who 
lives at home and manages the farm. Mr. 
Palmer now has 125 acres of land in all, 
ninety-six of which are tillable. He has 
been continuously associated with the Re- 
publican part}', is a Good Templar, and in 
religion a Baptist by preference. 



CHRISTL\N RIEBEN, a substantial 
farmer of Amherst township. Por- 
tage county, was born in Lenk, in 
the Canton of Berne, Switzerland, 
June 2, 1853, and is a son of Kaspar and 
Madeline Rieben. Kaspar Rieben, born 
February 27, 1827, came with his wife to 
America in the fall of 1885, and settled in 
West Bend, Iowa. Finding the climate 
there too severe, he returned to his native 
land, where he died March 17, 1894. Mrs. 
Rieben, born August 15, 1826, remained in 
this country until October, 1894, then re- 
turned to her native town, where she re- 
mained until May, 1895, and returned to 
Muscatine, Iowa, where she now resides. 
They were the parents of the following 
named children: Madeline, born July 20, 
1847; Christian; Katrina, born October 15, 
1856; Gottlieb, born March 16, 1865; Eliza- 
beth, born August 8, 1862; and Louise, 
born September i, 1867 — all living; Kaspar, 
Christian (i), Samuel, Louise (i), and 
Elizabeth (i), all deceased, as well as two 
who died in infancy. 

Christian Rieben, the subject of this 
sketch, acquired an excellent education in 
his native town. For many years he con- 
veyed tourists b}' carriage over the moun- 
tains between points of interest in Switzer- 
land and Italy. He was in Paris, France, 
just before the siege of that city, intending 
to remain, but was entreated by his parents 
to return home, which he did. On May 10, 
1877, at Aigle, Switzerland, he was united 
in marriage with Mrs. Susanna Gander 
Byrde, a widow, and there have been born 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



253 



to them the following named children (the 
first four born in the old country, the others 
in America): Charles C, September 19, 
1S78; Robert, September 20, 1879; Lena 
Louisa Bertha, August 15, 1880, Marius, 
November 23, 1881 (who died on the ocean 
while coming to America, January 26, 1882); 
Louisa, January 12, 1883; Samuel, April 
10, 1885; and Oscar, October 5, 1887. 
Mrs. Rieben is a daughter of John and Mary 
{Steffen) Gander, and widow of Henry 
Byrde, b\- whom she had three children: 
Marie, Alois and Henry. 

In the spring of 1882 Mr. Rieben sailed 
for America from Havre, France, on the 
steamer " Amerique," and after a voyage of 
eighteen days landed in New York, and 
came direct to Milwaukee, Wis., where he 
arrived with but seventy-five cents. He 
engaged board, telling the landlord he would 
leave his trunk as security, and soon pro- 
cured employment on a farm a short distance 
from Milwaukee, worked there three months, 
and three months in Sheridan, Waupaca 
county, as a farm hand. With his wife and 
family, who came over from Switzerland 
and joined him about this time, he removed 
to Black Creek Falls, Marathon Co., Wis., 
where he bought eighty acres of timberland, 
paving f:\e hundred dollars for it. He 
cleared ten acres, built thereon a log cabin, 
which he occupied with his wife and family 
for one year, then sold the property for fifty 
dollars, losing about five hundred dollars on 
the deal. Returning to Sheridan, he rented 
a tract of land from Edward Salverson, in 
whose emplo}- he had been prior to going to 
Black Creek Falls. He worked this farm 
for three years, then located on his present 
farm of .160 acres, 120 of which are cleared. 
This he bought after renting it one year. 

Mr. Rieben is an honest, upright citizen, 
and well-known and popular throughout 
this section of the county. He speaks 
English, French and German, fluently, and 
is teaching his children all these languages. 
He has a comfortable home, good horses, is 
well provided with modern farm machinery, 
and does threshing and wood sawing for 
many farms in his neighborhood. He is a 
Republican in politics, and in religious be- 
lief his famil}' are Protestants. 



JOHN V. VOSBURG, who, as a livery- 
man at Waupaca, now keeps the finest 
turnouts in the city, the envy of all 
who are admirers of fine horses, be- 
longs to a pioneer Wisconsin family. 

He was born in \\'aupaca August 19, 
1863, son of Frank B. Vosburg, who built 
and conducted the "Vosburg House" in 
that city. Frank B. Vosburg was born in 
Gowanda, N. Y. , and married Mariette 
Copen, of Rushford, N. Y. From 1856 to 
1 86 1 he had charge of the Fond du Lac and 
Stevens Point express route, and in 1861 he 
came to Waupaca. In 1869 he purchased 
from E. I. Putnam the old " Smith House," 
which had been erected by A. E. Smith in 
1856. The house burned May 16, 1872, 
but within ten weeks the present ' ' \'osburg 
House" was open for the entertainment of 
guests. John V. Vosburg was educated in 
the Waupaca schools, and remained at home 
until he was twenty-one years of age. In 
1 89 1 he purchased from his father the 
"Vosburg House," and remained its pro- 
prietor until the spring of 1892. He then 
sold out and went to Phillips, Price county, 
where for a short time he conducted a hotel. 
Mr. Vosburg next went to Oshkosh, and was 
in business for himself there until the spring 
of 1894, when he sold out and returned to 
Waupaca. Here he started the extensive 
livery business which he now conducts. It 
is natural that he should gravitate to a busi- 
ness which would be connected with fine 
horses, for from his father he has inherited 
an affection for the noble steed. The tastes 
of Frank Vosburg were pretty evenly divided 
between the admirable hostelry, where he 
administered to the comforts of his guests. 
and his stables. Indeed it is questionable if 
the latter were not the dearer to him. He 
was the owner of a number of celebrated 
trotters, and it was difficult to find a better 
judge of horses than he. 

In 1890 John V. Vosburg was married, 
at Waupaca, to Miss Libbie O'Grady, a 
native of Kentucky. One child has been 
born to them, Mary Ethel. In politics Mr. 
Vosburg is a stanch Republican, though he 
is not an office-seeker. He is very well and 
widely known, and is one of the most pop- 
ular citizens of \^'aupaca. 



2 54 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



GEORGE G. HAWES is a worthy 
representative of an honored New 
England family which was founded 
in the colony of Massachusetts ere 
this country had attained its independence. 
His grandfather, Luther Hawes, was born 
November 14, 1784, and on the 28th of 
October, 1806, married Sallie Gale, who 
was born March 14, 1784. They became 
the parents of twelve children, five sons and 
seven daughters, of whom Lester L. , the 
father of our subject, was the youngest. 
Lester L. was born in Vermont, January 
10, 182S, and. as his parents were in limited 
circumstances, he received only the educa- 
tional privileges afforded by the common 
schools. He was reared upon the home farm, 
and, when about eighteen years of age, ac- 
companied his parents to Wisconsin. The 
famih' lived in Trenton township. Dodge 
county, until tne death of the mother, when 
the children were scattered and the father 
went to Marquette county, Wis., to make 
his home with his son George, where he 
died at the age of eighty years. After the 
death of his mother Lester L. Hawes re- 
moved to ^farquette county, and also lived 
with his brother George, working as a farm 
hand. 

On November 24, 1856, Lester L. Hawes 
wedded Mary Robertson, who was born in 
Dumbarton, Scotland, November [3, 1839, 
daughter of John and Jeannette (Barr) 
Robertson, who came to the United States 
in 1849, and located in Moundville town- 
ship, Marquette Co., Wis. Mr. and Mrs. 
Robertson still reside on the farm where 
they began their domestic life, and are 
among the most highly respected people of 
the neighborhood. At the time of his mar- 
riage Mr. Hawes was in quite limited cir- 
cumstances. He began housekeeping in 
Oxford township, Marquette county, where 
in partnership with his brother he carried 
on a brick yard. A year later he removed 
to Dodge county. Wis., where for some 
years he rented a farm near Fo.\ Lake, and 
in May, i860, he came to Belmont town- 
ship. Portage county. The family made 
the journey with a team of horses and Mr. 
Hawes with an ox-team. He had visited 
the county in February, i860, and pur- 



chased 120 acres of land in Sections 18 and 
19 Belmont township. While that place was 
being improved the family resided temporari- 
ly upon the present site of the Belmont Cem- 
etery. The first home was a frame struc- 
ture and the first improvements upon the 
farm were placed there by Lester Hawes. 
The nearest trading point was Berlin, \\'is., 
fifty miles distant. Wild game of all kinds 
could be had in abundance, and the region 
was one that was just being opened up to 
civilization, and many were the difficulties 
and trials, incident to frontier life, to be en- 
dured. 

To Lester L. and Mary (Robertson) 
Hawes were born George; Ann Eliza, wife 
of Warren Taylor; and Alma A., wife 
of John Case}', all residents of Belmont 
township. Mr. Hawes had been previously 
married, having wedded Miss Emily Lind- 
say at Fox Lake, November 23, 185 1, and 
to this union was born a son, Charles A., 
September 15, 1852; the latter, a farmer, is 
married and resides in Adams county. Emily 
(Lindsay) died November 24, 1853, and the 
son was reared by Mrs. Mary Hawes. 

In February, 1865, Lester Hawes re- 
sponded to his country's call for troops, en- 
listing at \\'aupaca. in Company D, Fiftieth 
Wis. V. I., with which he went to Madison, 
thence to St. Louis. In the latter city he 
was taken with smallpox, of which he died. 
May 19, 1865, and he was there buried. He 
took quite an active interest in political 
affairs, supporting the Republican part\', 
and was a highly respected and valued citi- 
zen. At his death he left a widow and 
three children, and they had little to live 
on, but the mother worked hard and man- 
aged well, and not only cleared the farm of 
all indebtedness but increased its acreage 
from 120 to 160. She still resides on the 
old home place and is recognized as one of 
the most estimable ladies of the community. 
She is a faithful member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, has read quite exten- 
sively, and is well informed on all general 
questions. 

On November 4, 1 857, George (j. Hawes, 
the subject of this sketch, was born. He 
attended the district schools to some ex- 
tent, but as he was an onlv son, and, as his 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



25? 



services were needed at home (especially 
after his father's death), his privileges in 
that direction were somewhat limited. He 
is now, however, well versed on topics of 
the times, and is a progressive and public- 
spirited citizen, who manifests a warm and 
commendable interest in everything pertain- 
ing to the welfare of the conmiunity and its 
upbuilding. He votes with the Republican 
party, and since 1890 has efficiently served 
as a member of the town board of super- 
visors. In 1892, under his supervision a 
pleasant residence was erected on the farm 
which is now the home of himself and wid- 
owed mother. His entire life has been de- 
voted to agricultural pursuits, and in his 
chosen work he has met with success. 



HENRY HOLLER. Although many 
have longer resided in Waupaca 
county than this gentleman there are 
few more prominent citizens in 
Marion than he. A native of Germany, he 
was born in the Kingdom of Prussia, May 
28th, 1857, and is a son of John and Mary 
(Baine) Holler, who were also natives of the 
same neighborhood. The father was a mil- 
ler by trade and followed that pursuit in his 
native land, but after coming to America en- 
gaged in farming. To them were born four 
children, namely: Louise, now the wife of 
Fred Lade, of Clintonville, Wis. ; William, 
who is serving as postmaster of Marion; 
Catherine, wife of John Fuchs, and Henry, 
of this sketch. In 1859 the parents bade 
adieu to home and friends and emigrated to 
America, locating in Auburn, Fond du Lac 
Co., Wis., where the father purchased forty 
acres of land, which he at once began to 
clear and improve, and on which he made 
his home until his death which occurred in 
1867, dying of cancer of the stomach. 
About 1875 the mother became the wife of 
Christ Lade, a carpenter with whom she 
lived four years. She now resides in Forest, 
Wisconsin, and is the wife of John Row, a 
farmer. 

The children all left home early in life to 
earn their own livelihoods. Their educa- 
tional privileges were very meager, and other 
advantages were likewise limited. Henry 



Holler started out for himself at the age of 
fifteen, and for seven years remained in Fond 
du Lac county, where he was variously em- 
ployed. He then went to Red River Valley, 
Minnesota, where he was engaged in farm- 
ing for about a year, when he returned to 
Fond du Lac county, but soon after came 
to Marion where he followed carpentering. 
He had previously worked at that trade for 
two years, and then followed it for a similar 
period, after which he spent two years in a 
confectioner's store. In 1882 he opened a 
saloon which he still conducts. He is an 
industrious man, and whatever success he 
has achieved is due entirely to his own ef- 
forts. 

On September 19, 1882, Mr. Holler was 
united in marriage with Miss Amelia Dieck, 
daughter of Ferdinand and Louise Dieck, 
the former a farmer by occupation. Four 
children have been born to them, as follows: 
John, deceased; Emma, Ella and Cora, all 
at home. In his political views Mr. Holler 
is a Democrat and has supported that party 
for the past twelve years. For three years 
he served as constable, proving a capable 
officer. In his religious views he is a Lu- 
theran, and socially he is connected with 
Marion Lodge, No. 256, I. O. O. F. 



GEORGE H. HILL was born in St. 
Lawrence county, N. Y. , June 7, 
1845, and is a son of Robert and 
Elizabeth (Richardson) Hill. Rob- 
ert Hill was a successful farmer, and by his 
marriage with Elizabeth Richardson had six 
children, namely: Hannah, now Mrs. M. 
Libbey, of Manchester, N. H. ; Mary, now 
Mrs. Daniel Grant, of Manchester, N. H. ; 
Sarah, a widow; Ennna, now Mrs. A. Fur- 
ness, of Manchester, N. H. ; Robert, a farmer 
near Smith's Falls, Canada, and George H. 
Robert Hill and wife were of Irish descent, 
and located at an early day in St. Lawrence 
county, N. Y. , where he bought eighty-five 
acres of land in its primitive state, and, with 
the assistance of his boys, opened up and 
cleared off a farm. The children received a 
common-school education, such as the times 
afforded, and most of them left home when 
young, went to Manchester, N. H., and en- 



-356 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



gaged in work in the factories. The parents 
lived on the farm until about 1870, when 
they sold the homestead, moved to Ogdens- 
burg, where they lived six years. Going 
then to the town of Lisbon, Robert Hill 
rented a farm, where he died in 1888. His 
widow then returned to Ogdensburg, where 
she is still living at the age of seventy-five. 
George H. Hill remained at home and 
helped his parents until he was about 
twenty-two years of age; then went to Can- 
ada, where his brother was, and worked at 
farming in his employ. Following this oc- 
cupation some two years, he returned to 
Ogdensburg, and learned the blacksmith's 
trade. On January i, 1873, George H. 
Hill was united in marriage with Sarah J. 
Bowden, and two children have been born 
to them — Minot, living at Plainfield, Wau- 
shara Co. Wis., and Maude, who is at home. 
The parents of Mrs. Hill, William and Mary 
A. (Smith) Bowden, reside in Lisbon, N. Y., 
where Mr. Bowden had been engaged in 
farming. Our subject was farming near 
Ogdensburg for some years; then bought a 
farm of eighty-five acres in Canton, N. Y. . 
which he cultivated successfully. This land 
was sold in 1S85, and they then came to 
Almond township, Portage Co. Wis., where 
he commenced work in a blacksmith shop in 
the employ of John A. Bowden, with whom 
he still remains, now conducting the shop 
on shares. He bought the lot and built the 
house he now occupies. Politically Mr. Hill 
is a Republican. He is a member of the 
Methodist Church, as is his wife, who takes 
an active part in Church matters. 



DON W. SAWYER, who has been 
the leader in political matters and a 
prominent and influential citizen, 
who gives his hearty support. to all 
worthy interests and enterprises, was born 
in Belmont township where he still resides, 
November 13, i860. He is the third child 
of Stillman and Mary (Fogg) Sawyer, na- 
tives of the Pine Tree State, and honored 
early settlers of this communitj'. He ac- 
quired his education in the public schools, 
but his privileges were somewhat limited, for 
.at the age of fourteen he left home and be- 



gan to do for himself. When a youth of 
fifteen he bought his time from his father 
and worked out for farmers by the month, 
and was also employed in a brick yard near 
Appleton, Outagamie county, for two sea- 
sons. During the winter season until eight- 
een j'ears of age he was in attendance at 
the public schools. At the age of twenty 
years he took charge of the farm, his father 
having been elected county treasurer. He 
was thus employed four years, two of which 
he worked the farm on shares. In the 
fall of 1882, he was converted under the 
preaching of W. D. Cocnell, and united with 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which 
he has ever since been an active member. 

On February 22, 1883, in Appleton, 
Wis., was consummated the marriage of 
Mr. Sawyer and Miss Alice Hough, who 
was born in Winchester township, Winne- 
bago county, and is a daughter of Nathan 
Hough. This marriage has been blessed 
with five children — Orville D., Morris R. , 
Daisy O. , Bessie A. and Mary E. , all living. 
Upon his marriage, Mr. Sawyer rented a 
farm, but continued to cultivate the old 
homestead. He had rented and operated 
his present farm for six years before pur- 
chasing it, which purchase was made in 
1 89 1. He first bought forty acres of land 
in Section 3, Belmont township, but now 
i62.\ acres of rich and arable land yield to 
him a good income. He successfully car- 
ries on agricultural pursuits, and the neat, 
thrifty and attracti\'e appearance of his farm 
indicates to the passerby his careful super- 
vision. 

By his ballot, Mr. Sawyer now upholds 
the men and measures of the Prohibition 
party, but formerly he was a supporter of 
the Republican part}'. He has been called 
to se\'eral official positions of honor and 
trust, was once pathmaster and is now clerk 
of School District No. 7. He filled the office 
of assessor one 3'ear, and m the spring of 
1894 was elected chairman of the town 
board of supervisors. He served for three 
years as town treasurer, filling out an un- 
expired term, and was twice elected to that 
office. He is now chairman of the town- 
ship committee of the Prohibition party, 
and was elected a delegate to the State con- 



COMMEMOIiATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



257 



vention at Milwaukee in 1894, but sickness 
prevented his attendance. On June 15, 
1892, he was appointed postmaster of Sher- 
man, and has since acceptably filled that 
position. In the various relations of life 
Mr. Sawyer is ever found true and faithful, 
and in all political positions he is a most 
capable official. He takes a warm interest 
in everything pertaining to the welfare of 
the community; is a wide-awake and public- 
spirited citizen, and no one doubts his loyal- 
ty to the right. In business and public 
affairs, his work is characterized by his sys- 
tematic management, and to this may large- 
ly be attributed his well-deserved success in 
life. 



ANDREW J. ROGERS is one of New 
Yock's sons, born in Steuben county, 
October 22, 1832. His parents, 
Asa and Mary (Dickson) Rogers, 
had a family of eight children: Asa, of Ber- 
lin, Wis. ; Clarinda; Andrew J.; David R. ; 
Martha, of Iowa; George E. ; Mary, who 
was burned to death in Winnebago county, 
Wis. ; and one who died in infancy. The 
father was a carpenter by trade and a lawyer 
by profession. In 1845, the family started 
westward, locating first at Racine, thence 
going to Summit, Milwaukee Co., Wis. In 
1848, they removed to Omro, Winnebago 
county, where the father purchased forty acres 
of government land, and at that time there 
were only four settlers in the township. Mr. 
Rogers speculated in land to a considerable 
e.xtent, and in connection with that business 
engaged in the practice of law in Omro. He 
held the office of justice of the peace in that 
place for twenty-four successive years, and 
his skill and ability as a lawyer won him a 
wide reputation and a liberal clientage. One 
of his knees became injured, which necessi- 
tated the amputation of his leg and this re- 
sulted in his death in March, 1865. His 
wife survived him only until July 3, 1866. 

Andrew J. Rogers began his education 
in his native county; and in Milwaukee 
county, this State, his father and some of 
the neighbors hired a school teacher in order 
that their children might receive instruction. 
Two years passed after their arrival in Win- 



nebago county before a school district was 
organized, but as soon as school privileges 
were again afforded him, Mr. Rogers re- 
sumed his studies, which he continued 
through the winter season until nineteen 
years of age, and under the parental roof he 
remained during his minority. 

On September 20, 1864, Mr. Rogers 
married Julia Drace, a native of New York 
State, and a daughter of Elijah and Betsy 
(Stearn) Drace. He had learned the car- 
penter's trade with his father, and for some 
years had worked with his brother Asa in 
that line. A'saisnow engaged in contracting 
and building, and his expert workmanship 
secures for him a liberal patronage. 

November 20, 1863, our subject enlisted 
in the army, as a member of Company D, 
Thirtj'-second Wis. V. I., which went first to 
Vicksburg. The first battle in which he 
participated was at Jackson, Miss. , and he 
was afterward in the Meridian campaign and 
the Sherman raid, then returned with his 
command to Vicksburg, having marched 450 
miles in one month. There with five or six 
others, he was put in an ambulance and 
taken to the bank of the Mississippi river, 
supposedly to die; but determined to save 
his life if possible, Mr. Rogers gained the 
assistance of a negro, and was taken to the 
Soldiers Home which was then under the 
management of Mrs. Harvey, widow of ex- 
Governor Harvey. He was there partially 
restored to health, and was transported with 
his regiment to Cairo, 111., and then went to 
Paducah, Ky. , to fight General Forrest. The 
regiment afterward was transported to 
Waterloo, then marched to Decatur, Ala., 
where it continued until starting on the At- 
lanta campaign. At Decatur Mr. Rogers 
received an injury which almost cost him 
his life, and when his regiment started for 
Atlanta, he was left in the hospital and later 
sent to Ho.spital No. i, in Nashville, Tenn,, 
where he remained three months. He was 
engaged in battle at the time of the battle 
between the troops of General Hood and 
General Thomas, and at Nashville was 
transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps 
and sent to guard prisoners in Indianapolis, 
where he remained until honorably dis- 
charged July 24, 1865. Whether on field 



558 



COHMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHIOAL RECORD. 



of battle, on guard duty, or on the picket 
line, his loyalty was unquestioned, and his 
bravery and fidelity recognized. 

Mr. Rogers has never fully recovered his 
health, and is yet unable to engage in man- 
ual labor. In 1882, he came to Union 
township, Waupaca county, and purchased 
forty acres of land in Section 28, where he 
lived three years, but, as he could not stand 
the hard work of the farm, he sold that 
property and came to his present home. He 
has twice served as chairman of the town 
board of supervisors; was justice of the 
peace one term, and is a valued citizen, pro- 
gressive and public-spirited, in whom the 
best interests of the community find a 
friend. He is connected with the Grand 
Army Post, and the Odd Fellows Society. 

Five children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Rogers — Frances, now the wife of 
Augustus Behrend, of Union township;Her- 
schel, of the same township; Ida, wife of 
Herman Hilderman, of Union township; 
Andrew and Hattie who are still under the 
parental roof. 



SOREN JENSEN UHRENHOLDT. 
Among the manj' farmers of Wau- 
paca county who deserve credit and 
congratulation for the competence 
which they have won as the fruits of indus- 
try and wise management none, perhaps, is 
more deserving than Mr. Uhrenholdt. 
Though a comparatively late comer into the 
county, at a time when opportunities seemed 
few, he arrived with empty hands and 
pockets, and prosperity has since smiled 
kindly upon him. He has proved himself 
resourceful, fertile in expedients, (juick to 
grasp a situation, plucky enough to dare 
where his keen judgment told him success 
was sure to follow, and his rise in life is the 
natural result. Through his years of early 
struggle, too, ran a thread of golden 
romance, which was not without its influence 
in shaping his destiny. 

In Denmark he had wooed Christine 
Toren, but her parents spurned his suit, be- 
cause of social lines. Soren was only, a 
poor country lad, without sufficient means 



or prospects. Christine belonged by edu- 
cation and by social position to a higher 
plane of life. Stung, by this parental rejec- 
tion, young Uhrenholdt came to America, 
to win if possible a modest competence, and 
then again claim the hand of her he loved. 
He was born in Denmark .-Xugust 15, 1857, 
son of Jens Uhrenholdt, a farmer and stock 
raiser of fairly comfortable means, made by 
his own efforts, and one of a family of seven 
children. Educated in the common schools, 
he was given two years also in the high 
school, and his receptive memory readily 
assimilated the branches which he was 
there taught. But from the early age of 
twelve he was obliged to work out, and for 
twelve more years he was a farm laborer. 
At the age of twenty-four he served six 
months in the navy, as was customar\' in 
his native land, only imperfect physique de- 
barring the young men from this service. 
Then came the unfortunate love affair. 
With the aid of a friend (for Soren was 
without means), he in the fall of 1882 pur- 
chased a ticket for America, and sailed from 
Copenhagen, landing at New York nineteen 
davs later. He had pre\'iously made some 
slight study of the English language, and 
was not handicapped as so many of his 
countrymen have been. Reaching W'au- 
paca with scarcely more than a dollar in his 
pockets, he expended the whole amount for 
leggins and rubbers, and spent the winter in 
the woods. And the following summer he 
farmed. Resuming the life of a lumberman 
the second winter, he became seriously ill, 
and returned to his native land, either to 
recover or die. He had by strict economy 
saved some money, though he had sent 
some home, and had made a small purchase 
payment on eighty acres of land in St. 
Lawrence township, ^^'aupaca count}'. 

He remained in Denmark three months 
and recuperated. Returning to \\'aupaca 
he again took up the ceaseless toil of life. 
He purchased 160 acres of land in Sec- 
tion 30, Farmington township, involv- 
ing himself for almost the entire amount. 
Renting the St. Lawrence place, he moved 
to his new purchase in Farmington with a 
single purpose, to prepare a home for him- 
self there, and to that end he labored un- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



259 



ceasingl}- and saved. The third trip from 
America to Denmark was made in February, 
1887. This time he went to claim his 
bride, his former sweetheart. He was no 
longer without means or prospects. He 
was a prosperous well-to-do farmer, able 
to furnish a house comfortably, in lu.xury if 
need be. The parental ban was withdrawn, 
and the marriage banns were piublished. 
S. J. Uhrenholdt and Christine Toren were 
married, and together they came to the 
Wisconsin home which he had prepared. 
Mr. Uhrenholdt has lived here ever since. 
He now owns 320 acres of land, of which 
175 acres are tillable. The home farm is 
under a high state of cultivation. He has 
become one of the most prominent farm- 
ers of Waupaca count}-. Not content with 
the scope of knowledge ordinarily acquired 
by a farmer, he is constantly observing and 
reading. With naturally quick mental 
powers, this ambition to become a farmer 
in the highest sense of the word is having 
its just reward. New and improved meth- 
ods of farming he has introduced with great 
profit to himself. And it is not by the 
close accumulation of his gains that Mr. 
Uhrenholdt is rising to affluence. He does 
not stint himself or his family, but brings 
into the home many comforts and luxuries, 
far beyond the custom of many others in 
equally good circumstances. His forte lies 
in opening up new avenues of agricultural 
wealth, and in the application of judicious 
management. He is now one of the chief 
potato raisers of his township. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Uhren- 
holdt are Jens, Christine, Johanna and An- 
drew, all living. Himself and wife are 
members of the Lutheran Church. Politic- 
ally he is a Democrat, though not bound by 
party lines, for he votes for the men and 
the measures he deems the best. He is a 
warm friend of free trade, for practical and 
original reasons. Mr. Uhrenholdt constant- 
ly broadens his field of knowledge from 
whatever sources are available, and he is re- 
markabl}' well informed on the issues of the 
day, political, educational and otherwise. 
He has not only crossed the ocean five 
times, but has visited the great Northwest, 
and spent considerable time at the World's 



Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. 
It would be difficult to find in Waupaca 
county a success in life more brilliant than 
his. 



ALFERD D. LYTLE is at the present 
time engineer of the city waterworks 
of Merrill, Lincoln county, in which 
city he has made his home since the 
fall of 1 88 1. Wisconsin claims him as one 
of her native sons, his birth having occurred 
October 19, 1853, in Stockton, Portage 
county. 

His father, James E. Lytle, was born in 
Richmond, Va. , in 18 16, and little is known 
of the ancestors of our subject, save that the 
paternal grandfather was drowi>ed when 
James E. was a mere boy. The latter went 
to New York, where he married Fannie 
Dymond, who was born there in 1818 to 
John and Mary Dymond. Her parents had 
both been previously married, having chil- 
dren by those unions, but Mrs. Lytle had but 
one own brother and two sisters: Royal, 
Miranda and Clara. James E. Lytle be- 
came an early settler of Plover, Portage Co. , 
Wis., arriving there in 1S48. Near that 
place he cleared and developed a farm, but 
now makes his home with his son William, 
at Stevens Point, Wis. He is a Republi- 
can in political sentiment, though he has 
taken no active part in politics. His wife 
crossed the dark river December 7, 1893. 
In their family were nine children, onl\- four 
of whom survive: George H., Alferd D., 
William T. , and John D. Frank died at 
the age of thirteen years; Maria at the age 
of nine; Sanford when six, Herman when 
two, and Horace in infancy. 

Alferd D. Lytle, whose name introduces 
this record, was reared to agricultural pur- 
suits, remaining on the home farm until he 
had attained his majority, although he had 
previously worked for others, being at the age 
of sixteen employed as a farm hand. His 
educational advantages were such as the 
district schools of the neighborhood afforded. 
At the age of twenty-one he became fireman 
in a sawmill, where he learned the trade of 
an engineer, which has been his chief occu- 
pation ever since. In the spring of 1876 he 



26o 



COliMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was given charge of an engine on the Wis- 
consin Central railroad; in the fall of 1881, 
he came to Merrill, being in the employ of 
the Merrill Boom Company, running the en- 
gine with which they drove piles. For two 
winters our subject worked in the lumber 
woods of Wisconsin, but most of his busi- 
ness life has been devoted to engineering. 

At Spencer, Wis., in the spring of 1877, 
Mr. Lytle was united in marriage with 
Sarah Ruth Nutting, a daughter of Edmond 
and Caroline Hopkins (Parmelee) Nutting. 
She was born in Pittsford, Rutland Co., 
\i., in 1855, and is one of a family of eleven 
children, the others living being Lottie, 
Ella, Albertina and Frances, the rest hav- 
ing died in infancy. The father's death oc- 
curred in 1 87 1, and the mother later became 
the wife of C. C. Lyon, who died in 1886, 
by which union there is one child, Samuel 
S. To Mr. and Mrs. Lytle were born four 
children: I^ottie Luella, Arthur Erwin, Berte 
Alford and Fred Delbert, ; Lottie and Fred 
died in infancy. Mr. Lytle is prominently 
identified with the Republican party, and 
for one year served as city marshal of Mer- 
rill. Since April, 1893, he has been engi- 
neer of the city waterworks, and is well 
qualified to fill that responsible position. 
Both in business circles and in private life 
he is honored and esteemed for his upright 
character. He is a man whose word can be 
relied upon, and whose promise is considered 
as good as his bond. Socially he is a mem- 
ber of Jennie Lodge, No. 32, I. O. O. F., 
and he belonged to the Brotherhood of 
Stationary Engineers of Wausau, No. 10. 



JACOB J. GRAEBEL, a prominent 
merchant of Wausau, Marathon coun- 
ty, was born in Bavaria, Germany, 
June 25, 1854, and is a son of Nicholas 
and Louisa Graebel, who were both born in 
Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Graebel 
were the parents of five children, namely: 
Frederick, residing in the town of Hamburg, 
Marathon county; Jacob J., the subject of 
this sketch; Nicholas (Jr. ), residing in Wau- 
sau; Louisa, wife of Ludwick Schaumbur- 
ger, in Wausau, and Marguerita, wife of 
Julius Wittke, of the town of Weston, Mar- 



athon county. The father, Nicholas Grae- 
bel, Sr. , died in his native land. His 
widow, who, in 1881, came from Germany 
to America, married again, her second 
husband being Simon Schaumburger, by 
whom also she had five children, all now 
living. They are: Katherine, wife of Pat- 
rick Burns, who resides in Wausau, Simon 
and Charles, who are in Wausau; Caroline, 
wife of Richard Hanish, in Wausau; and 
Mary, wife of Earnest Hanish, in Wausau. 
The mother, ^frs. Simon Schaumburger, 
also resides in Wausau. 

Jacob J. Graebel was reared and edu- 
cated in the Fatherland. After leaving 
school he learned the trade of a silk plush 
weaver, and followed it until 1883. Then, 
with his wife and family he removed to the 
United States and located in Wausau, Mar- 
athon Co., Wis., and in 1884 engaged in 
his present business. In 1879, in Germany, 
Jacob J. Graebel was united in marriage 
with Miss Katherine Emich, and to their 
union have been born nine children, of whom 
six are living: Katherine, Augusta, William 
F. , Annie, Benjamin H. and Joseph. The 
parents of Mrs. Graebel, Philip and Fran- 
cisca Emich, were born in German)', and 
are now deceased. In his political views, 
Mr. Graebel is liberal. In religious associa- 
tion the family are attendants of St. Paul's 
Evangelical Church. 



WILLIAM G. COLLAR was born at 
Kansasville, Racine Co., Wis., 
May 3, 1858, and is a son of Dan- 
iel N. Collar, whose father, Jared 
Collar, was born in Massachusetts in 1791. 
Their ancestors were prominent men in Co- 
lonial daj's. Jared Collar married a lady 
by the name of Rhoda Northway, and they 
became the parents of the following named 
children: Oman, Aurin, Daniel N., Erastus, 
Moses, Jared, Harriet, Rhoda, Merton P., 
and one daughter who died young. He 
came with his family to Wisconsin in ICS37, 
and settled in Racine county on wild land. 
Jared Collar lived with his son Daniel up to 
the time of his death, and died on the old 
homestead in Racine county. Wis., in 1878 
in his eighty-seventh year. He was well- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



261 



to-do, a man of sterling worth, and a prom- 
inent Republican. His wife died twenty- 
one years previously. 

Daniel N. Collar, son of Jared Collar, 
and father of the subject of this sketch, was 
born in ^fassachusetts in 1824. He re- 
ceived only a common-school education, but 
always took an active part in educational 
matters, and was elected school superintend- 
ent. In June, 1857, he married Letitia 
Ginty, who was bom in Toronto, Canada, in 
1836, and they had four children: William 
G., EllaM., Rhoda Bell (who died while 
young) and Flora G. Daniel N. Collar was 
a soldier in the Forty-seventh Wis. V. I., 
and served as commissarj'-sergeant. After 
the war he took the old homestead in Racine 
county, where he now lives. His wife's 
mother lives with him at the advanced age 
of ninety-three j'ears. 

The parents of Mrs. Daniel N. Collar, 
James and Mary Ann (Clay) Ginty, were 
born in Ireland, and came to Toronto, Can- 
ada, while young. They were married in 
that city in 1831. Seven of the ten chil- 
dren born to this union were: George C, 
John, William, Thomas, Henry, Eliza and 
Letitia, all of whom grew to maturity. James 
Ginty was a tailor by occupation, and came 
with his family to Racine, Wis., about 1845. 
He served throughout the late Civil war, 
enlisting in the Twenty-second Wis. V. I., 
in 1865 was commissioned a first lieutenant 
in the Forty-seventh Wis. V. I., and served 
in that capacity until the close of the war. 
He was for a time a prisoner of war and was 
confined with the Twenty-second in Libby 
prison. In 1866, he was appointed deputy 
light- house keeper at Racine, Wis., which 
position he held for about fifteen years. His 
death occurred in 1888. His sons Henry and 
Thomas were killed during the war — Thomas 
at Lookout Mountain; and Henry, who was 
in the navy, was on one of the vessels sunk 
by the " Merrimac " in Hampton Roads in 
1 862. He was wounded and taken prisoner, 
but escaped from prison, was reported dead, 
and his funeral sermon was preached at 
Racine, Wis. He returned to Racine, and, 
as soon as well, enlisted again, was given a 
commission as lieutenant for bravery on the 
battlefield, and subsequently was killed on 



the skirmish line. George C. was a col- 
onel in the same regiment with his father, 
the Forty-seventh Wis. V. I., and both 
served with marked distinction. 

William G. Collar was reared on the 
farm, educated in the district schools, left 
home when sixteen, and went to Minnesota, 
working on a farm, driving a breaking team 
and threshing. In the winter he taught 
the district school in the township of Nor- 
way, Racine Co., Wis., and in the fall of 
1873 went to work in the lumberyard at 
Union Grove, Racine county. The follow- 
ing spring he went to Racine and engaged 
with the lumber firm of TruRibull & Doud. 
remaining with them some ten years, first 
working as a common laborer one year, then 
as foreman of the yard for four years, and 
finally went out on the road as salesman, 
continuing until the firm went out of busi- 
ness. He came to Merrill, Lincoln Co., 
Wis., in the spring of 1887, was in the em- 
ploy of the Merrill Lumber Co. for three 
years, then, in July, 1890, became superin- 
tendent of the Champagne Lumber Co. 
After one year, on the death of Mr. Cham- 
pagne, he was made manager. In 1892 
he bought some stock in the concern, and 
in December of that year was made treas- 
urer and manager. 

In August, 1894, Mr. Collar married 
Agnes McGuire, born in Wisconsin, and 
daughter of John McGuire. In politics 
Mr. Collar is a Republican. He is a 32nd- 
degree Mason of the Wisconsin Consistory, 
a Knight of Pythias, past chancellor of the 
lodge, senior and district deputy grand chan- 
cellor; and is also a member of the Order 
of Elks. He has traveled considerably over 
the United States, and is largely what is 
termed a self-made man. 



M 



1874, 



ISS HATTIE B. MOBERG. edi- 
tor and publisher of the Amherst 
Advocate, was born in Amherst, 
Portage county, November 8, 
and is a daughter of Andrew and 
Prudence E. (Buck) Aloberg. 

Miss Moberg is a graduate of the Am- 
herst High School; conunenced work as a 
job printer at the age of fifteen, taking 



262 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



charjje of her brother's office at his death; 
and February i, 1893, commenced the pub- 
lication of the Amherst Advocate in connec- 
tion with Prof. Haven. In July, 1894, Prof. 
Haven disposed of his interest in the paper, 
and since that date Miss Moberg has been 
sole proprietor of the Advocate, which has 
a large circulation throughout the county. 

Andrew Moberg, father of the subject of 
this sketch, is a harness-maker by occupa- 
tion, and a highly respected resident of 
Amherst, Portage county. He was born in 
Sweden February 20, 1843, and is a son of 
Andrew and Beata Moberg. both natives of 
Sweden. In 1846 Mr. Moberg came to 
America with his mother, who soon after 
died in New York, leaving three children. 
Mr. Moberg was placed under guardianship 
of Peter Hilstrum, of Bishop Hill, 111., with 
whom he lived until he was twelve years of 
age, when he resisted his authority and 
started out to work for himself. He re- 
ceived a limited education in the district 
schools of Bishop Hill. In i860 he went to 
Galesburg, III, commenced work at the 
harness-making business, and remained 
there until July i, 1862, when he enlisted in 
Company E, Seventy-first 111. V. I. He 
served until October 21, 1S62, receiving his 
discharge on that date, and went to Chicago. 
He resumed his trade of harness-making, at 
which he continued to work in different 
parts of Illinois until December, 1S64; then 
removed to Wisconsin. In January, 1865, 
he located in Stevens Point, Portage coun- 
ty, where he continued to follow his trade, 
and in the fall of that year removed to 
the village of Amherst, where he has since 
resided. 

On December 24, 1872, in Amherst, 
Portage county, Andrew Moberg was united 
in marriage with Miss Prudence E. Buck, 
and they have become the parents of the 
following named children: Chester E.,who 
died at Moline, 111., July 6, 1890; Hattie 
B. (whose name introduces these lines), Lo- 
renzo P., Lucy A., Charles, F. H., James 
L., Adelbert, Theresa G. and George S. 
Mrs. Moberg is a daughter of Charles E. 
and Harriet Buck. Mr. Moberg is a stanch 
Republican, and has served as postmaster 
of Amherst for two and a half years, and is 



a member, socially, of the Modern Wood- 
men of America. The family attend the 
Methodist Church. 



GEORGE W. LATTA, attorney at 
law in Antigo, Langlade count}-, 
has the distinction of having been 
the first lawyer in that county, and 
holds a prominent place in the public and 
social life of the thriving little town. 

The father of our subject, Benjamin 
Latta, was born in Erie county, N. Y. , in 
1816, and but little is known of his ances- 
tors, except that they came from Ireland. 
His father visited Wisconsin at one time 
and died of cholera on the boat on his way 
home. The mother had died sometime 
previous to this, leaving ten children, of 
wljom five sons and two daughters were 
Benjamin's own brothers and sisters, and 
two were step-brothers. Benjamin Latta 
was married in New York, in 1S41, to 
Deborah C. Stevens, who was born in 181 7 
in Clarence Hollow, that State. Her 
father, whose ancestors came from Ger- 
many, was a farmer and hotel-keeper, and 
had a family of ten children. Mr. Latta 
came west in 1845, ^^^ located on govern- 
ment land in Rock county, the same prop- 
erty on which he now resides. Two years 
later his wife and family, consisting at that 
time of three children, joined him, coming 
by boat from Buffalo to Chicago and thence 
to their future home. It was then a wilder- 
ness, but time and hard labor have wrought 
great changes, and Mr. Latta has not only 
made of it a valuable property, but has in- 
creased the acreage until the farm now com- 
prises about 300 acres, all highly cultivated. 
As an incident of those early days it maybe 
mentioned that the material used in the 
house then built, and in which the familj- 
still reside, was brought by team all the way 
from Milwaukee. To this pioneer couple 
ten children were born, as follows: Susan, 
who became the wife of William Stewart, 
a farmer in Rock county; William, also 
farming in that county; Benjamin Frank, 
an attorney in St. Paul; Almettie E., de- 
ceased; Albert W. ; George W., our subject; 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



263 



Darius K., who lives on the old homestead; 
Josephine, who is now Mrs. Coles; Ida, who 
is Mrs. Liddle; and Ulysses G., who is a 
physician in Chicago. Sickness came and 
the wife and mother was taken from them 
in 1887. Mr. Latta is a quiet, unassuming 
man in the locality in which he has lived, 
and commands the respect and esteem of 
all who know him. 

George W. Latta, the subject of this 
sketch, was born in the town of Bradford, 
Rock Co. , Wis., July 29, 1851. He was 
graduated from Albion Academy, in Dane 
county, Wis., at the age of twenty-one 
years, after completing a four-years' course. 
He then went to the State University, at 
Madison, entering the Law Department, 
from which he was graduated in 1874. In 
October of the same year he took up his 
residence in Shawano, Wis. , and began the 
practice of law. He remained there until 
the spring of 1881, when he removed to An- 
tigo, Langlade county, where he has since 
made his home. He has an extensive prac- 
tice, and commands the respect and confi- 
dence of the entire community. In politics 
Mr. Latta is a Republican, and has always 
been prominent in his party, having held 
many minor offices and been a frequent del- 
egate to State conventions. He was the 
first district attorney of Langlade county, 
and after holding the office four years de- 
clined to accept it again. Athough his dis- 
trict was considered as strongly Democratic, 
he was elected to the Assembly in 1894 by 
a majority of 300 votes. He is a member 
of the Masonic Order, belonging to the Blue 
Lodge at Antigo, and Concatenated Order 
of Hoo-hoo. 

Mr. Latta was married, October i, 
1878, to Rachel Lawton, who was born in 
Dane county. Wis., daughter of Alancen B. 
and Abigail (Potter) Lawton. The father 
was a farmer, mill owner and merchant, 
and now resides with his daughter Rachel, 
the mother having died in 1886. There was 
but one other child in this family, Sarah, 
who is also deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Latta three children have been born: Maud 
A., Grace D. and Georgiana W. Mr. Latta 
occupies one of the finest homes in Antigo, 
a beautiful house surrounded by large and 



well-improved grounds, and he and his es- 
timable wife dispense a generous hospital- 
ity which makes them very popular hosts. 



PHIL PLUNKETT, now roadmaster 
for the Chicago & North Western rail- 
road on the branches leading from 
Clintonville to Oconto and Marsh- 
field, Wis., is one of the prominent and 
leading citizens of Waupaca county, where 
he has made his home since the establish- 
ment of the road here in 1879. He was 
formerly connected with the Lake Shore 
railroad before it became the North Western 
system, and aided in its construction from 
Clintonville to Rock Cut, being roadmaster 
at that time. Ireland has furnished many 
of the leading men of Waupaca county, and 
among these is numbered Mr. Plunkett, who 
was born in Crferm, on that Isle, in 1837, 
being a son of James and Mary (Clark) 
Plunkett, who were also natives of the Em- 
erald Isle, and there lived and died. Their 
family consisted of the following children: 
Phil, of this sketch; Thomas (deceased), 
who was a resident of Stamford, Conn.; 
Richard (deceased), \yho lived in Jersey 
City, N. J. ; and Patrick (deceased), who 
made his home in Syracuse, N. Y., and was 
an employe of the New York Central Rail- 
road Company. 

Mr. Plunkett, whose name opens this 
record, left his native land at the age of 
fourteen for America, landing in New York, 
where he made his home five years, when 
he came to Wisconsin. His whole life has 
been devoted to railroad work, and his long 
continuance in the employ of one road shows 
the fidelity with which he discharges his 
duties, having the unprecedented record of not 
losing a single day's time in thirty-six years. 
Mr. Plunkett arrived in Ripon, Wis., on the 
completion of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul railroad to that city, at eight o'clock in 
the evening, November 15, 1856, and there 
continued to reside nineteen years, being 
connected with the St. Paul system during 
that entire time. From 1875 until 1879 he 
served as roadmaster for the Sheboygan tS: 
Fond du Lac railroad. While in Ripon, 
he had charge of the yard for twelve years, 



264 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



but before coming to this State he was also 
engaged in railroad work, helping to lay the 
track from Utica to Boonville, N. Y. , in the 
employ of Phelps & Kenney, and then en- 
gaged in railroad construction in South 
Carolina; he also laid track from London to 
Port Stanley, Canada West. 

In February, i860, in Ripon, Wis., Mr. 
Plunkett was joined in wedlock with Miss 
Alice Moran, daughter of David Moran, an 
early settler of Springvale, Wis. To our 
subject and wife have been born three chil- 
dren: Mary, who was a teacher in Clinton- 
ville. Wis., and died in 1886; Alice; and 
James, a railroad employe at Des Moines, 
Iowa. In politics, Mr. Plunkett is a Re- 
publican, and takes an active interest in the 
welfare of his party, to which he gives his 
earnest support. During his residence in 
Waupaca county he has won the respect and 
confidence of all with whom he has come in 
contact, and is justly numbered among her 
worthy and representative citizens. 



ALBERT C. LOUCKS. Among the 
highly esteemed and prominent young 
citizens of Marshfield, Wood county, 
is this gentleman, who is a western 
man by birth and training, for he was born 
in Clinton county, Iowa, March 6, 1865. 

His father, Dewitt C. Loucks, was 
born in Niagara county, N. Y. , March 29, 
1838, and the grandfather, Christopher 
Loucks, was born in Pennsylvania m 1803, 
while the great-grandfather, Adam Loucks, 
was a native of Germany, and when a young 
man emigrated to America. He was a sol- 
dier and officer in the Revolutionary war, 
and married Elizabeth Foss, whose father 
was a colonel in the struggle for independ- 
ence. For a livelihood he followed farming 
in Pennsylvania for a time, and later re- 
moved with his family to the Mohawk Val- 
ley in New York State, and subsequently to 
Niagara county, N. Y., where he passed 
away in 1861. He was a well-informed 
man, and a substantial farmer who acquired 
a competence through his own efforts. His 
wife survived him but a short time. They 
had a family of seven children: Peter, 



Christopher, Charles, Margaret, Dorothea, 
Elizabeth and Mary. Christopher Loucks 
also followed farming, and married Elizabeth 
Sill in Niagara county about 1835. The 
lady was born in the Empire State in 181 5, 
and was the youngest of the three children 
of Albert and Mary fjones) Sill, the other 
two, a son and daughter, being named for 
their parents. The father, who made farm- 
ing his life work, died in 1817, when Eliza- 
beth was only two years of age, and the 
mother afterward became the wife of Henry 
Hill, by whom she had one son, Henry. 
Her death occurred in Illinois. Mr. and 
Mrs. Christopher Loucks became the parents 
of eight children, namely: Peter, Dewitt 
C. , Orlando, Charles, Martha, Lucretia, 
Elizabeth Helen, and one, the eldest, who 
died in infancy. The father of this family 
followed farming in New York, and in 1856 
he emigrated with his family from Canada 
to Muscatine, Iowa, where he engaged in 
the hotel business. In 1866 he removed to 
Clinton, Iowa, where he died the following 
year, and there his wife passed away in 1893. 

Dewitt Loucks acquired his education 
in the common schools of Canada, and there 
remained when his parents removed to the 
Hawkeye State, being then nineteen years 
of age; but in 1859 he joined his father in 
Iowa and purchased a farm. In September, 
i86r, he married Charlotte D. Clendening, 
who was born in Pennsylvania in 1837. 
Her parents, John and Margaret (Hamilton) 
Clendening, were natives of Scotland, and 
in 1 85 1 removed from the East to Musca- 
tine, Iowa, where the father dii'd in 18 58, 
while the mother survived until 1878. Their 
family of ten children comprised the follow- 
ing: Ann M., Stewart, Margaret, Thomas, 
Isabel, Charlotte, Heely, Amanda, and two 
who died in infancy; they were both named 
John, and were the first two children born 
to the parents. 

For two years after his marriage Dewitt 
Loucks followed farming and then became 
an artist, devoting his time to that work for 
a considerable period in Illinois. In 1864 
he removed to Clinton, Iowa, where for six- 
teen years he was employed as a filer, then 
leasing a farm in the Hawkeye State, oper- 
ated it for five years, after which, in July, 



COldMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



265 



1888, he came to Marshfield, Wis. Six 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Loucks: 
Albert, Walter, Helena and Minnie, all yet 
living, and Helen and Amanda who died in 
chilcihood. The father of this family is a 
stalwart Republican, and labors earnestly 
for the support of his friends, but has never 
sought office for himself. He and his wife 
are consistent members of the Methodist 
Church, and he is a member of the Odd 
Fellows Society and a prominent worker in 
the Modern Woodmen of America, in the 
interest of which he has traveled for the past 
four years, organizing new lodges through- 
out Wisconsin. He is also connected with 
the Woodmen of the World. 

We now again take up the personal history 
of Albert C. Loucks, who attended the com- 
mon schools until seventeen years of age 
and then left home, going to Omaha, Neb., 
where he worked as a common laborer. 
He had previously learned the trade of saw- 
filing. At the age of eighteen he joined a 
surveying party in Omaha on the Union 
Pacific railroad, and worked with them for 
more than three years, when he came to 
Marshfield and worked for the Upham Man- 
ufacturing Co., when he met with an acci- 
dent, breaking his leg, and for some time 
was disabled, but as soon as possible began 
work in a machine shop, where he remained 
for a year. He then went to Appleton, 
Wis., and on to Milwaukee, where he met 
with another accident, and again returned to 
Marshfield. Here he was employed as bag- 
gagemaster at the Omaha depot until March, 
1 891, when he established a livery barn, and 
is now at the head of a successful business. 

On November 26, 1891, in Marshfield, 
Wis., was celebrated the marriage of Mr. 
Albert Loucks and Miss Caroline Horn, a 
native of Brillion, and a daughter of Chris- 
tian and Amelia (Werner) Horn. Her father 
was born in Lobstein, Germany, May 13, 
1827, emigrated to America, landing in 
New York in 1852, was married February 
28, 1857, and later removed to Brillion, 
Wis., where he engaged in farming. His 
death occurred April 14, 1884. His wife 
was born in Sa.xony, Germany, June 24, 
1826, and passed away December 5, 1882. 
They had three children — Caroline; Henry, 



a druggist of Marshfield; and Herman, a 
farmer of Brillion, Wisconsin. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Loucks has 
been blessed with one interesting child, 
Irma Gwendoline, who was born July 30, 
1893. In politics our subject was formerly 
a Republican, but is now a Democrat, and 
in his social relations he is a member of the 
Modern Woodmen. His life has been well 
spent, and he is a worthy representative of 
an honored family, and enjoys the respect 
and confidence of a large circle of friends. 



CYRENIUS ROGERS was born in 
Clayton township, Winnebago Co., 
Wis., April 5, 1849, and is a son of 
Elias and Thankful (Patch) Rogers, 
the former a native of the State of New 
York, born September 5, 18 10, and the lat- 
ter of Vermont, born June 3, 18 12. The 
grandfather was Samuel Rogers, who passed 
his last days in the home of his son Elias. 
The latter was married in New York, and 
had a family of four children: Henry, of 
Oregon; Harriet, widow of Tyler Cole, and 
a resident of Neenah, Wis. ; Elias, who 
died in Dayton township, Waupaca county; 
and Mary A., who became the wife of 
Courtney Scott, and died near Winneconne, 
Wis. In September, 1839, Samuel Rogers 
came to Walworth county. Wis., secured a 
claim on which he remained one year, when 
he returned to New York, and one year 
later, accompanied by his son Elias and 
family, returned to the claim, arriving in 
the county in September, 1841. Here they 
remained until in January, 1849, when they 
removed to Clayton township, Winnebago 
county, Elias having selected land there the 
previous fall. A daughter Lucy, who was 
born in Walworth county, died at the age 
of six years. In Clayton township, Elias 
Rogers purchased a partially improved farm, 
and added to it until at one time he had 
200 acres of rich land. The children born 
on that farm were Cyrenius, and Almeda, 
who died at the age of six-and-a-half years. 
The first of the Rogers family to come 
to Dayton township, Waupaca count}', were 
two brothers of our subject, Henry and 



266 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIC AL RECORD. 



Elias, who in the spring of 1854 selected 
claims in Sections 18 and 19 — about 320 
acres in its primitive condition. In the fall 
of the same year the father took up his resi- 
dence upon the farm which is now owned 
and operated by our subject, and there, de- 
voting his energies to agricultural pursuits, 
passed his remaining days, his death having 
occurred in July, 1867. He was a Republican 
and a stanch supporter of the principles of the 
party. Personally he was a robust man of 
considerable strength, and his sterling worth 
won him many friends. His widow is now 
living with her son Cyrenius Rogers. 

The district schools afforded Cyrenius 
Rogers his educational privileges, and since 
attaining to mature years he has been a 
strong friend of public schools, doing all in 
his power to promote their interest. He 
was reared upon the home farm which is 
now his property, and soon became familiar 
with farm work in its various details. He 
spent nine winters in the lumber woods, and 
also " ran the river " for a short time. When 
a young man he worked as a farm laborer 
for others and upon his father's death he 
took charge of the homestead, purchasing it 
from his mother. 

Mr. Rogers was married August 2 1 , 
1884, in Waupaca to Miss Clara Boughton, 
a native of Waupaca township, born March 
24, 1855, and a daughter of Myron and 
Maria (Patridge) Boughton, the former born 
in Wj'oming county, N. Y., the latter in 
Trumbull comity, Ohio. Mrs. Rogers is a 
lady of culture and refinement, and in her 
maidenhood attended the high school of 
Waupaca, after which she successfully 
taught school in Waupaca county twelve 
terms, and two terms in Steuben county, 
Indiana. The marriage has resulted in the 
following children: Frederick A., born Octo- 
ber 13, 1885; and Elsie M., born April 3, 
1892. With their parents they constitute 
an interesting little family who have a pleas- 
ant home on a 160-acre farm which yields 
to the owner a good income. Mr. and Mrs. 
Rogers are members of the Methodist 
Church. Mr. Rogers is identified with the 
Republican party, and is well known and 
highly respected in the community where 
he has resided for forty years. 



JAMES MEIIvLEJOHN, a highly-re- 
spected citizen of Rhinelander, Oneida 
county, where he conducts a prosperous 
mill-wright business, is a native of the 
Province of Ontario, Canada, born April 3, 
1 85 I, in the County of Hastings. 

His father, also named James, was born 
in Scotland in 1 8 1 8, a son of William Meikle- 
john, a weaver, who had a family of five 
sons and two daughters, the names of the 
sons being James, John, Peter, William and 
David. Of these James emigrated to Cana- 
da in 1842, settling on a farm in Hastings 
county, Ontario. In Scotland he had mar- 
ried Margaret Lindsay, who was born there 
in 1 8 16, daughter of Andrew Lindsay, a 
farmer, who came to the United States and 
about the year 1844 settled on wild land in 
Lafayette county. Wis., where he died. To 
Mr. and Mrs. James Meiklejohn, Sr. , were 
born in Canada the following named nine 
children : William, Eliza, Andrew, James, 
Isabella, John, Margaret, Lindsay and 
Sarah. The father was accidentally killed in 
1865 by falling off a building, and he was in 
such affluent circumstances that he left to 
his family a fine farm of 300 acres clear of 
debt, and here the widowed mother now 
lives with her son John. William Meikle- 
john, grandfather of our subject, followed 
his son James to Canada, settling near him, 
and there followed his trade up to his death, 
which occurred in 1870. 

The subject proper of this sketch, whose 
name appears at the opening, was reared on 
his father's farm, and there remained until 
he was seventeen years old, when he com- 
menced to learn the trade of carpenter, 
which he followed three years in Canada. 
In 1 87 1 he moved to Michigan, for a time 
working at his trade in Colon, St. Joseph 
county, whence after the Chicago fire he went 
to that city, but after a short time he came 
to Wisconsin, the first winter making his 
home with his uncle in Lafayette county. 
In the following spring he proceeded to In- 
dependence, Iowa, where he made his home 
until Christmas, when he returned to Wis- 
consin. In the summer of the ne.xt year he 
went to St. Louis, Mo., remaining there 
till Christmas, then, again coming to Wis- 
consin, resided here four more years, or un- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQBAPEICAL REUORD. 



367 



til his marriage, all the time — in Independ- 
ence, St. Louis and Wisconsin — following 
his trade. In 1876, having married, he 
and his young wife moved to Hastings coun- 
t}', Canada, residing there four years, Mr. 
Meikiejohn having rented a sawmill where- 
in he manufactured lumber. In 1880 he 
once more came to Wisconsin, in the south- 
ern portion, where he worked in the lead 
mines, in the following spring moving to 
Wausau, where he followed the trade of 
mill-wright some five years. This brings us 
now to 1887, the year of our subject's com- 
ing to Khinelander, where for two years he 
worked for Brown Bros. Lumber Co., the 
ne.xt year building several mills, and in 1890 
he formed a partnership with John M. Olsen 
in the manufacture of lumber, under the 
firm name of Olsen & Meikiejohn; in 1893 
Mr. Olsen died, and Mr. Meikiejohn has 
since conducted the business alone. 

In 1876 our subject was married to Miss 
Sarah J. Horsley, who was born in Lafay- 
ette county. Wis., in 1858, daughter of 
William and Mary (Bramwell) Horsley, 
who had a family of six children : John, 
Henry, Hudson, Sarah J., William and 
Bramwell; the father of these, who is a lead 
miner by occupation, is still living, but the 
mother died in 1889. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Meikejohn has come one child. Earnest H., 
born in 1877, and now (1895J studying law 
in Miller & McCormick's office, Rhinelander. 
Politically our subject is a Democrat; social- 
ly he is a member of the F. & A. M. Lodge 
at Khinelander. 



CHARLES TEIPNER, who ranks 
among the foremost of the success- 
ful, energetic citizens of Antigo, 
Langlade county, was born October 
12, 1850, at O.shkosh, Wis., a son of 
Charles and Annie Teipner. 

The father of our subject was born in 
Sa.xony, Germany, in February, 1818, and 
was twice married in that country, having 
by his first wife one son, August, who came 
to this country, served in the war of the Re- 
bellion, in Company B, Third Wisconsin 
Cavalry, at the end of three years returning 
home, and then re-enlisting in the same 



regiment and company. He died in the 
spring of 1864 at Little Rock, Ark., of 
wounds received in battle. By Mr. Teip- 
ner's second marriage there were seven chil- 
dren: Charles, Julius, Frederick, Edwin, 
Dorothea, Laura, and Anna. The father, 
who was an upholsterer and harness maker 
by trade, came to America, in 1848, and 
making his first New-World home in Mil- 
waukee, worked there at the butcher's trade 
some eighteen months. He then went to 
Oshkosh, and later came to Antigo, where 
he now resides. His wife is also living. 

The subject of these lines, whose name 
introduces this sketch, received his educa- 
tion at the common schools of Oshkosh, 
which was supplemented by a course of 
study at t'he Business College of that city. 
At the age of twenty-one years he com- 
menced to learn the butchering business, 
and remained in Oshkosh until 1874, follow- 
ing his trade and dealing in horses. He 
then went on the road as salesman for a 
Chicago firm, manufacturers of and dealers in 
buggies, his route being throughout Wiscon- 
sin and Iowa, and after a couple of years 
returned to Oshkosh. He then took a trip 
to southern Kansas, and there established a 
hog ranch, raising and marketing hogs; but 
after a year he sold out and opened a 
butcher shop at Girard, Kansas, which, in 
1879, he also disposed of. In December of 
that year he set out for Antigo, Wisconsin, 
(where his brother Julius had settled some 
eight months before), traveling by rail to 
Clintonville, thence by stage to Shawano, 
thence to Langlade with a team conveying 
necessary provisions, from that point walk- 
ing to Antigo, a distance of twenty-five 
miles. That now flourishing city then con- 
sisted of seven log shanties, with a mill in 
course of construction, and here the two 
brothers set to work to build a log house, a 
species of inn, which was the first place in 
that section where there was to be found 
"entertainment for man and beast," the 
necessary supplies being brought all the way 
from Wausau, thirty-five miles distant, 
which at that time was also the nearest post- 
office. Charles and Julius have ever since 
been in business together, the old log house 
being replaced by their present frame hotel 



268 



COMMBMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



building, which they erected in 1884-5. 
They have been also engaged, more or less, 
in logging, handling real estate and dealing 
extensively in horses, not only buying and 
selling, but breeding high-grade horses, hav- 
ing brought into the county the first stand- 
ard-bred horse (a Hambletonian) ever seen 
in this section of the country. In the lum- 
ber branch of their extensive business they 
have always bought their pine standing, cut 
it, logged it, and sold their own logs. 

Politically, our subject is a Democrat, 
casting his first vote for Horace Greeley, 
and has always taken an active interest in 
the growth and prosperity of the county and 
city in which he has lived for the past fifteen 
years. He served as clerk of the court one 
term, as under sheriff, and as member of the 
city council and school board. He is a stock- 
holder in the Langlade County Bank, and in 
the Antigo Driving Park Association, of 
which latter he is president. Neither of the 
brothers is married, but they are wedded to 
their business in which they have justly 
earned so high a reputation for honesty and 
integrity. 



LOUIS BKRGNER. One of the most 
prominent and substantial business 
men of Pulcifer, Green Valley town- 
ship, Shawano county, is Mr. Berg- 
ner. He was born in Schwarzburg-Rudol- 
stadt, Germany, July 2, 1843, and is a son 
of George and Elizabeth (Machleith) Berg- 
ner, who was born in the afore-mentioned 
place. 

George Bergner was well educated, and 
when a young man learned the trade of a 
mason, which he followed all his life. He 
came to the United States in 1868 with his 
wife and two of their children, the majority 
of their family having preceded them. They 
landed in New York and there located. 
About five years later, when sixty-seven 
years of age, Mr. Bergner died at the home 
of his son Louis, who is the subject proper 
of this sketch. His wife, who survives him, 
still resides in New York, at the age of 
eighty-four. Their children were as fol- 
lows: Julia Anna, deceased wife of Fred 
Koch, of Eort Howard, Wis. ; Emma, now 



Mrs. Richard Walter, of New York; Rich- 
ard, deceased; Charles, a contractor, resid- 
ing in Germany; Henry, a dentist, in New 
York; Augusta, now Mrs. De Buse, of New 
York; Louis, and Christian, a resident of 
Pulcifer, Wisconsin. 

Louis Bergner received a good common- 
school education, and at the age of fourteen 
commenced to learn the trade of a mill- 
wright. He served an apprenticeship of three 
years, worked one year at the trade, and 
then started to learn the trade of a miller, 
at which he worked for four years. In July, 
1866, he sailed from Hamburg for the 
United States on the steamer "Germania, " 
and landed in New York after a voyage of 
fifteen days. He worked there one year as 
cabinet maker and carpenter, having ac- 
quired considerable knowledge of both these 
trades in Germany. In the fall of 1867 he 
went to Fort Howard, Brown Co., Wis., 
and procured work in a sash and door fac- 
tory, at which business he continued for 
nine years. 

In the year 1868, Louis Bergner was 
united in marriage, at Fort Howard, with 
Miss Augusta Steuk, who was born in Prus- 
sia, August 9, 1847, and they have had the 
following named children: Albert, born 
February 2, 1869, married Annie Krueger, 
and resides in Pulcifer; Henry, born March 
20, 1 87 1, married Mary Hanson, and they 
reside in Pulcifer; Louisa, born May 20, 
1873, and Hermina, born February 20, 
1877, both at home. Miss Augusta Steuk, 
now Mrs. Louis Berger, came to the United 
States about 1867. Her parents, Ardman 
and Wilhelmina (Geske) Steuk followed her 
a few years later, and first settled on Long 
Island, afterward removing to Fort How- 
ard, Wisconsin. 

In 1876 Mr. Bergner removed with his 
wife and family to Duck Creek, Brown 
county, where he worked a gristmill for one 
year. He then removed to Bonduel, Sha- 
wano county, rented a store there, and put 
in a stock of general merchandise. The 
first year in Bonduel he ran a gristmill, and 
his wife attended to the store. The second 
year he left the mill and gave his entire at- 
tention to the store. At the end of two 
years be disposed of his stock, came to 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBWAL RECORD. 



Pulcifer, bought his present site on the 
Oconto river, and put up a gristmill the 
same fall, which was in 1880. His family 
joined him the following spring. In 1882 
he built a sawmill at the side of the grist- 
mill, and in 1883 built a planing-mill. Mr. 
Bergner owns and carries on a farm of 
sixty-eight acres, fifty of which are cleared. 
He is a Republican in politics, but has 
never sought oi^ce. Both he and Mrs. 
Bergner are members of the German Lu- 
theran Church. Mr. Bergner began life a 
poor boy, and was penniless when he land- 
ed in New York. He now has a large and 
extensive business, is very popular, and has 
many friends. He has an able assistant in 
his daughter Louisa, who attends to the 
books and looks after his business in 
sreneral. 



WILLIAM ZORN, the highly-re- 
spected and popular chief of police 
of Stevens Point, Portage county, 
was born in Fessenden, Germany, 
October 1 , 1 864, and is a son of Frederick 
and Annie Zorn, who were born in Ger- 
many. They were the parents of four chil- 
dren, three of whom are living, namely: 
William, the subject of our sketch; Amelia, 
wife of Peter Ulrich, and Mary, both resid- 
ing in Germany. 

William Zorn was reared and educated 
in his native town. His boyhood days were 
spent upon the homestead farm in the Fath- 
erland, and on attaining manhood he en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits until his de- 
parture for the New World. In Germany, 
in 1857, William Zorn was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Kathrina Wagner, and to 
this union have been born ten children, most 
of whom are living, as follows: Caroline, 
wife of James Johnson, of Stevens Point; 
Louis, residing in Sacramento, Cal. ; Arthur, 
who is a fireman on the Wisconsin Central 
railroad, married to Miss Minnie Maves, of 
.\uburndale, W^is., October 31, 1894, and 
resides in Stevens Point; Carl; David and 
Richard. 

In May, 1857, Mr. Zorn left his native 
land, and came to the United States, land- 
ing at New York. He at once made his 



way West, and located at Stevens Point, 
when it was yet but a country village. Here 
he engaged in lumbering, working in the 
woods during the winter, and during the sum- 
mer months rafting timber on the Wisconsin 
river. In 1878, he was appointed to the police 
force, and in 1893 elevated to the position of 
chief. He is an efficient and deservedly pop- 
ular civic official, and fulfills the duties of his 
office with credit to himself and to the entire 
satisfaction of the comnuuiity. Mr. Zorn is 
a member of Stuinf Lodge, No. 125, I. O. 
O. F., and the family attend the Lutheran 
and Episcopal Churches. 



EDWIN L. CARPENTER, an indus- 
trious and successful farmer of Buena 
Vista township, Portage county, was 
born in Redfield, Oswego Co., 
N. Y., April 17, 1836, a son of Nathan and 
Olive (Loomis) Carpenter, both natives of 
New York. Nathan was the son of Solomon 
Carpenter, a farmer of English ancestry, 
who died in Oswego county, N. Y., at the 
age of sixty years. His five children were 
Isaac, a farmer in Michigan; Harriet, who 
married Elisha Bennett; Nathan; Sally, 
who married Amos Hurlbut; and John, who 
now lives near Wautoma, Wisconsin. 

Nathan was born in Oswego county, 
June 23, 1809. He was reared a farmer 
and in 1835 niarried Olive Loomis, by whom 
he had two children: Edwin L. , subject of 
this sketch, and Olive, who was born May 
26, 1838, married David Sidmore, a soldier 
in the Civil war, and has four children, three 
of whom, Russell B., Gertrude, and Edwin 
are living. After the death of his wife, 
Nathan Carpenter married Clarissa Bennett, 
who was born March i , i 800, and with her 
and his two children he came to Wisconsin, 
purchasing and settling on forty acres of 
wild land, in Black Wolf township, Winne- 
bago county; making a clearing and building 
a cabin, he lived here until about 1859, 
when he removed to Portage county, ex- 
changing his cleared land in Winnebago 
county for 260 acres of wild land in Buena 
Vista township. Here he began pioneer 
life anew, and here his second wife died 
March 17, 1866. For his third wife Nathan 



270 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPBICAL RECORD. 



Carpenter married Lucy Adams, who was 
born in 1808, and died December 29, 1880. 
A year after her death Mr. Carpenter made 
his home with his son Edwin L. , until his 
death, April 13, 1890. In politics Nathan 
Carpenter was a Democrat until the Harri- 
son campaign, when he voted the Repub- 
lican ticket. 

Edwin L. received a common-school 
education in his native town and in Winne- 
bago county, and he has been a farmer 
nearly all his life. When twenty-two years 
old he left home for the pineries on Trapp 
river, and was engaged in lumbering alto- 
gether about eight or ten years. Mr. Car- 
penter enlisted at Plover August 16, 1862, 
in Company E, Thirty-second Wis. V. I., 
and during service at Memphis he was sent 
to the hospital at Oxford, Miss., where he 
lay for a short time. He was then sent 
back by the provision team to Memphis, 
and was consigned to Overton Hospital, 
whence he was discharged for disability, 
February 6, 1863. Returning home, it was 
a long time before he recovered from his ill- 
ness. He was married November 10, 1867, 
to Mary L. Adams, born in Alden, 111., De- 
cember 28. 1849, daughter of John and 
Lucy (Newbury) Adams, natives of New 
York, who later moved to Buena Vista 
township. The seven children of John and 
Lucy Adams were: Julia, Eveline, Jona- 
than, Lydia Ann, Geerge, Mary and Jerome. 

After his marriage Mr. Carpenter settled 
on the farm which he now occupies, and 
which he had previously purchased. He 
built a small frame house in which they 
lived until he erected, in 1894, his present 
Commodious and pleasant home. His farm 
comprises eighty acres in Section 34, twenty 
acres in Section 32, thirty-five acres in Sec- 
tion 3, Almond township, and twenty acres 
in Section 13, Buena Vista. The seven 
children of Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter were as 
follows: Fidelia, now of Eau Claire; Al- 
mira, also of Eau Claire; Elmer, born Sep- 
tember 15, 1871, died March 18, 1872; 
Laura Viola, born April 5, 1874, a graduate 
of Almond high school, and now a teacher 
in the Bancroft schools; Oscar Eugene and 
Orin (twins), born Jime 2, 1876, the latter 
of whom died September 20, 1S76; Estella 



Eleysia, born January 31, 1885. Mr. Car- 
penter twice voted the Democratic ticket, 
but has since been a strong Republican. He 
has served his school district as director and 
clerk, but has never sought office; though 
not members of any church, the family are 
Protestant in religious belief. Mr. Carpen- 
ter is a hard-working, industrious farmer, 
intelligent and well-informed. He is fond 
of his home, and is blessed with a wife who 
is a kind-hearted, motherly lady. The 
family is highly respected. 



AR. POTTS, one of the representa- 
tive and enterprising farmers of 
Dayton township, Waupaca county, 
was the first white child born in the 
village of Rural. The date of his birth was 
September 19, 1853, and he is the son of 
Andrew and Catherine (Bell) Potts, early 
pioneers of the township. 

Andrew Potts was born January 31, 
1822, in Roxburghshire, Scotland, a son of 
William H. Potts, a man of position, educa- 
tion and influence. Andrew was reared on 
a farm, and at sixteen was apprenticed to a 
carpenter. Serving a four-years' appren- 
ticeship, he diligently applied himself to 
learn every detail of the trade, and after fol- 
lowing it for several years he looked for a 
better field of work. At the age of twenty- 
three he went to Woolwich, England, and 
found employment in the shipyards there. 
His excellence as a workman was soon per- 
ceived, and he was assigned the finishing of 
the cabins. So satisfactorx' was the cjuality 
of his work, so thorough his mastery of the 
wood-working trade, that he was soon made 
foreman. He was married in Roxburgh- 
shire, Scotland, September i, 1S46, to 
Catherine Bell, a native of that village, born 
May 20, 1820, a daughter of William and 
Elizabeth (McLean) Bell. They began 
housekeeping at Woolwich, England, and 
here two children were born, Elizabeth, 
now Mrs. John Burgojne, of Waupaca, and 
William, who died in childhood. 

Mr. Potts resolved to emigrate to Amer- 
ica, and he was told by his employers that 
should he dislike the new country his old 
place as foreman in the shipyards would be 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



271 



open to him. In April, 1853, the family 
left Woolwich, and at London took passage 
in the sailing vessel " Robert Peel," and ar- 
rixed at New York five weeks later. James 
White, an uncle of Mrs. Potts, lived at Fond 
du Lac, Wis., and that point was made the 
destination of the emigrants. They came 
via the lakes to Sheboygan, thence by stage 
to Fond du Lac. Here the family remained 
while the father went on through the woods 
and pre-empted the McCrossen farm. Sec- 
tion 3, in Dayton township. Not liking it, 
he abandoned this farm and bought the land 
in Section 10, where he afterward lived, 
paying a bonus of $50. Before he made 
payment he learned it was not a legal obli- 
gation, but he had pledged his word and 
accordingly paid the amount. Here in 
July, 1853, he brought his little family to a 
small frame house, the first on the farm; the 
land was totally without improvements. 
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Potts 
here were A. R. , subject of this sketch, and 
George R. and Catherine C, both of whom 
died in infancy. Mr. Potts was able to ac- 
quire this tract of eighty acres free of debt. 
He built the small home with his own hands, 
hewing the joists and other heavy timber by 
hand, and carrying them on his shoulder to 
the house. Besides farming he carried on 
his trade, building many of the best resi- 
dences of that time in Dayton. He re- 
mained one of the most active and enter- 
prising citizens of the township until his 
death, which occurred suddenly, April 12, 
1 89 1, from a complication which the physi- 
cians were unable to diagnose. His prop- 
erty then amounted to 370 acres of e.xcellent 
land, all won by his labor, perseverance 
and energy. He was an honest and shrewd 
business man, a systematic farmer, and 
thorough in all his undertakings. He was 
a stanch Republican in politics, and a great 
reader, especially of current events, in which 
he took deep interest. Public office was 
tendered him, but declined. A Presbyterian 
from his youth, he remained an officer of 
that Church till his death. In his own 
house he conducted the first Sabbath-school 
held in the village of Rural, and here too 
the first sermon in the village was preached. 
Since his death his widow has remained on 



the home farm, highly-respected and a de- 
vout Christian, having been a member of 
the Presbyterian Church for over si.xty years. 
She is a very intelligent woman and a great 
reader, though in early life her educational 
advantages were limited. Perhaps no man 
in Dayton township has every enjoyed a 
better reputation for honesty and fairness 
than did Andrew Potts. A Christian spirit 
pervaded all his transactions. He remained 
till death one of the pillars in the Rural 
Presbyterian Church. 

A. R. Potts, son of the above, received 
a good education, considering his advan- 
tages, and was especially adept in mathe- 
matics. He was reared on the farm, and in 
August, 1 87 1, at the age of seventeen years, 
entered the store of W. P. Quint, at Rural, 
remaining four years. During the winters 
of 1876-77 and of 1878-79 he was employed 
in the store of Hon. A. M. Kimball at Pine 
River, Wis., but the care of the home farm 
was too much for his father, and he returned 
home. On January 12, 1882, he was mar- 
ried, at Dayton, to Miss Lucy Shoemaker, 
who was born in the township January 8, 
i860, a daughter of Frederick and Jane 
(Lewis) Shoemaker, early settlers of the 
township. Miss Shoemaker had been a 
school teacher. Their children are Fred- 
erick A., born May i, 1883; Catherine B., 
born January 4, 1885, and Jennie E., born 
April 21, 1890. Since his marriage Mr. 
Potts has lived on the home farm, where he 
is also an extensive stock-raiser and a dairy 
producer. He is a stanch Republican, and 
has been township treasurer for five years, 
chairman two years, and district clerk for 
years. He and his wife are members of the 
Presbyterian Church, of which he is now a 
trustee. Mr. Potts has inherited from his 
father the principles of good citizenship, and 
is one of the most liberal and public-spirited 
residents of Dayton township. 



WILLIAM SALZMANN, by virtue 
of the distinction he enjoys of be- 
ing the most extensive lumberman 
and farmer in the comitry sur- 
rounding Tigerton, Shawano county, and 
his long residence in that locality, is entitled 



272 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



to prominent mention in the pages of this 
work. 

A native of Germany, Mr. Salzmann 
was born April 25, 1859, in the Province of 
Pommern, a son of Charles and Wilhelmina 
(Huebner) Salzmann, who had a family of 
five children, as follows: Louise, wife of 
Julins Ceuske, a farmer of Fairbanks town- 
ship, Shawano Co., Wis.; William, sub- 
ject of these lines; Augusta, who is married 
to A. G. Runge, a shoemaker and merchant 
of Merrill, Wis. ; Charles, a farmer of Mor- 
ris township, Shawano county; and Amelia, 
wife of Earnest Dick, a farmer of Swartz 
Creek, Michigan. In the Fatherland Charles 
Salzmann was a day laborer on small wages, 
and, desiring to improve his condition and 
that of his belongings, he in 1877 emigrated 
to the United States, all the family accom- 
panying him except the eldest daughter. 
Coming direct to Wisconsin and settling in 
Shawano county, the father located one year 
in Pella, and in the spring of 1878 settled 
on a homestead in Morris township, Sha- 
wano county, which, with the assistance of 
his sons W^illiam and Charles, he succeeded 
in clearing and con\erting into fertile fields 
and luxuriant meadows. The parents, as 
are also their son Charles and his family, 
are still living on the old homestead, which 
by industry and toil they have increased to 
160 acres, sixty of which are cleared. 

The subject of this memoir, William 
Salzmann, received a fairly liberal educa- 
tion at the public schools of his native land, 
and was eighteen years old when he accom- 
panied the rest of the family to the United 
States, remaining with his parents and car- 
ing for them in their declining years until 
1 89 1, when he sold out his interests to his 
brother, who, as above intimated, is still on 
the home farm in Morris township. Our 
subject then moved to Tigerton (where he 
had previously worked considerably in saw- 
mills), and bought seventy-two acres of land 
in Section 9, where he now lives. To-day 
he is the owner of 712 acres of land sit- 
uated in various parts of this portion of the 
State, on some of which there is good 
timber growing, and during the past twelve 
years he has been engaged extensively in 
lumbering, buying land from which he 



would cut the timber for sale, and then sell 
the land. In 1890-91 he bought and sold 
one million feet of hardwood logs, and each 
winter he gives employment to a large force 
of men and teams. He is essentially a lum- 
berman, using his farm as his headquarters. 
In 1886 Mr. Salzmaim was united in 
marriage with Miss Bertha Gutshow, who 
was born in Mayville, Dodge Co., Wis., a 
daughter of Fred and Minnie Gutshow, 
who emigrated from Germany to this coun- 
tr}', first locating on a farm in Dodge coun- 
ty, Wis., and later moving to Pella town- 
ship, Shawano county, where they own a 
large farm. They are the parents of seven 
children, named respectively: Rudolph, 
Charles, Bertha, John, Minnie, Almira and 
Louise, all yet living except Louise. To 
Mr. and Mrs. William Salzmann have been 
born four children, to wit: Louis, Rudolph, 
Ida and Arthur. Politically our subject is a 
Republican, a leader in the party in his part 
of the county; and in 1894 was a delegate 
to county conventions; in the same year he 
served as chairman of Fairbanks township 
and on the county board. In religious 
faith he and his estimable life partner are 
Lutherans, and they enjoy the well-merited 
respect of all who know them. They have 
an elegant and comfortable home on the 
banks of a fine stream, with a railroad pass- 
ing in front of the house, and Tigerton post- 
office being but half a mile distant. 



HON. CHRIS BONNTN, the represen- 
tative of Shawano county in the State 
Legislature, and the leading mer- 
chant of Bonduel, Wis., is a native 
of central Germany, born February 18, 
1853. His father, William Bonnin, was the 
owner of a small tract of land in Germany 
and supported his family by day's labor. In 
1857, after a voyage of seventeen weeks, he 
arrived in the United States, locating in 
Washington count}', Wis., where he lived 
until i860, removing then to New London, 
this State. At that time there were no rail- 
roads to New London, and they made the 
journey by boat from Oshkosh. The father 
has since resided in that locality, and the 
mother there died in 1894. Of their family 



COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAPBTCAL RECORD. 



273 



five children are yet living. In politics the 
father is a Democrat, and in religious belief 
a Lutheran. 

Mr. Bonnin, the subject of this sketch, 
acquired his education in the district schools, 
and during his early boyhood began to work 
for neighboring farmers. He was also em- 
ployed in the lumber woods and on the 
river, following any honest pursuit that 
would gain him a living. Thus his time was 
passed until after he had arrived at man's 
estate. He then chose as a companion and 
helpmeet on life's journey Miss Doratha Bus- 
sian, a native of Outagamie county. Wis., 
where their marriage was celebrated in 
1877. They located upon a farm and lived 
in the \icinity of New London for two years, 
after which they located near Clintonville, 
Wis.; but after a short time they made a 
home near Centralia. Returning to New 
London, Mr. Bonnin lived with his parents 
for a time, and subsequently went to Shioc- 
ton, Outagamie county, where he was en- 
gaged in the restaurant business. In 1882 
he embarked in merchandising in Slabtown, 
Shawano county, but the same year came 
to Bonduel, and resumed the same line of 
business. He bought out a store which his 
predecessors had failed to make a paying 
one, and from the beginning met with suc- 
cess, securing an extensive trade, and now 
having one of the largest and most prosper- 
ous mercantile establishments in Shawano 
county outside of the county seat. The busi- 
ness was at first located in a small frame 
building, but in 1884 the town was visited by 
a disastrous fire and his store and much of 
his stock was destroyed. With characteris- 
tic energy he began to rebuild, and erected 
the present substantial and commodious 
business room, which is now ta.xed to the 
utmost in order to accommodate his large 
trade. To Mr. and Mrs. Bonnin have been 
born si.\ children who are yet living, namely: 
Ernest, Henrietta, Emma, Lottie, Celia and 
Rosetta. They have also lost two children. 

While prominently identified with the 
Republican party in his town and county, it 
might be said that Mr. Bonnin's sj'inpathies 
were at one time with the Democracy, yet 
when he arrived at the age when the right of 
franchise was granted him he allied himself 



with the Republican party, and has since 
been one of its stalwart advocates and lead- 
ers in this locality. He has frequently been 
called to serve in public office, having been 
assessor of Liberty township, Outagamie 
county, while for four years he was treasurer 
of Hartland township, Shawano county, and 
for several years past has been justice of the 
peace. He was chairman of Hartland town- 
ship for one year, and in 1894 was re-elected, 
but resigned in order to enter upon his duties 
as State Representative, and to-day he is a 
leading member of the House. His own 
educational privileges were limited, and he 
was thus made to realize the advantage of 
good schools, which he has always endeav- 
ored to secure in the community in which 
he lives. He did effective service in the in- 
terest of education while acting as clerk of 
School District No. i, for four years. His 
untiring energy and practical business ability 
are exerted in public office to the benefit of 
the positions with which he is connected. 
He has also served as postmaster of Bonduel 
for three years. He has represented the 
leading insurance companies of the United 
States, and also served as emigrant agent for 
this locality. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Bonnin are members 
of the Lutheran Church. His natural intel- 
lectual ability has been developed by years 
of experience, and on matters of business he 
is frequently consulted by men who are 
many years his senior and who rely implic- 
itly upon his sound judgment. His own 
business career has been one of success, in 
which he has never adopted questionable 
methods or unfair means to further his in- 
terests. He is ever ready to encourage or 
assist any movement that is calculated to 
prove of public benefit and he has a wide 
acquaintance, and enjoys the confidence of 
all with whom he has been brought in con- 
tact. 



IVl 



RS. SARAH A. GALLUP, who is 
living in Dayton township, Wau- 
paca county, was born in Milwau- 
kee, Wis., and is a daughter of Gil- 
man Hall, who took his family to Erie county, 
N. Y. , during the early childhood of this 



274 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



daughter. She there had good educational 
advantages, and completed her studies in 
Lockport, N. Y. She was first married in 
Erie county, that State, to George H. Drew, 
a native of Erie county, and four children 
were born to them: John P., now living in 
Missouri; Elwin E., a resident of New 
Mexico; Bert H., who operates the home 
farm for his mother; and Alice M., at home. 
In New York the estimable lady of whom 
we write became the wife of Edwin E. Gal- 
lup, and with him came to Wisconsin in the 
fall of 1886. They located in Section 13, 
Dayton township, Waupaca county, secur- 
ing '93 acres of land. They were accom- 
panied by Alice, and in the spring of 1887 
Bert joined his mother. That summer Mr. 
Gallup died, and for a time Mrs. Gallup 
rented her land; but when her son was a 
youth of fifteen she resumed charge of the 
farm, conducting it with his aid, and it is 
now one of the desirable properties of the 
township. Many improvements have been 
added, the house has been enlarged and re- 
paired, and in 1894 excellent barns were 
built. The son now devotes his time and 
energies to general farming and stock rais- 
ing, and is a successful joung business man, 
who by his well-directed efforts has secured 
for himself and mother a good income. He 
holds membership with the Baptist Church, 
and both he and his mother are highly re- 
spected people of the community. 



D 



1835- 



ENNIS LEAHY, a prosperous and 
progressive farmer of Lanark town- 
ship, Portage county, was born in 
County Cork, Ireland, August 7, 



The parents of Dennis Leahy, John and 
Ellen Leahy, were also born in County 
Cork, Ireland, and about 1830 came to 
America, landing at St. John, New Bruns- 
wick. From St. John they went to Chico- 
pee Falls, Mass., in 1836, residing there for 
fourteen years, and in 1850 removed to 
Wisconsin, locating in what is now the town 
of Berlin, Green Lake county, at that time 
called Strong's Landing. They resided there 
five years, and in 1S55 removed to what is 
now the town of Hull, Portage county, 



where they resided till the death of Mr. 
Leahy, which occurred December 15, 1873, 
when he was eighty-three years of age. His 
widow afterward removed to Stevens Point, 
Portage county, and made her home with 
her son John. While on a visit to her son 
Dennis, at Lanark, Portage county, she 
passed from earth, December 24, 1891. 
Both she and her husband were buried in 
the Stevens Point cemetery. A family of 
ten children were born to them, only two of 
whom are now living, namely: Dennis, the 
subject of this sketch; and John, at present 
Sheriff of Portage county, with residence at 
Stevens Point. 

Dennis Leahy was brought to America 
by his parents when but an infant, and his 
boyhood days were spent upon the home- 
stead farm in Chicopee Falls, Mass., but 
finding a farmer's life unsuited to his taste, 
and being anxious to see more of the world, 
he left his home, and for a number of years 
engaged as a sailor. In 1856 he returned 
to the home of his parents, who had, in the 
meantime, removed to Stevens Point, Port- 
age county. Wis., and for two or three 
years engaged in the lumbering industry, 
working in the woods during the summer 
months, and rafting on the Wisconsin river in 
winter. Having removed to St. Louis, Mo., 
Mr. Leahj' enlisted, at the breaking out of 
the Rebellion, in Company A, First Mo. 
V. I., as a hundred-days' man, serving in 
that company a short time and afterward in 
Company E, Fifth Mo. V. I. After serving 
out this term in thfe army he enlisted in the 
United States Navy, was assigned to the 
gunboat "Essex," and served in the navy 
till the close of the war. He took part in 
numerous engagements, both on land and 
sea, and had many marvelous escapes from 
death, at one time during his naval career 
being on board the "Essex" when it blew 
up by the bursting of a boiler. He assisted 
in the capture of a Rebel privateer, for 
which he received his share of prize money, 
and also fired the first shot into the Rebel 
ram "Arkansas," in which engagement that 
vessel was destroyed and sunk in the Missis- 
sippi ri\er. After the close of the war he 
returned to Wisconsin, engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits, and a few years later removed 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



275 



to Lanark, Portage county, in which county 
he still resides. 

On October 23, 1865, at Stevens Point, 
Portage county, Dennis Leahy married Miss 
Ellen Leary, and nine children have been 
born to them, of whom the eight now living 
are: John E., born September 24, 1867; 
Daniel J., December 10, 1870; William H., 
August 28, 1872; Agnes A., April 23, 1874; 
Mary E., March 2, 1876; Julia A., January 
24, 1878; Clara A., January 30, 1881. and 
KatherineE., July 3, 1883. Three of these, 
William H., Agnes A. and Mary E. are now 
engaged in teaching school. 

Daniel J. Leahy, son of Dennis and 
Ellen Leahy, was born in Stevens Point 
December 10, 1870, was reared to manhood 
on the homestead farm at Lanark, and edu- 
cated in the district schools of that town- 
ship. After completing his education he 
taught school for two terms in the town of 
Sharon, Portage county, and later on, in 
company with his brother John E., was en- 
gaged in the photographing business in 
Clark county. Wis. The brothers sold out 
their photographing business and returned 
to Portage county, where John again went 
to farming. Dan served the county two 
years as deputy clerk of the circuit court, 
and January 7, 1895, was appointed a 
deputy sheriff, which position he now holds, 
residing in the court house. As deputy 
sheriff he is jailor, having charge of the 
county jail. He is unmarried, and at pres- 
ent makes the sheriff's residence his home. 



HANS JOHNSON, one of the self- 
made men and highly respected cit- 
izens of Waupaca county, was born 
in Norway, December 23, 1838, and 
is a son of John Hanson, who died in that 
country, leaving his family in straightened 
circumstances. He was the only child of 
his father's first marriage, and Ole Oleson 
was the only child of the second marriage. 
In 1854, with their stepfather, they crossed 
the Atlantic on the "Johanna Morie, " a 
sailing vessel commanded by Captain Peter- 
son, and after a tempetuous voyage landed 
at Quebec, and from Buffalo went by water 
to Milwaukee. After a month spent in a 



Norwegian settlement at Oconomowoc, 
Wis., they started by team for Waupaca 
county, accompanied by Ole Benson, and at 
length reached the home of Peter Gregorson 
of lola. The stepfather located in Section 
7, that township, securing 120 acres of wild 
land, on which was erected a log cabin 12 ,\ 
14 feet. This was the first home they had 
ever owned, and they were very proud of it. 

Mr. Johnson remained upon that farm 
for two years, then began working in the 
lumber woods, his wages going to pay for 
the farm. Thus he was employed for 
many seasons, and for twenty years ran on 
the Wisconsin river, going to St. Louis and 
other lumber markets, and returning by 
steamer to La Crosse, and across the coun- 
try by stage. His stepfather died in lola, 
and his mother died at the home of her son 
Hans in the fall of 1894, when about eighty- 
one years of age, and was buried in the 
Scandinavia Cemetery. 

In 1861, in New Hope township. Port- 
age county, Mr. Johnson married Matilda 
Steonson, who was born in Norway, De- 
cember 16, 1844, and when a child of seven 
summers came to the United States with 
her parents, who first located in Scandina- 
via, Wis., and then moved to New Hope 
township, where the father engaged in farm- 
ing until his death. To Mr. and Mrs. John- 
son were born the following children: Han- 
nah, who died in infancy; Julius, a farmer 
of New Hope township, Portage county, 
who is married and has two children; Nels, a 
merchant of lola; Theodore, a merchant of 
Nelsonville, Wis. ; Ludwig, also a farmer of 
New Hope township; Hannah, at home; 
Hans, who follows merchandising in lola; 
Senius M., who died at the age of fiften; 
Emma, deceased at the age of sixteen; and 
Tomena. 

The first land which Mr. Johnson owned 
was in Section 28, New Hope township. 
Portage county, a forty-acre tract, on which 
not a furrow had been turned or an improve- 
ment made. He paid for it $500, and in 
partial payment gave a horse and wagon, 
valued at $130. Two years later he pur- 
chased an adjoining forty acres for $350, 
and again when two years had passed bought 
eighty acres of timber land in Section 9, for 



276 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



$375. Five years afterward he bought 140 
acres in Section 28, adjoining his first pur- 
chase, for $1,800, and to this added, after 
three years eighty acres in Section 33, New 
Hope township valued at $[,850. His next 
purchase made him the owner of 120 acres, 
also in Section 23, and from time to time he 
has bought other land until he now has more 
that thirty-five hundred acres in Waupaca, 
Portage, Shawano and Marathon counties, 
this being timber land. In addition he pur- 
chased what is known as the home farm in 
Section 7, lola township, Waupaca county, 
obtaining the same by buying a quit claim 
of his half-brother, who was half-owner of 
the farm when the parents died. He has 
over three hundred acres of improved land, 
which at one time was divided into five 
farms, but is now comprised within three. 
The home farm where he lives has been en- 
tirely improved through his efforts and the 
assistance of his children, and the buildings 
thereon stand as monuments to his thrift 
and enterprise. His success has been re- 
markable. He has dealt extensively in 
timber, and when upon the river, as he was 
a very skillful pilot, he received $60 per 
week. For seventeen years he has been 
cutting and selling timber, which he deliv- 
ered to the purchasers on the river bank. 

Mr. Johnson deserves all the honor that 
is implied by the term, a self-made man. 
He never attended an English school a day 
in his life, and his educational privileges 
and other opportunities were indeed meagre. 
He suffered many hardships when a boy, 
has undergone all the experiences of pio- 
neer life, and in the days of frontier life he 
went to Waupaca and returned on snow- 
shoes, carrying fifty pountls of flour on his 
back. During his first winter in Wisconsin 
wild game was their only meat, and their 
larder was often without many desirable 
articles; but they rejoiced that their home 
was their own, and were willing to make 
every sacrifice to secure it, and happy were 
they when, after a year, they visited the land 
office at Stevens Point and secured the deed 
to their property. Steadily has Mr. John- 
son worked his way upward, and his fine 
business and executive ability and keen dis- 
crimination and sound judgment have 



brought to him success. Energy, enter- 
prise, integrity and enterprise, these are the 
traits of character which have made him 
one of the most prosperous citizens of Wau- 
paca county. His extentive business in- 
terests call him away from home much of 
the time, yet he superintends his farming 
operations, and is a member of the firm of 
Hans Johnson & Sons, of lola, owners of 
the best business block and largest stock of 
goods in Tola. He also has a hotel property 
and other real estate in lola, owns three 
lots in Amherst Junction, and his land hold- 
ings, including timber and improved land, 
comprise over 4,000 acres. 

Mr. Johnson is a Republican in politics, 
and though never seeking office served as 
supervisor, and for nine years was treasurer 
of School District No. 3, New Hope town- 
ship. He and his family belong to the 
Lutheran Church of New Hope, in which 
he has served as trustee, and for the erec- 
tion of the house of worship he made liberal 
contributions. 

Nels Johnson, a member of the firm of 
Hans Johnson & Sons, was born February 
3, 1864, in Wausau, Wis. During his early 
childhood his parents left that place, and he 
was reared to manhood in New Hope town- 
ship. Portage county, where he obtained his 
education in the district schools. He early 
became inured to the laliors of the farm, 
working in the fields through the summer 
months, and when the cold weather came 
on going to the lumber woods, where he 
spent eight winters, driving a team of oxen 
most of the time. During this period he 
always considered the old farm as his home. 
In 1S89, however, he located at Amherst 
Junction, where he engaged in general mer- 
chandising, the firm of Hans Johnson & 
Sons there establishing a new business. In 
the fall of 1893 he came to lola to take 
charge of the store at this place. The firm 
owns the substantial brick block which they 
occupj' and which is divided into two large 
rooms joined by an archway. They carry 
the largest stock of general merchandise in 
the city and have a very extensive trade, 
which is constantly increasing. 

In May, 1890, in New Hope, Wis., Nels 
Johnson wedded Sina Wrolstad, who was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



277 



born in Harrison, Waupaca county, Sep- 
tember 5, 1868, a daugiiter of John Wrol- 
stad, a farmer and owner of a sawmill. 
Tiiey have one child, Hanford J., born An- 
fjust 13, 1890. In politics Mr. Johnson is a 
stanch I-Jepublican, and has served as villaf^e 
trustee. He is a member of the Odd Fel- 
lows Society of lola, in whicii he is now 
acting as warden, and also belongs to the 
I^utheran Church. He has already demon- 
strated his right to a place in the ranks of 
the successful business men, and is a worthy 
representative of an honored pioneer family. 



ALBERT W. GUYANT, the efficient 
and popular postmaster of Amherst, 
Portage county, was born in Oswego 
county, N. Y. , May i, 1855, and is 
a son of Elbert and Loraine (Borden) Guy- 
ant, who were both born in New York 
State. 

The family came west in the spring of 
1857, and located in Fond du Lac county. 
Wis., where Elbert Guyant, the father, 
worked at his trade of millwright. Both he 
and his wife died in Fond du Lac county. 
They were the parents of eight children, of 
whom se\'en are living, namely: Octave, 
wife of Mr. Bixtley, residing in Buffalo, 
N. Y. ; Hobart, in St. I^ouis; Jane, wife of 
John Cheney, in Berlin, Wis. ; Henry and 
brank, in I^elmont township. Portage coun- 
ty; Albert, subject of this sketch; and 
Edward, residing in Farmington, Waupaca 
county. 

Albert Guyant received his education in 
the public schools of Fond du Lac county, 
and, when si.xteen years of age, came to 
Portage county and located at Plover, where 
he worked at lumbering in the woods and 
on the Wisconsin river. In 1853, he re- 
moved to Amherst, where he engaged in a 
general mercantile business, and, in April, 
1893, was appointed to his present position 
of postmaster. In Fond du Lac county 
Albert W. Guyant married Miss Ida Morri- 
son, and they have become the parents of 
three children, namely: Bertie, Lee S., 
and Maude Loraine. In political views Mr. 
Guyant is a Democrat, has served as deputy 
sheriff of the county two years, and as 



game warden four years. He is a member 
of Metomen Lodge, No. 107, I. O. O. F., 
of Brandon, Fond du Lac county, and also 
of the Knights of Pythias of Waupaca. 
The family attend the Universalist Church. 



ALEXANDER C. RAIT was born 
August 4, 1825, at Aberdeen, Scot- 
land, son of James and Elizabeth 
(Reed) Rait. James Rait, a stone 
cutter by trade, was born in the Parish of 
Benham, Scotland, lived there until after 
his marriage, moved to Aberdeen, and there 
died May 24, 1826. His wife was born in 
the Parish of St. Cyrus. Their children 
were: John, born March 6, 1822, died the 
following month; James, born Fel)ruary 7, 
1824, came to the United States in March, 
1849, settled in Brooklyn, N. Y., and died 
there March 19, 18G3; and Alexander C, 
whose name introduces these lines. 

Alexander C. Rait attended the parish 
school in his native city till thirteen years 
old, learned the stone cutter's trade, and 
followed it while in Scotland. In Banvi, at 
Fort William, in the Highlands, he married 
Miss Elizabeth McKcnnon, daughter of 
Daniel and Mary (Cameron) McKennon, 
and then resided in St. Cyrus for a short 
time. By this union Mr. and Mrs. Rait had 
two sons while in Scotland: James, born 
March 29, 1846; and John, born July 16, 
1848, and died January 24, 1849. James 
Rait married Miss Eva Crocker, of Shebo}'- 
gan. Wis., and they have two children — 
Eveta and Donald. James Rait was princi- 
pal of the high school at Sheboygan, also 
for two years at Stevens Point, taught at 
Manitowoc and Two Rivers, Wis., and now 
lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Alexander C. Rait, with his wife and 
family, sailed from Scotland May i, 1849, 
on a vessel of the Bremen line, and landed 
at New York May 29. He there met his 
brother James (who had prccedeil him one 
month), lived in Brooklyn for six years, and 
worked there and in New York City at his 
trade until 1856. He then came to Wis- 
consin and located in Lanark township. 
Portage county, on a farm of sixty acres. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Rait children were born in 



278 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Brooklyn as follows: Mary, March 7, 1851, 
now Mrs. S. B. Crocker, of Sheboygan, 
Wis., has two children — Elizabeth and 
Myron; Elizabeth, born May 8, 1853, is a 
graduate of the Oshkosh Normal School, 
and is at present in a private school in San- 
Antonio, Texas; William, born October 27, 
1854, died April 26, 1855; and Annie, born 
May 26, 1856, was a school teacher, mar- 
ried John Tardiff, of Stevens Point, where 
they reside, and they have two children — 
Marion and Agnes. Other children were 
born to Mr. Rait, by his first wife, in Lanark, 
Wis., as follows: Alexander, born July 7, 
1S58, married Charlotte Cutter, is a farmer 
in Kansas, and they have hve children — 
three sons and two daughters; and Agnes 
J., born January 7, 1865, is now teaching 
school at Stevens Point. Mrs. Rait died in 
Lanark, Wis., January 28, 1868. 

On July 5, 1869, Alexander C. Rait 
again married, taking for his second wife 
Mrs. Freelove Underbill, and by this mar- 
riage there are two children — William, born 
April 3, 1870, and Ralph, born August 14, 
1876, both at home. Mr. Rait's second 
wife was the daughter of Alfred and Mary 
E. (Kimball) Dunham, natives of Benning- 
ton, Vt., where they died. The children of 
Mr. and Mrs. Dunham were: Isaac, 
Obadiah, Dewey, Alfred, Freelove (Mrs. 
Rait), Jessie, Martin and Martha (twins), 
Louis and Mary E. Mrs. Freelove Rait 
was born January i, 1833, at Bennington. 
Vt., was educated and lived there until the 
age of twenty, went to Fairfax, Va. , where 
she did housework, and where she was mar- 
ried to her first husband, to whom she bore 
the following children: William, born 
August 10, 1854, died F"ebruary 22, 1859; 
Oren, born March 23, 1856, lives at Stevens 
Point, Wis.; May, born January 31, 1859, 
is the wife of Chinton Lincoln, of Farming- 
ton, Waupaca Co., Wis.; Ellen, born Octo- 
ber 30, i860, is now Mrs. Zeph Malvin, 
and lives in Cumberland county, Ohio; and 
Efifie, born March 9, 1864, is now Mrs. 
James Tupper, and lives in the State of 
Washington. 

When Mr. Rait came to his present farm 
he had nothing but an old pair of planes 
and a chisel with which to build a home, 



but not in the least discouraged went to work 
with a will, and soon had a comfortable 
house for himself and family. Neighbors 
helped to build the framework, he doing all 
the inside work alone. He still lives in this 
house, but intends to build a more modern 
structure in the near future. In 1S58 he 
worked for the Illinois Central Railroad 
Company, building bridges along the line. 
In 1864 he enlisted from Waupaca in Com- 
pany C, Forty-fourth Wis. V. I., and 
drilled three weeks at Madison. He was 
before Nashville, Tenn., all the winter of 
1864-65, and in the following spring he was 
stationed at Paducah, where at the close of 
the war he was mustered out, after which 
he returned home and attended to his farm. 
In 1885 Mr. Rait visited his native land, 
the scenes of his childhood, and the home of 
his mother, who had survived his father, 
and was now about ninety years old. She 
was almost blind and barely recognized the 
son who had left her so many years before; 
she lived till she was ninety-one years six 
months old. He remained in Scotland two 
months, returned on the "Britannia," and 
encountered severe storms on the way. Mr. 
Rait is a Republican, his first vote for 
President having been cast in Brooklyn, 
N. Y. , and he has served on the town school 
board six years. The Democrats on one 
occasion thought he would vote their ticket, 
and carried him to the polls on their shoul- 
ders, but he disappointed them and voted 
according to his own views. Both he and his 
wife are Presbyterians. Mr. Rait is a great 
reader, and standard literature is furnished 
him by his daughter Agnes. He is unable 
to do any heavy work, and this is done for 
him b)' his sons. 



NIELS ANDERSON, a leading citizen 
of Langlade county, and well-known 
prosperous general merchant of An- 
tigo, is a native of Denmark, born 
April 17, 1831. He is a son of Anders 
Christenson, a wagon-maker by trade, born 
in 1790, who married Bertha Christina Ras- 
mussen and had ten children, four of whom 
died young, the other six being Rasmas, 
Christen, Hans, Niels, Mary Anne and 




^ — ^/^^^.^.^ ^VW.,i^4^>^^^^*^i><y 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



279 



Frederick, of whom, Rasmas died in America, 
Mary Anne lives in Brown county. Wis. ; 
the others are Hving in Denmark. The par- 
ents, who are well-to-do, highly respected 
people, died in Denmark, the mother in 
1X42; the father (who was a son of Christen 
Christenson, a farmer) served as a soldier in 
his native land. 

The subject proper of these lines, whose 
name appears at the opening of this sketch, 
received a fair education at the public 
schools of his native land, learning the trade 
of wagon maker with his father, and after 
the death of the latter took charge of the 
shop and business in 1872. He then sold 
out and came to America, landing at New 
York, whence he came direct to Green Bay, 
where he remained one year working at his 
trade. Proceeding from there to Do Pere, 
thence at the end of another year moving to 
Mills Center, he there, in partnership with 
John Hanson (his future son-in-law), opened 
out a wagon maker's shop. After a couple 
of years, however, he sold out his shop and 
farm, and embarked in mercantile business 
in the same village, continuing same till 
1S78. In that year he sold his store and re- 
moved to Antigo, then a hamlet of some 
three or four families, and known as "Spring 
Brook," Wausau being the nearest railway 
point, a distance of thirty-two miles, all his 
merchandise having to be hauled from there 
by team. But by 1881 the railroad had 
reached Antigo, settlement increased, and 
our subject built his present store, in which 
he has since conducted a flourishing general 
mercantile business. His sales, the first year 
in the then village, amounted to one hundred 
dollars, whilst he now turns over thirty- 
thousand dollars worth of stock. Mr. An- 
. derson has also dealt largely in real estate, 
and now owns one thousand acres of land, 
besides a fine residence and other city prop- 
erty. For several years he owned and op- 
erated the E.xcelsior Factory at Antigo; was 
the first postmaster of the village, holding 
the office six years; was also city treasurer, 
two terms, and the first notary public in An- 
tigo. When he built his present store the 
count)- had no county buildings, so he put up 
the store with rooms, etc., above for the 
county offices, also a public hall, the first in 



the county, and which in early days was used 
for Church purposes as well as a music hall. 

Mr. Anderson has been twice married, 
both times in Denmark, on the first occasion, 
in 185 1, to Miss Johanne Marie Anderson, 
by whom he had three children: y^ndrew, 
Caroline and Christ. The mother of these 
died Sept. 16, 186S, and October 25, 1870, 
our subject married Miss Anna Catherine 
Anderson, who was born June i, 1845, 
daughter pf Andrew Hanson (a mason by 
trade) and Inger Sofie Larson, who were 
parents of two children: Hans L. and Anna 
C. By this marriage there is one child, 
Alfred Anderson, now a cigar maker at La- 
Crosse, Wis., and married. Since 1887, 
Andrew, the eldest son of our subject, has 
been in partnership with his father in the 
store, and also in his real-estate business, 
the son having full charge since the father's 
partial retirement, though the latter still 
maintains a partial supervision, giving coun- 
sel and advice. He is liberal to all his chil- 
dren, and ever ready to lend them a helping 
hand. 

Niels Anderson presents a worthy exam- 
ple of a self-made man, one who by industry 
honesty and judicious economy has risen 
from comparative obscurity as a poor boy to 
his present affluent condition and enviable 
position as one of the leading and most pros- 
perous citizens of northern Wisconsin. In 
Denmark he served as a soldier three years 
in the artillery, and during the war of 1864 
between Denmark and Prussia he partici- 
pated in several battles, for which service he 
has a medal, presented by the King of Den- 
mark. In the war between the same coun- 
tries of 1848-49-50 his three brothers were 
soldiers in the Danish army, Hans being 
wounded in one of the engagements. Once 
has our subject visited his old Denmark 
home, his wife having made three visits, 
and he traveled through France and Ger- 
many, being absent some six months on the 
trip, during which time he visited, among 
other cities, Berlin, Paris and Copenhagen. 
Politically he is a Republican, and has often 
been urged to accept office, but has invar- 
iably declined; in religious faith he is a 
member of the Danish Lutheran Church, his 
wife of the Baptist, and his house w^as always 



28o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the home of the early ministers of the M. E. 
Church and others. He has ever given Hb- 
erally of his means to every denomination 
and to all enterprises tending to the public 
good. Of a verity he is a representative 
pioneer of this part of Wisconsin, for when 
he came to Antigo nearly twenty years ago 
he made the journey by way of Langlade, 
from which point he had to hire a surveyor 
and a couple of men to cut a road through 
the primeval forest to his destination. 



FRANK CRAMER, who is now suc- 
cessfully conducting a general store 
in Hewitt, Wood county, was born 
in the city of Coesfeld, Province of 
Westphalia, Germany, February 23, 1853, 
and is a son of Joseph Cramer, who was also 
a native of the Fatherland, and was there 
married to Elizabeth Hobbel. By this union 
he became the father of three children — 
Henry, Frank and Catherine. The mother's 
death occurred in Germany in 1859, and 
two years later the father came to America 
with his children, landing in New York in 
1 86 1, but believing the chances were better 
in the West, he proceeded to Milwaukee, 
W^is. , where he had friends residing. By 
trade Joseph Cramer was a blacksmith, en- 
gaging in that occupation in Milwaukee; but 
later made a number of changes, at last 
stopping at Silver Creek, Wis., and there 
carried on business some eighteen years. He 
then purchased a farm in Clark county, 
Wis. , where he now resides. He was again 
married, his second wife being Margaretta 
Jonan, and by this union four children were 
born — William, Bertha, Mary and Mathias. 
The Cramers are an old family of Ger- 
many, being traced back for more than three 
hundred years, and its members are noted 
for longevity, the great-grandfather of our 
subject hvingtobeone hundred and five years 
of age, the grandfather to be ninety-five, 
while the father has not reached the age of 
seventy and is still hale and hearty. The 
family belong to the middle class in Ger- 
many, and are well-educated people. One 
brother of Joseph Cramer was a Catholic 
priest; but little is known concerning the 
mother's people. 



In the common and parochial schools of 
Wisconsin, Frank Cramer received his edu- 
cation. He was but si.\ years of age when 
he came with his father to the United States, 
and at the age of thirteen began clerking, 
which he followed for one year, when he 
again entered school, there remaining until 
sixteen. He then engaged as a farm hand 
for one year, after which he began learning 
the trade of blacksmithing with his father. 
At the age of eighteen he went to Milwau- 
kee, where he worked for one year; thence 
moved to Chicago, and from there to Iowa, 
but afterward returned home and assisted 
his father. After remaining at home for 
for about twelve months, he went to Minne- 
sota, traveling all over that State, at last 
going to Iowa, where for one year he worked 
as a farm hand and blacksmith. At the end 
of that period he went to San Francisco, 
Cal. , remaining on the coast nearly two 
years, visiting Sacramento, Victoria and 
other cities. He traveled through W^ashing- 
ton and Oregon, and at Roseberg, in the lat- 
ter State, worked at his trade some eighteen 
months. In December, 1877, after visiting 
his parents, he came to Hewitt, Wis., locat- 
ing on a farm which he had purchased of his 
brother Henry. It was heavily timbered 
land, but he began its improvement, erect- 
ing a blacksmith shop one year later, which 
was the first building in Hewitt, and con- 
ducted the same until 1884. On selling out 
he opened a hardware store, carrying on the 
same until 1892 when he added a stock of 
general merchandise, and has now a liberal 
patronage which is well-deserved. 

On June 5, 1883, Mr. Cramer married 
Caroline Maurer, a native of Bavaria, Ger- 
many, who had come to America with her 
parents in 1880. To this worthy couple, 
have come seven children, their names and 
dates of birth being as follows: Frank, in 
April, 18S4; Carrie, in September, 1886; 
Alexa, in April, 1888; Paul, in June, 1891; 
Elizabeth, in February, 1894; and Peter 
and Paul, twins, in February, 1890, who, 
however, only lived six months. Politically 
Mr. Cramer is a Democrat, and for several 
years served as chairman of the town of 
Marshfield. P"or a number of terms he was 
town clerk, and for the past fifteen years has 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



281 



served as justice of the peace. He was one 
of the prime movers in organizing the Cath- 
oHc Church at Hewitt, assisting in the erec- 
tion of the brick church and parsonage. In 
school work he takes an active interest, be- 
ing a school officer until four years ago, 
when he resigned, and in everything per- 
taining to the welfare of the community he 
is deeply interested. 

Mr. Cramer is an excellent business 
man, and has been very successful in his 
undertakings, being owner of farm lands, 
besides his property in the village of Hewitt. 
In 1 88 1 he was manager of a sawmill at that 
place, which was owned by B. Esserger, of 
Chicago, and held the position for two years, 
when the property was sold. It was a re- 
sponsible position, he having full control 
and management of the business, handling 
during the time many thousands of dollars. 
He is a stockholder in the German-American 
Bank at Marshfield, and for the past seven 
years has been postmaster at Hewitt. He 
is straightforward in all his dealings, and has 
secured for himself an enviable position, 
both socially and financially. 



EDWIN B. KNAPP, one of the most 
prosperous merchants of northern 
Wisconsin, now proprietor of a de- 
partment store at Waupaca, which 
enjoys an immense trade, was born in Jas- 
per, Steuben Co., N. Y., July 11, 1848, son 
of Franklin L. and Alma (Dake) Knapp. 

Franklin L. Knapp, the father, was born 
in West Union, Steuben Co., N. Y. , in 
1826, and was the son of Ira and Lucinda 
Knapp, the former a native of Massachu- 
setts, the latter of Rhode Island. Ira Knapp 
was a poor man, and had seven children: 
Elijah, James, Charles, Franklin L. , Har- 
vey, George and Edward. Of these Frank- 
lin, when seven years old, became a member 
of the family of his uncle, Richard Togood, 
who lived at Jasper, and who was a man of 
more than ordinary force of character. He 
was engaged in farming, staging and trans- 
porting goods. Franklin had few opportu- 
nities for attending school, and led a busy 
life on the farm until he attained his major- 
ity. In 1847 he was married to Alma Dake, 



a native of Massachusetts, and daughter of 
Joshua and Prudence ("Abbott) Dake, both 
natives of Connecticut. Prudence Abbott 
was a member of a Puritan family of con- 
siderable prominence. She was one of ten 
children, and had several brothers in the 
Revolutionary war. Two were ministers. 
Joshua Dake was a millwright, and in 1806 
emigrated by team from New England to 
New York. Franklin and Alma Knight had 
four children: Edwin B., our subject; Rich- 
ard Togood, who while visiting his father in 
New York was killed by an accident Decem- 
ber 10, 1892; Helen A., who was born in 
1857, and died in 1858; and Curtis L. , born 
in 1861, and drowned in May, 1863. 

In 1854, when Edwin B. was six years 
old, his father moved to Elyria, Ohio, where 
several brothers had previously settled. 
Three brothers of Franklin — Charles, Har- 
vey and George — had enlisted in an Ohio 
regiment, and George was killed in the battle 
of Chickamauga. Harvey was also a cap- 
tain on the lakes. Franklin Knapp re- 
mained in Elyria three years, and in 1857 
removed with his family to Fond du Lac, 
Wis. In 1858, he came to Fremont, Wau- 
paca Co., Wis., where he built a sawmill, 
the first on the Wolf river, north of Osh- 
kosh. Three years later he moved to Wau- 
paca where he operated a mill for Dr. 
Brainard. After that mill was destroyed by 
fire, Mr. Knapp, from 1868 to 1888, was 
employed as foreman in the large mills at 
Oshkosh, his family remaining at Waupaca. 
In 1888 Franklin Knapp returned to New 
York, and now lives on the farm where he 
grew to manhood. 

Edwin B. Knapp was educated in the 
common schools, and attended Lawrence 
University, Appleton, for one year. When 
fifteen years old he began a four-years' 
clerkship in the store of Mr. Roberts at 
Waupaca, then in 1866 he entered the C'ity 
Mill at Waupaca, and during the summer 
learned to operate the circular saw. In the 
spring of 1868 he became head sawyer in a 
mill at Omro, Wis., remaining five years. 
While here he was married, December 1 1, 
1 87 1, to Persis A. White, a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and daughter of Odell and Julia 
(MacFall) White, who, in 18 58, migrated 



282 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEiCAL RECORD. 



from Pennsylvania, their native State, to 
Wisconsin, and opened up a farm in Win- 
nebago county; Odell Wfiite is still living in 
Omro. They have two daughters — Dell 
and Persis. To Mr. and Mrs. Knapp has 
been born one child. Myrtle, now the wife 
of F. R. Constance, a leading farmer of 
Waupaca county, and owner of 300 acres 
of land near Waupaca. In 1873 Mr. Knapp 
went to Oshkosh, where he remained thir- 
teen years engaged as circular sawyer in a 
mill. In 1888 he came to Waupaca and 
opened a grocery store. This he has en- 
larged from time to time as his business in- 
creased, and it has now grown to a depart- 
ment store, filled with house-furnishing 
goods complete, one of the largest stores of 
the kind in northern Wisconsin. He sells 
strictly for cash, and his sales in 1893 
amounted to $30,000. 

Mr. Knapp is a Republican, but has 
never taken any great interest in politics;- 
he served his ward as alderman in the com- 
mon council in 1893. Socially, he is a 
member of the I. O. O. F. , Knights of 
Pythias, Uniformed Rank, and of the United 
Workmen; he is actively interested in these 
Orders, and has filled most of the chairs. 
Mr. Knapp's success in business is due to 
the energy which he has infused into it, and 
the same enthusiasm which he devotes to 
his private affairs he bestows upon the pub- 
lic matters that tend to develop the inter- 
ests of Waupaca. In a word, he is a 
thorough business man, keenly alive to the 
importance of building up the city of his res- 
idence. It is men of his stamp who make a 
city prosperous. 



THOR A. SILJORD, who is promi- 
nent among the farming interests of 
lola township, Waupaca county, 
operates his farm of 180 acres, and 
has been prosperous in his labors. He is a 
man of excellent business capacity, and his 
habits of thought and observation have 
tended to provide him with a good fund of 
general information, which has proved valu- 
able in every respect. 

Mr. Siljord was born in Norway, Febru- 
ary 8, 1857. His father was a farmer in 



comfortable circumstances, owning a good 
farm and plenty of timber. He was twice 
married and had thirteen children, our sub- 
ject being of the second union, and when 
but three years of age was brought to the 
United States. The father had previouly 
crossed the ocean and purchased 160 acres 
of wild land in Section 24, lola township, 
Waupaca Co. , Wis. He sent for his family, 
which then comprised five children, and 
they were five weeks in making the voyage 
on account of an injury to one of the officers. 
On landing in New York they came at once 
to Wisconsin, but were three weeks in 
reaching lola township. From (jill's Land- 
ing, on Wolf river, they came by team to 
their new home, where only a small clearing 
had been made so that potatoes could be 
planted. While the father had been a 
farmer in Norway, he had always hired his 
work done, and was not accustomed to the 
hard labor the early pioneers had to per- 
form, therefore he was not very successful 
in this country. The first home of the 
family here was a log house which the father 
erected. He died on that farm at the age 
of seventy-six years, and his remains were 
interred in the Scandinavia Church Ceme- 
tery. The mother who has also reached the 
age seventy-six, lives with a son in lola 
township. 

Thor A. Siljord received his education 
in District School No. 3, Tola township, 
which in those days was not as good as at 
the present time, and his first teacher was 
Martha Chandler. Though opportunities 
were limited, he believes in better educa- 
tion, and intends that his chililren shall 
have as good advantages in that direction as 
his means will permit, ^^'hen about eleven 
years of age he was put to work at driving 
oxen, as there were few horses in the county 
at the time. Besides his farm duties, he 
spent four winters in the lumber woods, and 
during three of these worked for himself. 

In Waupaca, Wis., September 1 1, 1886, 
Mr. Siljord wedded Miss Louisa O. Draland. 
a native of lola township, and the cere- 
mony was performed by Winfield Scott, a 
justice of the peace. Their union has been 
blessed by the birth of four children — Adolph, 
born June 6, 1887; Mollie, born December 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



283 



25, 1888; Cora, born in September, 1891; 
and Salven, born in December, 1893. After 
his marriage Mr. Siljord located on the 
home farm where he now hves, though 
some time previous he had been the main 
support of the home, as the older brothers 
had left as soon as they were old enough to 
work for themselves, and the care of the 
parents was left to our subject. He has 
added to the place until he now has 180 
acres, seventy-five of which are broken, 
and he has seen the farm transformed from 
an undeveloped wilderness until it now 
ranks among the best in the township. It 
has taken much hard work to accomplish 
this, but he has steadily persevered until he 
is now meeting with a just reward. In 
1894 he built a most comfortable home, 
which he has surrounded with the many out- 
buildings which go to make up a model farm, 
all indicating to the passerby the care and 
supervision of a progressive, intelligent, 
thrifty farmer. 

His fair and honest manner of dealing 
has won for Mr. Siljord the respect and con- 
fidence of all, and he is considered one of 
the leading citizens of lola township. He 
takes (juite an active interest in Church 
matters, being one of the leading members 
of Hitterdall Lutheran Church, to which 
his family also belong, and at the time of 
the erection of the house of worship he aided 
with both labor and money. He has always 
voted the Republican ticket, aad is one of 
the earnest members of that party. 



CHRISTIAN LARSON, an expert 
tailor, now cutter for a thriving 
clothing house at Waupaca, and 
formerly a successful business man, 
has sounded almost the entire gamut of 
financial circumstances, from extreme want 
in a pioneer land to the comforts and luxur- 
ies of his present home. He has in his 
nature that stern resistance to an untoward 
fate which is destined to overcome it and 
cause him to rise superior to the indigence 
which once threatened to wholly engulf 
him. 

It was in the sunnncr of 1S69 that Mr. 
Larson reached Waupaca, a Danish emi- 



grant, with two cents in his pockets, and in- 
debtedness to the extent of one hundred 
dollars for the passage of himself and 
family to America. His trade, that of tailor, 
was not one that would be in active demand 
in a new countrj', and its sedentary nature 
in a measure unfitted him for the muscular, 
out-of-door work in all kinds of weather. 
He was further handicapped by ill health. 
This was a combination of circumstances 
that seemed well nigh hopeless, yet it was 
not so for Christian Larson, as his comfort- 
able situation in life to-4,ay attests, and the 
story of his succeeding prosperity is not with- 
out its moral. 

Christian Larson was born in the Island 
of Laaland, Denmark, November 4, 1840, 
son of Lars and Carrie Larson, both natives 
of that island. They had a family of seven 
children: Christine, Hans, Lena, Lois, 
Christian, Margaret and Mary. Lars Larson 
was a cooper by trade, born in 1807, and 
for a time was a soldier in the Danish army. 
He died in 1847 at the age of forty years, 
when Christian was seven years old, and 
left no means for the support of his family; 
his wife, dying in 1851, survived her hus- 
band only four years. From these facts it 
may readily be surmised that the boyhood 
and youth of Christian was not a life of ease 
or pleasure. The only schooling he ever 
received was a three-days' attendance a 
week for three years, for his health was 
poor. When fourteen years old he Was 
bound eut to a tailor for five years, receiv- 
ing only his clothes for his services, and it 
is a credit to the application, fidelity and 
skill of the apprentice that his master re- 
mitted to him six months of his time. He 
followed his trade in Denmark, and was 
married, October 13, 1865, to Carrie Cathar- 
ine, daughter of Soren and Margaret (Ras- 
mussen) Sorensen. She was born in June, 
1 841, and when an infant lost her mother; 
the father, a farmer, died in 1855. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Larson seven children were born: 
Peter F. and Carrie Christine in Denmark, 
and William C, Ella O., Charles G., 
Emma M. and Louie in Wisconsin. 

It was in the spring of i S69 that Mr. 
Larson resolved to emigrate. Landing at New 
York, he came west from there and, after 



2S4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tarrying twelve days at Oshkosh, reached 
Waupaca June 12, financially stranded as 
noted above. Unable to obtain work at his 
trade, he resorted to any honest employ- 
ment to earn a livelihood, among other 
things sawing wood and working on a farm. 
His first table was a barrel head. Looking 
about, he found work at his trade at fifty 
cents a day. As soon as he could he rented 
a window, and in the spring of 1 870 started in 
business for himself. His trade increased, and 
he employed help until i 892, when he sold out 
his business and became cutter for the new 
firm. He has prospered greatly in business, 
purchasing a fine store and dealing extensive- 
ly and profitably in city property. In 1894 
he built his present home, which is one of 
the most delightful in the city. The eldest 
son is head clerk in a jewelry store in Zum- 
brota, Minn., and the second daughter is 
now Mrs. J. E. Pett, of Waupaca. Mr. 
Larson in politics is a Prohibitionist, and has 
served his city as alderman. He is com- 
fortably situated, and enjoys the highest 
confidence and esteem of his fellowmen. 



CW. BOWKER, who since 1880 has 
resided on his farm in Section 13, 
Larrabee township, Waupaca coun- 
ty, is a native of Franklin county, 
Vt., born in 1844, son of Charles and Han- 
nah (Shufelt) Bowker, also natives of Ver- 
mont, where they were married. 

In 1854, when our subject was ten 
years old, the family came west, journe3ing 
to Chicago, thence to Sheboygan, thence to 
Fond du Lac, and from there to Winne- 
bago county, where, in Poygan township, 
Mr. Bowker took up a claim in the woods, 
and opening up a farm made a permanent 
settlement there. He was among the first 
settlers of the place, and continued to make 
his home on the farm until May, 1880, 
when he came to Larrabee township, Wau- 
paca county, and here died November 22, 
1880, being followed to the grave by his 
wife in April, 1881. C. W. Bowker, who 
was their only child, was educated in the 
schools of Poygan township, Winnebago 
county, and was early inducted into the 
hardships of j)ionecr farming, the country 



during his youth being sparsely settled, the 
nearest market being Omro. He assisted 
his father in clearing and improving his 
farm, and there resided until 1880, when, 
coming to Waupaca county, he purchased 
his present farm of ninety acres, situated in 
Section 13, Larrabee township, eighteen 
acres of which were then cleared. He has 
carried on the work of improving steadily, 
and now has about fifty acres in a good state 
of cultivation. He has taken an active in- 
terest in the advancement and development 
of his section, and has served as town clerk 
for two years with credit to himself and 
satisfaction to the public. 

In 1866 Mr. Bowker was married, in 
Poygan, to Miss Estella Tisdale, who was 
born in Massachusetts, daughter of Albert 
Tisdale, a native of the same State, who 
served during the Civil war in a Mass- 
achusetts regiment, and was wounded at 
New Orleans, where he died in 1864; Mrs. 
Tisdale died in Massachusetts. Mrs. Bow- 
ker's grandfather, Alden J. Luce, was an 
early pioneer of Poygan township, Win- 
nebago county. Mrs. Bowker died Septem- 
ber 2, 1880, leaving four children, Eva L. 
(wife of Clark Thorn, of Clintonville), 
Charles Albert, Nellie M. and Arthur E. 
After the mother's death these children were 
cared for by Miss Rebecca Shufelt, who re- 
sided with the Bowker family until her 
death. May 23, 1891. In 1888 Mr. Bow- 
ker married, for his second wife, in Lar- 
rabee township. Miss Clara A. Plopper, 
who was born in Sheboygan county. Wis., 
daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (Smith) 
Plopper, the former a native of Lewis coun- 
ty, N. Y., the latter of Germany; Mr. Plop- 
per came to Sheboygan county. Wis., be- 
fore his marriage, when Wisconsin was still 
a Territory, and here married. In 1869 he 
took up his residence in Larrabee town- 
ship, Waupaca county, locating on a farm 
in Section 14, which he worked until his 
death, which occurred in December, 1892. 
Mrs. Plopper passed away in February, 
1890. Their family consisted of si.\ chil- 
dren: Artman, who lives in Milwaukee; 
Aaron, who died in 1892 in Larrabee town- 
ship; Laura, living in Larrabee township; 
\\'illett, married and living on tiie home 



COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



285 



farm; Clara, Mrs. Bowker; and Elmore, 
who is married and lives in the city of 
Clintonville, Wisconsin. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Bowker has come one 
child, Harold Guy. In politics our subject 
gives his support and sympathy to the Pro- 
hibition party; socially he is a member of 
the Temple of Honor and I. O. G. T. , and 
in religious faith he is an adherent of the 
Methodist Church. 



AMBROSE M. WILSON, who oc- 
cupies the responsible position of 
head miller with the Upham Manu- 
facturing Company of Marshfield, 
Wood county, is a native of Wisconsin, 
born in W'eyauwega, Waupaca county, Sep- 
tember 19, 1857. The family is of English 
origin, and was founded in America by Henry 
Wilson, grandfather of our subject, who was 
born in England. He had children as fol- 
lows: James, Solomon, Charles, David, 
Lydia, jane, Adeline and Mary. The third 
son, father of the gentleman whose name 
introduces this sketch, was born in Platts- 
burg, N. Y., in 1824, and was there mar- 
ried in 1 85 1 to Sarah Clairmore. The 
father is a sawyer and filer, and throughout 
his entire life has followed lumbering. In 
1852 he brought his family to the West, 
settling in Weyauwega, Wis., where he still 
makes his home. During the Civil war he 
donned " the blue," aiding in the defense of 
the Union, and has always been recognized 
as a faithful, loyal citizen. His wife was 
called to her final rest in 1885. They had 
a family of nine children, as follows: 
Charles, Ambrose, Helen, Lucia, Mary and 
Louisa, all yet living; and Alice, George 
and an infant, deceased. 

As soon as he had attained a sufficient 
age, Ambrose M. Wilson entered the village 
school of Weyauwega, but like many boys 
did not care much for study at that time, 
and at the age of eleven left the school-room. 
During the following year he began packing 
shingles, and from that time was employed 
in a sawmill until nineteen years of age, 
when with an unconquerable desire to see 
the far-famed West, he went on a trip to 
Minnesota and Dakota. For a year and a 



half he carried on farming beyond the 
Mississippi, and then returned to his native 
State, where he was again employed in 
mills. In 1 88 1 he entered the gristmill at 
Weyauwega, where he continued during the 
four succeeding years, and in the spring of 
1885 he came to Marshfield. The following 
fall he secured the position of second miller 
in the Upham mill, serving in that way until 
1 891, when he was promoted to his present 
position, having charge of a large, fine mill 
which has a capacity of 200 barrels of flour 
daily. He thoroughly understands his busi- 
ness, and devotes himself untiringly to his 
work, thereby winning the confidence of his 
employers and the respect of all concerned. 

Mr. Wilson was married in Royalton, 
Wis., in 1880, to Mrs. Phcebe A. Russell, 
who was born in the town of Paris, near 
Racine, Wis., a daughter of Russell M. and 
Eliza (Stephenson) Franklin, who were 
farming people. She had four sisters — 
Ella A. , Dora, Mary and Martha; her father's 
people came from Pennsylvania, her mother's 
from New York. He was a soldier of the 
Civil war, as was also the first husband of 
Mrs. Wilson, who for a year was a member 
of Company B, Thirtieth Wisconsin Veteran 
Infantry. He participated in the battle of 
Atlanta, was with Sherman on the March to 
the Sea, and was honorably discharged June 
9, 1865. He died in 1878, leaving two 
children — Maud and Claude. 

Our subject is a Republican of pro- 
nounced views, taking an active interest in 
the growth and success of his party, although 
he has never sought or desired political 
preferment for himself. In manner he is 
plain and unassuming, and his affability, 
prompted by a true interest in his fellow 
men, wins him many friends. He is now 
living in his fine home in Marshfield, sur- 
rounded by many who esteem him highly 
for his sterling worth. 



SIGUR OLSEN KROSTU. In per- 
forming the arduous labor incident 
to pioneer life, there is perhaps in 
Farmington township, Waupaca 
county, no resident who has equalled him 
whose name here stands. Mr. Krostu has 



2S6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



not shirked his duty, when he found his lot 
in life cast amidst surroundings where 
brawn and muscle were the chief highways 
to subsequent comfort and affluence; with a 
strong determination to win he has faced 
and conquered the enemy, and the victory 
in his instance has been one of marked re- 
nown. Few of the newcomers to this land 
of after richness were poorer in worldly 
possessions than he, and few indeed are 
now more comfortably situated. Yet in 
the struggle Mr. Krostu has not, as many 
men might be in like conditions, been dead- 
ened by the severity of the fray to the com- 
mon humanities of life. He is ever ready 
to aid the needy. He is a stanch supporter 
of progress and education. In the Luther- 
an Church, of which he is an honored 
member, there are no contributors more 
generous or liberal than he. 

Mr. Krostu was born in Norway in 
April, 1832, the eldest son of Ole Krostu, a 
farmer. In this native land he was married 
to Thora Tcjrgerson, and to them one child 
was born in Norway, but perished on the 
ocean, while its parents, with other country- 
men and countrywomen, were emigrating 
to America to found and settle many new 
communities in the great Northwest. They 
reached Farmington township, Waupaca 
county, July 21, 1861. Here in Section 4 
Sigur secured by tax title a tract of eighty 
acres. It was still wholly in a state of wild- 
ness, and the young man built the log cabin 
which gave shelter to his wife and to other 
members of his father's family, who had ac- 
companied him to the new home. He at 
once began to clear the farm and to make 
for himself and family a living. Upon this 
tract of land, won from its primitive wild- 
ness by his own unaided efforts, Mr. Krostu 
has ever since remained. His family con- 
sists of the following : Ole, second, now of 
North Dakota; Julia, now the wife of Ed. 
Solverson, of Farmington township, Wau- 
paca county, one of the richest farmers in 
the State (besides his large estates here, he 
owns and conducts several extensive farms 
in western Minnesota;; Jennie, now the 
wife of Jesse D. Thomas, a prominent busi- 
ness man of Chippewa Falls, and proprie- 
tor of the well-known hotel, the "Taylor 



House"; Mary, now the wife of Charles 
Buswell, agent for the Wisconsin Central 
and the Green Bay, Winona & St. Paul 
railways at Amherst Junction, W^is. ;Teman, 
at home; Belle, a bookkeeper and stenog- 
rapher at Waupaca; Anna and Tillie, 
school teachers in Waupaca and Portage 
counties; Anton, Charlotte, andWinfield, at 
home attending school. 

Though himself without an English edu- 
cation, save what he picked up, Mr. Krostu 
appreciates the value of learning, and has 
made it a religious duty to give to all his chil- 
dren the benefit of a good education, and 
the broader fields of labor, which they are 
entering and honoring, are demonstrating 
the wisdom of his judgment and their own 
inherited force of character. Mr. Krostu is 
a firm believer in the principles of the Re- 
publican party, but he has never aspired to 
official life. He is the owner of 220 acres 
of land in Farmington township, and of 
sixty acres in Scandinavia township, besides 
possessing other valuable investments. In 
the earlier years of his life his good wife 
ably seconded his efforts to win a home, for 
she always assisted him in the harvest field, 
and could readily perform a man's work 
there besides attending to the many duties 
and cares of the household. Mr. Krostu's 
capacity for work was prodigious. It was 
not uncommon for him to cradle six acres 
of wheat in one day. He has witnessed a 
wonderful transformation in the topography 
of the country about him, and has himself 
participated generously in the blessings that 
have been showered upon the land. He is to- 
day one of the most substantial and best 
respected residents of Farmington township; 
and can rightfully accredit his enviable and 
iniluential position to his own unaided 
efforts. 



ARTHUR C. MINTO, a pioneer of 
Portage county, and one who joined 
in naming Lanark township, can 
trace his ancestry in part to sunny 
France, but for the most part to " Cale- 
donia, stern and wild." His parents were 
Andrew and Margaret (McMillan) Minto. 
Andrew Minto was born in France. His 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHWAL RECORD. 



287 



father was a noted revolutionist, and, like 
many other men of his time and country 
who were plotting to dethrone King Louis 
Will, was imprisoned for his offence. He 
was sentenced to die by the guillotine, but 
managed to escape from prison, and, with 
his son Andrew, eluded his pursuers, reached 
a French port in safety, and secured passage 
for himself and son on a vessel bound for 
Scotland. Immediately after his arrival on 
those hospitable shores he placed his son in 
a college in Edinburgh, leaving money 
enough with the trustees to pay for his tui- 
tion. He was a man of magnificent physique 
and wonderful strength and endurance, and 
therefore the sort of a man the government 
desired for service in the navy. One night, 
while walking the streets of Edinburgh, he 
was set upon by a press-gang, and, after a 
desperate struggle, was bound hand and foot, 
conveyed on board a man-of-war, and forced 
into the service. He determined to escape 
at the first opportunity, which presented 
itself while they were lying at a foreign port. 
He deserted the vessel, and, eluding the 
officers in pursuit, and assuming the name 
of Marshall, made his way to Cuba, where 
he amassed a large fortune before his death. 

By the time of his death, the son, An- 
drew, had grown to manhood; but he did 
not learn of his father's death till 3'ears after 
it occurred, the news being conveyed to him 
by a sailor who had obtained the informa- 
tion while in Cuba. From the same source 
he also learned that before his death the 
father had endeavored to communicate with 
his son, Andrew, but was prevented by some 
person or persons unknown in order that 
they might gain possession of his fortune. 
Whether or not they succeeded is not 
known; but his grandson, Arthur C. Minto, 
whose name introduces this sketch, thinks 
that, if he were a young man, he would visit 
Cuba, and endeavor to ascertain the facts. 
He believes there is a fortune there await- 
ing the heirs of his grandfather. 

After finishing his education, Andrew 
Minto obtained a professorship in a college 
in Edinburgh, which position he resigned 
some time afterward, and commenced teach- 
ing school, continuing in that vocation up to 
the time of his death, which occurred in 



Lanark, Scotland, when his son Arthur was 
but a boy. A short time after taking up 
school teaching he was married to Margaret 
McMillan, and to their union were born the 
following named children: James, Mary, 
Thomas, George, Agnes, Jennie and Arthur 
C. The mother died in Lanark, Scotland. 
Arthur C. Minto was born, in 18 18, 
near Lanark, Scotland, and attended school 
until he was ten years of age, when he was 
bound out to learn the weaver's trade. Af- 
ter spending five years at this trade our 
subject bound himself for seven years to 
work at calico printing. It was then the 
law that if a boy bound out in this maimer 
should refuse to work the stated time he 
would have to serve a day in the peniten- 
tiary for every day he remained away from 
work. Mr. Minto ran away from this serv- 
ice, changed his name to Marshall, and, 
after working at various occupations until 
1842, he, with his nephew, took pass- 
age at Glasgow on the vessel "Jennie 
Dean," bound for Montreal, Canada, where 
he arrived after a voyage of si.x weeks. 
Thence he journeyed to Lanark, Upper 
Canada, where he had an uncle, with whom 
he lived one year. After leaving his uncle's 
home, Mr. Minton worked at farming in 
Upper Canada, for two years. There he 
was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
Moore, a lady of English descent, after that 
event moving to Illinois, where he worked as 
a farm hand one year, and thence coming to 
Winnebago county, Wis. , here living on a 
farm three years. While Mr. Minto was 
here the Indians sold to the government all 
the land they possessed west to the Missis- 
sippi, and he was a witness to the sale. Mr. 
Minto ne.xt moved to Outagamie county, 
where he remained one year, from there 
removing to Waupaca, Waupaca county, 
where he also lived one year, and then 
to Farmington, Waupaca county, in all 
three localities owning farms, which he 
disposed of. In 1853 he moved to what is 
now Lanark township, and was one of the 
men who named the town. Here, in Sec- 
tions 25 and 26, he bought a farm of 160 
acres of wild land, of which he has since S(^ld 
forty acres; eighty acres of his present farm 
are cleared. 



388 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



In March, 1861, Mrs. Mary Minto 
passed away. She was the mother of the 
following named children: Andrew (who 
died in hoyhoodj, Matilda, Margaret, Jen- 
nie, Arthur and Andrew. On November 
26, 1861, Arthur C. Minto married, at Win- 
neconne. Wis., Mrs. Flynn, widow of Rich- 
ard Flynn, and by this union one child was 
born, Carrie. Mrs. Minto's parents, An- 
drew and Anna Maria fGargan) Blake, came 
to the United States, settling in Lowell, 
Mass. , whence after a few years she (Mrs. 
Minto) came west and took up her residence 
in Winnebago county. Wis. By her first 
husband she had children as follows: An- 
na M., Margaret J. and Richard F. Mr. 
Minto is a Republican in politics, and has 
served for three years as supervisor. In 
Church connection both he and his wife are 
Presbyterians. 



CHARLES MAYNARD, a prominent 
and prosperous farmer of Buena 
Vista township, Portage county, was 
born in the town of Whitehall, 
Washington Co., N. Y. , September 3, 1854, 
and is a son of Ashley and Mary (Wales) 
iVfaynard, the former a native of Crown 
Point, N. Y., born April 22, 1818, the lat- 
ter born February 25, 1828. The paternal 
grandfather, Heman Maynard, was a native 
of Vermont, and when a young man located 
at Crown Point, N. Y. ; he became a soldier 
in the war of 181 2. In 1864 he came to 
Wisconsin, spending his last days in the 
home of our subject's father, where he died; 
his wife had died in Crown Point many 
years before. Her maiden name was Mary 
Sissoii, and by her marriage she became the 
mother of six children, all now deceased: 
Heman, Ashley, Hiram, Manly, Mary and 
Anna. 

The father of our subject, a farmer by 
occupation, received a fair common-school 
education. In Whitehall, N. Y. , in 1849, 
he wedded Mary Wales, a daughter of Fred- 
erick and Lucy (Atwood) Wales, and one of 
a family of ten children, as follows: Fred- 
erick, a farmer of lola, Wis., was a soldier 
dining the Civil war (he wedded a Southern 
lady); George, married to Laura Powell, is 



now deceased; Hiram (deceased), who was 
a farmer of Dakota, married Mary Powell; 
James, a farmer of Vermont, married Lu- 
sina Lewis; Elisha, who is now deceased, 
was a farmer of Vermont, and had married 
Laura Lamb; Russell, deceased, was also a 
farmer of the same State; Wesley, who 
wedded Lucy Lamb, was a farmer of Ver- 
mont, but has now passed away; Mary is 
the mother of our subject; Augustus is an 
agriculturist of Vermont; and Vine, who 
married Amanda Bailey, is a farmer of Wis- 
consin. The father died in 1855, at the age 
of sixty-five; the mother, who was born in 
New York, in 1792, passed away at the 
home of Ashley Maynard at the age of fifty- 
nine years. Our subject has one sister, 
Lillie, who became the wife of Fitz A. Doo- 
little, a carpenter of Stevens Point, and they 
have one child, Daisy. 

Charles Maynard, the subject of this 
sketch, obtained a very good common-school 
education, his winters being passed in study, 
while through the summer months he 
worked on the farm, until reaching his ma- 
jority, with the exception of two winters, 
when he was employed in the lumber woods, 
and also attended school one term after 
reaching the age of twenty-one. On De- 
cember 20, 1876, Mr. Maynard married 
Miss Sophia Doolittle, who was born in 
northern Pennsylvania, December 3, 1855, 
daughter of Ephraim and Mary (Whitehill) 
Doolittle, natives of the Keystone State, 
the father born November i, 1824, the 
mother January 26, 1822. William Doolit- 
tle, the grandfather, was a native of the 
same State, and was a soldier in the war of 
1812, during which he was taken prisoner 
by the British and sent to Halifax, Nova 
Scotia, where he was held for some time; 
after being released he returned to Pennsyl- 
vania, where he died in 1830. His wife 
bore the maiden name of Rebecca Hall, and 
her death occurred at Almond, Wis., at the 
age of seventy-five. They had two chil- 
dren: Ephraim and Lydia, the latter of 
whom was the wife of George Frost, and 
died at the age of thirty-five years. 

Ephraim Doolittle. the father of Mrs. 
Maynartl, came to Wisconsin in 1839, lo- 
cating on a farm in Almond, Portage county. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



which comprised 200 acres, and there he 
still makes his home. B}' his union with 
Mary Whitehill he had the following chil- 
dren: William is a Congressman from the 
State of Washington, also a lawyer of Ta- 
coma, and by his marriage with Hattie Al- 
vord, a native of New York, has two chil- 
dren — Clare and James. James was a doc- 
tor of Plainfield, Wis., where he died at the 
age of thirty years; he had married Anna 
Sharkey, a native of Delaware, and they had 
two children — Amos and Edna, who reside 
in Chicago, 111. Laura is at home. Fitz 
and Sophia are next in order of birth. 
Frank, who completes the family, is a farm- 
er of Almond, Portage county, and by his 
marriage with Mary Welcome, of Minne- 
sota, has one child — I^essie. After the death 
of his first wife, Ephraim Doolittle was mar- 
ried in 1869, at Wild Rose, Wis., to Rhoda 
Etheridge, a native of England, and by this 
union there were two children — John (de- 
ceased), and Benjamin, at home. 

For four years Mrs. Maynard taught 
school prior to her marriage in both Portage 
and Waushara counties. She is an inter- 
esting conversationalist and believes that 
young girls should receive an education and 
training that would insure them an inde- 
pendent living should they ever be thrown 
upon their own resources. After their mar- 
riage our subject and his wife began house- 
keeping on the old homestead left him by 
his father on the latter's death, comprising 
160 acres, on which was a house that had 
been erected in 1858. He has since added 
sixty acres, and most of his land is under 
cultivation. They have three children: 
Edith, born August 8, 1878, a pupil in the 
high school at Stevens Point; Bessie, born 
February 27, 1882, and Ward, born May 
22, 1887, both at home. 

In politics, Mr. Maynard is a Republican 
and an active political worker. He and his 
estimable wife are consistent members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church at Liberty 
Corners, our subject being a member of the 
choir. He possessess a powerful bass, sweet 
and pleasing to the ear. He is a strong ad- 
vocate of the cause of temperance, and holds 
membership with the Good Templars Lodge 
of Buena Vista. In appearance he is nearly 



six feet high, with a splendid physique. He 
is one of the most honored and highly es- 
teemed citizens of Buena Vista, a good con- 
versationalist, and a well-informed man, 
being a great reader. 



WILLIAM I. NIVEN, a young man 
highly esteemed in the comnumity 
in which he lives, is laying a good 
foundation for a successful life in 
the honorable and independent occupation 
of a tiller of the soil, so much more sure 
and satisfactory in its rewards to an honest 
man than many another line of activitj*. He 
was born December 3, 1872, in the town- 
ship of Lanark, Portage Co., Wis., and is a 
son of Andrew B. and Rebecca (Shearer) 
Niven. 

The parents of Andrew B. Niven were 
John and Mary (Kirkwood) Niven, and the 
father of John Niven was Walter Niven, a 
well-to-do farmer in Scotland. John Niven, 
a native of Scotland, was a finely educated 
man, and was a weaver by trade. He was 
accidentally killed in Scotland in 1864. To 
him and his wife Mary were born the follow- 
ing children: Janet, widow of Duncan 
Cameron; John; Mary, widow of Thomas 
Messer, living with her brother in Lanark 
township; James, living in Scotland; Will- 
iam, a farmer in Lanark, Wis. ; Walter, 
who was accidentally killed in Scotland at 
the age of twenty-two; Andrew B., father 
of William I. ; and Jane, now Mrs. J. 
Shearer, living in Scotland. 

Andrew B. Niven was born in Scotland, 
in 1S42, commenced to learn the trade of 
pattern designer at the age of fourteen, and 
followed it till he left Scotland. On June 
2, 1868, he was married, in Glasgow, to 
Rebecca Shearer, and in 1869 they sailed 
from that port in the vessel "St. David," 
after a voyage of thirteen days landing at 
Quebec, and thence coming direct to Lanark, 
Portage Co., Wis. His mother came to 
this country with him, and died at Lanark, 
Wis., April 4, 1893. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Andrew B. Niven were born children as fol- 
lows: John, born March 30, 1869, in 
Glasgow, Scotland; and Andrew, born April 



290 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



26, 1 871; William I. (our subject); Walter, 
born September 20, 1874; James, born 
April I, 1876; Jessie, born March 16, 1878; 
Robert, born February 18, 1884; Mary, 
born December 30, 1887, and George, born 
March 4, 1890, all born in Lanark, Wis. 
In Lanark, Portage Co., Wis., Mr. Niven 
bought a farm of sixty-seven acres in Sec- 
tion 2, and commenced farming thereon. 
He has since added eighty acres in Section 
1 1 to the original purchase, and most of his 
farm is cleared. 

William L Niven attended school in 
Lanark, Portage county, until he was six- 
teen years of age, then worked around home 
helping his father. In 1893 he bought a 
farm of eighty acres adjoining his father's, 
in Section 11, in the cultivation of which he 
is now engaged, making his home with his 
father; he is now putting up buildings on his 
land. In religious affiliation he is a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian Church, in the 
workings of which he takes an active inter- 
est, and he is superintendent of the Sunday- 
school. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, 
and he is a strong advocate of temperance. 



JOHN WILDE. Probably no more in- 
dustrious citizen can be found in Wau- 
paca county than this well-known 
farmer of Dayton township, and feel- 
ing assured that the record of his life will 
prove of interest to many of our readers, 
we gladly give it a place in this volume. A 
native of New York State, he was born in 
Poughkeepsie, February 10, 1844, a son of 
Simeon and Ann (Radley) Wilde. His 
father was born in England, and at the age 
of twelve came to the United States. For 
some years he followed teaming in New 
York, and at an early day became one of 
the pioneer settlers of Springvale township, 
Fond du Lac Co. , Wis. , whence he came to 
Lind township, Waupaca county, being also 
one of its early settlers. Both he and his 
wife here passed their remaining days. 
Their children are John; William, who died 
in the same township; Grace, wife of 
Horace liastman, of Dayton townshiji; Al- 
fred, of Minnesota; Mary, who died in 



childhood; and Charles, an agriculturist of 
Lind township), Waupaca county. The 
father delighted in argument, and was a 
stalwart supporter of the Democracy. After 
coming to the West he followed farming up 
to within a w^eek of his death and ac- 
quired a comfortable home. He died 
at the age of sixty-six, and his remains 
were interred in the cemetery 6i Lind 
Center, Wis. His wife survived him eight 
years, dying on the same day and at the 
same hour, October 4, 1892, at the age of 
sixty-nine years. 

In the district schools John Wilde was 
educated, and until twenty-five years of age 
gave his father the benefit of his services. 
After starting out for himself he followed 
the river for some time, and although he 
was then new to the business he soon be- 
came an expert, one who could successfully 
avoid the dangers (jf that hazardous under- 
taking. When, through labor and economy, 
he had acquired some capital, he invested 
in pine lands, but had to hire teams to haul 
the lumber, thus incurring an indebtedness 
of $500; but Jerome Crocker, of Weyau- 
wega, trusted him for the amount, and in 
course of time he was able to liquidate the 
debt. In the fall of 1870 he purchased 160 
acres of wild land in Section 29, Dayton 
township, and at once began to improve it. 

On January i, 1871, in Berlin, Wis., 
Mr. Wilde wedded Miss Mary E. Riley, a 
native of Canada, and they began house- 
keeping in a little lumber shanty in Weyau- 
wega township. Her death occurred in 
1878, and Mr. Wilde married October 8, 
1 89 1, Adelia F. Tinnn, by whom he has 
two children: Charles A., born August 11, 
1892; and Pearl G., born June 15, 1894. 
Mr. Wilde has met reverses and difficulties, 
but has overcome all obstacles by deter- 
mined effort, and has steadily worked his 
way upward to a position of affluence. His 
indomitable spirit stood him instead of cap- 
ital, and his enterprise brought to him 
prosperity. He is now the owner of 389 
acres, of which more than 200 are broken. 
His first home was destroyed by fire, but he 
replaced it by a comfortable residence, 
which is situated on a natural building site, 
a beautiful location, and the home is now 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



291 



one of the finest in this section of the coun- 
ty. In his poHtical views he is a stalwart 
Repubhcan. 



BYRON ROGERS is the owner of one 
of the fine farms of Portage county, a 
tract embracing 240 acres of vahiable 
land, of which 120 acres are under 
a high state of cultivation. He makes a 
specialty of raising potatoes, for which the 
soil is e.xcellently adapted, and his industry 
is rewarded by a good income. The farm 
is improved with good buildings, all of which 
have been erected by the owner, and his 
home is one of the best frame residences in 
the locality. His possessions have all been 
acquired through his own efforts, and indi- 
cate a useful and well-spent life. 

Mr. Rogers is one of the native sons of 
Portage county, born in Plover, September 
10, 1 8 54. His parents, Achlas and Sarah 
(Downing) Rogers, were both natives of 
Ohio, and when only five years of age the 
father left that State. He acquired a good 
education, and became a respected man. 
For a time he carried on the hotel business, 
coming to Wisconsin in 1853, and following 
that pursuit at Stevens Point. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Rogers were born two children, Byron 
and Rose, the latter now the wife of Robert 
Smith, a lumberman of Merrill, Wis. The 
mother of our subject was a second time 
married, becoming the wife of Hugh Jones, 
a farmer, by whom she had three children: 
Ella, wife of Charles Grover, of Plover; 
Nettie, who died in infancy; and Frank, who 
is now living in Plover with his mother. 

The children all remained at home until 
after they had reached mature years. From 
the age of sixteen Byron Rogers has earned 
his own living, working as a farm hand and 
in the lumber woods. After he had attained 
to man's estate he chose, as a companion 
and helpmeet on life's journey. Miss Florence 
Youmans, their marriage being celebrated 
September 29, 1878. She is a daughter of 
Joatham and Helen (Hill) Youmans, the 
former a native of Pennsylvania, the latter 
of Napoli, N. Y., born January 29, 1833. 
The father was a miller and carpenter by 
trade, and afterward carried on agricultural 



pursuits. In 1855 he came with his family 
to Plover, Wis., where he is still living, his 
time and attention being devoted to farming. 
In his family are four children: Mrs. Rogers; 
Ida, wife of Nelson Weeks, of Stevens 
Point, Wis.; Elmer, who is living in Plover; 
and Miss Alta, who is superintendent of the 
Oshkosh Hospital, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have an interest- 
ing family of three children: Elmer, born 
July 22, 1879; Myrle, born November 26, 
1882; and Ernest, born July 9, 1886. For 
two years after his marriage Mr. Rogers 
continued to work for others, and then, with 
the capital he had acquired through his 
own labors, purchased eighty acres of land, 
of which only thirty; acres had been cleared. 
To this he has added as his means have in- 
creased imtil he is now the owner of the fine 
property before described. He takes quite 
an active interest in political affairs, and 
stanchly supports the Republican party. 
The best interests of the community receive 
his support, and he is recognized as a pro- 
gressive and valuable citizen. 



JOHN ERICKSON is a young man of 
good business ability, one of the most 
prosperous farmers of Farmington 
township, Waupaca county. He was 
born July 23, 1868, on the Erickson home- 
stead in that township, which was located 
by his father, Andrew Erickson, one of the 
pioneer settlers of the county. The days of 
his youth were passed upon the farm midst 
play and work, and he was educated in the 
common schools of the neighborhood. 

In April, 1892, in the township of his 
nativity, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. 
Erickson and Miss Ella Wilson, a native of 
Farmington, and a daughter of George 
Wilson, of Waupaca. Their union has 
been blessed with two sons — Archie and 
Phillip. 

The first land which our subject owned 
was a tract of 120 acres in Sections 16 and 
17, which he inherited from his father. In 
the fall of 1 89 1 he purchased the southwest 
quarter of Section 22, Farmington town- 
ship, and has made his home thereon since 
his marriasre. He now owns 220 acres of 



292 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



land, the greater part arable, and devotes 
his time and attention to its cultivation, also 
to dairy farming. On December 28, 1893, 
he established the Sunny Crest Dairy, which 
he is now successfully conducting, his pro- 
ducts being of such an excellent quality that 
they always find a ready sale upon the 
market. 

Mr. and Mrs. Erickson hold membership 
with the Lutheran Church, and are actively 
interested in all that pertains to the welfare 
of the community and its upbuilding. He 
exercises his right of franchise in support of 
the men and measures of the Republican 
party, whose principles he believes will best 
advance the interests of the masses. He 
has never aspired to public office, however, 
but gives his attention to his business inter- 
ests. He is attentive and watchful, care- 
fully looking after all the details of his 
business, and neglects no duty for pleasure. 
His industry and perseverance have there- 
fore brought him success, and, although he 
inherited some property, his prosperity is 
largely due to his own well-directed efforts. 



IVI 



ARTIN SIMONSON RUSTADE 
was born October 26, 1839, in 
Faaberg, Gulbransdalen, Norway, 
and is a son of Simon O. Rustade 
and Sesel Land, the former born in 1809, 
the latter in 181 3. When a young man the 
father learned the trade of blacksmith, 
which he followed in Norway, where his an- 
cestors had lived for many generations. The 
grandfather, Ole Severtson, owned a farm 
there, which he operated through the sum- 
mer, working in the woods in the winter. 
There he died at the age of forty-eight, his 
wife following him to the grave three years 
later. Their children were Simon O. , 
Christopher, Lars, Chresten, Arne and 
Mattia. 

In the spring of 1854 the parents of our 
subject left Christiania with their family on 
the sailing vessel "Ceifyer, " and after ten 
weeks and three days landed at Ouebec, 
whence they came direct to \\'isconsin. At 
Ixonia the father worked as a farm hand. 
While going there, Eliza, a daughter of the 
family, died of cholera, and Anna and 



Christian died soon after reaching their 
home, all within two weeks. About two 
years later the family journeyed by ox-team 
to New Hope, Portage county, driving their 
cattle, and here the father located 1 20 acres 
of land, which he cultivated and improved 
for two years. He then purchased 1 20 acres 
near Sharon, same State, on which he built 
a log house and resided until 1871, when he 
and his wife went to live with their son, 
Ole, a farmer of Portage county, with whom 
they remained for some time. They after- 
ward resided in Nelsonville, Wis., until the 
father's death, which occurred September 5, 
1 89 1. The mother is now living with Lewis 
Loberg, in Nelsonville, Wis. Their chil- 
dren are Maria, who remained in Norway 
until after marriage fher husband died there, 
and she is now living near Marshfield, Wis. ); 
Ole is a farmer of North Dakota; Martin is 
the next living; Oline is the wife of L. L. 
Loberg, of Nelsonville; and Christina is the 
wife of Johannes Guldmunson, of Stockton, 
Wisconsin. 

The educational privileges of our sub- 
ject were limited, and at the age of fifteen 
he came with his parents to this country. 
Later he went to Scandinavia, Wis. , where 
he worked in a gristmill through the winter, 
and the following summer was employed on 
a farm. He then labored in the lumber 
woods and upon the river until October 8, 
1 86 1, when at Stevens Point he enlisted as 
a private of Company G, Twelfth Wis. \ . \. 
He was discharged at Natchez, January 4, 
1864, and on the next day enlisted in the 
same regiment, serving until the close of the 
war. After three weeks spent at Madison 
and three weeks in western Missouri, the 
regiment went to Leavenworth, Kans. , and 
there loading the wagons with ammunition 
and provisions started for P'ort Scott, and 
continued on to Lawrence. They were 
there ordered to New Mexico, but received 
counter-orders and returned to Leaven- 
worth, where thej' embarked in boats for 
Columbus, Ky. , and afterward went to Hum- 
boldt, Tenn. Building a bridge on the Obion 
river, they then went into camp some distance 
from Memphis, where they remained until the 
winter of 1 863, at which time they proceeded 
with Grant to \'icksburg. Mr. Rustade 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



293 



participated in the battles of Bakers Creek, 
Jackson, the siege of Vicksburg, and Natchez. 
In April, 1864, with his regiment, he receiv- 
ed a thirty-days' furlough, and later joined 
the command at Madison, the regiment pro- 
ceeding to Cairo, 111., and joining Sherman's 
army at Rome, Ga. He then participated 
in the battles of Resaca and New Hope 
Church, Kenesaw Mountain and Peach Tree 
Creek, and on July 21 proceeded to Atlanta, 
being engaged in many skirmishes on the 
way. From that city they proceeded to 
Savannah, where they arrived on Christmas 
Day, 1864. Mr. Rustade was also in the 
battles of Bentonville and Raleigh, the last 
battle of the war at Goldsboro, and after 
participating in the grand review at Wash- 
ington, went to Louisville, Ky., where he 
was honorably discharged July 16, 1865. 

In the summer of 1866 Mr. Rustade 
operated a farm on shares, and in the 
winter worked in the lumber woods. In the 
summer of 1867 he ran on the Mississippi 
river, and later, with a companion, went to 
McGregor, Iowa, from which place they 
journeyed over the surrounding country in 
search of a farm, but finding nothing to 
suit him, our subject returned home, and for 
about sixteen years was employed in the 
pineries. 

Mr. Rustade was married in New Hope, 
Wis., August 18, 1867, to Paulina Kankrud, 
who was born in Norway, September 16, 
1 846, and came with her parents to America 
during her infancy. They settled in I.Nonia, 
Wis., where the father and mother died 
soon afterwanl, and the children, a son and 
three daughters, went to live with an uncle, 
Hans P. Kankrud. Mrs. Rustade has never 
been on a railroad train in her life. She is 
a pleasant lady and has many friends. Their 
family was as follows: Emmil, deceased; 
Andres, who was born December 7, 1874, 
died t'ebruary 2, 1884; and Severin, who was 
born May 2, 1877, died February 24, 1884. 
Living — Hannah Syberine, who was born 
November 1 1, 1867, and is the wife of A. J. 
Cochran, an architect of St. Louis, Mo. ; 
Hella Isabella, who was born January 14, 
1871, and is the wife of Julius M. Smeberge, 
of New Hope, Wis.; Karl I., born May 29, 
1879; James Melvin, born November 6, 



1883; Clarence Severin, born February 27, 
1886; and Alma Minerva, born November 
20, 1892. 

Prior to his marriage, Mr. Rustade pur- 
chased his farm, and with his wife moved 
into a log house that stood upon the place. 
He first bought eighty acres of partially im- 
proved land in Section 2, New Hope town- 
ship, and has since added to it forty acres. 
In the spring of 1879, in company with his 
brother and his family, he started with a 
team for the West with the view of making 
a new location, and went as far as Bismarck, 
N. Dak. He sold his team in Mandan, and 
accompanied his brother as far as Valley 
City, where the brother located, while our 
subject returned home. He then purchased 
a threshing machine, and engaged in thresh- 
ing in the Red River 'Valley, Dakota, for 
three seasons, spending each winter in Wis- 
consin. He is a scientific farmer, thoroughly 
understanding his business, and therefore is 
meeting with success in his undertakings. 
He has always been a stanch Republican, 
and for three years has served as supervisor. 
He and his wife are faithful members of the 
United Norwegian Church of New Hope, 
and are highly esteemed people. He takes 
great pleasure in hunting, and is an excellent 
shot, many a deer and bear having fallen 
beneath his trusty rifle. 



CHRISTIAN HANSON, a skillful 
farmer, lives in New Hope township. 
Portage county, where he carries on 
the various departments of his occu- 
pation with success. He is a native of Den- 
mark, born in the Sogn of Hillested, April 
17, 1839, and is a son of Hans and Chris- 
tina (Jorgenson) Jorgenson, natives of the 
same place, the father born 1786, and the 
mother in 1 803. The father worked as a farm 
hand in Denmark, where his tlcath occurred 
in 1853, and there his wife also died in 1 843. 
In the family were five children : Jorgen, 
who died in Denmark at the age of fourteen 
years; Anna and Else are also deceased; 
Christian is next in order of birth; and .\nna, 
the second of that name, was the wife of 
Ole N. Rasmuson, came to America in 1868 



294 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



and lived in Farmington, Waupaca Co., 
Wis., where her death occurred in 1869. 

Christian Hanson received a good com- 
mon-school education in his native place, 
continuing his studies until the age of four- 
teen years, when he hired out as a farm 
hand, receiving two dollars per month for 
his services. He continued to follow that 
employment until he had reached the age 
of twenty-three, at which time he was only 
getting about five dollars per month. In 
1863 he determined to come to the United 
States, thinking he might better his finan- 
cial condition in this new and rapidly grow- 
ing country. From Hamburg, Germany, 
he sailed on a merchant vessel to Hull, 
England, thence by rail to Liverpool, where 
he engaged passage on the steamer " Bo- 
hemian," of the Montreal Steamship Com- 
pany, which landed him at (Quebec. Four 
weeks after leaving home he reached Wau- 
paca county. Wis., having only twelve dol- 
lars left in his pockets. It was October 6 
when he arrived in that county, where he 
was engaged to work as a farm hand at 
fifty cents per day, being thus employed for 
two weeks. At the end of that time he 
went to Lind township, that county, where 
he worked for his board, cutting wood and 
doing chores, also attending school for about 
two weeks. Later he received thirteen dol- 
lars per month and board at farm labor, 
being thus employed until going to Stevens 
Point, Wis., where he was engaged to take 
lumber down the river from Wausau, Wis., 
to St. Louis, Mo., but on reaching Grand 
Rapids, Wis., the lumber became wedged 
and he was compelled to leave it. Then 
going to Port Edwards, Wis., he was en- 
gaged in a sawmill the following two 
summers, while the winters were spent in 
the woods. The spring of 1867 he went 
to New Hope township, where he pur- 
chased his present farm, which contained 
120 acres of land, only twenty-seven be- 
ing improved, to which he has added from 
time to time until now seventy acres are 
comprised within its boundaries, and the 
poor buildings then standing have been re- 
placed by substantial and conmiodious 
ones. His farm is pleasantly situated on 
the border of a beautiful lake, and is one 



of the most attractive places of the neigh- 
borhood. 

At Waupaca, Wis., April 13, 1866, 
Mr. Hanson was united in marriage with 
Miss Frederica Behm, who was born in 
Hillestcd, Denmark, September 29, 1840, 
daughter of I^udwig and Margaret (Paul- 
son) Behm, also natives of that country, 
who, with their family, came to America 
on the same vessel as our subject. They 
located in Lind township, Waupaca coun- 
ty. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Han- 
son are Paul, Frederick, Christian, Mar- 
cus, Christina, Hannah and Maria. Six 
children have come to bless the union of 
our subject and his estimable wife : Hans 
Christian Ludwig, born February 25, 1868, 
residing in Alaska, where he went in the 
spring of 1895; Maria Sophia, born April 
20, 1870, now the wife of John Hanson, 
a farmer of Waupaca, Wis. ; Marcus Knute, 
born December 6, 1872, a pupil in the Scan- 
dinavia Academy in Wavpaca county; Anna 
Margaret, born May 27, 1878; Oline Chris- 
tine, born February 6, 1880, and Nels 
Peter, born August ir, 1883, all three at 
home. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Hanson 
is a Republican, and has always taken a 
warm interest in the success of his party. 
He has served his fellow citizens in several 
official positions; has been township treas- 
urer six years, township clerk ten years, 
chairman of the township board two years, 
assessor one year, and justice of the peace 
twenty-four years, all of which offices he has 
creditably filled. He takes quite an active 
part in Church matters, belonging to the 
Norwegian Lutheran Church of New Hope, 
to which his wife also belongs. He is a 
man of excellent judgment, and since be- 
coming a resident of the county has won the 
respect and confidence of the comnnmity in 
which he lives, and occupies a leading po- 
sition among its influential citizens. 



GEORGE H. WUNDERLICH, who 
occupies more than a prominent 
place in the history of Elmhurst, 
Langlade county, as the leading 
mill owner and general merchant, is a native 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



295 



of Wisconsin, born August r, 1S58, at 
Stephensville, Ellington township, Outaga- 
mie county. 

He is the eldest son of John S. W'under- 
lich, who was born in Ba\-aria, in 1827, a 
son of Michael and Katherine \\'underlich, 
the former of whom was a farmer in that 
country. They were the parents of ten 
children, of whom the following are living: 
Elizabeth, Rosa, John S., John, George and 
Wolf. The father came to America in 
1844, the family in 1846, settling on a farm 
in Granville, Wis., where both the parents 
died. John S. , the eldest son, was seven- 
teen years old when he left the old country. 
He had a fair education at the common 
schools of his native land, and when but 
fifteen years old learned the trade of a 
weaver, but on his arrival in America he 
worked out as a common laborer. In 1854 
he was married to Mary Berg, who was 
born in Germany, in 1837, and to this union 
came children as follows: George H., the 
subject of this sketch: Henry; Christ, of 
Mayking, Langlade county; Rhinehart; 
Dora, wife of Anton Ritger, of Appleton; 
Anna, living at home; Amelia, wife of Will- 
iam Bloedel, of Ahnapee; Elsie and Theo- 
dore, both }'et at home, and one son and 
two daughters deceased. By hard work 
and close economy the father of this inter- 
esting family had saved up money with 
which to purchase land in Outagamie coun- 
ty, which he cleared and improved, and he 
lived thereon about ten years. In 1865 he 
sold the farm, and, building a sawmill at 
Stephensville, began the manufacture of 
lumber, broom-handles, and chair legs, con- 
tinuing in this business some twelve years, 
when he was burned out. He then rebuilt in 
company with his son, in the fall of 1877, [ 
continuing in this business until the spring of 
1882, when they removed their mill to | 
Elmhurst, and there began the manufacture 
of hard and soft lumber. In 1892, Mr. 
Wunderlich retired from active life, turning 
over his large interests to his sons, and re- 
turning to Appleton. where he now lives en- 
joying the fruits of a long life of useful 
labor. During the war of the Rebellion he 
spent three months in Nashville in the 
employ of the government. He is a Repub- 



lican in his political views, but bej'ond cast- 
ing his vote for the best man, has taken no 
active part in political affairs. He is highly 
respected by all who know him, and is a 
good t}pe of the honest, hard-working Ger- 
mans, so many of whom have come to this 
country with no means, but by their own 
industry have become well-to-do, influential 
citizens. 

George H. Wunderlich when but sex-en- 
teen years of age graduated from the Spen- 
cerian Business College, Milwaukee, from 
which time he was bookkeeper for his father 
at Stephensville up to 1877, when the mill 
burned. George then received an interest 
in the business, soon afterward becoming a 
partner. In 1882 the firm removed to Elm- 
hurst, Langlade county, and here built a 
sawmill which they operated under the firm 
name of J. S. Wunderlich & Son; but on 
the retirement of the father the firm was 
changed to that of Wunderlich Brothers, and 
at first consisted of four members — George 
H., Henr}-, Christ and Rhinehart. In 1893, 
George H. purchased the interests of the 
brothers, and has since conducted the busi- 
ness alone. In 1888 the mill was entirely 
destroj-edby fire, but they at once rebuilt; 
in 1894 a similar calamitj- overtook them 
with a loss of $55,000, covered by an in- 
surance of only $20,000. It is our subject's 
intention to build again during the current 
year (1895) a"d it is to be hoped that his 
energ}- and perseverance, in spite of adverse 
circumstances, will result in a prosperous 
future. He is now an extensive owner of 
timberland, besides having a fine farm of 
200 acres well improved, on which stands 
an elegant residence. 

On October 6, 1S91, Mr. Wunderlich 
was married to Miss Minnie E. Moss, who 
was born in Canada February 4, 1866, a 
daughter of C. W. and Maria (Langrell) 
Moss, the former a native of London, Eng- 
land, the latter of Canada. The family 
came to Wisconsin in 1868, and the father 
was in business first at Fond du Lac, going 
from there to Green Bay and later to 
Neenah. In 1881 he came to Langlade 
county, settling in Norwood township, where 
he is engaged in farming and store keeping. 
Mr. and Mrs. Moss had nine children, seven 



296 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of whom are living, viz. : Minnie, Harry, 
Arthur, Frank, Bertha, Ernest, and Helen. 
Two children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. George Wunderlich, Erma and Vera. 
Mr. Wunderlich is a Democrat, prominent 
in local politics, a thoroughly representa- 
tive man and a leader of his party. In 
1889-90 he served as sheriff of Langlade 
count)', has been chairman of the township, 
in all eight years, and is the present post- 
master at Elmhurst. In 1892 he was a 
candidate for the Legislature on the Demo- 
cratic ticket. Socially, he is a member of 
the Sons of Hermann, is popular in both 
public and private life, and is regarded as a 
leading man in the community. 



AMUND MORTENSON (deceased) 
was for many years prominently con- 
nected with the agricultural interests 
of New Hope township. Portage 
county, having located there in 1S55. In 
Gaustal, Norway, his birth occurred July 30, 
1825, and he was a son of Morten and Car- 
rie (Jacobson) Severson, who were both na- 
tives of the same place, dying there some 
time in the " fifties." 

In his boyhood days Mr. Mortenson at- 
tended the schools of the neighborhood in 
the winter season, during the summer 
months assisting his father. At the age of 
twenty years, in April, 1845, he sailed from 
Kragroa on the " Presiosa, " and eight weeks 
later first set foot on American soil in New 
York, whence he came direct to I.xonia, 
Jefferson Co., ^^'is. , where he purchased a 
small tract of land, though for some years 
he hired out as a farm hand, and also owned 
and operated a threshing machine. 

In I.xonia, February i, 1850, Mr. Mor- 
tenson was married to Miss Sophia Morten- 
son, who was also born in Gaustal, Norway, 
March 8, 1828, daughter of Morton and Ann 
(Esterlj') Anderson, natives of Gaustal, the 
father born January 16, 1791, the mother in 
1 80 1. Her grandfather, Andrus Bauker, 
followed farming throughout life in Norway, 
where his death occurred. Besides his agri- 
cultural duties, the father of Mrs. Morten- 
son also gave violin lessons, being one of the 
best musicians in that part of Norway, and 



was also the leader of several noted orches- 
tras. He also served in the war between 
Norway and Sweden in the years of iS 13-14. 
He died in Gaustal, in 1876, at the age of 
eighty-five years, and in that place his wife 
also departed this life in 1857. They had 
four children: Ann, who died in Christiania, 
at the age of twenty-one; Bertha, who died 
in Gaustal, at the age of sixty-two; Mrs. 
Mortenson; and Olia, also deceased. 

In her native land Mrs. Mortenson re- 
ceived a good common-school education, 
which she has greatly supplemented by read- 
ing and observation in later years, so that 
she is a well-informed and intelligent lady. 
She also learned dressmaking, which she 
followed for si.\ years before coming to 
America. On the • ' Presiosa " she left 
Drammond in May, 1849, and at the end 
of eight weeks reached New York harbor. 
From there she took a steamer up the Hud- 
son to Albany, thence by canal proceeded to 
Buffalo, by the lakes to Milwaukee, and on 
to Ixonia, Jefferson Co., Wis., by team, 
where the following February she was mar- 
ried. By that union she became the mother 
of three children: Matthias Amundson, 
born May 5, 185 1, follows farming, and 
by his marriage with Ida Eliza Haarstad 
has three children — Clara Sophia, Albert 
Oscar and Isabella Matilda; Carrie, born 
October 31, 1855, died December 24, 1861; 
and Carrie, born July 9, 1 863, now the wife of 
John A. Hole, a merchant, by whom she has 
three children — Albert, born February 16, 
1887; Sevrin Alfred, born March 18, 1890, 
and Bella Minerva, born June 2, 1892. 

Mr. Mortenson made arrangements to 
purchase forty acres of land in Jefferson 
county at $2 par acre, but being unable to 
make the payments on the same, the own- 
ers foreclosed, and he was left homeless. 
In July, 1855, he removed with his wife and 
child to New Hope township, where he 
bought eighty acres of government land, 
and while erecting his house lived with 
neighbors. It was located in Section 17, 
and there he made his home until March, 
1892, when he disposed of that property 
and bought the present home of the family. 
A good dwelling house, store and barn 
stood on the place, and there he lived re- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



297 



tired until his death, which occurred De- 
cember 29, 1893. His remains now lie in- 
terred in the New Hope Cemetery. 

Mr. Mortenson alwajs took an active 
interest in everything pertaining to the wel- 
fare and development of his town and coun- 
ty, and by his fellow citizens was called 
upon to serve in several official positions, 
including those of town treasurer and as- 
sessor. He also took a commendable in- 
terest in religious matters, he and his wife 
both being earnest and consistent members 
of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church 
of New Hope. Politically his support was 
always given to the Republican party, and 
he was one of the honored and respected 
citizens of the township. 

Mrs. Mortenson still continues to live on 
the homestead which is now conducted by 
her son-in-law, John Hole. She has passed 
through many trials since coming to the 
New World, but being of an undaunted 
spirit she never gave up, and was of great 
assistance to her husband in his hours of 
trial and adversity. She has gathered 
around her a wide circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances, and enjoys the love and con- 
fidence of all who know her. 



GEORGE R. BUGBEE, M. D., one 
of the oldest practitioners of medi- 
cine in the city of Wausau, Mara- 
thon county, was born in Water- 
ford, Vt., February 7, 1849, and is a son of 
Ralph, Jr., and Mary (Barker) Bugbee, who 
were born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. 

The parents of Dr. George R. Bugbee 
removed to Franconia, N. H., when he was 
but three years of age, taking him with 
them; and, when eight years of age, his 
father having in the meantime again mar- 
ried, he accompanied his father and step- 
mother on their removal to Littleton, N. H., 
where he received his rudimentary educa- 
tion, and later was a student at the acade- 
mies in Lancaster, N. H., Newbury, Vt., 
and Tilton, N. H., graduating from the lat- 
ter institution, after which he attended the 
Medical College of the University of Michi- 
gan at Ann Arbor, and the Dartmouth Medi- 
cal College, at Hanover, N. H., graduating 



there with the class of 1872. Dr. Bugbee 
commenced the practice of his chosen pro- 
fession at Littleton, N. H., in connection 
with his father, who was a well-known 
physician of that town. He remained there 
two years, then removed to Whitefield, 
N. H., where he was engaged in practice 
for about fifteen years. On December 31, 
1881, at Whitefield, N. H., Dr. George R. 
Bugbee married Miss Emma E. Lindsey, 
and five children have been born to them, 
named in baptism as follows: Gwendoline 
Barker, Abel Ralph, Leigh Frank, Mural 
Evalyn and George Ralph, Jr. Mrs. Bug- 
bee's parents were Hard}' and Betsy Lindsey. 

From ^^'hitefield Dr. Bugbee removed to 
Wausau, Marathon Co., Wis., where he has 
been engaged in his profession ever since, 
and, b}' his skillful treatment of all cases 
under his care, has built up a large and re- 
munerative practice. Dr. Bugbee is a mem- 
ber of the White Mountain Medical Society 
of New Hampshire, and in his political views 
is a Republican. The family attend the 
Congregational Church. 

Dr. Ralph Bugbee, Jr. (deceased), was 
a graduate of the Burlington (Vt.) Medical 
College, and had a large practice in Water- 
ford, \'t., and in Littleton, N. H. He mar- 
ried three times; had no children by his first 
wife; by his second wife, whose maiden name 
was Mary Barker, he had only one, George 
Ralph, the subject of this sketch; and by his 
third marriage had one daughter, Mary, now 
wife of Israel Blake, a wholesale ice dealer 
in New York City. Dr. Bugbee passed 
away at Littleton, N. H., at the age of 
seventj'-four 3'ears, after an active and use- 
ful life, the greater portion of which was 
spent in the practice of his profession. His 
parents, the grandparents of Dr. George R. 
Bugbee, had born to them a family of five 
sons and one daughter, and all five of these 
sons followed the profession of their father, 
who was a noted physician, and were gradu- 
ates from colleges that rank among the best, 
and their sister was united in marriage with 
Dr. Enoch Blanchard, who practiced at 
Minonk, 111., and who passed away about 
three years ago. So, it may be well and 
truthfully said of the Bugbee family, that 
they are "a family of noted physicians." 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGEAPUICAL RECORD. 



FRANK DAY, whose success in life is 
the reward of his own labors, is a na- 
tive of New York State, born in 
Erie county, December 22, 1862. 
His parents, Ithamer and Alvira (Davis) 
Day, had a family of fourteen children — 
seven sons and seven daughters — of whom 
he was the fifth son and eighth child in the 
order of birth. The father followed agricul- 
tural pursuits, and became comfortably sit- 
uated financiall}'. In the spring of 1866 he 
emigrated to Portage county, Wis., locating 
in Section 21, Belmont township, where he 
secured a partiall\--improved tract of land. 
There was a frame dwelling upon the place 
and some other buildings, but much of the 
work of cultivation and improvement was 
performed bj' the father and his sons. His 
death occurred at Plover, Portage Co. , \\'is. , 
January, 1884, he having lost his life in the 
burning of the hotel where he was staying 
over night; two years later his wife was laid 
by his side in Belmont Cemetery. In his 
political views the father was a stanch Demo- 
crat. 

In the common schools Frank Day be- 
came familiar with the rudimentary branches 
of learning, but in the school of e.xperience 
he has obtained the greater part of his 
knowledge. At the age of fourteen he be- 
gan working as a farm hand for others, and 
attending school as he found opportunity. 
For three winters he was employed in the 
lumber woods, and in the summer months 
labored in the fields, so that we see that his 
life was an\thing but an easy one. When a 
boy of fifteen summers fin 1877), he accom- 
panied an emigrant wagon to Nebraska, 
where he remained about six months, work- 
ing on a farm near the city of Grand Island. 
In 1882 he visited California, in company 
with his mother who went for her health, 
staying nearly a \ear near San Francisco, 
where his older brother lived. 

Mr. Day was married November 5, 1S85, 
in Portage City, Wis., to Miss Lizzie Case}', 
and they began their domestic life upon the 
farm which is still his home, and which he 
rented for four years. One child was born 
to them, Jeimie Bell, but the mother and 
daughter have both departed this life. Mr. 
Day was again married June 23, 1894, in 



Almond, Wis., the lady of his choice being 
Miss Martha M. McLellan, who was born 
November 11, 1S74, in Plover, Wis., a 
doughter of George and Susan (Sanders) 
McLellan. She was formerly a teacher of 
recognized abilit}', and is a most estimable 
lady, having a large circle of friends. 

In June, 1890, Mr. Day bought the in- 
terests of the other heirs in the old home- 
stead, and is now the owner of 120 acres of 
rich and arable land, upon which, in 1 891, he 
erected a pleasant and substantial home, 
which stands as a monument to his enter- 
prise and perseverance. He is now a pros- 
perous young farmer who has won success 
through diligence and good management, 
and in future years will probably become a 
wealthy man if the past is a true criterion by 
which to judge. He does not seek official 
preferment, but is a stalwart supporter of 
the Republican part}" and its principles, and 
is a faithful citizen, devoted to the best in- 
terests of the communit}- in which he has so 
long made his home. 



LEONARD MASON was a Union sol- 
dier in the war of the Rebellion, and 
is a highly-esteemed citizen of Am- 
herst township. Portage county. He 
was born in Pinckney, N. Y. , November 20, 
1830, and is a son of Jared and Margaret 
(Green) Mason. 

The father of Jared Mason, Elias Ma- 
son, was born in New York State, was a 
gardener b}- occupation, and li\ed near Troy. 
The following named children were born to 
him: David, John, Jared (father of the sub- 
ject of this sketch), Mary, Elmira, Aaron 
and Moses (who reside in Rensselaer county, 
N. Y.), Betsey (married to David Soper, now 
deceased; she resides in Manitowoc county. 
Wis.), and Marvin (a farmer in Manitowoc 
county). Jared Mason, a farmer by occupa- 
tion, was born in Rensselaer county, N. Y. , 
in February, 1804. He was educated in his 
native county, married in Lewis county, 
N. Y. , and soon after his marriage moved to 
Lyme, Jefferson Co., N. Y. , where he 
bought a farm on which he lived for twenty- 
five years. He then moved with his family 
to Cato, Manitowoc Co., W'is., where he 



I 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



299 



bought from a man named Cary, a 160-acre 
tract of wild land on a soldier's claim, on 
which he made his home until his death, 
which occurred in September, 1880. He is 
buried in Cato. Jared Mason was twice 
married. The children by his first wife, 
Margaret (Green), who died when her son 
Leonard was onl}- fourteen years of age, 
were as follows: Eli, who was a private in 
the Sixteenth Wis. V. I., and died in hos- 
pital at New Albany, Ind. (he was unmar- 
ried); Martha, who resides in Adams, Jeffer- 
son Co., N. Y. , and was married three times 
— first to James Odell, the third time to a 
Mr. Boomer; Leonard, subject of this sketch; 
Wesley, a retired farmer, residing in Am- 
herst, who married Ann Thumb, and had 
seven children — Ozias, Albert, Wesley (de- 
ceased), Clarence, Ida, Sherman, and Lillie 
(deceased); Rufus, who married Rhoda Bar- 
nard, was a private in Company C, Forty- 
fourth W'is. V. I., and died of smallpox in 
hospital at Nashville, Tenn., leaving a wife 
and three children (Rcsie, John and Fanny); 
Albert, who is proprietor of a canning fac- 
tory in Sycamore, 111., married to Fanny 
Van Epps, by whom he had four children — 
Sherman, Arthur, Hattie and one whose 
name is not given; and Jeannette, who mar- 
ried R. E. Rickaby, and resides on a farm 
in Marinette county, W'is. (their children 
are Eva, Margaret, Earl, Edwin and Leon- 
ard). For his second wife Jared Mason mar- 
ried Mrs. Ruth Barnard, a widow, and to 
their union were born two children — Isaiah, 
who was elected clerk of court in the fall of 
1894, married Evelyn Flagg (at present 
they reside near New Lisbon, Juneau Co., 
Wis.); Ryley, a farmer and carpenter, who 
resides near Antigo, Langlade Co., Wis- 
consin. 

Leonard Mason acquired a meager edu- 
cation in Lyme, Jefferson Co., N. Y. , at- 
tending school during the winter until he 
was fifteen. At the age of twelve he hired 
out as a farmer boy for six dollars per month 
and board, and never lived at his father's 
home but one year after that time, with that 
excep'tion working out until his marriage. 
On July 2, 1849, in Jefferson county, N.Y. , 
Leonard Mason was united in marriage with 
Miss Christiana Thumb, who was born in 



St. Johnsville, Montgomery Co., N. Y. , Oc- 
tober I, 1830, and they have become the 
parents of the following-named children: 
Martha, Emma, Alpheus, William E. and 
Clara B. Martha married C. H. Van Cott 
(a soldier who was wounded at Gettysburg), 
and the children born to them were: Dora, 
who was a school teacher before marriage, 
married Bert Moss, and has one child; Clif- 
ford; Bertha, at home, a school teacher in 
Amherst, and Leonard, at home. Emma 
married Stephen Hammond, a farmer in 
Lanark township. Portage county, and they 
have two children — Lotta and Charles. 
Alpheus married Mary Mason, and they re- 
side in Greenwood, Clark Co., Wis.; he is 
a traveling salesman; they have one child, 
Winifred. William E. was killed at Am- 
herst, Portage county, by a runaway team; 
he came to town with his father's team of 
young horses, to take Mr. and Mrs. Thumb, 
his uncle and aunt, home with him; stop- 
ping at the house, he inquired if they were 
ready, and was answered: "In a few min- 
utes;" he jumped out of the wagon and 
took the horses by the bits to turn them 
around to hitch them to the fence, when 
they became frightened and ran, he hanging 
to them; they crossed the street in front of 
J. J. Nelson's residence, and in some way 
William was dashed violently against the 
hitching post and almost instantly killed; 
he was a remarkably strong and active 
young man, of modest manners, and his 
death was a sad blow to his parents. Clara 
B., the youngest child, married Charles 
Moss, a farmer in Amherst, and they have 
one child, a daughter, named Frankie. 

Mrs. Leonard Mason is a daughter of 
Peter and Catharine (Castleman) Thumb, 
the former of whom was born in Montgom- 
ery county, N. Y. , in 1802. He was a 
farmer in New York, was married in Mont- 
gomery county, and a few years afterward 
removed with his family to Jefferson county, 
where he bought a farm. His wife, Cath- 
arine, died there in childbirth in 1844, leav- 
ing the following-named children: Lucinda; 
Elizabeth, deceased; Catharine, who died in 
girlhood; Christiana, Mrs. Mason; Nancy 
A., deceased; Ann, Amanda, Rachel, Adam, 
Mary and Byron. Lucinda married Albert 



300 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Smith, now deceased, and for her second 
husband Charles Chandler, a wealthy farmer 
in Kansas; her children are: Joseph H., 
Aaron, Lorinda, Fred and Malinda. Eliza- 
beth, now deceased, married John Pierson, 
also deceased, and they resided in Brighton, 
Canada West; she was the mother of seven 
children, all daughters. Nancy A., who 
married James Houghton, a farmer in Lyme, 
Jefferson Co., X. Y., died in February, 
1894, at her home: she had three children, 
one of whom is named George. Amanda 
married Aldrich Luther, a farmer in Lyme, 
N. Y. Rachel married Minard Rogers, cap- 
tain and owner of a lake vessel, and they 
had two children, both daughters; their 
home is in Detroit, Mich. Adam, a mer- 
chant in Tomahawk, ^^'is. , married Le- 
vina Greenman. Mary married Alexander 
Weaver, a farmer of Lewis county, N. Y. 
Byron married Mrs. Mary Hope, a widow, 
and they now reside at Green Baj-, Wis. 
Peter Thumb came to Manitowoc county, 
Wis., about 1869, bought a farm of eighty 
acres in Cato, and about 1875 married 
there, for his second wife, Mrs. Mary Whit- 
comb, a widow. Mr. Thumb died in 1880, 
and was buried in Cato. Mrs. Leonard 
Mason's grandfather, Peter Nicholas, was a 
soldier in the war of 18 12, and died in 
Montgomery county, N. Y. , many years 
ago. His children were named Polly, Edna, 
Peter and Julia. 

After his marriage Leonard Mason went 
to housekeeping in Lyme, Jefferson Co., 
N. Y. , and worked farms on shares until he 
came west. In September, 1856, with his 
wife and family, he migrated to Cato, Mani- 
towoc Co., Wis., where, the following 
spring, he bought forty-five acres of wild 
land, which he subsequently disposed of, 
then purchasing sixty acres on which they 
lived until their removal to Amherst. In 
January, 1862, Mr. Mason enlisted, at 
Manitowoc, Wis., as a recruit in the Six- 
teenth Wis. V. I. After reaching Madison 
he was transferred to the Forty-fourth Regi- 
ment, stayed in Madison, at Camp Randall, 
for six weeks, and then went to Nashville, 
Tenn. , where they were stationed until 
March, 1865, then were ordered to Padu- 
cah, Kv., where, the regiment was dis- 



charged; during the battle of Nashville, it 
was held in reserve. Mr. Mason was dis- 
charged at Prairie du Chien, Wis., July 28, 
1865, came directly home, and was sick for 
nearly a year afterward and unable to work. 
He weighed 175 pounds when he enlisted, 
but on account of sickness was reduced in 
flesh to ninety pounds by the time he reached 
home. 

In December, 1881, Mr. Mason disposed 
of his farm in Cato for $2,400, and January 
I, 1882, came to Amherst, Portage count), 
where he bought a farm of 120 acres, sixty 
of which were improved; of this he sold 
eighty acres in September, 1894. He lived 
on the farm until April, 1893, when he 
bought a house and lot in the town of Am- 
herst, into which the family moved, and 
where they still reside. He is living a re- 
tired life, and rented the farm until he sold 
the eighty acres. In politics Mr. Mason is 
a strong Republican, and for two terms 
served as supervisor of Cato township, but 
he does not take an active part in politics. 
In religious views he is a Protestant, and his 
wife is a member of the United Brethren 
Church of Amherst. He is a kind and benev- 
olent gentleman, much respected. 



HERBERT STEDMAN, a substantial 
farmer and respected citizen of 
Lanark township. Portage county, 
was born in Niagara county, N. Y., 
and is a son of Harvey and Mary L. Sted- 
man. 

Harvey Stedman was born in Oswego 
county, N. Y. , and carried on the business 
of wagon and cabinet maker. Mrs. Mary 
L. Stedman was born in Lockport, N. Y. 
They came to Wisconsin in an early day, 
first locating in Berlin, Green Lake county, 
where Mr. Stedman built the first ware- 
house and steamboat landing. In pioneer 
times he came to Lanark township. Por- 
tage countj', where he had a large tract of 
land acquired through a money loan, and 
later moved his family there. The country 
in Lanark was then new, and he endured 
many privations at first; but he was pos- 
sessed of a vigorous constitution, and, like 
the rugged old pioneers of those days. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPIIWAL RECORD. 



worked hard and spent the best years of his 
hfe in bringing his township forward. He 
lived to be sixty-one years old; his wife died 
at the age of seventy-four in 1891. Their 
children were as follows : Hiram, who has 
a lumber yard and warehouse at Berlin, 
Wis. ; Horace, drowned in the Fox river in 
ICS50; Hollis, born March 30, 1845, who 
also runs a warehouse, and is a speculator 
at Berlin; Emily E., born February 7. 1859; 
Hattie M. (an adopted daughter of James 
Ford), now Mrs. Joseph Knight, of Farm- 
ington, Waupaca Co., Wis.; and Herbert, 
the subject of this sketch. 

Herbert Stedman had only a common- 
school education, and was reared as a farm- 
er boy. On February 22, 1880, he was 
united in marriage, in Farmington, Wau- 
paca Co., Wis., with Mary A. Knight, and 
the children born to their union are as 
follows: Harry W., born April 11, 1881; 
Robert L. , born March 2, 1883; and Lee- 
man G. H., born April 17, 1887. Mrs. 
Stedman is the daughter of Robert Knight, 
who was a farmer in comfortable circum- 
stances in Farmington township, of a well- 
known and well-to-do family, and who died 
years ago. His widow 3'et lives in Farm- 
ington. 

Mr. Stedman owns one of the most ex- 
tensive farming interests in the town, com- 
prising a thousand acres, two hundred of 
which are cleared. Politically he is a Re- 
publican. In 1880 he was elected to serve 
on the board of supervisors of the township 
of Lanark, serving three years, and faith- 
full\- fulfilling: the duties of that office. 



ALEXANDER McGREGOR, one of 
the most highly esteemed citizens of 
Lanark township. Portage county, 
was born in Perthshire, Scotland, 
April 10, 1842, son of Malcolm and Cather- 
ine (Kennedy) McGregor. The father in his 
younger days was a shepherd, and became a 
fanner in comfortable circumstances. His 
children by his first wife were Daniel, now 
of Adams county, Wis. ; Duncan, of Platte- 
ville, who was captain of Company A, 
Forty-second Wis. V. I., and who for twen- 
ty years was a prominent instructor, prin- 



cipal of the First Normal School of Platte- 
ville, having been educated in Aberdeen, 
Scotland; John, superintendent of the pub- 
lic schools at Eau Claire, ^^'is. ; Margaret, 
who died young, in Scotland; Alexander, 
subject of this sketch; Charles, of Califor- 
nia; Catherine, who married A. J. Hutton, 
a State institute instructor and an eminent 
teacher; and Malcolm, a farmer, of Minne- 
sota. The wife died in Scotland about 1852, 
and was buried at Kirk Michael, Perthshire, 
Scotland. 

Malcolm McGregor married, for his sec- 
ond wife, Catherine Scott, and in 1856 
came to America. He bought land near 
Waupaca, Wis. , and the next year his fam- 
ily followed him. They left Liverpool in 
August, 1857, in the vessel "Gen. Will- 
iams," and eighteen days later landed at 
Portland, Maine. They came west by rail, 
and from Oshkosh went up the \\'olf river 
to Gill's Landing, thence reaching Waupaca 
by stage. Through misrepresentation and 
the financial panic of that year, which made 
it impossible to obtain money, Mr. Mc- 
Gregor lost the farm which he had bought 
east of Waupaca. He rented land in Farm- 
ington township, and for some time lived 
there; then bought and moved to eighty acres 
on "Sessions Prairie," Section 12, Lanark 
township. Portage county, increasing the 
farm later to 200 acres. By his second 
marriage the children of Malcolm McGregor 
were as follows, the eldest two being born 
in Scotland, the others in America: Mar- 
garet, now Mrs. William Foster, of Adams 
county, Wis. ; James, a prominent farmer of 
Adams county; Anna, now Mrs. Frank Lee, 
of Plainfield; Peter, of Hancock, Wis.; 
Jennie, now Mrs. Albert Lee, of Lanark 
township. Two children died young. Mal- 
colm McGregor now lives a retired life 
in Waushara county. He has recovered 
from the financial reverses of 1857, and 
is comfortably situated. A devout Chris- 
tian, he is one of the leading members 
and an elder of the Presbyterian Church, 
and was instrumental in having the church 
built where he lives. He is superintendent 
of the Sunday-school, and both himself and 
wife are among the most active workers of 
the Church. In politics he is a Republican, 



302 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and for five or six years has served as town- 
ship chairman, besides filling other local of- 
fices. 

Alexander McGregor was sixteen years 
old when he came to America. Up to that 
time he had been well-educated in Scotland, 
but when he embarked for the United States 
his school days were over. In the pioneer 
home of Wisconsin he assisted in clearing 
the farm, and when he attained his majority 
he began working in the lumber woods; also 
" ran the river," the popular employment in 
his younger days. In 1868 he purchased 
one hundred acres of land in Section 24, 
Lanark township, thirty acres of which were 
cleared, and a single log house stood on the 
premises. He worked steadily in clearing 
up this farm, and there began housekeeping, 
after his marriage, March 31, 1870, in Lan- 
ark township, to Miss Jeannette Hutton, 
Rev. Dr. Marsh, Presbyterian minister at 
Waupaca, officiating. She was born in 
Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Scotland, February 
3, 1844, daughter of James and Margaret 
(Meiklejohnj Hutton, early settlers in Lan- 
ark township. James Hutton was a pioneer 
Baptist minister, who was widely known 
and dearly beloved by all who knew him. 
He came to Lanark township in 1855, and 
the family came two years later in the 
"Pomonia," which landed them at New 
York three weeks and three da3"s after de- 
parture from Liverpool. They came by 
water to Sheboygan, thence to Fond du Lac 
by team, to Gill's Landing on the Wolf 
river by vessel, and by team again to Lan- 
ark township. Mrs. McGregor had obtained 
a good common-school education in Scot- 
land, and in Portage county she taught 
seventeen terms of school, beginning at the 
age of seventeen years. Her first term 
was in a small shanty in what is now Dis- 
trict 4, Lanark township. Her salary was 
eighteen dollars for four months, or $4. 50 
per month. She was a good seamstress, 
and while teaching earned her board by 
sewing. This pioneer schoolteacher quickly 
demonstrated her ability, and her salary rose 
in consequence. For fifteen years Mr. Mc- 
Gregor kept house in the log cabin that 
stood on the farm, and then built his present 
home. He has always been a farmer, and 



now owns 180 acres, the buildings upon 
which have all been erected by him. Mr. 
and Mrs. McGregor have had three children: 
Margaret M., the eldest, born February 18, 
1 87 1, died October 2, 1891 (she was a 
highly-educated young lady, and at the time 
of her death was a teacher in the Eau Claire 
schools; in respect to her memory all the 
schools were closed on the day of the 
funeral, and many beautiful floral tributes 
attested the affection in which she was held; 
she was exceedingly popular, and a member 
of the Presbyterian Church; she was buried 
in Badger cemetery); Malcolm R., born Jan- 
uary 29, 1876, and James H., born April 
23, 1 88 1, both living at home. In politics 
Mr. McGregor is a stanch Republican, and 
he has often been called to serve his town- 
ship in positions of honor and trust. For 
twelve years he has been school clerk; was 
assessor three years, and has been township 
clerk since 1886. He has served his party 
as a delegate to the county convention, and 
is one of the leading Republicans in the 
township. While not a Church member, 
he is an active Sunday-school worker, and 
for twenty years has taught the Bible class. 
The comfortable home of Mr. McGregor 
abounds in the genial hospitality character- 
istic of the Scottish people. 



CHARLES A. JENKINS is a wide- 
awake, enterprising farmer, residing 
in Union township, Waupaca coun- 
ty, where he owns 160 acres of land, 
sixty of which are cleared and under a high 
state of cultivation. It is also improved 
with good buildings, and in appearance is 
neat and thrifty. 

Mr. Jenkins was born in Tioga count}', 
N. Y. , August 26, 1 85 1, and is a son of 
John and Ann (Fronk) Jenkins, natives of 
the Empire State. The father was a car- 
penter by trade, but afterward followed 
farming. In 1854 he emigrated westward 
to Rock county, Wis., where he purchased 
forty acres of land, and in connection with 
its cultivation engaged in carpenter work. 
He also bought additional forty acres, and 
cultivated his farm until 1873, when he sold 
out and removed to Oshkosh, \\'is. , where 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



303^ 



for five years he engaged in the grocery bus- 
iness. In 1878 he came to Union town- 
ship, Waupaca county, and purchased 160 
acres of land in Section 21, the present 
farm of our subject. Only twenty acres had 
been broken, but with characteristic energy- 
he began its further development, most of 
the work, however, being performed by his 
sons, for the father's health failed him. He 
erected the log house which still stands on 
the old homestead. His three sons, Charles, 
Henry and John, operated his land for him 
for some time, and the first two remained 
with him until he was called to his final rest 
in December, 1892. His wife still survives 
him at the age of seventy-three, and makes 
her home with her son Charles. He received 
as his share of the property the old farm, 
while Henry was given 120 acres of land in 
Section 29, Union township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins had six children: 
Josephine, wife of George Bradet, an e.\- 
press agent on the Chicago & North Western 
railroad; Samuel, an overseer on a large 
ranch in Oregon; Charles A.; Jay, who is 
now manager of a wholesale house in Chi- 
cago; John R. , a miner of Idaho; and 
Henry H., who makes his home in Clin- 
tonville, Wisconsin. 

Charles A. Jenkins was only three years 
old when he was brought by his parents to 
Wisconsin. As before stated, he lived with 
his father throughout the latter's life, and 
gave him the benefit of his services, work- 
ing the home farm. He was married 
January 6, 1886, to Mary C. Churchill, 
daughter of Daniel and Caroline (Baker) 
Churchill, who came to the West from 
Solon, Somerset Co., Maine. Her father 
was a lumberman, doing an extensive and 
successful business along that line. In 
1856 he brought his family to Wisconsin, 
and for four years rented a farm near Ripon. 
In December, i860, he came to Union town- 
ship, Waupaca county, and pre-empted 
forty acres of land, which he began to im- 
prove and cultivate; but soon he left that 
work to others, while he engaged in land 
speculation. He finally located upon a 200- 
acre farm, where both he and his wife re- 
sided until within. a few months of their 
deaths, their last days being spent at the 



home of Mrs. Jenkins. The father died in 
1887, at the age of eighty-seven; the mother 
died at the age of seventy-five. The}' had 
nine children: Albert, of Maine; Abel, de- 
ceased; Julia, wife of A. A. Stevens; Dor- 
cas F. , wife of O. C. Cook, of Oconto, 
Wis.; Daniel F., of Clay county, S. Dak.;. 
Warren, who is living in the State of Wash- 
ington; Melvin, of Minnesota; Hannah E., 
wife of H. Carpenter, of Wisconsin, and 
Mrs. Jenkins. 

The last named was married September 
18, 1866, to Amos Churchill, Jr., son of 
Amos and Eleanor (Chase) Churchill. He- 
too was a native of Maine, and, on seeking a 
home in the W^est, took up his residence in 
Union township, Waupaca county. There 
he purchased an eighty-acre farm, and oper- 
ated the same until his death, which re- 
sulted from consumption in 1883. He left 
five children: William O., of Symco, Wis.; 
Gladys M., deceased; Leslie L. ; Floyd W. ;. 
and Amos R. deceased. Mr. and Mrs. 
Jenkins now have one child, Ray, who was 
born December 17, 1890. 

In politics Mr. Jenkins has always been' 
a Republican, but has never sought poli- 
tical preferment, desiring rather to give 
his entire time and attention to his business 
interests, in which he is meeting with good 
success, being now numbered among the 
leading agriculturists of Waupaca county. 



JAMES DEWITT HEATH, M. D. 
(deceased), was born in Elyria, Ohio,. 
May 7, 1855. His father, Amasa 
Heath, was born in Adams, Jefferson 
Co., N. Y. , March 13, 1820, and was a 
Baptist minister, having been ordained in 
1851. He was twice married, and by the 
first union had a daughter, Alice. For his 
second wife he chose Emily C. Campbell, a 
native of the Empire State, and they became 
the parents of the following children: James 
Devvitt, Eva, Gertrude, Letta Nellie and 
Leila. The father was a highly-educated 
man, and an eloquent and gifted minister. 
He died June 20, 1884, in Ohio. 

The Doctor probably inherited his 
father's keen mind, for in school he was an 
exceedingly apt scholar. At the early age 



304 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of thirteen he began to earn his own living, 
and secured the capital which enabled him 
to obtain a college education. In addition 
he also assisted his father in the support of 
the family. When the Rev. Mr. Heath's 
health failed, the Doctor who was then but 
a mere boy learned the mason's trade and 
followed that so assiduously that he was at 
length enabled to pursue a course of study 
in Oberlin College, and subsequently entered 
Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, 
from which he was graduated in 1879 at the 
age of twenty-three years. He had left his 
native State when a young man of nineteen, 
removing to Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he 
worked at his trade through the day and 
studied medicine at night in order to pre- 
pare for his contemplated course. He first 
opened an office in Shawano, Wis., and 
continued practice until May, 1S83, when 
on his removal to Merrill he abandoned his 
profession. 

Here the Doctor engaged in the lumber 
business, aiding in the organization of the 
Wolf River Lumber Company, of which he 
became business manager. He was a most 
indefatigable worker, and the hours not 
given to his business were mostly devoted to 
study. This course, however, broke down 
his health, and in 1890 he was forced to 
practically lay aside business cares. He 
believed in all men owning their own houses, 
and assisted many a laboring man to secure 
a home by supplying him the material with 
which to build and giving him his own time 
in which to pay for it. 

Dr. Heath was married in Amherst, 
Ohio, October 18, 1879, to Alice Annetta 
Jackson, who was born in that city, a 
daughter of Michael and Annetta (Gleason) 
Jackson. They became the parents of four 
children: Carrol D., Clifford J. and Robert 
^^^, who are living, and Mark, the third 
son, who died at the age of a 3'ear and ten 
months. 

The Doctor was a member of Shawano 
Lodge, No. 7, F. & A. M., and in politics 
was a stalwart supporter of the Republican 
party, yet never sought or desired office. 
His honesty of purpose and his sterling 
worth were widely recognized, commanding 
the respect and confidence of all. He was 



deeply interested in e\erything calculated to 
promote the general welfare, and was a most 
highly respected man, leaving behind a host 
of friends. His death occurred April 13, 
1894. 



ALBERT THEODORE KOCH, M. 
D. , a successful physician of Wausau, 
Marathon county, was born in the 
city of Stettin, Prussia, November 
9, 1839, and is a son of Gottlieb A. and 
Regina (Darwitz) Koch. 

Gottlieb A. Koch, who was a mill owner, 
baker and farmer, and a man of large prop- 
erty, came to this country in 1856, and set- 
tled at Watertown, Jefferson Co., Wis. He 
followed agriculture in this State, and owned 
several large farms between Madison and 
Portage City. He died in October, 1887, at 
Columbus, Columbia Co., Wis. His widow 
is still living at Columbus, \\'is., with a son 
who is a clergyman of the Lutheran Church. 
Dr. Koch received a liberal education in 
the old countr)', his parents having destined 
him for the ministry; but his inclinations did 
not lead him toward that calling, and after 
coming to Wisconsin he attended the schools 
at Watertown, and also began the study of 
medicine. In 1862, at Owatonna, Minn., 
Dr. Koch married Martha Eastman, who 
was born in Savanna, 111., and they are the 
parents of three children, all now deceased. 
Ouitting his studies, the Doctor volunteered 
in the Union army, in 1862, enlisting in 
Company C, Second Minn. Y. C. He served 
to the close of the war, a period of a little 
over three years, principally in the ^^'est, 
including Arkansas, Missouri, Montana and 
Minnesota, and on the frontier fighting the 
Indians. After leaving the army he resumed 
the stud}- of medicine, and in 1869-70 be- 
came a student at Bennett Medical College, 
Chicago, 111., graduating in the spring of 
1872. He first began practice at St. Ansgar, 
Mitchell Co., Iowa, remaining there four 
years; then came to \\'ausau, Marathon Co., 
Wis., and has been here longer than any 
other physician now practicing in the place. 
Dr. Koch has been interested in mines 
for fourteen years, and has large interests in 
the Rush Mining, Milling and Smelting Com- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 



305 



pany. Mount Chopaca, Okanog;an Co., 
Wash., gold and siher mining. This com- 
pany controls nine different gold and silver 
claims, assaying from fifty dollars to two 
thousand dollars per ton of quartz. The 
Doctor has also been largely interested in 
pine timber and agricultural lands, and now 
owns about one thousand acres of land, 
mostly in Marathon county. He has been 
uniformly successful in business in ^^^ausau 
and vicinit}-. 

The societies of which Dr. Koch is a 
member include the Kranken \'erein, a be- 
nevolent organization, the Sons of Hermann, 
etc. He was also a member of the G. A. R. , 
but resigned his membership. He is a Re- 
publican in politics, and has often been solic- 
ited to run for office, but has never allowed 
his name to be used. In religious affiliation 
he is a member of the Lutheran Church. 



REUBEN C. LYON. It is said that 
great men have short biographies, 
and though in the present instance, 
if never before, that saying is pecul- 
iarly applicable, we regret the necessity 
which compels us to give only an abbreviated 
record of this gentleman, one of the earliest 
settlers of Wood county, whose life was an 
honor to the community in which he lived. 
Mr. Lyon was born in Franklinville, Cat- 
taraugus Co., N. Y. , January 15, 1822, and 
was a son of Jonathan H. and Harriet (Per- 
kins) Lyon, the former of English, the lat- 
ter of American parentage. In their family 
were seven children, three of whom yet sur- 
vive, as follows: Russell, a resident of 
Salem, 111. ; Deloss, who is living in Du- 
buque, Iowa; and Mrs. Clara McMillen, a 
resident of Franklinville, N. Y. The gentle- 
man of whom we write began his education 
in his native town, and afterward attended 
the schools of Buffalo, N. Y. During his 
early life he learned the trade of carpenter 
and builder, and for many j'ears followed 
that pursuit, continuing it in the East until 
1846. On May 16, that year, he located at 
Grand Rapids, a settlement of about three 
houses in the midst of an unbroken wilder- 
ness. Wisconsin was yet a Territory, and 
all was wild and undeveloped, waiting for 



the civilizing influences of such men as Mr. 
Lyon, who deserve great credit for what 
they have done in behalf of their adopted 
counties. For some j-ears he gave his at- 
tention to business as a carpenter and mill- 
wright, and in 1848, in company with A. B. 
Sampson, he built a sawmill at South Cen- 
tralia (then called Hurle3town), operating the 
mill for several years, when it was sold to 
Timothy Hurley. In 1861 Mr. Lyon pur- 
chased a water-power and erected the first 
shingle and planing mill in Centralia, and 
probably the first one ever erected on the 
Wisconsin river. This he sold in 1880, and 
from that time until his death lived retired 
from active business pursuits. 

Mr. Lyon was married in Grand Rapids, 
January 14, 1849, to Esther J. Hill, daugh- 
ter of Jonah and Lydia (Manson) Hill, who 
were natives of Vermont. The union of this 
worthy couple was blessed with seven chil- 
dren, a brief record of whom we here give: 
Lydia H., born February 27, 1850, is the 
widow of James Houston, of Stevens Point, 
Wis.; Theron, born August 22, 1851, is 
now living in Centralia; Clark, born Decem- 
ber II, 1853, is a popular hotel man of 
Centralia; Esther, born November 27, 1856, 
is the wife of William Hooper, a resident of 
Nakoosa, Wis.; Reuben, born October 16, 
1862, is living with his mother in Centralia; 
Henrietta, born Februarj' 21, 1864. is the 
wife of James Natwick, also a resident of 
Centralia; Russell, born January 9, 1868, is 
engaged in the practice of dentistry, and 
makes his home at Wausau, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Lyon was one of the incorporators 
of the Wisconsin Valley railroad, and also a 
member of the construction company which 
built the road. He took a deep and com- 
mendable interest in everything that per- 
tained to the welfare of the community, and 
was broad minded and progressive. He was 
a man of noble impulses, strict integrity and 
high moral character, ciualifications that e.\- 
erted a strong influence for the public good 
wherever and whenever they were called 
into requisition by the people who honored 
him with many positions of trust. Among 
his many friends he was very popular and is 
held in loving remembrance by them. Firm 
in his convictions of ritjht and wrong, he 



300 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



never swerved from the path of rectitude, 
and all who came in contact with him hon- 
ored him for his sterling integrity. He passed 
peacefully away October i8, 1887. 



ELIAS H. TICKNOR. The life of 
this gentleman bears testimony of 
what can be accomplished by willing 
hands and a resolute purpose, and 
among the citizens of Wood county none 
are more deserving of credit for advance- 
ment in life than the subject of this sketch. 
Mr. Ticknor is a native of New York, 
born in Broome county, November 25, 1837, 
and is a son of Barton and Hannah (Smith) 
Ticknor. The family to which he belonged 
numbered seven children, four of whom are 
now living : Kate, in Garrettville, Te.xas; 
Susan, in Windom, Kansas; Eiias H. and 
Louis, who reside in Springfield, 111. 
Another brother, John, served as a captain 
in the Civil war, and was killed at the bat- 
tle of Gettysburg. One brother was a 
soldier in the Confederate army, and died 
from wounds received in battle. When 
Elias was quite young, his parents emigrat- 
ed to Wisconsin, settling sixteen miles east 
of Madison, but after a few months they 
went to Missouri, where they lived for 
several years. Their next place of residence 
was in McHenry county. 111., but about two 
years later they removed to Columbia coun- 
ty. Wis., and in 1850 Elias H. located in 
Marathon county, this State. 

The subject of this sketch remained un- 
der the parental roof, and accompanied his 
parents on their various removals until after 
the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion. 
Imbued with a patriotic spirit, he re- 
sponded to the country's call for troops in 
the fall of 1 86 1, enlisting as a member of 
Company G, Twelfth Wis. V. I., and serv- 
ing until the close of the struggle. He 
never shirked a duty, was with his regiment 
in a number of hotly contested engagements, 
and when peace was restored was honorably 
discharged at Madison, Wis., July 16, 1865, 
and returned to his home. 

On April 7, the following year, Mr. 
Ticknor wedded Ruth Amelia, daughter of 
Andrew J. and Nancy .\nn (Wood) Turner, 



natives of New York. She was born at 
Spring Arbor, Mich., September 5, 1848; 
and the date of her father's birth is Febru- 
ary 19, 1 8 16, that of her mother being 
April 3, 1S22. They are both living, still 
hale and hearty, and on November 10, 1889, 
in Osage, Iowa, celebrated the fiftieth anni- 
versary of their marriage, which had taken 
place November 10, 1839, in Harrisville, 
Ohio. The first thirty years of their mar- 
ried life were spent in the Buckeye State, 
in Michigan and Missouri, and from 1869, 
until 1893, they made their home in Osage,. 
Iowa, removing in the latter year from that 
place to Riceville, Iowa, where they are 
now located. They had a family of eight 
children, five of whom are living : Ellen 
Rude, wife of Charles Kline, who formerly 
resided at Grand Rapids, but is now living 
in Daly, Wood county; William H., a resi- 
dent of Riceville, Iowa; Ruth Amelia, wife 
of our subject; Mary Ann, wife of H. C. 
Cook, a resident of Minneapolis; and Zelia 
Kate, wife of Albert Nye, of Cedar Falls, 
Iowa. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Ticknor has 
been blessed with five children, as follows : 
Lee Norton, born October 4, 1867; Frank 
B., born November 16, 1870; Rena Belle, 
born January 23, 1876, died Septembers, 
following; Glen H., born October i, 1877; 
and Henry Howard, born April 16, 1881. 
Our subject and wife attend the Congrega- 
tional Church, and have many warm friends 
throughout the community. 



DAVID WILLIAM BURNS is the 
owner of a boiler factory at Marsh- 
field, Wood county, establishing the 
first industry of the kind in the city. 
From a small beginning his business has 
steadily increased until it has now assumed 
extensive proportions. The excellent class 
of work which he turns out insures a liberal 
patronage, and he now ranks as one of the 
leading and influential business men of 
Marshfield. 

Mr. Burns is still a young man, his birth 
having occurred in Green Bay, Wis., No- 
vember 5, 1864. The family is of Scotch 
lineage, and the father, David M. Burns, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



307 



was born near Dundee. Scotland, in 1834. 
The grandfather. William Burns, was a 
musician, and engaged in the manufacture 
of musical instruments. In his native land 
he was married and reared a family, num- 
bering the following named children: Will- 
iam, James, Charles, Alex and David. 
Charles is a band master in the British army. 
David Burns, the father of our subject, left 
the land of his birth when about twenty 
years of age and crossed the Atlantic to 
America, where he has since made his home. 
In Jersey City, N. J., shortly- after his ar- 
rival, he was united in marriage with Esther 
Connor, a native of Stirling, Scotland. They 
became the parents of five children, two of 
whom are living: George and David; Will- 
iam, Esther and Agnes have all passed away, 
and the mother was called to her final rest 
in 1869. In his native land the father 
learned the trade of boiler manufacturer, and 
upon his marriage he settled in St. Louis, 
where he followed that pursuit. Subse- 
quently he removed to Indiana, and in 1862 
came to Wisconsin, taking up his residence 
in Green Bay, where he carried on exten- 
sive boiler works. In 1865 he transferred 
his business to Fort Howard, Wis., and to- 
day is proprietor of the largest boiler works 
in the State outside of Milwaukee. His 
brother, Alex, who died in the spring of 
1894, was also engaged in the same line of 
business in Oshkosh, Wis. In his political 
views, David M. Burns is a Republican, and 
has served in the State Legislature and in 
other public offices of trust, discharging his 
duties in a most acceptable manner. For 
-his second wife he chose Mrs. Margaret 
Thompson Menies, who vvas born in New 
Brunswick, of Scotch parentage. They 
have two sons: Alex and Charles. The 
father is still an active business man and is 
accounted one of the representative business 
•men of Fort Howard, Wisconsin. 

David William Burns, the subject of this 
■record, was reared in his parents' home and 
was educated in the high school at Fort 
Howard. At the age of fifteen he entered 
■his father's shop to learn the trade of boiler 
making, which he has followed continuously 
since as a means of livelihood. After learn- 
•ing his trade our subject was employed in 



the capacity of a boiler maker in Minnesota, 
\\'isconsin, Illinois and Michigan, working 
as foreman in several shops. Thoroughly 
understanding his business, his efficient serv- 
ices enabled him to command good positions. 
On June 26, i8go, Mr. Burns was mar- 
ried to Mrs. Hattie M. Stevens, who was 
born in Brown county, W'is. , a daughter of 
D. F. and Julia A. (Woodruff) Smith, the 
father a native of New York, the mother of 
Ohio; they were married in Green Bay, 
Wis., August 25, 1863, and had a family of 
six children: Hattie, Lucia E., Frank A., 
Dow D., Lloyd and Cora. Mr. and Mrs. 
Burns now have two children: Esther C. 
and Ruth E. Upon his marriage, Mr. Burns 
remo\'ed to Brainerd, Minn. , where he re- 
mained for one summer, then returned to 
Fort Howard, after which he went to Osh- 
kosh, Wis. On October 6, 1892, he came 
to Marshfield and built his present boiler 
works. He possesses good business ability, 
is enterprising and progressive, and is now 
meeting with success such as comes not 
through a combination of lucky circum- 
stances, but as the reward of earnest effort. 
In politics he is a Democrat. 



JOHN G. WOLDEN, one of the hon- 
ored and respected citizens of New 
Hope township. Portage county, is 
now living retired, resting in the en- 
joyment of the fruits of his former toil. 

He was born in Gausdal, Norway, April 
20, 1842, and is a son of Gulbrand and Anne 
fjohnson) Johnson Wolden, the former born 
February 23, 1811, the latter October 14, 
181 1. Johannes Syvrud, the paternal 
grandfather of our subject, was also a native 
of Gausdal, and when a young man learned 
the trade of a carpenter and joiner, which 
he followed up to the time of his marriage, 
but afterward engaged in farming. To him 
and his wife, Ronnog were born the follow- 
ing children: Ole, a carpenter, and Amund, 
a farmer, both died in Norway; Filing, an 
agriculturist, came to the United States in 
1857, locating in New Hope township. Por- 
tage Co., W'is., and by his marriage with 
Karen Mortonson became the father of eight 
children: Helena, wedded to Johan Gjefson 



3o8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in Norway; Ingebor, married to Johan 
Syvrud; Gulbrand, father of our subject, 
and Karen, also a resident of that country. 

The educational privileges of Gulbrand 
Johnson were meagre, but his training at 
farm labor was not so limited. In Gausdal 
he was married, and in April, 1858, he 
brought his family to the New World on the 
' ' Drobak, " which sailed from Christiania on 
the 24th of that month, arriving at Quebec 
si.\ weeks later. He located in New Hope 
township. Portage Co., \\'is., where he pur- 
chased 120 acres of wild land from the Fo.x 
River Company, which he cleared, building 
there a log house, where he resided until his 
death in 1873. His wife, who long survived 
him, passed away in 1893. They were the 
parents of three children, of whom our sub- 
ject is second in order of birth; Marit, de- 
ceased, was the wife of Henrek Larson; 
Johanne is now Mrs. C. O. Loberg, of 
Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 

In Norway John G. Wolden received an 
excellent education in his native tongue, 
and after coming to Wisconsin he attended 
school for a short time. He was married in 
Scandinavia, July 4, 1865, to Miss Hilde 
Johnson, the ceremony being performed by 
Rev. A. Mickleson. Mrs. Wolden is a 
native of Norway, born in 1834, and in 
1 849 came to America with her parents who 
located at Rock River, Jefferson Co., Wis. 
In 1883 our subject removed to Stevens 
Point, where he conducted a boarding house, 
and in that city his wife died January 16, 
1884; she now lies buried in the cemeter}' 
of New Hope. Five children were born of 
this union: Gilbert and Holbert, who make 
their home in the State of W'ashington; 
Mattie, a resident of Spokane Falls, Wash. ; 
Oscar, at home; and Hannah, the eldest in 
the family, who died in infancy. In 1887 
Mr. Wolden went to Washington, where he 
purchased 160 acres of railroad land, which 
he began clearing and on which he erected 
a house, and a year later his family joined 
him. For three years he remained in that 
State, when he disposed of his place, as the 
water there did not agree with him, and 
returned to New Hope township. For 
some time after his return he continued in 
poor health. Prior to going to Washington 



he had sold all his land in Portage county 
with the exception of half an acre, on which 
he built a home for his mother, who re- 
mained there until her death, and there he 
is now living retired. 

Mr. Wolden has witnessed almost the 
entire development of New Hope township, 
and the first school taught in District No. i 
was in his old homestead. At that time 
Alban was a part of New Hope town- 
ship, and his nearest postoi^ce was at Scan- 
dinavia, Waupaca county, while his pro- 
visions were obtained from Stevens Point. 
Mr. Wolden is a very able man, possessing 
much intelligence and natural ability, is an 
excellent penman, a good conversationalist, 
and well informed on all the leading topics 
of the day. Politically, he is a stalwart 
Republican, and before going to Washington 
held several offices in the township, being 
clerk for ten j-ears, justice of the peace, was 
twice elected chairman but refused to 
qualify, and was side supervisor for one 
year. He is one of the active members of 
the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of 
New Hope. 



JAMES B. TAYLOR, of Marshfield, 
Wood county, was born in Tuscarawas 
county, Ohio, June 4, 1836. The an- 
cestry of the family can not be traced 
back farther than the grandfather, and little 
is known of him, save that he was born in 
Pennsylvania, and had a family of thirteen 
children. 

John, the father of our subject, was born 
in Ohio, in 1804, and in his j'ounger years 
learned the shoemaker's trade, though he 
followed farming during the greater part of 
his life. He married Elizabeth B. Sping- 
ler, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of 
John and Mary (Bauckman) Spingler. The 
Bauckman family was of Holland origin, and 
the great-great-grandfather emigrated from 
Holland to America in 17 16. The grand- 
father of Mr. Taylor on the maternal side 
was a very wealthy man; when the Rev- 
olutionary war broke out he joined the 
Colonial army, and was killed at the battle 
of Bunker Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Spingler for 
some years were farming people of the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



309- 



Budkeye State; the mother died in northern 
Ohio, while the father passed away in Penn- 
sylvania at the advanced age of ninety-six 
years. They had a familj' of seven chil- 
dren, namely: John, Jonathan, Catherine, 
Kate, Elizabeth, Mary and Susan. During 
the Mexican war, John Taylor, father of 
our subject, joined the army, but never left 
the United States. In 1850 he removed 
with his family to Indiana and settled in 
Bluffton. His death occurred in 1856, and 
his wife, who survived him thirty years, 
passed away in Fond du Lac, Wis. , in 
1886. They were the parents of four chil- 
dren: James B., Mary, Elizabeth and 
Catherine. 

We now take up the personal history of 
the gentleman whose name begins this rec- 
ord, and follow his career up to the present 
time. In his younger years he attended 
the district schools, but the greater part of 
his education has been acquired through 
observation and practical experience. Since 
the early age of fourteen years he has been 
dependent upon his own resources, earning 
his living by farm work and by driving a 
team on the canal. He also engaged in 
railroad work until nineteen years of age. 
Soon after attaining his majority Mr. Taylor 
was married in Fort ^^'ayne, Ind., to Miss 
Elizabeth Haslum, who was born in Ireland 
in 1838, and is one of the six daughters of 
Joseph and Mary (Hennesy) Haslum, the 
others being Anna, Maria, Alice, Julia and 
Jane. In 1852 her father came to this country 
and in 1854 was joined by his family; he 
was of English descent, and his parents 
were both born in England; his mother 
bore the maiden name of Ann Conner. 
Joseph Haslum was a well-educated man, 
and to a limited extent followed school 
teaching, but most of the time in the Emer- 
ald Isle was employed as a stone cutter. 
After his arrival in America he carried on 
farming, making his home first in New 
York State, later in Indiana and subsequent- 
ly in Wisconsin, whither he came in 1857. 
His death occurred in 1875, ^"d his wife 
passed away in September, 1888. 

After his marriage James B. Taylor re- 
sided in Indiana some six years. He began 
railroading first as a brakeman, and later 



was promoted to the position of conductor. 
In 1864 he removed to Wisconsin, settling 
in Glenbeulah, Sheboygan county, where he 
was employed to operate a stationary en- 
gine. He was thus employed for a year, 
when he took a large contract for cutting 
staves, and to this industry devoted his en- 
ergy three years. On the expiration of that 
period he became superintendent of the con- 
struction of a railroad between Glenbeulah 
and Princeton, and was engaged with the 
railroad company as a contractor until 1876, 
superintending the construction of the work 
in this State and Iowa. He continued his 
connection with railroad work for some 
years, and also took contracts for furnishing 
large quantities of ties to railroad com- 
panies. In 1 88 1 he began burning charcoal, 
a business he still follows, having now thirty 
kilns leased on the different lines of rail- 
roads, and in addition he superintended the 
burning of one hundred kilns, and now has 
charge of same. For some twelve years he 
made his home in St. Cloud, Wis., and 
erected a nice residence there. In 1882 
he removed to Hewitt, Wis., and in August, 
1 89 1, he came to Marshfield. 

In that city Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have a 
commodious and pleasant residence, noted 
for its hospitality, and in their family are 
eight children: Mary E. , William F., 
Joseph H., George E., Jessie E., Alton C. , 
Zita E., and Alice, the last named dying in 
infancy. Mrs. Taylor's father was one of a 
family of seventeen children, all of whom 
reached years of maturity, while Philip, 
James, Edward, John, Sophia and Ann are 
all yet living. Her mother had three broth- 
ers and one sister, namely: Mary Eliza, 
Michael and Mathias. For some genera- 
tions past the members of the Taylor fam- 
ily were Whigs in politics, and on the dis- 
solution of that party became Republicans. 
James B. Taylor is a stalwart advocate of 
Republicanism, and has served as chairman 
of the board, as justice of the peace and 
was postmaster at Hewitt, Wis., under 
President Harrison. He belongs to the 
F. & A. M. and Knights of Pythias, and 
both he and his wife are members of the 
Presbyterian Church. He lives a quiet, un- 
assuming life, is energetic and enterprising, 



■310 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



honorable in all business dealings, and is a 
highly respected gentleman, whose many 
excellencies of character have gained him 
rwarm regard. 



JOHN W. EVANS, a prosperous woolen 
manufacturer at Waupaca, is one of the 
most popular men in that thriving little 
city, with whose business interests he has 
been connected since his removal here, in 
1867. Mr. Evans inherited his trade, but 
his rise to the rank of manufacturer is due 
-to his own unaided efforts. 

He was born July 10, 1843, at Newtown, 
Montgomeryshire, Wales, a region noted 
for its fine flannels, and his father, Evan 
Evans, and his grandfather, Nathaniel Evans, 
were weavers before him. Nathaniel Evans 
had three children: Hannah, Evan and 
John. Evan, who was born in 1809, mar- 
ried Mary Hughes, of the same town, by 
whom he had si.\ children: Mary, Elizabeth, 
Evan, John W., Thomas E., and one that 
died in infancy. In 1846 the family immi- 
grated to America, the trip from Liverpool 
to New York consuming three months, and 
located at New Hartford, N. Y., where 
for five years Mr. Evans worked at his 
trade. Then they moved to Madison countv, 
N. Y., and si.x years later to Marcellus, On- 
ondaga county, same State, where the father 
died in 1865, the mother in 1866. Evan 
Evans was a man of quiet, unassuming 
manners, possessing the sterling Welsh 
traits, good habits and temperance princi- 
ples. He was a great admirer of Horace 
Greeley, and a constant reader of the New 
York Tribune. 

John W. Evans had few privileges in 
early life. His educational advantages were 
meager, for when eight years of age he be- 
gan to work in the woolen mill. Early in 
the Civil war he enlisted for the support 
of the Union cause, but being unable to 
obtain his parents' consent he was not al- 
lowed to muster in. This was in Febru- 
ary, 1862, and in February, 1864, he en- 
listed in the Third New York Light Artil- 
lery, becommg a member of Battery E, 
commanded by Captain Ashby. The bat- 
tery was stationed at Newbern, N. C, 



where he joined them, and soon afterward 
was attached to the Army of the James, 
under Gen. B. F. Butler. Mr. Evans took 
part in the battles of Fort Darling, and 
from that time on the battery was almost 
continuously in action until the end of the 
war, the last service being before Peters- 
burg. Entering as private, Mr. Evans be- 
came corporal, and was honorabh' discharged 
in July, 1865, at the close of the war, when 
he returned to Marcellus, N. Y. For a 
year afterward he filled his old position in 
the woolen mill, and then attended school 
for a 3'ear at Cazenovia, N. Y. In 1867, 
accompanied by his brother Thomas E. 
and his sister Mary, he moved to Waupaca, 
Wis., following his sister Elizabeth (Mrs. 
William Smith). Here he formed a partner- 
ship with Dayton, Dewey & Baldwin, and 
they remodeled the old gristmill at Wau- 
paca and opened a woolen mill, which Mr. 
Evans still operates. Mr. Evans took charge 
of the mill, and later purchased the inter- 
ests of his partners, having been sole owner 
since 1884. The mill gives employment to 
eighteen hands, and manufactures cassi- 
meres, men's suitings, flannels, etc. , selling for 
the most part to Wisconsin merchants. In 
addition to his woolen mill interests Mr. 
Evans has found time to devote to various 
other business enterprises. He was one of the 
organizers of the Waupaca Starch Factory, 
in which he is now a stockholder and direc- 
tor; he is also a stockholder and director in 
the National Bank of Waupaca, and was one 
of the original stockholders in the Electric 
Light Plant. 

In December, 1868, Mr. Evans was 
married, at Marcellus, N. Y. , to Anna Ed- 
wards, like himself a native of Newtown, 
Wales, and daughter of John and Jane 
Edwards. John Edwards, who was a weaver, 
came about the jear 1852 with his wife and 
seven children — William, Jane, Anna, Susan, 
Samuel, John and Mary — to Marcellus,N. Y. , 
where he and his wife both died. By 
his marriage to Anna Edwards Mr. Evans 
had four children: William L. , Grace M., 
May E. and Llewellyn. Mrs. Evans died 
in March, 1890, and in April, 1891, Mr. 
Evans was united in marriage, at Oshkosh, 
Winnebago Co. , Wis. , with Cora McAllister, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



311 



daughter of Dr. William P. and Frances 
(Tuttle) McAllister, who were natives of 
New Hampshire and New York State, re- 
spectively. They had a family of si.x chil- 
dren. By his second marriage Mr. Evans 
had two children: John Kenneth, who died 
in I S94 at the age of two years, and Bryant 
McAllister, born June 17, 1895. 

Socially Mr. Evans is a member of the 
G. A. R. , Garfield Post No. 21, Waupaca, 
and since 1865 has been a Mason, being 
now a member of Waupaca Lodge No. 123 
and Chapter No. 39. In politics. he was 
originally a Republican, casting his first vote 
for Abraham Lincoln — at least, he intended 
to cast it for Lincoln, but it was lost, for, 
being a soldier in the army at the time, he 
sent it home by letter to his voting place, 
Marcellus; in opening the letter the inner 
envelope, containing the ballot, was acci- 
dentally torn and was consequentlj- rejected. 
He affiliated with the Republicans until the 
organization of the "Greenback" party, on 
which ticket he was nominated for the State 
Assembly; during the campaign he was ap- 
proached by Republican managers who 
promised him their support on condition that 
he promise them his vote for their candidate 
for U. S. senator; this would have secured 
his election, but Mr. Evans, true to his own 
convictions of right, as well as the principles 
of his part}', refused their aid and as a re- 
sult was defeated. For the past twelve 
years he has affiliated with the Prohibition 
party, after saying which it is hardly neces- 
sary to add that he is an earnest advocate of 
the temperance cause. His party has fre- 
quently honored him with nominations to 
various positions of responsibility and trust, 
and in 1894-5, while wintering in California 
with his wife, they telegraphed him to know 
if he would accept their nomination for 
mayor of Waupaca. He replied that he 
would, received the nomination, and came 
within forty votes of being elected, the elec- 
tion taking place some time before his re- 
turn home. The result was certainly grati- 
fying to his party, and a flattering endorse- 
ment of his high social and business standing 
and his popularity among his fellow citizens, 
the actual Prohibition vote of Waupaca 
being only about fifty, while the total vote 



cast in the election was about 700. In 1 894 
he was also a candidate on the ticket of his 
party for railroad commissioner. He has 
served as supervisor many years, and has 
been a member of the Waupaca city school 
board nine years. Like her husband, Mrs. 
Evans is actively interested in temperance 
work, and was a delegate to the Supreme 
Lodge of Good Templars which met at 
Edinburgh, Scotland, in May, 1891. Mr. 
Evans made the trip abroad with her. and 
together they visited his old home in Wales, 
and also London, Paris, Glasgow and other 
interesting and historic points of Europe, 
the trip lasting about three months. They 
are res^ular attendants of the M. E. Church. 



ALLOUIS GRAETTINGER. Among 
the many residents of Wood county 
who have emigrated to this country 
from Bavaria, and have become 
valued citizens, is this gentleman. A Bava- 
rian by birth he is a son of Joseph and Mary 
(Schatzhuber) Graettinger, who were natives 
of the same locality, and were parents of 
five children as follows: Joseph, Allouis, 
Catherine, Christian and Michael. The 
father was a farmer by occupation, and on 
emigrating to America, in 1854, settled in 
Milwaukee, where he died of cholera the 
same year. There were eight relatives who 
died of that disease within one week, so ter- 
rible were its ravages. The mother survived 
fourteen years, passing away in 1868, and 
Allouis and his sister Catherine are now the 
only living members of the family. 

Our subject was born Ma\- 17, 1847, 
and was six years of age at the time 
of the emigration of the famil}' to the 
United States. Left fatherless when young, 
at the age of nine years he and his sister 
went to live with an aunt in Milwaukee, 
with whom he resided three years. He then 
returned to his mother's home, and with 
her remained until he attained his sixteenth 
}ear when he began earning his own living 
by working for others. In the meantime 
the family removed to Appleton, Wis., and 
in that city and vicinity he remained some 
twenty-five years, working for others most of 
the time. Since 1885 Mr. Graettinger has 



313 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



been a resident of Marshfield, where for five 
and a half years he gave his time exclusively 
to selling beer for the Appleton Company. 
He still engages in that business to some ex- 
tent, and in this way has become well ac- 
quainted throughout this section of the 
State. In 1888 he also embarked in farm- 
ing, which he still continues, and in May, 
1894, he accepted the position of manager 
and collector for the Marshfield Brewing 
Company, of which he is one of the stock- 
holders. 

In 1870, in Calumet county. Wis., was 
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Graettinger 
and Miss Catherine Christal, a native of 
Bohemia, in which country both her parents 
died. She has no relatives at all in Amer- 
ica. Three children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Graettinger: Mary, Joseph and 
Anna. Mr. Graettinger devotes the greater 
part of his time to his business and home 
interests, taking little part in public affairs, 
yet for two years he capably served as town 
treasurer. In politics he is independent. 



ANTON HENSELER is deserving of 
prominent mention among the fore- 
most business men of Wood county, 
and is not onh' prominent in com- 
mercial affairs, but has also been a leader in 
politics. His example is encouraging, for 
it shows what can be accomplished b)' men 
of perseverance and determination when 
they have no capital or influential friends to 
aid them in the journey of life. 

Born in the village of Kempenich, Ger- 
many, November 2, 1863, he is the son of 
Jacob and Anna K. (Bell) Henseler, who 
were married in the Fatherland in 1859, 
and had a family of eleven children, six of 
whom now survive, namel}' : Lizzie, An- 
ton, John, Catherine, Mary and Nicholas; 
Gertrude died in 1888, the others in infancy. 
The father is a carpenter by trade, and fol- 
lowed that pursuit in the land of his birth 
until 1868, when with his family he emi- 
grated to America, taking up his residence 
in Fond du Lac county. Wis., where he en- 
gaged in carpentering fpr nine years. He 
then came to Wood county, locating upon 



a farm in Lincoln township. He now owns 
forty acres of land in Section 23, that town- 
ship, whereon he makes his home — one of 
the substantial and respected agriculturists 
of the community. 

Anton Henseler was a child of four sum- 
mers when the parents crossed the briny 
deep. He was educated in German and 
English in the common and parochial 
schools, and remained at home until twen- 
ty-four years of age, giving his father the 
benefit of his services. On attaining his 
majority he learned the trade of cheese- 
making in Fond du Lac county, and in the 
spring of 1885 he built his present factory, 
the second one in this section of the coun- 
try. Since that time he has successfully 
engaged in the manufacture of cheese, his 
factory having the capacity of about seven 
thousand pounds of milk daily. During the 
season of 1894 he purchased and handled 
four hundred thousand pounds of milk, 
shipping the most of his products to Osh- 
kosh. Wis., where, being of an excellent 
quality, they found a ready sale on the mar- 
ket. His factory is conducted after the 
most approved style, is a model of neatness, 
and the excellence of his cheese is shown 
by the fact that at the World's Columbian 
Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893, he re- 
ceived a medal and diploma on his exhibit 
of cheese. During the past season he paid 
to the farmers of the community three thous- 
and dollars, and he only operates his factory 
for about six months in the year. 

In May, 1887, Mr. Henseler was united 
in marriage with Theresa Ott, who was born 
in Germany, in 1867, and they now have 
four children : Joseph, John, Anna and 
Jacob. With the Catholic Church they 
hold membership, and contribute liberally 
for its support. Mr. Henseler belongs to 
the Order of Catholic Knights of \\'isconsin. 
In his political views he is a stalwart Demo- 
crat, and has frequently served as delegate 
to different conventions, but has never been 
an office-seeker, although he is now serving 
his second term as town treasurer. Other 
positions of trust have been conferred upon 
him, and he is ever true to his duty whether 
public or private. He is a straightforward, 
honorable business man, and, though he was 



COMMEMOBATfVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



31? 



once in very limited circumstances, is now 
the possessor of a handsome competence 
which has come to him through his own 
labors. 



PETER ST. AUSTIN, one of the 
earliest pioneers of Marathon county, 
was born in the town of Gossfield, 
Canada West (now Ontario), July 2, 
1S20, and is a son of Joseph and Rachel 
(La Mache) St. Austin, born respectively in 
France and Canada. The\- were the parents 
of si.x children, of whom, perhaps, only 
three are living: Susan, widow of Mr. 
Malott, residing near I\ingsville, Canada; 
Joseph, also residing in Canada; and Peter, 
the subject of this sketch. 

When Peter St. Austin was but four 
years of age his father died, so that he had 
little advantages of education, and his boy- 
hood days were spent in farming. In 1838 
he came west and located in Illinois, where 
he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for 
about eight years. In 1846 he removed to 
Wisconsin, and located in Wausau when 
the whole surrounding country was included 
in Portage county, and only a few log 
houses were erected. Here he engaged 
principally in lumbering, logging and mill 
building, and for fifteen years in association 
with Rupert P. Mauson, operated a sawmill 
on the Wisconsin river, but of later years 
he has not been extensively engaged in 
business. 

On May 8, 1851, at Alexandria, Mo., 
Peter St. Austin was united in marriage 
with Margaret Nicolls, who was born in 
Bathurst township. District of Drummond, 
Canada West, March 13, 1829. Eight 
children have been born to them, namely: 
Lucy Arabel, August 17, 1854, wife of John 
M. Leehy, residing in Iowa (married March 
12, 1874); Sarah C, March 28, 1857, mar- 
ried M. L. Kriskey, and died May 21, 1884; 
William W., July 10, 1858, residing in 
Wausau; Margaret E., May 31, 1S60, wife of 
Alexander McMillan, and residing in Antigo, 
Langlade county; Byron P., November 29, 
1 86 1, and died January 5, 1 888; Edward R., 
March 5, 1866, residing on the homestead; 
Alexander J., July i, 1868, residing at home; 



and Frank M., April 20, 1875, died March 
15, 1893. The parents of Mrs. Peter St. 
Austin, Peter and Margaret (McPhail) Nicolls, 
were born in Scotland, of Scotch ancestry. 
In political views Mr. St. Austin is a Demo- 
crat, and for several terms he was chairman 
of the town of Wausau. He is a highly- 
esteemed citizen, and has done much to- 
ward the development of Marathon county, 
of which he is one of the few surviving 
pioneers. 



BENJAMIN E. BURGER, D. D. S., 
holds a foremost place in the ranks 
of the dental profession in Lincoln 
county. He makes his home in 
Merrill, where he is also connected with 
leading business interests. A native of the 
neighboring State of Michigan, he was born 
in Brandon, Oakland county, on the 4th of 
May, 1857, and is a son of Cyrus Burger, 
who was born in Canandaigua, N. Y. , in 
1822. The grandfather died when Cyrus 
was quite young. The latter had three 
brothers — Anson, Benencil and Sidney — and 
four sisters — Hannah, Mary, Jane and Kath- 
arine. C3'rus Burger married Phoebe Elmer, 
also a native of New York, and in 1855 
brought his family to the West, locating on 
a farm in Oakland county, Mich. The 
mother's death occurred in that State in 
1893, since which time the father has lived 
with Dr. Burger in Merrill. Their family 
numbered ten children — Sylvia, Eliza, Ed- 
wina L. , Francina, Benjamin E., Newton 
H. and Bertram L. , who are now living. 
Ruba, the eldest, died at the age of twenty- 
eight years, and two children died in in- 
fancy. 

Dr. Burger was reared on the old home 
farm in Michigan, where he remained until 
seventeen years of age. During that time, 
however, he was employed by neighboring 
farmers, and thus earned the money to pay 
his way through school. He attended the 
high school of Midland, from which he was 
graduated in 1878. He then worked at the 
trade of a carpenter with his father, and fol- 
lowed it for two years; but not content to 
make it a life work he resolved to enter the 
dental profession, and to this end began 



3H 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



study in Midland, Mich., in the fall of 1880. 
After a year thus passed he entered upon a 
course of study in Ann Arbor, Mich., and 
completed his preparation for his profession 
in the Ohio Dental College of Cincinnati, 
from which he was graduated in 1884. The 
succeeding year was spent in travel, work- 
ing at the dental profession, and during the 
next year he was engaged in practice in 
Frankfort, Mich. He also spent a year in 
Shawano, Wis., and in 1886 came to Mer- 
rill, where he opened an office and soon 
built up a fine practice, his business steadily 
increasing until it has assumed extensive 
proportions for a town of its size. He has 
also become largely interested in lumbering, 
and in addition owns a fine home and busi- 
ness block in this city. 

The Doctor was married in Juh', 18S8, 
in Shawano, Wis., the lady of his choice be- 
ing Luella Aturdock, who was born on the 
Menomonee Reservation in Wisconsin, her 
father being in the government employ. Her 
parents, Edwin and Ella (Crane) Nfurdock, 
were both natives of Vermont, and the father 
was a farmer bj- occupation. In their familj' 
were three children. Earl, Luella and one 
who died in infancy. The mother was called 
to her final rest in the fall of 1893. The 
Doctor and his wife have two children, Leila 
and Leon. 

In his political affiliations Dr. Burger 
was formerly a Democrat, but now supports 
the men and measures of the Republican 
party. He has never been a politician in 
the sense of office seeking, yet has served as 
alderman from the Third ward and was presi- 
dent of the council for one term. He is an 
honored and a charter member of Merrill 
Lodge, K. P., and is a gentleman highly es- 
teemed by all who know him. He is entirely 
a self-made man, working his way through 
college and acquiring all that he has through 
his own efforts. 



CA. RUSCH, one of the active and 
enterprising citizens of Lincoln 
county, is now engaged in the hotel 
business in Merrill. He is a native 
of Wisconsin, born in Herman, Dodge 
county, April 24, 1851. His father, Daniel 



Rusch, was born in the northern part of 
German}', June 16, 1800, and was a son of 
Martin Rusch, a blacksmith by trade. The 
father was one of a family of four, the 
others being \\'illiam, Caroline and Mary, 
though he also had two half-brothers and 
two half-sisters. In his native land, in 1836, 
he wedded Minnie Dense, and they became 
the parents of children, as follows: Fred- 
erica, Amelia, Johanna, Minnie, Caroline, 
William, Bertha, Carl A., Herman, Tena 
and Alvina, and the twin of our subject, de- 
ceased in infancy. Six of the children were 
born in Germany, the remainder in Wis- 
consin. 

The family crossed the Atlantic in June, 
1846, and after their arrival in Milwaukee, 
Wis., the father there worked as a black- 
smith for a year and a half, when he bought 
a farm near the city. After cultivating it 
for about eighteen months, he purchased a 
tract of wild land in Herman township. 
Dodge Co., Wis., which he improved and 
continued to make his home twelve years. 
On selling out in the fall of 1861 he re- 
moved to Marathon count}', and bought the 
old homestead of 240 acres, which is now 
owned and operated by his son William. It 
is located in Maine township, and the father 
continued its cultivation and development 
until his death, which occurred in 1878. 
He was a well-educated man, and one of the 
leading pioneers of both Dodge and Mara- 
thon counties. Wis. His wife passed to her 
final rest July 10, 1867. 

Carl A. Rusch, the subject of this sketch, 
obtained a limited education, only being 
able to attend the common schools before 
he reached the age of fourteen years. In 
the summers he aided in clearing and de- 
veloping the farm, while in the winters he 
worked in the lumber camps, which occupa- 
tion he followed until he was twenty-six 
years of age. He was then united in mar- 
riage, and located on a part of his father's 
farm, where he carried on agricultural pur- 
suits four years, but two years after the 
death of his father he sold out and came to 
Merrill. In this place he was variously em- 
ployed until 18S2, when he opened a saloon, 
and five years later he erected his present 
residence, which is a fine brick building. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 



315 



He now conducts a hotel, known as the 
"Farmers' Home," and is winning popu- 
larity as a host who understands well how 
to cater to the wants of the public. He has 
a good knowledge of the business, and 
is conducting his present enterprise with 
marked success. 

In 1876, in Marathon, Wis., Mr. Rusch 
was married to Miss Louisa Ahrens, a na- 
tive of Chicago, 111., and a daughter of Det- 
lof and Mary (John) Ahrens, who were the 
parents of four children: Louisa, Henry, 
Augusta, and one now deceased. Her 
father was a Dane, a native of Holstein, and 
served as a soldier in the Danish army. He 
came to America when a young man, and in 
Chicago was married, where also, in 1882, 
his death occurred; by occupation he was a 
gardener. Mrs. Ahrens, who is still living, 
is a native of Germany, and came to the 
New World with her brother, William. To 
our subject and his most estimable wife have 
been born eleven children: Amelia, Mary 
and Martha (twins), Henry, Paul, Otto, 
Laura, Freddie, Elma, and two who died in 
infancy. A great-grandfather of Mr. Rusch 
crossed the water and located in Virginia 
some time in the seventeenth century, and 
one of his sons was one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. 

In religious faith, Mr. Rusch is a Lu- 
theran, holding membership with St. John's 
Church, of Merrill, and is now acting as one 
of its trustees. Politically he votes the 
straight Republican ticket, and is an active 
worker in his party. For four years he was 
chairman of the town board of Maine town- 
ship, Marathon Co., Wis., and since his 
residence in Lincoln county has most of the 
time been a member of the city council of 
Merrill and the county board, being at pres- 
ent chairman of the latter. He has never 
been an office seeker, but has been honored 
with many public positions which were en- 
tirely unsolicited by him. He takes an act- 
ive interest in everything pertaining to the 
upbuilding and advancement of Merrill, and 
was appointed by the county board to sign 
and look after the bonds voted to aid in the 
construction of the new railroad through that 
section, the bonds given by Lincoln county 
amounting to $176,000. He is faithful to 



every trust reposed in him, whether public 
or private, and has the confidence and es- 
teem of all. 



CAPTAIN EDMUND J. HILDRETH, 
president of the North Side Lum- 
ber Co., Stevens Point, Portage 
Co., Wis., is a native of Vermont, 
born in Starksboro, Addison county. May 
3, 1830, a son of Walter and Clarissa 
(Whitten) Hildreth. The father, who was 
a millwright by trade, moved from Ver- 
mont to Malone, N. Y., in 1S33, and there 
followed his trade, and also owned and 
operated a farm. He is still living at the 
advanced age of eighty-eight years, surviv- 
ing his wife already a quarter of a century, 
she having died in 1863. 

The subject proper of these lines learned 
the trade of a millwright of his father, and 
remained with him until he was twenty-one 
years of age, receiving in the meantime a 
common-school education at Malone and 
vicinity, vice-president Wheeler being one 
of his teachers. At the breaking out of the 
war of the Rebellion Mr. Hildreth was work- 
ing at his trade, but in response to the call 
for troops he promptly laid aside his tools 
and enlisted, in October of 1861, in Com- 
pany A, Ninety-eighth N. Y. V. I., in which 
he saw much active service. He partici- 
pated in nearly all the engagements of the 
Peninsular campaign during the year 1862 
and part of 1863, as well as in the desper- 
ate battle of Fair Oaks, Va. , which was 
fought May 31 -June i, 1862. On May 20, 
that year, he was promoted to be second 
lieutenant, and on February 27, 1863, to be 
first lieutenant, his commission dating Octo- 
ber I, 1862; on January 8, 1864, he was fur- 
ther promoted to be captain, his commis- 
sion dating June 2, 1863. During his en- 
tire service of three years he was on con- 
stant duty in the field, and at the close was 
honorably discharged October 29, 1864, al- 
though he continued in active service until 
November 26, 1864, his last day's duty be- 
ing in the capacity of picket between the 
lines of the opposing armies at a point known 
as Battery Harrison, above Dutch Gap, on 
the Potomac river. After his discharge 



3i6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Capt. Hildreth returned to Malone, N. Y., 
where he resumed his trade and continued at 
the same until 1869, at which time he came 
west, locating in Menominee, Mich., where 
he followed millwrighting until 18S0, in the 
meantime, in 1872, bringing his family out. 
In 1880 he removed to Stevens Point, Wis., 
where for two or three years he had held an 
interest in a planing-mill, and in this bus- 
iness, after coming to the place, he con- 
tinued, until it was organized into the 
': North Side Lumber Co, " in 1885. 

In 1853 Capt. Hildreth was married at 
Chateaugay, N. Y., to Miss Elizabeth 
Copps, daughter of Darius and Pamelia 
(Hollister) Copps, of that city, and three 
children have been born to this union, name- 
ly: Lizzie B., wife of Henry E. Martin; 
Leslie E. , special agent for the Hartford 
Insurance Co., with residence at Evanston, 
111.; and Annie,, now the wife of G. A. 
Hunter, a merchant tailor, of St. Paul, 
Minn. In his political preferences Capt. 
Hildreth is a Republican, and he is a mem- 
ber of the G. A. R. He enjoys the reputa- 
tion of being one of the most solid and sub- 
stantial men connected with the lumber 
business at Stevens Point, and is much re- 
spected. 



CALEB S. OGDEN. In the import- 
ant work of wresting the wilds of 
the Northwest from their primitive 
solitude, implanting prosperous in- 
dustries, and introducing into the new coun- 
try the principles of good government, few 
if any names stand so conspicuous and fair 
as that of Caleb S. Ogden. He comes of 
Colonial stock, inured in the older States to 
the same unending hardships of an honored 
pioneer life. 

Abraham Ogden, the grandfather, was a 
natixe of New Jersey, where his Scotch an- 
cestors had settled early in its history. He 
had three sons: Abraham, born in 1796; 
William B. and Mahlon D. He migrated 
to the town of Walton, Delaware Co., N. 
Y. , and became a pioneer in that locality. 
His brother William was a physician, Isaac 
a lawyer, Daniel a farmer. 

Abraham Ojrden, the father of the sub- 



ject of this sketch, was a lumberman. He 
married Mary, daughter of Caleb and Han- 
nah (Cotrill) Smith, natives of Connecticut 
and pioneers of Delaware county, N. Y. 
Caleb Smith was a blacksmith and to him is 
due the honor of erecting the first sawmill 
and gristmill in the town of Tompkins, Dela- 
ware Co., N. Y. He raised a large famil}-, 
and died beloved by all his friends and ac- 
quaintances, in the country which his labor 
had greatly aided in civilizing. 

The pioneer fever burned in the veins of 
Abraham Ogden, and in 1832 he removed 
with his wife and six children, Hulda, Will- 
iam, Caleb, Sarah, John and Hannah, to 
Painted Post, Steuben Co., N. Y. , where 
he purchased a partially cleared tract of 
4,312 acres, bought mills, and made man}" 
improvements. Here two more children — 
Frances A. and Jessie — were born. But for- 
tune still beckoned him westward. About 
1836 he sold his large land interests in Steu- 
ben county, N. Y. , and decided to join his 
brother William, who had moved to Chi- 
cago, 111. , and there become one of its pio- 
neer settlers. Reaching Detroit by boat, 
Abraham Ogden purchasedteamsand started 
for Chicago, but when he reached Berrien 
county, almost within sight of Lake Michi- 
gan, the fertile lands attracted him. He 
bought property and remained in Berrien 
county, where he engaged in farming until 
1845, when he crossed the lake and fash- 
ioned his last earthly home at Madison, 
Wis. Here he dealt extensively in real es- 
tate, purchasing land in large quantities, 
served many years as justice of the peace, 
and died from injuries received while at- 
tempting to board a railroad train at Mad- 
ison. Mr. Ogden was an educated and 
public-spirited man, a Democrat in politics, 
and his name is lovingly remembered by the 
old citizens of Madison, where his widow 
died December 31, 1894, at the age of 
ninety-six years. 

Caleb S. Ogden, their son, subject of 
this sketch, was born near Cannonsville, 
Delaware Co., N. Y. , August 2, 18 19. At- 
tending school until fifteen years of age, he 
clerked in a store until he attained his ma- 
jority. For several years he managed his 
father's farm and one of his own. Events 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPEWAL RECORD. 



317 



crowded fast into his life, and for two years 
he was secretary to the first bank commis- 
sioner of Michigan, Gen. Bridges. On Febru- 
ary 23, 1845, he was married to Catherine 
E. Hoag, a native of Montgomery county, 
N. Y. In 184S he removed from Michigan 
to Plover, Portage Co. , Wis. , and actively 
engaged in mercantile and lumbering pur- 
suits. Three years later he added extensive 
farming to his occupations. In 1854 Judge 
Ogden removed to Waupaca county, settling 
on the site of Ogdensburg. Here he built a 
sawmill, constructed roads, purchased a 
large stock of merchandise, and as the years 
rolled on added many industries to the 
county. He built mills on the Little Wolf 
river, and a large machine shop at Waupaca; 
it was afterward destroyed by fire at a loss 
to himself of $30,000. His fellow citizens 
in Waupaca county soon called Judge Ogden 
to office. In 1857 he was elected district 
attorney, and in 1861 county judge, serving 
in the latter capacity continuously until 
1894, except one term when, owing to the 
pressure of private business, he refused to 
allow his name to be used. 

In 1865 he moved to Waupaca, and here 
in 1868 launched into existence the Wau- 
paca Rc'piihlican, and this paper then pub- 
lished the printing for the entire county. 
He also started the New London Times, and 
later, with the aid of his sons, four of whom 
were printers, he founded the Waupaca 
Post. As a man of affairs Judge Ogden has 
a ripe experience and judgment upon which 
his fellow townsmen make frequent and 
copious drafts. Since retiring from office he 
has been personally supervising his farm inter- 
ests and looking after other people's prop- 
erty. It is one of his firm opinions that 
Nature intended him for a physician, a pro- 
fession which he studied in his youth but 
never practiced. He is a keen reader of 
human nature, and is rarely if ever deceived 
in a face. 

Judge Ogden"s first wife died March 7, 
1877, 'incl i'Ti 1882 he was married to Jose- 
phine Merry, a native of Pittsfield, Mass., 
and a daughter of Henry G. and Sarah (Kel- 
sey) Merry. She has but one brother, 
Franklin E. The Merry family removed 
from Massachusetts to Milwaukee in 1849, 



and to Waupaca county, near Waupaca, in 
1851. Mr. Merry was a local minister, 
though by trade a carpenter and millwright. 
He died in April, 1882. The family of 
Judge Ogden consists of ten children, as 
follows: John A., publisherof the Antigo Re- 
publiean\ Francis E., a printer, who died in 
Kansas in 1894; William C, who publishes 
a paper at Rhinelander; Charles W. , one of 
the owners of the Waupaca Post; Gilbert 
W. , merchant at Oshkosh; Julia, Alice, Mary, 
Sarah, and Kate. 

The venerable judge has filled many 
minor offices in his neighborhood. In 
Church, in education, in politics and in all 
public enterprises, he has been a prominent 
figure. He was a major of the Wisconsin 
State militia and during the Civil war took 
an active part in sending men to the front. 
Among the secret societies, he belongs to 
both the Masons and Odd Fellows. Liberal, 
kind-hearted, generous, his infiuence upon 
the community in which his life has been 
cast has been one of inspiration and wise 
emulation. 



JOSEPH H. JONES was born in James- 
town, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., Jan- 
uary 7, 1843, and is of Wslsh lineage. 
The family was founded in America by 
the great-grandfather of our subject, who 
was born in Wales, and settled in this coun- 
try in early Colonial days. The grand- 
father, William Jones, was born near Cam- 
bridge, Mass., and made farming his life 
work. He married Parthena Jones, and to 
them were born children as follows: Will- 
iam, Frank, Caroline, Loraine, Frances, Ann, 
and Laura. The family became separated, 
and it is not known certainly whether any 
are living save Ann, who resides in Dakota. 
The mother died, and the father afterward 
marrie(J again. They reared a large family, 
and the second wife died in December, 1894. 
Grandfather Jones was a well-to-do and 
highly respected man, and spent his last 
days in the State of his nativity. 

William Jones, father of our subject, was 
born on a farm near Lincoln, Mass., and 
was the eldest son of the family. He re- 
mained at home until twenty years of age. 



3i8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and learned the trade of a blacksmith, after 
which he removed to New York. In that 
State he married Olive L. (Pierce), a niece 
of President Franklin Pierce, and the widow 
of William Samons, by whom she had one 
child, Martha J. Mrs. Jones was born in 
Cattaraugus county, N. Y., and her people 
were early settlers of Pennsylvania and the 
Empire State. In the family were ten 
children, of whom our subject is the eldest. 
He was followed by Parthena A. , Ella F. , 
George A., Dora, Olive L. , Hartwell F. , 
Polly A., Prudence B. and William; the last 
four and Ella F. being deceased. The par- 
ents were married about the year 1842, and 
at that time the father embarked in the 
butchering business, which he carried on 
until 1870, when he disposed of his property, 
and with his famil}' came to the West, settling 
in Racine, Wis. There he embarked in mer- 
chandising which he carried on some si.\ 
years, when selling out he purchased a farm, 
the same whereon our subject now resides. 
The family removed to the new home in the 
spring of 1856. The land was covered with 
a dense forest growth, and the only paths 
through the timber were Indian trails. 
When the father and his son Joseph came to 
the farm to build a house the wolves drove 
them into Waupaca at night (that place, 
however, being then a hamlet of only about 
twelve homes). They erected both a log 
and a frame house, the latter being the first 
of the kind in this section of the country. 
In March, 1865, the father sold out to his 
son Joseph and returned to Massachusetts; 
but afterward he located in Oshkosh, Wis., 
where he passed his remaining days, dying 
about 1884; his wife was called to the home 
beyond in September, 1887. 

Joseph H. Jones had but limited privi- 
leges for obtaining an education, for, from 
the age of twelve years, he had to work in 
the fields and aid in the arduous .task of 
opening up a new farm. His labors in that 
direction were interrupted January 7, 1862, 
by his enlistment in Company G, Four- 
teenth Wis. V. I., at that time a lad of but 
eighteen years of age. He served three 
years, one month and six dajs, and was 
honorably discharged February 13. 1865, 
his term having expired. His regiment was 



with the Army of the West, and he partici- 
pated in the battle of Shiloh, where he had 
his left arm broken and his hat shot through, 
the ball burning his hair and cutting it close 
to the scalp. Though the bone in his arm 
was fractured, he never left the field but 
staid at the front all day, and helped to 
capture a cannon, which is now preserved 
in the State House at Madison, Wis., as 
one of the mementos of that struggle. 
Mr. Jones has a photograph of his com- 
rades and that old cannon, which was taken 
at Milwaukee. His regiment was noted for 
its bravery. While on detached duty with 
the major of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, 
he took part in the capture of John Morgan 
in 1864. Though disabled, he remained in 
the service for one month and six days after 
the expiration of his term, engaged in guard- 
ing Rebel prisoners and hunting guerrillas. 
Most of the time he did the duty of a ser- 
geant, although he was mustered out as a 
a private. After his return to Wisconsin, 
Mr. Jones purchased the old farm, and in 
connection with its cultivation he has been 
engaged as foreman on the construction of 
railroads, working for five years for one 
company, the Milwaukee & Lake Shore. In 
his political views he is a Republican, but 
has never been an aspirant for office, in fact 
has steadily refused to accept political pre- 
ferment, although frequently urged by his 
friends to do so. He holds membership 
with Garfield Post, No. 21, G. A. R., of 
Waupaca; and with his family attends the 
services of the Baptist Church. 

Mr. Jones was married June 9, 1867, to 
Mary Sanders, daughter of \\'illiam E. and 
Miranda (Hill) Santlers. Her father was a sol- 
dier in the Third Wisconsin Calvary, and 
died near Vicksburg, while her eldest 
brother, who was also in the Union army, 
was wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and 
died some time later from the effects of his 
injury. Mrs. Jones was a native of Groton, 
N. Y. , and died in 1887. They were the 
parents of six children: Etta May, Lillie 
M., Ruth M. (deceased), Ralph H., Mil- 
dred (deceased), and Aggie B. Mr. Jones 
was again married, his second union being. 
May 13, 1888, with Ellen I. Haire, who 
was born in \\'isconsin, a daughter of jolm 



COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



319- 



and Eliza (Burk) Haire, the former a native 
of German}', the latter of New York. She 
is one of a family of eight children: James 
A.. John F., Walter J., Ellen I., Alice A., 
Jessie C Erna E. and Nettie, all living 
except Walter j. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have 
an interesting little daughter, Pearl Irene. 
The life of our subject has been charac- 
terized by industry and good management. 
He is systematic in his work, pays close at- 
tention to the details of his business, and 
his capable management has brought him a 
well-merited prosperity. He faithfully 
served his country when the Union was im- 
periled, and has been true to every trust re- 
posed in him, whether public or private, so 
that he has won the high regard which is 
freelv accorded him. 



REV. FATHER JOHN RASTER, pas- 
tor of the Church of the Sacred 
Heart, Shawano, Shawano county, 
is a native of Wisconsin, born Jan- 
uary 6, 1864, at Green Bay, Brown county.,. 
Castor Raster, father of our subject, was 
born February 6, 1831, at Meersdorf, Prus- 
sia, Germany, whence, in 1854, when a boy, 
he emigrated to the United States, stopping 
in Detroit eight months, later settling in 
Green Bay, Wis., where he worked at the 
tailoring trade, which he had learned in 
Europe, having made it his life work, and is 
still carrying it on in Green Bay. In that 
city he was married to Miss Anna Verschra- 
gen, a lady of Holland birth, born Septem- 
ber 30, 1829, and si.x children were born to 
them, namely: Frank (following the trade 
of tailor in Green Bay), Joseph (a book- 
keeper in Green Bay), John ('subject of 
sketch), Anna (who died at the age of twenty- 
five years) and Peter (i) and Peter (2) (both 
deceased in infancy). The father is one of 
the highly respected citizens of Green Bay, 
where he was a pioneer in his line of work, 
in which by industry and square dealing he 
has made a success, securing a well-earned 
competency. 

The subject proper of this sketch, whose 
name introduces it, received his elemcntar}- 
education at the common schools of the city 
of his birth, and at the age of fifteen entered 



St. Francis Seminary, near Milwaukee, re- 
maining there until he was twenty-four years 
old. On April 3, 1888, he was ordained to 
the priesthood, the ceremony taking place 
in the Cathedral at Green Bay, and the first 
charge given him, which was on June 6 fol- 
lowing, was the congregation at Neshkoro, 
Marquette county, in addition to and in con- 
nection with v\'hich he had several missions. 
Here he labored until September 18, 1890, 
on which date he was transferred to Sha- 
wano, where the new church building, com- 
menced in 1889, was as yet in a very un- 
finished condition, especially the interior, 
but which under his charge has since been 
completed in a thorough and satisfactory 
manner. Father Raster has also the care 
of missions at Waukechon, Gresham and 
Leopolis, all also within the limits of Sha- 
wano county. He is very popular among 
members of all denominations, and his con- 
nection with his own church, wherever his 
pastorate has been, has been marked by 
evidences of progressiveness and improve- 
ment. 



PAUL HAHNHEISER has created at 
Wausau an interesting and import- 
ant industry and business as furrier 
and taxidermist. He has thorough- 
ly learned his art, inheriting his skill and fol- 
lowing the trade at the chief cities of 
Europe. The Upper Wisconsin Valley of- 
fered a good field for the exercise of the art, 
and the products from Mr. Hahnheiser's 
factory have attained a reputation almost 
world-wide. 

Mr. Hahnheiser was born in the Prov- 
ince of Ober-Schlesien, Germany, January- 
23, 1857, son of Leopold and Albertina 
(Mocha) Hahnheiser, both natives of that 
province. The father died March 5, 1S66, 
and the mother in June, 1892. A family of 
seven children was born to them, four of 
whom survive, as follows: Mary, wife of 
Joseph Drabik, of Roenigshutte, Schlesien, 
Germany; Paul, subject of this sketch; Leo- 
pold, residing in Germany, and Ottilis, of 
Chicago. Paul was educated in the public 
schools of Germany, and learned the trade 
of a furrier with his uncle. After thorough- 



330 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ly acquiring the trade he traveled among the 
leading cities of Europe, including Berlin, 
Hanover and London, etc., following that 
line of business in each city. In 1885 he 
left London, England, for America, locating 
first at Manistee, Mich. , where he remained, 
however, onl}' a few months, removing to 
Milwaukee, in which city he worked at his 
trade about a year and a half. In 1887 he 
removed to Wausau, and there engaged in 
business for himself. Mr. Hahnheiser is a 
thoroughly practical furrier and ta.xidermist, 
and he conducts the business on an exten- 
sive scale. He is also an extensive dealer 
in furs and skins of all kinds, which he ships 
to all parts of the United States and Europe. 
The work produced at his factory is of the 
finest quality and commands a ready sale. 

In June, 1894, Mr. Hahnheiser was mar- 
ried, at Wausau, to Miss Hattie Hampel, 
who was born in Ober-Schlesien, Germany, 
September 30, 1872, and who emigrated to 
the United States in 1892. She is the 
daughter of Paul and Adelheid (Kramolow- 
sky) Hampel, both also natives of Ober- 
Schlesien, Germany. The father died April 
II, 1873; the mother still resides in her na- 
tive land. The four children born to them 
are all living, viz.: Paul, residing in Berlin; 
\'alentine, remaining with her mother; Leo, 
■of Hamburg, and Hattie, Mrs. Hahnheiser. 



FREDERICK E. PORTER. Among 
the representative citizens of Sha- 
wano county, none is more worthy of 
mention than the gentleman whose 
name here appears, and who holds a promi- 
nent place both in public and pri\ate life in 
the county, and in the village of Birnam- 
wood where he makes his home. 

Mr. Porter was born March 9, 1854, 
in Stockway Hollow, Allegany Co., N. Y. , 
and is the son of William and Persis (Crit- 
tenden) Porter, natives of New York and of 
Scotch descent. They were the parents of 
eight children, namely: Pliny A., Elery E., 
William A., Milo M., Claria T., Henry P., 
Charles A., and Frederick E. The family 
removed to Michigan in the fall of 1854, and 
settled in Flowertield township. St. Joseph 



county, where the father carried on farming 
and lumbering. In the fall of 1861 they 
came to Wisconsin and located in \\'aushara 
county where the father died in 1862. He 
was a man of excellent character, and was 
respected b}- all who knew him. The mother 
married again and died in 1 890. The daugh- 
ter Claria T. married Edward Benjamin, 
and resides in Waushara county. 

The subject of this sketch secured his 
education in the public schools, his oppor- 
tunities being limited, as his father died when 
he was eight years old, and when he was 
fourteen years of age his elder brother left 
home, the care of his mother thereby de- 
volving upon him. He remained at home 
devoting himself to this work, which he did 
faithfully and well until he reached the age 
of twenty-five. At this time he was mar- 
ried, September 26, 1878, to Miss Susan 
Fuller, who was born in Waushara county. 
Wis., in 1 8 58, the daughter of Amos and 
Rachel (Barlow) Fuller, and one of a family 
of eleven children. Her parents were natives 
of New York and came to Wisconsin in an 
early day. Both are now deceased. Mr. 
and Mrs. Porter have two children, Lenora 
and Emer\- E. 

In the spring of 1881 Mr. Porter came to 
Birnamwood, which was then the home of 
only four families. Here he homesteaded a 
piece of land which he commenced clearing, 
while in the winter he carried on lumbering. 
On this place he remained thirteen years, 
working his farm and lumbering ever}- win- 
ter except one. In the spring of 1 894 he 
removed to the village and bought his pres- 
ent propert}-, where he operates a hotel and 
has a delightful home. Mr. Porter is a Re- 
publican in politics, and has always been a 
leader in his party. He is a popular man 
as ma\- be seen bj- the positions of trust he 
has held — such as chairman of the town 
board four years; treasurer one year; assessor 
two years; while at present he is supervisor 
and marshal of the village and deputj- sheriff 
of the county. He is a member of the order 
of Modern \Voodmen. He is a man of in- 
telligence, enterprise and integrity, and is 
well-liked in his community as a genial 
whole-souled citizen. His devotion to his 
mother was a beautiful trait in his character. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



321 



and she returned to his house in her old age, 
passing the last seven years of her life with 
him. 



HENRY STRAUSS, count.y clerk of 
Langlade county, with residence in 
the city of Antigo, was born in 
Frankfort - on - the - Main, Germany 
June 8, 1825, and is a son of Herz and 
Sarah (Gundersheim) Strauss. 

Her2 Strauss was born in Germany in 
1795, was a wholesale merchant or importer 
in Frankfort-on-the-Main,and married Sarah 
Gundersheim, who was born in 1806. They 
had seven children, namely: Siegmund, 
Henry (the subject of this sketch), Char- 
lotte, Simon, Rosa, Alexander, and Louisa. 
Herz Strauss was a merchant all his life, as 
were his people before him, and was a 
strong Monarchist. He died in 1870, and 
his wife, Sarah, in August, 1876. Henry 
Strauss received a mercantile education, and 
at the age of seventeen years, while in Ger- 
many, turned his attention to the study of the 
profession of an optician. He went to Sal- 
ford, England, at the age of twenty years, 
learned the trade of machinist, remained 
two years, and then returned to Baden, 
Germany, and took a great interest in the 
rebellion commencing in the winter of 1848. 
He was against the government, and furn- 
ished supplies to the revolutionists, receiv- 
ing funds through his friends in Frankfort. 
In May, 1849, th* rebellion was suppressed, 
and he was compelled to flee to England, 
whence he came direct to America in com- 
pany with his brother Simon, who was also 
a revolutionist. In New York City the bro- 
thers engaged in the importing business, and 
after one year, or in the fall of 1850, Henry 
Strauss went to San Francisco to start a 
branch house. There they were burned out 
twice, first in May, then again in June, 
185 1, which ruined them, but their father 
met their obligations. After the failure 
Henry Strauss went into the mines, and re- 
mained there until 1861; then went to Me- 
nominee, Mich., and in partnership with his 
brother started a store and sawmill, which 
they conducted until 1865, when, owing to 
poor collections, he again lost. Henry Strauss 



then went to the Upper Wolf river, in the 
beginning of 1867, hoping never again to 
see a white man. Here he took up land and 
traded with the Indians, his nearest white 
neighbor being forty miles away. In 18S5 
that town was added to Langlade county. 
In 1875 Mr. Strauss visited his old home in 
Germany, remaining some five months. 

In 1886 Henry Strauss was united in 
marriage with Emilie Moede, who was born 
in Germany, in 1867. daughter of William 
and Ernestine (Borth) Moede, who were the 
parents of eight children, came to America 
in 1 88 1, and now reside in Shawano county. 
Wis., where Mr. Moede is engaged in the 
occupation of farming. Mr. Strauss lived 
on his land in Langlade county until 1892, 
when he was elected county clerk of that 
county on the Democratic ticket, and moved 
into the city of Antigo. When the town of 
Langlade was organized Mr. Strauss was 
prominent in all its workings, and held many 
minor offices. He was elected chairman in 
1888, and served up to the time he took the 
office of county clerk; also was town clerk 
and town treasurer, and was re-elected 
county clerk in 1894. 



CHARLES SUMNICHT, who owns a 
valuable and desirable farm of 160 
acres in Hartland township, Sha- 
wano county, was born in Prussia, 
Germany, August 11, 1836, and is a son of 
Johan Sumnicht, a roofer, of that country, 
who supported his family by day's labor. 

In the spring of 1853, with his wife and 
four children, the father sailed for America, 
hoping thereby to benefit his financial condi- 
tion. They embarked at Hamburg for Hull, 
England, but at Liverpool were delayed for 
about two weeks owing to a government 
examination of the vessel, and so boarded 
the " Concordia," which after a voyage of 
eight weeks reached Quebec. Their desti- 
nation was Watertown, Wis. ,and they made 
their way to Chicago, where they took a 
boat for Milwaukee; but in making the trip 
to that city the father died of cholera, which 
was then raging, the mother only a few days 
before having died of the same disease in 
Detroit. The four children were thus left 



332 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



utterly alone in a strange land, unable to 
speak a word of English, and their condi- 
tion was certainly a pitiable one. They 
continued with a party to Watertown, and, 
though undergoing many hardships in those 
early days, they at length reached mature 
\ears, and are now highly respected and 
prominent people. W'ilhelmina is the 
widow of Carl Wussow, of Hartland town- 
ship; Louisa is the wife of William Koerner, 
who lives at Rolling Prairie station, near 
Beaver Dam, Wis. ; and Frederika is the 
wife of John Cook, of Hartland township. 

On reaching Watertown, Wis. , our sub- 
ject secured work with a Mr. Christian, who 
had formerly worked for his father in Ger- 
many, and thus spent his first winter in 
America. In the spring he secured work 
with Hiram Sawyer, a farmer of Rolling Prai- 
rie, with whom he remained three years, 
working for his board in the winter time in 
order that he might attend school. He made 
good progress at his studies, and to-day is a 
well-informed man. In 1856 he came to 
Shawano count}', walking the entire dis- 
tance from Appleton to Bonduel, where at 
that time lived only two families. The 
State road to Green Ba\' had just been laid 
out, but the work was not completed, and he 
secured employment with the survej'ing party 
engaged in its construction. After two 
months he removed to Mayville, Dodge Co., 
Wis., walking to New London, and then 
going on by boat, the "Wolf," commanded 
by Capt. Lynch, to Oshkosh, In Decem- 
ber, 1856, he attended a land sale at Mad- 
ison and purchased extensive tracts. 

In 1857 Mr. Sumnicht started with a 
party of eight for Pike's Peak, attracted bj' 
the discovery of gold, and journeyed over 
the plains with an o.\-team, which at Fort 
Kearney, Neb., was sold to the Mormons 
then III route for Utah. With the proceeds 
of the sale the party purchased flour, then 
walked to Omaha, and returned to St. 
Louis by government boats engaged in car- 
rying provisions for troops on the western 
frontier. From St. Louis Mr. Sumnicht 
went to Chicago, and arrived in Wisconsin 
during the harvest season of 1858. He 
worked as a harvest hand near Mayville on 
the large farm of D. Puis, who that \ear 



threshed 1 800 bushels of wheat, all cut with 
cradles. In the fall he came to Shawano, 
and secured work in getting out timber for a 
bridge. One of his fellow workmen was M. 
H. McCord, now a member of Congress. 
Returning to Dodge count)'. Wis., in the 
spring of 1859, Mr. Sumnicht worked as a 
farm hand near Oak Grove, but later in the 
year pre-empted land in Section 8, Hartland 
township, Shawanocounty.andin i860, when 
the homestead law came into effect, went to 
the land office in Menasha, Wis., where he 
secured a title to his property. He had 
been closely watching for the passage of the 
homestead law, and was among the first to 
apply at the land office for a title. With 
the aid of others he opened a road to Sha- 
wano, and began improving his heavily-tim- 
bered land. In the fall of 1859 the town- 
ship was organized, and in i860 the first 
election was held in the home of Mr. Parks 
in Section 16. Mr. Sumnicht erected upon 
his farm a small log house with a board 
roof, and the next year shaved shingles to 
cover it. In the spring of 1861 he brought 
to the little home his bride, having on the 
5th of May, 1 86 1, in Herman township, 
Dodge county, married Augusta Zimmel, a 
native of Germany. The pioneer cabin was 
brightened by the presence of several chil- 
dren, and the family now numbers the fol- 
lowing: William, at home; Bertha, wife of 
William Ebert, of Washington township, 
Shawano county; Charles, Emma, Frank, 
Albert and Henry, all under the parental 
roof. 

Mr. Sumnicht continued the cultivation 
of his farm until 1870, when he removed to 
Shawano. He now has 160 acres of rich 
land, ninety of which are under a high state 
of cultivation, and the place is improved with 
many good buildings which stand as monu- 
ments to the thrift and enterprise of the 
owner. In 1 868 he was elected register of 
deeds, and when re-elected moved into the 
city. He was again in public office from 
1884 until 1890, being elected county clerk 
b\- the Republican party, of which he has 
long been a stalwart member. He has also 
acceptably filled many township offices, hav- 
ing been township clerk, treasurer and jus- 
tice of the peace, while for nineteen con- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



323 



secutive years he was supervisor. Both he 
and his wife are members of the Lutheran 
Church, and he has also been one of its of- 
ficials. 

Mr. Sumnicht began life in the United 
States with a capital of $10, and to-day is 
numbered among the substantial citizens of 
the communit}-, a position to which he has 
attained entireh- through his own efforts. 
He established the post office at Bonduel in 
1863, and was its first postmaster, receiving 
a salary of $10 per year. Its object was to 
furnish a means of more quickly securing 
news from the soldiers who were at the front. 
He resigned at the close of the war. Mr. 
Sumnicht has a very wide acquaintance in 
Shawano county, and is one of its most 
highly respected and honored citizens, whose 
life has been an exemplary one and should 
serve as a source of encouragement and in- 
spiration to others. 



JAMES QUINN, a substantial farmer 
of Antigo, Langlade count}-, was born 
in County Donegal, Ireland, May 15, 
1835, and is a son of John and Cath- 
erine McCullom Ouinn. 

The Ouinns were farmers in Ireland, and 
for generations Count}- Donegal was their 
home. John Ouinn was born in 1787, and 
had six brothers and one sister, Catherine, 
who came to America, married William 
Burke, and settled in New York State. 
John Ouinn died in Ireland in 1837, and his 
wife, who survived him, died in 1862. They 
had nine children, as follows: John, Jr., 
Thomas and William (twins), four who died 
young; Michael, who lives on the old farm 
in Ireland; and James, the subject of this 
sketch. 

In 1842, when James Ouinn was seven 
years old, he came with his brother John to 
America, whither their brother Thomas had 
emigrated some time before. James Ouinn 
lived with an aunt in New York City about 
five years, then went to Orange county, 
N. Y. , and lived for two }ears with G. 
Knight, an American, working on the farm 
in the summer and attending school three 
months in the winter, receiving thirty-five 
dollars a year. His ad\antages for an 



education were limited. At the age of 
fourteen he returned to the city, learned the 
trade of marble cutter, remained until he 
was twenty-one years of age, and came to 
Chicago, 111., in 1857. After a short time 
he went to Hastings, Minn., and worked as 
a farm hand; then returned to Chicago, 
visited friends west of that city, and again 
worked on a farm. In company with sev- 
eral others he started for Pike's Peak in 
1859, and remained three }ears in the mines, 
engaged in surface mining; then being seized 
with severe inflammation in his eyes, he re- 
turned to Illinois, where the physician ad- 
vised him to go among the pines. So, in 
the fall of 1863 he came from John Stewart, 
in Illinois, with horses belonging to Alexan- 
der Stewart, of Wausau, Wis., and worked 
here in a sawmill on Pine river. Having 
lost his entire wages for the winter, he went 
back to Illinois, worked on a farm during 
the summer, returning to Wisconsin in the 
fall. During the following summer he 
scaled logs and rafted lumber on the river; 
was also employed in the mills and in the 
woods, and worked for the Scott Lumber 
Co. some ten years. 

At ^^'ausau, Marathon Co., ^^'is., in the 
spring of 1870, James Ouinn had married 
Nanc\- J. McCleary, who was born in Penn- 
sylvania in 1850, and they had five children, 
namely: John, Thomas, Frank, Daniel and 
Owen. The parents of Mrs. Quinn, John 
(a lumberman) and Jane (Doughert}-j Mc- 
Cleary, were born in Pennsylvania and 
came to Wausau, Wis., in 1855; still reside 
there. They had fourteen children: Nancy 
J., Fannie, James, Daniel, John, William, 
Warren, Martha, Mar}- and Anthony, and 
four that died in infancy. After his marriage 
Mr. Quinn went to Illinois and lived there 
two years, after which he returned to Wau- 
sau, Wis., and bought four acres of land 
there, on which he built a house. Here 
he made his home until the summer of 1877, 
when he took up the land whereon he is 
now living. In the spring of 1878 he 
moved his family there, and his house, 
which is still standing, was the first one 
built in Township 30 north. Range 1 1 east 
(now Rolling township). He was obliged to 
"pack" everything from Wausau, as there 



534 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



were no roads, and at that time but three 
other famiHes were there. Langlade 
county was organized in the winter of 1880. 
During the spring of 1882, while helping a 
neighbor draw logs, one rolled on Mr. 
yuinn, and he has since been a cripple. 
Mrs. Quinn died January 26, 1883, and 
Mr. Quinn has never married again, but 
lives and keeps house with his five sons, on 
his farm, which contains 160 acres, eighty 
of which are under good cultivation. 

Mr. Quinn is a Democrat, has always 
been prominent in his party, was elected 
chairman of the township of Rolling in the 
spring of 1881, and is now in his second 
term as chairman of Antigo township. The 
first election in Langlade county was on 
May 3, 1 88 1, and Mr. Quinn was a member 
of the first county board. He has also 
been treasurer of his township and a mem- 
ber of the school board, and is very highly 
respected. 



RUDOLPH V.KALTENBORN. 
Among the citizens of Merrill, Lin- 
coln county, are to be found several 
of German birth, who have brought 
to this fair and fruitful New World the prin- 
ciples of industry and thrift of the Old 
World, and prominent among them is found 
the gentleman whose name is here recorded. 
Mr. Kaltenborn is a native of Hessia, 
Germany, born July 21, 1841, and is a son 
of George von Kaltenborn, who was born 
in the city of Magdeburg, Prussia, in 1806. 
The grandfather, Frederick von Kalten- 
born, was an officer in the German 
army, and by his marriage with Miss A. 
von Butlar became the father of nine sons, 
all of whom were officers in the German 
army, five being killed on the battlefield. 
The grandfather rose to the rank of colonel, 
but at the time of his death, in 181 2, was liv- 
ing retired; his wife died in 1843. The 
Kaltenborn family can trace its origin back 
to 1250, and among its members were many 
noted military men. 

The father of our subject, who attained 
the rank of a general, married Augusta von 
Baumbauch, and to them were born five 
children: Mary, now the wife of Albert 



Koeppen, one of the professors in the col- 
lege at Strasburg, Germany; Rudolph \'., 
our subject; Bertha, now Mrs. Ernest von 
Baumbauch, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; Louis, 
who is a lieutenant-colonel in the German 
army; and Ernest, who was a circuit judge, 
and died in 1887. The father followed a 
military career until his death, which oc- 
curred in 1878; his wife passed awaj- some 
twelve years later, dying in 1 8go. 

In a military academy in the Father- 
land the education of Rudolph V. Kalten- 
born was received, and on leaving school at 
the age of seventeen, he was made an officer 
in the Hessian army, receiving the rank of 
lieutenant. He served through the war of 
1866, and then being granted a five-years' 
leave of absence, he came to America, lo- 
cating in Milwaukee, Wis., where he taught 
school for a time, and also engaged as clerk 
in a bank. In 1870, when the war broke 
out between Germany and France, he re- 
turned to his regiment with which he served 
until the close of that struggle, during which 
period he was made captain. On leaving 
the service he again came to the New World, 
and took up his residence in Milwaukee, 
Wis., in 1 87 1. He there remained until 
1891, first serving as bookkeeper and after- 
ward as secretary of the Baumbach Co. In 
the latter year he located in Merrill, and 
started his present business, dealing in 
paints, oils, glass, lime, cement, etc., in 
which he has been very successful, and is 
now conducting a lucrative business. 

In June, 1872, in Milwaukee, Wis., Mr. 
Kaltenborn was married to Betty Wessels,. 
who was born in Germany in 1840; her par- 
ents never came to this country. She died 
in 1878, leaving two children. Bertha and 
Hans. Our subject was again married, in- 
1880, this time to Clotilda von Baumbauch, 
by whom he has three children, Walter,. 
Ernest and Helen. Mrs. Kaltenborn was 
born in Black River, Ohio, in 1852, and is 
a daughter of Louis von Baumbauch and 
Mrs. Minnie von Baumbauch, //ir Schenk 
von Schweireberg. Her father, who was 
born in Germany in 1798, served as a soldier 
in that country, and in 18 14 fought against 
Napoleon; he afterward retired from the 
armv and lived on his estate. He was a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



325 



man of wealth and became connected with 
the civil government of his native land, 
holding a position similar to that of Speaker 
of the House in this country. During the 
trouble of 1848 he became disgusted, and 
coming to America, in 1850, made his first 
location on a farm in Ohio, where he re- 
mained some three years, and then removed 
to Milwaukee, where his death occurred in 
1885; his wife died in 1870. Their family 
consisted of six children — five sons and one 
daughter. 

Socially Mr. Kaltenborn is identified with 
the Knights of Pythias, and in religious 
faith both he and his wife are members of 
the German Lutheran Church. In politics 
he affiliates with the Democratic party, 
always casting his vote in support of its 
principles. Although he has not long made 
Merrill his home, he has already won many 
warm friends, and in both business and social 
circles holds an enviable position. 



GEORGE W. HILL, proprietor of 
the " Hoo Hoo Hotel," Antigo, 
Langlade county, is a grandson of 
Caleb and Annis (Avery) Hill, the 
former of whom was born December 19, 
1796, in Gardner, Worcester Co., Mass., 
the later on April 13, 1796, in Enfield, 
Hartford Co., Conn. They had eight chil- 
dren, named respectively: Warren, Thomas 
T. , Adaline A., Avery, Charles, Maria, 
Homer and Dexter D. The father of this 
family, who was a blacksmith, mason and 
farmer, died in Massachusetts. The mother 
was a daughter of John Avery (a Revolu- 
tionary soldier), known in those days as 
"Hatter Avery, " he being a hatter by 
trade; after the death of her husband, or in 
1845, she came to Milwaukee with her 
family, and died, in 1890, at W^auwatosa, 
a suburb of that city. 

Homer Hill, father of our subject, was 
born at West Springfield, Mass. , February 
16, 1833, was there educated, and was ap- 
prenticed to his brother, Avery Hill, a con- 
tractor, at Milwaukee, Wis., under whom 
he learned brick making. From him he 
ran away, however, and shipped as a boy on 



board a sailing vessel, becoming in course of 
time an "able seaman, " and following the 
lakes in various capacities thirty-five years 
in all. He owned many good ships which 
he sailed himself, and was remarkably for- 
tunate in his voyages, never having lost a 
vessel, or met with any serious loss. In 
Michigan he married Miss Elizabeth Kiernen, 
who was born in County Longford, Ireland, 
September 10, 1833, daughter of Francis 
Kiernen, who had a family of four children, 
named: Margaret, Elizabeth, Rosina and 
Thomas. The mother of these died in Ire- 
land, and the father married again; he also 
died in the Land of Erin, in 1862. The 
daughter Elizabeth came to America in 1849 
with Dr. Abbots' family. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Homer Hill were born eight children: 
George, Charles H., Annis M., Thomas K., 
Warren C, Adaline E., John A. and Frank 
C. The parents shortly after this marriage 
went to Manitowoc, where they lived until 

1883, when they removed to Antigo, Wis., 
and both died at the home of our subject, 
the mother August 14, 1884, the father Sep- 
tember 23, 1893. The latter went to Pike's 
Peak in 1859, remaining but a short time, 
however. He was a Royal Arch Mason and 
a member of the I. O. O. F. ; in politics he 
was a stanch Republican, and in social life 
was highly respected. 

George W. Hill, the subject proper of this- 
memoir, was born March 17, 1857, at Mon- 
tague, Muskegon Co., Mich., and received 
his education at the schools of Manitowoc, 
Wis. At the age of thirteen he shipped on 
a steamboat as cabin boy, a line of life he 
followed until he was twenty-five years old, 
sailing the lakes during the summers, and 
attending school winters. F"or seven years 
he was mate of a vessel, afterward master, 
and he holds first-class papers as pilot on all 
the lakes except Superior. In the fall of 
1882, after the lake season had closed, he 
and his family came to Antigo (which city 
he had previouslj' visited, and decided then 
to make it his future home), and during his 
first winter here worked in a hardware store. 
In the spring of 1883 he opened a meat 
market, which he conducted till December, 

1884, at which time, having been elected 
sheriff of Langlade county, he sold out, and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



assumed his official duties. After serving 
two years he retired froin the office, and 
moving to the village of Hurley, Iron count}', 
but leaving his family in Antigo, he estab- 
lished a general store there, which un- 
fortunately, in the fire of June, 1887, was 
destroyed, Mr. Hill losing all, as he carried 
no insurance. Nothing daunted, however, 
he at once rented another store in Hurley, 
and conducted same till 1888 when he sold 
out and returned to Antigo, where he bought 
a planing mill, which, after operating it for a 
while, he was compelled to shut down on ac- 
count of the firm he purchased it from fail- 
ing to act up to their contract. Our subject 
then followed contracting, also wrote life 
insurance until January, 1891, when he 
bought out a meat market which he success- 
fully carried on until April 20, 1895, when 
he took charge of the " Spencer House, " 
changing its name to " Hoo Hoo Hotel, 
which is one of the most popular and best 
conducted hostelries in northern Wisconsin. 
He has all along dealt, more or less in real 
estate, and is now owner not only of the 
" Hoo Hoo Hotel, " but of a considerable 
amount of other property. 

On December 28, 1880, Mr. Hill was 
married at Manitowoc, Wis., to Miss Cath- 
erine Leykon, who was born January 5, 
1856, at that city, and two children, both 
daughters, have been born to them, named 
respectively: Harriet A., and Euphemia E. 
Politically, our subject is a Democrat, and 
he served as a member of the Democratic 
County Committee. For two years he filled 
the office of sheriff; was constable also two 
years; member of the county board three 
years, and mayor of Antigo in 1894. 
Socially, he is a member of the F. & A. M. 
Lodge at Hurley, and he enjoys the respect 
and esteem of a wide circle of wam friends. 

Charles H. Hill, brother of our subject, 
was a graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy, 
class of '79, and resigned from the navy in 
1 883. In that year he married Miss Minetta 
Packard, daughter of O. L. Packard, then 
traveled " on the road, " and in 1890 went 
South. During the winter of 1 892-3 he was 
employed bj- the Brazilian Government as 
chief executive officer on board the cruiser 
" Nichteroy, " and earlier, in 188 1 and 1882, 



he had a position on the U. S. ship "Al- 
liance " which was sent out in search of the 
" Genetto. 



SAMUEL M. HUTCHINSON, whose 
name in northern Wisconsin is the 
synonym of progressiveness, liberal- 
ity and honesty of purpose, has been 
a resident, for the past thirty years, of this 
portion of Wisconsin, where he has built 
himself up an honored reputation and a good 
name. 

He is a native of New York State, born 
in Steuben county, in June, 1842. a son of 
Alvah and Margaret (Mitchell) Hutchinson, 
who were the parents of eight children: 
Alpheus H., William (who died in 1887): 
Cyrus, Mary, Frank, Samuel, John, and one 
that died in infancy, John and William being 
the only ones of those named now deceased. 
In 1855 the famil}' came west to Illinois, 
settling on a farm near Waukegan, 111. , 
.where the father died in 1858. The mother, 
who is now living with her daughter in Iowa, 
was born August 28, 1807, at Ithaca, N. Y. , 
where her parents, who had emigrated from 
Germany, settled in an earl)' da}', agricultu- 
ral pursuits being their vocation; they both 
died in the old home there at the advanced 
age of over ninety. Alvah Hutchinson was 
a native of Connecticut, and bj' vocation a 
farmer and lumberman, who made a success 
of life. The son Samuel M. was educated 
at the common and high schools of Wauke- 
gan, and remained under the parental roof 
until 1862, in August of which year he en- 
listed in the Ninenty-sixth Regiment 111. \ . 
I., which regiment was attached to the West- 
ern army. He participated in the battles of 
Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Franklin, 
Nashville and Missionur)' Ridge, Mr. Hutch- 
inson proving himself a bra\e soldier, and 
ever ready for duty. He had many narrow 
escapes from the bullets of the eneni)', on 
more than one occasion men being shot 
down all around him, three of his tent mates 
being killed, and he frequentl}' came near 
being made prisoner. In September, 1865, 
he received an honorable discharge, and re- 
turning to Wisconsin took up his residence 
at Stevens Point, whence, after a brief so- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 



327 



journ he removed to Wausau, where he 
worked in the woods winters, rafting himber 
down the river during the summer months. 
For eight seasons he had charge of hunber 
rafts, running them down the Wisconsin 
river to St. Louis, on the Mississippi, usu- 
ally returning by way of Illinois, and visit- 
ing his mother at Waukegan. During 1868- 
69 he operated a lumber yard at Keokuk, 
Iowa, and in 1870 commenced business for 
his own account at Hutchinson, Wis., he 
and his brothers Alpheus and Cyrus having 
bought the old Whitehouse mill some fifteen 
miles north of Stevens Point, on the Wis- 
consin Valley railroad, now known as Dancy. 
This mill the three brothers operated until 
1876, when Alpheus and Cj'rus sold out to 
J. T. Daniels, Samuel M. remaining in the 
business, which became known as the firm 
of Daniels & Hutchinson. In 1888 our sub- 
ject closed out his business entirely at Dancy, 
and in the following year came to Rhine- 
lander, Oneida county, where, in association 
with Dr. Daniels, son of J. T. Daniels, his 
old partner, he opened a private bank, 
which in Ma}-, 1891, was converted into the 
First National Bank of Khinelander. For 
two years Mr. Hutchinson served as cashier 
of this institution, and he is still a director 
thereof. On resigning the position of cash- 
ier he embarked in the lumber business — 
buying and shipping logs and selling lumber, 
etc. — in which industry he has since been 
prosperously engaged. 

On November i, 1892, Mr. Hutchinson 
was married at Durand, Wis., to Miss Julia 
I. Snyder, who was born in Lima township, 
Pepin Co. , Wis. , daughter of Alonzo C. and 
Samantha O. (Comstock) Snyder, the for- 
mer a native of New York State, the latter 
of Ohio, who were married at Sycamore, 
111., coming to Wisconsin about the year 
1857; they are well-to-do farming people, at 
present residing at Rhinelander, and are the 
parents of six children, named respectively: 
Charles. Louise, Anna, Julia I., Eva and 
Delos, of whom Charles and Delos are de- 
ceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson has 
been born one son, Samuel. In politics our 
subject is a Republican, and at one time he 
served as treasurer of Rhinelander, although 
he is no office seeker. Socially, he has been 



a member of the F. & A. M. since 1863, of 
the Modern Woodmen since 1890, and is 
affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. Mr. 
Hutchinson is in ever}' respect a self-made 
man, and has good reason to be proud of 
his success — a success that is alone the 
result of his own indefatigable exertions and 
unquestioned integrity. 



JAMES G. DUNN, proprietor of the 
dray and a general store in Rhine- 
lander, Oneida county, was born in 
Massachusetts February 22, 1842, a 
son of John Dunn, who first saw the light in 
181 5, in County Kilkenny, Ireland. 

When about twenty years of age the 
father came to this country, landing at Bos- 
ton, and worked on the first railroad ever 
constructed in America. He married Airs. 
Bridget (Morey) Kelley, a nati\'e of the 
same county in Ireland, and by her had two 
children, James G. and Mary A. For many 
years John Dunn worked in the stone quar- 
ries at Quincy, Mass., and in 1852 he came 
west with his family, settling on a piece of 
land near Fort Winnebago, Wis. Their 
trip to this State was made in part by boat 
from Buffalo to Milwaukee, thence by team 
to their destination. Here the father cleared 
a nice little farm whereon he passed the rest 
of his days, dying in 1883. Before coming 
west he had sent to Ireland for his father, 
James, brother James and sister Mary, but 
the father died and was buried at sea, the 
others joining our subject at Boston. The 
mother of our subject was twice married, 
first time to a Mr. Kelley, by whom there 
were three children, John, Patrick and Eliza, 
all of whom died in Marquette count}-, Wis. 
The mother passed awa\- about the \ear 
1875. 

The subject proper of these lines was ten 
}ears old when he accompanied the rest of 
the family to Wisconsin, and here he worked 
on his father's farms summers, attending 
school during the winter season. He re- 
mained at the parental home until his mar- 
riage in 1867, at which time he bought a 
farm in Marquette county, whereon he lived 
eleven years, then moved to Portage City, 
where he dealt in real estate some six years. 



32S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In November, 1884, he sold out, and coming 
to Rhinelander, worked first on a railroad, 
later commencing the dray line, which he 
yet owns and conducts with much success, 
also, since 1893, carrying on a grocery store, 
Mrs. Dunn managing a millinery deparment; 
he is also agent for the Standard Oil Company. 
He now owns a fine property in Rhine- 
lander, including his residence and store. 
In December, 1867, Mr. Dunn was married 
to Miss Maggie O'Hara, who was born in 
Hartford, Wis., in 1847, daughter of John 
and Mary (Weir) O'Hara, who were the 
parents of si.x children, named respectively: 
|ohn, Thomas, Burgett, Mary, Maggie and 
Michael. The father came to America when 
a young man, was married in Vermont, and 
came to Wisconsin about the year 1845. 
He was a tailor by trade, but after coming 
west he followed farming; he died in 1S59. 
The mother of Mrs. Dunn was born in Ire- 
land in 181 1, daughter of Frank Weir, who 
died in Ireland, leaving a widow and two 
children, Mary and Henry. The family 
came to the United States about the year 
1829, and the widowed mother is now living 
with her daughter, Mrs. Dunn. To our sub- 
ject and wife were born six children, namely: 
Anice, William, Ella, George and Grace, 
living, and Lulu, deceased wife of Harry 
Ashton. Of these Anice is married to 
George Whitney, the rest living at home. 

Politically, Mr. Dunn is a Democrat, and 
while a resident of Marquette he served as 
supervisor and treasurer, also on the school 
board. At the present time he is alderman 
of the Sixth ward of Rhinelander; socially, 
he is affiliated with the Catholic Knights; in 
religious faith he is a member of the Roman 
Catholic Church. 



WILLIAM G. FOSS, one of the 
leading lumbermen of Tomahawk, 
Lincoln count}', is an energetic 
man of sound principles and good 
judgment. His birth occurred August 11, 
1864, in Genesee county, N. Y. , near 
Rochester. His father, Kingsley Foss, a 
native of New York, wedded Matilda Harris, 
who was born in the Empire State, of New 
England ancestry, her jjurents being natives 



of Connecticut. By this union were born 
eleven children, of whom James, Florence, 
Lois, Ella and William G. are still living; 
Sylvester, Carrie and Frank lived to adult 
age, and are now deceased; the others died 
in childhood. In 1875 the family emigrated 
to Michigan, settling in Pontiac, where the 
father, who was a harness maker, opened a 
shop and began the manufacture of harness, 
employing several men. For three years 
they remained in that place when they re- 
moved to Fenton, Mich., and where the 
father died in 18S1; his widow is now living 
with her daughter in Chicago. He had one 
brother, Joseph. In political sentiment he 
was a Republican, and while still a resident 
of New York, served as sheriff of his county. 

Our subject pursued his studies in the 
common schools of Michigan, and at the 
age of fifteen years left home, going north 
to Cadillac, Mich., where he became fore- 
man in a lumber yard, and there remained 
for four years. In Big Rapids, Mich., he 
was then employed by the same firm some 
six years, when he came to Tomahawk, 
Wis., arriving here in April, 1889, and be- 
came grader for the Tomahawk Lumber 
Company. All his life has been spent in 
lumbering, and he is thoroughly acquainted 
with every branch of the business. In the 
spring of 1894 he became interested with 
others in the Somo Box Factory, one of the 
leading industries of the city, yielding to the 
owners a good income. 

At Big Rapids, Mich., in May, 1885, 
was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Foss and 
Miss Tenna Moyer, who was born in Can- 
aseraga, Allegan}- Co., N. Y., daughter of 
George and Elizabeth (Greenfield) Moyer, 
who were the parents of two children: Will- 
iam and Tenna. Her father, who was a 
native of Germany, came to the New World 
with his parents when quite small, locating 
on a farm which his father operated. The 
mother of Mrs. Foss was born in New 
York, and there her husband died in 1880. 
By occupation he was a locomotive engi- 
neer, and served as such both in New York 
and Mexico. A son has been born to our 
subject and his wife, named Glenn A. Mr. 
Foss is identified with the Republican 
party, and is at present serving as alderman 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



329 



from the Fourth ward. Socially he is a 
member of the K. O. T. M. He has 
achieved success by unremitting toil, di- 
rected by good business principles, and is 
numbered among the wide-awake and highly 
esteemed citizens of Tomahawk. 



JOHN A. OGDEN, editor and proprie- 
tor of the Antigo Republican, is one of 
the busiest men in Langlade county, 
and is capable of doing the business of 
two or three ordinary individuals. His serv- 
ice of over twenty-five years as a "news- 
paper man " has made him particularh' wide- 
awake and progressive, elements of charac- 
ter which are appreciated by his fellow citi- 
zens, and which render him one of the val- 
uable factors in the community. 

Mr. Ogden was born June 6, 1851, in 
the town of Stockton, Portage Co., Wis., 
and is the son of Judge C. S. Ogden and 
Catherine Hoag Ogden, the father born 
August 2, I1S19, the mother August 11, 1827, 
and died April 7, 1877. In 1854 they re- 
moved to Ogdensburg, Waupaca county, 
this State, where our subject attended the 
public schools until fifteen years of age. 
The family removed to Waupaca in 1865, 
and he began to learn the trade of a printer 
in October, 1868. He there studied law in 
his father's office, and was adm.itted to the 
bar in June, 1873, prior to which, in Octo- 
ber, 1869, he had started the New London 
Times, and subsequently established and 
conducted the Taylor County News, at Med- 
ford, which he carried on for three years 
and at the same time practiced law. This 
paper he sold out in 1878, and then began 
the publication of the ^^'aupaca Post. While 
managing this newspaper Mr. Ogden at the 
same time owned and operated a farm of 480 
acres one mile out of the city. 

After disposing of the farm and the Tost 
Mr. Ogden removed to Antigo in 1868, and 
purchased the Republican, of which he has 
since been the owner and publisher. It is a 
live paper, as may be judged from its pro- 
prietor, and has a good circulation in the 
county. Mr. Ogden is also interested in the 
abstract office of C. Werden, Dean & Co., 
and has been conducting a stationery and 



news business for three years in connection 
with his newspaper office. He has been 
twice the Reput)lican candidate for mayor of 
Antigo, and, although not elected, succeeded 
in cutting down the Democratic majority of 
nearly 200 to less than seventy-five both 
times. During President Harrison's admin- 
istration he was deputy revenue collector 
for four counties. Mr. Ogden was married 
at Waupaca, July 22, 1879, to Miss Alida 
B. Randall, and they have two sons: Caleb 
E., born April 10, 1891, and Howard R., 
born August 30, 1894. 



JACOB F. EMTER, a member of the 
firm of Williams & Emter, general 
merchants of Wausau, Marathon 
county, was born at Cambria, Colum- 
bia Co., Wis., September 16, 1861. His 
parents, Jacob and Regina (Blochurtz) 
Emter, were both born in Germany, and are 
now deceased. 

Our subject was reared to manhood in 
the village of Cambria, and educated there 
in the public schools, after which he learned 
the harness-maker's trade, and later was 
employed as a salesman in a store for a 
number of years. In 1883 he removed to 
Wausau, and became a partner in the busi- 
ness of Charles A. Williams. In Wausau, 
October 22, 1885, Jacob F. Emter married 
Miss Lena Williams, and one child was born 
to their union. Regina, September 24, 1886. 
Mrs. Emter is the daughter of Balser and 
Amelia Williams. In addition to his general 
store business Mr. Emter is also senior part- 
ner in the firm of Emter & Allen, leading 
liverymen of Wausau. Mr. Emter attends 
the Roman Catholic Church, and in his 
political views he is a Democrat. 



NELSON B. CARTER is one of the 
oldest pioneers of Clintonville, Wau- 
paca county, only two present resi- 
dents antedating his settlement here. 
He opened the first hotel in the primitive 
settlement, and during a residence of over 
thirty years has noted the gradual progress 
of the little village to its present fiourishing 
state. 



330 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Carter comes from an old Maine 
family, his paternal grandfather, John Car- 
ter, having lived and died in the town of 
Porter, Oxford county, that State. The lat- 
ter's son. Stephen W. Carter, father of Nel- 
son B. , farmed, and also operated a gristmill 
at Kezar Falls, Maine. He married Miss 
Azuba Willoughby, of New Hampshire, and 
later moved to Lowell, Mass., thence com- 
ing west to Michigan with his son, and in 
i860 moving to Kansas, where he died in 
1868, his wife surviving and living near 
Kansas City, Mo., until 1880. Stephen and 
Azuba Carter had a family of nine children, 
six of whom are now living; of these Coswell 
E., a resident of New Hampshire, served in 
the army during the Civil war; Sylvester 
went to California in 1849, and now lives in 
that State; Stephen W., a war veteran, now 
lives in New Hampshire; John W. served 
through the war in the Sixth Mass. V. I., 
and is now living at Lowell, Mass. ; Lydia 
A. first married Sumner Hardis, and is now 
the widow of E. L. Sherman, her residence 
being in Kansas City, Mo. ; Sxlvanus died in 
Connecticut. 

Our subject was born in Parsonsfield. 
Oxford Co., Maine, March 27, 1826, and to 
the age of sixteen resided in that State, then 
for three years worked on a farm near 
Holderness, N. H. After a short visit to 
Maine he returned to New Hampshire, and 
followed farming at Benton until 1856, in 
which year he came west, and for three 
years lived at Paw Paw, Mich. In 1859 he 
located at Blackberry, Kane Co., 111., a lit- 
tle later removing to Geneva, same county. 
In 1 86 1 Mr. Carter moved thence to Wau- 
paca county. Wis., locating first on a twent}'- 
acre timber tract in Bear Creek township, 
where for four years he was engaged in 
clearing land. He settled on the site of 
Clintonville July 6, 1865, purchasing two 
acres of land where the "Ward House" 
now stands, and here built and kept the first 
hotel in the place. It was a one-and-a- 
half-story log house, 20 X 30 feet, low on two 
sides. A log barn, supplementing this primi- 
tive structure, was superseded in 1866 by 
the present barn of the "Ward House," 
built by Mr. Carter. He continued in the 
hotel business here until 1869, then traded 



for an eight\'-acre unimproved farm. In 
1878 he located on the farm, which he im- 
proved, building a good one-and-a-half-stor}' 
frame house 22 x 32, with an L 22 x 32 in 
1 88 1 , and erecting a substantial barn 40 x 50 
feet. He had built also, in 1878, a barn 
22x40, subsequentlj- extending it 20 feet. 
Mr. Carter now owns 160 acres of well-im- 
proved land adjoining the village of Clinton- 
ville. 

In February, 1S64, our subject enlisted 
at New London, Wis., in Company D. 
Thirty-eighth Wis. \'. I., for three years or 
during the war. The regiment was assigned 
to the Ninth Arm}- Corps, and was sent to 
Virginia to help Gen. Grant crush the 
enemy in his final advance upon the en- 
trenched forces. Mr. Carter participated in 
the battle of Cold Harbor, and was present 
at the charge on Petersburg. He remained 
in service until the close of the war, and 
was discharged at Long Island in May, 
1865, returning to Clintonville. Mr. Carter 
was married at Benton, N. H., to Miss 
Serena Brown, a native of that town and 
daughter of Richard and Sarah (Kimball) 
Brown. The father died in 1878, the 
mother living to the age of eighty-six. sur- 
viving her husband ten years. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Carter twelve children have been born, 
of whom eleven survive, as follows: Try- 
phosa, wife of Henry Buckbee, of Ordwa}', 
Brown Co., S. Dak., and the mother of four 
living children — Bertha, William, Mary and 
John; Elberto, who lives on a farm in Wau- 
paca county, and has four children — Inez, 
Sylva, Harry and Edna; Alphonso, residing 
in Clintonville, and has three children — 
Cyril, Ethel and Eva; Tryphena, wife of 
Willis Seeley, of Tigerton, Wis., and the 
mother of five children — Stella, Luvie, 
Bertha, Orrin and Clara; Almond L. , 
who now lives on the farm; .Arthur N., 
a contractor and builder in Clintonville, 
is married and has one child — Erwin; 
Anna, secretary of the Bank of \\'ittenberg. 
Wis.; Willis, a carpenter, of Clintonville; 
Leonard, a carpenter and farmer; Harry, a 
carpenter; and Alvah, a high-school student. 

Mr. and Mrs. Carter are members of the 
M. E. Church, and she is a charter member 
of the Eastern Star Lodge, at Clintonville. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



331 



Mr. Carter is a member of Clintonville 
Lodge No. 197, F. & A. M., and of John 
B. Wjman Post No. 32, G. A. R. In pol- 
itics he is a Repubhcan and was postmaster 
from 1865 to 1868. He has served as chair- 
man, as town supervisor, as member of the 
board, and in various other capacities, and 
is one of the most popular and respected 
citizens of Clintonville. 



NATHANIEL KELLY, who in his 
lifetime was one of the best known 
and most highly esteemed young 
business men of Marathon county, 
died in comparatively J'oung life, having 
almost attained the half-century mile-post 
when death chose him a victim. During 
his life he was not only well-known on 
account of the large lumbering interests 
which he represented, but he was beloved 
as well, as he had a kindly spirit and a wel- 
come for everybody. To know him was to 
love him, for the leaden mists of life would 
fade away before his genial, ever-present 
smile. 

Mr. Kelly was born in Ithaca, Tompkins 
Co., N. Y. , October 5, 1834, a son of Milo 
and Mary B. (Casteline) Kelly. When 
quite young he removed with his parents to 
Oak Prairie, 111., where he attended the 
village schools. He was seventeen years of 
age when he removed with his parents' 
family to Marathon county, locating on the 
Eau Claire river, about nine miles southeast 
of Wausau. Here Milo Kelly and his two 
sons, William P. and Nathaniel, acquired 
large lumber interests, and the region was 
soon an active hive of industry. After the 
death of his father in 1870, Mr. Kelly and 
his brother continued the business until the 
death of the latter, when Nathaniel was 
left in full control of the e.xtensive plant, 
which he carried on up to his death, which 
occurred suddenly January 22, 1883. 

In August, i860, Mr. Kelly was married 
to Miss Nellie M. Karmer, a daughter of 
Sanford and Lucy (Truman) Karmer, both 
of whom were born in the Old Bay State 
and emigrated from Massachusetts to Por- 
tage county among its earliest pioneers. 
Mrs. Karmer still survives, an honored resi- 



dent of Stevens Point. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Kelly four children were born: Isabella, 
born May 4, 1S61, died November 29, 1863; 
Lucy, born August 17, 1863, wife of Edward 
Gooding, of Lockport, 111. ; Frank, a manu- 
facturer of furniture and novelties at Wausau, 
born July 3, 1865; and Mabel, born July 29, 
1867, wife of William G. Norton, of Lock- 
port, 111. Mr. Kelly was a prominent mem- 
ber of Forest Lodge, No. 130, F. & A. M., 
of Wausau Lodge No. 215, I. O. O. F., 
and of the Sir Knights. He was highly 
esteemed for his genial nature, and by his 
death Marathon county lost a valuable and 
progressive citizen. His widow now resides 
at Wausau. 



CHARLES ZUEHLKE, one of the 
most worthy representative citizens 
of Wisconsin, was born in Dodge 
county. Wis., March 25, 1853, and 
is a son of William and Frederika Zuehlke, 
natives of Germany. In 1847 the father 
came with his parents to America, and was 
married in southern Wisconsin, after which 
he carried on agricultural pursuits. In 1S47 
he purchased forty acres of land in Milwau- 
kee, on which the Schlitz Brewery now 
stands, the purchase price being $100. 
Selling this, he removed to Dodge count}'. 
and located on wild land in Theresa town- 
ship, where he developed one of the finest 
farms in that section of the State, continu- 
ing its improvement and cultivation until 
1866, when he removed to Lomira town- 
ship, same county, and purchased 200 acres 
of partially cleared land, for which he paid 
$8,000. Here he made his home until his 
death in August, 1894, since which time his 
widow has resided in Juneau, Dodge coun- 
ty. The family numbers the following chil- 
dren: August, a farmer of Dodge county; 
Charles, subject of this sketch; Mary, wife 
of Ferdinand Schwantes, of Horicon, W'is. ; 
Gusta, wife of Frank Christian, of Dodge 
county; Fred, a cheese manufacturer, of 
Bonduel; Henry, a hotel keeper, of Bonduel; 
and Emma, wife of Charles Briemann, of 
Juneau. 

The subject proper of this sketch at- 
tended the district schools, but was mostly 



33= 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



educated in German. Being one of the 
older children of the family, his services 
were required in the work of developing the 
farm — an arduous task with which he early 
became familiar. His childhood and \'outh 
were passed on the home farm with the ex- 
ception of one summer, when he worked for 
an uncle in Columbia county, Wis. He was 
married, in 1879, in Dodge county, to Miss 
Emma Wunne, a native of that county, and 
a daughter of Chris Wunne, a farmer. To 
them have been born four children: Albert, 
Amanda and William, who are with their 
parents; and Adolph who died in infancy. 
Soon after his marriage Mr. Zuehlke came 
to Hartland township, Shawano county, and 
with his limited means secured a tract of 
land in Section 16, but being unable to get 
a satisfactory title he relinquished this claim 
and bought eighty acres of partially-improved 
land in Section 29. He continued its culti- 
vation for nine years, and in that time add- 
ed forty acres to the place, making a valu- 
able property of 120 acres, which he still 
owns. In 1888 he abandoned agricultural 
pursuits and came to Bonduel, where he em- 
barked in the hardware business in connec- 
tion with Chris Bonninand Mathias Wagner, 
under the firm name of C. Zuehlke & Co. 
After two and a half years our subject 
bought out his partners, and has since been 
alone in business. In 1890 he built his 
store room, and in February, 1894, became 
associated with Robert Rose, under the firm 
style of Zuehlke & Rose. He is a wide- 
awake, enterprising business man, and has 
secured a liberal patronage from the best 
class of citizens. In politics he is independ- 
ent, and has served as town supervisor, while 
since the spring of 1894 he has filled the of- 
fice of town treasurer. He and his wife are 
tnembers of the Lutheran Church, and are 
most highly respected people. 



LOUIS PORT, a prosperous, loyal 
citizen of Stevens Point, Portage 
county, is proprietor of an extensive 
and well-established cigar factory, 
the oldest in the city, which has made for 
itself a name second to none, in that line, 
in Wisconsin. He is a native of this State, 



born in Milwaukee November 19, 1848, a 
son of Nicholas and Lena Port, who came 
from Germany to the United States in 1843. 
The father was a laborer b\' vocation, in 
later life engaging in the manufacture of 
vinegar, and succeeded in accumulating a 
comfortable competence, at the time of his 
death being well off. He and his wife both 
died in Milwaukee, W'is., January 19, 1890, 
and February 17, 1881, respectivel}', the 
parents of fourteen children — six sons and 
eight daughters. 

Our subject received a good common- 
school education up to the age of fourteen 
years, when he became apprenticed to the 
trade of cigar maker, his first work being 
that of "Stripper," gradually rising in the 
scale till he found himself a full-fiedged 
cigar maker. He continued at his trade, 
working in various shops until Februar}-, 
1877, when he commenced business at Ste\- 
ens Point, opening a cigar factory on Third 
street, between Main and Clark, having as- 
sociated with him Louis Piffer. At the 
end of two years the firm of Port & Piffer 
was dissolved, our subject purchasing his 
partner's interest; but at the close of an- 
other 3'ear he moved to Milwaukee, where 
he carried on a similar business until May i, 
1 88 5, at which time he returned to Stevens 
Point and resumed the manufacture of 
cigars on Third street. In 1890 he removed 
to the corner of Mill street and Strong's 
avenue, where he had erected a very sub- 
stantial two-storj' brick building, his present 
place of business. 

On February 12, 1871, Mr. Port was 
married, at Milwaukee, to Miss Louisa 
Klett, a daughter of Andrew and Johanana 
(Doradby) Klett, all natives of Germany, 
whence the}' emigrated to this country when 
Mrs. Port was a five-year-old girl. Mr. 
Klett was a baker bj- trade, but did not fol- 
low it to any extent in the United States. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Port were born five chil- 
dren, as follows: Amelia and Theodore, 
both living, and Henry, Louis, Jr., and Ag- 
nes, deceased. Mrs. Port is a member of 
the Episcopal Church. In politics our sub- 
ject is a Republican, but in civic elections 
he invariably votes for the candidates he 
considers best adapted for the office, regard- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



333 



less of party ties. He does an excellent 
business, his trade reaching considerably 
beyond the city, and he is regarded as a 
good, useful citizen and as a reliable busi- 
ness man. Socially, he is a member of the 
I. O. O. F. at Stevens Point, and Mrs. Port 
is affiliated with the Daughters of Rebekah, 
of the same place. 



LOUIS GLAUBITZ. From the low- 
est to the loftiest station, socially 
speaking — from penury, the hard 
grinding poverty which knows the 
bitter experience of hunger and wearisome 
toil from early dawn far into the night, to 
the comforts and enjoyments of refined 
society, and an exalted position in the com- 
mercial, professional, or political world — 
these are some of the vicissitudes through 
which not a few of the self-made men of 
this country, be they native-born or of for- 
eign birth, have passed. Mr. Glaubitz is 
one of those whose lives have not been all 
sunshine, and who have attained position 
and competence only through labor and 
struggle, which less resolute, less earnest 
men would have deemed beyond human 
power and endurance. 

Our subject is a native of Silesia, 
Prussia, born December ii, 1831, in the 
town of Laehn, a son of Gotlieb Glaubitz, 
a tanner by trade, who also owned some 
land, being in comparatively comfortable 
circumstances. By his wife Caroline he 
had four children — one son (Louis) and three 
daughters — all of whom married, our sub- 
ject being the only survivor, his three sis- 
ters having died in Germany, as did also his 
parents, the father when fifty years old, the 
mother when aged seventy-four. Louis at- 
tended the common schools of his native 
land until he was between thirteen and 
fourteen years old, in the meantime con- 
tinuing to live with his widowed mother 
(her husband having died when Louis was 
five years old), who carried on the tannery 
up to the time of her son leaving the paren- 
tal home. At the time of his life just men- 
tioned the bo}- commenced a five-years' ap- 
prenticeship in a business house, paying 
therefor a premium of one hundred dollars, 



but coming out a full-fledged clerk with the 
best training. He filled various positions in 
that capacity in Germany; but salaries were 
low and he managed to save but little 
money. At the age of twenty-three he 
married, the lady of his choice being Miss 
Rosalie A. Mager, who was born March 10, 
1835, in Jauer, Province of Silesia, Ger- 
man)', daughter of Benjamin Mager, a dry- 
goods merchant of that place; and now the 
\outhful benedict found in earnest the re- 
sponsibilities of life commencing with him. 
Seeing that the prospects of making a com- 
fortable home in Germany were far from 
bright, he concluded to try his fortune in 
America; so, leaving his young wife behind, 
he in the fall of 1857 set sail from the port 
of Bremen on the good ship "Laura," and 
after a tedious passage of fifty-nine days 
landed at New York. Chicago being our 
traveler's destination, he at once proceeded 
thither from New York, and on his arrival 
at the "windy city" he found himself the 
possessor of a round sum of twent\-five 
cents, which was just the price of a night's 
lodging at the old " Jervis Hotel," corner of 
\'an Buren and Sherman streets, where now 
stands the "Atlantic Hotel." In the morn- 
ing he had to take to the streets minus 
breakfast, a stranger in a strange land, 
without the slightest knowledge of the 
English language, but possessed of a stout 
heart and a spirit of independence and de- 
termination that were bound to win. He 
was strong and healthy, and willing to work 
at anything that would bring him an honest 
dollar, especially with the ever-present 
thought of his dear young wife in the far- 
away "Fatherland." Chancing into a 
clothes-cleaning and repairing shop on State 
street, he found to his delight a countryman 
of his own, also, as it happened, in some- 
what straightened circumstances, for he was 
at that moment preparing a very limited 
morning meal in the store; yet he generously 
shared with Mr. Glaubitz his frugal repast, 
consisting of bread and coffee. How true 
the saying: "To the poor the poor 
are always charitable ! " After a little, with 
the assistance of his new friend, our sub- 
ject secured a position as " man-of-all-work" 
in Otto C. Ludwig's restaurant on Randolph 



334 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 



street, a first-class establishment in those 
days, and at the end of a month he received 
the sum of thirty dollars for wages, the first 
money he earned in the United States. But 
the hours being long and the work incessant, 
he concluded to make a change and try his 
hand on a farm during the forthcoming 
winter, 1857-58, which was fast approach- 
ing; accordingly he went by rail to Dunton 
Station, on what is now the Chicago & 
North Western railroad, where he found 
work with James Potter, a farmer, and 
hiring with him for a year, was employed 
doing chores of all sorts about the farm 
during the winter; but toward the spring of 
1858, concluding he could do better in the 
city, he left the farm and returned to 
Chicago, where he secured work as city team- 
ster for Goss & Hoag, at that time one 
of the largest retail merchants of Chicago. 
During the summer of the same year he 
managed to save enough money to bring his 
wife out from Germany, and sending for her 
she arri\ed in the fall, bringing with her her 
first-born, a son, Alfred Theo. L. , who for 
the first time in his life now saw his father. 
This son has been in the employ of the United 
States Mail service, runningbetween Chicago 
and Milwaukee, for the past sixteen years. 
For two years Mr. Glaubitz remained in the 
employ of Goss & Hoag, and then entered 
that of Durand Bros. & Powers, wholesale 
grocers, on South Water street, where it 
may be said was laid the foundation of his 
future successful business career. He began 
as porter in the store, and his true worth 
was soon recognized by promotion to re- 
ceiving clerk, later to shipping clerk, and 
still later to general salesman, in each capa- 
city thoroughly demonstrating his fitness 
for the position. In 1866 a branch was 
established in Milwaukee under the firm 
name of J. B. Durand & Co., with which 
he became associated, commencing as travel- 
ing salesman on a salary of $1,200 per 
annum, and his success in that capacity, to- 
gether with his good judgment in the selec- 
tion of the most responsible parties as pat- 
rons, was the means of the sales of the 
house, in the course of time, reaching the 
enormous figure of from $350,000 to $400,- 
000 annually, attended by insignificant loss. 



His traveling route lay through Wisconsin, 
Iowa, northern Illinois and western Michi- 
gan, and he was regarded, both on and off 
the road, first-class as a "hustler" and so 
valuable indeed were his services recognized 
by his employers that his humble salary of 
$1,200 per annum was before long volun- 
tarially raised to $2, 500 and expenses. In 
1879 he secured a one-fourth interest in 
the firm of Durand, Robinson & Co., Mil- 
waukee, and with them continued until 1 88 1 , 
when, after an experince of fifteen years as 
traveling salesman, he concluded to sever 
his connection with the firm, disposing of 
his interest therein. 

During his travels he had traversed a 
considerable portion of the lumber country 
iu northern Wisconsin, becoming well-ac- 
quainted with leading lumbermen, and now, 
on abandoning his commercial pursuits, he 
concluded to try his hand in this new enter- 
prise. In 1 88 1 he was foremost in the in 
corporation of the Shawano Lumber Co., 
of which he was elected president, a store 
and sawmill being established at Wittenberg, 
Shawano county, with general offices at Mil- 
waukee. The companj' purchased several 
thousand acres, the timber of which they cut 
and manufactured, and had successfully and 
extensively carried on business until the fall 
of 1887, when our subject became sole 
proprietor of the entire concern, which in- 
cluded about three thousand acres of land. 
On July 17, 1887, however, the extensive 
lumber sheds were ignited by a spark from 
a passing locomotive, resulting in a disastrous 
conflagration entailing a loss of several 
thousand dollars to Mr. Glaubitz, although 
the railroad company paid him $2,750 com- 
pensation. On May 19, 1895, he moved 
his famil}' from Milwaukee to Wittenberg, 
he himself for the previous fourteen years 
having divided his time between the two 
places. He is recognized far and near as 
one of the most substantial men in all 
northern Wisconsin, as well as of \\'itten- 
berg, toward the building up of which he 
has been the foremost. At the present time, in 
addition to his lumber business, he conducts 
a general merchandise store in the village. 
And it is only but justice to add that much 
of his prospierity is due to his excellent and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



335 



amiable life partner, Mrs. Glaubitz, whose 
economy and admirable management in 
household affairs have been potent factors 
in his phenomenal success. They are both 
well preserved physically, Mr. Glaubitz, 
especially, considering his many years of 
active business life, and untiring energy, for 
he looks and feels at least fifteen years 
3'ounger than he really is. The family of 
children born to this honored couple in the 
United States, are as follows: Anna L. 
H., born November 15, i860, in Chi- 
cago, now Mrs. H. J. Rathke, of Mil- 
waukee; Selma P., born in Chicago Janu- 
ary 7, 1863, now Mrs. Frank Trenkamp, 
of Milwaukee, her husband being the oldest 
established soap maker in the city; Robert 
B., born in Chicago, May 8, 1867 (he learn- 
ed the machinist trade, and in 1885 came 
to Wittenberg, where he is identified with 
his father's extensive interests; he paid 
Germany a visit in 1889, being absent from 
May until September. This son is a shrewd 
j'oung business man); Louis O., born in 
Milwaukee, April 23, 1869, is an e.\- 
pert machinist in the emplo}', as bookkeeper, 
of Hoffman Billings Manufacturing Co., of 
Milwaukee; Clara M.,born March 30, 1872, 
in Milwaukee; Paul B., born November 12, 
1875, is an electrician of promise; Alvine 
W. C. , born in Milwaukee, October 14, 
1878. 

Mr. Glaubitz is a stanch adherent of the 
Republican party, but his vast business in- 
terests preclude him from accepting political 
honors, which, it is no flatter}' to say, is a 
loss to the community. In religious faith 
the entire family are members of the 
Lutheran Church. Such is a brief sketch 
of the life of Louis Glaubitz, a t3'pical self- 
made man, whose success has been due to 
his tireless industry, financial integrity, per- 
sonal attention to the details of his business, 
and to a courage tempered with caution. 



M 



ILO KELLY (deceased) was for a 
score of years one of the most 
active and influential pioneers of 
Marathon county. He came to 
the county at a period when its lumbering 
interests were rising into commanding im- 



portance, and lived in the midst of its great- 
est development, one of the chief figures 
and factors in the great industry. 

Mr. Kelly was born in Tompkins county, 
N. Y. , January 22, 1804, ^ son of Godfrey 
and Harriet Kelly. He attended the public 
schools in central New York near his home, 
and in early life followed agricultural pur- 
suits. On February 25, 1829, at Ithaca, 
N. Y. , the county seat of Tompkins county, 
he was married to Miss Mary B. Casteline, 
who was born in that city February 2, 1807, 
daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Atkinson) 
Casteline. Five years later he removed 
with his little family to Oak Prairie, 111., 
where he remained some seventeen years. 
In 1 85 1 Mr. Kelly became interested in the 
lumbering interests of the Upper Wisconsin 
Valle}', and in that year he removed from 
Illinois to Marathon county. Wis., where he 
at once engaged in the lumbering business 
on the Eau Claire river, about nine miles 
from Wausau. From that date until his 
death, which occurred nearly twenty years 
later, he was a continuous resident of the 
county, and during all that time was ex- 
tensively engaged in lumbering. He con- 
tributed largely to the development of the 
vast resources of the county, and was held 
in high esteem by his fellow citizens, who 
evinced in a measure their regard for him 
by electing him at various times to many and 
responsible offices. In all his transactions 
he was upright and honorable, scorning the 
subterfuges which belong to a smaller nature 
than his. His affections were warm and 
deep-seated, his manners open and frank, 
and he was generous to a fault, a splendid 
type, in fact, of the large-hearted and en- 
ergetic lumberman of sterling principles and 
generous impulses. He was an honored 
member of the Masonic Fraternity, a kind 
neighbor, and indulgent husband and father. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Kelly three children were 
born: William P., born October 3, 1832^ 
and died August 19, 1877, in Marathon 
county; Nathaniel, born Octobers, 1834, 
died January 22, 1883; and Mary Eliza, 
born September 2, 1836, and died Jan- 
uary 28, 1849. Mr. Kelly died March 
28, 1870, mourned by a wide circle of 
friends. His good and faithful wife still 



.336 



COMMEMOUATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



survives at this writing, one of the oldest, 
if not the oldest residents of Wausau, hav- 
ing reached the advanced age of eighty- 
eight years. She is one of the most highly 
revered and respected women of Marathon 
count}'. 



CHARLES A. WILLIAMS, senior 
member of the firm of Williams & 
Emter, general merchants of Wau- 
sau, Marathon county, was born 
herein Wausau August 8, 1858. His par- 
ents, Balser and Katherine (Kuhl) W^illiams, 
were born in Germany, came to the United 
States about the year 1850, located in Colum- 
bia count}-. Wis., and in 1854 removed to 
Wausau. 

Balser Williams was engaged in lumber- 
ing for a number of years. He was twice 
married, and by his first wife, Katherine, 
had three children, Charles A., the subject 
of this sketch, being the only survivor; the 
mother of these died in 1862. By his 
second wife, whom he married in 1864, and 
whose maiden name was Amelia Bessertt. 
Balser Williams had two children, both now 
living, namely: Lena, wife of Jacob F. 
Emter, a partner in the business of Charles 
A. Williams, and Albert, also in Wausau. 
Balser Williams still resides at Wausau, but 
for the past eight years has lived a compara- 
tively retired life. After his mother's death 
Charles A. Williams was taken, when only 
about four years old, to live with his grand- 
parents in Columbia county. Wis. He re- 
mained with them until seventeen years of 
age, and was educated in the district schools 
of that locality, after which he was engaged 
as a salesman in a general store for six 
years. In Cambria, Columbia Co., Wis., 
October 20, 1880, Charles A. Williams mar- 
ried Miss Emma Emter, and three children 
have been born to their union, namely: 
Ida, May 19, 1883; Elmer. July 31, 1884 
(deceased May 25, 1885), and Myron, 
August 14, 1 89 1. Mrs. Williams' parents. 
Jacob and Katherine Emter, were both 
natives of German}- and residents of Colum- 
bia county, Wisconsin. 

In 1 88 1 Mr. ^^'illiams returned to his 
native town, and the firm of \Mlliams & 



Emter, one of the substantial business houses 
of Wausau, was established. Both mem- 
bers in the partnership are gentlemen of keen 
intelligence, and, by their strict integrity 
and business-like methods, have succeeded 
in building up a large trade. Mr. Williams 
is a member of Wausau Lodge No. 215, I. 
O. O. F. , and also of the Modern Woodmen 
of America. He is an ardent worker in the 
ranks of the Democratic party, has been 
supervisor of the Seventh ward one term, 
and is now serving on the school board. 
Mrs. Williams and family attend the Roman 
Catholic Church. 



N 



A. GILBERT was born in Manito- 
woc, Wis., November 22. 1863. and 
is a son of Gilbert and Mary Kjok. 
The father, who was a silversmith, 
and also owned two large farms in Valders. 
Norway, emigrated, in 1851, with his family 
to Manitowoc. Wis., which was then a small 
place, and. purchasing land in its primitive 
condition, began the development of a farm 
in the midst of the wilderness. He cleared 
and improved the land, and made his home 
thereon until 1864, when he sold that place 
and mo\ed to the city of Manitowoc, where 
he engaged in ship carpentering. There he 
made his home until 1883, when, with his 
family, he came to Wittenberg, which at that 
time contained only one store. Here he 
again bought land, and once more went 
through the hardships incident to pioneer 
life. Again he cleared and developed a farm, 
and continued its cultivation until 1885. 
when he sold to his son-in-law. Ole Nelson, 
who now li\'es upon the place. Mr. and 
Mrs. Kjok have since lived with our subject, 
the father, now at the age of eighty years, 
the latter being si.xty-nine years old. In 
their family were six children, of whom 
Anna and John, the two eldest, are now 
deceased; the others are Maria, wife of Ole 
Nelson, a carpenter and farmer of Witten- 
berg, by whom she has two sons and six 
daughters; Martin, who has taken up a 
homestead in Canada, where he now makes 
his home; Nels A., subject of this sketch; 
and George, who is located in Den\er, Col- 
orado. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



337 



Mr. Gilbert received a common-school 
■education and remained at home until six- 
teen 3'ears of age, when he started out in 
life for himself, being first emploj-ed in the 
lumber woods and on the river. He after- 
ward worked at railroading and anything 
that he could find to do in order to secure 
an honest livelihood. He also followed car- 
pentering and painting. In 1892 Mr. Gil- 
bert wedded Mary Ida Colby, who was born 
in Primrose, Dane Co., Wis., January 13, 
1866, a daughter of Eli and Ellen (Charle- 
son) Colby. They were both natives of 
Norway, and came with their respective 
families to America, their marriage being 
celebrated in Primrose. They began their 
domestic life upon a farm which Mr. Colby 
there purchased, and reared a family of 
twelve children, as follows: Charlie, a farmer 
of Primrose, Wis. ; Mrs. Gilbert; Ella, widow 
of Henry Miles, and a resident of Dane coun- 
t)', Wis. ; Lizzie, wife of W. E. Wilson, prin- 
cipal of the schools of Wittenberg; Joseph, 
who operates the homestead of 220 acres 
near Primrose; Julia, deceased; Nora, who 
lives with her mother at Mt. Horeb, Dane 
Co., Wis.; William, at home; Clara, who is 
attending college at Mt. Horeb; Norman, 
Frank and Jessie, at home. 

Mrs. Gilbert received good educational 
privileges, including instruction in a business 
college, and she also attended a school 
where she fitted herself for her present posi- 
tion of landlady of a hotel. Until 1887 
she remained at home and then went to 
Madison, where she was employed as book- 
keeper in a wholesale house, filling that re- 
sponsible position some five years, and then 
came to Wittenberg. In the meantime her 
father had died on the old homestead, pass- 
ing away in 1888, at the age of fifty-nine. 
Her mother afterward purchased a hotel and 
farm at Wittenberg, and made it her home 
for two years, when she sold out to Mr. Gil- 
bert and returned to Primrose. She now 
resides in Mt. Horeb, while our subject and 
his wife are successfully engaged in carrying 
on the hotel at Wittenberg. They have 
secured an excellent patronage, and their 
well-conducted house well merits the sup- 
port that is given it. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert 
are faithful members of the Lutheran Church. 



In politics he has always been a stalwart 
Republican, and in his social relations is con- 
nected with Wittenberg Lodge, No. 214, 
I. O. O. F. , and he and his wife have man} 
warm friends. 



EDGAR ALLEN, a progressive and 
substantial farmer of Amherst town- 
ship. Portage county, and an hon- 
ored veteran of the Civil war, claims 
Tioga county, Penn., as the place of his na- 
tivity. The date of his birth is March 13, 
1838, and his parents are David and Eliza- 
beth (Wilmot) Allen, the former born, in 
1 817, in Dryden, Tompkins Co., N. Y. , 
whence in early manhood he removed to 
Pennsylvania, and there for a short time 
engaged in farming, subsequently returning 
to Tompkins county, and making his home 
in the town of Ithaca. Previous to this he 
had worked on the Erie canal, and return- 
ing to his old business in 1831 he bought a 
canalboat of which he himself acted as cap- 
tain, engaging in this line during the sum- 
mers until 1849; during the winter time for 
a number of years he made shingles. While 
in Pennsylvania he was married, March i 3, 
1837, and in 1850 he migrated westward 
with his family to Illinois, there working 
farms on shares until the fall of 1852, when 
he came alone to Portage county. Wis. , and 
here purchased a quarter of Section 35, 
Amherst township. Having made a clear- 
ing and built a log house, he was joined by 
his family in the fall of 1853, and here they 
have ever since remained. Mr. Allen 
worked in the woods for several years after 
his arrival here, and for about ten years fur- 
nished provisions to different lumber camps 
on contract. In 1866 he paid a visit to re- 
lations in New York State. He has led a 
long and useful life, but age is beginning to 
tell on him, and he has been in poor health 
for some time. 

When the family removed westward to 
Illinois Edgar Allen accompanied them, and 
came with his parents to Portage count)' in 
an early day in the history of this locality. He 
acquired his education in the common schools 
of the Keystone State and of New York, and 
was reared upon a farm, and as he was the 



338 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



eldest child much of the farm work devolved 
upon him. At the age of fourteen he began 
work in the lumber camps, where he has 
spent each winter since, with the exception 
of the time when he was with the Union 
army in the South. On December 13, i860, 
in Waupaca, Wis., he was married to Miss 
Arabella Aldrich, a daughter of Jonathan and 
Sarah (Galpin) Aldrich, the former a native 
of \'ermont, the latter of Connecticut. The 
paternal grandparents were Jonathan and 
Amelia (Gaines) Aldrich, both natives of the 
Green Mountain State, the former of whom 
was a Revolutionary hero. Mrs. Allen was 
born in Dana, N. Y., in 1846, and when a 
maiden of ten summers came to the west 
with her parents, who settled on a farm 
near Stockton, in Portage county. After 
two years her father sold that property and 
purchased 165 acres of land in Section 33, 
Amherst township. Mr. Aldrich and our 
subject afterward exchanged farms and the 
former subsequently sold his property and 
removed to a farm in Lanark township, 
Portage county, where he died in 1888 at the 
age of ninety-two. His wife passed away 
in Amherst township January 25, 1882, at 
the age of seventy-two. 

The union of our subject and wife has 
been blessed with the following children: 
Ernest, who is employed in the lumber 
woods by his father, married Sarah Carey, 
by whom he has two children — Arlie and 
Hayes; Fred, who married Miss Tensy 
Knowles and resides in Amherst, is also em- 
ployed by his father; Lillian is the wife of 
John Morgan, of Amherst; Blanche is the 
wife of Frederick Lombard, a resident of 
W^ausau, Wis. ; Claude, Maud and Archie 
are all at home. In the fall of 1883 Mr. 
Allen traded his farm for that of his father- 
in-law, and now owns 2 1 3 acres of valuable 
land, 140 of which are cleared and under a 
high state of cultivation. He has been for 
manj' years a lumber contractor, and is do- 
ing a successful business, emplo} ing twenty- 
five men. He is enterprising and progress- 
ive, sagacious and far-sighted, and his well- 
directed efforts have brought to him a high 
degree of success, of which he is well de- 
serving. 

During the Civil war Mr. Allen mani- 



fested his loyalty to the government b_\' en- 
listing at Stevens Point, Wis., in what was 
then called Company H, afterward becom- 
ing Company A, Third Wisconsin Cavalry. 
The regiment was stationed in Kansas, en- 
gaged in fighting Ouantrell's band. Mr. 
Allen was there taken ill with smallpox, and 
for five weeks was in the hospital in Leaven- 
worth, at which place he was mustered out 
in 1865, and the compan}' was disbanded at 
Madison, Wis. The same loyalty which 
caused his enlistment in the Union service 
has characterized his discharge of the duties 
of citizenship, and he is a valued factor in 
the community, devoted to whatever tends 
to benefit the public and promote the gen- 
eral welfare. 



CHARLES C. BOERKE, cigar man- 
ufacturer, of Wausau, Marathon 
county, was born in the city of 
Hanover, Germany, January 22, 
1859, and is a son of George H. and Louisa 
(Rappe) Boerke, who were both born in 
Hanover. 

George H. Boerke came to the United 
States in 1866, and in the same year located 
at Milwaukee, Wis., where he worked at 
his trade of shoemaking. In November of 
the following year his wife and famih' came 
to this country and joined him at Milwaukee, 
where he had provided a home for them. 
His wife died at Milwaukee November 7, 
1876. In 1 88 1 he came to ^^'ausau, 
Marathon county, and remained there until 
1 891, then removed to Livingston, Mont., 
where he now resides. To George H. and 
Louisa Boerke were born five children, one 
of whom died in infanc}'. The others are: 
Charles C, the subject of this sketch; 
Sophia, wife of Otto Lichter, residing at 
Saginaw, Mich.; George H. (Jr. j, at Liv- 
ingston, Mont., and Louisa, in Chicago, Illi- 
nois. 

Our subject was only eight years of age 
when he came to the United States. After 
receiving his education in the public schools 
of Milwaukee he learned the trade of a 
cigar maker, and in 1879 removed to Wau- 
sau, Marathon county, where he again 
worked at his trade until 1S82. At W'au- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



339 



sail, in 1 88 1, he married Miss Theresa 
\\'erheim, daughter of George and Theresa 
Werheim, and there have been born to them 
children as follows: George H., January ", 
1 882; Carl, 1883. died in 1885: Hedwig, 
September 27, 1884; Frank, 1886, died 
in 1887; Aurelia, born in 1889, died in 
1890; Hilmer, December 9, 1890; Edi- 
son Morse, December 4, 1892; and Elmer, 
November 23, 1893. Mr. Boerke engaged 
in business for himself in 1 882, continuing 
until 1885, then worked at that and other 
occupations until June, 1894, when he was 
appointed to a position in the waterworks 
department. The family attend St. Paul's 
Evangelical Church. 



WILLIAM C. HOLLY was born in 
the town of Wells, Bradford Co., 
Penn., August 2, 1822, and is the 
son of Joseph and Sarah (Mc- 
Whorter) Holly, the former a native of Sus- 
sex county, N. J., the latter of Orange 
county, N. Y. The father's birth occurred 
February 22, 1785, the mother's on Septem- 
ber 2, 1789. The father was the son of 
Silas and Esther Holly, who were the par- 
ents of eleven children — four boys and seven 
girls — of whom Joseph was the fourth child. 
Silas Holly was a farmer by occupation, 
served in the Revolutionary war and aided 
the Colonies in their struggles for independ- 
ence; his wife died in Sussex county July 
5, 1845, aged eighty-four years. Joseph 
Holly followed farming throughout his life, 
and in his early manhood learned the ma- 
son's trade, but seldom worked at it. He 
was in the war of 1812, stationed at Sax 
Harbor most of the time while in the serv- 
ice; his death occurred Februarys, 1856, in 
Tioga county, Penn. , and his wife at the 
same place December 23, 1856. 

A brief record of their children is as fol- 
lows: Silas Holly was born July 17, 181 7, 
and was married to Sophia Smith, by whom 
he had six children, only two of whom are 
now living; his wife died in 1861, and he 
then married Lucy Camfield, but they had 
no children. Joseph W. Holly was born 
September 26, 1820, and was married to 
Mary Wood September 23, 1846; they have 



had seven children, four of whom survive: 
Ruth, Eda, Mira and Ella, all living in 
Pennsylvania, and married; J. W. Holly 
died August 21, 1894, in Mansfield, Tioga 
Co., Penn.; his wife died five months previ- 
ous. 'William C. is the next in the family. 
George J. Holly was born August 2, 1822, 
and died August i, 1866. Margaret J. 
Holly was born July 22, 1826, has been 
twice married, first time to Sheldon B. Hill, 
who died in the army, and had four chil- 
dren: Frank, Julius, Joseph and Florence, 
all married. Roswell Holly was born May 
2, 1829, has been twice married, and has 
had six children. Sally M. Holly was born 
September 23, 1832, and died single Sep- 
tember 21, 1857. 

W. C. Holly lived in the town of Wells 
until he was past twelve years of age, and 
then his father moved into the town of Col- 
umbia, Bradford Co. Penn., and W. C. 
lived there three years; then moved into the 
town of Sullivan, Tioga Co., Penn., and 
when he was eighteen years old he went into 
the town of Troy, Bradford Co., Penn., and 
learned the trade of carpenter and joiner 
serving three years. When his time was out 
he went into the town of Southport, Che- 
mung Co., N. Y. On September 22, 1846, 
he was married to Laura A. Houghton, by 
whom he had three children: Laura Helen, 
the eldest, was born at Southport, N. Y., 
November 12, 1878. William M., was born 
June 6, 1854, at Southport, N. Y. , and 
Alma J. was born at Amherst, Wis., Decem- 
ber 29, 1855, and died July 8, 1859, ag:ed 
three years, six months and nine days. Will- 
iam M. Holly died May 10, 1880, at Am- 
herst, Portage Co., Wis. Laura Helen Holly 
was married to Frank Tyler, and had one 
son named Roy, who was drowned in the 
State of Washington. Laura H. died in the 
State of Washington, February 9, 1889; she 
and her first husband parted, and she was 
married, the second time, to Ed Miles, and 
had one daughter, Bessie. 

Mrs. Laura A. (Houghton) Holly was 
the eldest daughter of Oman B. Houghton 
and Mary (Dutton) Houghton, born in the 
town of Rutland, Rutland Co., Vt., Decem- 
ber 27, 1827, and moved into the town of 
Troy, Bradford Co., Penn., about 1841 and 



340 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



died of smallpox in the town of Amherst, 
April 5, 1872. W. C. Holly was married, 
the second time, in May 5, 1878, at Am- 
herst, Wis., to Eliza L. Clark, daughter of 
Dr. Thomas M. Clark and Mary Polly 
Clark. William C. Holly worked at his 
trade of carpenter and joiner until the year 
of 1876, when he bought out a furniture deal- 
er's and undertaker's shop, which he con- 
ducted until the spring of 1894, doing a good 
business. He built the first store in Am- 
herst, and, in fact, most of the other stores 
in the place, as well as most of the other 
buildings. He was elected town treasurer 
three times; assessor, one year; supervisor, 
one year; town clerk, one year; justice of 
the peace, three terms — in all of which of- 
fices he has discharged his duties with a 
promptness and fidelity that have won him 
the highest commendation. 

When he first came to Amherst he pur- 
chased forty acres of land in Section 28, 
town of Amherst, which he afterward traded 
for a house and lot in the village of Amherst. 
He owns some real estate here, including 
his present fine residence, which he erected 
in the fall of 1894; it is one of the largest 
and most modern residences in the town. 
His pleasant home is the abode of hos- 
pitality, and the members of the household 
rank high in social circles. Mr. and Mrs. 
Holly have one son, Willie, born September 
12, 1882. His parents are prominent mem- 
bers in the Methodist Church. Mrs. Holly 
is and has been a teacher in the Sunday- 
school, while Mr. Holly had been superin- 
tendent years ago in the Sunday-school and 
class-leader of the M. E. Church. He is a 
strong advocate of temperance, and is a 
charter member of the Temple of Honor. 
Among the defenders of the Union during 
the late war is numbered Mr. Holly, who 
enlisted at Amherst in Company B, Forty- 
sixth Infantry, which company went to 
Madison, Wis., where he was detailed to 
work in the hospital as carpenter until he 
was mustered out at the close of the war in 
June, 1865. When the political parties 
were Whig and Democrat, he was a Demo- 
crat; but since the organization of the 
Republican party he has been a strong 
Republican. 



Eliza L. Clark Holly was born February 
18, 1849, in city of Milwaukee, Wis., 
daughter of Dr. Thomas M. and Mary 
Polly (Ruttenbur) Clark. The latter's 
father was Timothy Ruttenbur, her mother 
being Abbygille Jones Ruttenbur, and her 
father's father, Jinkins Jones, was Mrs. 
Holly's great-grandfather. He belonged to 
the Presbyterian Church, and lived until he 
was 109 years old. When he was 104 
years old he cut his third set of teeth, which 
were double all the way round, and very 
even; he was a hale, hardy man, and really 
enjo}ed his fine new teeth; he used to show 
to his grandchildren, including Mrs. Holly's 
mother, how he could bite a thick crust or 
a chicken bone. In those days they had 
fireplaces, and did their baking in a brick 
oven. Some times the\' used a bake kettle, 
which they would set before the fire-place 
on the stone hearth. Generally in winter 
weather they would get a big log for the 
fireplace to lay on the back of the fire, and 
they called it a back log; so, in order to get 
it where they wanted it, they would hitch on 
to one end a yoke of oxen and snake it up 
before the door, then unhitch it, go around 
on the opposite side of the house to a door, 
take a log chain of good length, run it 
through the house, hitch on the end of the 
log at one side of the house while the oxen 
was on the other side hitched to the chain, 
drag it into the room, then unfasten the 
log, take hand-spikes and hoist it oneside, 
first one end and then the other until they 
got it resting at the back of their fire-place; 
then they would put on a " fore log " as 
they called it, and then put on other small 
pieces and bits of wood to make a fire; then 
they had one that lasted for a long 
time, and a good one to the back log 
especially; and that was the beauty of hav- 
ing one so big. Mrs. Holly's great-grand- 
father Jinkins Jones, was a very active man, 
always at work at something. He said he 
did not believe in eating the bread of idle- 
ness, and he never did. He became very 
wealthy before he died at the ripe old age of 
109; he was called by every one " Uncle 
Jinks," and was beloved by all who knew 
him, as was his family. Timothy Rutten- 
bur, his son-in-law, Mrs. Holly's own grand- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



34 «■ 



father, and grandmother Ruttenbur, had a 
large family of children. They all belonged 
to the Close-communion Baptist Church. 
They owned a very large farm and house, a 
big orchard and a big sugar bush, and a fine 
dairy of cows — some fifty or sixty head. 
They made lots of cheese for the factories, 
as well as butter. Their children were as 
follows: those living are Elonson, William, 
Eliza Sally, Mary, Polly, the last named 
being Mrs. Holly's mother. She was born 
September 12, 18 16, in Walworth, New 
York. 

Mrs. Holly's father's father was named 
Joseph Clark, and her grandmother was 
Jemima Meed Clark (his wife); she was 
married at the age of fourteen years; both 
joined the Free-'SVill Baptist Church. They 
started a home in a new county with a log 
house and lots of trees all around, and plentj' 
of wild animals and wolves and wild cats 
howling at night: but they had brave hearts 
and willing hands, and they piled brush and 
logs to burn at night to frighten them off; 
however, they got very bold at last and 
would often come prowling around; some- 
times they would carry off the chickens 
and young pigs, but Grandfather Clark was 
a very hard-working man, as well as his 
wife, so in all of their early struggles and 
hardships and troubles of life things began 
to shape for the better. A few more of 
their young associates settled in and around 
them, and still more until they had as fine a 
neighborhood as any one for miles around. 
Time passed on and their first two little ones 
died in infancy; then others came to bless 
their once lonely home until there were ten 
children living, their names being as follows: 
Sons — Devenport, Eurastus, William, Hiram 
and Thomas M. (Mrs. Holly's father); 
daughters — Rachel, Elizabeth, Lyddie, 
Sarah and Sobrina. Mrs. Holly's grand- 
father and grandmother were steadfast Chris- 
tians all through life. They were very 
wealthy in the latter part of their life. 
They rejoiced greatly when their first church 
was erected; there was a general turn-out 
on Sundays after that to go to church, 
which was a long way ofT for some; but they 
started earlier with a lumber wagon and ox- 
team, carrying their dinners. Mrs. Holly 



says: "Those were happy days. I have 
heard them say to me once again to hear 
the Gospel preached from the blessed book 
that they had used until it was threadbare. 
They lived as they had started to serve God 
from the first, and they died happy in 
jesus' love. " 

Dr. Thomas M. Clark, their youngest 
son, was born October 29, 181 1, in Hart- 
wick, N. Y. At the'age of fourteen he was 
taken sick, and all the doctors far and near 
pronounced his case incurable. He still 
lingered, until one day an old Indian prac- 
titioner of roots and herbs came along. He, 
hearing they had a sick child, wanted to see 
him, saying he could help him if he would 
take his medicine. The boy was very low 
and could not raise his hand to his head, 
and they thought he would die anyway, 
so they let this Indian doctor try. as they 
thought there could be no harm to try, for 
there is always hope where there is life. For 
a few days there was no change, but after a 
little time he commenced to eat, and said 
he was hungry. They did think it meant 
death sure, and told the Indian doctor that, 
but he said: "Oh! no; that is a good sign 
I have been wanting to see. Feed him 
chicken broth a little at a time. Don't, 
don't fear; I shall save him yet." So, day 
after day, the boy began to get stronger and 
stronger, so that after a time he could be 
bolstered up in bed. After more time had 
come and gone he could be dressed and 
placed in an easy chair, and could walk a 
little. So he kept on gaining until well and 
able to work; but nothing would suit the 
old doctor until he promised to study under 
him and learn all the Indian " inshoments," 
as he called it, and go on in his footsteps, 
doing good all over the world, traveling 
from post to pillar. "Live and let live" 
was his motto. "If they were not able 
to pay, don't take pay ; and if they were, 
don't overdo it, but take a fair price." 
So the boy's parents were truly grateful to 
the old doctor for all he had done; they 
paid him more than he was willing to take. 
and gave their consent if it suited the boy, 
as it certainly did. Accordingly, he stayed 
a few years with the old Indian doctor, com- 
ing to see his parents on occasional visits. 



'342 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL REGOBD. 



until at last he had learned his practice and 
was able to start out on his life work. He 
also learned to pla}' the fife well, and after- 
ward was fife-major. He became acquainted 
with and married Polly Mary Ruttenbur 
January 21, 1836, in Rome, Ashtabula Co., 
Ohio. So they started out in life to travel 
and doctor up the sick and the afflicted, 
journeying from place to place and from one 
State to another, doing good. They accom- 
plished wonders with roots and herbs and 
extracts, Mrs. Holly being a helpmeet indeed 
in caring for the sick and helpless. They 
effected some wonderful cures in cases of 
cancers and fits and all other diseases. 
Many a home was made happy by their won- 
derful cures, and people who have been 
cured are alive and well to-day to testify 
for themselves of Dr. Thomas M. Clark's 
wonderful medicine of roots and herbs. Dr. 
and Mrs. Holly came ^^'est in the year of 
1848, locating for a time in Milwaukee, but 
returning again to New York State, then 
into Ohio, onward again to Wisconsin, 
where they located in Plymouth, Sheboygan, 
Manitowoc; then to Lamartine and Byron 
and Oakfield; then to A\'aupun, from there 
going to Chillicothe, ^fo. , and so on to 
Trenton, same State, where they bought a 
beautiful home on Main street in 1864. 
The Doctor's practice increased far and 
near, and he traveled on horseback night 
and day for a great deal of the time. There 
was great sickness all around them, besides 
fever and ague, and he cured them far and 
near for miles around, winning the best 
respects and a good name from all who 
knew him as a doctor. But the climate 
did not agree with his poor wife, so he sold 
out, came back to Wisconsin and located for 
a time in ^^'aupun, afterward removing to 
Stevens Point, thence to Plover, after a 
time to Grand Rapids, this State. On April 
30, 1 874, they located in Amherst and bought 
a place. On May 15, 1877, his wife died of 
consumption, a true Christian woman. 

To that worthy couple seven children 
were born, two of whom died in infancy; 
those living being Orrilla T. , born August 12, 
1838, in Rome, Ohio (she is the wife of 
Henry Menkee, of Sanborn, Barnes Co., N. 
Dak., and they have six children, two boys 



and four girls — all farmers); Emily S., born 
June 7, 1843, i'l the town of Nelson, 
Portage Co., Ohio (she is the wife of Ameri- 
cus Jackson, formerl}' of Manitowoc, now of 
Plover, Wis. ; they had eight children, three 
girls and five boys; he was a soldier in the 
Civil war, serving his time faithfullj', and 
after receiving his discharge came home and 
died in the Insane Asylum); Polly F. , born 
July 20, 1845, ^t Richmond, Ohio (she is 
the wife of George J. Smith, of Arnott, 
Wis., and they have one child, a bo}'; they 
are farmers and potato raisers); Eliza L. , 
born February 18, 1849, at the city of Mil- 
waukee, W'is. (she is the wife of William 
C. Holly, of Amherst, Wis., furniture dealer 
and undertaker; they have one child, W'illie 
Clark Holly, born September 12, 1882, at 
Amherst, Portage Co., Wis.); Murrilla M., 
born June 5, 1858, in the town of Meeme, 
Manitowoc Co., Wis. (she is the wife of 
Robert S. Myhill. of Wilton, Ark., who 
operates a sawmill and carriage and wagon 
and blacksmith shop; also carries on a cot- 
ton farm or plantation. Dr. Thomas M. 
Clark married, for his second wife, Mrs. 
Nancy Durffee, of Stockton, W'is. They 
had no children. He died August 22, 1893, 
aged eighty-two, at Arnott, Portage Co., 
Wis. " Asleep in Jesus. " 

[From the pen of his daughter, Mrs. 
Eliza L. C'lark, of Amherst, Wisconsin. 



THOMAS D. KELLOGG, a pioneer 
of the old school in W'isconsin, and 
a highly respected citizen of Antigo, 
Langlade county, is a native of Can- 
ada, born February 17, 1833, near St. 
Catharines, in what is now the Province of 
Ontario, a son of Hudson and Jane (Davis) 
Kellogg. 

The father of our subject was born in 
Tolland county. Conn., in July, 1800, a son 
of Thomas Kellogg, who was of the same 
nativity, born of English ancestry, was a 
farmer and manufacturer of cloth, building 
the first woolen-mill in his part of the State 
of Connecticut; and from his comparatively 
small beginning in that line grew the now 
extensive manufacturing town of Rockville, 
Tolland county, in that State. The father 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPEICAL RECORD. 



343 



of Thomas was a pioneer Congregational 
minister of some fift}' years' standing, and 
died in 1816 at an advanced age, the father 
of a numerous family, most of whom were 
farmers. Thomas Kellogg married Mary 
Wright Hubbard, a native of Connecticut, 
by whom there was a family of five children: 
Aaron, Henry, Hudson and Hubbard (twins) 
and Hannah. The father of these died in 
1840; the mother in 1875, at the advanced 
age of ninety-six years. 

Hudson Kellogg, when a young man, 
moved to Canada, where he taught school, 
in 1835 returned to Connecticut, and for two 
years superintended his father's woolen- 
mills. In 1837 he came to Toledo, Ohio, 
with his family, where he embarked in the 
lumber business, buying chiefly in Canada, 
and, opening a lumber yard, remained there 
some seven years, then giving up some val- 
uable property, and returning to Connecti- 
cut, on account of so much sickness in his 
family, no less than si.x of his children hav- 
ing died during their seven-years' residence 
in Toledo. In 1847 he took up his residence 
in Dunnville, Haldimand county, in what is 
now the Province of Ontario, Canada, and 
engaged in mercantile business until 1862, 
the year of his coming to Appleton, Wis. 
Near there, in company with his son, 
Thomas D., he bought a sawmill and en- 
gaged in lumbering, particulars of the joint 
interests being given farther on. In Canada 
he was married to Jane Davis, who was 
born in that country in 1805, and twelve 
children were the result of this union, those 
now living being: Mary H., now Mrs. A. 
C. Roberts, of Camden, N. J.; Sarah C, 
widow of J. R. Brown, and now residing in 
Buffalo, N. Y. ; Thomas D. ; Hudson H., a 
wool merchant in Chicago; Aaron H., a 
lawyer of Appleton, Wis. ; some of the fam- 
ily died in infancy, Hudson when six years 
old, Helen when nine. The father of these 
passed from earth in Antigo, Wis., in 1885. 
In his political preferences he was originally 
a Whig, in later years a Republican; social- 
ly, he was a member of the I. O. O. F. , 
and in religious faith he was a member of 
the Congregational Church. His wife, Jane 
(Davis), was a daughter of Thaddeus Davis, 
a Connecticut Yankee, who moved into 



Canada in an early day and there married a 
Scotch-Irish lady, by whom he had seven 
children, named respectively: Hezekiah, 
Clark, Thaddeus, James, Hiram, Phcebe 
and Jane. The father was a patriot soldier 
in the war of 18 12, serving at Lundy's Lane 
and Chippewa, was an active business man 
and was by vocation a contractor, owning 
sawmills. 

Thomas D. Kellogg, whose name intro- 
duces this sketch, attended school up to the 
age of ten years, when he commenced work- 
ing in his father's lumber yard at Toledo, 
and when seventeen years old he went to 
Connecticut, where he took a two-years' 
academic course, his father giving him his 
time, but had to abandon study on account 
of poor health. During the winter of 1855- 
56 he came west to Chicago, from there 
proceeding to Rockton, 111., where he 
worked on a farm one year, then leased a 
farm which he conducted some five years, 
having in the meantime married. In the 
winter of 1859 he came alone to Appleton, 
Wis., making the journey with a team, and 
during the remainder of that winter he 
worked in the woods, his family joining him 
the following spring. Buying a one-half in- 
terest in the Outagamie mills, he lived there 
five years, at the end of which time he 
closed out his interest there, and, in 1865, 
in company with his father, purchased a 
sawmill at Stephensville, near Appleton, 
which they operated some twelve years; fire 
then destroyed their entire plant, whereby 
they lost everything. Thomas D. Kellogg 
then went to Wolf river, about sixty miles 
north of Shawano, and there rented a porta- 
ble sawmill, which he operated two years, 
when he began logging, running the logs 
down the Wolf river to Oshkosh. In this 
enterprise he was very successful financially, 
and continued the business for some three 
years. After our subject had been on the 
Wolf river some eight years, his parents 
came to live with him, and with him moved 
to Antigo, his father dying there in May, 
1889, his mother in July, 1888. 

In the spring of 1883 Mr. Kellogg came 
to Antigo, and during his first winter here 
purchased a quantity of pine timber and 
went into the lumber business, Inning Free- 



344 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



port, 111., for his market. In October, 
1885, he purchased a small mill on which 
he put repairs to the value of $1000, but 
the fire fiend still pursued him, and in Janu- 
ary of the same year it also burned down. 
He was, however, not a man to yield with- 
out a struggle, and in a short time had re- 
built the sawmill and also erected a plan- 
ing-mill, and from these has grown his pres- 
ent extensive plant, which includes a hub 
and hoop factory, and in which he employs 
about eighty men. It is the largest manu- 
factory in the city, and is doing an excel- 
lent business. 

In December, 1857, Mr. Kellogg was 
united in marriage with Harriet Buffam, 
who was born near Buffalo, N. Y. , in 1833, 
and five children came to them, as follows : 
Mary H., now Mrs. W. S. Morgan, of An- 
tigo, Wis.; Miranda W., wife of A. C. Tay- 
lor, also of Antigo; Horace B., connected 
with his father in business; Joseph H. (de- 
ceased), and Hattie J. Mrs. Kellogg comes 
of French ancestry; her parents, who were 
farmers, and had a family of five sons and 
four daughters, died when she was young. 

Mr. Kellogg has been a heavy dealer in 
pine lands, and is to-day owner of a large 
tract of hardwood land in Langlade and 
adjoining counties, besides a fine improved 
farm on the W'olf river, fort}' acres of which 
were cleared by his own hands inside of 
three years. This property is situated some 
sixty miles north of Shawano, that town or 
village being his trading point while he lived 
there, and thither he often walked — fifty 
times at least — to save time, traveling all 
night, on such journeys ofttimes encounter- 
ing severe storms. In fact, it can be truly 
said of him that he is a pioneer of northern 
Wisconsin in the purest sense of the word, 
and while living on the Wolf river he often 
traveled, in the capacity of justice of the 
peace, twenty-five miles in order to settle 
or try cases between his neighbors, on one 
occasion tramping twenty miles to marry a 
couple; he attended the first burials and the 
first marriages, also organised the first Sab- 
bath-school. Politically he is a Republi- 
can, and has held several offices of trust. 
He has been a member of the school board 
many years, six in the capacity of president, 



and served four years in the city council. 
In religious faith he is a member of and dea- 
con in the Congregational Church at Antigo, 
which Church was in its infancy when he 
came here, and it may be said that he has 
been its main support ever since, having 
been largely instrumental in the erecting of 
the present fine building, giving liberally of 
both his time and money toward it. To 
the deserving poor and needy, also, he is 
charitable and considerate, ever ready to 
incline a sympathetic ear to the entreaties 
of those in distress. He is a strong temper- 
ance man, though not radical on the sub- 
ject, anj' more than was the great advocate 
of temperance, St. Paul, who recommended 
abstemiousness in everything. 

Mr. Kellogg is a self-made man in the 
literal acceptation of the term, having, as 
recorded above, commenced fighting the 
battle of life at a very early age, and is the 
architect of his own fortunes, rung by rung 
ascending the ladder of success. When he 
was eighteen years old his father gave him 
his time, as already stated, and, when the 
parents came into ' ' the sere and yellow 
leaf," the son provided them with a home 
during the last twelve years of their lives. 

It may be interesting to man}' of the 
readers of this volume to give, in connection 
with what has been here written concerning 
Mr. Kellogg, the main facts in a most in- 
teresting sketch of a branch of this pioneer 
family of Kelloggs, written by the Rev. Mar- 
tin H. Kellogg, who is the second cousin of 
our subject, and whose father, also named 
Martin, was a prominent actor in the tragedy 
related. It was at the time of the historic 
massacre of the settlers at Deerfield. Mass., 
by the savages, the traditions of which will 
be handed down as long as the countr}' shall 
exist. The original Kellogg family in .Amer- 
ica settled in Hadley, a town adjoining 
Deerfield, and where many of that name 
now reside. Martin Kellogg, with his wife 
and five children, lived happily in their rude 
log house, not dreaming of danger, on that 
eventful night. They were suddenly awak- 
ened from a slumber by a band of painted 
savages who, with uplifted tomahawks and 
frightful war-whoops, burst in the door and 
surrounded the terrified inmates. The 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



345' 



father was seized and securely pinioned, the 
four older children bound in spite of their 
pitiful cries for "mama," and the babe of 
seven months, awakening and screaming 
with fright, was dashed upon the floor and 
its brains scattered over the helpless cap- 
tives. The mother on the first alarm had 
instinctively sought refuge in the cellar, and 
hearing the cries of the children and then 
the Indians attempting to raise the trap- 
door, she crouched under a tub, the only 
hiding-place she could find. Here she 
awaited her fate, but fortunately, the Indians 
after searching the cellar used the upturned 
tub as a table on which to place the food 
they found, and over the trembling woman 
ate and cursed and howled until she almost 
died from fright. Finally they took their 
departure, and with them carried the father 
and the children. When the mother came 
to her senses she was lying among the ashes 
of her home, in the burning of which she 
had been miraculously preserved. It was 
many years, however, before she learned 
the fate of her captives. 

The father and children were soon separ- 
ated, as the Indians after their depredations 
divided into several bands. After years of 
suffering and hardships, during which he had 
mastered the Indian language and become 
valuable to his captors through his superior 
intelligence, he effected his escape, and 
reaching Deerfield was once more united to 
his loving wife. The oldest son, Martin, 
twice essayed an escape, only to be retaken 
and suffer for his attempts. The savages 
finally decided to burn him, and set him to 
work to chop the wood which should make 
the funeral pile; but a friendly squaw warned 
him in time, and he once more, in the dead 
of night, started for his distant home. After 
a weary night's tramp he crawled into a hoj- 
low log to rest during the day, as he knew 
the Indians would be on the scent. Here 
he fell asleep. When he awoke the sun 
was shining brightly, and to his horror he 
found that a rattlesnake had also taken up 
its abode in his narrow quarters, and was 
slumbering peacefully beside him. At the 
same time he heard near by the steps and 
voices of the savages who were in hot pur- 
suit. He hardly knew which of the two 



evils to choose, the bite of the .serpent or 
the tortures of the Indians, but finally de- 
cided in favor of the snake. The pursuers 
at last passed by and the snake slumbered 
peacefully on, and he was saved. For nine 
days he continued his perilous journey, and 
at last, half starved and more dead than 
alive, reached the home of his childhood, to 
be received as one returned from the grave. 
The son afterward married and lived to a 
good old age. He never wearied of repeat- 
ing to his grandchildren and friends the 
story of his captivity and suffering, and his 
wonderful deliverance from the Indians and 
the rattlesnake. 

Of the other brother nothing was ever 
heard, and his fate can only be conjectured. 
The eldest daughter, Jemima, was six years 
old when she was captured, and was ran- 
somed by the whites many years afterward. 
She had grown to womanhood, and was en- 
tirely ignorant of her native language, dress 
or anything pertaining to civilization, and it 
was a long time before her habits and feel- 
ings could be changed. She tried to escape 
and return to her savage life, but by kind- 
ness and perseverance on the part of her 
friends became reconciled to her new mode 
of living, and eventually became a Christian 
and a valuable member of society. The 
other sister, Joanna, who was only four 
years old when taken from her home, was 
afterward found by her relatives, but was so 
identified with the Indian life that no in- 
ducements could prevail on her to give it 
up. She was a great favorite with the tribe, 
over which she had much influence, and 
married a sachem, becoming the mother of 
many children. She at one time, accom- 
panied by two fine stalwart braves, her sons, 
visited her relatives, but in a short time re- 
turned to her free, wild life in the woods. 
This story is one which sounds almost like a 
fairy tale to us, but the facts are well known 
and authenticated by history. 

Another member of this old family, well 
worthy of mention, is Mary Hubbard Kel- 
logg, a daughter of Aaron and Dorothy 
(Hollister) Hubbard, of Gla.stonbury, Conn., 
and the grandmother of T. D. Kellogg, of 
whom this history is written. She married 
Thomas Wright Kellogg when she was 



346 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



twenty years old. He died in 1837, she 
surviving him more than thirty-four years, 
dying March 13, 1871, aged ninety-six years, 
five months and twelve days. She was a 
remarkably active woman up to the time of 
her death, and a consistent Christian for 
seventy-five \ears. Her long widowhood 
was spent in deeds of goodness, and she left 
the record of a life useful and happy. 



M 



D. LANE, M.D., of Almond town- 
ship, Portage county, was born in 
Hannibal, Oswego county, N. Y., 
June 6, 1828. To the parents of 
Dr. Lane, Roswell and Jerusha (Rhoades) 
Lane, was born a family of nine children, 
viz. : Alvina, now Mrs. David Shepherd, 
of Battle Creek, Mich. ; Emeline, Mrs. 
Jonas Shutts, of New York, who died in 
1893; Sarah Ann, who was the wife of 
Brooks Hazleton, of Michigan, and died in 
1890, leaving children and grandchildren; 
M. D., the subject of this sketch; Maria, 
wife of James Stacy, of New York, who 
died in i860; Orlo R. , a machinist, living 
in New York State; Cordelia, deceased 
wife of James Guppy, of New York; Jose- 
phine, now Mrs. Nelson Olin, of Omro, 
Winnebago Co., Wis.; and Adelbert, a 
farmer, in New York. The children nearly 
all remained at home until of adult age. 
Roswell Lane participated in the war of 
1 81 2, and was a farmer of some repute. He 
died about the year 1868, and his widow, 
mother of Dr. Lane, in 1872, both in New 
York State. The parents of Roswell Lane 
were Ezra and Sarah (Chapman) Lane, the 
former of whom was in the Revolutionary 
war. To them were born five sons, Ros- 
well, Dudley, Jackson, John S. and Nelson, 
and four daughters, Alzina, Laura, Lovina 
and Theresa. 

Dr. M. D. Lane was reared to farm life 
on the old homestead purchased by his 
father in New York, and received his pri- 
mary education in the log schoolhouse, with 
a slab bench for a seat, the temples of 
learning being very rude in those days. He 
attended regularly until ten years old, when 
he was made to help on the farm. The 
timber on the land was very hard and heavy, 



and chopping wood was a wearisome task; 
this occupation he was obliged to follow 
for many a day. Most of his education, in 
fact, he received elsewhere than in the 
schoolroom. He would go to bed and 
study by a candle, burning a whole candle 
each night. These were among the begin- 
nings of a successful physician, and he was 
always given to books. He went to Mich- 
igan in 1849, and on March 20, 1852, in 
company with his uncle, John S. Lane, and 
two others, started overland for California 
with three yoke of cattle, and arrived in 
Volcano, on the seventeenth of September, 
1852, the last 300 miles being made on foot. 
They were in search of gold, and viewing 
the country. He remained in California until 
the spring of 1854, when he returned by 
water and went to New York. 

On August 13, 1854, Dr. M. D. Lane 
was united in marriage with Isabella Eas- 
ton, and they became the parents of two 
children — Isabell and Ella. The parents 
of Mrs. Lane, Isaac and Abigail C. (Slack) 
Easton, had other children, as follows: 
Jane, Isaac, Enos, William and Isabella. 
In 1858 Dr. Lane came to Waupaca county 
with his wife and children, and remained one 
year employed in mason and carpenter work, 
he being a natural mechanic. In 1859 he 
came to Lanark township. Portage county, 
and bought 120 acres of land in Section 16, 
part timber and part openings. He did 
some clearing and built a one-story house, 
14x22 feet, the logs for which were carried 
on his back. In this he lived until 1862, 
then returned to New York with his wife, 
remaining until 1865, when she died and 
was there buried. In 1865 he returned to 
Wisconsin, sold his farm, located in Wau- 
paca, Waupaca county, and started out as a 
traveling physician, continuing in this occu- 
pation for about three years. In 1868 he 
again married, taking to wife Clarissa Strat- 
ton, a widow. In 1868 he discontinued 
traveling and engaged in the hotel business 
at Auroraville, ^^'aushara county, until 1870, 
when he bought a piece of land in Warren 
township, that county, and lived on it until 
1878. He next went to Poy Sippi, Waushara 
count)', in December, 1877, at the same 
time practicing medicine, and remained there 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



547 



until 1886, when he removed to Plainfield, in 
Waushara county, following his profession 
until 1890; then came to Almond township, 
Portage count}', where he has since been lo- 
cated and has a lucrative practice. He studied 
medicine first with Dr. Cyle in New York, 
then in Cincinnati, Ohio, and completed his 
medical education in Milwaukee, Wis. 
His mother was a botanic physician, 
and from her he inherited the love of his 
profession. 

On January 10, 1895, I^r. Lane was 
again married, this time to Julia Tracy, 
daughter of Charles and Maria (Robins) 
Tracy, Eastern people who came to Osh- 
kosh, Winnebago county, in an early day, 
where their daughter Julia was born July 10, 
1857, and where the parents still live. They 
had three other children, Effie, Nettie and 
Charlie. The father, Charles Tracy, , is a 
farmer. Dr. Lane has two children: Isa- 
bella, now Mrs. Robert Searles, and Ella, 
now Mrs. O. W. Thurston, residing in 
Deerfield, Waushara Co., Wis. Politically 
Dr. Lane is a Democrat, and has alwaj's 
been so, as were his forefathers for some 
time past. He is a charter member of the 
Modern Woodmen in Plainfield, also of the 
Temple of Honor, of Poy Sippi. 

Dr. Lane's paternal great-grandfather's 
name was Gilbert Lane. Ezra Lane had one 
brother named Luman, who had two sons, 
Carlton and Gilbert. The latter died in 
Oshkosh, Wis., in 1870 or 1872. The Doc- 
tor's maternal grandfather. David Rhoads, 
married Sarah Hitchcox, and si.\ children 
were born to them, three sons — Solomon, 
Hiram and Orin — and three daughters — 
Jerusha, Tamar, and Mrs. John L. Corey, 
who died of cancer in the face, when Dr. 
Lane was about six years old. 



GREGOR GREGORSON, one of the 
oldest settlers of lola township, 
Waupaca county, was born in Nor- 
way, August 30, 1840, and is a son 
of G. Gregorson, a farmer and lumberman 
of that country, who had one time owned 
considerable land there, but became involved. 
With his wife and five children, the father 
left Skien, Norway, on the sailing vessel 



" Alert," which took ten weeks and three 
daj's in crossing the ocean, but at last landed 
them safely at Quebec. By the lakes and 
rail they proceeded to Chicago, thence by 
boat to Milwaukee, where the father landed 
with $600 in cash. From there the family 
journeyed by team to Watertown, Wis., 
where tliey remained a week; by team they 
also went to Fond du Lac, Wis., from which 
point they proceeded by Lake Winnebago 
to Oshkosh, and on to the town of Winches- 
ter, Winnebago county, where they remained 
at a Norwegian settlement two weeks, dur- 
ing which time the father came to lola to 
look up a location. The family later went 
by ox-team to Winneconne, where they 
took a steamer up the Wolf river to Gill's 
Landing, at which place they were met by 
friends and brought by means of an ox-team 
to Scandinavia. 

Their first home in the Uited States was 
in the western part of lola township, and 
while there the father made many improve- 
ments on the tract of land he had pre- 
empted in Section 13, and also built a log 
house, 18 X 18 feet. Not a tree had been 
cut nor a furrow turned at the time of their 
arrival, and Indians still visited the neigh- 
borhood. The father, later, erected another 
house on the east part of the farm, where 
his death occurred when he was sixty-eight 
years old. His wife had passed away at the 
age of fifty-three, and they now sleep side 
by side in the Scandinavia Cemetery. Our 
subject is the oldest in the family of nine 
children (three dead and six living), the 
others being Lief, who was a member of 
the Thirty-fourth 111. V. I., and died in 
Louisville, Ky. ; Cornelia, who is married 
and lives in Mexico; Annie, now Mrs. K. K. 
Tubaas; Tony, who died in Norway; Ole, 
who died when young, and is buried in the 
Scandinavia Cemetery; Ole a resident of 
Dakota; Ambrose, a farmer of lola town- 
ship; and Jonas who lives in the West. 

All the literary education our subject re- 
ceived was obtained in the schools of his na- 
tive land, as at the time of his coming to 
Waupaca count}' no schools had yet been 
established in the neighborhood of his new 
home. At the age of seventeen he left the 
parental roof and began work in a sawmill 



348 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



at Wausau, Wis., and gave all his wages to 
his parents until he had reached the age of 
twenty-four. For nine years he was em- 
ployed in the lumber woods near that place, 
and made nine trips down the Wisconsin 
and Mississippi rivers to Dubuque, Iowa, St. 
Louis, Mo., and also intermediate points. 
In lola, at the age of twenty -si.\, Mr. Gregor- 
son was united in marriage with Tone John- 
son, who left Norway for America in 1861; 
she was born near the birthplace of her 
husband, and they were acquaintances and 
schoolmates in their native land. The young 
couple located on forty acres of land in lola 
township, which he had secured from his 
father in payment of a claim that stood on 
the latter's land. Eleven children were born 
of this union, as follows: Gusta Johanna 
(now Mrs. Ole Tubaas), living in the town 
of Harrison; Jonas Martin, Gustav Snavik, 
Matilde Emalia, Julius Theodor and George 
O. (twins, the latter of whom died when ten 
years old), Adolf Sjuman, Edda Lovise, 
Anna Otelia, Theodora Gunilda and George 
Olaves. 

Of the farm of 300 acres owned by Mr. 
Gregorson, 125 ar^ now cleared and highly 
cultivated, and besides his comfortable 
home he has erected neat and substantial 
outbuildings. The numerous winters in the 
lumber woods and their hardships seem 
to have made but little impression on his 
constitution, as he is still a very rugged man, 
able to do a hard-day's work. He is widely 
known throughout the communit}', and is 
numbered among the successful farmers and 
leading citizens of his township. His sup- 
port is always given to the Republican 
party; he has served as juror, was supervisor 
five years, and has held various offices in 
School District No. 2. He and his family 
are members of Hitterdall Lutheran Church, 
in which he has held several offices, taking 
an acti\e interest in its work. 



REV. ODORIC IGNAZ DEREN- 
THAL, O. S. F. , priest among the 
Indians in Shawano county, was born 
in Roesebeck, Prussia, Germany, 
July 14, 1856, a son of Theodore and Mary 
(Wieners) Derenthal. 



Theodore Derenthal was a farmer, and 
is a successful man. He now has 140 acres 
of land, and both he and his wife live on 
the home farm, which is worked by their son 
Bernard. They reared a family of children, 
most of whom died in infancy, and four are 
still living, as follows: Odoric, subject of 
this sketch; Bernhard, in Germany; Paulina, 
Mrs. Gustaf Scheldt; and Augusta, at home 
with her parents and brother. Odoric 
Derenthal was reared at home until twelve 
years of age, when he began his studies for 
the priesthood. He attended for three years 
the High School at Ruethen, taught by the 
able Rev. Rector L. Becker; for two years 
at Warburg, and then in 1873, joined the 
order of P'ranciscans at Warendorf, West- 
phalia, where he passed the novitiate; then 
studied in Europe until 1875, when he came 
to America, landing in New York June 30, 
1875. Coming to Teutopolis, 111., he studied 
there one year, and then went to Quincy, 
111., where he took philosophy, remaining 
two years. Completing his studies there, he 
took up theology in St. Louis, where he re- 
mained three years, and was ordained priest 
in that city May 16, 1880. 

Rev. Odoric Derenthal's first congrega- 
tion was in Superior, Wis., where he had 
125 families. He was engaged chiefly in 
the Chippewa Indian mission, and was there 
four years, with another confrere. As a 
missionary priest he would start out with a 
guide to his different missions, in a territory 
some two hundred miles in circuit, lodging 
in a wigwam, in which the services were 
held, and remaining in one place about three 
days would go on to another, and so on, 
having a repetition of these services in about 
twenty different places, all from fifteen to 
twenty-five miles apart. The Indians were 
at that time in an uncivilized condition. He 
first gained their conversion, then baptized 
them, and so performed his missionary duties 
until he was sent, in 1885, to Keshena, 
where he has since been. He founded an In- 
dian boarding school of about one hundred 
Indian pupils, which he has increased to 170 
at the present time, while his congregation 
numbers one hundred families. He has one 
assistant priest. Rev. Blase Krake, who 
tends to two other Indian congregations — 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



349 



Kenepowa and Little Oconto. Together 
with Rev. B. Krake, five Brothers of the 
Order of St. Francis, six Sisters of St. 
Joseph, one lay-teacher and several other 
employes, he is conducting an excellent 
Indian school, which has been built up 
through the efforts of Father Derenthal and 
his assistant, and received a medal and 
several diplomas at the Columbian Exposi- 
tion in 1893. This institution, called St. 
Joseph's Indian Industrial School, teaches 
all the pupils, male and female, from six to 
twenty-three years of age, in the ordinary 
branches of an English education, and also 
in different industries and trades, such as 
farming, gardening, carpentering, shoe- 
making; cookery, laundering, needlework, 
dairywork, etc. The Church has been or- 
ganized since 1892. 

At the time of Father Derenthal's coming 
here there had been great destruction by 
fire, February 22, 1884, and he had the loss 
replaced at an expense of $30,000; they had 
another fire, in 1891, which caused a loss of 
about $20,000, which had again to be re- 
stored. They now have a school which cost 
$50,000, and is well-equipped. The govern- 
ment pays a part of the expense of $108 
per capita; the contract for the present fiscal 
year is for 105 pupils, and the rest of the 
expenses has to be supplied by charity. The 
missionary priest receives no consideration 
for his services, even his garb being a pres- 
ent from his benefactors. The six Sisters 
employed as teachers receive $800 altogether. 
Rev. Father Derenthal has another mission, 
the Stockbridge mission, seven miles from 
here, and they have a church there which cost 
$2,200, built in 1894, and dedicated Novem- 
ber 22, same year. 



DOCTOR J. J. HANGARTNER, who 
is numbered among the early settlers 
of Waupaca county, is a native of 
the land of the Alps, having been 
born in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switz- 
erland, May 10, 1850, a son of Conrad and 
Ursella (Engler) Hangartner. 

The father of our subject, who was a 
farmer and confectioner in his native land, 
emigrated with his family to America in 



1854, landing in New York. He went di- 
rect to Ashford, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., 
where he purchased eighty acres of land, 
and near by, his father, Ulrich Hangartner, 
who had accompanied him on the emigration, 
also bought eighty acres, which on his death 
came into possession of his son (Conrad 
Hangartnerj. Ulrich Hangartner spent his 
last days with his son Conrad, and died at 
the very advanced age of ninety-six years. 
The land on which they settled was in its 
primitive condition, but the work of im- 
provement and cultivation was at once be- 
gun and carried on until the farm was one 
of the best in the neighborhood. 

In 1858 the mother died, and in i860 
the father wedded Mary Prush, by whom he 
had nine children: Charles, Louisa, W^ill- 
iam, Lydia, Albert, Conrad, and Albert, 
Edward and Malinda, deceased. The chil- 
dren were reared upon the old homestead, 
and there Dr. Hangartner obtained his first 
knowledge of farming under the direction of 
his father. His educational privileges were 
quite meagre, for his services were needed 
at home, and from the age of twelve years 
he did almost a man's work upon the farm, 
giving his father the benefit of his services 
until twenty-six years of age, when he 
started out in life for himself, and has de- 
voted his energies to various pursuits. On 
December 9, 1875, Dr. Hangartner was 
united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth, 
daughter of John and Dorothy (Meilke) 
Piehl, people of German birth who came 
to America in 1857, locating in Fond du 
Lac county, Wis., where the father pur- 
chased land and opened up a farm, which he 
made his home until called to the home be- 
yond, in 1875; his widow has since lived 
with her children. Their family numbered 
eighteen children: Frederick, Charlotte, 
William and Gottlieb, living; Augusta (de- 
ceased); Dorothy, Elizabeth and John, liv- 
ing; John, Minnie, Caroline and Emma, 
deceased; two who died in infancy; Julius, 
August and Anna, deceased; and the young- 
est, who died in infancy. 

In 1876 the Doctor came to Waupaca 
county and purchased of the Fox River 
Company 1 19 94-100 acres of wild land, on 
which not a furrow had been turned or an 



35° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



improvement made, but with characteristic 
energy he began the arduous task of its de- 
velopment. During the second year of his 
residence in Dupont there was no dentist 
nearer than Clintonville, and on one occa- 
sion, suffering greatly from toothache, he 
left home at one o'clock in the morning, 
walked to Clintonville, had a tooth extract- 
ed and returned home in time to begin the 
daily work on the farm in the morning, hav- 
ing walked twenty-four miles in all. For 
two years he had no team of his own, so he 
was obliged to give four days' labor as hire 
for an ox-team, with two men to use it, for 
one day. Flour had to be bought at New 
London, the price being sometimes as high 
as fifteen dollars per barrel, with the addi- 
tional cost of hauling it to the farm — the 
four-days' labor which was given for the 
use of a team to bring four barrels of flour 
home. His farm implements were crude, 
but he worked early and late, his noble wife 
working with him and assisting materially in 
the process of clearing the land, of which 
one hundred acres are now under a high 
state of cultivation and improved with all 
the accessories and conveniences of a model 
farm. He also has a fine apiary of eighty- 
seven hives, and this branch of his business 
has proved a profitable one. Our subject 
is also a magnetic doctor, and has acquired 
a reputation throughout the neighborhood 
for successful treatment, having treated 
many people from distant places: Oshkosh, 
Kaukauna and Milwaukee (Wis.); Chicago, 
(111.); Waterloo and Jefferson (Wis.); and 
many other places too numerous to here 
mention. 

To Dr. and Mrs. Hangartner have come 
five children: Margaret, William, Emily 
and Augusta living, and Lizzie, who died in 
her fourth year. In his political views the 
Doctor is a stalwart Republican, doing 
all in his power to promote the growth and 
insure the success of his party. The con- 
fidence and trust reposed in him by his fel- 
low citizens are manifested by the fact that 
for nine terms he has been chosen a mem- 
ber of the town board of supervisors, and 
one term was appointed to fill a vacancy as 
chairman; was elected to that office for one 
term, but refused to qualify as chairman, as 



he considered his healing of the sick, and 
good attention to farming of more \alue. 
The doctor was a lover of bear hunting, of 
which animals he killed several during the 
time he lived on the farm which he now oc- 
cupies. 



AMOS D. MUNGER (deceased) is 
one, the memory of whom is re- 
vered in Waupaca county. Pioneer, 
educator and martyr, he was a fac- 
tor in the county scarcely more than a dec- 
ade, yet in that brief period he made a 
lasting impression for good. 

The Munger family gave many of its 
sons to the cause of religion. Dexter Mun- 
ger, the father of Amos D. , was a Baptist 
minister, whose pastorate for many years 
was at Attica, N. Y. He died at Linden, 
N. Y. , his family consisting of six chil- 
dren — three sons and three daughters: Amos 
D., who yielded up his life in his country's 
cause upon a Southern battlefield; Enos, a 
Baptist minister, who preached and died at 
Lakeland, Minn; and Orrin, a Baptist min- 
ister, who died at Angelica, N. Y. ; Esther, 
afterward Mrs. Secrest, who died in Minne- 
sota; Julia, who died in her young woman- 
hood at Munson, Mass., and Mary, now 
Mrs. Rundell, of Erie county. New York. 

Amos D. Munger was born January 19, 
1822, in Hartford county. Conn. As the 
son of a clergyman, he obtained an educa- 
tion somewhat better than falls to the ordi- 
nary lot of men, in the schools of Attica, 
N. Y. , whither his parents removed when 
Amos was quite young, and in his youth he 
taught school. Friends of the family had 
migrated to W'isconsin, and in 1850 Amos 
D. also resolved to seek a home in the 
W^est. Coming to Racine, Wis. , in the au- 
tumn of that year, he taught school in that 
thriving village during the winter of 1850-51. 
Becoming interested in Dayton township, 
Waupaca county, through a friend, Mr. 
Thompson, whose son had settled in that lo- 
cality early in the spring of 1S51, he came 
to that township, where he pre-empted 160 
acres of wild land (at which time land had 
not come into the market) in Section 6. that 
township, and made improvements thereon, 



aOMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



such as breaking several acres, building a 
small house and barn, &c. Late in the au- 
tumn of that year (1851) he returned to 
Racine and taught school that winter, and 
early in the spring of the following year he 
came home to Dayton, bringing with him a 
team and wagon, farm implements, flour, 
groceries, household goods, &c. After put- 
ting in the spring crops he made a trip to 
the East, and at Boston, Mass., was mar- 
ried June 13, 1852, to Miss Diantha Lilley, 
who was born in the township of Pulaski, 
Oswego Co., N. Y., September 17, 1822, 
daughter of Phineas and Amy (Samson) 
Lilley. Phineas, the son of Abner Lilley, 
who had emigrated to Connecticut from 
England, was born in Tolland, Hartford 
Co. , Conn. , in i J?,^ ; he was a farmer by oc- 
cupation, and lived in Oswego county, N. Y. , 
to the age of ninety years. His wife. Amy 
Samson, was born in Cheshire, Mass , in 
1 79 1, and died at Pulaski, N. Y., at the age 
of sixty years. Of their ten children, Di- 
antha, now Mrs. Munger, is the sole sur- 
vivor. 

Diantha Lilley was well educated, and 
had taught school near the home of her 
parents in central New York, but for several 
years prior to her marriage she had been 
living with a sister at Cambridge, Mass. 
Soon after their marriage Mr. aud Mrs. 
Munger started for their western home, via 
the lakes to Sheboygan, and thence by team 
via Fond du Lac and Berlin, Mrs. Munger 
bringing with her many supplies, which, as 
her foresight afterward demonstrated, proved 
invaluable in the new land. Although the 
contrast from eastern plenty to western 
want was about as marked as it could well 
be during the early years of her married 
life, Mrs. Munger, as she expressed it 
"never felt lonesome until he was taken 
away. " Mr. Munger followed farming until 
the summer of 1862, when, as the war 
clouds grew darker and darker, he could no 
longer resist the patriotic call of duty, and 
bidding wife and child adieu he shouldered 
musket and marched to the scene of strife, 
enlisting in Company G, Twenty-first Wis. 
V. \. Scarcely two months later, October 
8, 1862, he fell at Perryville, Ky., and was 
buried on the field of battle. The bereaved 



widow for five years remained on the farm 
with her only child, Phineas L. , a boy of 
three years at the time of his father's death. 
Then, in 1867, she sold the farm and re- 
moved to Waupaca to educate her son, 
where, except for a short time, she has since 
remained, building a comfortable home on 
Division street. For twenty-four years she 
has been a member of the First Baptist 
Church. Although now nearly seventy- 
three years of age, Mrs. Munger is a bright 
and intelligent lady of decided literary tastes 
and artistic talent. She still paints with all 
the enthusiasm and facility of an artist who- 
is young in years, and her cozy home in 
Waupaca is adorned with many products of 
her brush. She is also earnestly devoted 
to the cause of education and her Church 
work. For the past eight years she has of- 
ficiated as church clerk in the First Baptist 
Church of Waupaca, and during the past 
four years has been president of the 
Woman's Home and Foreign Mission Circle. 



HANS P. KANKRUD. Prominent 
among the early settlers of New 
Hope township, Portage county, as 
well as ranking high with the pros- 
perous and thoroughgoing agriculturists of 
later years, is the subject of this personal 
narrative. His birth occurred in Ringebo, 
Norway, May 26, 1806, and he is a son of 
Peter and Rennog Hansen. The father was 
a farmer of Norway, where his death occur- 
red. The mother married a second time, 
and later removed to Gaustal, Norway, 
where she passed away, but some of her 
descendants still make that place their 
home. A sister of our subject came to 
America, and for a time resided in \'ernon 
county, Wisconsin. 

After leaving the common schools where 
his education was received, Mr. Kankrud 
became collector for a constable, which 
position he filled some seven years, and then 
returned to his native place, where he 
rented a farm for two years. At the end of 
that time he went to Gaustal, where he pur- 
chased land, which he operated about seven 
years. During his last J'ear as collector he 
had married Ingeborg Johannes Datter, who 



352 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was born December 6, 1812. In May, 
1849, accompanied by his wife, Mr. Kank- 
rud embarked on the " Presiosa, " Capt. 
Jacob Jacobson, which sailed from the port 
of Drammen, Norway, and after a voy- 
age of seven weeks and two days landed 
them at New York. From that city they 
went to Albany, thence to Buffalo, and by 
the lakes to Milwaukee, Wis., where the\- 
arrived August 10, 1849. There they hired 
a man with a team to convey them to 
Ixonia, Jefferson Co., Wis., and the first 
night after reaching Milwaukee they slept in 
the open air on the wharf where they landed. 
At Ixonia our subject purchased forty acres 
of land, on which stood a small log cabin, 
in which they lived until coming to Portage 
county*. 

In 1855 ^Ir. Kankrud purchased eighty 
acres of wild land in New Hope township. 
Portage county, after which he returned to 
Ixonia, disposing of his property there for 
$800, and in June, 1856, removed to his 
new farm, where his loving wife has since 
died. On his land he erected a dwelling, 
which forms part of the present home of the 
family. Mr. Kankrud has ever been an 
industrious hard-working man, noted for his 
philanthropic ideas, and his public-spirited- 
ness and liberality as a citizen are almost 
proverbial in his neighborhood. With him 
now resides his adopted son, Johannes J. 

Johannes J. Kankrud was born in Nor- 
way, at Gaustal, May 8, 1842, and is the 
son of Iver J. and Helena (Peters Datter) 
Holsmarken, the former born May 13, 1821, 
and the latter March 1, 1821. His paternal 
grandfather, Johannes S. Holsmarken, when 
a young man was a soldier in the Norwegian 
army, participating in the war between 
Norway and Sweden, in 18 12, and in later 
life rented a farm, where he carried on 
agricultural pursuits. The father received a 
fair education in his native tongue, and 
learned the trade of a shoemaker, which he 
followed at different times throughout life. 
With his family he came to America with 
Hans P. Kankrud, and after reaching Ixonia, 
procured work at his trade. His death occur- 
red there October i, 1855, and his wife, who 
had preceded him to the world beyond, also 
died there November 14, 1850. They were 



the parents of four children, the three sis- 
ters of Johannes being Bertha, born in Nor- 
way, May 19, 1844; Paulina, born in Nor- 
way, September 6, 1846; and Martha, born 
in Wisconsin, October 5, 1849. 

In the district schools of Ixonia and 
New Hope townships, Johannes J. Kankrud 
acquired his education, and was reared to 
agricultural pursuits. Since his parents' 
death he has ever found a pleasant home 
with Mr. Kankrud. He now owns 500 
acres of good land, on which he has made 
many improvements since it first came into 
his possession, and for about twelve sea- 
sons he has also operated a threshing machine 
in connection with the work upon his own 
place. In New Hope, October 3, 1870, 
Mr. Kankrud was married by Rev. Mickle 
to Miss Bertha Peterson, also born in Gaus- 
tal, Norway, a daughter of Peter and Olelia 
(Torgerson) Elveson, who were the parents 
of the following children: Bertha (Mrs. 
Kankrud), born February 19, 1848; Tobias 
Peterson, a farmer of Barron county. Wis. , 
born April 8, 1851; Sina (deceased), born 
September 7, 1854: Eliza, born April 4, 
1857; Agnette, born October 9, 1859, and 
Thea, born April 15, 1864. Along with her 
family Mrs. Kankrud sailed from Chris- 
tiania, Norwa}', and after a voyage of seven 
weeks landed at Quebec, whence she came 
to the home of an aunt in lola, W'is. , with 
whom she remained six months, after which 
she was engaged as a domestic. Her father 
had died in Norway, and her mother, with 
her children, after landing in the New 
World, located in Barron county. Wis., 
where her death occurred in Februarj', 1S87. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kank- 
rud began housekeeping on the old home- 
stead, where the following children came to 
bless their union, their names and dates of 
birth being as follows: Ena, November 4, 
1 87 1, died in infancy; Peter Ingwold, No- 
vember 8, 1872, also died in infancy; Hal- 
bert Julius, January 4, 1874; Oline, August 
19, 1875; Hannah, February 3, 1878; Ida, 
April 21, 1880; Emma, February 6, 1884; 
Jennie Benora, May 4, 1889; and Lillie 
Amanda, November 19, 1891. In his po- 
litical affiliations Mr. Kankrud entirely coin- 
cides with the doctrines and platform of the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



353 



Republican party, and in the exercise of his 
elective franchise supports the candidates of 
that organization. He has been called upon 
to fill several public positions of honor and 
trust, being township treasurer two years, 
justice of the peace ten years, and assessor 
two years. With the United Norwegian 
Lutheran Church, of New Hope, he and 
his wife are identified, being among its most 
active members, while throughout the com- 
munity they have manj- friends, and by all 
are held in the highest esteem. 



M 



ATHEW GORMAN, a well-known 
leading agriculturist of Lebanon 
township, Waupaca county, is a 
native of the Emerald Isle, born 
in County Kildare, and is the eldest in the 
family of five children born to Timothy and 
Catherine (Kelley) Gorman, of whom Mary, 
Rose and John are all deceased, and Peter, 
who is married, is a farmer of Lebanon 
township. 

Mr. Gorman received his education in 
the common schools of Ireland, which he 
attended between the ages of eight until 
twelve, and two years later started out in 
life for himself, since which time he has 
been entirely dependent on his own re- 
sources. After learning gardening he fol- 
lowed that occupation for seven years 
in his native land. His father, who was a 
common laborer, died February 24, 1867, 
and on the 29th of the following July, our 
subject, accompanied by his mother and 
brother Peter and sister Rose, sailed from 
Liverpool on the "Alexander Marshall," 
which dropped anchor in the harbor of 
New York, September 21. The family 
came direct to Lebanon township, Waupaca 
county, where they lived with Michael 
Gorman until their own home could be 
built. Eightj' acres of land were purchased 
on which not a stick of timber had been cut, 
or an improvement of any kind made. The 
work of clearing was at once begun, but our 
subject had to work for others in order to 
maintain the family. On that place he con- 
tinued to reside some ten years, during 
which time he had placed about thirty acres 
under the plow, and with him his mother 



continued to live until his marriage, when 
she went to the home of her son Peter, 
who now operates the old homestead. 

On October i, 1877, Mr. Gorman was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary A. 
Laughrin, a daughter of Bernard and Ann 
(Maloone) Laughrin, prominent and respect- 
ed people of Lebanon township. To our 
subject and his wife were born eight chil- 
dren, in the order of birth named as fol- 
lows: Anna, Elizabeth Rose, Timothy J., 
John Bernard, Catherine, Bernard, Mathew 
D. and John S., two of whom are deceased. 

Mr. Gorman now operates his fine farm 
in Lebanon township, on which he has 
placed all the improvements, and it stands 
as a monument to his thrift and industry. 
The buildings are all of a substantial charac- 
ter, the neat appearance of the place 
denoting the enterprise and progressive 
spirit of the owner. For fourteen years he 
has served as clerk of his township, and his 
vote is always cast in support of the men 
and measures of the Democratic party. He 
is one of the trustees of the Catholic Church, 
of which he is a faithful member, and is a 
charter member of a branch lodge of the 
Catholic Knights, No. 155, of Lebanon. 



NM. ENGLER, one of the leading 
merchants of Marion, Waupaca 
county, has been numbered among 
that city's representative business 
men since 1887. He has the honor of be- 
ing a native of Wisconsin, having been born 
in Buchanan, Outagamie county, a son of 
Nicholas and Margaret (Tischhauser) Engler, 
natives of Switzerland, whence they emi- 
grated to America in 1849, locating first in 
Fond du Lac county, Wis., where the father 
opened up a farm of 160 acres. There he 
made his home until 1853, when he sold out 
and became owner of a quarter section of 
land in Outagamie county. It was also 
wild, but in course of time the once raw 
tract was transformed into rich and fertile 
fields. He successfully carried on agricul- 
tural pursuits until 1866, when, having 
acquired a handsome competency, he retired 
from active business life and removed to 
Appleton, where he died January i, 18S0; 



354 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his widow still makes her home in that city, 
now (1895) at the age of sixty years. Their 
children, four in number, are as follows: 
Christian; now a merchant of St. Paul, 
Minn. ; Margaret, wife of H. G. Saacker, who 
isinterested in the machine business in Apple- 
ton, Wis.; N. M., subject of this sketch, 
and Minnie, who makes her home with her 
mother. 

Under the parental roof our subject 
spent his childhood, his days being passed 
between play and work, and attending the 
common schools of the neighborhood, where 
he acquired a good English education. In 
1887, he left home for Leopolis, where for 
some time he was employed as bookkeeper 
with N. M. Edwards and P. J. Hunl, con- 
tinuing, with those gentlemen until 1888, 
when he removed to New London, Wis. 
There he clerked in a general store for a 
time, and after six months came to Marion 
where he engaged as a salesman with the 
firm of Page & Kieth, continuing in their 
employ until 1892, in which year he pur- 
chased the store and admitted Charles R. 
Libby into partnership. The latter is lo- 
cated at New London, Wis., while Mr. 
Engler is sole manager of the store here. 
He is a wide-awake and energetic business 
man, and fair dealing and courteous treat- 
ment have brought to him a liberal patron- 
age. 

In 1879 he was united in marriage with 
Miss Flora A. Engel, daughter of John P. 
and Mary (Harrington) Engel, the former 
of German and the latter of Irish lineage. 
They became residents of West Concord, 
N. H., and the father engaged in business 
as a dyer. Mr. and Mrs. Engler have many 
friends in the community and occupy an en- 
viable position in social circles. In his po- 
litical affiliations he is an unswerving Re- 
publican, while, socially, he is connected 
with Marion Lodge, No. 256, I. O. O. F. 



TIMOTHY I. MYNARD. The hard- 
ships, the penury and privations of 
pioneer life, and the success which 
comes from the sterling qualities that 
are developed by frontier toil, are exempli- 
fied in all their completeness in the modest 



career of Timothy I. Mynard, of Dayton 
township, Waupaca county. His early life 
was a struggle, but the habits that were 
thereby instilled have proved his material 
making, and mellowed his after years with 
just rewards. 

Martin T. Mynard, his father, was an 
industrious carpenter before him. Born in 
Connecticut November 27, 1807, he, on 
October 12, 1833, married Harriet C. Ford, 
a native of the same State, born May 27, 
1 8 14. They settled at \'irgil, Cortland Co., 
N. Y. , and here their family of five children 
were born: William H. S., born July 28, 
1838, and died November 28, 1842; Timo- 
thy I., born October 21, 1840; Cordelia S., 
born December 3, 1842, now Mrs. C. L. 
Green, of Farmington township; Martha M., 
born October 6, 1845, now Mrs. Winches- 
ter Strattan, of Dayton township; and Effie 
G., born January 19, 1849, now Mrs. Alvin 
Robbins, of Dayton township. A brother- 
in-law of Martin T. Mynard, Timothy Lewis 
by name, had settled in Dayton township, 
and, with a view to improving his circum- 
stances, the carpenter resolved to follow him 
to the wild country. It was in the fall of 
1855 that the trip was made, by rail to Mil- 
waukee, thence by teams to Fond du Lac, 
thence by boat to Gill's Landing, and on 
through the woods to Dayton township. 
Here, in Section 17, Mr. Mynard bought 
forty acres of wild land, built a little house, 
12 X 16 feet, and 12 feet high, hauling the 
lumber from Weyauwega, in which primitive 
little home the family of six lived, much of 
the burden falling upon Timothy I., the only 
son, then fifteen years of age. The market- 
ing place was Berlin, or, at times, \\'eyau- 
wega. Game was abundant, and easily se- 
cured; the land was oak openings, and the 
first crop, winter wheat, on two acres of 
broken land, yielded twenty-four bushels per 
acre. On this farm Martin Mynard, after a 
lingering illness, died January 29, 1877; his 
wife survived until April 10, 1882, and both 
lie buried at Crystal Lake. Mr. Mynard 
was an earnest Republican, and was once 
elected justice of the peace, but never qual- 
ified. 

After the removal to Wisconsin, Timothy 
I. Mynard had little time to attend school. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



355 



and after a day's work he often had to chop 
wood by moonlight. As he grew older he 
occasionally worked for neighboring farm- 
ers, passing the winters in the woods. He 
was an expert chopper, and commanded the 
best wages, for he could always fell a tree 
just where he wanted it. At the age of 
twenty-nine years, December 30, 1869, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Sylvia E. 
Kelsey, after which he continued to live 
with his parents till the age of thirty-three, 
when he commenced for himself with little 
or no capital, for his earnings had gone 
largely toward the support of his parents 
and the family. In the fall of 1869 he pur- 
chased forty acres of land, part of his pres- 
ent farm, in Section 17, going in debt for 
the whole of it. On this little place he 
thus began housekeeping, and put forth a 
determined effort to clear himself from debt, 
a difficult undertaking at a time when wheat 
averaged only three or four bushels per 
acre. His wife proved a worthy helpmeet 
in those days of struggle, and gave every 
assistance possible. She picked blueberries 
to pay for their first dishes, which were pur- 
chased on time. Mr. Mynard had the rare 
faculty of knowing just what crop to raise. 
He planted wheat in years when wheat was 
profitable; raised hops when that product 
commanded a high price; potatoes he grew 
when the tuberous vegetable was scarce and 
valuable. And so the financial mists disap- 
peared. Mr. Mynard added forty acres to 
his little place; then he added eighty more; 
again he purchased eighty acres, then eighty- 
five, and he now owns a well-improved farm 
of 325 acres, upon which, in 1890, he built 
one of the most substantial residences in 
the township. His children are Bertha E., 
born August 6, 1876, now engaged as a 
teacher, and Elmer I., born June 8, 1887. 
Mr. Mynard is a Republican, but sympa- 
thizes strongly with the Prohibition move- 
ment. He neither smokes nor chews to- 
bacco, and in forty years has been in a 
saloon only once, then to secure some burnt 
brandy for a soldier who had returned home 
sick. For years he has been clerk in Dis- 
trict No. 2, and is universally recognized as 
one of Dayton's self-made and leading farm- 
ers. He and his wife have always used 



their influence in the cause of good morals 
and temperance, in both theory and prac- 
tice. 

Harlow P. Ivelsey (father of Mrs. Sylvia 
E. Mynard), a wagon maker by trade, was 
born in Genesee county, N. Y., February 
28, 1819, and was married in 1844 to Miss 
Amy Ann Landt, who was born in Delaware 
county, N. Y., March 10, 1823. Nine chil- 
dren — three sons and six daughters — were 
born to this union, of four of whom we are 
enabled to make mention, as follows: Mrs. 
Mary Ann Darling, born July 15, 1845, now 
living in Harlan, Iowa; Mrs. Emma B. 
Hervey, born June iS, 1847, died at her 
home in Iowa, April 3, 1895; Sylvia E., 
wife of Timothy I. Mynard, born April 15, 
1849; and Byron, born August 19, 1851. 
The parents of these both lie buried in Bel- 
mont Cemetery. 



WILLIAM H. CAREY, a popular and 
highly-esteemed citizen, at the 
present time serving as under sheriff 
of Wood county, and as marshal of 
the city of Centralia, was born in Rome, 
Adams Co., Wis., March 2, 1861, and is a 
son of John D. and Joannah (Moriarty) 
Carey, also a brother of D. E. Carey, a 
well-known resident of W^ood county. When 
but three years old our subject was taken by 
his parents to Port Edwards, this State, and 
at the age of six years he came with them to 
Centralia, where in the public schools he ac- 
quired his education. On its completion he 
started out in life for himself, and worked 
at various occupations, including railroading. 
In 1887 he established himself in the livery 
business in Centralia, in connection with 
Walter J. Dickson, the partnership still con- 
tinuing and, under the firm name of Dickson 
& Carey, they are doing a good business 
and conducting the largest and best-equipped 
stables in the city. 

On October 12, 1887, was celebrated 
the marriage of Mr. Carey and Miss Annie 
Boles, the accomplished and estimable 
daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Blaney) 
Boles. In the community they have many 
warm friends, and both are members of the 
Roman Catholic Church. In his political 



356 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



views, Mr. Carey is a Democrat, keeps well 
informed on the issues of the day, and has 
proven a capable and efficient officer. In 
1887 he was elected marshal of Centralia, 
which position he has since filled with credit 
to himself and satisfaction of his constitu- 
ents, and in January. 1893, he became under 
sheriff of Wood county. The life of Mr. 
Carey has been quietly passed, unmarked by 
exciting events, yet a straightforward career 
has gained for him the warm regard of all 
with whom he has been brought in contact. 



H.\. MEILIKE, M. D., one of the 
leading and most successful physi- 
cians and surgeons of Waupaca 
county, first came to Clintonville in 
1876, when it gave little promise of 
its present growth and prosperity. He 
there opened a drug store, carrying a 
full stock of everything in that line, 
and remained in business until 1882, when 
he entered the University of Minnesota, at 
Minneapolis, Minn., attended the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons, of Keokuk, Iowa, 
and completed the course in 1887, graduat- 
ing from the college in that year, after which 
he entered into the practice of his chosen 
profession in Lexington, Kentucky. 

Dr. Meilike came to this country from 
Germany, feeing a native of Prussia, where 
he was born in 1S54. He is a son of Gus- 
tave and Julia (Behnke) Meilike, the former 
a native of Germany, the latter born in Po- 
land, though of German ancestry. The pa- 
ternal grandfather, Charles Meilike, was 
born in Germany, came to this country in 
1842, settling in the city of Oshkosh, Wis., 
there locating a farm, which he afterward 
sold to the Northern Insane Hospital. He 
continued to make Oshkosh his home, how- 
ever, where his death occurred at the age of 
ninety-seven. His son, the father of the 
Doctor, there visited him in 1876, but he 
only lived about thirty days after his arrival; 
his widow died in Clintonville in 1887. Her 
father, Carl Behnke, whose birth also oc- 
curred in Germany, was reared to manhood 
in that country, and served as a soldier 
against Napoleon. Our subject's paternal 
great-grandfather was born in Lorraine, was 



a Huguenot and, like many others, was ban- 
ished for his religious views. Dr. Meilike 
is one of a family of four children, the 
others being: Laura, wife of Aug. Froeh- 
lich, of Oshkosh, Wis. ; Olga, wife of William 
Mantzke, who still resides in Germany; and 
Minnie, wife of Theodore Fillnow, who 
came to Waupaca county, in 1870, and 
makes his home in Bear Creek township. 
Our subject received his primary education 
in his native land, and afterward attended 
the University of Greifswald, in Germany. 
In 1873 he entered the regularl army of 
the Fatherland, in which he served one 
year. After landing in the United States, 
he came at once to Waupaca county. Wis. 
(in 1876), settling in Clintonville, where he 
has since resided almost continuousl}". He 
holds membership with the Northwest Medi- 
cal Society, and is also a member of the 
State Society of Wisconsin, and takes an 
active interest in everything pertaining to 
his profession, being also connected with 
the Mississippi River Society. 

In New Holstein, Calumet Co., Wis., 
in 1890, Dr. Meilike was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Emma Dumke, a native of 
the United States, and a daughter of Charles 
Dumke, who came to America in 1861, first 
making their home in Manitowoc county. 
Wis. The father's death occurred in New 
Holstein, Wis., in 1890; the mother, who is 
a highly-respected lady, still makes her 
home at that place. The Doctor takes an 
active part in politics and is a stanch sup- 
porter of the Republican party, whose prin- 
ciples he warmly advocates. He was elect- 
ed town clerk in 1877, and held that posi- 
tion several j-ears; was made mayor of Clin- 
tonville in 1 89 1, and also served the two 
following years, discharging the duties of the 
office to the general satisfaction, and was re- 
elected to that incumbency in 1895. He is 
a member of one of the pioneer families of 
Wisconsin, and has witnessed the wonder- 
ful changes that have taken place in and 
around Clintonville, to which he has given 
his hearty support and co-operation. He-, 
always takes an active interest in everything 
pertaining to the welfare of the community, 
and Waupaca county has no more worthy 
or highly-respected citizen. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



357 



OLE KNUTSON SANNES was born 
in October, 1830, in " The land of 
the midnight sun, " and his father, 
Knute Knutson, was a Norwegian 
farmer who worked by day's labor in order 
to support his family, numbering five sons 
and five daughters. Our subject, the second 
in order of birth, received only a common 
school education, for his parents were poor, 
and he remained at home to assist them in 
the labors of the farm on which they lived. 
He continued under the parental roof until 
eighteen years of age, when he began work- 
ing as a farm hand for his uncle, receiving 
the very scant wages of $35 per year, tor 
labor in Norway could not command a high 
price. 

About this time his uncle emigrated to 
America, and he entered into a contract with 
our subject to pay him $50 if he would ac- 
company him; so bidding adieu to the home 
and friends of his youth, in March, 1849, he 
sailed with his uncle's family from Christi- 
anson, on a vessel that after a voyage of 
thirty days dropped anchor in the harbor of 
New York. Wisconsin was their destina- 
tion, and to Neenah, this State, they came, 
traveling by boat from Buffalo, N. Y., to 
Sheboygan, whence they drove to Neenah. 
After a year, Mr. Sannes' uncle removed to 
Scandinavia township, Waupaca county, 
but he remained in the vicinity of Neenah 
for about seven years, working as a farm 
hand through the summer months, and in 
the lumber woods of Oconto county during 
the winter season. In the fall of 1856 he 
came to Farmington township, Waupaca 
county, and in the following winter cut 
timber north of Stevens Point. In the 
spring of 1857 he went to St. Louis, taking 
lumber down the Mississippi river to that 
place, and in the summer of that year he 
bought 1 20 acres of land in Sections 4 and 
5, having acquired the necessary capital 
through earnest labor, perseverance and good 
management. With the exception of four 
acres which had been cleared, this land was 
all covered with brush and timber. 

On October 5, 1S57, in Farmington 
township, Mr. Sannes was united in mar- 
riage with Mary Olson, who was born in 
Norway, January 12, 1840, came to the 



United States when a maiden of ten sum- 
mers, and for a number of years worked as 
a domestic, being employed in the home of 
a lawyer in Watertown, Wis. The vessel 
in which she crossed the ocean was upon the 
water sixteen weeks, during which time the 
provisions were exhausted and they had to 
stop at Newfoundland for further supplies. 
Mr. and Mrs. Sannes began their domestic 
life in a log cabin, and while the husband 
worked in clearing and developing the land 
the young wife kept the little home neat 
and tidy, frequently also assisting him in 
out-door labor. They were days of hard 
work, but the constant labor at length was 
rewarded by rich harvests which brought to 
them a good income, and made it possible 
for them to secure all the comforts and 
many of the luxuries of life, also to extend 
the boundaries of the farm until it now com- 
prises 220 acres, 100 of which are cleared 
and under a high state of cultivation. The 
property is also improved with many good 
buildings, which stand as monuments to the 
thrift and enterprise of the owner. The 
home was blessed with the following chil- 
dren : Knute O., born October 4, 1858, 
now an agriculturist in Farmington town- 
ship, married May 3, 1888, Annie Anderson ; 
Ole, who died at the age of six months ; 
Ola O. , born April 11, 1862. a farmer of 
Scandinavia township ; Theodore, born 
March 10, 1864, still at home; Andrew, 
born March 10, 1866, attending college at 
Northfield, Minn, (he graduated from the 
academy in 1892, and is now in the college 
leading to the degree of B. A.); Tommy O. , 
born April 9, 1868, living at home; Tillie 
Caroline, born September 11, 1870, en- 
gaged in dressmaking at Stevens Point, Wis. , 
and who was married June 26, 1895, to 
Martin H. Nyhus; Carl, who died in infancy; 
and Carrie Geoline, born November 15, 
1874; Anna Tumine, born June 4, 1877, 
and Gina Mathilde, born September 15, 
1879, all three living at home. 

Mr. Sannes is a Republican, but has 
never sought office, and he and his family 
hold membership with the Lutheran Church, 
taking a conmiendable interest in its work 
and upbuilding. His life has been well- 
spent, and to-day he is one of the prosperous 



358 



OOMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



farmers and valued citizens of his township. 
He now owns a good farm, has aided two of 
his sons in getting homes of their own, and 
has reared a family of children who possess 
the industr\- and enterprise which have al- 
ways been noted as the chief characteristics 
of the father. He came to America a poor 
bo\-, burdened with a $50 indebtedness, and 
unable to speak a word of English; but 
possessed of an indomitable courage, an 
unwavering perseverance and strong deter- 
mination to succeed, he has, by the aid of 
his estimable wife, worked his way up from 
a humble position to one of affluence. Dur- 
ing all the years of their married life, Mr. 
and Mrs. Sannes had never called a physi- 
cian to their home until 1894, when the 
serious illness of our subject necessitated 
the services of a doctor. The prosperity 
which has come to them is well-merited, 
and the example of this worthy couple is 
deserving of emulation. 



HERMAN FINGER, county treasurer 
of \'ilas county, and a prosperous, 
highly-respected citizen of Eagle 
Ri\er. is a native of Wisconsin, 
born in Brookfield, \\'aukesha count)', April 
13- 1856. 

Gottfried Finger, father of our subject, 
was b\'-birth a German, born in 18 10, son 
of a well-to-do lumberman, who had a 
numerous family, Gottfried being the only 
one to come to America. In Germany he 
married Eva Camp, and in 1854 the young 
couple emigrated to America, making their 
home in Milwaukee some seven years, Mr. 
Finger being employed as a common laborer. 
He then purchased a team of oxen, and 
moved his family to Outagamie county, set- 
tling in the wilds near New London, where 
he was a prosperous agriculturist. He died 
May 27, 1895, his wife in 1885, the mother 
of ten children, as follows: August, Julius, 
Julia, Paulina, Adelia, Herman, Albert, 
Augusta and two that died in infancy; of 
whom August died at the age of forty-five 
years; Julius lives in Maple Creek, Wis.; 
Julia is the wife of Gottlieb Kroger; Paulina 
is the wife of A. Kenpf, and lives in Maple 
Creek, Wis. ; Adelia died unmarried at the 



age of thirty years; Albert is a farmer of 
Union township, Waupaca county; and 
Augusta (Mrs. Severs) lives in Shawano, 
Wisconsin. 

Herman Finger, the subject proper of 
this sketch, received his education at the 
district schools of the neighborhood of his 
place of birth, at the age of thirteen com- 
mencing work in the woods and on the river, 
and so continuing, working for others, until 
1 88 1, in which year he entered the employ 
of the Sherry Lumber Co. as foreman in 
charge of their lumbering and farming inter- 
ests at Vesper, Wood county. At the end 
of five years he resigned this position, and 
then buying an interest in the Gerry Lumber 
Co., moved, in 1886, to Eagle River, where 
he has full charge of their business, their 
plant here consisting of sawmill, planing- 
mill, etc., the output being from ten million 
to sixteen million feet of lumber per annum. 
Ever since becoming a stockholder in the 
concern he has been vice-president and gen- 
eral manager of the company. In 1878 he 
bought a farm in Waupaca county which he 
improved and still owns, and his family 
made their home thereon the better part of 
two years. In addition to this he, in com- 
pany with two others, owns a large tract of 
pine land in northern Minnesota. 

In 1879 Mr. Finger was married to Miss 
Emma Law, who was born in New London, 
Wis., August 30, 1855, daughter of George 
W. and Isabel Law, Pennsylvanians by 
birth, in which State they were married, 
coming thence to New London, when it was 
but a trading post; here the father, who is 
a lumberman by vocation, is yet living, but 
the mother passed to the home beyond in 
1 89 1. They had five children: Mary, 
Emma, Victorina, Rebecca (who died at the 
age of eighteen years) and Davis. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Finger have been born six chil- 
dren, named, respectively: Mabel, Orley, 
Eva, Oscar, Viola and Effie. In his polit- 
ical preferences Mr. Finger is a Republican, 
and in 1894 he was elected county treasurer 
of Vilas county, an incumbency he fills 
with eminent ability. In fraternal afifilia- 
tions he is one of the first charter members 
of Eagle River Lodge No. 248, F. & A. M., 
has always held some office therein from the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



359 



time of its organization, being its present 
master, and he is a member of tfie Chapter 
at Antigo. He and his amiable wife are 
active members of the Congregational Church 
at Eagle River, and are liberal donors in the 
cause of religion. Mr. Finger is without 
doubt the leading business man of Vilas 
county, and ever a busy one, his time being 
exclusively devoted to his lumber manufac- 
turing; interests. 



JOHN O. HUUN, a retired merchant of 
lola, Waupaca countj', was born in 
Leirdalsoren, Norway, October 20, 
1842, and is a twin brother of Isaac C. 
Huun, also of lola, Waupaca county. Our 
subject was one of three children born to 
Isaac G. S. Huun and Johanna C. Huun, 
born Hoestences: John O., Isaac C, and 
Tomena, who died at the age of three years. 
The father, who was a tinsmith and dealer, in 
Leirdal, Norway, was the son of Christopher 
Huun, a native of Germany, but the maternal 
ancestors of our subject were all natives of 
Norway. 

When but nine years of age John O. 
Huun went to Bergen, Norway, to learn the 
trade of a merchant, serving an apprentice- 
ship of five years, during which time he 
received no wages, but was given five dollars 
by his employer. At the age of sixteen he 
went to live with an aunt and there began 
to clerk in a dry-goods store, receiving $1 50 
per year. He had previously been con- 
nected with the grocery business. At the 
end of four years he was offered a better 
position and full access to the family resi- 
dence of his employer, which was not ex- 
tended to every clerk. Mr. Huun had 
received but a very meagre education, and 
by this time he realized the need of a better 
one. He attended a Norwegian Sunday- 
school many years free of charge, and 
received a prize for proficiency; later he 
attended a private school, where he paid 
fift}' cents per hour, and still later was a 
pupil at a night school, where the tuition 
was the same. 

On May 24, 1869, he was united in mar- 
riage with Karen J. E. Amundsen, who was 
born in Bergen, Norwa)', October 18, 1842. 



At the time of his marriage Mr. Huun was 
clerking for $300 per year, and was also 
traveling agent, going north of Bergen 600 
miles selling dry-goods. In 1872, with a 
partner, he began business for himself, buy- 
ing out a mill, bakery and dry-goods store, 
for which he went in debt, as the property 
cost him three thousand dollars. His part- 
ner proved dishonest, however, and the loss 
to him in time and money amounted to about 
five thousand dollars. He was in business 
for about ten years. In June, 1882, Mr. 
Huun concluded to come to America, and 
with his wife went by boat from Bergen to 
Christiansand, where they boarded the 
steamer "Geyser, " which was seventeen 
days in crossing the Atlantic to New York 
City. His destination was lola, Wis. , where 
his brother was living, and he arrived here 
without a cent of money in his pockets. He 
first obtained work in a sawmill at Stevens 
Point, Wis., but at the end of a month fell 
and injured his side, and was compelled to 
return to his brother's home in lola. On 
recovering he went to St. Paul, Minn., 
where he was employed at anything that he 
could find to do, at the end of some months 
returning to lola, where he began clerking 
for Mr. Thompson. After leaving that gen- 
tleman Mr. Huun, in 1883, began business 
for himself in connection with his brother, 
they opening a grocery store under the firm 
name of O. Huun & Co., and the following 
year our subject became sole proprietor. 
He started with a cash capital of $300, at 
first carrying only groceries, but later he 
added a small stock of notions and shoes, 
and as his trade steadily increased enlarged 
his stock from time to time until he was at 
the head of a prosperous and paying busi- 
ness. His first location was in a building 
which he purchased from his brother, and 
later selling at a good profit, bought the 
Odd Fellows Hall, which he converted into 
a store room. In October, 1893, on account 
of ill health, he was compelled to sell out, 
disposing of his stock to Johnson Brothers, 
and he has since lived retired. In the same 
year he erected one of the best residences in 
lola, with all modern conveniences (in- 
cluding a hot-air furnace), and there the 
family make their home, surrounded bj' their 



360 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



many friends, whom they delight to enter- 
tain. 

Mr. Huun has ever been a stanch sup- 
porter of the RepubHcan party, though he 
beHeves in honest government and the 
selection of honest men for office, regardless 
of their political views. Thoroughly realiz- 
ing the evil power that money builds in 
politics, he hopes for the welfare of his 
adopted country to see the evil remedied, so 
that honest, capable men — although perhaps 
poor financially — may be elected to fill all 
offices, and that it will be a crime severely 
punishable to try to influence a man's vote 
by the corrupt use of money; and he hopes 
he will live to see the time when people will 
think less of the "almighty dollar, " and 
more of their God and Creator. He is 
strongly in favor of a protective tariff, be- 
lieving that under that system a country is 
more prosperous, as he has also lived under 
free trade in Europe, and appreciates pro- 
tection. Both himself and wife are con- 
sistent members of the Lutheran Church, 
and he was at one time a teacher in one of 
the Norwegian Sunday-schools. He has 
never cared for political preferment, but he 
is now serving in the position of foreman and 
director of the Norwegian school, and takes 
quite an active part in educational affairs. 
Socially he is identified with the Odd Fel- 
lows Lodge, No. 282, at lola. The property 
of Mr. Huun has all been acquired by the 
exercise of sound judgment, good business 
talents and industry, and he has won the 
confidence and respect of all with whom he 
has come in contact. 



DE JAY KELSEY, carriage manufac- 
turer and blacksmith, of Stevens 
Point, Portage county, was born in 
Columbus, Columbia Co., Wis., 
January 31, 1854, and is a son of David D. 
and Phcebe Ann (Persall) Kelsey, who were 
born in New York State. 

In 1844, David D. Kelsey and his wife 
came west and located in Columbia county, 
Wis., where he followed his vocation of 
blacksmith, and where he now lives a retired 
life; here his wife died in 1861. They had 
two children, namely: Dejay, the subject 



of this sketch; and Naomi, wife of B. B. 
Barbour, a resident of Saratoga Springs, N. 
Y. Our subject was reared and educated in 
his native town of Columbus, Columbia Co., 
Wis. , and at the age of seventeen left home 
for La Crosse, La Crosse Co. , Wis. , where 
he resided about a year. Afterward he 
worked at his trade in different towns and 
States in the Union until 1883, when he 
came to Stevens Point, Portage county, 
where he engaged in business, and he has 
been a resident of this city since. 

In 1882, at Tomah, Monroe Co., Wis., 
DeJay Kelsey married Cora Isabel Sowle, 
who has borne him three children, one of 
whom is deceased, the others being Jay 
Verne and Mildred Rood. Mrs. Kelsey is a 
daughter of Hiram A. and Lucy A. Sowle, 
who were born in Vermont. Politically Mr. 
Kelsey is a stanch Republican, and socially 
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America. The family attend the Methodist 
Church. As a citizen, Mr. Kelsey is highly 
esteemed. He is a thorough master of his 
business, and by strict attention to the wants 
of his patrons has built up a large and in- 
creasing trade, while his genial manner and 
sterling qualities have won him a host of 
friends. 



GJERT HERMANSON, one of the 
representative farmers and promi- 
nent citizens of St. Lawrence town- 
ship, Waupaca county, was born in 
Norway, February 26, 1825, and he is a son 
of Herman and Ellen (Sorenson) Erickson. 
The father of our subject, who was a 
blacksmith by trade, was twice married, and 
by his first union with Anna Rebecca Erick- 
son, had four children: Erick Hermanson, 
a farmer antl blacksmith of St. Lawrence 
township, Waupaca county; Sarah Herman- 
son, wife of Gjert Hermanson, of \\'itten- 
berg. Wis. (both now deceased); Christine, 
(also deceased); and Anna, who died in Nor- 
way. The subject of this sketch is the eld- 
est in the family of si.\ children born of the 
second marriage, the others being Herman 
Hermanson, a farmer of South Dakota; 
Soren, who died from effects of service in the 
army during the Civil war, leaving a widow 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



361 



and six children, the former now a resident 
of St. Lawrence township; Anna, wife of 
JchnAleson, a blacksmith of Norway; Lena, 
wife of Christ Amenson, a farmer of Am- 
herst, Wis. ; and Martha, wife of Anion 
Thorson, a farmer of St. Lawrence town- 
ship. 

In Norway Gjert Hermanson learned the 
trade of a blacksmith under his father's in- 
struction, and received his literary education 
in the common schools. In 1846 he sailed 
for America, and on landing at New York 
came direct to Winneconne, Winnebago Co. , 
Wis. , where he worked on a farm three 
years. The year 1849 found him a resident 
of St. Lawrence township, Waupaca county, 
where he had purchased 1 20 acres of land in 
Sections 6 and 7, paying the government 
price of $1.25 per acre. In addition to the 
cultivation and improvement of his own 
land, he began work for C. S. Ogden, by 
whom he was employed some two years 
His little log shanty was only 16 x 20 feet, 
and covered with slabs, but it continued to 
be his home about four years. Everything 
was in its primitive condition, not a furrow 
had been turned on the farm, nor were there 
any roads made in the neighborhood. In 
1850 the parents also came to the New 
World, and with Mr. Hermanson they re- 
sided two years, when they took up a home- 
stead of eighty acres, and there spent the 
remainder of their lives. Our subject was 
married in 1851 to Rachel Christiansen, who 
was e.lso born in Norway, coming to America 
in 1846, the same year her husband crossed 
the ocean. Children as follows came to 
bless their union: Christian, a farmer of 
North Dakota; Herman (i) deceased; Jense, 
an agriculturist of South Dakota; Ole, a 
blacksmith of North Dakota; Albert, who 
helps operate the home farm; Herman (2), 
married in 1889, to Ida Larson, who died 
June 12, "1893, leaving a daughter, Anna 
(Herman now lives on the home farm); 
Helena, wife of Anton Hanson, proprietor 
of a hardware store in Minnesota; and Henry 
and Reinhart (twins), the former a farmer 
of lola township, Waupaca county, the lat- 
ter being now deceased. The mother of 
this family departed this life July 3, 1868. 

Mr. HL-rmanson is the owner of 120 acres 



of good land, si.xty-five of which he has 
placed under a high state of cultivation. He 
is a man of recognized ability, and with his 
family stands high in the community. Dur- 
ing the war of the Rebellion he showed his 
loyalty to his adopted country by enlisting, 
in 1864, in Company A, Forty-second Wis. 
V. I. All through his service he was sta- 
tioned at Cairo, 111., doing guard duty, and 
at the close of the struggle was honorably 
discharged. Socially, he is a member of 
lola Post, No. 99, G. A. R. ; and politically 
is a stalwart Republican. 



DANIEL CASE, a well-known citizen 
and one of the early settlers of 
Grand Rapids, Wood county, was 
born in Delaware county, N. Y., 
July 25, 1825, and is a son of James L. and 
Betsy (Preston) Case, both of whom were 
natives of New York. In their family were 
nine children, six of whom are yet living, 
as follows: Phinis, a prominent farmer of 
Iowa; Emily, wife of Jesse Turner, also a 
resident of Iowa; Daniel, subject of this 
record; Frederick, an old soldier located at 
Junction City, Wis. ; Mary, widow of the 
late Charles Bartholomew, and a resident 
of Rockford, 111. ; and Charley, a great 
traveler, not staying in any one place for 
any length of time. 

In taking up the personal history of 
Daniel Case, we present to our readers the 
life record of one who has long resided in 
Wood county, and is favorably known 
throughout the community. In the county 
of his nativity, Mr. Case acquired his edu- 
cation, and when he entered upon his busi- 
ness career took up lumbering, which he fol- 
lowed on the Delaware river until 1855. 
In that year he sought a home in the West, 
going first to Illinois, and thence to Iowa, and 
on leaving the Havvkeye State in 1858, he 
came to Grand Rapids. That was only ten 
years after the admission of Wisconsin into 
the Union, and Wood county was still 
largely undeveloped, so that Mr. Case has 
witnessed much of its growth and upbuild- 
ing. For a number of years after his ar- 
rival he again engaged in that industry which, 
has long been one of Wisconsin's leading 



362 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHIGAL RECORD. 



business interests — lumbering. He was suc- 
cessful in his undertakings, managing his 
affairs with sagacity. A laudable ambition 
was tempered by conservatism and careful 
management, and perseverance brought to 
him well-merited success, so that he is now 
the possessor of a handsome competence, 
and for the past few years he has lived re- 
tired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil. 
In March, 1.S58, in Iowa, Mr. Case mar- 
ried Elizabeth Wilcox, daughter of Dijah 
and Elvira Wilcox, and to them were born 
four children, namely: Adella, born Decem- 
ber 12, 1858, now the wife of Charles 
Margeson, a resident of Grand Rapids; 
Edith, born January 3, 1861, and wedded 
to Henry Stringer, who is now located in 
Armenia, Wis. ; Minnie, born October 8, 
1867, became the wife of Barney Brennan, 
and died in March, 1891; and Bessie, born 
November i, 1870, now the wife of George 
Delap, also a resident of Grand Rapids. Mr 
Case and his family belong to the Methodist 
Church, and he contributes liberally to its 
support. He has at heart the best inter- 
ests of the community in which he makes 
his home, and co-operates in all enterprises 
that are calculated to promote the general 
welfare. Even in political views he is not 
bound by party ties, but holds himself free 
to support the candidate whom he thinks 
will best serve the interests of the people. 



PHINEAS L. MUNGER, one of the 
younger and most enterprising farm- 
ers of Dayton township, Waupaca 
county, is the sole representative of 
a pioneer family of unusual prominence and 
influence. He was born in Dayton town- 
ship January 3, 1859, son of Amos D. and 
Diantha (Lilley) Munger. 

The Munger family gave many of its sons 
to the cause of religion. Dexter Munger, 
the father of Amos D. , was a Baptist min- 
ister, whose pastorate for many years was 
at Attica, N. Y. He died at Linden, N. Y., 
his family consisting of six children — three 
sons and three daughters: Amos D. yielded 
up his life in his countrj''s cause upon a 
■Southern battlefield; Enos, a Baptist minis- 
ter, who preached and died at Lakeland, 



Minn.; and Orrin, a Baptist minister, who 
died at Angelica, N. Y. ; Esther, afterward 
Mrs. Secrest, who died in Minnesota; Julia, 
who died in her young womanhood, at Mon- 
son, Mass. ; and Mary, now Mrs. Rundell, 
of Erie county. New York. 

Amos D. Munger was born in Hartford 
county. Conn., January 19, 1822. As the 
son of a clergyman he obtained an education 
somewhat better than falls to the ordinary 
lot of men, in the schools of Attica, N. Y., 
whither his parents removed when Amos 
was quite young, and in his youth he taught 
school. Friends of the family had migrated 
to Wisconsin, and in 1850 Amos D. also 
resolved to seek a home in the West. 
Coming to Racine, Wis., in the autumn of 
that year he taught school in that thriving 
village during the winter of 1850-51. Be- 
coming interested in Dayton township, 
Waupaca county, through a friend, Mr. 
Thompson, whose son had settled in that 
locality, he came, early in the spring of 
185 I, to that township, where he pre-empted 
160 acres of wild land (at which time land 
had not come into the market) in Section 
6, that township, and made improvements 
thereon, such as breaking several acres, 
building a small house and barn, etc. Late 
in the autumn of that year (1851) he re- 
turned to Racine and taught school that 
winter, and early in the spring of the follow- 
ing year he came home to Dayton, bringing 
with him a team and wagon, farm imple- 
ments, flour, groceries, household goods, 
etc. After putting in the spring crops he 
made a trip to the East, and at Boston, 
Mass., was married, June 13, 1852, to Miss 
Diantha Lilley, who was born in the town- 
ship of Pulaski, Oswego Co., N. Y., Septem- 
ber 17, 1822, daughter of Phineas and Amy 
(Samson) Lilley. Phineas, son of Abner 
Lilley, who had emigrated to Connecticut 
from England, was born in Tolland, Hart- 
ford Co., Conn., in 1787; he was a farmer by 
occupation, and lived in Oswego county, 
N. Y. , to the age of ninety years. His wife. 
Amy Samson, was born in Cheshire, Mass., 
in 1 79 1, and died at Pulaski, N. Y. , at the 
age of sixty years. Of their ten children 
Diantha, now Mrs. Muns/er, is the sole sur- 



COMMEMOHATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 



363 



Diantha Lilley was well educated, and 
had taught school near the home of her 
parents in central New York, but for several 
years prior to her marriage she had been 
living with a sister at Cambridge, Mass. 
Soon after their iiiarriage Mr. and Mrs. 
Munger started for their western home, via 
the lakes to Sheboygan, and thence by team 
via Fond du Lac and Berlin, Mrs. Munger 
bringing with her many supplies, which, as 
her foresight afterward demonstrated, proved 
invaluable in the new land. Although the 
contrast from eastern plenty to western want 
was about as marked as it could well be 
during the early years of her married life, 
Mrs. Munger, as she expresses it, "never 
felt lonesome until he was taken away." 
Mr. Munger followed farming until the sum- 
mer of 1862, when, as the war cloud grew 
darker and darker, he could no longer resist 
the patriotic call of duty, and bidding wife 
and child adieu he shouldered musket and 
marched to the scene of strife, enlisting in 
Company G, Twenty-first Wis. V. I. 
Scarcely two months later, Octobers, 1862, 
he fell at Perryville, Ky. , and was buried on 
the field of battle. The bereaved widow 
remained for five years on the farm with her 
only child, Phineas L., a boy of three years 
at the time of his father's death. Then, in 
1867, she sold the farm and removed to 
Waupaca to educate her son, where, e.xcept 
for a short time, she has since remained, 
building a comfortable home on Division 
street. For twenty-four years she has been 
a member of the First Baptist Church. 

Phineas L. Munger was born January 3, 
1859, in Dayton township. His earliest ed- 
ucation was received in the schools of Dis- 
trict No. 5, and later in the schools of Wau- 
paca. He was a member of the high 
school class of 1876, which was the first 
that ever graduated from the school. After 
graduation, he at once began farming on 
forty acres, which is a part of his present 
farm in Dayton township. He was married, 
February 27, 1884, in Waupaca, to Miss 
Amy A. Richmond, who was born in Wau- 
shara county, and is the daughter of Mer- 
rick and Clarinda (Allenj Richmond. Her 
father was a farmer, but now keeps a board- 
ing-house at Eagle River, Wis. Mrs. Rich- 



mond died in Waushara county, and was 
buried at Coloma, Wis. Their children 
were two in number — Mrs. Munger, and a 
son who died in infancy. 

A-fter his marriage Mr. Munger began 
housekeeping on the farm, which then com- 
prised 120 acres. He has since increased it 
to 200 acres, and in 1S92 he remodeled 
his fine home, which is attractively located 
in a spacious lawn covered with trees of for- 
est growth. His only child is Norman D., 
born December 31, 18S5. Both he and his 
wife are members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church. Mr. Munger is a Republican, 
and has filled various local offices; at pres- 
ent, he is supervisor in his District. For 
one term he taught school in Belmont town- 
ship. Portage county. His present valuable 
farm includes a portion of the pioneer home 
which his father located forty-three years 
ago. Though still young in years, Mr. Mun- 
ger is one of Dayton's most prosperous and 
successful farmers. 



G UNDER O. KROSTUisane.xtensive 
landowner in Farmington township, 
Waupaca county. He holds title to 
about 1000 acres of land, and has, 
on the well-improved home farm of 180 
acres, a brick residence, erected in 1880, 
and since enlarged, than which there is no 
finer in the township. Mr. Krostu did not 
inherit this property, nor did it come to him 
by gift of others. Thirty years ago his 
chances of rising to a competence would not, 
perhaps, have been considered at all bright, 
for he was only the poor son of a poor Nor- 
wegian emigrant. But none knew the 
strength of his nervous fiber, his indomitable 
will; he has grown to prominence and afflu- 
ence among his neighbors and wide circle of 
acquaintances solely by his own unaided 
efforts. 

In the spring of 1861 ten Norwegian 
families, in order to better their circum- 
stances, formed a little company and started 
for America. Among them was Ole Krostu, 
wife and seven children, of whom Gunder 
was the fifth child and third son. After a 
passage of nine weeks they landed at VJue- 
bec, Canada, and thence proceeded by boat, 



3^4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



rail and boat to Milwaukee, thence by rail 
to Oshkosh, and by boat again to Gill's Land- 
ing. A few ox-teams were secured here, but 
not enough to accommodate all the women. 
All the men and the women by turns began 
the weary journey afoot. A brother of Ole 
Krostu lived in Waupaca county, and that 
was the destination of the party. Ole, who 
in his native land had been a farmer and 
stock raiser, rented a farm and with his 
eldest son, Sigel, with whom he lived, fol- 
lowed farming till his death, which occurred 
in 1881 ; the mother still lives, at the age of 
eighty-six. 

Gunder O. Krostu was born June 22, 
1844, and was seventeen years of age when 
the long voyage 'was made. He had re- 
ceived a fair education in Norway, and soon 
after his arrival in America he began work- 
ing for himself, chiefly on the farm; but no 
opportunity to earn an honest dollar, 
whether in the woods or on the river, was 
neglected. Gunder Krostu had one purpose — 
to save his money and buy a farm. He 
worked steadily until 1868, and then pur- 
chased 240 acres of land, partly improved, 
in Section 9, Farmington township. His 
savings were sufficient to pay for about one- 
half of the place, and for the rest of the farm 
he went into debt. The year 1868 also wit- 
nessed his marriage in Waupaca to Tone 
Torgensen, a native of Norway, whose 
father died in southern Wisconsin. 

Mr. Krostu began housekeeping in the 
log house which then stood on the farm of 
which he had just become the happy posses- 
sor. He was a farmer by occupation, and 
has always followed that calling excepting 
two or three winters which he spent in the 
woods, lumbering then being carried on in 
neighboring counties. In later years he has 
also dealt considerably in lumber, and in 
these operations he has been able to utilize 
the knowledge obtained earlier in life. This, 
combined with his natural business aptitude, 
has made his operations quite successful. 
His family consists of six living children: — 
Carl (agent for the Wisconsin Central rail- 
road at Sheridan), Serena, Theodore, Julius, 
Hermann and Casper; three children, Carrie 
D. C, Josie and Casper, are deceased. In 
politics Mr. Krostu is a stanch Republican; 



in religious affiliation he is a member of the 
Lutheran Church. He is a highly respected 
and influential farmer, whose early start in 
life was won by hard work, and whose later 
business successes were due in large measure 
to his abilities as a financier and manager. 



CHARLES H. BROWN. The history 
of the men who have participated in 
the development of any country 
affords interesting illustrations of 
the zeal and determination so essential to 
the successful prosecution of such an under- 
taking. The subject of this record is a 
striking example of that class of citizens, 
and therefore with pleasure we present to 
our readers the record of his life. 

He comes of sturdy New England ances- 
try, and was born in Hinsdale, Berkshire 
Co., Mass., August 7, 1827. His parents, 
Daniel and Caroline (Smith) Brown, were 
also natives of the old Bay State, and had a 
family of three children, of whom Charles 
H. is the eldest; the sisters are Cornelia 
Jane, widow of Henry W. Jackson, and a 
resident of Centralia, Wis. ; and Elizabeth, 
wife of Harvey Jackson, and living in Hins- 
dale, Mass. The parents have both passed 
away, the father having departed this life 
November 17, 1856, while the mother was 
called to her final rest October 21, 1852. 

In the usual manner of farmer lads 
Charles H. Brown spent the days of his 
childhood and youth, aiding in subduing the 
soil and in the other work of the farm, also 
attending the common schools of his native 
town. One of the honored pioneers of 
Wood county, he dates his residence in 
Grand Rapids from 1855, and in 1858 he 
engaged as a salesman in a general store 
conducted by the firm of Garrison & Jack- 
son, the first store in Centralia. After three 
years spent therein, he removed to his native 
home in Massachusetts, but a few months 
later again came to Centralia, where for 
many years he was engaged in logging and 
lumbering. That occupation is one of the 
leading industries of the State, and Mr. 
Brown is one of its typical representatives. 

Mr. Brown was married in Hinsdale, 
Mass., December 31, 1862, to Miss Julia 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



365 



Lyman, daughter of Henry D. and Ruth M. 
(Bartlett) Lyman. Two children were born 
to them, one of whom died in infancy, the 
other being Burton Lyman, born November 
12, 1868. Mrs. Brown first saw the Hght 
in Hinsdale, Mass., January 29, 1S38, and 
the other surviving members of the family 
are Henry George, who is living in Kalama- 
zoo, Mich.; Ruth Amelia; Charles Edwin; 
and Florence M., widow of Peter McCallum. 
The father of this family died August 11, 
1886, the mother in April, 1888. In 1881, 
Mr. Brown went to Dakota, and located in 
what is now the town of Dawson on the line 
of the Northern Pacific railroad, at which 
time only one house marked the site of the 
place, and it was occupied by the section 
master. Mr. Brown secured 160 acres of 
government land, built a house and barn, 
and two years later moved his family to 
their new home, where they continued to re- 
side until 1889, when they again came to 
Centralia, Wood Co., Wis. In various 
public offices he has served, devoting his 
time and energies to a faithful discharge of his 
duties. Forsi.x successive j'ears he was town 
clerk of Centralia, was town treasurer three 
successive years, and clerk of the Centralia 
school board si.x years. In his political views 
he is a stalwart Republican, and in religious 
faith he and his family are Methodists. Forty 
years ago he came to Wood county when it 
was a frontier settlement, and has therefore 
witnessed the greater part of its growth and 
development. With the work of progress 
and upbuilding he has long been identified, 
and the community recognizes in him a 
\alued citizen — ever ready to promote its 
best interests — as well as one of the honored 
pioneers. 



JOHN M. OWENS, mechanical and 
electrical engineer, and a stockholder 
in the Wausau Electric Light Com- 
pany, was born in Clermont county, 
Ohio, July 22, 1 86 1, and is a son of John G. 
and Eliza (McNeill) Owens. 

John G. Owens was born at Maysville, 
Ky. , of Welsh ancestry, his wife at Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, of Scotch ancestry. Both died 
at Clermont, Ohio, Mrs. Owens January 3, 



1876, Mr. Owens June 22, 1884. They 
were the parents of seven children, five of 
whom are living, namely: Thomas C, re- 
siding in New Orleans; John M., the sub- 
ject of this sketch; Edward; Frank, resid- 
ing in Louisville, Ky., and Nora, residing in 
Covington, Kentucky. 

Our subject was educated in the public 
schools of his native town, and after leaving 
school became qualified as a stationary en- 
gineer. Having perfected himself in this 
occupation, he took a two-years' course in 
the Electrical College of Cincinnati, and 
worked two years as traveling engineer 
for the Westinghouse Electrical Company, 
erecting electrical plants in different cities, 
principally throughout Ajabama, Tennessee, 
Georgia and Florida. Since then he has 
been superintendent antl electrical engineer 
of electric-light plants in different cities. In 
1890 he removed from Florence, Ala., to 
Rhinelander, Oneida Co., Wis., took charge 
of the electric-light plant of that city for 
two years, and in January, 1892, removed 
to Wausau, Marathon county, and became 
a stockholder and general superintendent of 
the electric-light plant of the city. Mr. 
Owens is a member of the F. & A. M., of 
Rhinelander; of Washington Chapter No. 
232, Tuscumbia, Ala., and of Ivanhoe Com- 
niandery No. 22, Cincinnati. He is a thor- 
ough electrician, few having attained a more 
perfect knowledge of this business in all its 
details, is one of the live, progressive busi- 
ness men of Wausau, and is highly esteemed 
as a citizen. 



JUDD WAIT, who is engaged in the 
meat business at Embarrass, Matteson 
township, Waupaca county, was born 
March 2, 1861, at Nekimi, Winnebago 
Co., Wis., and is a son of George F. and 
Pathina (Martin) Wait, who were both from 
Medina county, Ohio, and about the year 
1849 came to Wisconsin, where George 
Wait was employed on the farm homestead- 
ed by his future wife's father, who had come 
from Ohio, and who worked this farm for 
some years. 

George 1'". Wait was born December 22, 
1835, in Brunswick, Medina Co., Ohio, and 



366 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is a son of James and Eliza (Ashley) Wait, 
who were from Whiteley, Mass. James 
Wait was a farmer by occupation; in re- 
ligion a stanch Methodist. Both he and his 
wife always remained in Ohio after coming 
to the State, and both died in Brunswick, 
Medina county. They were the parents of 
ten children, as follows, all of them remain- 
ing at home until of an adult age: Sa- 
mantha, Hester F., James L. , Charles G., 
Julian B., George F. (previously mentioned 
in this sketch), Mary E., Amos A., John B. 
and Judd P. George F. Wait received a 
common-school education, such as the time 
afforded. In 1852 he went to Winneconne, 
Winnebago Co., Wis., where he worked in 
sawmills and the lumber woods, and re- 
mained about five years. He was engaged 
in the lumber business some seven or eight 
years, or until March 16, 1859, when he was 
united in marriage with Pathina Martin, by 
whom he had four children: Alice, now 
Mrs. James Cott, of Matteson; Judd, whose 
name introduces this sketch; Lillie, now 
Mrs. F. Ewer, of Matteson; and Frank, 
living at home. 

For three years George F. Wait worked 
a farm, then, on August 21, 1862, enlisted 
in Company D, Thirty-second Wis. V. I. ; 
they were sent first to Memphis, Tenn. , 
where they remained nearly two years on 
picket duty, and did some little skirmishing. 
In the winter of 1864 they went to Vicks- 
burg, then to Meridian and to the relief of 
Chattanooga; from there through Memphis, 
Cairo and Pittsburg Landing, and thence to 
Decatur, Ala., where they remained from 
April 7 until August 5. Near Courtland, 
Ala., was the first place where they were 
under fire. Their Hag was carried until not 
a piece remained as large as a man's hand, 
but it was never fired upon, to their knowl- 
edge. Mr. Wait participated in the battle 
of Bentonville; but Sherman's last battle 
was the hottest engagement in which he 
took part. They were at the battle of the 
capture of Atlanta, though they were not 
called into action. Mr. Wait received his 
di.scharge June 12, 1865, the regiment 
marching from Atlanta to Washington, 
where they received their discharge. Mr. 
Wait returned to Winneconne, Winnebago 



Co., Wis., remained four years, and in 1870 
came to Matteson, Waupaca county. Here 
in Section 16 he bought eighty acres of wild 
land, at that time in a primitive condition. 
Deer and bear roamed about, and the hid- 
eous howling of the wolves was no uncom- 
mon sound. He built a small log house, 
about 12 X 20 feet, and the work of clearing 
was at once commenced. He had an ox- 
team and a drag plow, and his first crop 
was potatoes, oats and wheat; New London, 
Waupaca county, was the nearest market. 
In three years he bought forty acres more, 
and now has 120 acres, sixty-five of which 
are cleared, with good improvements there- 
on — the best farm in the township. In 
1 87 1 his wife died. 

On June 12, 1872, George F. Wait 
again married, this time to Almira Graham, 
who was born in Brunswick, Ohio, Septem- 
ber 22, 1844, daughter of Alanson and Jane 
(Stevenson) Graham, and they have five 
children: Elva, Alanson and Harry, all at 
home, and Graham and Roy. Mr. Wait is 
a successful farmer, and is still living with 
his second wife on the old homestead. 

When Judd Wait was nearly ten years of 
age his own mother died, and when about 
eighteen he left home to seek his livelihood, 
in which he was successful. He was em- 
ployed in the woods, and on the rivers, 
which he followed seven years. On August 
20, 1884, he was united in marriage with 
Gertrude Matteson, and three children have 
been born to them: Hugh, May 15, 1886; 
Stella, April 2, 1890; and Gertrude, Janu- 
ary 22, 1893. The parents of Mrs. Judd 
Wait, David and Margaret (Olmsted) Matte- 
son, were originally from New York State 
and Canada, respectively. Four children 
were born to them: John, Gertrude (Mrs. 
Wait), Lyda and Kate. David Matteson 
came west with his parents, Roswell and 
Miranda (Palmer) Matteson. David Matte- 
son's mother was a distant relative of John 
Palmer, of Matteson township, which town- 
ship was named after Roswell Matteson, the 
first settler here. At the time he came 
there was only one house in the vicinity, a 
small log house in Clintonville, Larrabee 
township, owned by William Hyde, now of 
Appleton, Wis, Roswell Matteson came 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



367 



here with oxen from New London, Wau- 
paca county. There was no bridge across 
the Embarrass river, and they had a hard 
time fording. He homesteaded a farm in 
the township, which is to-day owned by Da- 
vid and Margaret Matteson. Mrs. Wait's 
grandfather Hved to about the age of ninety- 
one, her grandmother to the age of eighty- 
two. 

When Mr. Wait was married he owned 
fifty acres of timber land in Matteson town- 
ship, from which the timber was taken, and 
he had cleared a portion of it. He lived 
there three years, then, in 1890, sold his 
farm, came to Embarrass, and engaged in 
the meat business, in which he has since 
continued. Politically, he has always sup- 
ported the Republican party, and he now 
holds the office of constable. 



ANDREW O. TUBAAS, one of the 
active, prominent and enterprising 
citizens of Waupaca county, is at 
present engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits in fola township. He made his first 
appearance on the stage of life beneath the 
roof of his parents, Ole I^. and Aaste An- 
derson (Tubaas) Tubaas, in Section 14, 
Tola township, August 10, 1859. 

The parents, who were natives of Nor- 
way, were there married, and in the spring 
of 1854 accompanied the paternal grand- 
father of our subject, Kittel Halverson, to 
the New World. The five children of the 
latter all came with him, but his wife had 
previously died in Norway. On the "Jo- 
hanna Marie" they set sail, and were six 
weeks and three days upon the Atlantic. 
The father and grandfather leaving the 
family at Rock River, Wis., proceeded to 
lola township, Waupaca county, where they 
secured land in Section 14, and the former 
then returned for the family. A sister of 
our subject was born while the parents were 
crossing the ocean, but she died and was 
buried at sea. Since their arrival here the 
births of the following have occurred: Kittel 
O., a farmer of Harrison township, Waupaca 
county; Annie, now Mrs. Thor Thorson; 
Andrew O., subject of this sketch; Ole (i), 
who died in infancy; and Ole (2), who is a 



cook in the lumber woods. The mother 
died January 14, 1890, and now sleeps in 
Hitterdall Cemetery, lola township. The 
father, who was a member of the Forty- 
fourth Wis. V. I., died at Nashville, Tenn., 
April I, 1865, at the age of thirty-three 
years, four months and twenty-seven days, 
and was there buried. 

Although but a small child when his 
father left for the army, Andrew O. Tubaas 
can distinctly remember him. Our subject 
acquired his education in the common 
schools of the neighborhood, which were 
much inferior to those of the present day, 
and he is heartily in sympathy with the im- 
provements that have taken place, believing 
that a good education is essential to good 
government. He was reared to manhood 
under the parental roof, though he spent 
some time in the lumber woods, during the 
summers looking up farm work in Minne- 
sota. 

At the age of twenty-seven Mr. Tubaas 
married Miss Gena Ellerson, the ceremony 
being performed in Waupaca by a justice of 
the peace. She is a native of Scandinavia 
township, Waupaca county, and a daughter 
of Olaf Ellerson. I^y this marriage have 
been born three children: Oscar T. , on 
March 18, 1888; Florence, November 18, 
1890; and Alman G., born December 9, 
1 89 1. Mr. and Mrs. Tubaas began their 
domestic life on the farm where his aged 
mother still resided, and with them she 
found a pleasant home until her death. He 
still owns that place, which consists of a 
tract of 160 acres, eighty of which are well- 
improved and highly cultivated. Mr. Tubaas 
in the pursuance of his agricultural interests, 
has had very little time to give to politics, 
but at general elections votes the straight 
Republican ticket. For the past three years 
he has served as treasurer of Hitterdall 
Lutheran Church, to which his wife also 
belongs, and he aided in building the church 
edifice. He is widely and favorably known, 
and in all respects has deported himself as 
an honest man and a good citizen. He and 
his wife had the pleasure of visiting Chi- 
cago at the time of the Workl's C'olumbian 
Exposition, and to use their own words, 
"had a splendid time." 



368 



COMMEIIORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



ROSWELL EWER, one of the farmers 
of Clintonville, Matteson township, 
Waupaca county, was born in Wash- 
ington county. Wis., in 1855, a son 
of Esben and Lucy (Matteson) Ewer, the 
former of whom was one of the oldest set- 
tiers of Clintonville. 

Our subject was reared in Matteson 
township, and received his education in the 
common schools. He bought eighty acres 
of land in Section 31, thirty of which were 
cleared, and built a good frame house there- 
on. Afterward he sold this farm, and he is 
now improving another forty acres. 

On May 6, 1883, Roswell Ewer was 
united in marriage with Alice Ingersoll, who 
was born in Illinois. Her parents were early 
settlers of Bear Creek township, Waupaca 
Co., Wis. The mother is deceased, and the 
father now resides in Michigan. Mr. Ewer 
is a member of one of the oldest families in 
th6 township of Matteson, and has taken an 
active part in various matters for the gen- 
eral welfare. 



PETER K. HILLER, a farmer of New 
Hope township, Portage county, is 
one of the intelligent and enterpris- 
ing agriculturists of the county, who 
thoroughly understands his business. He 
was born in Norway, August 16, 1831, and 
is a son of Knute and Margaret (Bendick- 
son) Hiller, natives of the same country. 
While a young man the father served as a 
sailor, but after his marriage settled down 
to a farm life. In the spring of 1845 he 
emigrated with his family to the United 
States, taking passage on the sailing vessel 
"Juno," which after a stormy voyage of 
eight weeks and four days landed them safe- 
ly at New York, whence they went by boat 
to Albany, by canal to Buffalo, and on to 
Milwaukee, by the Great Lakes, arriving 
there July 3, 1845. By wagon they then 
proceeded on their journey to Norway, Wis., 
where they located on a farm, but the fath- 
er did not long enjoy his new home, for he 
died there of fever and ague shortly afterhis 
arrival. 

In Norway, Wis., the family remained 
eight years, or till in June, 1852, when the 



mother, with her children, removed to New 
Hope, Portage county, traveling thither with 
an o,\-team, the journey consuming two 
weeks' time. While on a visit to her daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Anderson, of Scandinavia, Wau- 
paca county, the mother died, and her re- 
mains were interred in New Hope Ceme- 
tery. In the family were four children: 
Mathias, Ann, Peter and Betsy. On com- 
ing to New Hope township, our subject pur- 
chased 120 acres of government land, which 
was all wild and unimproved, and after 
clearing a few acres he built a small 
house. His education was begun in his na- 
tive land, and was completed in the com- 
mon schools of this country, so that by sub- 
sequent reading and observation in later 
years he has become a well-informed man. 
In the spring of 1850 he went to Manistee, 
Mich., where he was employed in the lum- 
ber woods, during the summer running logs 
on the Manistee river. In the fall, how- 
ever, he returned home, and since coming 
to New Hope township he has given his en- 
tire time and attention to his agricultural 
pursuits, in which he has been very success- 
ful, being numbered among the prosperous 
farmers of the community. 

On February i, 1866, at New Hope, 
Mr. Hiller wedded Miss Annie Rasmuson 
Bestul, the marriage ceremony being per- 
formed by Rev. Mickleson, pastor of the 
Norwegian Lutheran Church. Mrs. Hiller 
was born in Norway, May 22, 1844, and 
with her parents came to the United States 
when but nine years of age. She was the 
youngest in a family of eight children, the 
others being John, Belle, Nels, Ann, Jacob, 
Gunilla, and Ole. Mr. and Mrs. Hiller be- 
came the parents of six children — four sons 
and two daughters — namely: Carl, born 
July 14, 1867, still at home; Martin, born 
September 17, 1869, married Lina Hanson, 
and they now reside in Helvetia, Wis. ; 
Dorothea, born October 13, 1871, still at 
home; Margaret, born April 20, 1874, died 
April 9, 1 88 1; Reuben, born January 22, 
1876, also under the parental roof, and Al- 
fred, born December i, 1879, died Febru- 
ary 3, 1880. The mother of this family 
was called to her final rest in December, 
1885, and her death was sincerely mourned. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHWAL RECORD. 



369 



In politics Mr. Hiller is a stanch Repub- 
lican, always working for the best interests 
of his party, and for one year he served as 
clerk of the township school board. In re- 
ligious belief he is a Lutheran, being one of 
the active members of the Church of that 
denomination in New Hope. He is a sturdy, 
honest, intelligent citizen, and enjoys the 
esteem and regard of all classes of people. 
His industrious habits and genial warm- 
heartedness endear him to all with whom he 
comes in contact 



HERMAN L. BUMP, a prosperous 
representative citizen of Merrill, 
Lincoln county, is a native of New 
York State, born in Otsego county, 
October 7, 1847, and is a grandson of Bar- 
nett Bump, who first saw the light in the 
same locality June 27, 1779. The latter 
was by occupation a farmer and lumberer 
in Otsego county, and was highly thought 
of in the community where he lived. He 
married Phebe Bourn, who was born August 
7, 1786, and six children came to their 
union, viz. : Laura, Elizabeth, Angeline, 
Phebe C, Barnett and James H., all now 
deceased. The father of these died August 
9, 1844, the mother on May 20, 1849. 

Barnett Bump, father of the subject of 
this sketch, was born in Otsego county, N. Y. , 
April 22, 1 817, and inherited the old home- 
stead, but in 1856 moved to Allegany coun- 
ty, same State, where he made his home 
some six years, or until the fall of 1863, 
when he came to Wisconsin, settling in 
Almond township. Portage county, on a 
piece of wild land, which he cleared and 
improved, and where he died February 14, 
1877. He was married May 6, 1845, to 
Miss Clarissa B. Simons, who was born No- 
vember 29, 1829, daughter of Alpha and 
Abigail (Hitchcock) Simons, natives of New 
York State, where they died, the father on 
July 10, 1837, the mother on March i, 
1856; they were the parents of three chil- 
dren: Lucia A., Levi A. and Clarissa B., 
the last named (wife of Barnett Bump) dy- 
ing November 12, 1876, the mother of seven 
children, as follows: Herman L. , Elisha 
L. , George A. (who married and died with- 



out issue), Florence A., Adillah T. (de- 
ceasedj, Jessie N., and James B. (deceased). 

The subject proper of this memoir re- 
ceived but a limited school training, and, up 
to the age of twenty-one years, remained at 
home, in the meantime also applying him- 
self to various vocations. He then for some 
three years worked in sawmills, learning at 
the same time the trade of filer, which he 
has since followed, chiefly in Merrill, where 
he has been filer for the H. W. Wright 
Lumber Co. since 1889. For fifteen years 
he was in the employ of B. F. McMillan & 
Bro., near Marshfield, commencing there in 
the fall of 1876, and while there he was 
also (for about six years, commencing in 
1882) engaged in the manufacture of staves 
and heading, owning a one-half interest in 
the business. To some extent he has also 
dealt in farm lands. 

On December 5, 1871, Mr. Bump was 
united in marriage with Miss Mattie B. Tra- 
hern, who bore him three children: Delia 
L. , Mary E. and Eva C. The mother of 
these dying February 24, 1881, Mr. Bump 
for his second wife married, September 6, 
1882, Miss Mary A. Gurley, who was born 
in Walworth county, Wis., daughter of 
Perry Gurley, and one child — Arthur Leroy 
— has blessed this union. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bump are members of the Episcopal 
Church; politically, he is a Republican; 
socially, he is an advanced member of the 
F. & A. M., I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. 
As a worthy, useful and loyal citizen, he is 
in the full enjoyment of the esteem of his 
neighbors. 



EDWIN T. BROWN, a well-known 
and highly-respected citizen of Mer- 
rill, Lincoln county, is a native of 
the State of New York, born in 
Clinton, Oneida county, in November, 1837, 
and is a son of Jesse Brown, whose birth 
occurred in the same State. The father 
was twice married, his first union being with 
Angeline Phelps, who died in 1837, and 
they became the parents of six children, 
three of whom died in infancy and Amelia 
at the age of sixteen. Our subject is a 
child of this union. After the death of his 



37° 



COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPBTCAL RECORD. 



first wife, Jesse Brown married her sister, 
Ruth Cowen, and he was called to his final 
home about the year 1875. In New York 
he carried on agricultural pursuits, and in 
the neif^hhorhood where he resided was held 
in the highest regard. 

Edwin T. Brown spent his boyhood and 
youth on the home farm, and attended the 
district schools in the winter season until 
nearing manhood. He remained with his 
father until he had reached the age of 
twenty-three, when he began freighting on 
the Erie canal, which pursuit he followed 
some five years. He then worked in a grist- 
mill in his native State, but later went to 
Ohio, where he spent one season. On his 
return to New York State he was employed 
in the Utica Asj'lum for one year, when, 
after his marriage in 1866, he removed to 
Michigan, in which State he spent one year, 
being employed as a carpenter in the flour- 
ing-mill at Kalamazoo. On the expiration 
of that time he again returned to New 
York, and for two years worked in a grist- 
mill. In 1 87 1 he started west, locating in 
Fond du Lac, Wis., where for five years he 
had charge of a sawmill owned by the 
Chicago&North Western Railroad Company. 
Going to Salina, Kans., in 1877, he made 
that place his home for two years, during 
which time he engaged in farming. In 1879 
we find him in Topeka, Kans., working in 
the car shops, and he was thus employed 
until 1883. In April of that year he came 
to Merrill, Wis., having secured the position 
of foreman for the Merrill Manufacturing 
Co., and as that firm failed six months later 
he then took complete charge, closing out 
the stock, at which he was engaged until 
September, 1885. That winter he went 
into the lumber woods, becoming scaler for 
the Wright Lumber Co., and remained with 
that firm until the fall of 1894, most of the 
time having charge of their shipping depart- 
ment. 

At New York, in October, 1866, Mr. 
Brown was united in marriage with Helen 
Underwood, and to them have been born 
two children, Lillian and Mabel, both of 
whom reside with their parents and are now 
engaged in school teaching. Mrs. Brown is 
a daughter of Chester B. and Susan (Stet- 



son) Under\\'ood, and is one of a family of 
six children — Mary, Chester, Edwin P., 
Helen M., Florence L. and Charles H. Her 
father, who was born in 1798, in Herkimer 
county, N. Y. , was married in that State, 
in 1816, to Susan Stetson. Her birth oc- 
curred in Vermont in 1798, and she v\as a 
daughter of Benjamin and Mary Stetson, 
who by their marriage became the parents 
of thirteen children, ten of whom grew to 
manhood and womanhood, as follows: Ben- 
jamin, Jr., Jesse, Joel, Ezra, Sally, Clara, 
Mary, Amy, Hannah, and Susan. Mrs. 
Underwood died in 1879, and her husband 
passed away about five years later, his death 
occurring in the spring of 1884. He was a 
well-informed man, being a great reader, 
and held an honorable position in literary 
and social circles. William Underwood, 
the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Brown, was 
a son of Agilla Underwood, a native of 
England; his birth occurred in Massachu- 
setts, and for many years he was a minister 
of the Universalist Church, in Herkimer 
county. New York. 

In politics, Mr. Brown now affiliates 
with the Republican party, but formerly 
was a Democrat. For five years he served 
as a member of the school board, and is al- 
ways deeply interested in the cause of educa- 
tion, doing all in his power to advance the 
grade of schools in the community. He 
was also elected to the office of alderman of 
Merrill from the Fourth ward, and proved 
an efficient officer. For twenty years he has 
been connected with the I. O. O. F., in 
which he now holds the highest position, 
that of noble grand. He takes a lively in- 
terest in everything pertaining to the growth 
and prosperity of the county, where he is 
numbered among its best citizens. 



WILLIAM W. BRUNNER was born 
May 14, 1857, in Washington 
county, Wis., and is a son of Sam- 
uel H. Brunner, who was born 
east of the mountains in Pennsylvania. He 
(Samuel) was only twelve years of age at 
the time of his father's death, and was thus 
thrown upon his own resources. In his 
younger years he learned the tailor's trade, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



371 



which he afterward followed for some time 
in Philadelphia, Perm. He was married in 
the Keystone State to a yoiniK lady who 
was born in Schuylkill county, and later he 
engaged in merchandising, in hotel-keeping 
and in different lines of business, until his 
emigration westward. Two children had 
been born to them in the East, both of whom 
died in infancy. 

About the year 1855, Samuel Brunner 
and his wife removed to Washington county, 
Wis., and located upon a partially-improved 
farm, following farming from that time, al- 
though he had never before engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits. He made his homo in 
Washington county until his death, which 
occurred in November, 1891; his widow is 
still living on the old homestead farm, which 
he had left to her. Their children born in 
Wisconsin were William W. ; Andrew J., 
who resides on the home farm in Polk town- 
ship, Washington county; Anna, now Mrs. 
F. Uber, of the same county; Alvina, wife of 
C. Klose, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; Emma, now 
Mrs. Casper Hembel, living near Horicon, 
Wis., and Samuel, who died in infancy. 
The father was a stanch supporter of the 
Democratic party for whom he had great 
regard, and was a member of the Evangel- 
ical Church. Although he started out in life 
a poor boy, he became well-to-do, and was 
highly respected throughout the c<jmmunity 
in which he lived. 

William W. Brunner received the educa- 
tion which could be obtained in the connnon 
schools of that early day, and remained at 
home until si.xteen j'ears of age, when he be- 
gan working on neighboring farms. At the 
age of eighteen he commenced learning 
telegraphy at Jackson, Wis., on the line of 
the Chicago & North Western railroad. His 
first position of responsibility was at Sheri- 
dan, Wis., where he served as telegraph 
operator four years, beginning in 1880, then 
went to Theresa, Wis., on the same line of 
railroad, spending eight years in all in that 
business. 

On May 16, 1883, at Sheridan, Wis., 
Mr. Brunner married Miss Edna Penney, a 
native of Farmington township, Waupaca 
county, and a daughter of William Penney. 
In the spring of 1888, having decided to 



give up his profession, he bought of Clayton 
Rice 1 10 acres of land in Sections 7 and 8, 
Farmington township, where he has since 
made his home. Our subject and his wife 
have three children: Irving Le Roy, Mabel 
and Myron P., but lost their first-born, a 
son. Mr. Brunner has always been a sup- 
porter of the Republican party, has served 
as township clerk, and supervisor one term 
each, discharging his duties in a capable and 
satisfactory manner. He belongs to the 
Evangelical Church, is a good farmer and 
well-to-do man, popular with friends and 
neighbors, and is a public-spirited and pro- 
gressive citizen, one who" withholds his co- 
operation from no enterprise that is calcu- 
lated to prove of public benefit. 



JOHN SCHMITT, one of the success- 
ful business men of Stevens Point, was 
born in Prussia, Germany, November 
II, 1859. His grandparents, Gottlieb 
and Anna (Schoemer) Schmitt, were both 
natives of the same country, and there the 
father spent his entire life. He was a tailor 
by trade, in connection with which business 
he also followed dentistry, and there were 
several other doctors in the family. After 
his death his widow crossed the Atlantic to 
America, and spent her last days in Indiana; 
both passed away at an advanced age. The 
parents of our subject, Carl and Anna 
(Steuber) Schmitt, were natives of Ger- 
many, and the parents of three children: 
Peter, Carl and John. The father, who was 
a farmer by occupation, died when our sub- 
ject was only eight years of age. The 
mother afterward became the wife of Nick 
Knop, and their children were Nick, Anna 
and Mary, the last two being at home. In 
1 88 1 Mr. Knop brought the family to the 
United States, landing at Philadelphia, 
Penn., whence he came direct to Stevens 
Point, where he and his wife still reside. By 
vocation he was a farmer, following that 
pursuit until his emigration. 

When John Schmitt became a resident 
of Stevens Point he sought and obtained a 
situation with August Goerke, who at that 
time employed fifteen men. He continued 
his connection with that gentleman some 



372 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



ten years, and during the last three years 
was associated with him as a partner. In 
August, 1893, he withdrew from the firm to 
estabHsh a business of his own, and has 
since conducted it alone; his trade has stead- 
ily increased, and he now employs nine 
men. 

Like his parents, Mr. Schmitt is a mem- 
ber of the Catholic Church. In politics he 
is independent, preferring to give his entire 
time and attention to his business interests, 
in which he is meeting with a success that 
is well deserved. 



JACOB HANSON was born August 9, 
1850, in Denmark, and is a son of 
Hans Jensen, a farmer in comfortable 
circumstances who had a family of four 
sons that grew to mature years, the second 
son, Jacob, being the only one to come to 
America. 

Our subject was reared upon a farm and 
attended the common schools until fourteen 
years of age, when he began to earn his 
own living, working for neighboring farmers. 
He heard much of the privileges and oppor- 
tunities afforded young men in the United 
States, and wishing to test the truth of 
these reports, and secure a good home in 
America if possible, he left his native land 
April 27, 1867. Bidding adieu to home 
and friends, he sailed from Copenhagen to 
Hull, England, thence made his way by rail 
to Liverpool, where he took passage on a 
westward-bound vessel that reached Quebec 
after a voyage of seventeen days. From 
that place he went by rail to Oshkosh, Wis., 
by boat to Gill's Landing, and on foot came 
to Waupaca, where he had friends living. 
He was a stranger in a strange land, and 
could not speak one word of English; but 
he was willing to work at any employment 
that would yield him an honest living, and 
soon secured a position at cutting wood and 
slabs. He afterward worked for a j'ear 
and a half with a farmer in Portage county, 
Wis. ; but as his employer was Welsh and 
he was very anxious to learn the English 
language, he sought another position, where 
he could become familiar with the speech 



of the American people. He was thus em- 
ployed until his marriage. 

In 1876, in the city of Waupaca, he 
wedded Christina Peterson, a native of 
Denmark, who came to this country when a 
maiden of eleven summers. Her father, 
Peter Peterson, a farmer and fisherman by 
occupation, died in Denmark, and the 
mother afterward brought her family to the 
New World. Mr. Hanson spent the winter 
of 1873-4 in Waupaca, and in 1874 re- 
moved to a rented farm in Dayton town- 
ship. He lived upon two rented farms in 
that township, and in 1880 leased his pres- 
ent farm in Section 32, Farmington 
township, which he purchased in 1883, 
contracting thereby an indebtedness of $700. 
The buildings were all greatly in need of re- 
pair, and the land was poorly cultivated, 
but to-day he has a valuable property, free 
from all financial encumbrance, with well- 
tilled fields, a good residence, substantial 
outbuildings and the other accessories of a 
model farm of the nineteenth century. He 
came to this country twenty-six years ago 
with no capital save an undaunted courage 
and laudable ambition; but, self-reliant and 
hopeful, he has steadily worked his way up- 
ward to prosperity. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hanson have been 
born five children: Caroline A., Edward P., 
Mattie E., Emma E. and Elmer J., all at 
home. The parents hold membership with 
the Lutheran Church, and in his political 
views Mr. Hanson has alway-s been a Re- 
publican, never aspiring to office, however. 
He is the founder of his family in America, 
and his descendants in future years can 
point with pride to their progenitor, for he 
has lived an honorable and upright life. 



JOHN C. LEWIS is the senior member 
of the widely-known, enterprising firm 
of the J. C. Lewis Co., proprietors of 
a general hanlware, crockerj' and farm 
machinery establishment in Antigo, Langlade 
county, the leading store of the kind in the 
city, he being manager and treasurer. 

A native of Wisconsin, born July 8, 1856, 
in Columbia county, near the village of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



373 



Cambria, he is a son of Hugh O. Lewis, who 
first saw the light July 30, 1830, in North 
Wales at the village of Elynin, in the parish 
of Prysgau. Our subject's grandfather, a 
farmer by occupation, died in Wales, leav- 
ing two children — Lewis and Hugh O. — 
the elder of whom inherited the estate and 
is still living there, his surname being Rees, 
which his five children also bear. Hugh O. 
Lewis, father of our subject, learned the 
trade of blacksmith in his native land, and 
at the age of twenty-one came to the United 
States, where, in New York, he took up his 
residence, having friends there, and worked 
at his trade. In that city he married Miss 
Elizabeth Jones, who was born in Llanbedr, 
near Harlech, Merionethshire, May 13, 1827, 
daughter of John and Jane Jones, who both 
died in the land of the Cymri. Her father 
was a school teacher, and also held some 
government oiifice. His family consisted of 
one son — Robert, now a minister of the 
Gospel — and three daughters — Elizabeth, 
Jane and Ann — Elizabeth coming to America 
with friends. In the spring of 185G Hugh 
O. Lewis and his wife came to Wisconsin, 
for a short time sojourning in Columbia 
county, near Cambria, and then removing 
into Portage, same county, where he estab- 
lished a blacksmith shop and agricultural 
implement depot, which he carried on until 
1890, when he retired from business. His 
family numbered six children, as follows: 
Lewis H. (deceased in infancy), John C. , 
Hugh G. , Bennett R., Susie J. and Anna B. 
(now the wife of F. E. Moore, of Rhine- 
lander, Wis.) Politically, Hugh O. Lewis 
is a Republican, and for si.x years he served 
on the city board of Portage. In 1882 he 
paid a visit to his native Wales, and again 
in 1893, the first time alone, the second 
time accompanied by his wife and daughter. 
John C. Lewis, the subject proper of 
these lines, received his education at the 
common and high schools of Portage, from 
which latter he graduated at the age of six- 
teen years. He then commenced an ap- 
prenticeship at the tinner's trade with J. E. 
Wells & Co., Portage, in whose employ he 
remained six and one-half years — in all 
three years at Portage and three and one- 
half years at Waupaca. In September, 



1882, he caine to Antigo, and in company 
with his brother-in-law. Wallace H. Lord, 
opened a hardware store there, the business 
being incorporated as a stock company 
January 26, 1889, under the corporate name 
of The J. C. Lewis Co., Mr. Lewis being 
manager and treasurer. 

On November 2, 1881, Mr. Lewis was 
married at Waupaca to Miss Mattie Lord, 
of that city, daughter of George L. Lord, 
and the young couple then made their home 
in Merrill, Lincoln county, until moving to 
Antigo as above related. To this union 
have been born four children: Bessie E., 
J. Parish, Martha L. and Maelgwyn B. In 
his political preferences our subject has ever 
been a stanch Republican, and has always 
been prominently associated with the work 
of the party; he was supervisor the first 
year after the organization of Antigo as a 
city; served as county treasurer in 1887 and 
1888, and has liberally and loyally done his 
share toward the building up of the young 
city. His company owns a fine block where 
their business is located, and he owns a 
handsome residence and other real estate. 
Socially, he is a thirty-second degree Free- 
mason, and in Church relationship he and 
his amiable life partner are Episcopalians. 
The life of Mr. Lewis presents a striking 
example of industry and integrity, conducting 
to eminent success, and he commands and 
merits the general confidence and esteem of 
the community at large. 



AMUND OLSEN is the owner of one 
of the finest farms in New Hope 
township. Portage county, where he 
has resided for over forty years, hav- 
ing settled in the township when it was only 
a sparsely settled wilderness. 

Mr. Olsen is a native of Norway, born 
June 6, 1829, in Guldbrandsdal, son of Ole 
Johnson and Oster (Hansen), also natives of 
Norway, where Mr. Johnson followed farm- 
ing all his life. They reared a family of five 
children, as follows: John, a farmer in Nor- 
way; Mary, living in Salt Lake City, Utah; 
Bertha, deceased; Ole, in Christiania, Nor- 
way; and Amund, the subject proper of these 



374 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lines. The father of this family died about 
1834, at the age of fiftj'-five. 

Amund Olsen was reared to farming pur- 
suits in his native land, and was married 
there, in 1845, to Mary Oleson, who was 
born in Norway, March 22, 1833, daughter 
of Ole and Allie fKnutsen) Nelson. This 
union has been blessed with children as fol- 
lows, the three first named having been born 
in Norway: Ole, who married Anna Aslak, 
and lives on a farm in Minnesota; Edwin, 
who died in New Hope township. Portage 
Co., Wis., at the age of twenty-seven; Anna, 
who married John Waller, and died in the 
State of Washington; Mary, married and 
living in Chicago; Benjamin, a farmer in the 
State of Washington; Mina, Mrs. John Lee, 
living at home; Albert, at home; and John, 
who died at the age of seven. In the spring 
of 1853, with his wife and family — then con- 
sisting of three children — Mr. Olsen em- 
barked on the sailing vessel "Argus," bound 
for Quebec, Canada, where they landed 
after a nine-weeks' voyage. Coming directly 
to New Hope township. Portage Co., Wis., 
he purchased eighty acres of new land, on 
which he built a log house, and he had his 
residence there until 1883, when he disposed 
of the property. During these years he was 
busily engaged clearing and cultivating his 
farm, the area of which he has increased by 
subsequent purchase to 240 acres, with good 
buildings and various other improvements. 
On selling this farm he invested in 160 acres 
of partly cleared land lying in Sections 2 and 
3, New Hope township, where he has since 
had his home. Mr. Olsen has worked in 
the woods for thirteen winters, and for nine 
seasons he "ran the river," at times going 
as far south as St. Louis, Mo. He is what 
we may truly call a self-made man, for after 
paying passage money for himself and family 
to America he had but forty dollars with 
which to commence life on. Now he has a 
comfortable home and a productive farm, 
well situated and equipped with good build- 
ings, and he is highly respected by all who 
know him as an honest, hard-working man, 
one who deserves the success which has at- 
tended him. In religious faith Mr. and Mrs. 
Olsen are Lutherans, being members of the 
Norwegian Lutheran Church at New Hope. 



CAPTAIN C. CALDWELL. One of 
the best known citizens of Waupaca 
county, and one whose name is 
familiar throughout the State of 
Wisconsin, is Capt. C. Caldwell, for over 
seven years superintendent of the Wisconsin 
Veterans Home, which is a most creditable 
State institution, and the pride of the G. A. 
R. It is sitLiated in Farmington township. 
Capt. Caldwell has been pitjneer, soldier, 
legislator, county official and farmer, and, 
in whatever sphere of public or private serv- 
ice his life has been cast, his actions have 
not only been above reproach, but signally 
meritorious, highly creditable to himself and 
pleasing beyond degree both to the public 
at large and to his own immediate constit- 
uents. He has had the happy faculty of 
retaining a wide popularity, and in the 
management of the Home has displayed 
notable efficiency. 

Since the age of six years he has been a 
resident of Wisconsin, and, since nineteen, 
of Waupaca county. He was born in Char- 
lotte township, Chautauqua Co., N. Y. , 
September 25, 1830, son of Tyler C. and 
Mary (Warner) Caldwell, both natives of 
Rutland county, Vt. , where Tyler was born 
July II, 1798, son of Benjamin Caldwell, 
and Mary, his wife, the daughter of Capt. 
Warner (of the war of 1 8 1 2), born October 9. 
1804. Tyler and Mary Caldwell were mar- 
ried in Vermont, and subsequently migrated 
to Chautauqua county, N. Y. Their chil- 
dren were as follows: Columbia, who mar- 
ried Stephen P. Thresher, and died in 
California; Capt. C, subject of this sketch; 
Marietta, widow of Harvey S. Bowers, of 
Dayton township, Waupaca county; Sophia, 
who married George Campbell, and died in 
California; Emily, who was the wife of 
Augustus Chandler, and died in lola town- 
ship, Waupaca county; Harrison and Tyler 
(twinsj, who died in infancy. 

In 1835 Tyler C. Caldwell made a pre- 
liminary trip from his home in Chautauqua 
county, N. Y. , to Wisconsin, with a view of 
settling in that distant Territory. The 
same year his brother, Joseph Caldwell, had 
driven by team from his old home in Ver- 
mont to Wisconsin. Tyler met him at Ra- 
cine, and together the brothers took up the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



37: 



first claims in what has since that time been 
known as '• Caldwell's Prairie," in Kacine 
county. Returning home, Tyler Caldwell 
in the following spring moved his family 
west, coming by boat from Buffalo to Keno- 
sha, Wis., near which place the family lived 
for a time. This flourishing city was then 
a little settlement of three houses. Three 
years later the family removed up the Fo.x 
river to Rochester township, Racine county. 
Here they lived for ten jears, and here Mr. 
Caldwell by contract built the first bridge 
over the Fo.x ri\er, on the road from Ra- 
cine to Janesville. In 1850 the pioneer 
family again moved northward, this time on 
a long and perilous journey, past the out- 
posts of civilization. By team they drove 
through the forests from Racine county to 
Waupaca county, and settled on what is 
now Section 22, Lind township. The land 
had not yet been surveyed by the govern- 
ment, and in building cabins and making 
clearings the pioneers were obliged to trust 
to Providence that section lines and roads 
would not interfere with the primitive habi- 
tations. ^^'hen Waupaca county was first 
organized, in 185 1, Tyler C. Caldwell was 
elected chairman of the town board, and in 
that capacity helped to divide the county 
into eight road districts, and to organize 
various towns. He was a prominent pio- 
neer. Desiring to revisit his aged mother 
and the scenes of his childhood, he took a 
trip to Vermont in January, 1861, and a 
week after his arrival died in the home in 
which he was born. His mother lived to 
the age of loi years, and his widow died in 
F"ebruary, 1888, at the age of eighty-four 
years. Tjler Caldwell was a Whig in poli- 
tics, later a Republican, voting for John C. 
Fremont. He was a great admirer of Henry 
Clay and Daniel Webster. 

Capt. C. Caldwell at the age of eight 
years began driving a yoke of cattle, break- 
ing the primitive prairie, receiving $10 per 
month for his services. For thirteen sum- 
mers he followed this occupation. He 
reached Waupaca on his first visit October 
28, 1849, coming up the river by skiff from 
\\'inneconne. His opportunities for educa- 
tion were meager, and his youth was em- 
ployed clearing land, making shingles, and 

24 



occasionally in shooting deer, prairie 
chickens and other game in which the coun- 
try abounded. In February, 1852, with his 
brother-in-law, Stephen P. Thresher, he 
started for California by the new overland 
route, crossing the Missouri river May i i , 
reaching California July 28. For seven 
years he remained on the coast, engaged in 
gold mining and other pursuits. Returning 
to Wisconsin, in 1859, via the Isthmus and 
New York City, he resumed farming in Lind 
township. He was married at Weyauwega, 
November 21, 1861, to Mary L. Taggart, a 
native of New York and daughter of George 
W. Taggart, who, in 1837, migrated to 
Racine county. Wis., and about 1850 set- 
tled in Waupaca county. 

On December 6, i86r, he enlisted in 
Company M, First Wisconsin Cavalry, a 
company which he was largely instrumental 
in raising. The regiment was ordered to 
Missouri, and first saw active service at 
Cape Girardeau, Mo., and the first active 
engagement at Chalk Bluffs, Mo., May 15, 
1862. It did efficient service in ridding 
Missouri and Arkansas of the bushwhackers 
which overran that country during the 
earlier years of the war. In Missouri Private 
Caldwell was commissioned quartermaster 
of the regiment, and when it was ordered to 
join Gen. Rosecrans' army at Mufreesboro, 
Tenn., in the fall of 1862, he had received 
his commission as second lieutenant. Par- 
ticipating in the campaign about Murfrees- 
boro, the regiment accompanied the army 
on to Chickamauga, and after the battle 
there it recrossed the river into Tennessee 
and proceeded toward Knoxville. In Oc- 
tober, 1863, Capt. Caldwell was taken sick, 
and after a week spent in the Nashville hos- 
pital was sent home "to die, " arriving in 
November. But by March i, 1864, he had 
sufficiently recovered to return to his regi- 
ment, rejoining it at Cleveland, Tenn., 
March 20; while in charge of twenty-five 
men on detached duty he and nineteen of 
his little squad were captured on the 
" Ducktown road," twelve miles east of 
Cleveland, by Gen. Wheeler, now member 
of Congress from Alabama, and then in 
command of Rebel cavalry. He was sent 
to Andersonville, then to jail at Macon, Ga., 



376 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



thence to Savannah, one and a half miles, 
thence to Charleston, S. C, where they were 
put under fire while the Union army was 
shellinj; the city; then to Columbia, S. C, 
Raleigh, N. C and Goldsboro, remaining 
a prisoner until exchanged, March i, 1865. 
The day after his capture his commission as 
captain arrived at tfie regiment headquar- 
ters. He had been acting captain for some 
time, but never served activel}' under his 
commission. Imprisonment and the treat- 
ment received in confinement so broke down 
his health that what had been a fine speci- 
men of humanity, six feet one inch in height, 
190 pounds in weight, was a weak emaciated 
being, unable to even walk. Capt. Cald- 
well was sent home on a thirty-days' fur- 
lough, after spending two weeks at Annap- 
olis, Md., and while he was still in Lind 
township Richmond fell and the war was 
practically over. He was honorably dis- 
charged from Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, 
May 15, 1865. Though in many battles, 
Capt. Caldwell was never wounded, but his 
health, by sickness and subsequent imprison- 
ment, had been completely shattered. 

Returning to his farm in Lind township, 
he superintended its operation, though him- 
self physically unable to work. His fellow 
citizens soon honored him with a number of 
important offices. For two j'ears he was 
clerk of Lind township, and for the same 
period member of the school board. He 
was elected register of deeds of Waupaca 
county in 1867, and while serving in that 
capacity he was also elected a member of 
Waupaca's city council. In 1870, he was 
elected assessor of Waupaca city and 
township. Returning to Lind township, 
in 1 87 1, he partially resumed farm- 
ing, though still not rugged in health, 
serving two terms as chairman. In 1872, 
and again in T873, he was elected to the 
Wisconsin Legislature. In 1 880 he was 
member of a building committee of five ap- 
pointed by the Waupaca city council to 
erect the court house which was completed 
two years later. In the fall of 1S82 he was 
elected superintendent of the county poor by 
the county board, and removed to the 
County Infirmary. He served here five 
years, lacking one month, when he resigned, 



December i, 1887, to accept his present 
position as superintendent of the Wisconsin 
\'eterans Home. 

The children of Capt. Caldwell by his 
first wife are Minnie L. , a school teacher at 
Baraboo, Wis., and Ida S., a clerk, at 
home. Mrs. Caldwell died January 6, 
1 866, and for his second wife he married 
her sister, Ida J. Taggart, the children by 
this marriage being George T., an electri- 
cian; Warner F. , of Saxeville, \\'aushara 
county; Otis L. , an engineer and electri- 
cian; Beatrix L. , attending school at New 
London; and Eunice, at home. Mrs. Cald- 
well is the very successful matron of the 
Veterans Home. Capt. Caldwell is a Re- 
publican in politics, and from his long ca- 
reer in public life he has made a wide ac- 
quaintanceship throughout the county. He 
is prominent in G. A. R. circles, and to his 
children he has gi\en exceptional education- 
al advantages. Public-spirited, genial, able, 
he is an honor to the county and to the 
State which he now officially and humanely 
represents. 



DAVID MORGAN. Those who win 
for themselves success through hon- 
orable business dealings, persever- 
ance and enterprise are the men to 
whom a county owes its prosperity and pro- 
gress, and such an one is the subject of this 
memoir. A native of Sheboygan county, 
Wis., he was born April i, 1852, and is a 
son of William and Elizabeth (Reynolds) 
Morgan, both of whom were natives of Ire- 
land, in which countr\' they became the 
parents of one child, Thomas. With their 
little son they crossed the ocean to Canada, 
and about 1850 removed to Sheboygan 
county. Wis., where thej' li\ed on a farm 
until their removal to Manitowoc county. 
They afterward spent one j'ear in Calumet 
county, where in the spring of 1861 William 
Morgan enlisted in the Union army as a 
member of Company K, Fourth Wis. V. I. 
Being taken sick he started home, but at 
Fond du Lac became suddenly worse and 
there died. His remains were interred in 
the cemetery at Chilton, Calumet county. 
He left a widow, three daughters and four 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



377 



sons, the eldest two sons being at that time 
ill the army. A brief record of his children 
is as follows; Thomas is now a farmer of 
Portage county, Wis. ; William died, in 
1S89, in California, whither he had gone for 
his health: Ellen became the wife of Frank 
Powers, and died in Wausau, Wis. ; Rey- 
nolds died at the age of twenty-one; Mary 
Ann is the deceased wife of Ed Ross, of 
Farmington township; Elizabeth is the wife 
of D. A. Ross, of Waupaca, Wisconsin. 

At the time of the father's death the 
family lived on a small farm in Calumet 
county, and during the mother's lifetime she 
kept the children at home; but in 1865 she 
was called to her final rest, and was interred 
by the side of her husband. He was a Re- 
publican in politics, and they were Presby- 
terians in religious belief. The children thus 
left without father or mother were kindly 
taken care of by neighboring families. After 
his father's death, David, then only eleven 
years old, cared for the farm, and in conse- 
quence his educational privileges were very 
limited, he attending only the common coun- 
try schools. After his mother's death he 
went to live with George Oram, a farmer, 
with whom he remained two years, and the 
winter before he was fourteen years of age 
he was employed in the lumber regions. 
Each winter was thus passed for some time, 
and in summer months he engaged in farm 
work, thus securing a start in life. 

On December 9, 1873, in Portage 
county, near Stevens Point, Mr. Morgan was 
united in marriage with Phoebe Ross, a na- 
tive of Jefferson county, N. Y., and a daugh- 
ter of Amasa Ross, one of the early settlers 
of Farmington township, Waupaca county. 
Near Mill Creek in Portage county, Mr. 
Morgan established his young wife in their 
new home, and there worked in sawmills 
until the fall of 1875, when he purchased in 
Section 18, Farmington township, eighty 
acres of land, only twenty of which were 
cleared. For many winters after that he 
continued to work in the lumber regions, in 
the summer months clearing and developing 
his farm, and since 1 888 has devoted his 
entire attention to agricultural pursuits. He 
now owns 120 acres of valuable land, ninety 
of which is highly cultivated, and upon the 



place are good buildings and many other 
improvements which were placed there by 
the owner. The delightful home is situated 
on an elevation, which commands a view 
for miles around, and it is brightened by the 
presence of two children, Jennie, born Sep- 
tember 3, 1883, and William D., born 
October 21, 1885. Mr. Morgan always sup- 
ports the I'^epublican party by his ballot, 
and is a charter member of Tent No. 7, 
K. M. of Sheridan. 



HENRY H. WILKE, one of the 
leading business men of Waupaca 
county, is carrying on a furniture 
and undertaking establishment in 
Clintonville. He erected a good, two- 
story brick-veenered block, 26 .\ 95 feet, in 
1889, the upper portion of which is used as 
the Masonic Hall, while in the lower story 
he carries on business, and has a full and 
complete line of everything found in a first- 
class establishment of the kind. He came 
to Clintonville in 1887, and was first en- 
gaged in painting and paper hanging, but 
shortly afterward opened his present store. 
Mr. Wilke was born in Ashford town- 
ship. Fond du Lac Co., Wis., in 1857, 
and is a son of Christian and Maggie 
(Kirbel) Wilke. The father is a native of 
Prussia, and his parents, William and Min- 
nie Wilke, were of the same nativit}-, emi- 
grating to America in 1848, and coming to 
Fond du Lac county. Wis., where they set- 
tled on land in the midst of the wilderness, 
opening up a farm, where they made their 
home until their death, the father dying in 
1864, the mother in 1850. Christian \\'ilke 
was an only child, and was but seventeen 
years of age on his arrival in Wisconsin. 
He was married in Fond du Lac county, 
where his wife had been reared, though she 
was a native of Hesse, Germany, and had 
migrated to that county with her father, 
who was one of its first settlers. To Mr. 
and Mrs. W'ilke were born eight children: 
Mary, who died in 1891, in Washington 
county. Wis. (she was the wife of Charley 
Rhinehartl; Henry H., our subject; Katie, 
wife of John Chantz, of New London, 
Wis. ; Christian, who died in February. 



378 



COMMEXORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1894, at New London; Minnie and Yetto, 
both at home; Willie, married and living in 
New London; and Charley, carrying on the 
home farm. 

The early life of Henry H. Wilke was 
passed in Fond du Lac county. Wis., where 
he received his edncation in the schools of 
Ashford township, and there learned the 
trade of painting and paper hanging. He 
afterward went to Plymouth, Wis., where 
he engaged in carriage paintmg, which trade 
he followed for about fourteen years in I'ond 
•du Lac county. After coming to Clinton- 
ville, he had a partner, Richard Korb, for a 
time in the furniture business, but since 1891 
has been alone. In 1887 he was married in 
Auburn township. Fond du Lac Co., Wis., 
to Miss Emma Pearschber, a native of that 
township, and a daughter of John and 

(Bohlan) Pearschber, who were born 

in Hesse, Germany, becoming early pion- 
eers of Fond du Lac county. The father 
enlisted in that county for the Civil war, 
serving some time, and on the old home 
farm he and his wife now reside. The union 
of our subject has been blessed with two 
children: Gracie and John Herbert. 

Mr. Wilke is one of the honored nati\e 
sons of Wisconsin, and has seen its develop- 
ment from an almost unbroken wilderness 
until it now ranks among the leading States 
of the Union. He is a I^epublican in politics, 
and holds membership with Clintonville 
Lodge, No. 197, F. & A. M., with Clinton- 
ville Lodge, No. 314, I. O. O. F., of which 
he has served as treasurer, and also with the 
Modern Woodmen of America. Mrs. Wilke 
is a consistent member of and active worker 
in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our 
subject is prompt and reliable in business 
transactions, and has won the respect and 
confidence of the people of Clintonville and 
vicinity. 



HENRY SALES, one of the most 
highly respected citi;:ens of Merrill, 
Lincoln countj', is prominently con- 
nected with one of the leading busi- 
ness interests of the State — that of lumber- 
ing. He was born in Yorkshire, England, 
May 10. 1839, and is a son of Zachariah 



and Elizabeth (Alsapj Sales, who were na- 
tives of the same country, and parents of 
the following children : Elizabeth, George, 
Samuel, Zachariah, Charles, Rebecca and 
Henry. In 1845, accompanied b\' their 
famil}', Zachariah and his wife crossed the 
Atlantic to Canada, settling in Ontario, 
where the father secured a farm. There 
the parents spent their remaining days, the 
mother .passing away in 1849, the father 
in 1S55. 

Henry Sales remained at home until his 
parents' death, working with his father, who 
was a carpenter b}- trade. His educational 
advantages were verj' limited, and his other 
privileges were somewhat meager. In 1856 
he became a resident of the village of Jen- 
nie (now Merrill), \\'is., which at that time 
contained but one mill and a country store. 
Here he secured employment in the lumber 
woods during the winter season, and in the 
summer months was employed in the mills ; 
also worked as a pilot on the river, for all 
lumber was then floated down stream to the 
Mississippi. He continued in the emplo}' of 
one firm for nine years, logging and running 
lumber on the river, and each winter since 
his arrival until the season of 1894-95 has 
found him in the lumber camps. During 
the past three winters he has been connected 
in business with Mr. Finn. He has often 
employed as many as one hundred men, and 
his opinions concerning lumbering arc re- 
cei\ed as authorit}'. 

In Merrill, in 1865, Mr. Sales was united 
in marriage with Miss Ellen Herman, who 
was born in Norway in 1844, daughter of 
Herman and Doroth}' Oleson, who had a 
family of five children : Anna, Ole, Ellen, 
Peter and Herman. The father, who is a 
farmer, in 1862 brought his farnih- to 
America, locating upon a farm in Waupaca 
county. Wis., where he yet makes his home. 
Mr. and Mrs. Sales have one child, George 
Henry, who is living with them. He mar- 
ried Nellie Gillmartin, who was born in 
Ripon, ^^'is. , and is a daughter of Mark and 
Catherine (Cone) Gillmartin, who were born, 
reared and married in Ireland. They be- 
came the parents of six children : James, 
Maggie, Sarah, Catherine, Nellie and Rose. 
The father of this family ser\ed four years 



COM}fEMOnATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL SECORD. 



379 



in the Union army during the Civil war, and 
died in 1880. His widow is still living. 
George Henry Sales has one child, Bessie. 
The subject of this sketch also has an 
adopted daughter, Nellie, who came to them 
when a little child of si.x summers, and has 
been an inmate of their home for fourteen 
years. 

Mr. Sales owns a fine residence one mile 
from Merrill, a commodious brick structure 
which is situated in the midst of a valuable 
farm of eighty acres. He holds member- 
ship with the I. O. O. F. ; in politics is a 
Republican, and has served for six years 
as chairman of the county board of super- 
visors, yet has never been an office seeker, 
preferring to devote his time and attention 
to his business interests, in which he has 
met with K'ood success. 



GEORGE W. RILEY is the owner 
of a valuable farm of 200 acres in 
Section 23, Dayton township, Wau- 
paca county. He possesses good 
business ability, and his successful manage- 
ment of affairs has made him one of the 
substantial farmers of the community. Much 
of the land is under a high state of cultiva- 
tion, the place is divided into fields of con- 
venient size, and good buildings add to its 
value and thrifty appearance. 

Penn.sylvania claims Mr. Kilej- as her 
son, his birth having occurred in Luzerne 
county, March 3, 1847. He is the eldest 
son and sixth child in the family of Elijah 
and Mary (Horton) Riley, and during his 
boyhood he accompanied his parents on 
their emigration to Wisconsin. In the usual 
manner of farmer lads he was reared to 
manhood, beginning work in the fields as 
soon as he was old enough to follow the 
plow. To his father he gave the benefit of 
his services until twenty years of age, when 
he went to the lumber woods and carried on 
operations along that line for thirteen con- 
secutive winters, also " running the river," 
going down the Wisconsin and Mississippi. 
During the first season he was acknowledged 
to be an expert at this hazardous task, but 
it is characteristic of Mr. Riley that what- 
ever he does, he does well. 



On October 26, 1879, in Dayton town- 
ship, was George W. Riley married to Mit- 
tie Lewis, who was born July 4, 1862, 
daughter of Alonzo and Harriet (Clark) 
Lewis. Her father, a farmer by occupa- 
tion, claimed \'ermont as the State of his 
nativity, and died in Waupaca county, April 
30, 1888, his remains being interred in Crys- 
tal Lake Cemetery. His widow has since 
married James W. Barker, and is now liv- 
ing in Lind township, Waupaca county. 
Mr. and Mrs. Riley have one son, Clarence 
A., born July 22. 1881. 

At the time of his marriage our subject 
owned eighty acres of land near Eatons 
Corners, and in March. 1886, he removed 
to a farm of 160 acres in Section 23, Day- 
ton township. Later he disposed of a part 
i of this, but afterward bought until he now 
j has 200 acres, and with the exception of two 
j winters spent at lumbering and on the river, 
has continuously followed farming. In his 
i political affiliations he is a stalwart Repub- 
j lican, and with the school interests of the 
community has been officially connected. 
The architect of his own fortunes, he has 
built wisely and well, and has reared to his 
credit a monument of prosperity. 



JOHN TYRRELL was born November 
25, 1855, in Cleveland, Ohio, and is a 
son of John and Mary (Le Grue) Tyr- 
rell, and a younger brother of George 
Tyrrell, also a farmer of Bear Creek town- 
ship, Waupaca county. 

Our subject lived at home up to the age 
of twenty years, or until after the family 
had located in Bear Creek township. He 
engaged in the woods as a teamster, driving 
cattle, and followed that work for seventeen 
winters, from the time he was fourteen 
years of age. When fourteen he cut 1 50 
cedar posts in a day — in fact did a man's 
work, and for five springs he followed the 
business of cook on the river. On June i, 
1878, John Tyrrell was united in marriage 
with Clara Bennett, daughter of John Ben- 
nett, a hotelkeeper of lola. Wis. After his 
marriage Mr. Tyrrell remained at home with 
his father five months, then went to New 
London, Waupaca county, and worked in 



38o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the woods during' the winter, after which he 
was cook for his brother George. After re- 
maining at New London six months he re- 
turned and built a house on his father's 
farm, where he hved, however, but six 
months. He then went to Marshall, Minn., 
and engaged with his brother-in-law, Lou 
Cram. Remaining there one year, he re- 
turned home and went to work on his 
father's farm, cutting cedar timber and tele- 
graph poles. Again he went as cook on 
the river, and followetl this occupation until 
1885. 

In 1 88 1, while at Marshall, Minn., Mr. 
Tyrrell was separated from his first wife, and 
April 30, 1887, he was married, in Minne- 
sota, to Maggie Clever. They returned to 
Bear Creek, Waupaca county, together, 
and he was employed by his father one year 
farming and threshing. Then he went to 
Council Bluffs, Iowa, remained one year, 
returned and \\as employed in the woods 
again one winter. For the next three years 
he worked a farm on shares, and in 1893 
bought of C. A. Davis, for three thousand 
five hundred dollars, eighty acres of im- 
proved land, with good buildings. He has 
two children: Leta, born April 24, 1891, 
and a son, born February 14, 1894. Po- 
litically Mr. Tyrrell has always supported 
the Republican party, and he was elected 
justice of the peace in the spring of 1894. 



SAMUEL V. WILMOT is one of the 
honored pioneers of Portage county, 
and is familiar with its history from 
the days when this was a frontier 
settlement, its lands wild and unimproved 
and its few homes widely scattered. In the 
work of progress and upbuilding he has al- 
ways borne his part, and well does he de- 
serve mention among the founders of the 
county. 

Mr. Wilmot was born in Tioga township, 
Tioga Co., Penn., January 15, 1821, and is 
a son of Uriah and Delilah (Cook) Wilmot. 
His father was born in the town of Farm- 
ington, Hartford Co., Conn., September 20, 
1786, and at the age of seventeen started 
with a horse and cart, traveling through 
New York and the Southern States, selling 



notions, being generally called by his cus- 
tomers "the Yankee Peddler." In his 
travels through New York, he became ac- 
quainted with the lady whom he afterward 
married. They located upon a farm in Tioga 
county, Penn., and when war broke out, in 
connection with his father-in-law, he en- 
listed under Gen. William Henry Harrison, 
doing duty in northern New York, Ohio and 
Indiana. In 1821 he located with his family 
in Tioga township, Tioga Co., Penn., where 
he engaged in farming and in operating a 
sawmill until 1843, when he emigrated to 
Boone county. 111. , accompanied by his son, 
Samuel, and his family. In July, 1844, the 
others of the family came to the West, and 
in 1853 Uriah Wilmot settled in Portage 
county. Wis., securing eight}' acres of land 
in Section 34, Amherst township, with a land 
warrant that was granted him by the gov- 
ernment for services rendered in the war of 
181 2. There he lived until his death which 
occurred in i860; his wife died on the old 
home farm in 1858. Their children were 
Amanda, widow of Edward Wright and the 
mother of eight children; David, who wed- 
ded Marj' Jane Allen, and is now beceased; 
Eliza, who became the wife of David Allen, 
and both are now deceased; Phcebe, de- 
ceased wife of Chauncey German, of Michi- 
gan, b}' whom she had thirteen children, 
twelve of them reaching mature years; 
Samuel \'. , subject of sketch; George (de- 
ceased), married to Caroline White, who is 
now living in Merrill, Wis., and has five 
children born of their union; Joel, who died 
in Pennsylvania in boyhood; John, who mar- 
ried Maria Rockefeller, and is living with his 
wife and four children in Amherst, Wis. ; 
Hester A. (ij, who died in childhood; and 
Hester A. (2), now the wife of Irvin Pike, 
of Stevens Point, Wis., by whom she has 
three children. 

The educational privileges of Samuel \'. 
Wilmot were very limited, he attending the 
district school in his native town during the 
winter of 1840-1. His father's famih' was 
large and their means limited, so at the age 
of si.\ he went to live with his grandfather 
Cook, with whom he remained until sixteen 
years of age, when he ran away and joined 
the circus that had been giving a perform- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



3S1 



ance in Jackson, Penn. Beingagreat "tumb- 
ler " and good acrobat, he easily secured 
an engagement, but not satisfied with that 
life after a week he returned to his grand- 
father. A few weeks later he went to Itha- 
ca, N. Y. , and engaged as a coachman with 
a retired New York merchant who had built 
a summer home in that town, receiving $10 
per month. A year later he returned to 
Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the 
lumber business on a small scale until his 
marriage, with the exception of two winters 
spent in school. 

In Jackson, Tioga Co., Penn., October 
6, 1842, Mr. Wilmot wedded Miss Emily 
Wylie, daughter of David and Elizabeth 
fjarvis) Wylie, the former a native of Penn- 
sylvania, the later of Canada, both now de- 
ceased. The grandparents, Simon and 
Elizabeth (Buck) Wylie, were of Scotch de- 
scent, and the former served in the Revolu- 
tionary war. David Wylie was a farmer, 
and by his marriage had the following chil- 
dren: Caroline and Wilhelmina (twins), 
Emily, Millicent and Donald. After the 
death of the father the mother married 
Melancton Wylie. brother of her first hus- 
band, and their children were Mary, Lydia 
and Frank. 

Upon his marriage, Mr. Wilmot pur- 
chased I 50 acres of land, eighteen of which 
were cleared; but after a time it was proved 
that this property reall}' belonged to some 
English gentlemen and not to the one of 
whom he had bought, and he had to pay for 
it a second time. He operated that farm 
until 1843, when, with his family, he started 
by wagon to Buffalo, thence went by water 
to Chicago, where he hired a team and 
wagon to convey his household effects to 
Boone county. 111. The mud was so bad 
around Chicago that the men of the party 
had to carry the ladies, crossing their hands 
in "chair fashion," and stopping to rest 
whenever they reached a dry spot. On 
reaching his destination, Mr. Wilmot, in 
order to pay for his team, was forced to sell 
a rifle, for which he had paid $25, receiving 
only $10 for it. He worked on a farm until 
February, 1845, when he went to Stevens 
Point, Wis., at that time containing only 
one house. There he left his wife, while 



he went further north and engaged in 
making shingles. In March she returned 
to her father's family in Illinois, and Mr. 
Wilmot joined her in June, there continuing 
until February, 1850, when he purchased a 
farm of 160 acres in Section 34, Amherst 
township. Portage Co., W^is. In July he 
brought his family to Portage count}', and 
here began life in earnest. He added to his 
original purchase forty acres, and soon trans- 
formed his land into a rich and valuable 
farm. Mr. Wilmot's maternal grandfather 
and great-grandfather were Revolutionary 
soldiers, the former entering the army at the 
age of si.xteen, while the latter served as 
one of Gen. Washington's bod}' guards. 
^^'ith the blood of these heroes flowing in 
his veins, the spirit of patriotism \\as aroused 
in Mr. Wilmot when the South threatened 
secession, and in 1861 he joined the Third 
Wisconsin Cavalry; his foot, however, 
had been injured in a threshing machine 
in Illinois, and in consequence he was not 
accepted for service, but his loyalty to the 
Union was never questioned. 

A brief record of the children of our 
subject is as follows: Elizabeth, born 
August 6, 1845, married Christian Morse, 
now deceased, and they had three children 
• — Bertha, Charles and Samuel (she is 
now living with her second husband, Hayes 
Aldridge, in Amherst, and their children arc 
Raymond and Chester); Wilhelmina, born 
May 29, 1849, became the wife of Asa 
Penny, and their children were Irene, Floyd, 
Le Roy and Minnie (after the death of 
her first husband she married Henry Clin- 
ton, and they are now living in Amherst 
Junction): Mary E., born July 31, 1854, 
was the wife of George Mitchell, of Amherst, 
and died leaving one son, Harr}-; Frank M.. 
died in infancy; Walter, born June 6, 1857. 
married Lindy Penny, and their children are 
Harry, Elida, Bessie, Myrl, Kitty and Nellie; 
Arthur, born August 20, 1861, married 
Millie Olson, and with their children — 
Glenn, L. Earle and Genevieve — they live 
with his parents; Frank M., is deceased; 
Fred, born June 20, 1873, died February 4, 
1882. 

Mr. Wilmot served as town treasurer in 
1853 and 1854, the first time taxes were 



382 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



collected in Amherst township, was consta- 
ble in 1855, and for a number of years has 
served on the school board. In politics he 
is a Republican. In early life he and his 
wife held membership with the Methodist 
Church, but are now members of the United 
Brethern Church. He has lived in harmony 
with his professions, is honorable and up- 
right, and his many excellencies of character 
have gained for him the confidence and 
esteem of a large circle of friends. 



M 



.\THIAS WAGNER was born 
March 22, 1852. in Kempfeld, 
Prussia, in the Rhine Province of 
Germany, and is a son of Freder- 
ick and Elizabeth (Neisusj Wagnet The 
father was a weaver by trade, and thus sup- 
ported his family, which numbered eleven 
sons and one daughter. The parents both 
died in their native land. Our subject, who 
is the youngest child in the family, attended 
the public schools until fourteen years of 
age, when he began learning the trade of a 
brewer, which he followed for one year and 
eleven months. He then concluded to give 
up the business and come to the United 
States, where he hoped to better his financial 
condition and secure a good home. He had 
already saved some money, but being in his 
minority could not get possession of it, so 
his foreman advanced him the necessary 
sum, taking his back wages as security. 

On April 22, 1868, Mr. Wagner bade 
good-by to home and friends, and from 
Liverpool took passage on a steamer bound 
for New York, where he arrived si.xteen days 
later. Washington county. Wis., was his 
destination, his two brothers, William and 
Philip, being located there. At Young 
America he worked at the blacksmith's trade 
for two years, learning the business. When 
he arriveci here he had no capital, save a 
strong heart and a pair of willing hands, 
and could- not speak a word of English. 
When he had learned the business he fol- 
lowed blacksmithing a year, and upon the 
death of his brother William he found him- 
self in charge of the shop. He remained 
in Young America until 1873, and then went 
to Milwaukee, where he worked at his trade 



in the ship shops for some six months, re- 
moving then to Barton, Washington county, 
where his brother Philip had located in the 
meantime. There he was employed until 
1874, when he went to Peoria, 111., and car- 
ried on blacksmithing until April, returning 
then to Barton. The Chicago & North 
Western railroad had just been completed, 
and looking for a favorable opening along 
its line, Mr. Wagner at length bought a lot 
and built a smithy at Fond du Lac. He 
had no capital, but his credit was good, and 
he was even forced to borrow $5 to buy his 
tools. For over four years he successfully 
conducted his shop there. 

During this time Mr. Wagner was mar- 
ried in Campbellsport, Wis., July 22, 1876, 
to Miss Mar}' Meyer, who was born in Fond 
du Lac county, daughter of Philip Meyer, a 
farmer. In 1878 he sold out and removed 
his family to Bonduel, Shawano county, 
where he has since successfully engaged in 
business. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Wag- 
ner has been blessed with nine children: 
Annie (who is serving as postmistress at 
Bonduel), Matilda, Mathias, Adolph, Willie 
and Mary, at home; Christian, who died in 
infancy; Oscar at home; and Arthur, \vho 
died at the age of two and a half years. In 
1880 Mr. Wagner erected a tasty and com- 
modious brick residence near his shop, and 
there lived happil}' until November 28, 1894, 
when his elegant home, his barn, black- 
smith shop, wagon shop and wood shed 
were all destroyed by fire, causing a loss of 
about seven thousand dollars. Thus the 
accumulated savings of many years were 
swept awa}- within a few minutes. Many 
another man of less resolute purpose would 
have been discouraged, but with the same 
cheerful and courageous spirit that has al- 
ways characterized him, Mr. Wagner began 
to rebuild and to retrieve his lost posses- 
sions. In 1890, in partnership with Theo 
Meyer, he built a steam fiouring-mill, in 
which he still retains an interest. He is a 
man of good business and executive ability, 
and by his fair and honorable dealing has 
won a reputation of which he may be justly 
proud. 

Politicall)', Mr. Wagner has always been 
a Democrat, and a stanch supporter of the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



383; 



party principles. He was appointed post- 
master at Bonduel, and the building erected 
purposely to serve as an office was destroyed 
by fire with his other property. He then 
erected the one in which the post office is 
now located. He has for some time served 
as school director, and takes a deep interest 
in everything pertaining to the advancement 
of the cause of education, but has declined 
all other offices, preferring to give his time 
and attention to his business. He and his 
wife are members of the Lutheran Church, 
Mr. Wagner being leader of the choir. 



ROBERT H. JOHNSON, editor and 
proprietor of 'f/it- Centra/ Wiscoiisiit, 
W'ausau, Marathon county, has for 
twenty-nine years been actively iden- 
tified with the interests of Wausau and 
vicinity. He was born March 20, 1846, in 
Milwaukee, Wis., son of Robert H. and 
Catherine (Ben) Johnson, who were both 
born in Ireland of well-to-do-families. Rob- 
ert H. Johnson, Sr. , who was an architect, 
died in 1858; his wife in 1851. 

.After the death of his father, Robert H. 
Johnson was placed in the care of his grand- 
father and aunt, and entered school at Notre 
Dame University, South Bend, Ind. Be- 
fore he was si.xteen years of age, in com- 
pany with a fellow student, he ran away to 
Chicago to enlist as a soldier in the Union 
army, during the war of the Rebellion. On 
February 2, 1862, he was enrolled at Camp 
Douglas as a member of Company A, Fifty- 
eighth 111. V. I., and in February, 1862, 
the regiment broke camp to report at Cairo, 
111., after which it was on the Ohio and 
Cumberland rivers. The Fifty-eighth was 
actively engaged in the siege of Fort Donel- 
son until the capture of the fort, and were 
especially prominent in the battle of the 
14th and the ne.xt day, suffering severely 
from the fire of a masked battery. The 
men had been without rations from Friday 
until Sunday morning, and their arms were 
almost worthless, yet notwithstanding all 
this they behaved with the coolness and dis- 
cipline of veterans. They were at Shiloh 
where they again had their ranks depleted, 
mostly by capture; at the siege and capture 



of Corinth, at the battle of luka and at the 
second battle of Corinth, in September,, 
passed the winter near \'icksburg, was with., 
Gen. Sherman on his Meridian raid, and af- 
ter the skirmishes and actions about that 
city were terminated went on the Tupelo 
expedition. 

In June, 1864, Mr. Johnson veteranized, 
in the field, and took his furlough to Wau- 
sau. The first active operations in which 
he afterward participated were in the Oxford' 
raid, followed by the chase of Price, in the 
spring, through Missouri into Kansas. Re- 
turning, they went on another expedition, and 
were afterward assigned to the Red River ex- 
pedition. Mr. Johnson was in the attack at 
Fort de Russy, and on its capitulation was one 
of the first to mount the parapet and, with the 
color-bearer, plant the Union flag over this 
Rebel stronghold. He fought in the actions 
at Pleasant Hill, Cloutierville and Marks- 
ville; was with the regiment when it was 
sent to aid Gen. Thomas at Nashville in 
December, and took a hand in the disper- 
sion of Hood's army. After Nashville he 
was detailed as orderly on the staff of Sur- 
geon Henry M. Crawford, and afterward as 
orderly on the staff of Gen. Gerard; also 
participated in the battle of Fort Blakely 
and capture of Mobile. Immediately after 
the capture of Mobile he was made special 
orderly at the headquarters of Maj. Gen. 
Charles R. Wood, commander of the de- 
partment of Alabama. After a service in 
the army of four years and two months he 
was honorably discharged at Mobile, Ala. , 
April 1, 1866, just after he was twenty years 
of age. Returning to civil life he went to 
Wausau, Marathon Co., Wis., in April, 
1866, attended school, and later accepted 
employment at logging, running the river, 
working in sawmills, and so forth. 

On October 14, 1868, Mr. Johnson be- 
came the owner by purchase of J'/u- Centra f 
Wisconsin, the oldest paper in north- 
ern and central Wisconsin, which was 
established in 1857, and which he has since 
conducted, now occupying No. 303 Third 
street. This journal had been devoteii to- 
the interests of the Democratic party, but 
under his ownership was changed to sup- 
port the Republican cause. He enlarged; 



.3S4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the paper, and under his energetic business 
and editorial management and political 
sagacity, it soon occupied a leading position 
among the newspapers of this part of Wis- 
consin, his steadfast, undeviating and en- 
ergetic support of Republican principles 
making both the paper and its editor a 
power in the politics of the State. Since 
the time his ownership commenced the 
business has steadily increased, so that the 
building occupied was inadequate, and a 
larger space was needed. In 1880 Mr. 
Johnson erected a two-story brick block on 
Third street, fitted with modern appliances 
for the business, including steam power, 
which it was the first office in this part of 
the State to use, and moved into it. He is 
also the owner of a well-appointed and 
comfortably furnished home on the corner 
of Grant and Sixth streets, which he built 
in 1875, and has adorned it from time to 
time to suit the fancy of the household so 
as to make life the more enjoyable. It is 
located in one of the most pleasant parts of 
the city, and always presents a cheerful and 
hospitable appearance. 

On December 25, 1875, Robert H. John- 
son married Caroline Alban, by whom he 
has had the following named children : 
Clara Marie, Robert H., Cora and Lau- 
rence ; Cora died in 1882, aged about one 
year. The parents of Mrs. Johnson were 
Col. James S. and Clara Alban, of Plover, 
Portage Co. , Wis. ; Col. Alban was com- 
mander of the Eighteenth Wis. V. I., and 
led his regiment in the battle of Shiloh, in 
which engagement he was killed. 

During the campaign of 1884 Mr. John- 
son issued the first daily paper ever printed 
in the Upper Wisconsin \' alley. For two 
years he also published a paper printed in 
the German language, suspending it when 
its purpose was accomplished. On January 
13, 1876, he was appointed postmaster at 
Wausau by President Grant ; on Januar}- 8, 
1880, he was reappointed by President 
Hayes, and by President Arthur February 
8, 1884. He was retired by President 
Cleveland in February, 1885, for "offensive 
partisanship." Before this, however, he 
had held the appointment of internal reve- 
nue gauger for the Si.xth District of Wis- 



consin. In August, 1890, he was appointed 
special agent of the United States Interior 
Department to collect statistics of manu- 
factures at Wausau, Wis., and served until 
the work was completed. On December 1 1 , 
1890, he was appointed United States land 
agent at Wausau, and served until July i, 
1893, being removed by President Cleve- 
land because he was a Republican. His 
accounts balanced exactly, to a cent. So- 
cially, Mr. Johnson is a member of Lysan- 
der Cutler Post, G. A. R. , of W'ausau, of 
which he has been vice-commander and 
commander. 



prised 

county, 

famil}' 



BRADLEY W. PULLING was born 
Februar\' 4, i860, on Pulling's Is- 
land, which is located in Fox Lake, 
and forms part of the territorj' com- 
within the boundaries of Dodge 
Wis. For some generations the 
have resided in America, although 
the ancestors were originally of French 
birth, and the lineage can be traced back to 
the time of the French Reformation, when 
members of the family fled from France and 
sought homes in America. The grandfather 
of our subject, Bradley Pulling, was a 
prominent physician and surgeon of Gene- 
see county, X. Y. While performing a 
surgical operation, on one occasion, he cut 
his thumb and blood-poisoning ensued, caus- 
ing his untimel}" death at the age of fort\'- 
eight. In his family were three children: 
David J., Bradley and Nannie, the latter be- 
ing now the widow of Judge Lanning, of 
Buffalo, New York. 

The father of our subject was born in 
Genesee county, N. Y., in 1814, and ac- 
quired an excellent education, while on cur- 
rent events of the day he was always well 
informed, for he read and studied extensive- 
ly, and possessed a retentive memory. He 
took up the study of law as a life work, but 
subsequently devoted his energies to other 
interests. He was first married in New 
York to Mary Smith, and the}' had three 
children, of whom two died in infancy, 
while the third, William J., is now a suc- 
cessful business man of Minneapolis, Minn. 
In 1845, after the death of his wife, the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



385 



father came to the \\'est, locating in Fox 
Lake, Wis. He then abandoned the prac- 
tice of his profession for a time and em- 
barked in merchandising; also purchased an 
island in Fox Lake, 160 acres in extent, 
which is now a summer resort of consider- 
able note, known as Pulling's Island. At the 
time of his purchase only Indians lived 
there, but he soon began its improvement 
and made it a place of beauty. Subsequent- 
ly he resumed the practice of law, and be- 
came one of the best known members of 
the bar in his section of the State, while 
for twenty-four years he was the able and 
honored judge of the Third Judicial Circuit 
of \Msconsin. His rulings on the bench 
were the result of careful thought and de- 
liberation, the close deductions of evidence, 
and his addresses to juries were logical and 
masterful. In 1883 he resigned his position. 
In 1850 he again married, in Fox Lake, the 
lady of his choice being Miss Susan Web- 
ster, who was born in New Haven, Conn., 
and came to the West with her father, 
Martin Webster, her mother having died in 
the East. In the family were two sons, 
William and Henry, and two daughters, 
Susan and Jennie. Mr. Webster made farm- 
ing his life work, and his labors on earth were 
ended in 1883. Five children were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Pulling, viz. : Martin, David, 
Bradley W., Fred H., and Smith B. In 
1887 Judge Pulling and his wife removed to 
Florida, where he had purchased interests 
in orange and lemon groves, also in a tobac- 
co plantation, and there in the sunny South 
he is spending the closing years of an honor- 
able, upright life. 

Bradle)' W. Pulling, whose name intro- 
duces this review, obtained his literary edu- 
cation in the schools of Oshkosh, and under 
his mother's instruction, but like many boys 
he did not care for the common branches of 
learning. At the age of eighteen he began 
the study of law, and after three years of 
thorough preparation was admitted to the 
bar on attaining his majority. Previous to 
this time he had taken up the study of music 
with the intention of making it a profession, 
but subsequenth' abandoned it and entered 
an insurance office with which he was con- 
nected for some time. After his admission 



to the bar, he opened an office and began 
practice in Oshkosh, Wis., then engaged with 
others in the real-estate business, he look- 
ing after the legal part of their affairs. In 
1883 he went to Wausau, Wis., where in 
connection with law practice he engaged in 
real-estate dealing until 1890, when he came 
to Marshfield, and organized the Marshfield 
Land Company, of which he is manager. 
He has made a special study of real-estate 
I values, and is thoroughly informed on every- 
thing connected with the business, so that 
he is enabled to buy and sell advantageously. 
On July 8, 1884, Mr. Pulling was united 
in marriage with Emma Bouldrie, daughter 
of Nathan M. and Emma (Seamons) Bould- 
rie, who were natives of Massachusetts, and 
are now residents of Waupun, Wis. Their 
family numbered three children: Emma, 
William and Archie L. , of whom William is 
deceased. The father was one of the 
honored veterans of the Civil war, who 
valiantly aided in the defense of the Union, 
and in the service was badly wounded. Mr. 
and Mrs. Pulling have an interesting family 
of three children: Howard E., Dorothy 
and Marie. The parents are members of 
the Episcopal Church, and in social circles 
hold an enviable position, their friends in 
the community being man\'. In politics, 
Mr. Pulling is a stalwart Republican, but 
has never been an office seeker. 



WILLIAM E. PIPE, one of the sub- 
stantial farmers of Portage county, 
is a nati\'e of Wisconsin, born 
March 25, 1856, in the town 
of Vinland, Winnebago county, a son of 
Thomas and Elizabeth (Stickland) Pipe. 

Thomas Pipe was born September 24, 
1827, in Dongett, Somersetshire, England. 
In 1850, accompanied by his brother John 
v., who brought his family, he came to 
America, and the brothers settled in Greece 
Center, N. Y. On May 18, 1848, in Tar- 
combe Church, John V. Pipe had married 
Miss Elizabeth Stickland, and their two 
sons, John S. and Thomas, accompanied 
them to America; two other children were 
born to them in Greece Center, N. Y., — 
Frank and Mary E. In October. 1S50, 



.■^S6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



Thomas Pipe came west, and located in 
Vinland, Wis. Wishing to return to Eng- 
land on business, J. V. Pipe took passage 
March i, 1854, on the ill-fated steamer 
"City of Glasgow," which went down in 
mid-ocean with all on board. 

.After the death of his brother, Thomas 
Pipe visited the widow in her eastern home, 
and she accompanied him to Wisconsin. 
They were married in \'inland, June 24, 
1855, and the following children were born 
to them: William E., whose name intro- 
duces this sketch; Florence I. ; Efifie A., and 
Charlotte E., born August 23, 1865, and 
died November i, 1870. On February 28, 
1857, they located on a farm in Farmington 
township, Waupaca county, and at the end 
of four years Mr. Pipe moved with his 
family into Waupaca, where he engaged in 
the buying of stock and in butchering for 
about eighteen years. While here he served 
as chairman, supervisor, and street commis- 
sioner for years. In 1875 he, with his wife, 
made a seven-months' visit to their native 
land. They located on the present home- 
stead in Lanark, Portage county, April 13, 
1876, and here Mr. Pipe was honored with 
the office of chairman some three or four 
years. His death occurred September 22, 
1880. Few men stricken by the grim de- 
stroyer leave a place so hard to fill as that 
left vacant by the death of Thomas Pipe. 

William E. Pipe received his education 
in the schools of Waupaca, and when fifteen 
3'ears of age worked in the lumber camp 
with his father. He worked for his father 
in a store in \^'aupaca. and also in a livery 
stable for some time. 

On November 29, 1883. at Oxford Junc- 
tion, Jones Co., Iowa, W'illiam E. Pipe and 
Miss Mary A. Messer were united in mar- 
riage, and there have been born to them the 
following children: Mary E., born October 
23. 1884: Mina M., September iS, 1886; 
Raymond T. , May 19, 1889; and Effie A., 
September 28, 1891, deceased January 17, 
1893, Mrs. Pipe's parents. Thomas and 
Sarah J. (Hutchinson; Messer, are both de- 
ceased. Thomas Messer was a native of 
Berwickshire, Scotland, came to this coun- 
try when a young man, and was married in 
Centralia, 111. His wife was a native of 



Illinois. After the death of his father Mr. 
Pipe bought the old homestead farm from 
his mother. His farm comprises 225 acres, 
most of which is cleared, and he is the 
owner of some fine blooded horses. He had 
assisted his father in improving the farm, 
and it is one of the best in Portage county. 
His house is fitted out with all the comforts 
of a well-regulated home, and presided o\er 
by his amiable wife. Mr. Pipe is a Repub- 
lican in politics, but has never sought any 
political offices. He is a prominent member 
of Waupaca Lodge No. 29, K. of P. Both 
he and his wife are Protestants in their re- 
ligious belief. 



ANGUS BUIE is a native of Canada, 
born June 20, 1850, in Collingwood, 
Ontario. The family is of Scotch 
origin, and the father of our sub- 
ject, Archibald Buie, was born in Scotland 
in 1 800. No extended record has been 
kept of the ancestors. In the grandfather's 
family were three sons and three daughters, 
and two of the brothers were seafaring 
men, John being master of a vessel. He 
died and was buried in the East Indies. 

Archibald Buie was reared on, a farm, 
and in his native land married Sarah Mc- 
Dougal. by whom he had eight children, 
four being born in Scotland, namely: Dun- 
can, Dugal, John and Archibald, .\fter lo- 
cating in Canada, Marian, .Angus, Hugh and 
Flora were added to the family, and all are 
yet living except Duncan, who died in i S64. 
In 1846 the parents with their children 
crossed the Atlantic, and settled upon a farm 
within the British domain. The father was 
a well-educated man, strong of will and 
steadfast to principle, and was recognized as 
a leader in the comnnmity in which he 
lived. He was also a strong believer in the 
faith of the Presbyterian Church. His death 
occurred September 27, 1884, his wife pass- 
ing away November 15, 1885, at the age of 
eighty-six years. She had one brother, 
Duncan, who emigrated to Canada, and 
there followed farming, but little else is 
known concerning her people. 

Angus Buie remained at home until eight- 
een years of age, aiding in the labors of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



387 



the farm throug^h the summer months, in 
tlie winter attending the common schools, to 
which he had to walk a distance of three 
miles. On leaving home he went to Sagi- 
naw, Mich., where for three years he worked 
in the lumber woods during the winter 
months, and when the warm weather came 
went upon the water as a raftsman. Poor 
health caused him to return to his home, 
where he remained six months, then re- 
moved to Muskegan, Mich., working in the 
lumber woods for O. P. Pillsbury «S: Co. 
For fourteen years he remained with that 
firm as foreman of their different lumber 
camps, and his long service well indicates 
his fidelity to duty. In October, 1886, he 
came to the present site of Tomahawk, then 
covered by a dense forest, and was foreman 
for the Tomahawk Land & Boom Co. three 
years. He was next made superintendent 
of that company, which position he still 
holds, having under his control 175 men. 
He possesses excellent abilit}' as a manager, 
and, while in no way displaying the qualities 
of an overbearing taskmaster, manages to 
keep his men interested in their work, thus 
securing the best interests of both employer 
and employes. 

Mr. Buie has been twice married. In 
Canada, in 1879, he wedded Miss Isabel 
McMillan, and to them were born three 
children: Duncan, Anna and Thomas H. 
The last named was born in Tomahawk, 
and the company gave him a city lot on 
which the family is now living. Mrs. Buie 
was born in Canada, and was a daughter of 
Alexander and Anna (Cameronj McMillan, 
natives of Scotland. They had eight chil- 
dren, namely; Maggie, Alexander, Dun- 
can, Peter, Isabel, John, Anna and Mary. 
Mrs. Buie died November 7, 1882, and 
April 29, 1 89 1, Mr. Buie married Mary 
Dibb, a native of New Lisbon, Wis., and a 
daughter of John and Amanda (Sharp) 
Dibb. whose famil\- numbered five children: 
Thomas, Jennie, Mary, James and Cora. 
The father, who was one of seventeen 
children, was born in England in 1828, and 
after his emigration to America, wedded 
Miss Sharp, \vho was born in Vermont in 
1822. They are now farming people of 
New Lisbon, Wisconsin. 



Mr. Buie exercises his right of franchise 
in support of the Democracy, and was the 
first mayor of Tomahawk, serving for two 
years. He laid the foundation of that town, 
and has since been acti\ely identified with 
its upbuilding. He seeks no office, but is 
an active worker in his party. For many 
years he has been connected with the 
Masonic fraternity, and is one of its esteemed 
and faithful members. Mrs. Buie is a mem- 
ber of the Eastern Star. 



M 



AJOR C. WERDEN DEANE, an 

honored citizen of the city of An- 
tigo, Langlade county, traces his 
ancestry to one of two brothers by 
that name, who came over in the "May- 
flower " from Northumberland, England, 
and settled in Taunton, Massachusetts. 

Job Deane, the grandfather of Maj. C. 
Warden Deane, was born at Taunton, Mass. , 
married Mercy Werden, daughter of a Bap- 
tist minister, and to them were born seven 
children. job, who was a farmer by occu- 
pation, died at Manchester, Vt., about the 
}-ear 1820. He served throughout the 
Revolutionary war, was under Gen. Gates 
at Saratoga, and carried dispatches from 
Gen. Washington at \'alle\' Forge to Gen. 
Gates at Saratoga. He was also an active 
Indian fighter. 

Peter W. Deane, one of the four sons of 
Job, and the father of the subject of this 
sketch, was a native of North Adams, Mass., 
born in 1797, and was married to Philinda 
Willey, who was a native of New Hamp- 
shire, born in 1798. To this marriage came 
ten children, two of whom, C. Werden and 
Mrs. Lemira M. Clarke, are still living ; one 
son, Benjamin W., a lawyer by profession, 
was secretary of the State of \"ermont, and 
died in 1862. The husband of Mrs. Clarke, 
Isaac L. Clarke, served as lieutenant-colonel 
of the Ninety-si.\th Illinois Infantry, and 
was killed at the battle of Chickamauga, 
Georgia. The father (Peter W.jwas a man 
of high standing in the communit}' in which 
he lived ; was looked upon as one of the 
pillars of the Baptist Church, in which he 
was a deacon more than half a century. He 
served as a county judge for a number of 



388 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



years, and for a period of twenty-three years 
as a representative and State senator. His 
death occurred in Vermont in 1878, that of 
his wife in 1865. 

Maj. C. Werden Deane was born at 
Grafton, Vt., September 17, 1839. His 
early education was received in the common 
schools, and also at Lelands and Gra\' Sem- 
inary, remaining in school until fifteen years 
of age. His spare hours were passed in his 
father's woolen-mill, which he entered at 
the age of nine years, and where he remained 
until he had completed his trade. When 
.seventeen years old he began reading law in 
the office of his brother Benjamin, and two 
years later entered the law school at Albany, 
N. Y. , from which he was graduated in i860. 
Senator Vilas and Col. John H. Knight, of 
Ashland. Wis., being members of the class. 
The following fall he settled at Pentwater, 
Mich. , where he followed his profession until 
the fall of 1862, having in the meantime 
been elected county attorney. In October, 
1862, he entered the service as captain of 
Company I, Sixth Regiment Michigan Cav- 
alry, and in November of 1863 was promoted 
to major of the regiment, of which he was 
at different times in command. He com- 
manded at Cedar Creek in 1864, and for 
some time afterward. He resigned from 
the service in January, 1865. Maj. Deane 
was a gallant officer, and exhibited great 
bravery on more than one field. He was in 
the Army of the Potomac, participating in 
many of the engagements of that army. On 
|uly 4, 1863, during the battle of Gettys- 
burg, he, in command of 250 men, destroyed 
Gen. Lee's pontoon bridge at Falling Waters, 
Md. That same year he and thirty-nine 
men were attacked near Seneca, along the 
Potomac, by Gen. Mosby's force of 250 men. 
Maj. Deane held his ground for a time, and 
succeeded in cutting his way out and mak- 
ing his escape, losing but four killed and fif- 
teen taken prisoners, while Gen. Mosby's 
loss was double that number. During 1863, 
and the early part of 1864, he was a good 
portion of the time on detached service 
through Virginia and Maryland, command- 
ing some 800 men from different regiments. 
In April, 1864, he joined his regiment near 
Culpeper, Va. He was in Gen. Custer's 



brigade, also fought under Sheridan in the 
Shenandoah Valley and about Richmond, 
and at one time was knocked off his hor.se 
by a minie ball. [For full particulars of the 
major's army record, see the "History of 
Michigan Troops."] On resigning his com- 
mand the Major returned to Pentwater, re- 
sumed the practice of law and engaged in 
the real-estate business, which were his oc- 
cupations until in 1 869, when he moved to 
Chicago and followed the same line of em- 
ployment until 1887, at which time, owing 
to ill-health, he left that city and settled in 
Antigo where he has since practiced his pro- 
fession, and also has the only abstract of 
titles office in Langlade county. He is now 
serving his second term as city attorney, 
and is a member of the school board. He 
has held the office of court commissioner of 
the United States Court, county attorney 
and other minor offices. In politics he is a 
Republican, and in 1866 he served as a rep- 
resentative to the State Legislature. He is 
a member of George H. Thomas Post, G. 
A. R. , Chicago, secretary of the Antigo Ma- 
sonic Lodge, of which order he has been a 
member for thirty-five years, always taking 
an active part in its affairs, and is also scribe 
of the Antigo Chapter and of the Council of 
Michigan. 

Maj. Deane was married in 1866, in De- 
troit, Mich., to Adele E., daughter of War- 
ren D. and Caroline (Taylor) Woodward, 
natives of New York. The father, who was 
a wagonmaker by trade, settled in Indiana 
in 1840; both parents died in Michigan City. 
Ind., where Mrs. Deane was born. The 
latter is an active member of the Episcopal 
Church. No children have been born to 
this union. 



IGNATIUSD. STEFFEN, M. S., M. D. 
The physician occupies one of the most 
responsible, as well as confidential, rela- 
tions in our social existence, and to 
worthily and acceptably fill such a position 
is one of the most difficult tasks ever im- 
posed on man. Such a task we find suc- 
cessfully assumed by Dr. Ignatius D. Steffen, 
one of the most successful practitioners in. 
northern Wisconsin. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



389' 



Our subject was born December 17, 
1855, in Hortonville, Outagamie Co., Wis., 
a grandson of Jacob Steffen, who came from 
Prussia to the United States, settling in the 
village of Hortonville, \N'is. , in 1852, and 
died in 1 870. He was a farmer b\' occupation, 
and before leaving the Fatherland served in 
the Prussian army. Thrice married, he had 
two children by his first wife — Nicholas (now 
deceased) and John J. (a resident of Apple- 
ton, Wis.); by his second marriage he had 
six children — John, Leonard, Mathias, 
Ignatius, Jacob and Francis; by his third 
wife (who is also now deceased) he had one 
daughter. Of the sons, Jacol) and Francis 
were soldiers in the Civil war, serving in the 
Thirty-second Wis. V. I., Jacob dying at 
Vicksburg, Miss. Francis served through- 
out the entire struggle, during which he was 
promoted to sergeant, and afterward became 
a man of great prominence, a well-known 
agriculturist. He was clerk of the court, 
chairman of the county and town boards, 
and served two terms in the Legislature; he 
died in December, 1879, leaving a widow 
and five children. 

John Steffen, father of our subject, was 
born, in 1824, in Coblentz, Rhenish Prussia, 
and was reared to farming pursuits. In his 
native land he was married to Miss Paulina 
Stark, who was born, in 1822 in Prussia, 
where her father, who was a pipe manu- 
facturer, died; her mother came to America 
and died in 1894. One brother of Mrs. 
Steffen, Adam by name, lived in Prussia, 
while another brother, Peter, and one sister, 
Lucy, came to America. About the year 
1847 Mr. and Mrs. John Steffen emigrated 
to America, and for nine years made their 
home near Saratoga Springs, N. Y., where 
he worked on a farm. 

In 1855 they came west to Wisconsin, 
locating on wild land in Outagamie county, 
near Hortonville, where they cleared a farm 
out of the wilderness, and continued to re- 
side thereon until 1886, in which year they 
moved into Hortonville, where Mr. Steffen 
has since lived a retired life; his wife died 
there in 1893. They were the parents of 
eleven children, of whom are yet living 
Jacob, Nicholas, Peter, Ignatius D., Louis, 
Martin, Mary (now Mrs. Oik, of Antigojand 



John H. Although not an active politican, 
John Steffen has held various town offices. 

Ignatius D. Steffen, the subject proper 
of this sketch, was reared on his father's 
farm in Outagamie county, attending the 
common schools during the winter months 
until he was seventeen years old, or till 1873, 
when he entered Lawrence University, at 
Appleton, graduating from that institution 
in 1879. During these years he also taught 
school so as to assist in his education, and 
after graduating he became principal of the 
Hortonville school, an incumbency he tilled 
four years, at the same time taking up and 
pro.secuting the study of medicine under the 
preceptorship of Dr. H. D. Hardacker, of 
Hortonville, Outagamie county, one year, 
after which, in 1885, he entered Rush Med- 
ical College, Chicago, graduating from there 
in Febuary, 1887. Coming at once to An- 
tigo, he here opened his present office, where 
he has since successfully practiced his chosen 
profession, having established a reputation 
second to none in the count}'. 

On July 19, 1883, Dr. Steffen was mar- 
ried to iliss Effie L. Nye, who was born in 
Ellington, Outagamie Co., Wis., daughter 
of George F. and Eliza (McGregor) Nye, 
who had four children, to wit: Minnie (de- 
ceased wife of George Barron), Effie L., 
Ella B. (now Mrs. Fred L. Moses, of Ripon, 
Wis. ) and John L. The father, who was a 
carpenter by trade, was of English descent, 
the mother of Scotch; she died in 1872. 
To Dr. and Mrs. Steffen have been born 
three children: Bernice E., Lyman A. and 
Glyndon F. 

The Doctor is surgeon of the Chicago iS: 
North Western railroad, and in addition to 
his profession has dealt to some extent in 
real estate, at present owning farm lands in 
the county. He is active and prominent in 
social and fraternal affairs, a member of the 
Wisconsin State, Fox River Valley and 
Daniel Brainard Medical Societies; of the 
Pension Board of his District; of the F. c\: 
A. M. and R. A. M., and of the Modern 
Woodmen of America, being delegate this 
year from the Ninth Congressional District 
of the head camp meeting at Madison, Wis. 
Politically he is a Democrat, an active 
worker in the ranks of the party, and in 1890- 



.39° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Jie served as mayor of Aiitigo, the city water- 
works being established during his incum- 
bency. He was a member of the school 
.board five years, and president of same dur- 
ing 1890-91; was supervisor in 1893; mem- 
ber of the County Central Committee, of 
the board of health four jears, and city 
physician same length of time. The Doctor 
has always taken a lively interest in all that 
pertains to the welfare and prosperity of 
Antigo, and has done much toward main- 
taining its high standing among the cities of 
northern Wisconsin. 



CHARLES B. McDonald, promi- 
nent among the progressive and pros- 
perous citizens of Antigo, Langlade 
county, and without mention of 
whom a biographical record of this section 
<jf northern Wisconsin would be incomplete, 
is a native of New York State, born March 
3, 1849, at Rome, Oneida county, of stal- 
wart Highland-Scotch ancestry. 

George B. McDonald, his father, was 
also born at Rome, N. Y., where he first 
saw the light in I.S24, his parents having 
settled there some time after their arrival 
from Scotland, bringing with them those 
habits of industry and frugality that are 
well-known characteristics of that hardj' 
race — characteristics that have been inher- 
ited in a marked degree by their descend- 
ants. George B. had one brother, Hilliard, 
and two sisters, who married and settled in 
Michigan. He himself married Miss Sarah 
T. Butler, of Oneida county, N. Y., where 
she was born in 1827, daughter of Ezekiel 
and Eunice (Shawj Butler, who were also 
of Scottish extraction, well-to-do farming 
people of the better class, who ultimately 
moved to Illinois, where the family became 
prominent in many ways. One of Mrs. 
George B. McDonald's brothers, Eugene K., 
is general manager of the McCormick 
Reaper Works at Chicago, and a sister, 
Caroline, is the wife of Dr. Utley, of White- 
side county. 111. Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel 
Butler had a family of eleven children, 
named respectively: Nancy, John, Harriet, 
Caroline, Sarah, David, Eunice, Lydia, 
■Seward, Eugene K. and Ezekiel. In 1857 



the family came to Appleton, Wis., where 
the parents made their home eleven \ears, 
thence moved to Whiteside count}', 111., 
and there the father died in 18S2, the 
mother surviving him till 1895. Mr. Mc- 
Donald, who was a man of superior e.xecu- 
tive ability, was a contractor on and builder 
of railroads and canals, having at all times 
in his business under his charge large and 
numerous gangs of "navvies;" and yet for 
all he was b)- no means an educated man. 

The subject proper of these lines receiv- 
ed but a limited common-school education, 
having at the age of sixteen to commence 
work, fiis time for a few years being mostly 
occupied in the lumber woods. When nine- 
teen years old he leased a farm in Whiteside 
county. 111., which he conducted ten years, 
and then remo\ed to Brown county, Wis., 
opening soon afterward a general store at 
Little Kaukauna, remaining there until July, 
1883, the time of his coming to Antigo. 
Here he built the Excelsior mill which he 
operated one \ear, when he again embarked 
in general mercantile business, opening his 
present store in that city, in which he has 
since continued. His present store, built by 
him in 1894, is one of the finest inthecoun- 
t\-, and although he has had severe 
reverses by fire and other causes, he has 
met with the success due to a life of energy, 
honesty and integrity. 

In December, 1870, Mr. McDonald was 
married in Brown county, Wis., to Miss 
Elsie Briggs, who was born in 1848, in 
Sheldon township. Wyoming Co., N. Y., 
daughter of Jason and Janet (Phillips) 
Briggs, both natives of New York State, the 
father born in 1823, the mother in 1825; 
they were the parents of three children: 
Emily, Elsie and Ellen. The Briggs family 
came to Brown county, Wis., in 1852, 
where they followed farming for several 
years, and where the father died in 1884, 
and the mother, who is of English descent, 
is yet living. To Mr. and Mrs. McDonald 
were born two children: Marion, now the 
wife of Louis Buckman, of Antigo, and 
Charles, who died in infancy. Mr. McDon- 
ald is a wide-awake business man, e\ or alive 
to the interests of the community in which 
he lives, and where he is held in the highest 




^^(C/<:^^^. 



CX/(/^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



391 



respect. In addition to his regular mercan- 
tile business he deals considerably in real 
estate; is a stockholder in and director of 
the Antigo Bank, and he is public-spirited 
and liberal of his means wherever the inter- 
ests of his city and count}' are considered. 
In politics he is independent, is no office- 
seeker, though he has frequently Ijeen offer- 
ed public positions of honor and trust. He 
is a passionate lover of fine-bred horses, 
taking a great interest in them, and at the 
present time is the owner of an e.xceedingly 
fine high-bred colt, being a Delmarch, and 
shows a speed of 2:30 or less. In his life- 
time Mr. McDonald has bred and handled 
many fine horses, and his judgment being 
good and sound he is frequently consulted 
on such matters by his friends. He is quite 
an expert, as an amateur, in photography, 
and has taken many fine views around 
Antigo; part of one winter he spent in the 
South taking photographic views of the 
scener}'. 

Such in brief is a sketch of the life of 
Charles B. McDonald, a tj-pical self-made 
man. who by his own unaided efforts has 
climbed the ladder of success, and estab- 
lished for himself a business and social repu- 
tation second to none in northern Wiscon- 
sin. 



GEORGE NE\\"SOME, whose well- 
directed efforts and good business 
ability have made him one of the 
leading farmers of Dayton township, 
Waupaca county, was born in Steuben 
county, N. Y. , January 9, 1847, and is a 
son of Joseph and Nancy (Bailey) Newsome. 
The father, a farmer and railroad con- 
tractor b}' occupation, was a native of York- 
shire, England, born April 29, 1806; his 
father was a pilot, and others of the family 
were sea-faring men. When a young man, 
Joseph Newsome, came to the United States. 
He had previously followed teaming, and 
one morning while thus engaged received 
from a smuggling vessel sufficient high wine 
to enable him and his brothers, Robert and 
John, with their families, to come to the 
United States. Their father died in Eng- 
land, and the mother afterward crossed the 



ocean and made her home with a daughter 
in New York until her death. Joseph New- 
some settled in Genesee county, N. Y. , and 
supported himself by farm work, for he had 
no means. In Livingston county, that 
State, in 1 831, he married Nancy Bailey, 
who was born there February 19, 1805, a 
daughter of Benjamin Bailev, a farmer. 
Soon after their marriage, they located in 
Steuben county, and had children as follows: 
Benjamin, born May 4, 1832, died in Addi- 
son, Steuben Co., N. Y. ; Joseph, born 
November r, 1833, remained at home until 
twenty-one years of age, when he came to 
this State; Allen, born August 28, 1836, 
died in Muskegon, Mich. ; David, born De- 
cember 25, 1838, when last heard of was 
mining in Buffalo county, Colo. ; Mrs. Mary 
A. Farmer, born February 10, 1840, is living 
in Waupaca county; Martha, born January 
24, 1844, became the wife of Horace Goble, 
her death occurring in Dayton township; 
Sarah, twin sister of Martha, and wife of Otis 
Bates, of Muskegon, Mich., and George. 
The father of this family came to Wis- 
consin in the fall of 1866, and located upon 
a farm which is now the home of his young- 
est son. The mother died there in June, 
1870, and was buried in Crjstal Lake Ceme- 
tery. Mr. Newsome afterward married Mrs. 
Anna (Nelson) Duncan, widow of Silas Dun- 
can, and his death occurred on the old 
homestead in the fall of 1881, his remains 
being interred in Crystal Lake Cemetery ; 
he was a large man, six feet tall and weigh- 
ing 220 pounds. In politics he was always 
a Democrat. 

The educational privileges of George 
Newsome were limited, for after the age of 
nine he never attended school during the 
summer, his services being required upon 
the home farm. At the age of thirteen he 
began earning his own living, and was em- 
ployed by a drover from Lorain county, Ohio, 
who had gone to Steuben county. N. Y. , 
to purchase fine-wool sheep. Mr. New- 
some returned with this gentleman — Walter 
Foote, of Rochester — and continued in his 
employ some five years, accompanying him 
on his business trips, buying and selling 
stock. Once, while at Joliet, 111., he \-isited 
his brother Allen, livinsr in that \icinit\', and 



392 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in September, 1866, came on a visit to 
friends in Waupaca county, where he has 
since remained. In the summer he was 
employed at farm labor, during the winter 
in the pineries, and in the spring on the 
river. With capital he acquired through 
his own efforts he purchased, in the fall of 
1869, sixty acres of land in Section 25, 
Dayton township, Waupaca count)', and to 
that has since added until he now owns 200 
acres in Sections 25 and 35, on which he 
has made extensive improvements, trans- 
forming this tract into a valuable and pro- 
ductive farm. Prosperity has attended his 
efforts, and he is now the possessor of a 
handsome property. 

On August 18, 1872, in Waushara county, 
Wis., Mr. Newsome married Miss Emily 
Dopkins, a native of that county, born Jan- 
uary 29, 1853, daughter of Lewis and Eme- 
line (Lane) Dopkins, natives of New York. 
Their children are Maud E. , who was born 
April 4, 1874, and is now the wife of Linder 
Wilson, of Springwater, Waushara county ; 
Minnie M., who was born October 10, 1875, 
and is the wife of Miner Stinemates, of Day- 
ton township ; Gladys L. , born April 29, 
1878 ; George I., born June 13, 1881 ; and 
Bertha E. , born July 26, 1883. Prior to 
1S92 Mr. Newsome was a stalwart Demo- 
crat, but is now an ardent advocate of the 
Republican party, although not an office 
seeker. He is a self-made man in the 
truest sense of that oft-misused term, and 
for his success deserves great credit. His 
example shows what can be accomplished 
by enterprise, perseverance and good man- 
agement, and should serve to encourage 
others to press forward. 



M 



B. HULL. This prominent and 
well-known citizen of Larrabee 
township, Waupaca county, has 
been for many years a citizen of 
Wisconsin, engaged in agriculture, and was a 
Union soldier in the war of the Rebellion. 
He was born May 30, 1841, in St. Lawrence 
county, N. Y., and is the son of Eli B. and 
Abigail (Slater) Hull. 

Eli B. Hull, whose father was in the 
Revolutionary war, was born in New Hamp- 



shire, and was a millwright by occupation. 
He came to Wisconsin in 1844, and voted to 
form that Territory into a State. He opened 
up a farm in Ashford township. Fond du 
Lac county, made that his home until 186S, 
moved to Tennessee, near Nashville, and 
there resided until his death, in 1882. Mrs. 
Eli B. Hull was born in Vermont, daughter 
of Joseph Slater, a lieutenant in the war of 
1812, and died in 1884. They had a family 
of eight children of whom six arc living, 
namely: Alden, who resides in Fond du Lac 
county. Wis. ; Harriet, wife of Ransom 
Hemingway, of Fond du Lac; Joseph, who 
lives in Fond du Lac county; Lyman, a 
Congregational minister in Garden City, 
Kans. ; Fannie, wife of George W. Chapman, 
of Marathon county. Wis.; and M. B., the 
subject of this sketch. 

M. B. Hull was reared in Wisconsin from 
the age of four years, educated principally 
in the schools of Fond du Lac county, and 
attended school in the winter of 1859 in 
Defiance county, Ohio. He lived two years 
in Kenosha, and then in Southport, I'Ceno- 
sha Co., Wis. In Fond du Lac, in 1861, 
he enlisted in Company E, Sixth \\'is. \'. I., 
for three years; was mustered in at Madison, 
July 16, 1 86 1, served in McDowell's Corps 
in the army of the Potomac, was honorably 
discharged on account of disability at Alex- 
andria, Va. , in 1862, and returned to Fond 
du Lac count}'. In 1864 he again enlisted 
at Fond du Lac, and went to Madison, but 
was not accepted. 

In Fond du Lac county. Wis., in 1864, 
Mr. Hull was united in marriage with Miss 
Irene Parsons, who was born in New York, 
and they have two children: Estella, who 
is teaching in the home district, and Dora, 
wife of John Piehl, of Dupont township. 
The parents of Mrs. Hull, Harvey and 
Adaline (West) Parsons, were born in New 
York State, came to Fond du Lac county 
in 1850, opened up a farm in Auburn town- 
ship, then moved to Fayette county, Iowa, 
and later to McHenry county. 111., where 
Mr. Parsons died in 1872. In 1873 Mr. 
Hull located in the woods in Section 9, Du- 
pont township, Waupaca county, improved 
a farm of eighty acres, then moved to 
Montgomery county, Iowa, in 1888, re- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



393 



mained there one year, came to Larrabee 
township, Waupaca county, in iScSg, and 
located on a farm in Section 13, where he 
now resides. Mr. Hull is a Republican in 
politics, was chairman of Dupont township 
for seven years, and for many years justice 
of the peace in the same township. He is 
post commander of the J. B. Wyman Post, 
No. 32; a member of Clintonville Lodge No. 
314, I. O. O. F. , and the oldest past grand 
in the lodge. 



WILLIS D. WORDEN, one of the 
pioneer and prosperous farmers of 
Buena Vista township. Portage 
county, was born in Middlebury 
township, Wyoming Co., N. Y. , July 14, 
1S30, son of Stephen and Marcia Worden, 
both natives of Massachusetts, and grand- 
son of Silas Worden, who was during the 
Revolutionary war assistant-surgeon to his 
father, in the Continental army. After the 
war Silas Worden continued to practice sur- 
gery in Massachusetts until he was stricken 
with total blindness; even after that calamity 
he once set the broken leg of his grandson 
William. He died in Wyoming county, N. Y. 
about 1846, aged eighty-two years; his 
wife surviving him until 1855. Silas Wor- 
den was twice married, and by his first wife 
he had four children: Hulda, Henry, Archi- 
bald and Stephen. The mother of these 
died in 181 3, and Silas Worden for his sec- 
ond wife married Naomi Sage, by whom he 
had one son, Heman. 

Stephen Worden was born in i 804, was 
reared on a Massachusetts farm, in which 
State he married Marcia Higgins. From 
there he migrated to Wyoming county, N.Y. , 
thence in the fall of 1852. with his wife 
and family, he came to Wisconsin. Re- 
maining two years in Scott township, Col- 
umbia county, he came to Stockton town- 
ship, Portage county, entering eighty acres 
of government land and building a home, 
which he occupied until 1876. He then 
sold his farm and lived with his son-in-law 
Mr. Howard, in Buena Vista township, un- 
til his death, which occurred January 18, 
1877; his wife, who was born in 1807, sur- 
vived until jMay 9, 1879. Their family of 



eight children was as follows: Willis D., 
subject of this sketch; Albert, unmarried, 
born December 9, 1831 ; Clarinda, born De- 
cember 17, 1833, married first to Obediah 
Griffin, by whom she had one child, Orin, 
and afterward to Hiram Griffin (brother of 
her first husband), by whom she had five 
children: Henry, Ellen, William, Len and 
Effie; Alvina, born January 11, 1836, mar- 
ried to John Howard, a farmer of Buena 
Vista township, by whom she had two chil- 
dren, O. C. and Orin; George H., born 
February 23, 1838, a carpenter and joiner 
of Amherst township, married a Mrs. Adams, 
by whom he had five children: Ellen, Flora 
(deceased), Lillie, and Minnie and Mina 
(twins); Polly M., born December 31, 1840, 
married first to Wesley Fancher (by whom 
she had one child, Wesley), and after his 
death was married to William Fancher, by 
whom she had two children, Charles and 
Bert; William Henry, born May 28, 1842, 
carpenter at Stevens Point, married to Al- 
zina Grover, who is the mother of five chil- 
dren: Delia, Burdette (deceased), Eli, Henry, 
and Bert (deceased); Annetta, born Novem- 
ber 7, 1845, disd February 22. 1846. 

Willis D. Worden, the subject proper 
of these lines, received a common-school edu- 
cation in his native town. He is a natural 
mechanic and has worked at shoemaking, 
carpentering, and masonry, though he never 
served time at any trade. He was married 
at Middlebury, N. Y, April 21, 1850, to 
Susan Nelson, who was born September 2, 
1832, at Gloucester, Mass., daughter of 
Freeman and Celinda (Reach) Nelson, and 
granddaughter of George Nelson, all of 
Massachusetts birth, who lived for a time in 
New York, but returned to their native 
State, and died there at a ripe old age. 
The children of George Nelson were : John, 
Andrew, Adin, Louisa, Eunice, Rule and 
Freeman. The youngest son, Freeman, 
married Celinda Reach in Massachusetts, 
and followed his trade of shoemaking. 
With his family he removed to Attica, N. 
Y. , and thence to Mitldlebury, Wyoming 
county, whence, in 1851, he emigrated to 
Oconomowoc, Wis. Two years later he 
came to Nelsonville, Portage county, and in 
1855 he settled on eighty acres of land in 



394 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Stockton township. Here his wife died 
in October, 1876, and he followed her to the 
grave in 1883. Nine children were born to 
Freeman and Celinda Nf;lson, as follows : 
Susan, now Mrs. Worden; Freeman Nelson, 
Jr. (he had five children : Elvin, Elmer, 
Carrie Jane, Jessie and John); George Nelson 
(he had four children : George, Robert, 
Chester and May;; Mary, married first to 
Jacob Fancher and after his death to Alex. 
Empy; Gardner, a farmer of Buena Vista 
township, married first to Libbie Gardner, 
by whom he had three children : Etta. 
Annie (deceased) and Al. (his second wife 
was Sarah Eaton, by whom he had one 
child, who died in infancy; his third and 
present wife is Mary Stevens); Louisa, now 
Mrs. Chester Dwinnel; Andrew, married 
first to Alice Rushie, by whom he had four 
children, Arthur, Victor, Ella and Emma 
Emmaette (by his second marriage, to Mrs. 
Lucinda Vealy, a widow, he has eight chil- 
dren, Lena, John, George, Linda, Pearl, 
Andrew, Oscar, and Pallice, wife of Orson 
Francher, of Stevens Point, and mother of 
four children, William, George, Cora and 
Pearl); William, a farmer near Antigo. Wis., 
married first to Emma Lewis, by whom he 
has two children, William and Katie (by 
his second wife, Lucy Calkins, he has three 
children, Flossie, Hattie and one whose 
name is not given). 

With his wife and eldest brother. Willis 

D. Worden accompanied his father to Wis- 
consin in 1853. The lake voyage of seven 
days was so rough and stormy that the ves- 
sel was obliged to put in at Detroit to escape 
a storm. Remaining with his father for a 
year and a half in Columbia county, and 
following farming and shoemaking, he came 
to Stockton township in the spring of 1854, 
and settled on 1 20 acres of wild government 
land. He lived there two years in a log 
cabin, then selling his property, was a ten- 
ant one year, after which he bought eighty 
acres of land, which he was occupying at 
the time the war broke out. On August 14, 
1S62, he enlisted at Stockton in Company 

E, Thirty-second Wis. V. I. ; from the camp 
at Oshkosh he went in November to Mem- 
phis, Tenn.. which was headquarters for 
eleven months. The regiment was then 



sent to \'icksburg. Going into camp at 
I Meridian, Miss., it was engaged one week 
in destroying railroads, and after the fall of 
Vicksburg it returned to Memphis, thence 
proceeding via Cairo to Paducah, Ky. , 
where it brushed against the enemy; thence 
proceeded indirectly to Decatur, Ala., where 
it lay encamped five months. Advancing to 
Atlanta, it did guard and picket duty, and 
after the evacuation of Atlanta, marched 
three days and three nights to Jonesboro. 
In the following battle the Thirt\-second 
supported the batteries. Returning to At- 
lanta and resting a few days, the regiment 
participated in the glorious march to the 
sea. and was thirty days in reaching Savan- 
nah, tearing up railroad tracks on the way. 
Just before the battle there the Thirty-second 
was ordered out on a track-destro\ing e.x- 
pedition in the adjoining country. Embark- 
ing at Savannah in boats, it landed at Beau- 
fort, N. C. , and thence marched on to 
Washington, making the journej* in fifty- 
nine days, during which it engaged in 
numerous skirmishes with the enemy. At 
the battle of Bentonville the Thirty-second 
was on the extreme right of Sherman's 
army, and was engaged for three days and 
three nights. Mr. Worden was mustered 
out at ^^'ashi^gton June I2. 1865. and dis- 
charged nearly two weeks later at Milwau- 
kee. He reached home June 24, 1864. At 
Memphis he lay sick in the hospital for about 
six weeks, but was sick three months after 
rejoining his regiment, though never off duty 
during this time. 

Mr. Worden traded his propertj- in 
Stockton for a tavern in Seymour, but seven 
months later he returned with his family to 
Stockton township. Working out as a farm 
hand for about a year, he, in 1877, bought 
his present farm of eighty acres of wild land 
in Buena Vista township. Section 15. He 
built a home and cleared up the farm, which 
he has ever since occupied, adding to it 
sixty acres in Section 23. Mr. and Mrs. 
i Worden have eight children, as follows: 
I Marion, a farmer of Buena \'ista, born at 
Middlebury, N. Y. , May 14, 1852, married 
October 29, 1879. at Stockton to Emaline 
Aber, by whom he had seven children; 
Mary, Dora, Henry, \^'illis, Irving, Eva and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



395 



Claude; Mary A., born in Columbia county, 
Wis., August 2, 1 8 54, died October 6, 1863; 
Merritt U., born in Stockton township, July 
30, 1856, married July 5, 1875, to Rosa 
Callans, by whom he has four children. 
Flora, Emma, Austin and Elmer; Nettie 
A., born May 3, 1858, married October 13, 
1875, to John Aber, a farmer of Pine Grove 
township, and mother of four children, 
Delia, Nancy, Nettie and John; George H., 
born May 13, i860, married January 9, 
1 88 1, to Jane \'anderworth, by whom he 
had six children, Walter, Leo, Ava, Efifie, 
Susan and Ruby; Frank E., born April 12, 
1862, died January 31, 1862; Emma E., 
born April 24, 1867, died May 6, same 
year; Homer D., born September 11, 1873, 
married, December 2, 1894, to Bertha 
Ruter, who was born in Germany in 1876, 
and when six years old came to America 
with her parents, now residents of Buena 
Vista township. 

Mr. Worden is a member of G. A. R. 
Post No. 149, Plover. He is a Republican, 
but is not actively interested in politics, and 
while in Stockton township he was super- 
visor for two years. In religious belief he 
is a Protestant, but not connected with any 
Church society. In disposition he is genial 
and kind-hearted, and is highly esteemed by 
all who know him. 



THOMAS T. BURR. The life of 
this worthy gentleman has been 
strongly marked by enterprise and 
energy, and forms an example well 
worthy of emulation. A native of Chautau- 
qua county, N. Y. , he was born September 
14, 1830, and is a son of Daniel and Mary 
(Hawes) Burr, also natives of the Empire 
State, who were the parents of eleven chil- 
dren. 

When our subject was about three 3'ears 
of age they removed to Beachwood, Penn. , 
and thence to Ohio, where Thomas began 
his education in the district schools, his 
privileges in that direction being very mea- 
gre. In 1849 he became a resident of the 
then new State of Wisconsin, locating in 
Albany, Green county, but in less than a 
year he removed to Wood county, making 



his home in the town of Seneca until 1861, • 
at which time he became a resident of Grand 
Rapids. In the township just mentioned he 
was married in 1857, the lady of his choice 
being Miss Mary Jane, who was born May 14, 
1839, daughter of William and Jane Leach- 
man, and by this union there were seven 
children, as follows: Charles Maylon, born 
in Seneca township, March 10, 1859; Ro- 
setta Arminda, born in Grand Rapids, June 
26, 1862; Elmer T., born October 23, 1866; 
Almon, born September 23, 1868; Leland, 
born September 7, 1871, died in 1S74; 
Frank, born September i, 1873, died in in- 
fancy; and Celia May, born in Grand Rap- 
ids, May 30, 1877; with the exception of 
the eldest child, all were born in Grand 
Rapids. 

Mr. Burr manifested his loyalty to the 
government during the Civil war by enlisting 
in September, 1861, in the Twelfth Wis. 
V. I. ; but after he had served about eleven 
months he was discharged at Leavenworth, 
Kans. , on account of physical disability 
caused by exposure and hardships. He at 
once returned to his home, and has since 
continuously resided in Grand Rapids, one 
of its valued and highly-esteemed citizens. 
He holds membership with the Grand Army 
of the Republic Post, No. 22, and in poli- 
tics he is a stalwart supporter of the Repub- 
lican party. He and his family attend the 
Congregational Church. Their home is a 
hospitable one, and the members of the 
household occupy an enviable position in 
social circles. 



AO. TOWNE is the owner of one of 
the fine farms of Portage county, 
his home and its surroundings com- 
prising one of the best-appointed 
country places in Belmont township. His 
fields are well tilled, he keeps only a good 
grade of stock, his improvements are mod- 
ern, and everything about the place indicates 
the careful supervision of the owner. 

Mr. Towne was born in Hodgdon, Me., 
October 20, 1848, and his school privileges 
were those afforded at that day by the pub- 
lic institutions of learning. With his parents 
he came to Wisconsin during his boyhood. 



39^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and was reared on the old home farm, 
which is now in his possession, so that the 
place is dear to him from the associations of 
early youth. On April 14, 1871, he was 
united in marriage in Belmont township, 
with Miss Sarah M. Fairbanks, who was 
born in that township July 9, 1855, a 
daughter of Cyrus and Evaline Fairbanks, 
the former a native of Jefferson count}', 
N. Y. , the latter of Calais, Me. Mr. and 
Mrs. Towne have three children — one son 
and two daughters — Gertrude E., now the 
wife of Thomas M. Deering, a resident of 
Rose township, Waushara county, Wis. ; 
and Ray E. and Maud E. , at home. The 
family circle yet remains unbroken by the 
hand of death. 

Upon their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
Towne went to live with his parents. Our 
subject devotes his time and energies to 
agricultural pursuits, and his farm comprises 
152 acres of Wisconsin's rich land, while 
his home, erected in 1894, is one of the 
finest in Belmont township. Hospitality 
there abounds, and both Mr. and Mrs. 
Towne e.xtend to their many friends a hearty 
welcome. This worthy couple are consistent 
members of the Methodist Church, both 
have been teachers in the Sunday-school, 
and he is now serv-ing as church steward. 
In politics he is a stanch Republican, and 
feels a deep interest in the success and 
growth of his party. The best interests of 
the community ever find in him a friend. 



JOHN D. SWAN. Among the most 
solid and substantial elements in our 
national fabric are the sons and daugh- 
ters of old Scotia who have become cit- 
izens of this "land of the free," as well as 
those who trace descent from them. The 
genius of Scott, the patriotism and thrilling 
pathos of Caledonia's bard, the devotion of 
her clergy, the memories of Bruce and Ban- 
nockburn, are living forces, repeated in the 
lives of many, and help to crown the glories 
of the great Republic. Of the honored 
number from such a parentage is Mr. Swan, 
whose steady and successful career is one 
well worthy of emulation. He was born 
October 9, 1858, in the township of Lan- 



ark, Portage Co., Wis., son ot Thomas and 
Martha (Mcjennet) Swan. 

Thomas Swan was born in February, 
181 1, in Lanark, Scotland, came with his 
parents to America in 1821, settling in Lan- 
ark, Canada, at which place he was mar- 
ried. In 1847 he came with his family to 
Wisconsin, locating in the town of Vinland, 
Winnebago county, where he remained a 
short time, and then moved to a farm in 
what is now Lanark, Portage county, being 
one of those who gave the town its name. 
With the assistance of his son John D. , he 
carried on the farm until 1885, when he 
sold out to the latter, and now makes his 
home with him. After receiving his educa- 
tion in the district schools of Lanark, Port- 
age count}^ John D. Swan went north and 
worked for si.x winters in lumber camps. He 
also worked in Minnesota, and in 1880 at 
Stevens Point, delivering ice. On April 17, 
1884, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Marian Ovens, and their union has been 
blessed with two children: William R., 
born April 14, 1885, and Helen E., born 
October 22, 1890. Mrs. Swan is the daugh- 
ter of James and Helen (Swan) Ovens, who 
were natives of Scotland. She attended 
school in Lanark, Portage county, until she 
was fifteen years of age, then went to the 
high school at Waupaca, Waupaca county, 
for one year, after which she taught school 
in Portage county for a number of years, up 
to the time of her marriage. 

In 18S5 Mr. Swan bought his present 
farm of 160 acres from his father, and now 
has one hundred acres of this property un- 
der cultivation. In the summer of 1894 he 
was emploj'ed as traveling salesman for 
agricultural implements by Gallagher & 
Hanej', of Waupaca, ^^^aupaca county, but 
resigned this position, as it interfered with 
his farming interests. He has always voted 
the Republican ticket, and in religion both 
he and his wife are Presbyterians. 



STEIN BROTHERS is the name of a 
well-known firm of Clintonville, com- 
posed of George and Charley Stein, 
dealers in general merchandise, grain 
and farm produce. They are now conduct- 



COMMEMOBATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



397 



ing a paying business, and are recognizeJ as 
leading business men of the town in which 
they are located. 

Charley Stein was born in Medina, Outa- 
gamie county, Wis., July 3, 1861, son of 
John and Catherine (Zehner) Stein, both 
natives of Penns3-lvania, born of German 
lineage. The father has followed both farm- 
ing and carpentering. In an early day he 
became a resident of Wisconsin, and has 
since been identified with its interests. At 
this writing he makes his home in Clinton- 
ville, and is one of its highly-respected 
citizens. He left his native State in 1834, 
removing to Lancaster county, Ohio, where 
he was united in marriage with Miss Zehner. 
He then brought his family to Wisconsin, 
settling near Medina, Outagamie county, 
where he purchased a tract of timber land, 
and opened up a fine farm, which he placed 
under a high state of cultivation and im- 
proved with all modern accessories. There 
he carried on agricultural pursuits until 1 889, 
when he sold out, and with his wife came to 
Clintonville, where they are now living. 

This worthy couple became the parents 
of eight children: Samuel, who died in the 
army; Elizabeth, wife of Demming Mc- 
Clatchie, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; Mary, wife 
John Kennedy, a resident of Shiocton, Outa- 
gamie county; Lorana, deceased; Almeda, liv- 
ing in Clintonville; Nancy Lewis, located in 
Outagamie county; John; and George and 
Charley, of the firm of Stein Brothers. The 
children were reared on the old homestead 
and the public schools of the neighborhood 
afforded them their educational privileges. 
In 1S84 Charley Stein went to Dakota, 
where he engaged in farming, and the ne.xt 
year he was joined bj' his brother George. 
He spent four years in the West and South, 
working at the carpenter's trade during a part 
of this time, but in 1886 George returned to 
Wisconsin. In 1888 Charley Stein again went 
to Medina, Wis. They traded their property 
in the West with G. W. Jones for the ele- 
vator and other business property they own 
in Clintonville, and have since built up an 
extensive business as dealers in farm pro- 
duce, flour and groceries, lime, brick, 
cement, hair, etc. Their trade is constantly 
increasing and has now assumed extensive 



proportions, while the income derived there- 
from numbers them among the substantial 
citizens of the community. They possess 
good business and executive abilit}-, and 
their diligence and enterprise have been the 
chief factors in their success. 

In 1894 Charley Stein was united in 
marriage with Miss Dora Van Doren. In 
December, 1890, George Stein had married 
Miss Nellie Briggs, and they are now the 
parents of a little daughter, Catherine. The 
brothers hold membership with the Metho- 
dist Church, and are straightforward, honor- 
able business men who have won the con- 
fidence of all with whom they have been 
brought in contact. In politics they are 
supporters of the men and measures of the 
Republican party, and Charley Stein has 
served as alderman from his ward for two 
terms. 



NC. NELSON, a highly-esteemed rep- 
resentative citizen of lola township, 
Waupaca county, is a native of Nor- 
way, born November 25, 1850. His 
father, Abraham Nelson, a blacksmith by 
trade, sailed in 1851 with his family for 
America, reaching New York after a voyage 
of about seven weeks. He was a consump- 
tive, and with the hope of benefiting his 
health sought a home in the New World. 
They came direct to Wisconsin by way of 
the lakes and Milwaukee, and made a loca- 
tion near First Lake. In the spring of 1854 
he removed to lola township, locating in 
Section 32, on an old claim, where the 
former proprietor had made some improve- 
ments. There was no house, however, and 
Abraham Nelson erected a hewn log house, 
16x24 feet, which stood about five rods 
east of the present home of our subject. He 
also built a blacksmith shop upon his farm, 
being the first to follow his trade in lola 
township. When in Norway he had also 
operated a sawmill in connection with his 
farm and smithy, and was always an indus- 
trious, enterprising man. He came to lola 
township when the city of lola was yet a 
thing of the future, not a building standing 
on its site. He continued his residence on 
the farm in Section 32 until consumption 



39S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



finally terminated his life in the fall of 1857. 
He was laid to rest in the old cemetery at 
Scandinavia. In religious belief he was a 
Lutheran, and contributed to the building 
of the first church of Scandinavia. There 
were five children who came with the parents 
to this countr)': Andrenna, who died on 
the home farm in lola township; Louisa, 
wife of Nels Olson, of Scandinavia; Chris- 
tina, wife of Johannes Olson, of lola; Jo- 
hanna, wife of Julius Ingbretson, of lola; 
and N. C. The death of the father thus left 
a widow and four children, and for some 
time thereafter the mother rented her farm. 
Later she^ married Hans Hawell, and is now 
living in lola at the age of seventy-eight. 

N. C. Nelson, who was an infant at the 
time his parents crossed the Atlantic, was 
reared to manhood amid the wild scenes of 
frontier life in Wisconsin. He began his 
education under the instruction of Sarah 
Hopkins, and attended the common schools 
of the neighborhood, in which he has since 
seen great improvement — an advancement 
he heartily endorses. He spent his life 
upon the home farm, aiding in the labors of 
the field until si.x'teen years of age, when he 
began work in the lumber woods, then the 
popular employment for young men, thus 
spending nine winters in work for others. 
He "ran the river" for nine seasons, and 
made six trips to St. Louis with lumber, 
going down the Wisconsin and Mississippi. 
On September 25, 1879, in Scandinavia, 
Wis., Mr. Nelson married Miss Carrie G. 
Brecce, who was born in that place, June 
27, 1855, a daughter of Amund, one of the 
early settlers of Scandinavia. In the village 
of lola Mr. Nelson owned a house and lot, 
and there the young couple began their 
domestic life. They have four children: 
Ida S., born July 13, 1880; Hannah Lettie, 
born April 17, 1882; Nora C. , born March 
2, 1887; and Arnet F. , born March 28, 
1 890. 

For some time prior to his marriage Mr. 
Nelson followed blacksmithing in lola, and 
continued it until April 10, 18S0, when he 
removed to his present farm in Section 32, 
lola township. It then comprised ninety- 
four acres, and was owned by his widowed 
mother. He there built a shop and carried 



on blacksmithing for a time, and to some 
extent he has engaged in the lumber busi- 
ness, getting out timber. He now owns 334 
acres of land, one hundred of which are 
under a high state of cultivation, and the 
place is accounted as one of the model farms 
of the county. In 1893 he built the finest 
brick house in lola township, and in 1887 
he put up an excellent barn, 60x44 feet, 
with an underground stable. In politics, 
Mr. Nelson is a Republican, and has held 
several school offices. He and his wife are 
members of the Lutheran Church, in which 
he acted as trustee, and he is a charter 
member of lola Lodge, No. 282, I. O. O. F. 
He is truly a self-made man, of excellent 
business ability, keen discrimination and 
good judgment, and his success is entirely 
due to his own efforts. In manner he is 
pleasant and genial, and his elegant home, 
the abode of hospitality, is alwaj's open for 
the reception of his many friends. 



JOHANNES OLSON, one of the well- 
known and highly esteemed citizens of 
lola township, Waupaca county, served 
his country during the Civil war. His 
birth occurred in the town of Ixonia, Jeffer- 
son Co., Wis., November 15, 1845. 

His father, Ole Johnson, was a common 
laborer in Norway, and like many of his 
countrymen he concluded to come to the 
United States, where better opportunities 
were afforded a poor man, homes being 
cheaper and labor better paid. The voyage 
to America, which was made in 1843, was a 
long and dangerous one. the vessel on which 
they sailed being old, and on the high seas 
they encountered a severe test for it. After 
thirteen weeks they landed safely at New 
York. Their destination was Stoughton, 
Wis., at which time railroads had not been 
built through, and the journey had to be 
made by water. After going up the Hudson 
to Albany they went by way of the Erie 
canal to Buffalo, being hauled by mules; 
from there by the lakes to \\'isconsin. They 
did not locate at Stoughton, as they first in- 
tended, but the father purchased forty acres 
of land in Ixonia township, Jefferson coun- 
t}-, where the family made their home until 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



399 



1857, during which time Wisconsin was ad- 
mitted as a State, and the northern part of 
the State offered superior inducements to 
the early settlers. Mr. Olson had added 
thirty acres to his farm, which then com- 
prised seventy acres; this he sold, and with 
the family removed to New Hope, Portage 
county. 

The journey was made with o.xen, and 
only such household articles as were abso- 
lutely needed were brought. They were 
twelve days in coming to Scandinavia, Wau- 
paca county, where they paused. The route 
lay through Watertown, Berlin, Pine River 
and \\'aupaca, many places on the road be- 
ing almost impassable, while the streams 
had to be forded, though a few were spanned 
with poor bridges. Such were the hard- 
ships and difficulties the early pioneers had 
to encounter in coming to a new portion of 
the State. The family came to Section 10, 
New Hope township, Portage county, where 
the father had previously located 320 acres 
of land. It was yet in a primitive condi- 
tion, and a log cabin, 14x16 feet, was their 
first shelter. Game was plentiful, deer be- 
ing in droves, as well as other wild animals. 
There were necessarily many drawbacks; 
their grain had to be hauled to Neenah, 
Waupaca, and even to Appleton, to get cash 
for it. Such difficulties, with onl}' oxen for 
beasts of burden, give but a faint idea of 
what the pioneers had to endure. In 1862 
Mr. Johnson sold his farm and purchased 
another tract in the same township, where 
his remaining days were passed. He had 
gathered a comfortable amount of earthly 
goods, his farm was well kept, and he was 
truly a successful farmer. He was a short, 
thick-set man, at one time strong and ro- 
bust, and his death ensued from heart dis- 
ease, in 1866, when he was aged forty-nine. 
His wife, who was born August 24, 1S20, 
died January 24, 1862, and they both lie 
buried in New Hope Cemetery. They were 
members of the Lutheran Church of that 
place, which was the first church organized 
there, and Mr. Johnson helped to erect the 
house of worship. In political sentiment 
he was a stalwart Republican, and like all 
patriotic members of that party was much 
elated at Lincoln's election. 



In the family there were eight children: 
Regnheld, born in Norway, February 24, 
1843, died of scarlet fever February 7, 1859, 
in New Hope township, Portage Co., Wis.; 
Johannes, our subject; John, born in Jef- 
ferson county, October 8, 1848, and now 
residing in New Hope, Portage county; Ida, 
born April 15, 1852, in Jefferson county, 
died of scarlet fever February 6, 1859, only 
twenty-four hours before her eldest sister; 
Lena, also a native of Jefferson county, now 
the wife of Johannes Halverson, of Alban 
township. Portage county; Annie, who was 
born in Jefferson county, now the wife of 
Anton Johnson, of Stevens Point, Wis. ; the 
two younger children were born at New 
Hope — Julius, an employe in the pinerj' 
districts, and Ida, married, and living in 
Minnesota. 

Our subject acquired his education in 
the district schools of Wisconsin, but being 
the eldest son he was naturally the one of 
whom help at home would be asked. As it 
was a new farm, work was plentiful, and his 
schooling was thus neglected. He has wit- 
nessed the great changes in the schools of 
the present da\-, which he fully endorses, 
believing education essential for good gov- 
ernment, and while not having the chances 
himself he realizes, how necessary it is. His 
early life was not unlike that of most farmer 
lads, and he remained at home until his en- 
listment in the Union army during the Civil 
war. At Scandinavia, Wis. , July 19, 1864, 
Mr. Olson became a member of Company 
A, Forty-second Wis. V. I., under Capt. 
Duncan McGregor. He was mustered in at 
Madison, Wis., whence he was sent to 
Cairo, 111., where headquarters were made 
until his discharge, doing guard and patrol 
duty, at times going down the Mississippi 
a? far as Vicksburg. He was discharged at 
Cairo, June 22, 1865, and returned home. 
At the time of his enlistment he was a strong 
robust man, to whom a sick day was un- 
known, being five feet ten inches in height 
and weighing 181 pounds. While he was 
not wounded, he sustained what has proven 
far worse — the loss of his health and 
strength, as the result of the malarial nature 
of the surroundings at Cairo, and the fre- 
quent inundations there. He contracted the 



400 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPBICAL RECORD. 



disease which proved fatal to many of his 
comrades, and probablj' his j'outh and vigor- 
ous constitution was all that saved his life. 
He has never seen a well day since. 

In Scandinavia township, Waupaca 
county, October 23, 1870, Mr. Olson was 
united in marriage with Miss Christina Nel- 
son, who was born in Norway, May i i , 
1846, and came with her parents, Mr. and 
Mrs. Abraham Nelson, to the New World 
when only five years old. Her brother, N. 
C. Nelson, is one of the leading farmers of 
lola township. By her marriage she has 
become the mother of ten children, their 
names and dates of birth being as follows: 
Oscar A., August 16, 1871, at Stevens 
Point, Wis.; Henry E., October 30, 1872; 
Julius R., Aprils, 18/4: Sophia R., April 7, 
1876; Clara J., June 16, 1S7S; Ida M., 
March 28, 1880; James A., April 28, 1882; 
John E., March 29, 1884; Louisa, Febru- 
ary 27, 1886, and Nels E., August 24, 1889. 
The four eldest were born at Stevens Point, 
and the others in lola township, Waupaca 
county; they are all still at home. 

At the time of his marriage Mr. Olson 
was making his headquarters at Stevens 
Point, and working wherever he could find 
employment. He then located at that 
place, where he owned a house and lot, and 
there remained until the spring of 1877, 
when he removed to lola township, and 
rented the Abraham Nelson farm for three 
years. In the spring of 1880 he purchased 
160 acres in Section 33, the same township, 
which he went in debt for. There were a few 
small improvements upon the place, but no 
fence or house, and he has since sold forty 
acres. Since 1882 Mr. Olson has not 
been able to perform a day's work, the en- 
tire management of the farm being looked 
after by his sons, who are industrious, en- 
terprising young men. They have been of 
great assistance to him, who without their 
aid would have been left in any but a for- 
tunate condition. This fact alone is the 
source of no small amount of satisfaction to 
the parents, whose lives have been spent 
for their family, and they now have the 
pleasure of seeing them growing up into 
good and worthy citizens. Mr. Olson and 
his family are consistent members of the 



Lutheran Church of Scandinavia, and he is a 
charter member of lola Post, No. 99, Grand 
Army of the Republic. 



ITHAMAR LAWRENCE, police justice 
of the village of i^Iosinee, Marathon 
county, was born in Middlebury, \'t., 

June 29, 1838, and is a son of Harvey 
H. and Chloe E (Ball) Lawrence, who were 
of English and Welsh ancestry. 

Harvey H. Lawrence was born in We}'- 
bridge, Vt., July 10, 1792, and his wife, 
whose maiden name was Chloe E. Ball, was 
born July 2, 1802, in the same State, and 
about sixt}' miles from Weybridge. In Ver- 
mont, where Mr. Lawrence was engaged in 
agricultural pursuits, they resided until 1858, 
then came west and located in Wausau, 
Marathon Co., Wis. At Wausau Mr. Har- 
vey Lawrence served as postmaster for six 
years, being the second postmaster appoint- 
ed in that place, and after resigning that of- 
fice he lived a retired life; he died December 
26, 1876, his faithful wife having preceded 
him to the grave, her death having occurred 
in Berlin, Wis., June 28, 1870. They had 
born to them eleven children, only two of 
whom are now living: Henry, who resides 
in Chicago, 111. ; and Ithamar, the subject 
of this sketch. 

Ithamar Lawrence was educated at Mid- 
dlebury Academy, \'t. , and after completing 
his education, and when eighteen years of 
age, came west, locating at \\'ausau, Mara- 
thon Co., Wis., where he was engaged in 
the lumbering business for about six years. 
On January 16, 1862, in Oshkosh, Winne- 
bago Co., Wis., Ithamar Lawrence was 
united in marriage with Miss Hattie A.Crane, 
and to their union have been born four chil- 
dren, all living, namely: EfSe, born Octo- 
ber II, 1865, wife of William Wilson, and 
residing in Wausau: Charles A., October 6, 
1867; Frank E., August 9, 1869, and Harry 
A., August II, 1878 — the three first men- 
tioned having been born in Oshkosh, and 
Harry A. in Mosinee. Mrs. Ithamar Law- 
rence is a daughter of Timothy E. and 
Aphia (Gordon) Crane. 

Timothy E. Crane was born in Edding- 
ton, Maine, in 1814. He removed to Osh- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



401 



kosh, Winnebago Co., Wis., in 1857, and 
was an honored resident of that city until 
his death, which occurred January 6, 1893. 
Aphia (Gordon) Crane, his wife, was born 
in HolHs, Maine, in 1820, and died in Orono, 
Maine, October 6, 1854. They had born 
to them a family of four children, of whom 
two are now living — Hattie A., Mrs. Law- 
rence, and Emma, wife of Timothy Swan, 
residing in Oshkosh. In 1859 Mr. Law- 
rence removed to Mineral Point, Iowa Co., 
Wis., and from that time until 1861 was en- 
gaged in railroading on the Mineral Point 
railwa}', the Chicago & North Western, the 
Green Bay & Winona, and also during that 
time, for one year, in railroading for the 
government in the State of Georgia. He 
lived in Oshkosh until moving, in 1873, to 
New London; was lumbering on the Wolf 
river for a few years, and then resided four 
years in New London, Waupaca Co., Wis.; 
he removed to Mosinee, Marathon county, 
in 1876, was occupied in lumbering and 
logging with his brother until 1S85, and 
since that date has been engaged as a lum- 
ber scaler. In 1888 he was appointed police 
justice for the town of Mosinee, and still fills 
that position with honor to himself and to 
to the satisfaction of the residents of the 
village. Mr. Lawrence is an old and high- 
ly-respected resident of Mosinee, and is hon- 
ored by all who know him. In political 
views he is a stanch Republican. Mr. Law- 
rence and his wife attend the Episcopal 
Church. 



WILLIAM F. CORCORAN is a na- 
tive of Ireland, born in County 
Tipperary, February 21, 1844, son 
of James and Margaret (Ryan) 
Corcoran, natives of the same country. 

In 1847, when our subject was in his in- 
fancy, they bade adieu to home and friends 
and crossed the briny deep to the New 
"World, first locating in Canada, where they 
passed the succeeding nine years of their 
lives. In 1854 they became residents of 
Wisconsin, settling in Sauk county, but af- 
ter a short time removed to Grand Rapids. 
Here the father spent his remaining days, 
and was called to the home beyond, m 1891, 



at the advanced age of tighty-two years; 
his widow still survives him and is now liv- 
ing in South Dakota. Their family num- 
bered twelve children, onl}' three of whom 
are living at the time of this writing (summer 
of 1895). William F. is the eldest of the 
surviving children, the others being Mar}', 
wife of Timothy Conway, a resident of 
Washington; and Margaret, wife of John 
Stivers, who is located in Huron, South 
Dakota. 

William F. Corcoran was a lad of ten 
summers when with the family he came to 
this State. His interests have since been 
identified with those of Grand Rapids, and 
he is recognized as one of her valued and 
progressive citizens. The common schools 
afforded him his educational privileges, and 
when his school life was ended he became 
identified with the lumber interests, working 
in the forests of Wood county and on the 
river. For sixteen years he was employed 
as foreman by the firm of George A. Neeves 
& Son, and his long continuance with them 
indicates his fidelity to their interests and 
his efficiency in their service. In 1870, he 
began the business of surveying and making 
timber estimates, and for the last ten years 
has engaged in business in his own interest 
along that line. He well deserves the suc- 
cess that has come to him, for he has ever 
made the most of his opportunities and used 
ever legitimate advantage for winning pros- 
perity. 

On July 12, 1873, Mr. Corcoran was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary A., 
daughter of Michael and Catherine (Moran) 
Brennan, both now deceased; she has two 
surviving brothers — John T. and William 
D., both living in Grand Rapids. Mr. and 
Mrs. Corcoran have had a family of eight 
children whose names and dates of birth are 
as follows: Mary G., May 6, 1875; John 
W., December 23, 1876; Michael J., Feb- 
ruary 8, 1879, and died July 12, 1881; 
Catherine L. , February 10, 1883; Charles 
E. , February 25, 1888; and Thomas Em- 
mett, April 16, 1891. They have an ad- 
opted son, Michael Francis, whose parents 
are both deceased, his father, Michael Cor- 
coran, having been a brother of our subject. 
In politics, Mr. Corcoran is a Democrat, 



403 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



having supported that party since attaining 
his majorit)'. In 1889 he was appointed 
county surveyor, and filled the position in 
such a trustworthy manner that on the ex- 
piration of his two-years' term he was re- 
appointed in 1891, serving until 1893. He 
is a man of strict integrity, and a well-spent 
life has gained for him the esteem and con- 
fidence of all with whom he has been 
brought in contact. 



IRA PURDY is numbered among the 
venerable residents and early settlers of 
Grand Rapids, Wood county, whose 

heads are crowned with the snows of 
many winters that mark well-spent lives, 
and who have been spared to see the place 
of their abode transformed from a mere 
hamlet into a flourishing manufacturing 
town. Our subject was born in Palmyra 
township, Wayne county, Penn., May 6, 
1 8 19, and is a son of James and Charity 
(Carey) Purdy. The family at one time 
numbered seven children, three of whom 
have departed this life, the four yet living 
being Ira; Eliza, wife of W. H. Mapes, of 
Milwaukee, ^^'is. ; William, who is residing 
in Luzerne county, Penn. ; and Manson, a 
resident of Iowa. 

Ira Purdy received but a limited educa- 
tion in the district schools of his native 
town, and then began learning the trade of 
sash and blind making, at which he worked 
for about three years. He then learned 
millwrighting, and after removing from 
Wayne county to Luzerne county, Penn., 
he followed the latter occupation four j-ears. 
His ne.xt place of residence was in North- 
ampton, Conn., and thence he emigrated 
westward, settling in Whiteside county. 111., 
where he worked at his trade of millwright 
from September, 1845, until January, 1846. 
The latter year witnessed his arrival in 
Grand Rapids, and here he embarked in 
logging and millwright work. Four years 
were passed in that way, when he removed 
to Marathon county. Wis., but after a year 
passed there he went to Plover, Wis. , where 
the two succeeding j'ears of his life were 
spent. Again coming to Grand Rapids, he 
resided here continuously until 1 88 1 , in which 



year he went to North Dakota, where for 
six years he devoted his time and energies 
to agricultural pursuits. Since 1888 he has 
again been identified with the interests of 
Grand Rapids and Wood county, and is 
numbered among the valued and enterpris- 
ing citizens of this locality. 

Mr. Purdy has been twice married; first 
time to Miss Susan Kline, who lived less than 
a year, and for his second wife he wedded 
Miss Mary Powers, by whom he has had one 
daughter, now the wife of A. W. Rumsey, 
of Grand Rapids. He and his wife attend 
the Baptist Church, and in both Church and 
social circles, the}' have many warm friends. 
He has long witnessed the growth and de- 
velopment of this locality, and in all mat- 
ters pertaining to its welfare has manifested 
a commendable interest. 



JOHN A. STEWART, mayor of Clinton- 
ville, Waupaca county, was elected to 
that important office in the spring of 
1 894, and is discharging his duties in a 
capable and able manner. He is one of the 
foremost men of the county, taking an act- 
ive interest in its welfare and advancement. 
In 1880 he became a resident of Clinton- 
ville, where he has since been principally 
engaged in handling tan-bark, meeting with 
excellent success. Before coming to this 
county Mr. Stewart had resided in Chicago, 
locating in that city in i860, where he was 
engaged as a bookkeeper until the fall of 
1S63, in which year he entered the provost 
marshal's office in Marengo, 111., remaining 
thereuntil 1865. In that year he returned 
to Chicago, where he engaged in the com- 
mission business, and was also connected 
with the Board of Trade until 1879, when 
he again went to Marengo, and a year later 
came to Clintonville. 

Mr. Stewart was born in Canada in 1836, 
and is a son of Alexander and Jane (Cansic) 
Stewart, the father a native of Perthshire, 
Scotland, the mother of Yorkshire, England. 
Their wedding was delebrated in Edinburgh, 
Scotland, and they emigrated to Canada in 
1834, where for five years they made their 
home, coming to McHenry county, 111., in 
1839, and settling on a farm. The father 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



403 



there made his home until his death, in 
1866 ; the mother survived him several 
years, dying on the old home farm in 1883. 
The family of this worthy couple consisted 
of eight children, a brief record of whom is 
as follows : Elizabeth, widow of J. G. 
Vawter, lives in Rockford, 111.; Jeannette, 
wife of O. C. Higgins, resides near Harvard, 
111. ; Jane, wife of S. S. Crandall, is also a 
resident of Rockford ; Margaret, who died 
in Dixon, 111., in 1853, was the wife of W. 
Scott Stewart ; Alexander Stephen enlisted 
in 1862 in the Ninety-fifth Ills. V. I., Com- 
panj' A, of which he was made captain, 
serving three years, and died in Indianapolis, 
Ind. , in 1890 ; John A. is the next in order 
of birth ; William H. resides near St. Croix 
Falls, Wis. ; Kate still makes her home on 
the farm in McHenr}- county, Illinois. 

The subject proper of these lines was 
reared to manhood in McHenr}' county, en- 
gaging in agricultural pursuits, and there re- 
ceived most of his education, afterward, in 
1854, taking a commercial course under D. 
\'. Bell, of Chicago. In 1855 he went to 
^^'iuterset, Iowa, where he engaged in mer- 
cantile business some six months, and then 
returned to Marengo, 111., clerking in a dry- 
goods store. In May, 1866, Mr. Stewart 
wedded Mary A. Bayley, a native of Austra- 
lia, and a daughter of Elisha and Mary A. 
(Beale) Bayley, who were born in England. 
The parents afterward removed to Chicago, 
and there the father engaged in the real- 
estate business, dying there in 1864; the 
mother's death occurred in 1889 in the same 
city. There the wife of our subject also 
died in 1879, and is buried in Oakwood 
cemetery. Mr. Stewart was again married, 
this time in October, 1S85, to Miss Ella J. 
Chambers, a native of Weyauwega, Wis. , 
and a daughter of William Chambers, an 
honored pioneer of that place. Unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Stewart have been born four chil- 
dren: Ella Gertrude, Marjorie Kate, Mary 
Elizabeth, and John Malcolm. 

In politics, Mr. Stewart advocates the 
principles of the Republican party, which he 
has supported since casting his first vote for 
Abraham Lincoln in i860. He served as 
alderman for three years, but now holds the 
highest municipal office, that of mayor of 



Clintonville, and in his position as head of 
village affairs is exercising the same good 
judgment which has been conspicuous in all 
his relations in life. He has seen many 
changes take place in Waupaca county, and 
has aided materially in its development, 
being therefore numbered among its most 
prominent and highly respected citizens. 



CR. MALLORY (deceased) was for 
many years connected with the agri- 
cultural interests of Waupaca county, 
making his home in St. Lawrence 
township. He was born in the town of Mil- 
ton, Chittenden Co., Vt., November 5, 
1 82 1, and was a son of Moses Mallory, a 
native of Northfield, Mass. In Vermont the 
father married Polly Newell, a native of 
Milton, that State, and our subject was the 
only son and oldest child born to them. In 
the common schools he acquired his educa- 
tion, and when a young man began boating 
on the Lake Champlain, following the same 
some ten years. 

On March 13, 1850, Mr. Mallory was 
married in the town of Westford, \'t , to 
Adeline Allen, who was born January 13, 
182S, in Oakham, Worcester Co. Mass., a 
daughter of Lysander and Mary (Woodbury) 
Allen, natives of the same county, the 
father's birth occurring in the town of Oak- 
ham, the mother's in Barre. Mrs. Mallory 
is one of their family of eight children — five 
sons and three daughters — the others being: 
Seneca W., who died in Vermont, in Sep- 
tember, 1850; Mary G., whose death occur- 
red about the same time in Vermont; Lysan- 
der H., a manufacturer of Amherst, Mass.: 
Haskell H., a resident of Springfield, Mass.; 
Charlotte E., who died in Essex, Vt., in 
June, 1850; Lewis W., a lumber merchant 
of Amherst, Mass. ; and J. West, who died 
in September, 1850. The father and three 
of the children died in the same month, the 
entire family being ill with typhoid fever at 
that time. He and his wife were buried in 
the town of Westford, Chittenden Co., Vt., 
though the latter's death occurred in Massa- 
chusetts, in March, 1884, when she had 
reached the age of eighty years. After his 
marriage, Mr. Mallory began railroading on 



404 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the Vermont Central railroad, and later 
was employed by the Michigan Southern & 
Northern Indiana Railroad Company, now 
the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- 
road Company, serving as conductor for 
several years on both freight and passenger 
trains. 

In the spring of 1858 Mr. Mallory left 
Colchester, Vt. , for Wisconsin, accompanied 
by his wife and two sons. West A. , born 
October 15, 1852, and R. C. By way of 
the Vermont Central they traveled to Rouses 
Point, thence to Ogdensburg, N. Y. , from 
there by boat to Toronto, and thence to 
Collingwood. They then proceeded to 
Green Bay, Wis., via the straits of Macki- 
naw, from that place to Oshkosh, thence to 
Northport by way of the Wolf river, then 
by wagons to St. Lawrence township, Wau- 
paca county, where they settled in Section 
36. Mr. Mallory had previously been 
through this territory in search of pine land, 
and was thus acquainted with the country. 
While their log house was being built the 
family made their home with William Cain, 
and, although the country was new and 
sparsely settled, their home was quite pleas- 
ant. The boys were lost at one time while 
playing but a short distance from the house. 
After their arrival in this State a daughter 
was born — Mary, whose birth occurred De- 
cember 30, 1858. She is now Mrs. John 
Ritchie, of Royalton township, Waupaca 
county. The father began to clear and im- 
prove the land, making it one of the best 
farms of the neighborhood. 

Mr. Mallory was a man of great strength, 
and after coming to Wisconsin had charge 
of a log train north of Stevens Point. His 
weight avoirdupois was instrumental in caus- 
ing him to give up his position with the 
Wisconsin Central railroad, in 1S73, after 
being in the emplo}' of that company for 
about a year. His death occurred October 
29, 1890, after an illness of only about two 
weeks, and he was interred in the brick 
school house cemetery. In later life he af- 
filiated with the Republican party, prior to 
which he was a stanch supporter of the 
Whig party, voting for William Henry Har- 
rison, and during the campaign of 1840 he 
drove a team which hauled a log cabin. 



Since his death Mrs. Mallory resides with 
her son, R. C. In the fall of 1872, she and 
her family returned to Amherst, Mass., 
where they spent a year visiting. 

R. C. Mallokv, the second son of C. R. 
Mallory, was born in Essex, Vt., September 
19, 1854, and came to Wisconsin with his 
parents when four years old. He conned 
his lessons in the Block School House, 
where almost his entire education was re- 
ceived, with the exception of the year spent 
in Massachusetts, where he also pursued his 
studies. He has always considered Wau- 
paca county his home, although for three or 
four winters he was employed in the lumber 
regions and also "ran the river," being on 
the Wolf river and tributaries. He en- 
dured all the hardships incident to that busi- 
ness. In Parfreyville, Wis., January 3, 
1885, Mr. Mallory married Miss Kate Han- 
na, a native of Waupaca county, and a daugh- 
ter of Isaac and Margaret (Lindsay) Hanna, 
natives of Ireland, the former of whom is a 
farmer and lumberman. To our subject 
and wife have been born seven children: 
Frankie, Lee A., Dee Lindsay, Rex C, 
Bernice, and Margaret and Adeline (twins). 

Mr. Mallory has made farming his princi- 
pal occupation, and now owns 160 acres on 
the northeast quarter of Section 36, St. 
Lawrence township. He is an industrious, 
energetic man, and the improvements upon 
the place are all of a high character. He 
takes great interest in county and township 
affairs, and always casts his ballot with the 
Republican party. Socially he is a member 
of the I. O. O. F. Lodge No. 211, Ogdens- 
burg. 



BYROX J. LAMBERT. Success 
comes not alone by taking advantage 
of surrounding opportunities, but 
from creating them. Garfield says: 
"We must not wait for things to turn up; 
we must turn them up." With this view of 
life acting as a motive power, Mr. Lambert 
has steadily and persistently worked his way 
upward, attaining the goal of his hopes. He 
is now one of the most prominent business 
men of Merrill, Lincoln county. 

Our subject is a native of Wisconsin, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



405 



born in Markesan, Green Lake county, No- 
vember 15, 1857, and is a son of Charles D. 
Lambert, whose birth occurred in England 
on March 23, 1829. The father has two 
brothers living — Robert, who still makes his 
home in England; and Henry, a resident of 
Painted Post, N. Y. When Charles was 
but seven years old his parents died, and he 
was bound out to a farmer of England, who 
soon afterward came to America and located 
in the State of New York. He remained 
with that gentleman several years, and then 
followed the lake for a time, after which he 
came to Kenosha, Wis., but still later re- 
moved to Markesan. In the latter city the 
father was married, in 1853, to Miss Maria 
A. Crown, who was born in Vermont in 
1832, a daughter of Adison and Amity 
Crown, who were the parents of nine chil- 
dren: Moses, Auldin, Oren, Frank, Martha, 
Harriet, Hannah, Cynthia and Maria. Her 
parents, who were also natives of the Green 
Mountain State, where the father engaged 
in farming, came to Wisconsin, locating in 
Marquette county. There the mother died 
in 1880, and the father passed away three 
years later. To Mr. and Mrs. Lambert were 
born nine children: Charles, Brion, Louis, 
Frank, John, Archibald, Albert, Melissa and 
Frances. During the Civil war the father 
served in the army as a mechanic, being lo- 
cated at Nashville, Tenn. After his return 
home he began the furniture business in 
Markesan, Wis. , which he still continues. 
He has been variously employed since com- 
ing to America, working for a time at both 
the carpenter's and butcher's trades, and has 
also conducted a hotel. 

In the common schools of Wisconsin 
Byron J. Lambert received his early educa- 
tion. At the age of seventeen he began 
assisting his father in the furniture business, 
and he remained at home until he had 
reached the age of twenty-two. He then 
went to Waupun, Wis., where he was em- 
ployed as bookkeeper by Hopkins & Jen- 
nings, pump and windmill manufacturers, 
and for a while traveled for the same com- 
pany. In December, 1880, he arrived in 
Merrill, and clerked in the " Merrill House " 
for one year, at the end of which time he 
entered the employ of P. B. Champagne as 



bookkeeper in his store and lumber business, 
serving in that capacity from 1881 to 1886. 
In the latter year, however, he bought an 
interest in the store, and the firm name be- 
came B. J. Lambert & Co. Here he car- 
ried on general merchandising until 1890, 
when he sold out. In 1885 he was made 
secretary and treasurer of the P. B. Cham- 
pagne Lumber Company, which offices he 
held until the company was re-organized in 
1888. On the death of Mr. Champagne, in 
July, 1890, Mr. Lambert was appointed 
executor of his will, and re-elected treasurer 
of the Champagne Lumber Company. This 
office he continued to hold until January i, 
1894, when he resigned and has since lived 
retired, though he is still a stockholder of 
the company and also of the National Bank 
of Merrill. 

On September 8, 1S92, Mr. Lambert 
was united in marriage with Miss Emma 
Strickland, daughter of George and Helen 
Strickland. Politically our subject has 
always cast his vote with the Democratic 
party, but has no desire for office, preferring 
to give his undivided attention to his person- 
al interests. With the Masonic fraternity 
he holds high membership, having attained 
the Thirty-second degree, and for two years 
he served as master of Merrill Lodge. 



FREDERICK RUNGE, who is now 
conducting a general store in Mer- 
rill, Lincoln county, has for fifteen 
years there made his home, and is 
numbered among the most progressive bus- 
iness men. He came to this country from 
Germany, his birth having occurred in Prus- 
sia, February 3, 1843, and is a son of Jacob 
Runge, who was born in the same province 
April 27, 181 1. The latter was one of a 
family of four children, the others being 
John, Christopher and Jane; Christopher 
died in 1845, at the age of eighteen years. 
Jacob Runge, the father of our subject, 
was a shoemaker by trade, and in his native 
land wedded Charlotte Genrich, by whom 
he had nine children, as follows: Matilda, 
Frederick, Charles, Amelia, Gustina, Ferdi- 
nandiana, Albert, Wilhelmina and Alvina, 
the latter of whom is now deceased. On 



4o6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



leaving the Fatherland for the New World, 
in 1865, the father was accompanied by all 
his famil}' (with the exception of our subject 
who was then in the German army), locat- 
ing in Oshkosh, Wis., where he passed awa}" 
February 14, 1879; his wife was called 
to the final home in 1892, while a resident 
of Merrill. 

The subject proper of these lines during 
his boyhood received the education that was 
afforded by the common schools of Germany, 
and as soon as old enough began learning 
the shoemaker's trade with his father. In 
August, 1863, he entered the Prussian army, 
serving in the infantry for nearh' three years 
and a half, and participating in the war be- 
tween Prussia and Austria. His time hav- 
ing expired in December, 1 866, he was 
mustered out, and in the following April 
started for America, the sailing vessel on 
which he embarked occupying more than six 
weeks in making the voyage across the At- 
lantic. After landing on the shores of this 
countrv he went direct to Oshkosh, Wis., 
where he worked at his trade until 1S73. In 
that year he removed to Escanaba, Mich., 
where he was similar!}' employed for one 
year, when he returned to Oshkosh and pur- 
chased a shoe shop, which, however, was 
destroyed by fire in 1875. ^^ then emi- 
grated to Missouri, locating in the city of 
Macon, where he opened another shop, but 
was again burned out three years later. He 
inmiediately resumed business, however, 
continuing in the same until 1880, when he 
sold out and returned to ^^'isconsin. This 
time he located in Merrill, where he estab- 
lished a similar line of business, and in 1885 
added a harness shop. This he carried on 
until 1894, when on selling out he built his 
present store building, in which he is carry- 
ing a general line of merchandise. He is 
always pleasant and accommodating, and at- 
tends strictly to the wishes of his customers, 
for which reason he is receiving a liberal 
patronage. 

In Oshkosh, Wis., in November, 1878, 
Mr. Runge married Miss Anna Puestow, who 
was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, in 
1848, and came to the United States with 
her mother in 1867. Her father had died in 
his native land, leaving a widow with six 



children, namely: Sophia. Anna, Dora, 
Mary, Charles and Henr\-; the mother is 
still living and has now reached the ripe old 
age of eighty years. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Runge have been born eleven children, four 
of whom are now deceased: Paul, Elsie, 
Oswald and Elizabeth. Those living are 
Mary, Charles. Anna, Frederick, William, 
Christine and Gustave; of these Mary, now 
the wife of \\'illiam Johonas. resides in 
Merrill. Mr. Runge is entirely a self-made 
man and deserves much credit for the suc- 
cess he has achieved. On landing in Amer- 
ica he had only six dollars in his pocket, 
and from this small beginning he has stead- 
il\" worked his way upward until he is now 
a well-to-do man, the proprietor of one of 
the best general stores in Merrill. He and 
his family are communicants of the German 
Lutheran Church, while in politics he is in- 
dependent. 



ALPHEUS M. LANING, a largely in- 
terested mill-owner and progressive 
citizen of Antigo, Langlade county, 
was born in Dodge count}. Wis., 
March 21, 1S52, a son of Azariah and Jane 
(McConnell) Laning. 

The father of our subject was a native of 
Guernsey county, Ohio, a son of Abraham 
Laning, a Methodist minister who had a 
family of ten children, five sons — Richard, 
Azariah, Isaac, Joseph and John — and five 
daughters whose names are not known, all 
of whom, excepting Azariah, moved to Mis- 
souri and died there. The latter was twice 
married, first time, in Ohio, to Margaret 
McCune, and the}' then moved to Wiscon- 
sin, where two children — Hannah M. and 
Leroy — were born to them. In 1849, soon 
after the birth of Leroy, the mother died, 
and two years later, in April, 1851, Azariah 
Laning married Jane McConnell, a native of 
Ohio, born June 10, 1828, in Belmont 
county, daughter of Alexander and Jane (Mc- 
Cune) McConnell. respectable farming peo- 
ple who were the parents of six children — 
three sons, Alexander, James and Thomas, 
and three daughters, Mary, Hannah M. and 
Jane. In 1S44 the family came to Wiscon- 
sin, settling in Dodge county, on a farm. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



407 



The parents were both of Scotch descent, 
the mother's family being especially promi- 
nent. The McCunes trace their lineage back 
to Queen Mary's time, to one John McCune 
who wrote freely and fearlessly on ' ' the free- 
dom of the Press. " This brought upon the 
family the wrath of the Queen, and they, 
being persecuted, fled to the North of Ire- 
land for safety. Some time later two of 
their descendants, James and Thomas, anx- 
ious to escape with others to a land of indi- 
vidual freedom, came to America. Mrs. 
Laning's grandfather, Thomas McCune, 
when seventeen years of age, enlisted as a 
soldier in the Revolutionar}' war, and served 
seven years, coming out as colonel. In 1798 
he settled in Ohio, and from then until the 
time of his death he was prominent in the 
history of the State. He was always in 
public life, spending eleven years in the 
State Legislature. Here also, in 1800, the 
four McConnell brothers — James, Alexander, 
William and Robert — settled, and for many 
years were farmers in that State. Azariah 
Laning had three children, viz. : Alpheus 
M., Libbie and Mary, the last named being 
now deceased. 

Alpheus M. Laning, the subject proper 
of these lines, was educated at Ripon, Wis., 
having the advantages of both the high 
school and college there. After finishing 
school he remained with his father at Ripon 
up to the time of the latter's death, which 
occurred April 25, 1880. They were sash 
and door manufacturers, and in connection 
carried on an extensive contracting and 
building business. After the death of the 
father, Alpheus took entire charge of the 
concern, and carried it on after reorganizing 
it into a stock company. In 1890 the plant 
was removed to Antigo, when the nature of 
the business was slightly changed. The 
company is now known as the "Antigo 
Screen-door Co.," carrying on the manu- 
facture of screen-doors, windows, etc., and 
owning, in connection, a large sawmill. Mr. 
Laning is now president of the organizaticn, 
and general manager of both the factory and 
the mill, each of which carries a payroll of 
about fifty men, and does an exceptionally 
large and successful business. 

On October 25, 1876, Mr. Laning was 



married, at Ripon, Wis., to Miss Maria 
Horton, daughter of Aaron and Irene (Try- 
on) Horton, well-to-do farming people, both 
natives of New York State, and who were 
among the first settlers of Fond du Lac 
county. Wis., where the mother died in 
1S90, the father in 1893. They were the 
parents of ten children, six of whom are liv- 
ing, as follows: Charles, in South Dakota; 
George A., a photographer, of Beaver Dam, 
Wis. ; Malinda, now Mrs. F. M. Lampson, 
of Oshkosh, Wis. ; Josephine, wife of J. W. 
Watson, of Fond du Lac, Wis. ; Isadore, 
wife of Frank Mayham, of Brandon, Wis. ; 
and Maria, wife of Alpheus M. Laning. 
Those deceased are: Sarah, Mrs Clark; 
Harriet, Mrs. Goodall; William, who left 
two sons, George and Frank; and Amanda, 
who died at the age of seventeen years. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Laning have been born six 
children: George, Fred, Roy, Lynn, May 
and Guy. Politically Mr. Laning is a stanch 
Republican, a strong party man, though 
never seeking political honors; he is now 
alderman of Antigo, and held a similar office 
in Ripon three years while making his home 
there. In 1889 he visited the Pacific coast, 
and he has also traveled widely throughout 
the South. In religious faith he is a mem- 
ber of the Congregational Church at Antigo, 
his sister being the wife of Rev. Campbell, 
pastor of that congregation. Socially he is 
a member of the F. & A. M., and is a 
Knight Templar. Mr. and Mrs. Laning and 
family enjoy the respect and esteem of a 
large circle of friends in and around Antigo, 
in the social life of which city they maintain 
a prominent position. 



WM. EDW. LANGENBERG, pro- 
prietor of one of the leading in- 
dustries of Stevens Point, Portage 
county, is a native of New York 
City, born August 29, 1850, son of Edward 
Langenberg, who was born April 18, 1821, 
in Weimar, Saxony, German}*. 

In his native land the father of our sub- 
ject learned the tailor's trade, and as his 
parents were in limited circumstances he 
early started out in life for himself. In 
1848 he crossed the Atlantic on a sailing 



4oS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



vessel to America, the voyage lasting seven 
weeks. In New York City he worked at 
his trade, and there married Johannah Von- 
Nesse, a native of Arnstadt, Germany, 
born June 28, i82'4. After his marriage he 
had but $1.25 to begin life with. Two 
children were born in New York, a daugh- 
ter, who died in infancy, and our subject. 
Later, Edward Langenberg removed to 
North Bergen, Hudson county, N. J., where 
he took out naturalization papers, and there 
followed his trade. In 1853, in search of a 
home, he came to Wisconsin, locating near 
Sauk City, where he had his first experience 
at farming; two years later, however, he 
came by team to Little Eau Plaine, Portage 
county; by a small steamer he went from 
Stevens Point to near where Dancy, Wis., 
now stands. He rented a house, but after 
a short time removed to Big Eau Plaine, 
Marathon county, W^is. Near Drake's mill 
he purchased a small tract of land and fol- 
lowed logging, shingle-making and farming; 
then, early in the spring of i860, he came 
to Stevens Point, where he carried on his 
trade of tailoring, also clerking for George 
Green, a merchant. 

In June of the same year Edward Lan- 
genberg traded a yoke of o.xen for ten acres 
of land in Section 20, Hull township. Port- 
age county, and soon afterward added thir- 
ty acres more. On that farm a small frame 
house was erected, I4.\ 24 feet, in which the 
family lived, though the father still clerked 
and followed his trade in Stevens Point. A 
clearing was made and farming carried on; 
the father would chop two cords of wood in 
a day, help our subject load it into a wagon 
for market, and then work until late at night 
at his trade. They thus got the money to 
pay for a yoke of oxen, and added to their 
farm until it contained eighty acres. The 
mother passed away there February 2, 1889, 
and was buried in the Episcopal Cemetery 
at Stevens Point. In that city. May 11, 
1890, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. 
Emily Podach, the father's death occurred. 
They were Lutherans in religious belief, 
while politically Mr. Langenberg was a Re- 
publican, and for one term he served as 
clerk of Hull township. Portage county. 
After the arrival in Wiscpnsin the family 



circle was increased by the birth of three 
children: Frank, born November 22, 1855, 
at Little Eau Plaine, and now living with 
our subject; Emilj', born at Big Eau Plaine, 
Marathon Co., Wis., February 8, 1859, is 
the wife of Frank Podach, of Stevens Point; 
and Clara, born June 5, 1861, died Septem- 
ber 13, same year. The father was an in- 
dustrious-, hard-working man, and at his 
death left the family in comfortable circum- 
stances. 

W. E. Langenberg was but a child when 
his parents came to Wisconsin, and still 
quite a small boy on their arrival in Portage 
county. He was unable to attend school 
until ten years of age, and received his first 
literary instruction at the Old White School 
House on Water street, Stevens Point. His 
educational privileges were quite meagre, 
however, as he left the school room at the 
age of fourteen. His training at work was 
not so limited, and he remained at 
home until after reaching his majority. 
In an Episcopal Church at Stevens Point, 
March 17, 1872, Mr. Langenberg was united 
in marriage with Mary E. Roberts, a native 
of Maine, born March 8, 1851, daughter of 
Joseph Roberts. They were blessed with a 
family of six children : Edward Wm., born 
in Hull township. Portage county, Decem- 
ber 17, 1872, was educated in the high 
school and business college of Stevens Point, 
being the first graduate of the latter, and is 
at present bookkeeper for his father, whom 
he serves in an able manner ; George J., 
born August 30, 1874, is also employed by 
his father ; Walter, born February 21,1 877, 
died in infancy ; Jennie J., born January 30, 

1879, is at home ; Frederick, born July 21, 

1880, died September 15, 1881 ; and Ida 
J., born June 27, 1882, is also at home. 
The mother of this family died October i, 
1882, and was buried in the Episcopal 
Cemetery. She attended the church of that 
denomination, and was a highly respected 
lady. On February 3, 1884, at Menominee, 
W^is. , Mr. Langenberg wedded Miss Augusta 
L. Strache, who was born in Zechin, Ger- 
many, September 6, 1864, and is a daughter 
of Christian Strache. To them have been 
born five children: Katherine E., born 
November 13, 1884; Charles, born April 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



409- 



10, 1886, died August 20, same year ; Hattie 
A., born June 29, 18S7 ; Ella L. , born June 
18, 1889; and \\'illiam E., born September 
30, 1891. 

The brick making industry, in which our 
subject has now been engaged for nearly 
thirty years, was established in the fall of 
18G6 on the home farm. There was a great 
demand for brick at that time at Stevens 
Point, and a brewer who had burned the 
brick for his own plant advised the father of 
Mr. Langenberg to engage in their manu- 
facture. During the rainy season, when the 
oxen's feet would sink deep in the ground, 
they would find traces of clay. In 1866 the 
father began brick making, tramping the 
clay with his feet, and in this way made 
4,000 bricks which were air-dried and never 
burned, yet sold readily at $20 per thousand, 
the customers coming to the j'ard for them. 
Good prices and demand for brick prompted 
a more extensive venture, and in 1867 a 
partnership was formed with George Zim- 
mer, which was dissolved that fall ; the fol- 
lowing year a connection was formed with 
William Zimnier for one season. The father 
was then alone until 1870, when our subject 
was admitted to partnership, but during the 
years previous had been in the employ of 
his father. For five years the connection 
continued, when Mr. Langenberg withdrew, 
but still worked for his father, and for a 
time at the carpenter's trade in Stevens 
Point. In June, 1880, along with Frank 
Podach, he purchased the business of his 
father, the firm style becoming Langenberg 
& Podach, but two years later Mr. Podach 
withdrew. Edward Langenberg & Son then 
conducted it until November 13, 1885, when 
our subject became sole owner, still con- 
tinuing the business. The plant has been 
enlarged from time to time, until it now has 
a capacity of five million brick annually, and 
a kiln capacity of one million and a half. 
There has been a wonderful change in the 
method of making the bricks ; at first the 
mud was mixed with the feet, then oxen were 
used, and later horse-power and a pug mill ; 
in the fall of 1881 steam power was added, 
and a P. L. Sword brick machine, manu- 
factured at Tecumseh, Mich. ; they still use 
the same make of machinery. 



In 1889 Mr. Langenberg began handling 
lime, cement, plaster and tile in connection 
with the sale of his brick, and now carries 
on business at No. 147 Main street, Stevens 
Point, where, in 1894, he erected a sub- 
stantial two-story brick block. He also 
owns a sawmill, and in 1889, in partnership 
with his father, established a general store, 
which he disposed of on the father's death. 

Mr. Langenberg is a very busy man, and 
understands every detail of his business, 
which has grown to such proportions that 
he now employs from twenty-five to fifty 
men all the year round. Although he started 
out with comparatively nothing sa\e bis own 
indomitable energy, he has now a comforta- 
ble competence, and ranks among the pros- 
perous business men of Stevens Point. He 
is a Republican in politics, and a member of 
Eintracht \'erein. Mrs. Langenberg, who 
is a most estimable lady, holds membership 
with the Lutheran Church. 



WILLIAM A. CRAVEN, one of the 
honored veterans of the Civil war, 
enlisted at Madison, Wis., in Sep- 
tember, 1 86 1, as a member of 
Company H, Eighth Wis. V. I., serving 
under Capt. Stephen Estes and Gen. Hal- 
leck in the Western army, Sixteenth Army 
Corps. The troops first went to St. Louis, 
afterward to Fredericktown and Pilot Knob, 
and made Sulphur Springs their winter 
quarters. They then proceeded to Cairo, 
from thereto Island No. 10, Pittsburg Land- 
ing and Corinth, participating in the battles 
at those places and also luka, and afterward 
talking part in the second battle of Corinth. 
The regiment was then engaged in the seige 
of Vicksburg, thence went to Memphis, 
Tenn., and under A. J. Smith was in the 
Red River expedition. Mr. Craven received 
his discharge in 1S63, but was the first man 
to re-enlist, becoming a member of the same 
compan}' and regiment. He first went to 
Oxford, afterward to Coffeyville and Abbe- 
ville, and then pursued Price on his raid 
through Missouri. The regiment then re- 
turned to St. Louis, from there went to 
Nashville, Tenn., and thence to New Or- 
leans. They then took part in the siege of 



4IO 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 



Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, and Mr. 
Craven then received his final discharge in 
September, 1865, at DemopoHs. Ala., hav- 
ing served as a valiant soldier for three 
years. He had endured all the hardships 
and prisations of army life, and was always 
found at his post of duty. 

Mr. Craven was born in Crawford county, 
Fenn., in 1842, and is a son of Jesse and 
Lodecia (Muller) Craven, the former a na- 
tive of the same State, the later of Ohio. 
They were married in Pennsylvania, and in 
1850 emigrated to \\'atertown, Wis., where 
the father engaged in carpentering, and was 
also a bridge contractor and builder. His 
death there occurred in 1878; his widow is 
still living, and now making her home with 
her daughter. In the family were three chil- 
dren: William A., subject of this sketch; 
Mary, wife of ^^'ill^am Foote, of Outagamie 
count}', Wis. ; and George, who makes his 
home in Indian Territory. 

William A. Cra\en learned carpentering 
in his youth, and in the schools of Water- 
town, Wis., received his education. He 
was but eight years of age on coming to this 
State, and here he has passed nearlj' his 
entire life. In 1866 he went to Manhattan, 
Kans. ; there worked at the carpenter's trade. 
He was married in that cit}- October 4, same 
year, to Marj' E. Graft, who was born in 
Ohio, a daughter of John and Emzy Graft, 
both natives of \'irginia. The parents re- 
moved to Kansas at an early day, becoming 
pioneers of Manhattan, being there at the 
time of the Lane troubles. The father was 
a farmer by occupation, and later removed 
to Iowa, where he opened up a farm in Page 
county, but his death occurred at Manhat- 
tan, Kans. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. 
Craven were nine children, two of whom 
are now deceased: Inez, who died in 18S7 
at the age of sixteen years, and Mabel, who 
died in 1891 at the age of twelve; those 
living are: Ira E., a lumberman of north- 
ern \\'isconsin; Austin, a jeweler of Marion, 
Wis. ; Jesse, a lumberman at Rhinelander; 
Charley, who is engaged in business with 
his father; and Willie, Maggie, Archie and 
Bessie. 

In 1879 Mr. Craven returned to Wiscon- 
sin, settling in Clintonville, Waupaca coun- 



ty, where he has since made his home. 
This place was then but a small town, and 
here he worked at the trade of millwright, 
traveling all over the northern part of the 
State engaged in the same line of work. He 
is a representative of one of the honored 
pioneer families of Wisconsin, and has 
taken an active interest in its prosperity. 
Socially, he holds membership with J. B. 
Wyman Post, No. 32, G. A. R. , being one 
of its charter members, while his wife is an 
active member of J. B. W'yman W. K. C, 
Clintonville, ^^'is. In politics he affiliates 
with the Republicans, deeming that in that 
party is the best guarantee for the perpetua- 
tion of the principles of free government. 
He is a very liberal and public-spirited man, 
taking a foremost position in ever\" move- 
ment or enterprise promising benefit to the 
coinmunitv at large. 



JOSEPH SHACKETT, a prosperous 
farmer of Clintonville, Bear Creek 
township, ^^'aupaca county, was born 
August 10, 1837, in Montreal, Canada. 
His parents, Peter and Amelia (Plant) Shack- 
ett, were born in Canada, and were of 
French descent. They had a fam.ily of chil- 
dren as follows: Louis, Sophia, Frank, 
Lucy, John, Matilda, Antony, Joseph (of 
whom we write) and a twin brother, Ella, 
and two that died in infancy. Peter Sack- 
ett was a da\' laborer. 

Joseph Shackett had very limited oppor- 
tunities for an education, as the family was 
large, and it was necessary that the children 
should earl}' seek a living for themselves. 
He began working out at the early age of 
thirteen, and has ever since earned his own 
living. When fifteen he went to what was 
called the North Island, and lived with an 
uncle for five years; then returning home, 
he remained about five years, working as a 
day laborer. 

On January 6, i860, Joseph Shackett 
was married to Ellen John, and six children 
have been born to them: Julia, Nellie, 
Hattie, Jessie, Frank and George, three of 
whom are married, the other three making 
their home with their parents. Mrs. Joseph 
Shackett is a daughter of Mitchell and Rose 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



411 



(Brow) Jolin. who were the parents of six 
children: James, Ellen (Mrs. Shackett), 
Zebulon, Elizabeth, Orilla, and one that 
died in infancy. Mr. Shackett's people lived 
and died in Canada. He and his wife and 
her people came to Fond du Lac, Fond du 
Lac Co., Wis., January 2, 1S62, and finally, 
after about eleven years, Mr. and Mrs. 
Jolin, with some of their children, came to 
Bear Creek township, Waupaca county, and 
bought forty acres of land in its primitive 
condition, when there were no roads but 
Indian trails to mark their way. Here they 
passed the remainder of their lives, and here 
they started to hew out of the wilderness 
what is now a pleasant home. Mr. Shack- 
ett, meanwhile, worked in a sawmill in Fond 
du Lac, and become head sawyer, and he 
has been connected with this business from 
time to time ever since. He and his family 
came to Bear Creek one year after his wife's 
people, and he helped clear his father-in- 
law's land, and, in fact, paid for the place. 
The old people both died in the log house 
which they built soon after coming — Mrs. 
Jolin on May 8, 1890, Mr. Jolin November 
10, 1S90, and they were both buried in 
Clintonville. Mr. Shackett has about thirty- 
five acres of land cleared, has built a sub- 
stantial house, and has a happy home. 
Politically he is a Republican, and he and 
his wife are both members of the Catholic 
Church. 



DANIEL GRAHAM. Among the first 
residents of Eagle River, Vilas 
county, this is a well-known name, 
Mr. Graham having, since his com- 
ing here in 1S82, been one of its most active 
and public-spirited citizens, both in business 
and social circles. 

He was born in Lockport, N. Y., July 
iS, 1842, son of Daniel Graham, Sr. , who 
was a native of Massachusetts, born in 1795 
in Northampton. His father, also named 
Daniel, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 
and emigrating to America married here and 
settled in Massachusetts, where he followed 
fanning. He had a family of twelve chil- 
dren, of whom seven are named respec- 
tively: Elisha, Daniel, Job, Esther, Pris- 



cilla, Adeline and Thomas. Grandfather 
Graham served five j'ears in the Revolution- 
ary war, and was wounded in the battle of 
Trenton. He and his wife both died at 
Northampton. 

Daniel Graham, father of our subject, 
married Parmelia Sackett, who was born in 
1800 at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y. , a descend- 
ant of the well-known Sackett family of that 
place; she had brothers and sisters, but little 
is known of them or of the parents. When 
about twelve years of age she went to live 
with a family named St. Johns, near Lewis- 
ton, N. Y. At the fall of Fort Niagara, in 
1 81 3, the entire family were taken prisoners 
by the Indians, and Mrs. Graham saw the 
Indians burn two of Mrs. St. Johns' children 
in the fireplace; the others were released 
that night by the British General Brock, and 
they set out on foot for Batavia, N. Y. , 
Mrs. Graham meeting her husband for the 
first time on that trip; he was a soldier with 
Mr. St. Johns at Fort Niagara, was taken 
prisoner and paroled. Daniel Graham served 
throughout the war of 181 2, was at Lundy's 

j Lane under Scott, and after the conflict he 
married and settled in Lockport township, 
Niagara Co., N. Y. , buying his first land of 
the Holland Land Purchase Company. 

1 After improving this place he sold it and 
then purchased the old homstead of over 
300 acres, where he passed the rest of his 
life, dying there in 1854; his widow died in 

i 1887. The}' were the parents of ten chil- 
dren, of whom seven lived to maturitj', \iz. : 
Angeline, Adeline, Tompkins, Welthy, Ed- 
ward, Frank and Daniel; George, Josephine 

I and Thomas died young, and were buried in 
the family cemetery at Lockport, N. Y. 
Daniel Graham, Sr. , was a strong Whig, 
and took an active part in the affairs of his 
locality, holding many positions of trust in 
his township and county — such as commis- 
sioner, county judge and offices of like im- 
portance. He had prospered as an agricul- 
turist, and was in good circumstances at the 
time of his death which was caused by 
cholera. 

Daniel Graham, whose name introduces 
this sketch, was reared on the home farm 
and received a good public-school education, 
attending the district schools of the home 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



neighborhood and also Lockport High 
School. In 1856, when fourteen years of 
age, having brothers in Chicago he went to 
that city and there took a course in Bryant 
& Stratton's Business College. In the fall 
of 1858 he went to New Orleans in company 
with A. P. Marshall, a levee contractor, and 
then went on a surveying trip along the 
Mississippi and Red rivers with Robert Tin- 
ney, State surveyor of Louisiana, with whom 
he remained until March, 1861, when he re- 
turned to Chicago. Mr. Tinney became 
colonel of the First Louisiana Regiment, and 
he offered Mr. Graham a place in the regi- 
ment, but our subject, being a loyal Union 
man, enlisted, in August, 1861, in Company 
I, Sixty-seventh 111. V. I., for three months, 
at the end of which time he was honorably 
discharged. On December 24, 1862, he 
again enlisted, this time in the Third Wis- 
consin Battery, under Capt. L. H. Drury, 
and served to the end of the war in the 
army of the Cumberland, participating in 
the battles of Stone River, Duck Creek, 
Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Lookout 
Mountain, after which he was transferred 
with two guns to the U. S. steamer, " Look- 
out," taking supplies up to Knoxville. He 
saw over a year of such service, and was in 
several fights with guerrillas, a band of 300 
once attacking them, but they were put to 
flight. In the spring of 1864 he was re- 
leased from this duty, and was with Sherman 
up to the siege of Atlanta, in the engage- 
ments that followed, and next went with 
Gen. Thomas to Tennessee, being with him 
at Franklin and three days later at Nash- 
ville. He was then attached to the brigade 
detailed to capture Jefferson Davis, and on 
July 3, 1865, received an honorable dis- 
charge at Madison, Wis., as sergeant, to 
which rank he had been promoted siiortly 
after his second enlistment. At the battle 
of Chickamauga his command lost their rear 
battery, and he was wounded and taken 
prisoner, but he soon made his escape. Mr. 
Graham's eyesight had been weakened dur- 
ing his service in the army, and for a few 
years he did little work. His first business 
venture was the manufacturing of staves 
and headings, in Chilton, Wis., which he 
carried on twelve years, at the end of that 



time going to Antigo, where he was em- 
ployed as surveyor and woodsman, entering 
pine lands, some two years. In 1882 he 
came to Eagle River, then in Oneida coun- 
ty, being one of the first settlers here, and 
since that time has been engaged in lumber- 
ing and surveying. 

Mr. Graham is a Republican in politics, 
and an active man in his section, having 
since 1885 been county surveyor of Oneida 
county, and, since its organization, of Vilas 
county; also serving as chairman of the town 
and county board, court commissioner, 
justice of the peace, and in other oflces. In 
1893 he was one of those instrumental in 
having Vilas county set off from Oneida 
county, and he is universally recognized as 
one of the most enterprising citizens in the 
locality. 

In 1884 Mr. Graham was united in mar- 
riage to Estella M. Wright, who was born 
in Waupaca, Wis., daughter of James and 
Mary (Sommers) Wright, the former of 
whom was killed in the battle of Port Hud- 
son. Mrs. Graham had one brother and one 
sister — Wallace and Dora. After the father's 
death Mrs. Wright, who now lives .at 
Antigo, married Henry Shipley, by whom 
she had two children: Alvin and Lillian. 
Socially, Mr. Graham is a member of the K. 
of P. 



GEORGE S. ROBERTSON, one of 
the honored band who have come 
to Wisconsin and hewed a home out 
of the wilderness, is engaged in the 
active management of his farm in Section 36, 
Royalton township, Waupaca county. He 
was born in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, 
in February, 1855, and is a son of Duncan 
and Mary (Houston) Robertson, who were 
natives of Ayrshire, Scotland. 

Duncan Robertson grew to maturit}' on 
a farm in Ayrshire, and at the age of twenty- 
six went to Glasgow, where he was after- 
ward married, and worked in a bonded ware- 
house there, which occupation he followed 
till he left Scotland to come to America. 
Arriving in Royalton township, Waupaca 
Co., Wis., in 1S68, he bought at first forty 
acres in the virgin forest, where the family 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



413 



made their home. His death occurred in 
Rovalton township in 1881. PoHtically he 
was a Democrat, and in rehgious affiliation a 
member of the Presbyterian Church. His 
widow owns the home farm, where she con- 
tinues to reside, and which now consists of 
one hundred acres, with good improvements, 
seventy of which are cleared. Their chil- 
dren were: William, living at home; Dun- 
can, who died in Glasgow in 1861; George, 
who died at the age of a year and a half; 
George S., the subject of this record; Wal- 
ter, a farmer in Dayton township; John, 
who died in Glasgow; Andrew, living on the 
home farm; and Christina, who was a 
teacher in the Weyauwega schools, and in 
Northport and Phillips, ^^'is., and died in 

1893- 

George S. Robertson passed his earlier 
years in Glasgow, Scotland, and was edu- 
cated in the schools of that city. At the 
age of eleven he was employed as an office 
boy for commission merchant and civil en- 
gineer, and remained with the same em- 
plo_\'er till he left his native land, when he 
came to Wisconsin with his father and 
mother and the rest of the family. Coming 
to Royalton township, Waupaca county, in 
1868, he engaged in farming and aided in 
clearing his father's land. In 1876 he 
bought a timber tract of ninety acres, part 
of which he afterward cleared, locating upon 
it in 1880, and he now owns iio acres of 
land, of which over sixty are cleared; he 
does general farming, and has a good herd 
of Jersey cattle. 

In 1879, in Royalton township, Wau- 
paca count}', George S. Robertson and Miss 
Josephine Ballard were united in marriage, 
and two children have been born to them — 
Mary and Duncan. Mr. Robertson is a 
Democrat, and is the district clerk of his 
district. He has done his share in clearing 
the land in Royalton township, has noted 
the progress of improvement, and ever been 
interested in the welfare of the county. 
Mrs. Robertson was born in Berlin, Wis., 
daughter of Lyman and Mary (South) Bal- 
lard. Lyman Ballard, son of Nathan Bal- 
lard, was born in New York in 1825, in 
which State Mary South, who became his 
wife, was also born. He grew to manhood 



in New York, was a farmer by occupation, 
and came to Wisconsin about the year 1S59, 
locating near Berlin. He afterward re- 
moved to Royalton township, Waupaca 
county, went to Casselton, N. Dak., about 
1882, and there died in 1887; his widow 
now resides in Todd count}', Minn. They 
had a family of nine children, as follows: 
Royal, residing in Casselton, N. Dak. ; 
Rispa, twin sister, wife of Wallace Wells, 
of Manawa, Wis. ; Daniel, residing in Min- 
nesota; Josephine (Mrs. Robertsonj; Wall- 
ace, who died in 1882, in Waupaca county, 
Wis., at the age of twenty-two; Nelson, 
who died in Duluth, Minn., in 1893; Mary, 
who died at the age of two years; Ralph 
and Effie, both residing in Minnesota. Mrs. 
Robertson was reared in Waupaca county, 
and has witnessed much of its growth and 
progress. 



JOHN MOREY, an enterprising and 
progressive farmer of Waupaca town- 
ship, Waupaca county, claims Eng- 
land as the land of his birth, which 
event occurred in Cheshire, April 5, 1S33. 
His father, William Morey, was a native of 
the same locality, born in June, 1809. He 
was a farmer by occupation and rented the 
land which he operated, but owned a 
pleasant little cottage in Shropshire. The 
grandfather of our subject, James Morey, 
also a native of Cheshire, and a farmer by 
occupation, wedded Mary Wharahm, and 
four children blessed their union: John, 
William, James and Ann. The father of 
this family died in England in March, 1S49, 
after which the mother and her daughter 
crossed the ocean to Canada, where her last 
days were passed. 

William Morey was reared on the old 
homestead, and to his father gave the bene- 
fit of his services until he had attained his 
majority. In 1831 he married Ann Platte, 
a native of Cheshire, and a daughter of John 
Platte, who was foreman of an estate in 
that locality. John Platte had four sons and 
five daughters: Samuel, John, George, 
Thomas, Ann, Elizabeth, NIargaret, Ellen, 
and Mary. The parents both died in Eng- 
land. In the year 1850 William Morey, 



414 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



accompanied by his family, crossed the wide 
ocean to the New World, settling on Prince 
Edward Island, where he followed farming 
six years. He then removed to St. Lawrence 
county, N. Y., and upon the farm which he 
there purchased made his home ten years, 
when he came to the West, locating in La- 
fayette county, Wis. The succeeding three 
years of his life were passed upon a farm of 
200 acres which he there purchased, and 
then occurred his removal to Portage county. 
Wis., where he made his home some ten 
years. Selling out, he then joined his son 
James in Massachusetts, where his death oc- 
curred in 1880. His wife passed away in 
1889. They were people of fair education, 
and their many excellencies of character 
won them high regard. Their children, 
three in number — John, Ann and James — 
were all born in Cheshire. 

Mr. More}', whose name opens this arti- 
cle, acquired his education in the common 
schools, and under the parental roof spent 
the days of his childhood, continuing at 
home until his marriage. That event was 
celebrated in Prince Edward Island in 
1850, the lady of his choice being Miss 
Sarah Kett, a daughter of Francis and 
Phyllis (Short) Kett, who were born and 
married in England, in which country her 
father followed farming. Crossing the At- 
lantic, they located in Canada, but afterward 
went to Massachusetts, where the mother's 
death occurred in 1882. The father subse- 
quently returned to Canada, where he de- 
parted this life in 1886. Frank, James, 
John, Mary Ann, Eliza and Sarah were 
their six children. 

Six years after his marriage John Morey 
removed to St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , in 
company with his father, and resided in that 
locality nine years, or until June, 1865, when 
Waupaca county gained him as one of her 
valued citizens. His first location was in 
Farmington township, where he bought a 
tract of land, to the cultivation and im- 
provement of which he devoted his energies 
some seventeen years. At the end of that 
time he purchased a farm in Waupaca town- 
ship, the same on which his son Frank now 
resides, and a year later became the owner 
of his present valuable farm, comprising 228 



acres, then but partially improved. He was 
the first farmer that began the cultivation of 
potatoes on an extensive scale, and shipped 
the first car load of vegetables from ^^'au- 
paca about the year 1875. He is industrious 
and enterprising, and carries forward to suc- 
cessful completion whatever he undertakes. 
Mr. and Mrs. Morey had a family of 
fourteen children, eight of whom are yet 
living: James, John, William, Richard, 
Frank, Sarah J., Caleb and Walter; Mary 
Ann and Abigail grew to mature years, and 
were married ere death claimed them; Ben- 
nie died at the age of fourteen, Edward at 
the age of nine, and two in infancy. Mr. 
Morey upholds by his ballot the men and 
measures of the Democratic party, has 
served as township assessor and in other 
local offices, and has been officially connect- 
ed with the schools of this locality for a 
number of years. He is a warm friend of 
the cause of education and of all enterprises 
and interests that are calculated to promote 
the general welfare. He is a member of the 
I. O. O. F. , and in his younger years was 
an active worker in the lodge. A self-made 
man, he started out in life with no capital 
save a determination to succeed and worked 
his way steadily upward, overcoming the 
difficulties and obstacles in his path until he 
is now numbered among the substantial 
citizens of the community. 



EDWARD Y. SMITH 1 deceased; was 
during his lifetime one of the intelli- 
gent, substantial and hard-working 
pioneers of Belmont township. Port- 
age county. He was a descendant of an 
old New England family, but was not a man 
who courted notoriety. He attended strictly 
to the business of a farmer, and the work 
that lay before him was thoroughly done. 
No man stood higher in the esteem of the 
community than he. 

Mr. Smith was born in the Island of 
Martha's Vineyard, Mass., March 29, 1833, 
the son of Harrison and Sophrona Smith. 
Harrison Smith was superintendent of the 
poorhouse on Martha's '\'ineyard, and had a 
family of six children, as follows: Jane, now 
living at Minneapolis, Minn., widow of Cor- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



415^ 



nelius Blount, a merchant and early settler 
in Dakota; Lyman A., who moved to Mis- 
souri; Charles F., who died in Portage City; 
Edward Y. ; Samuel B., who removed to 
Arkansas; Ann, a maiden lady, who lives at 
Decorah, Iowa; the older boys followed fish- 
ing, and frequently shipped in the whalers 
that put out from the adjacent coast. In 
1849, when Edward was fourteen years old, 
his father moved west with his family, set- 
tling in Lisbon township, Waukesha Co., 
Wis. He was a well-to-do man, and a 
thorough-bred ' ' Yankee, " priding himself 
upon his Puritan ancestr}-. He died on his 
farm about 1851, and his widow survived 
only three months; both were buried in Lis- 
bon township. 

Edward Y. Smith attended the schools 
of Massachusetts, and after the death of his 
parents in Wisconsin the home was broken 
up. He was a born farmer, and worked 
out for others. While thus employed he 
met his wife. Miss Elizabeth C. Moyes. She 
was born in Perthshire, Scotland, June 20, 
1834, daughter of John and Elizabeth 
(Rogers) Moyes, who in 1840 emigrated to 
America, landing with their si.x children at 
Quebec. After visiting relatives in Canada 
they came to Lisbon township, Waukesha 
county. The children were as follows: 
Jeannette, now Mrs. W. D. Dopp, of Bel- 
mont township; John, who died in Dane 
county. Wis. ; Elizabeth C. and Margaret 
(twins), the former being the widow of Mr. 
Smith, subject of this sketch, the latter 
being the widow of Gilbert Dopp, of Mon- 
terey, Waukesha county; James, of Lisbon 
township, Waukesha county,, and Mary, 
now Mrs. Benjamin Dopp, of Monterey, 
Waukesha county. John Moyes was a poor 
man, and supported his family by hard work. 
His good wife ably seconded him, and in 
times of necessity proved a valuable assist- 
ant in the harvest field. He died December 
2, 1847, on the small farm which he had 
purchased in Lisbon township. His wife 
survived until April, 1889, and passed away 
in Monterey, Wis., aged eighty-five years. 
Elizabeth C. was a self-made woman. She 
desired an education, but her parents were 
too poor to help her. She began working 
out when twelve vears old for her board and 



for the privilege of attending school. When 
she began receiving wages for her services 
she gave the money to her parents to help 
paj- for their home. She managed to ob- 
tain a good education, and thus fitted herself 
for teaching school. She taught a number 
of terms when wages were as low as ten 
shillings per week, and later also when ten 
dollars per month was rated a fair salary. 

The marriage of Edward Y. Smith, then 
a farm hand, to Elizabeth C. Moyes, this 
young schoolteacher, occurred December 2, 
1853, at Brookfield, Waukesha county. For 
eighteen months after marriage she lived 
with her mother, while her husband worked 
out. He was then ready to found his future 
home. He purchased eighty acres in Sec- 
tion 36, Belmont township. Portage county, 
and with his wife and young child Julia, and 
a few effects, started in a covered wagon for 
the distant home; they also brought with 
them a little stock, including one cow; the 
journey consumed six days. They settled 
in a little log cabin, 12x14 f^et, and here 
they passed their happiest years, sweetened 
as it was by the sense of ownership and in- 
dependence. There was more comfort in 
that little log house than in the substantial 
home which followed it; here, too, four 
children were added to the family. Mr. 
Smith industriously continued his pioneer la- 
bors, and added to his farm from time to 
time until, at his death, which occurred 
through an accident, October 5, 1888, he 
owned 260 acres; he was buried in the cem- 
etery near Towne, Portage county. Mr. 
Smith was a Republican, and while not a 
politician took an interest in public affairs, 
at times being called to fill some local office. 
He was a self-made man, one who worked 
hard for his home, and who was highly es- 
teemed by all who knew him. The chil- 
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith are: 
Julia, now Mrs. Samuel Riley, of Dayton, 
Waupaca county; Owen C, a tinner, of 
Tenipleton, Waukesha county; Isadore S., 
now Mrs. Henry Pope, of Dayton township, 
Waupaca county; Margaret A., now Mrs. 
Fred Minton, of Lanark, Portage county; 
Wallace A., Clifford H., Bertha M.. Lyman 
A. , all at home, as is also Otha (an adopted 
son). 



.416 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Since the death of Mr. Smith his widow 
has had charge of the farm. She has made 
additions to their home, one of the pleas- 
antest and most commodious in the town- 
ship, and both before and since her hus- 
band's death she has proved herself to be a 
thorough business woman. She had been 
of great assistance to Mr. Smith, and is 
most highh' respected. Formerly a Con- 
gregationalist, Mrs. Smith is now a member 
of the Presbyterian Church. 



WARREN L. HARRIS, who was a 
soldier in the war of the Rebellion, 
has a farm in Section 20, Larra- 
bee township, Waupaca county. 
He located in the township in 1881, and 
bought in the woods a farm of forty acres, 
which he has since improved. He was born 
in New York in i S47, and is the son of 
William L. and Abigail (Harris) Harris. 

William L. Harris, father of our subject, 
was born in Stockholm, St. Lawrence Co.. 
N. Y. , was reared to manhood and married 
in his native State, and in 1S54 came to 
Waupaca county. Wis. , where he died three 
months later. His wife survived him twen- 
ty years, and died in 1S74 in Waupaca 
township, Waupaca county. They reared 
a family of six children, as follows: George, 
who resides in Larrabee township, was in 
the army; Warren L. is the subject of these 
lines; William resides in ^^'aupaca town- 
ship; Samuel S. is sheriff of Rock county, 
Neb. ; James died in Waupaca county in 
1880, and Mary is the wife of Samuel War- 
ren, of Deadwood, South Dakota. 

Warren L. Harris came to the city of 
Waupaca, ^^'aupaca county, in 1854, when 
he was eight years of age, and was educat- 
ed in the schools of that place. On Feb- 
ruar}' 29, 1S64, he enlisted in Company B, 
Tenth Wis. V. I., and at Fond du Lac was 
mustered into Company G. Twenty-first 
Wis. V. L He served with Sherman on the 
" march to the sea," and took part in the 
review at the National Capital. On July 
19, 1865, at Louisville, K\-. , he received an 
honorable discharge, and then returned to 
W^aupaca township, where he followed farm- 
ing, and opened up his farm. In Waupaca 



township, Waupaca county, in 1872, War- 
ren L. Harris and Miss Emma Jane Beach 
were united in marriage, and one child was 
born to them — Herbert. Mrs. Harris was 
born in Canada, and was the daughter of 
David Beach, of Union township, \\'aupaca 
county. She died in Union township in 
1878. In 1880, in Larrabee township, Mr. 
Harris again married, taking for his second 
wife Miss Flora M. Cook, daughter of a 
pioneer of the township, and three children 
have been born to them: Frankie, L. Oli- 
ver (who died at the age of four months), 
and Roj- C. In politics Mr. Harris is a Re- 
publican. He has been a member of the 
town board for nine years, school clerk for 
twelve years, is justice of the peace, and 
holds all three of these offices at this time 
(July, 1895). He is a member of J. B. 
Wyman Post No. 32, G. A. R., officer of 
the da}-, and has been commander of the 
Post. He has been delegate to the count}' 
convention. Mr. Harris takes much inter- 
est in what he believes to be for the welfare 
of the countv. 



PETER JOHNSEN is one of the lead- 
ing and influential citizens of Wau- 
paca township, Waupaca county, 
and identities himself with all inter- 
ests calculated to promote the general wel- 
fare. He was born on the island of Lol- 
land, Denmark. August 11. 1845, his birth 
occurring at the home of his grandfather, 
where he lived for seven years. His father, 
John Petersen, was at that time absent in 
the army. He. too. was of Danish nativity, 
born in 1826. and was a soldier of the war 
of 1848. continuing in the service for some 
years. After his return the family again 
went to their own home, the father owning 
a small farm. His wife bore the maiden 
name of Margaretta Rasmasson, and by 
their marriage they became the parents of 
four children: Peter. Hans. Kieston and 
Mary. 

Our subject attended the public schools 
between the ages of seven and fourteen 
years, and then started out in life for him- 
self. He secured work as a farm hand, and 
continued with one man for seven years; 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOEAPHIVAL BECORB. 



417 



then worked for another farmer one year, 
after which he returned to his first employer, 
continuing with him until his emigration to 
America. In April, i .S66, he left Denmark, 
and crossing the broad Atlantic landed in 
New York City, but in the West he hoped 
to make his home, and so continued his 
journey until May 11, when he arrived in 
Oshkosh, Wis. He was a stranger in a 
strange land, with an indebtedness of ten 
dollars resting upon him; but with good 
courage and a laudable ambition he began 
work, and in the years which have followed 
he has prospered. He spent eighteen 
months in Oshkosh, working in a sawmill 
and chopping wood in the winter — for he 
scorned no employment which would yield 
him an honest living. In the autumn of 
1867 Mr. Johnsen came to Waupaca coun- 
ty, and with the capital which he had ac- 
quired purchased eighty acres of his present 
farm. As the years have passed he has 
added to this from time to time, until now 
200 acres pay to him a rich tribute for the 
cultivation and care he bestows upon them, 
while the substantial buildings he has erect- 
ed stand as manuments to his thrift and 
enterprise, and the neat appearance of the 
place indicates his careful supervision. He 
also has other property besides this farm. 

Mr. Johnsen was married in Waupaca, 
Wis., March 20, 1868, to Mary Rasmussen, 
who was born in Denmark, February 25, 
1846. Her parents sailed for the New 
World, and later she crossed the Atlantic 
on the same vessel on which her future hus- 
band was a passenger. To them have been 
born seven children: Anna, now the wife of 
Hans Rasmussen; William, a farmer of 
Waupaca township; Mrs. Maggie Peterson, 
residing in Saxeville township; Julia, Peter, 
Louie and Alfred. Mr. Johnsen votes with 
the Republican party, and has been quite a 
leader in town politics. He is now serving 
as township supervisor, has been officially 
connected with the schools, and is a warm 
friend of the cause of education, doing all 
in his power for its promotion. Both he 
and his wife are consistent and faithful 
members of the Danish Lutheran Church, 
contribute liberally to its support, and are 
active workers in its interests. In 1887 Mr. 



Johnsen returned to Denmark, spending four 
pleasant months in visiting his native land 
and renewing the acquaintances of his early 
life. But he is content with his American 
home, for in this country he has met with 
prosperity and gained many warm friends. 



JOHN H. SMITH, whose well-spent life 
has gained him the high regard of all 
with whom business or social relations 
have brought him in contact, is a na- 
tive of Germany, born in the Province of 
Nassau, July 24, 1832. 

His father, John H. Smith, Sr. , who 
was born at the same place, March 17, 
1804, was a mason and contractor and did a 
great deal of work on the public buildings 
of his native land. In 1S28 he married 
Catherine Smith, and they became the par- 
ents of ten children, all born in German}', 
of whom five died in infancy; the others 
were John H., Carl, Catherine, Susan and 
William A. In 1S52, the father, accom- 
panied by his famil}', sailed for the United 
States, and landing in New York City, there 
spent one year working at his trade. In 
the autumn of 1853 he arrived in Milwaukee, 
Wis., where he carried on masonrv work 
three years. In the meantime his son John 
had come to Waupaca county, and hither 
the father followed him, locating on a farm 
in Section 6, Waupaca township, where he 
carried on agricultural pursuits until his 
death, which occurred in 1874. He was a 
very active man, well liked and highly re- 
spected by all who knew him. His wife, 
who survived him some years, passed away 
in 1890. 

John H. Smith, whose name opens this 
review, was nineteen years of age at the 
time of his arrival in the United States. He 
here learned the trade of cigar making which 
he followed for one year in New York, after 
which he spent the succeeding year at work 
as a farm hand. Hoping then to benefit his 
financial condition in the West, he sought a 
home in Milwaukee, Wis., where he was 
employed at general labor. In October, 
1856, he came to Waupaca, and purchased 
forty acres of land, to which his father soon 
after removed. He then began working at 



4iS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the mason's trade, which he had learned of 
his father in his earHer years, and soon be- 
gan taking contracts for railroad and other 
work. After the breaking out of the Civil 
war, Mr. Smith, prompted by a spirit of 
patriotism, enlisted December i, 1861, in 
Company F, Eighteenth Wis. V. I., com- 
manded by Capt. Roberts. At Milwaukee 
he joined his regiment which soon afterward 
went to the front and took part in its first 
battle at Pittsburg Landing. He also par- 
ticipated in the battle of Corinth and several 
skirmishes, after which he was taken ill with 
fever, and being unfitted for further service 
was honorably discharged in December, 1 862. 
He at once returned home, and as soon 
as he had recovered his health resumed his 
old business of contracting, helping to erect 
many of the best buildings in the county. 
His earnings he has invested in his farm, and 
to-day has one of the most valuable farming 
properties in \\'aupaca county, comprising 
200 acres of rich and arable land, highly cul- 
tivated and well improved with a pleasant 
residence and substantial barns and out- 
buildings. He is to-day recognized as one 
of the leading farmers of the county. 

An important event in the life of ^fr. 
Smith occurred in January, i860, when was 
celebrated his marriage with Harriet Hales, 
who was born in England in 1838, a daugh- 
ter of Robert and Elizabeth (Taylor) Hales. 
They came to America in May, 1856, with 
their si.\ children — Robert, Benjamin, ^tar- 
tha, Sarah, Harriet and Katie — and settled 
in Waupaca township, W'aupaca county. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born four 
children: Carl, Fred and Ernest, at home, 
and Sarah, who died in infancy. 

Mr. Smith joined the Republican party 
on its organization, and was a great admirer 
of Fremont, but since Horace Greely was a 
candidate for the Presidency, he has sup- 
ported the men and measures of the Demo- 
cratic party. For five \ears he served as 
assessor of his township, and for years was 
a school officer, taking an active interest in 
the cause of education, and doing all in his 
power for its promotion. His own school 
privileges were somewhat limited; he at- 
tended school in Germany but never the 
English schools, yet has learned to read and 



write the English language, and is now a 
well-informed man, keeping himself well 
posted on all the questions of the day, both 
political and otherwise, and reads exten- 
sively both newspapers and books. Socially, 
he is connected with the Grand Army of the 
Republic. In March, 1894, he and his wife 
went to California to visit his brother Will- 
iam, and spent two months in traveling over 
the western country, greatly enjoying the 
trip. Mr. Smith is pre-eminently a self-made 
man. In his earlier years he was the main- 
sta}' of his parents, and provided them with 
a home, after which he started out to secure 
a home of his own. His efforts have been 
crowned with prosperity, and he has worked 
his way upward from a humble position to 
one of affluence. 



GEORGE R. TAYLOR, M. D., the 
oldest practicing physician of ^^'au- 
paca county, and one of its most 
highly honored citizens, was born 
in the city of Bristol, England, October 28. 
1822, son of Robert Taylor, a builder and 
contractor, who was born in the same city 
in 1796. 

In his youth Robert was a marine in the 
English navy, on the frigate "Vengeur, " 
which was sent to America during the war 
of 1 81 2, and while here Mr. Taylor was en- 
gaged against Gen. Jackson at the battle of 
New Orleans, January 8, 181 5. After his 
discharge from the navy he purchased a 
small piece of land at Bristol and began 
what promised to become a success- 
ful career. He had some seventy-two build- 
ings under way in 1830, but the panic of 
1831 swept away his entire property. Un- 
able to recover from this crushing blow Mr. 
Taylor resolved to start anew in America. 
In 1842 he sent in advance his family, con- 
sisting of his wife, Hannah (Hopkins), and 
seven children — Hannah, Robert, Mary, 
George R. , Lydia, Jemima and Eliza — who 
settled on government land in Jefferson 
county. Wis., Mr. Taylor following the 
same year. Later he removed his family to 
a timber claim in Concord township, Jeffer- 
son county, and there died in 1849, the wife 
surviving until 1877. Mr. Taylor, though 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



419 



a man of limited education, possessed many 
noteworth}- and sterling traits, and had bril- 
liant possibilities, which in another setting 
would have made him a prominent character. 

George R. Taylor, as might easily be 
foreseen, was in early life made familiar 
with many privations, but these perhaps 
proved to be his making. He was appren- 
ticed to the tinner's trade at Bristol after 
his father's failure, and worked in the shop 
until his father emigrated to America, his 
only schooling having been received before 
he was nine years old. Arriving with his 
father's family in America, he remained on 
the farm for five years, helping to clear it 
up. He then returned to his trade, and for 
three years superintended a tinshop at 
Watertown, Wis. Too ambitious to remain 
a tinner all his life, Mr. Taylor went in 1850 
to Madison, and while there employed at 
his trade studied medicine with Dr. Chap- 
man. Without any means, he was obliged to 
work to pay expenses. Four years later he 
attended lectures at the Marine Hospital 
Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, receiving 
his diploma in 1855. For two years he 
practiced medicine at his old home in Jeffer- 
son county, then, in 1856, located at Wau- 
paca, where he has ever since practiced, ex- 
cept while in the army. In the fall of 1863 
he enlisted in the United States service as 
surgeon, and remained until the close of the 
war, being stationed most of the time at 
Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Dr. Taylor was married in 1856, to 
Eliza Herron, daughter of David and Sarah 
Ann Herron, who were natives of New York, 
and afterward moved to Michigan, where 
Eliza was born. Dr. and Mrs. Taylor have 
had six children: Florence, Sarah Ann, 
George, Bessie, Edna and Edith. Appreciat- 
ing the advantages of an education, Dr. 
Taylor has kept all his children at school 
until their graduation. He has been warmly 
attached to the public-school system, and 
for many years has been a member of the 
school board. In politics he is a Republi- 
can, and both he and his wife are members 
of the Congregational Church. If the " lives 
of great men all remind us we can make our 
Jives sublime," there are many lessons to be 
learned from the early struggles and happy 



life in the later years of Dr. Taylor. Men 
may remain in the obscurity in which un- 
toward circumstances have placed them, or 
the\' may if so disposed toil onward and up- 
ward toward the light, with assurances of 
a crowning success, if only the efforts be well 
directed and unrelaxed. 



AE. HAGNA, a prosperous young 
business man of lola, Waupaca 
county, whose success is due to his 
own efforts, was born in Norway, 
October 16, 1857, and is a son of Ellef 
Hagna, a farmer of ordinary means, who 
had a family of eight sons, namely: Ellef, 
of Norway; A. E., subject of sketch; Ole, of 
Norway; Targrim, of lola; Johannes; Ole; 
John, who died in infancy; and John, who 
is still living. The sons who lived to adult 
age all came to the United States except 
those who are still living in Norway. 

The subject proper of this record re- 
ceived such educational privileges as were 
afforded b}' the schools of rural districts, and 
remained at home until fifteen years of age, 
when he began to learn the tailor's trade, 
which he followed until the spring of 1880; 
but wages were low in Norway, and chances 
for advancement were meagre. He and his 
brother Targrim, therefore, concluded to 
seek their fortune in the United States, and 
their father giving them money for the trip 
the}' bade farewell to their old home and 
friends, and in the month of May sailed 
from Christianiaon the steamer " Anglo" for 
England, then embarking at Liverpool on 
the "City of Berlin," which after a voyage 
of twelve days dropped anchor in the harbor 
of New York. The destination of the young 
men was lola. Wis., where they had friends 
living, and in the latter part of June they 
reached that city. 

Our subject could not then secure work 
at his trade, and as he was dependent on his 
own labors for a living he did what he 
could, accepting a position with the Michi- 
gan, Lake Shore & Wisconsin Railroad 
Company. He was unaccustomed to such 
hard labor, but he wished to succeed and this 
worthy ambition inspired him to continued 
effort. He was unable to speak a word of 



420 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



English, yet he pressed on and continued 
his service on the railroad until Christmas, 
1880, when Targrim cut a limb, and in con- 
sequence the brothers were forced to remain 
idle for two weeks. They then returned to 
lola and spent the winter with a friend, 
Halver Johnson, a farmer, doing chores for 
their board. In the spring of 1881 Mr. 
Hagna secured work at his trade in Wau- 
paca with a Mr. Stearns, with whom he con- 
tinued from March until July 4, when going 
to Amherst, Wis., he was there employed 
for a year and a half. He afterward work- 
ed for August Goerke of Stevens Point until 
Christmas, 1881, when he went to Wausau, 
spending two years in the employ of Charles 
Weisner. His next service was in Minne- 
apolis, where he worked at his trade for a 
year, and in March, 1885, he opened a mer- 
chant-tailoring establishment and clothing 
store in Tola in partnership with his brother 
Targrim, who remained a member of the 
firm until December i, 1888, when our sub- 
ject became sole proprietor. 

On November 1 1 , 1 890, Mr. Hagna was 
married in lola, to Miss Lola Johnson, a 
native of Norway, and a daughter of Johan- 
nes Johnson, a farmer of lola. They have 
one son — Elmer, born May 7, 1891, an in- 
teresting little fellow. The parents are 
members of the Lutheran Church. They 
have a pleasant home, and in addition Mr. 
Hagna owns his store and business, which 
he has acquired entirely through his own 
e.xertions, industry and good management 
being the keynote of his success. He turns 
out an excellent grade of work, and his 
straightforward, honorable dealing has se- 
cured him the confidence and won him the 
patronage of the public. In politics he is a 
Republican, and though not an office seeker 
manifests a commendable interest in the 
success of his party. 



DAVID OVENS is one of the repre- 
sentative men of Lanark township, 
is a systematic farmer, and is highly 
esteemed in the community in which 
he lives. He was born December 18, i860, 
in Lanark, Portage Co., Wis., and is the 
son of James and Helen (Swan) Ovens. 



James Ovens came to the States from 
Lower Canada in 1856, and settled in Sec- 
tion 26, Lanark township. Portage Co., 
Wis. About 1859, in Portage county, he 
married Helen Swan, and children have been 
born to them as follows: David, subject 
proper of these lines; Marion, now the wife of 
John D. Swan; and Genie and Thomas, liv- 
ing with her parents. Mrs. Ovens was the 
daughter of May and Thomas Swan, and 
came from Blackford, Perthshire, Scotland. 
With her mother she sailed, in July, 1857, 
from Glasgow to Liverpool, where the}' took 
passage on the vessel " Pomona," and after 
a voyage of three w'eeks and three days 
landed in New York. Their destination was 
Portage county. Wis., whither they came by 
water and rail. Here they met a brother of 
Helen Swan, with whom they made their 
home until her marriage. 

David Ovens received a common-school 
education when a boy, and then went north 
and worked for a few years in the lumber 
woods, where he saved up enough money to 
buy a farm, which has now 160 acres, of 
which ninety are under cultivation. \Mth 
the exception of the time spent in the lum- 
ber woods, he made his home with his father 
until he was twenty-five years of age. David 
Ovens was united in marriage in 1885 with 
Miss Mary Lombard, of Stockton, by whom 
he has had three children: Mary, born 
March 13, 1887; James, December 21, 1889, 
and Charles, March 26, 1892. Mrs. Ovens 
is the daughter of Washington and Mary J. 
(Kemp) Lombard. For one year after his 
marriage Mr. Ovens lived with his parents, 
and worked his farm; then moved into his 
present abode. In politics he is a stanch 
Republican, and is much pleased at the 
recent victory of that party. He now holds 
the office of supervisor of Lanark township. 
In religion both he and his excellent wife 
are believers in the Protestant faith. 



G UNDER O. WEMME, one of the 
most popular farmers in New Hope 
township. Portage county, was born 
in Norway, June 19, 1829, and is a 
son of Ole K. and Ingeborg (Gunderson) 
Wemme, both natives of Norway, the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



421 



former born in 1789, the latter in 1787. 
By a former marriage the father had two 
children — Arcold and Knute — both living in 
Norwa}'. The mother of our subject died 
in Norway in 1852, leaving four children — 
two sons and two daughters: Ole, a farmer 
of Bosque Co., Tex., married Antoinette 
Mortenson, and they have eight children: 
Oscar, Matilda, Josephine, Julia, Malisa, 
Beatrice, Martin and Eleanor; Gunborg 
wedded Jerrold Grimland, a farmer of New 
Hope township, and they have nine chil- 
dren: Christina, George, August, Julius, 
Bertinus, Mary, Olive, Emma and Peter; 
Anna (deceased) was the wife of John Gun- 
derson, a farmer of Waupaca Co., Wis., 
and to them were born five children: Mary, 
Louisa, Jorgena, Oscar and Gustav. 

During his boyhood Gunder O. Wemme 
received a very limited education, but has 
since acquired a vast store of knowledge 
from books and experience, so that he is a 
well-informed man. In May, 1S53, his 
father, sister Anna and himself, engaged 
passage at Arndal, Norway, on the sailing 
vessel "Brothers," and after a voyage of 
nine weeks and two days, landed at St. 
John, New Brunswick. Having no money 
with which to come farther, he and his 
father were obliged to there seek employ- 
ment; but the sister proceeded on with 
friends who had come over with them. 
They worked at anything they could find to 
do, and after saving a few dollars, started 
for Weyauwega, Waupaca Co., Wis., 
which they reached August 22, 1853. The 
father died in this country August 12, 1867. 
On the following day after his arrival in 
Weyauwega, our subject secured a position 
as deck hand on the " Badger State," the 
first steamer used on Wolf river, and went 
to work for sixteen dollars per month; but 
at the end of two weeks was promoted to 
pilot, as the regular one was ill, his wages 
being raised to twenty-five dollars. At the 
close of the season he went to Stevens 
Point, Wis., where he worked until the fol- 
lowing spring at anything he could get to 
do. He then went into the lumber woods 
at Pine river, where he remained until the 
spring of 1855, when he returned to Stevens 
Point, there learning the mason's trade, and 



for the first season received one dollar per 
day, but the following year received two 
dollars. 

While in the pineries Mr. Wemme had 
pre-empted 160 acres of land, in Section 
29, New Hope township. Portage county, 
to which he has since added a forty-acre 
tract, and in the fall of 1855 he built a log 
house on his place, which is now used as his 
kitchen. After his marriage he took up his 
residence there, and was obliged to walk to 
Stevens Point or Waupaca, Wis. , for pro- 
visions, returning with them on his back. 
He still continues to follow his trade during 
a portion of the year, and is considered one 
of the most skillful masons in the county. 

On the old homestead, December 13, 
1856, Rev. Duse, of Scandinavia, Wis., 
performed a wedding ceremony which united 
the destinies of Mr. Wemme and Miss 
Bertha Helena Johanneson Rambeck, whose 
birth occurred in Norway, May 2, 1838. 
Her parents, Johannes Hanson and Maria 
(Nelson) Rambeck, were both natives of 
Norway, the father born September 28, 
1812, the mother August 10, 1802. They 
both died in Portage county, the former 
September 28, 1880, and the latter Septem- 
ber 8, 1 89 1, and now lie buried in the cem- 
tery of New Hope. 

With her parents and three brothers Mrs. 
Wemme left Christiania, May 2, 1853, on 
the "William Tell," which sailed for Que- 
bec, where they landed six weeks and three 
days later, and came direct to Rock River, 
Wis., where the father rented a farm, but 
the daughter obtained employment in Mil- 
waukee, working there six months as a do- 
mestic, and then returned to Rock River. 
Soon after the family removed to New Hope 
township, making the journey in a wagon 
drawn by oxen, and the father bought 160 
acres in Section 12, where he erected a log 
house. At the end of ten years, however, 
he gave that property to his sons, and pur- 
chased a forty-acre tract, on which he erected 
a house, which continued to be the home of 
the parents until 1872, when they came to 
live with their daughter, Mrs. Wemme. By 
a former marriage Mrs. Rambeck had one 
son — Hans — who wedded Ostra Oleson, and 
died in Hamlin county, S. Dak., January 



422 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



1 6, 1888. Mrs. Wemme had two brothers, 
one of whom is still living — Olaves, a farmer 
of New Hope township, married to Miranda 
Larson, by whom he has three children : 
Julius, Matilda and Johan. The other 
brother, Johan, who was a private in Com- 
pany I, Fifteenth Wis. V. I., was wounded 
at Missionary Ridge ; he married Bertha 
Johnson, with whom he went to California, 
where he died, leaving considerable prop- 
erty. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wenmie are the parents 
of the following children : Ole, born August 
8, 1857, died August 20, same year; Emma 
Matilde, born December 3, 1858, married 
in New Hope June 26, 1883, to Albert 
Engom, a farmer of Hamlin county, S. 
Dak.; Josine Louise, born March 27, 1861, 
married April 8, 1880, to Gunder Olson, 
also a farmer of Hamlin county, S. Dak. 
(they have four children : Matilda, who is 
with our subject, Gustave, Mabel and Law- 
rence); Oscar Martin, born February 5, 
1863, died February 15, 1880 ; Clara Julia, 
born March 18, 1865, married in New Hope 
December 19, 1883, to C. L. Olson, a 
farmer of Amherst, Wis. (they have four 
children : Alvin Gustav, Harry Edmund, 
Clara Josephine and Helen Cora); Johan 
Nicolai, born June 19, 1867, died March 8, 
1878; Gustave Halbert, born October 7, 
1869, died February 25, 1878 ; Henry An- 
ton, born June 20, 1872, is a farmer of Da- 
kota ; Hannah Bertine, born December 14, 
1874, Othilde Emelia, born February 20, 
1877, and Johan Halbert, born September 

17, 1879, are all at home. 

In the spring of 1885 Mr. Wemme made 
a visit to his children in Dakota, remaining 
two weeks, since which time he has three 
times visited them, while in the fall of 1892 
his wife and son John also made a trip to 
Dakota. In 1891 he purchased 160 acres 
of wild land in Hamlin county, which is now 
operated by one of his sons. He is one of 
the best known and most highly respected 
citizens of New Hope township, and has 
been called upon to fill several positions of 
honor and trust, being school director sev- 
eral years, also clerk and treasurer ; town- 
ship chairman fourteen consecutive years ; 
and served as supervisor many terms. He 



is now holding the office of president of the 
Home Insurance Company. Mr. Wemme 
has ever been a great reader, and conse- 
quently is a pleasing conversationalist. With 
the United Norwegian Lutheran Church he 
and his wife hold membership, while in poli- 
tics he is a strong Republican. 



JOHN FINNEY, M. D., the oldest prac- 
ticing physician of the northern part of 
Waupaca county, his residence being 
in Clintonville, was born in Rochester, 
N. Y. , in 1846, a son of Patrick and Julia 
(Donahue) Finney, who emigrated to Cana- 
da and lived there some years. They were 
natives of Ireland, the father born in the 
parish of Kilbegenath, Ballinasloe, County 
Galway, the mother in Glanflesk, Count}' 
Kerry. 

In 1849 Patrick Finney moved his fami- 
ly to Washington, county, Wis. , and there 
opened up a claim. Engaging in mercan- 
tile pursuits at Milwaukee, and later in the 
hotel business at De Kalb Center, 111., for a 
short time, he in 1855 located on a farm in 
Clayton county, Iowa, but in 1861 returned 
to Madison, Wis. Here in August, 1861, 
he enlisted in the "Iron Brigade," in the 
Seventh Wis. V. I., Company A, for three 
years or during the war. He was wounded 
in the battle of Gainesville, \^a., and there 
lost an arm. Returning to Madison, \\'is. , 
he died at Oshkosh in 1888; his widow now 
resides in Chicago. Patrick and Julia Fin- 
ney reared a family of nine children, as fol- 
lows : John, the subject of this sketch; 
Mary, of Chicago, 111. ; Jerry, a county com- 
missioner of Big Stone county, Minn., and 
present member of the Minnesota State 
Legislature; Rosa, wife of Charles Barton, 
a Chicago merchant; Julia, \\ife of John Bir- 
mingham, of Chicago; Dennis, of Wausau, 
Wis.; Lavina, of Chicago; Patrick Henry, 
a resident of Chicago; and George, now liv- 
ing at Wausau, Wisconsin. 

John Finney was three years old when 
the family moved to Washington county. 
Wis. He received a portion of his medical 
education at Cincinnati, taking a course at 
the Ohio Medical College, from 1868 to 
1870, after which he attended two courses 





% 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



4-3 



of lectures at the Bennett Medical College, 
Chicago, graduating from that institution 
March 20, 1881. In 1893-94 he attended 
the course at the Rush Medical College, 
Chicago, and graduated from that celebrated 
School of Medicine and Surgery May 23, 
1894, and he also attended clinics at Phila- 
delphia, making a specialty of surgery and 
the diseases of women. On April 5, 1870, he 
commenced practice at Oshkosh, Wis., re- 
maining until August 10, 1873, when he re- 
moved to Kaukauna, practicing there and 
at Holland, Wis , until June, 1874, at 
which time he came to Clintonville, where 
he has since been actively engaged in the 
duties of his profession. He is a member 
of the National Association of Railroad Sur- 
geons, filling the position of surgeon for the 
Chicago cS: North Western Railroad Com- 
pany at Clintonville. He is president of the 
Finney Drug & Medicine Co., and in 1890 
erected a two-story brick building (24 x 60 
feetj, the firm carrying a full and complete" 
line of drugs, paints, oils, etc. From 1876 
to 1878 he engaged in the drug business, 
then sold out and practiced his profession 
e.xclusively till 1 890, when the Finney Drug 
& Medicine Co. was organized. 

In politics Dr. Finne}' is a Republican. 
He was the first mayor of Clintonville, serv- 
ing two years, and assisting in framing the 
city charter. He has been president of the 
village board, and is now member of the 
school board. In 1888 he was elected the 
Presidential elector for the Ninth Congres- 
sional District, and cast a successful vote 
for President Harrison; at Madison he was 
elected by the Electoral College as State 
messenger, to convey the result of the vote 
of that body to the president of the U. S. 
Senate at Washington, D. C, John J. In- 
galls being President Pro-Tcvi. at that time. 
Dr. Finney is a member of Clintonville 
Lodge No. 197, F. & A. M., New London 
Chapter No. 64, Oshkosh Commandery No. 
II, and Wisconsin Consistory and Mystic 
Shrine, Tripoli Temple. He is also a mem- 
ber of Clintonville Lodge No. 314, I. O. O. 
F., and of Waupaca Lodge K. of P. He 
has always been one of the leading members 
of the Sons of Veterans in Wisconsin, hav- 
ing as a member of the National Staff been 



State organizer in Wisconsin, and he organ- 
ized sixteen posts. 

On June 15, 1S73, Dr. Finney was mar- 
ried at Oshkosh to Isabelle O'Brien, who 
was born at Norristown, Penn. , daughter of 
John and Susan (McMaugh) O'Brien, the 
former of whom was born in England and 
reared in Cappoquin, County \\'aterford, 
Ireland, the latter born in Londonderry, Ire- 
land; they were early residents of Nekimi 
township, Winnebago Co., Wis. Two 
children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Finney : 
William Harrison, now attending the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin, a student in the scien- 
tific course; and John Alexander, who died 
at the age of two years and seven months. 



THOMAS N. NICHOLSON was born 
May 20, 1848, in Laval, Montmo- 
rency Co., Quebec, Canada, a son of 
William and Johanna (Fleming) 
Nicholson, who. were of Irish extraction, and 
were the parents of sixteen children, an.ong 
whom were the following: Mary Ann, 
William, Thomas N. (subject of this sketch), 
John, Michael J., Francis, Elizabeth, Brid- 
get, Rose Ann and Joseph, seven of whom 
are yet living. William Nicholson (Sr.), 
was a successful farmer. He and his wife 
spent all but a few years of their lives in 
Canada, where he had homesteaded a farm 
of one hundred acres. During their remain- 
ing days they resided in Island Pond, \'er- 
mont. 

Partly because his father's family was so 
large, Thomas N. Nicholson, as well as his 
brothers and sisters, had but poor oppor- 
tunities for an education, and he attended 
school perhaps not more than six months, 
all told. He was "put into the collar" 
pretty young, and was a great help to his 
father as long as he was at home, where he 
remained until about sixteen years of age. 
He then went into the lumber woods, and 
was engaged at such work several years. 
When Mr. Nicholson left Canada, he came 
to Milwaukee, Wis. ; thence proceeded to 
Green Bay; from there to Peshtigo, where 
he was in railroad employ about two months; 
then went to Stevens Point, where he was 
again in railroad employ. From Stevens 



424 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Point he moved to New London, Waupaca 
county, found employment in the woods, 
remained six months, and then worked 
"driving logs" on the river. Going, then, 
to Marquette county, Mich., -he engaged at 
day labor, but soon afterward was given 
charge of the building of dams on the head 
waters of the Escanaba river; was there six 
months, and then removed to Matteson 
township, Waupaca Co. , Wis. , and went to 
school. Returning to Michigan, he worked 
in the repair shop of the Michigamme Iron 
Mine as general carpenter on building and 
repairing work. Here he remained until 
coming, in iSSo, to Embarrass, Matteson 
township, where he commenced in the sa- 
loon business, in which he was successful. 
He built three good buildings, and put in a 
stock of groceries, clothing and merchan- 
dise, and has since continued in that line of 
business. Mr. Nicholson is a very handy 
man, being a blacksmith, barber, store- 
keeper and farmer. He owns several pieces i 
of land in Wisconsin, besides mining prop- 
erty in Vermont. He is the author of sev- 
eral useful inventions, among others having 
a patent (No. 494,684, April 4, 1893) on a 
potato digger, which digs and picks up the 
potatoes, leaving the vines and weeds on 
one side of the machine. 

On January 4, 1881, Thomas N. Nich- 
olson was united in marriage with Hattie 
Potts, and two children have been born to 
them — Joseph William, March 29, 1886, 
and Levina, October 31, 1890. The par- 
ents of Mrs. Nicholson were Joseph and 
Eliza (Crozer) Potts, the former of whom is 
deceased, the latter still living. Politically 
Mr. Nicholson has always supported the 
Republican party, and his first vote was 
cast for Gen. Garfield. 



SAMUEL M. MANLEY is a success- 
ful farmer, and was a Union soldier 
in the war of the Rebellion. He 
was born in St. Lawrence county, 
N. Y., July 25, 1838, and is a son of 
Martin and Lodema (More) Manley. 

Martin Manley was a farmer, and be- 
came a successful man. There were born to 
him and his wife the following named chil- 



dren: Lucy, now Mrs. George Marden, of St. 
Lawrence county, N. Y. ; Samuel M., the 
subject of this sketch; Jeannette, widow of 
William Smith, and living in Chatfield. 
Minn. ; and Newton, also in Minnesota, 
leading a retired life. Mrs. Manley died 
about 1845, ^t probably thirty-five years of 
age. Mr. Manley again married, for his 
second wife taking Louisa Daniels, and they 
became the parents of the following chil- 
dren: George, residing on the homestead 
in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. ; Joysen, in 
Potsdam, N. Y. ; Horace, deceased; and 
Silva, now Mrs. Clark Tubbs, of Pine 
Grove, Portage Co., Wisconsin. 

Samuel M. Manley received a common- 
school education, such as the time and 
locality afforded, and commenced work 
pretty young. His first knowledge of farm- 
ing was acquired on the old homestead in 
New York, and under his father's directions. 
When sixteen years of age he left his par- 
ents, and in 1854 came to Buena Vista 
township, Portage Co., Wis., in company 
with his sister Lucy and her husband, 
George Marden. They came to Pine Grove, 
and locating on the creek built a log shanty 
12 X 16, but found that the land was already 
purchased. They lived there that winter, 
engaged in hunting and in making shingles, 
and in the spring removed to what is now 
Bancroft, Portage county, where together 
they built a good log house, which still 
stands and is occupied. Their land was in 
a primitive condition, inhabited only b}' In- 
dians, and bear, deer, etc., and the howling 
of wolves was no uncommon sound. There 
were no roads, and only Indian trails marked 
the ways. They broke about ten acres of 
land, and were mostly engaged in hunting. 
From there they went to Buena Vista, 
Portage county, and took a hotel, and Mr. 
Manley stayed there that winter. His 
brother-in-law and sister then returned to 
New York, and Mr. Manley was employed 
driving timber on the river for about one 
year and a half, then worked for a man 
named William Roe, in Grand Rapids, Wood 
Co., Wis., and remained there until the 
time of his marriage. 

On September 2, i860, Samuel M. Man- 
ley married Irena M. Markham, who was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



425-. 



born in Coral, McHenry Co., 111., June 23, 
1843, and they have become the parents of 
six children, namely: Albert, residing in 
Almond township, Portage count}'; James, 
a ranchman in Montana; Alice, Mrs. James 
Russell, of Almond township; Cora, Mrs. 
Charles Wilson, of Pine Grove, Portage 
county; Charles, in Stevens Point, attend- 
ing business college, and Martin, at home. 
The parents of Mrs. Manly, James and 
Adelia (Bowen) Markham, were from Can- 
ada, and located in Illinois. There were 
born to them the following named children: 
Irena M., Mrs. Manley; Eugenia, now de- 
ceased; Jane, now Mrs. Charles Parker, of 
New York; Seth, in Watertown, S. Dak. ; El- 
len, now Mrs. Joseph Pettis, of Meehan, and 
residing on the old homestead in this State; 
Pamelia, Mrs. Frank Lamberton, of Sturgis, 
S. Dak. ; John, in Huron, S. Dak. ; Will- 
iam, in Dakota, and Evaline, deceased (the 
two last named being twins). James Mark- 
ham was a farmer, and by trade a shoe- 
maker. About 1848 he came with his wife 
to Buena Vista township. Portage Co., 
Wis., driving through from Illinois with 
horses, and it took some two weeks to make 
the journey. He settled on 160 acres of 
land, not at that time for sale, held it 
until it came upon the market, and then 
bought it. He built a log house, which is 
still standing, and moved into it before the 
roof was on. The shingles he made him- 
self. The work of breaking up the land was 
commenced at once. Mr. Kollock was the 
nearest neighbor, and there was scarcely 
anything in Stevens Point at that time. 
They were in Buena Vista for a number of 
years, when the land was sold, and he then 
bought more land in Pine Grove, same 
county, where they lived some eleven years. 
Next they were in Grand Rapids, Wood 
county, for two years, then went to Mee- 
han, in Plover township. Portage county, 
bought land and there spent the remainder 
of their lives. Mr. Markham died May 20, 
I 88 1, and his wife March 22, 1S84. 

When Mr. Manley was married he went 
to Grand Rapids, Wood county, rented a 
farm, and lived there one year. In 1861 he 
went from Grand Rapids to Pine Grove, 
lived with his wife's people that winter, then 



rented land on which he made his home un- 
til 1865. On August 25, 1864, he enlisted 
in Company F, Fifth Wis. V. I., and was 
mustered into service at Madison. They 
were sent to Washington, thence to Alex- 
andria, Va., and did guard and picket duty. 
Their first engagement was at Petersburg, 
March 25, 1865, and in the charge on that 
city, April 2, 1865, he received a wound in 
the hand which resulted in the loss of a 
finger, and he was sent to Washington to 
hospital. He was discharged June 16, 1865, 
at Madison, and returned home. By this 
time he had bought eighty-seven acres of 
land in Section 6, Almond township. Port- 
age count}', where he now lives. There was 
a small board shanty which they occupied 
for a time, and the work of clearing the 
timber and breaking up the soil was heavy. 
At first he had no team, but as soon as able 
he bought a pair of oxen, the first team 
costing $160. Afterward he bought seventy- 
six acres more land. His first grain was cut 
with a cradle. In 1867 he commenced to 
run a breaking team through the breaking 
season, which was June 10 to the first of 
August. At that time it was not considered 
well to break land out of season, as the sod 
would not rot. He operated a team seven 
summers, the team he used to break with 
being five yoke of oxen, while the plows he 
used would turn a furrow from twenty-two 
to twenty-four inches wide. Two acres a 
day was called a fair day's work for two 
men, one to drive, the other to hold the 
plow. About the first of August the harvest 
began; then a good cradler was looked for 
as much as a good binder is now, and not 
having much land broken at that time Mr. 
Manley used to cradle for his neighbor, get- 
ting fifty cents per acre, and cut from four 
to six acres a day; and sometimes he was 
engaged to cradle for the harvest three or 
four months before the time. Mr. Manley 
has never been engaged in any other busi- 
ness than farming, and his success is due to 
the united efforts of himself and wife. Mr. 
Manle}' receives a pension. Politically he 
has continued to be a stanch Republican. 
He has been constable in Almond township, 
and is a member of Post No. 197, G. A. R., 
o{ Plainfield, Waushara county. 



426 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



CALEB J. SHEARER, one of the 
most enterprising young business 
men of Waupaca, was born in that 
cit}' in July, 1857. His paternal 
grandfather, Joseph Shearer, was a glass 
merchant in Scotland, whose son, Thomas 
J., the father of Caleb J., was of a venture- 
some disposition, and as a 3-oung man went 
to Australia to there make his fortune. He 
engaged in mercantile pursuits at Melbourne 
and there married Miss Elizabeth Barr, a 
Scotch young lady. At the end of four 
years of Australian life Mr. Shearer returned 
to Scotland, and after traveling a year 
through that country, Ireland, Wales and 
France, became to America, in 1857, and 
purchased land in the town of Farmington, 
Waupaca Co. , Wis. Mr. Shearer had thor- 
oughly imbibed the miner's indomitable 
spirit, and in 1858 he returned to Australia, 
where he was interested in a valuable gold 
mine. He was last seen while hunting, and 
though large sums of money have been e.\- 
pended in investigating his mysterious dis- 
appearance no trace of him has ever been 
discovered. His bereaved family consisted 
of widow and two children, Rebecca, born 
in Australia, and Caleb J. In 1867 the 
widowed mother was united in marriage 
with Lieut. John Jardine, a Scotch con- 
tractor and lumber dealer at Waupaca. He 
had come to America when a young man, 
and served four years in the Civil war, en- 
listing in the Eighth Wis. V. I., and mus- 
tered out in 1865 as a first lieutenant. He 
died in 1882-, leaving two children, Anna and 
John. 

Young Caleb had fitted himself for the 
practice of law, his education being received 
in the schools of Waupaca city arid at Eau 
Cjaire, Wis. He had spent two years in the 
law office of E. L. Brown, an earnest and 
■enthusiastic disciple of Blackstone and Kent, 
but the death of his stepfather, Lieut. Jar- 
dine, left the latter's flourishing business 
without a director, and circumstances seemed 
to point out to young Shearer a new line of 
■duty. He accordingly bade adieu to his 
first love, the law, and assumed the labors 
and responsibilities of an active business 
career. His efforts have not been confined 
to the planing-mill and lumber yard. Loyal 



to the community in which he lived, he has 
ever sought to advance its interests. He 
was one of the active founders and is now a 
director of the Starch Company. He is 
also a director of the Waupaca First National 
Bank, and is interested in the Creamery and 
Silver Lake Cottage Co. Seventeen men 
find employment in his planing-mill, and his 
lumber interests are scattered among many 
localities. 

An ardent Republican, Mr. Shearer has 
for the past fifteen 3-ears been a member of 
the citj" council nearly all the time, either 
as alderman or as a member of the county 
board. He was twice nominated and elected 
mayor of the city, and served with marked 
distinction. In social circles he is a Mason 
and a Knight of Pythias. He was married 
at Waupaca, in 1882, to Miss Florence 
Jeffers, a native of Buffalo, N. Y. , daughter 
of Seymour G. and Jane (Barry) Jeffers. the 
former of whom, a native of New York, of 
Scotch descent, was for manj' years an officer 
of the Union Steamboat Co. ; the mother 
was a native of New York City. Mr. and 
Mrs. Shearer have one child, Jean E. The}' 
attend the services of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church. 



CHARLES A. STINCHFIELD, a 
worthy representative of the agricul- 
tural interests of Waupaca county, 
was born in Batavia, 111., May 28, 
1 85 I, and upon the home farm was reared, 
while in the public schools of Waupaca, he 
acquired his education. On September 26, 
1878, he married Ida E. Vaughan, and to 
them were born four children: Irma, Flor- 
ence, Winifred and Roswell. Mrs. Stinch- 
field is one of Waupaca's fair daughters, born 
in that city in 1858, unto John M. and Diana 
Vaughan, who were natives of New York. 
Our subject carries on the old homestead 
farm, while his brother Daniel resides in the 
city of Waupaca, a printer by trade. He is 
independent in politics and takes great in- 
terest in the questions of the day, but holds 
himself free to support any candidate whom 
he thinks best qualified for office regardless 
of party affiliations. At this writing he is 
serving as town clerk, has also been town 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



427 



supervisor and has held other local offices, 
discharging the duties devolving upon him 
in a manner to win universal commendation. 
His well-spent life, passed almost entirely' in 
^^'aupaca county, has gained him high re- 
trard. 



GEORGE J. HANSON is one of the 
thrifty and well-to-do citizens of 
Waupaca to whom it seems natural 
to accumulate easily. He possesses 
that rare mental gift of knowing what to do 
under certain circumstances, and then doing 
it. He is a man to whose counsels others 
defer, for people instinctively feel that 
what he says is right. Mr. Hanson has been 
a resident of Waupaca county for a quarter 
of a century, and during that time has es- 
tablished for himself a name as one of its 
most sagacious and enterprising citizens. 

He was born in the western part of Den- 
mark December 29, 1844, son of Jens and 
Carrie (Freeman) Hanson, who had six chil- 
dren: Francis, Peter P., George J., Jens 
C., Carrie and Alex M. The father, who 
was a landowner, died in 1864; the mother 
is still living at the old home with her son 
Peter P. The eldest son, who was a soldier, 
died at Copenhagen in 1864. George J. 
was reared on the farm, attending school 
between the ages of seven and fourteen, as 
required by law, and assisting his father. 
Until the year 1869, when became to Amer- 
ica, he was engaged regularly on the home 
farm, excepting a part of two years when he 
worked out. He crossed the ocean with his 
younger brother, Alex M. , and landing at 
New York City they proceeded westward to 
Gill's Landing, Wis., whence they walked 
to Waupaca city. Their brother Jens C, 
who had been in the country some two years, 
met them at Oshkosh, and they remained 
on his farm in Waupaca county during the 
first winter, engaged principally in chopping 
wood and cutting and delivering ties. Mr. 
Hanson, who had some means, then bought 
a small farm of eighty acres, erected build- 
ings, otherwise improved it, and soon after 
added forty acres to the place. 

In January, 1871, George J. Hanson 
married Carrie Anderson, who was born in 



Denmark in 185 1, daughter of Hans and 
Mary Anderson, who in i 862 emigrated with 
their three children — Carrie, Andrew and 
Sophia — from Denmark to Wisconsin, set- 
tling in Royalton township, Waupaca county, 
where the mother died in 1881. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Hanson six children have been 
born: Emma (now Mrs. Barton), Franklin, 
George, Elma, Winnie and Alton. Mr. Han- 
son continued farming for five years, then 
sold his property and moved to Waupaca. 
Here for a short time he was proprietor of 
a store and restaurant, and he also started a 
brickyard which he conducted three j'ears, 
but both of these businesses he successively 
sold. He purchased and occupied a farm 
in Royalton township, and in 1S83 sold this 
and returned to Waupaca, where he invested 
in real estate, including his residence and 
two stores. For the past ten years he has 
been dealing extensively in produce, hand- 
ling potatoes quite largely. In 1885 he 
bought eighty acres within the city limits; 
this he has platted and has sold many of the 
lots. Mr. Hanson is a Republican in poli- 
tics; socially, a prominent member of the 
I. O. O. F. Himself and wife are members 
of the Danish Lutheran Church. 



HENRY A. KYES, a worthy represent- 
ative of one of the early families of 
northern Wisconsin, is a leader in 
the business and political world of 
Merrill, and a prominent factor in promoting 
those interests best calculated to benefit the 
city. He possesses the true Western spirit 
of progress and enterprise — a spirit that has 
placed the West on a par with the older 
East — and is justly recognized as one of the 
leading citizens of this communitj'. 

Mr. Kyes is a native of Colesville, 
Broome Co., N. Y. , born November 10, 
1836, a son of Ashley Kyes, who first saw 
the light in the Empire State in 1809, his 
parents being English, farther than which 
nothing is known of his ancestry. The 
mother of our subject in her maidenhood 
was Maria Shay, and her birth occurred in 
New York in 18 14, a daughter of James 
Shay, who was a farmer, mill owner and 



438 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



blacksmith. He had a family of five chil- 
dren: Eli, Maria, Charlotte, Harriet and 
Eleanor. In 1837 Ashley Kyes removed 
with his family to Michigan, spending about 
a year in the southern part of that State. In 
1 839, however, he returned to New York, and 
when he again started westward became a 
resident of Medina county, Ohio, locating 
upon a farm which he made his home until 
1850, the year of his removal to Marquette 
count}-, Wis. In this State he settled upon 
the Indian Rese^^■ation, which had just been 
opened up for settlement, securing a tract 
of land which he cultivated and improved 
for some time. Having sold his farm, he 
in 1865 removed to Waseca county, Minn., 
where the mother died in 1883. The father 
then sold his farm, and since then has lived 
with his son William in Appleton, Minn. In 
their family were nine children: Henry 
A., Edgar, Lucius, James (deceased), 
Charles, William, Melissa, Arvilla, and 
Sarah (deceased). Three of the sons were 
soldiers of the Civil war — Edgar, Lu- 
cius and James, the last named serving 
throughout the struggle as a member of the 
Tenth 111. ^^ C. The father of this familj-, 
who was both a farmer and a carpenter, 
improved two good farms in this State. He 
was a pioneer of Minnesota, Wisconsin, 
Ohio and Michigan, and wherever he has 
resided he has been recognized as a leading 
and influential citizen. His political views 
in early life were in support of the princi- 
ples of the Whig party, and on its dissolution 
he became a Republican. For many years 
he served as justice of the peace, and was 
ever a competent and faithful officer. 

Henry A. Kyes, the eldest child in the 
family, received but limited educational 
privileges, for his youth was passed in front- 
ier settlements and his services were gener- 
ally needed on the home farm, where he re- 
mained until eighteen years of age, at which 
time he started northward. On the banks 
of the Eau Claire river he first secured em- 
ployment in the lumber camps, working in 
the woods in the winter months, while in the 
summer he engaged in " running lumber " 
from Wausau and other points to the Mis- 
sissippi, thence down that stream to St. 
Louis and other points. He was thus en- 



gaged until 1857 when he became a resident 
of Jennie, Wis., as the town of Merrill was 
then called. Here he entered the employ 
of Benjamin F. Cooper, working in the 
woods in the winter and running on the 
river in summer until 1862. In company 
with D. A. Kline he then went to Toma- 
hawk, Wis., where they began logging for 
themselves, carrying on business at that 
place until the spring of 1866, after which 
they followed that calling in different places 
until 1875. Their usual, method of pro- 
cedure was to purchase land and then cut 
the timber, and, generally, they cut and 
shipped their own lumber. The partner- 
ship was dissolved in 1875, but Mr. Kyes 
continued the concern alone until 1880, 
since which time he has engaged in the real- 
estate busmess, and has platted a forty-acre 
addition to the city of Merrill, called the 
" K\es Addition. " He is now doing a 
flourishing business, and derives therefrom a 
good income. 

Mr. Kyes was married January 3, 1869, 
to Jane Augusta Hill, who was born in Cat- 
taraugus county, X. Y., about the year 
1847, and was of Irish descent. She lo- 
cated in Wisconsin in an early day, and by 
her marriage became the mother of five 
children, nameU": Henry Noel, William 
Ashley, James W. , Fred and Melissa F. 
Mrs. Kyes died in March, 1877, at Jennie 
(now Merrill), and in October, 1893, Mr. 
Kyes married Augusta Burgraft, who was 
born in Green Lake, Wis., in 1863, a 
daughter of ^^'illiam and Caroline (Spar- 
kool) Burgraff, natives of Germany, who 
were married in \\'isconsin. By occupation 
the father was a miller and cooper, and 
during the Civil war he served in defense of 
the Union. His death occurred in 1885; 
his widow is now living in F"ond du Lac 
county. Their family numbered seven chil- 
dren: Herman Frank, Emma, Augusta, 
Mary, Jane, Anna and Edith. The parents 
of Mr. K\'es" first wife, Henry and Alice 
Hill, were natives of New York, and came 
to Wisconsin in 184S. Their children were 
Alvina, Jane A., Helen, Henr)- and Alice. 
The mother died in Wisconsin in 1847. In 
the Empire State the father followed farm- 
ing, but after coming to Wisconsin worked 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



439 



in the pineries. His death here occurred in 
1S78. 

In pohtics Mr. Kyes is a stanch Demo- 
crat, and has been an active worker in the 
party. He aided in the organization of 
Lincohi county, served as a member of the 
board of supervisors, was deputy sheriff two 
years, and for four j-ears served as under 
sheriff. For six years he was city assessor 
and was elected again in 1895; he was a 
member of the school board live years, all 
of which facts indicate the confidence and 
trust reposed in him by his fellow townsmen, 
and his fidelity to duty. 



GEORGE W. BEMIS, register of 
deeds of Langlade county, was one 
of the brave defenders of the Union 
in the war of the Rebellion, and is 
a prominent and much-respected citizen of 
Norwood township, Langlade county. He 
was born in Auburn, Geauga Co., Ohio, 
March 5, 1840, and is a son of Levi and 
Polly (Thompson) Bemis. 

Benjamin Bemis, father of Levi Bemis, 
was a soldier in the Re\olutionary war, and 
two battles were fought on his farm in New 
York State, called " Bemis Heights." Ben- 
jamin Bemis was a farmer by occupation, 
married a Miss Polly Baldwin, and they 
had a family of seven children, namely: 
Benjamin, Abner, Levi, Willard, Polly, 
Katherine and Fannie. The family came to 
New York State in an early day, where Ben- 
jamin Bemis, Sr. , died in 1847; his wife 
died in 1828. The Bemises are of Scotch- 
English descent, and trace their origin as 
far back as the " Mayflower." 

Levi Bemis was born in Windham coun- 
ty, Vt., in December, 1796, was a farmer 
by occupation, a shoemaker by trade, went 
as a soldier in the war of 18 12, when but 
sixteen years of age, serving as a drummer, 
and was at Sackett's Harbor and in other 
engagements. He married Polly Thompson, 
who was born in Rhode Island, and they 
had ten children — seven sons and three 
daughters — six of whom are now living, 
namely: Jessie, Lorain, Alfred, George W. 
(the subject of this sketch), Hannah and 
Angeline; those deceased are Rebecca, Will- 



ard, Joel, and Henry, who was a soldier in 
the Tenth Wis. V. I., was taken prisoner at 
Chickamauga, and died in Andersonville 
prison in 1864. Joel was married, and left 
a widow and one child, Monroe. Little is 
known of the family of Polly Bemis, except 
that she had four brothers whose names 
were Alfred, Needham, Crowell and Robert, 
and their father, Robert Thompson, was in 
the Revolutionary war, was one of W^ash- 
ington's life guards, and after the struggle 
went to Canada, where he died. In 1835 
Levi Bemis went to Ohio, and about the 
j-ear 1S43 pushed on to Illinois with a team, 
locating in Kane county. He came to Wis- 
consin in 1846, settled on a piece of land 
near Oshkosh, and here his wife, Polly 
Bemis, died within three weeks after their 
arrival; Mr. Bemis passed away in June, 
1 86 1, in Outagamie county. Wis., where he 
had settled in 1854. Politically he was a 
Democrat, and was active in part}- matters. 

George W. Bemis was reared on a farm, 
educated in the common schools, remained 
with his father as long as he lived, and then 
took the homestead, in Outagamie county. 
Wis., which contained forty acres of land. 
He enlisted on February 7, 1862, in Com- 
pany I, Third Wis. V. C. , which regiment 
was assigned to the Western army; he served 
until September, 1865, and was a corporal 
when discharged. He was taken prisoner 
at Spring River, Mo., in 1863, but escaped 
within an hour. Mr. Bemis was never ab- 
sent from his company during his service, 
and was in the battles of Cane Hill, Prairie 
Grove, Salem, Baxter's Springs, and Dar- 
danelle, in Arkansas. The company to 
which he belonged was detached from the 
regiment and sent to look after guerrillas in 
the States of Missouri, Texas and Kansas, 
and in the Indian Territory. During the 
war Mr. Bemis re-enlisted as a veteran, and 
on his return in 1865 he again went to farm- 
ing at the old home in Outagamie county, 
which occupation he followed until March, 
1880. 

In December, 1867, our subject was 
united in marriage with Lydia L. Spencer, 
who was born in New York State in i 847, 
and they had three children: Osca, George 
M., and Edna. The parents of Mrs. Bemis, 



43° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Jay and Margaret Spencer, were born in 
New York State and in New Jersey, respect- 
ively. They had ten children, namely: 
John, Myron, Susan, Sarah, Maria, Eliza, 
May, Lydia L. (Mrs. Spencer), Hattie and 
George. Jay Spencer was a fanner b}' oc- 
cupation, came with his family to Wiscon- 
sin, in 1855, and settled in Outagamie coun- 
ty, where he died in 1878. His widow, 
Margaret Spencer, died in Langlade county 
in 1892. In March, 1880, Mr. Bemis set- 
tled his family on a homestead in Norwood 
township, Langlade county, which he has 
improved and where he has since resided. 
There were but seven families in Norwood 
township when he came, and their nearest 
railroad station was at Clintonville, Wau- 
paca county, forty-five miles distant. Mrs. 
Bemis died in Jul}', 1891, and Edna keeps 
house for her father. Osca is now the wife 
of Edward Daskam, a real-estate dealer in 
Antigo. A Republican in politics, Mr. 
Bemis has always been prominent in his 
party, took an active part when Langlade 
county was organized in 1881; was elected 
register of deeds in 1894, notwithstanding 
the county is strongly Democratic; is a 
member of the Republican County Com- 
mittee, and has held different town offices. 
Socially, he is a member of the G. A. R., 
and the family are identified with the Baptist 
Church. 



JOHN E. ROEPKE, member of the 
firm of Roepke & Meisner, prominent 
merchants and real-estate dealers in 
Birnamwood, Shawano county, was 
born in Newton township, Manitowoc coun- 
ty. Wis., January 16, 1859. His patents 
were John Roepke and Mary (Schloeter) 
Roepke, natives of Hanover, Germany, in 
which place they were married in 1846. 

John Roepke came to America in 1847, 
and settled upon a tract of wild land in 
Manitowoc county, his wife joining him the 
following year. They had five children: 
Anna, Lizzie, Diedrich, Herman and John E. 
Mr. Roepke soon after his arrival in this 
country built on his farm a sawmill, which 
was run 1^' water power, and was the first 
mill in that section. He operated this some 



eighteen years, then sold it and bought a 
saw and grist mill in the same county, dying 
in 1868 soon after making the latter pur- 
chase. He was a well-educated man, popu- 
lar in his community, and was a stanch 
Republican. 

John E. Roepke, the subject of this 
sketch, was educated in the common schools 
and remained at home until he was twenty- 
five years old, learning the trade of a miller, 
and working in his father's mill. (After the 
latter's death the business was carried on by 
his widow who was a good manager). Mr. 
Roepke was married June 11, 1884, to Min- 
nie Pleuss and to them have been born three 
children: Walter, Edna and Otman. Mr. 
Roepke is the head of the firm of Roepke 
& Meisner, general merchants and lumber- 
men who came to Birnamwood in 1884. 
They also deal largely in real estate, owning 
some 4,300 acres of pine and farm lands. 
They bought out a store when the}' first 
came to the place, although they had no ex- 
perience as merchants, and have been 
remarkably successful in all their enterprises. 
Mr. Roepke looks after the store, Mr. Meis- 
ner attending to the outside business. Mr. 
Roepke has a fine residence, and is a man 
well-to-do in the world. Politically he is a 
Republican, and although he has held some 
minor town offices he is too much occupied 
with his own business to care for office; in 
religious faith he is a member of the Ger- 
man Lutheran Church; socially he is 
identified with the Modern Woodmen, in 
which order he holds office and takes a 
prominent part. He is a public-spirited 
man, ever ready to assist in all projects 
which have for their object the welfare of 
the town and county. 



NORMAN A. EMERSON was born 
April 26, 1864, at Iron Ridge, Dodge 
Co., Wis. Norman Emerson, his 
father, was a native of Vermont, a 
son of Asa Emerson, a farmer by vocation, 
who had but one child, Norman, who was 
reared to agricultural pursuits, his boyhood 
being passed much in the manner of other 
lads in his day. In early life he moved to 
the State of New York, where he married 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



43 » 



Nancy Chapman, b}^ whom he had seven 
children, as follows: Mary, Martha, 
Amanda, Nettie (who died in August, 1894), 
John W., David W. and Norman A. In 
1840 the family came to Wisconsin, locating 
at Iron Ridge, Dodge county, where the 
father followed his trade, that of a cooper, 
and also engaged in the lumber business till 
1867, when he and his wife moved to Loyal, 
Clark county. Here the mother died in 
1887; the father passed away in 1890 at the 
home of his son John W. He was an en- 
ergetic business man, and left behind an 
enviable record for honesty and uprightness. 
During the war of the Rebellion he served 
his country in the Union army. 

Norman A. Emerson, the subject proper 
of these lines, received a liberal common- 
school education, and at the age of eighteen 
commenced working in the lumber woods 
during the winter season, his summers being 
occupied on the river, and being economical, 
as well as industrious, he not only made 
money, but also saved it. In 1 887 he moved to 
Tomahawk, Lincoln county, and commenced 
dealing in timber lands — buying and selling 
to advantage — finally becoming owner of a 
large tract of timber land. In March, 1S95, 
the Bank of Tomahawk was established, of 
which he is president. In 1889, at Madi- 
son, Wis., he was united in marriage with 
Miss Amy L. Warnes, and three children 
have come to brighten the home: Elsa, 
Helen, and a son not yet named. In his 
political sympathies Mr. Emerson is a Dem- 
ocrat; socially, he affiliated with Tomahawk 
Lodge, No. 243, F. & A. M., and in re- 
ligious faith he and his wife are members of 
the M. E. Church. 

Mrs. Norman A. Emerson is a natix'e of 
the State of Michigan, born in Polkton 
township, Ottawa county, in 1858, a daugh- 
ter of Ishmael and Melissa (House) Warnes, 
who were the parents of seven children, of 
whom Oliver F. and Amy L. are living, the 
others having died young. The parents 
were both natives of the State of New York, 
and there, in Jefferson county, were married, 
soon afterward moving to Michigan, later to 
Wisconsin, and settling near Madison, where 
the mother died in 1864. Two years later 
the father married Miss Jessie Micklejohn, 



who bore him three children : Jessie, Sabina, 
and one deceased in infancy. From \\'is- 
consin the family moved to Tennessee, 
thence to Oregon, in 1892, where they now 
reside. Mrs. Emerson's father is well edu- 
cated, as was also her mother, and both at 
one time were school teachers, a profession 
the daughter followed until her marriage 
with Mr. Emerson. Mr. Warnes was a 
miller by trade, and his son, Oliver F. , was 
head miller some eight years for Pillsbury, 
of Minneapolis, Minn., but is now living at 
Anoka, that State, being manager of their 
mill at that place. Mrs. Emerson's mater- 
nal grandparents were natives of New York 
State, the grandmother being a daughter of 
John Franklin and a niece of Benjamin 
Franklin. Mr. Warnes' father was a native 
of England, whence in an early day he came 
to America. Her mother's father is still 
living in Lewis county, N. Y. , at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-four years. 



JOHN PETERSON, one of the practical 
and progressive farmers of Portage 
county, resides in Section 2, Belmont 
township, where he has a nice home, 
barns and outbuildings, models of conven- 
ience, and well-tilled fields which together 
constitute one of the valuable farms of the 
neighborhood. 

Mr. Peterson was born January 4, i860, 
and is one of the eight children of Peter Ja- 
cobson, a farmer and weaver of Denmark. 
His education was obtained in the public 
schools of his native land, and there he 
passed his first twenty years, emigrating to 
the New World m May, 1880. Bidding 
adieu to home and friends, he sailed for the 
United States, embarking at Copenhagen on 
the 9th of April, and reaching New York on 
the 8th of May. having stopped while cii 
route in England. He had to borrow the 
money to pay his passage, and it was the 
hope of bettering his financial condition that 
led him to emigrate. His destination was 
Waupaca, Wis., but after a short time passed 
there, he came to Belmont township. Port- 
age county, and began work for his father- 
in-law, J. P. Rasmussen, by whom he was 
employed two years. On the expiration of 



433 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



that period he removed to Iowa, purchasing 
a farm in Webster count3^ which he owned 
and operated in connection with his brother, 
Hans P. There he made his home until 
1893, when he returned to Portage county. 
On March 24, that year, at Waupaca, 
Wis., Mr. Peterson was married to Miss 
Anna Rasmussen, a native of Belmont town- 
ship, and a daughter of James P. and Jo- 
hanna M. (Nelson) Rasmussen. Their union 
has been blessed with one child, a son, Carl 
W. , born February 19, 1894. Mr. Peterson 
votes with the Republican party, manifests 
a commendable interest in its success and 
keeps well informed on the issues of the day. 
Both he and his estimable wife hold mem- 
bership with the Lutheran Church, and con- 
tribute liberally to its support. In his busi- 
ness dealings, Mr. Peterson has been very 
successful. He started out in life for him- 
self a poor boy, dependent entirely upon his 
own resources, and his diligence, persever- 
ance and capable management have brought 
him success until he is now the owner of 240 
acres of valuable land, and is numbered 
among the substantial farmers of the com- 
munity. Industry is certainly one of his 
chief characteristics, and has brought to him 
a prosperity that is well deserved. 



ARTHUR B. MILLARD, president 
and manager of the Millard Pub- 
lishing Company, at Antigo, Lang- 
lade count}', is one of the best 
known citizens of that place, having held 
numerous public offices, and as journalist 
is intimately connected with the every-day 
life and interests of the town and count)'. 
He comes of good old Eastern stock, his 
paternal grandparents being Arnold and 
Maria (Schleiter) Millard, natives of New 
York, while those on his mother's side were 
Alanson and Amity (Stebbins) Crown, na- 
tives of Vermont. 

Arthur Burton Millard was born in 
Wausau, Marathon Co., Wis., May 24, 
1857, a son of Burton and Harriet (Crown) 
Millard, the former born in Scio, N. Y. , in 
1828, the latter in Caledonia county, Vt. , 
in January, 1832. They were married in 
Princeton, Green Lake Co., \\'is., in 1851, 



and became the parents of four children 
namely: Hattie M., Albert M., Arthur B., 
and Paul J. The father was a millwright 
and carpenter. In 1861 he enlisted in 
Company G. Fifth Wis. V. I., and was 
shot while on picket duty at Lee's Mills, 
Va. , on April 30, 1862. Arthur Millard at- 
tended the common schools of his native 
place until 1868 when he entered the print- 
ing office of the Central Wisconsin as an ap- 
prentice, and worked at his trade most of 
the time until he came to Antigo in 1882, 
where, in company with his brother Paul 
J., he established the Weekly NeiK.'s Item, 
the first issue of which appeared August 26, 

1882, and of which he has had complete 
control ever since its start. 

A. B. Millard was married October 9, 

1883, to Miss Fannie M. Lambert, of Mar- 
kesan. Wis., a daughter of Charles and 
Maria (Crown) Lambert, the former of 
whom was a native of England, the latter 
of Vermont. They have two children, 
Hazel A. and Byron J. In 1883 Mr. Mill- 
ard was appointed deputy county clerk of 
Langlade county which office he held two 
j'ears, having full control of the entire bus- 
iness. He was elected county clerk in 1885, 
and held that office until January i, 1887. 
In April of that year he was made super- 
visor of the First ward of the city of Antigo, 
and served one year. In 1893, when Paul 
J. Millard was appointed postmaster at An- 
tigo, the firm of Millard Bros, was dissolved, 
and the business was transferred to the Mill- 
ard Publishing Company, of which, as has 
been stated, our subject is president and 
manager. He is a member of Antigo Lodge 
No. 231, F. & A. M., Antigo Chapter, No. 
64, R. A. M., and St. Omer Cominandery, 
K. T. , No. 19. of \\'ausau. 



LORIN B. BEMIS. who is conducting 
a livery business with his son, Louis 
C. Bemis, in Antigo, Langlade 
count}-, was born in EUisbury, Jef- 
ferson Co., N. Y., July 6, 1822, and is a 
son of Levi and Polly (Thompson) Bemis, 
who were born respectively in ^^'indham 
county, Vt., in December, 1796, and in 
Rhode Island, in 1800. 



COMMBMOBATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



433 



The subject of this sketch was given the 
advantages of a common-school education, 
and learned the trade of shoemaker. In the 
spring of 1842, when about twenty years of 
age, he went to Illinois, and located in 
Batavia, Kane county, where he remained 
some four years working at the carpenter's 
trade. In 1846 he proceeded to Oshkosh, 
Wis., where he worked at the carpenter's 
trade, and located on some land nine miles 
from Oshkosh, after three years making his 
home on this farm, and there remained until 
1885. when he came to Langlade count}', 
and bought a farm in Norwood township, 
being one of the first settlers there. He 
enlisted for the Mexican war under Col. 
(afterward Gen.) Logan, and marched some 
sixt}' miles, but missed the boat at Peoria, 
and could not go. 

In February, 1852, Lorin B. Bemis was 
united in marriage with Adelia C. Clemens, 
who was born at Hyde Park, November 20, 
1832, and they had six children, only one of 
whom survives — Louis C, who is engaged 
in the livery business with his father; Edwin 
C, died at the age of thirty-nine years; Ber- 
ton when twelve years of age, and Alfred, 
Albert, and one other in infancy. The par- 
ents of Mrs. L. B. Bemis, Horace and 
Mary E. (Dugar) Clemens, had ten children, 
one of whom died while an infant. The 
others were Edwin D., Laura A., Sarah N., 
Hiram R. , Adelia C. (Mrs, Bemis), Carlista 
N. , Julia A. , Horace B. , and George S. Five 
children are now living, namely: Laura A., 
Sarah N., Adelia C, Horace B., and 
George S. The father of Horace Clemens, 
Sr. , David Clemens, was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war. His family was of En- 
glish descent. Horace Clemens, Sr. , was 
born in \'ermont, in 1798, was a farmer by 
occupation, came to Wisconsin in 1845, set- 
tled near Oshkosh, and died in 1890. His 
wife, Mary E. Clemens, was born in 1803, 
and died November 7, 1877. Her people 
were of French descent. 

Mr. Bemis enlisted twice during the war 
of the Rebellion, but he was not accepted 
on account of a gunshot wound which he 
had received by accident many j'ears before. 
He sold his farm near Oshkosh in 1892, re- 
sided on his farm in Langlade county imtil 



about the same time, then sold that also and 
settled in the city of Antigo, a retired 
farmer. Politically a Democrat, he is an 
active worker in his part}-, has been town 
treasurer and supervisor, and has held other 
minor offices. He is well-to-do, and has the 
satisfaction of having earned his property 
himself. 



THOMAS SWAN, Jr., a prosperous 
farmer of Lanark township, Portage 
county, was born March 16, 1848, 
a son of Thomas and Martha (Mc- 
Jennette) Swan, both natives of Scotland, 
the former born in Lanark, son of James 
and Jeanette (Somerville) Ssvan, also natives 
of Lanark, Scotland. 

Thomas Swan, Sr. , came to Canada 
with his parents in 1821, and settled on a 
farm in the town of Lanark, in what is now 
the Province of Ontario. Martha Mcjennette 
came with her parents from Scotland in her 
youth, and in after years was married to 
Thomas Swan, Sr. In 1847 they came to 
Wisconsin, residing in Vinland, Winnebago 
county, until March, 1852, when they moved 
to a farm in Section 36, in what is now 
Lanark township, Portage county. Mrs. 
Swan died there December 25, 1888, and 
Mr. Swan is now, at the age of eighty-four 
years, living with John D. Swan on the old 
farm which he secured from the government. 
He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, 
as was also his wife. His father and mother 
came to Lanark township with him, and 
both died there, the father in October, 1863, 
at the age of ninety-one years, the mother 
in December, 1866, aged ninety-three. 
Thomas Swan, Sr. , attended the first town 
meeting held in what is now Lanark town- 
ship. Portage county, at which he proposed 
the name, "Lanark," for it, and it being 
put to the vote was carried. To Thomas 
Swan, Sr. , and Martha Swan were born 
children as follows : James, who died April 
10, 1895, at the age of fifty-seven years; 
Thomas (i), who was killed -by a falling 
tree; Jane, who married Moses H. Finch 
(deceased some twelve years ago), of Stevens 
Point, their children being Benoni, Martha 
(a school teacher at Stevens Point), Eliza- 



434 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



beth falso a teacher in Stevens Point), 
Thomas and Man-; Jennie is the wife of John 
Gardner Spencer, of Marathon, Wis., their 
children being John (deceased in boyhood), 
Oscar (attending commercial college at Val- 
paraiso, Ind.), Bessie fa school teacher in 
Spencer), Myra and John; Robert went 
to California in 1865, and settled in 
Orick, Humboldt county, where he is 
a merchant and postmaster; Thomas (2) 
is he of whom we write; Martha is 
the wife of Oscar Lattin, of Battle Creek, 
Mich., their children being: . Harvey, 
Thomas, Ethel, Jennie, Robert, Annie and 
Ray; Elizabeth is the wife of W. H. Potts, 
and their children are Walter, Martha, James 
and Frank; William (i) died in boyhood; 
William (2), now living in Stockton, Port- 
age county. Wis., married Miss Minnie Mor- 
rell (now deceased), by whom he had three 
children: John, George and Blanche (he 
married for his second wife Myrtle, widow of 
Charles Hartwell, and after her decease 
wedded Miss Eda Putts); John D. married 
Miss Marion Ovens, and their children are 
William and Helen. 

Thomas Swan, Jr., obtained his educa- 
tion in the district school at Lanark, Wis. 
After he came of age he bought his present 
farm of 1 20 acres, which he worked while 
living at home, and in 1873 he received a 
tract of timber land from the government, 
in Spencer, Wis. For two winters he lum- 
bered off this homestead, selling the first 
cut for $1,600, but the second cut, valued 
at $2,000, was destroyed by iire. He then 
sold the land, and worked in lumber camps 
during the winter of 1875-76. When he 
bought his present farm the only building 
upon it was a frame shanty. This he re- 
paired somewhat, and li\ed in it some six 
months after his marriage. 

On December 25, 1877, Thomas Swan, 
Jr., married Edna Bemis, and their children 
are as follows: Grace A., born June 15, 
1879; Leon B., born January 4, 1881 ; Doll, 
born October 23, 1S86; and Jessie, born 
April 29, 1S89. Mr. Swan intends to give 
his children a thorough education, and after 
they have finished in the schools of Lanark 
he proposes to remove the family to Stevens 
Point, where the girls will complete their 



education, and Leon will go from there to 
college. Mrs. Swan is the daughter of Levi 
and Sarah (Wheeler) Bemis, natives of New 
York. Sarah Bemis died in Lanark, \\'is. , 
June 14, 1 888, a member of the Methodist 
Church. In 1 861, at Reedsburg, Wis., Levi 
Bemis enlisted in Company B, Twelfth Wis. 
V. I., for three years, and after this term 
expired re-enlisted for three years. At the 
end of this time he received a thirty-days' 
furlough, came home to visit his family, and 
then returned and served till the close of the 
war. He fought under Sherman, and was 
with him on his march to the sea; he is now 
living with his son at Lyndon, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Swan, besides his property in Lan- 
ark township, owns a little real estate in 
Cook county. 111. He is a Republican in 
politics, and in 1884 was elected assessor, 
which office he has held ever since. 



EDWARD MILLER was born May 
14, i86g, in Bear Creek township, 
Waupaca county, where he still re- 
sides, engaged in farming, and is a 
son of Charles and Anna (Raisler) Miller, 
both of German descent. 

Charles Miller was a farmer and miller, 
and also a carpenter. There were ten chil- 
dren in his family — Ernest, Pauline, Bertha, 
Emma, Mollie, Charles, William, Edward, 
Louise and Clara — of whom seven are now 
living ; and, of these, four are married, all 
but Edward, William and Louise. In 1854 
the family came to America, landing in New 
York after a voyage of forty-seven days. 
They came directly to Dodge county. Wis., 
remained there two months, then came on 
foot to Bear Creek, a distance of one hun- 
dred miles. Mrs. Miller carried a babe in 
her arms and one on her back, and they 
slept at night under the wagon which car- 
ried their goods. Until a small shant}- had 
been built they remained with Welcome 
Hyde, and Mr. Miller worked for him. For 
five years they never had a cent of mone)', 
and for two years no flour, using corn meal 
made with water into " johnnycake,'" and 
their pork was bought of Mr. Hyde at the 
rate of nineteen cents a pound. Their hardy 
and frugal life presents a striking contrast 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



435 



to the customs so prevalent in these days of 
ostentatious pride and wasteful extravagance. 
After living with Mr. Hyde two years they 
bought of him eighty acres of land, on which 
the homestead is still located. Here they 
built a log house, which they occupied but a 
short time, when a larger one was built in 
its stead. They had for tools the familiar 
axe and grub-hoe, besides the old carpen- 
ter's tools which Mr. Miller brought from 
Germany, and the work of clearing, once 
commenced, went gradualh' on to comple- 
tion. 

Mr. Miller died January 21, 1881, and 
was buried in Bear Creek Cemetery. His 
widow still lives on the homestead, only two 
of their family of ten children being now 
left at home to care for their aged mother. 

Edward Miller, whose name introduces 
this sketch, now conducts the farm, and has 
been of no small assistance to his mother, 
and as a faithful and dutiful son he is an 
example to set before the idle and the 
thoughtless. He now has sixty acres of the 
homestead. His father was a Republican 
in politics, and held offices of both honor 
and trust in his town, the duties of which 
were discharged in a manner that reflected 
credit upon himself and gave satisfaction to 
his constituents. Edward Miller holds sub- 
stantially the same views in politics as his 
father before him. 



PAUL J. MILLARD, an honored citi- 
zen of and postmaster at Antigo, 
Langlade county, was born at Wau- 
sau, Marathon Co., Wis., June 23, 
1859, and is a son of Burton and Harriet 
(Crown) Millard. 

Arnold Millard, father of Burton Mill- 
ard, was a farmer in New York State, and 
his children were Burton, Augustus, Benja- 
min and Mahala. At Princeton, Green 
Lake Co., Wis., in 1851, Burton Millard 
was united in marriage with Harriet Crown, 
who was born in Caledonia county, Vt. , 
and they had four children, namely: Hattie 
M., Albert M., Arthur B., and Paul J. 
(whose name introduces this sketch). The 
parents of Mrs. Burton Millard, Alanson (a 
farmer) and Amity (Stebbins) Crown, came 



to Wisconsin in an early day and settled in 
Green Lake county. They had seven chil- 
dren, as follows: Harriet (Mrs. Millard), 
Martha, Alden, Maria, Oren, Frank and 
Cynthia. Burton Millard was a millwright, 
and after his marriage he settled in Wausau, 
Wis. , where he followed his trade. He was 
a Republican in politics, was sheriff of Mar- 
athon county, was elected to the Assembly 
in 1858, served in other minor offices, and 
was a very prominent man in all politics. 
On the demand for soldiers when war was 
declared at the time of the Rebellion, he 
enlisted in Company G. Fifth Wis. X. L, 
was alwa\s a brave soldiers, and was killed 
at Lee's Mills, Va. , April 30, 1862, while on 
picket duty, and is buried in the National 
Cemetery in Virginia. He was first buried 
on the field in a pine board coffin, which in 
most cases was not provided in those daj'S, 
and later his body was removed to the Nation- 
al Cemetery. His widow, Mrs. Harriet Mill- 
ard, again married, in 1867, her husband be- 
ing Dr. T. Smith, of Wausau, Wis., and 
she is still living; they have had three chil- 
dren: Laura C, MaryE., and Charles A. 

Paul J. Millard received his education in 
the common schools at Wausau, worked at 
home until the age of nineteen, then en- 
gaged as time-keeper on a railroad, and was 
thus employed until 1882. In company 
with his brother, Arthur B., he came to 
Antigo and August 26, 1882, started a Dem- 
ocratic newspaper called the W'cci'h Xcn's 
Item. The subject of this sketch was ap- 
pointed postmaster at Antigo, March 23, 
1893, at which time he severed his connec- 
tion with the newspaper. He has been al- 
derman in his ward and was candidate for 
county treasurer in 1892. 

In 1885 Paul J. Millard was united in 
marriage with Hattie M. Waite, who was 
born at Ogdensburg, Waupaca Co., Wis., 
October 17, 1861, and they have three 
sons: Glenn E., Arnold B., and Paul V. 
The parents of Mrs. Millard, Smith and Al- 
vira (Eldridgej Waite, had six children: 
AbbieH., Mark W., Mary E., Hattie M. 
(Mrs. Millard), Fannie G., and John. Smith 
■VVaite was born in New York, February i , 
1825, is a farmer by occupation, and, with 
his wife, was among the early settlers of 



436 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Waupaca county, where he still resides. He 
was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, 
and served all through in Company K, 
Seventeenth Wis. V. I. His wife, Alvira 
L. Waite, was born in Bucksport, Maine, 
March 13, 1833, ^nd died on May 23, 1869. 
Paul J. Millard is a member of the F. & A. 
M., of Antigo Chapter, of Antigo, and of St. 
Omer Commandery at Wausau. 



JOHN SIPEK, a general and popular 
hotel-keeper in Antigo, Langlade coun- 
ty, was born in Centerville township, 
Manitowoc Co., Wis., June 19, i860, 
and is a son of Joseph and Anna fRine) 
Sipek. 

Joseph Sipek was the son of Joseph, Sr. , 
and Veronica (Gregor) Sipek, who both died 
in Austria, and who had five children, as 
follows: Joseph, Jr. ; John, who lives in 
Green Bay; Wenzel in Austria; and Anna 
and Catherine, who both came to America. 
Joseph Sipek, Sr. , was a mason by trade, a 
soldier in 1809 and fought against Napoleon 
the Great. His son. Joseph Sipek, Jr., 
was born in Austria, in March, 1827, was a 
shoemaker in that country, married Anna 
Rine, and had nine children, namely: Cath- 
erine (now deceased), Eli;iabeth, Wenzel, 
Pauline (deceased), John (the subject of this 
sketch), Mary, Adolph, Anna and Emma. 
In 1857 Joseph Sipek, Jr., embarked for 
America with his family and, after arriving 
in this country, came direct to Wisconsin, 
taking up a farm in Centerville township, 
Manitowoc county, which he improved, and 
upon which he lived until 1882. He sold 
out that year, bought land in Township 32 
north. Range 1 1 east, Neva township, re- 
sided there until 1891, and then moved to 
Antigo township. He is still a hale and 
hearty man, has accumulated what he 
possessess by his own perseverance and in- 
dustry, has reared, educated and helped his 
children, and still has plenty left. 

John Sipek, the subject of this sketch, 
remained at home and assisted his father 
with the work until he was twenty-one years 
old, being given school advantages only to 
the age of thirteen. In 1881, on reaching 
his majority, he came to Neva township, 



Langlade county, purchased a farm, his 
father advancing the money, and resided 
there some nine years, clearing about sixty 
acres. On February 8, 1885, he was united 
in marriage with Emma Skyrevoda, who 
was born in Manitowoc county, Wis., in 
1868, and they had four children: Matilda, 
Alvina, and John living, and Joseph who 
died when two years old. The parents of 
Mrs. Sipek, Anton and Elizabeth (Krache) 
Skyrevoda, were both born in Austria, and 
were among the early settlers of Manito- 
woc county; Anton Skyrevoda has been a 
farmer by occupation, but now, with his 
wife, is living retired. They have had five 
children: Emma (Mrs. Sipek), Adolph, 
Anna, Mary and Lydia. 

During the spring of 1890 John Sipek 
rented his farm in Neva township and came 
to Antigo, where he bought the land, built 
his present home, and keeps a hotel called 
the " Farmers' Home." He is always inde- 
pendent in politics, was school clerk two 
3'ears, and member of the town board one 
year. In 1890 he spent some time in visit- 
ing different sections of the country, re- 
mained about three weeks in Nebraska and 
about four weeks in California, came from 
there to Chicago, and then returned home. 



JOHN P. PETERSON represents in his 
personality one of the most prominent 
successes of Waupaca county. He 
came to the county from Sweden a poor 
young man, made a small purchase of land 
in Scandinavia township, gave it his strict 
attention and the benefit of his hardy young 
strength, and thus soon had it converted into 
an improved and productive farm. To this 
nucleus he added steadily, and in 1893 he 
apportioned by sale among his sons 600 
acres of land as fine as may be found within 
the limits of Waupaca county. Few men 
among the thrifty Norsemen who have made 
this country their home stands higher in 
public esteem, for sterling character, for 
business sagacitj', for fidelity to trust and all 
social relations, than does John P. Peterson. 
He was born in Sweden, December i, 
1827, son of Peter and Stena Anderson. In 
the family, as far back as record can be 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



437 



traced, runs a vein of native mechanical 
skill which has in no small measure assisted 
the various members in their success in life. 
Peter and Stena Anderson had seven chil- 
dren: Martestina, deceased; Carl, deceased; 
Annie, a resident of Sweden; Carl, deceased; 
Andreas, of Scandinavia village, Waupaca 
county; August, of Nelsonville, Wis., and 
John P. The parents emigrated to Amer- 
ica in 1869, many years after their son had 
crossed the ocean, and located in Scandi- 
navia township. Waupaca Co., Wis. Here 
they followed agricultural pursuits, making 
their home with John P. until death over- 
took them, the father dying December 29, 
1882, the mother on July 17, 1893. Both 
were worth}' members of the Lutheran 
Church. 

John P. Peterson was reared on a farm 
in Sweden, receiving the best education his 
en\-ironment afforded. In 1851, at the age 
of twenty-three, he resolved to found a home 
in America. For four years he followed 
common labor in Dane county. Wis., and 
other places; then in 1855 purchased 160 
acres of government and other land in Scan- 
dinavia township, Waupaca county, and with 
unwavering effort applied himself vigorously 
to clearing and farming this his first acquisi- 
tion. He succeeded beyond expectation. 
Other broad acres adjoining his homestead 
fell into his possession, and as noted above 
he, in 1893, .sold his 600 acres of well-im- 
proved land to three of his sons, and has 
since led a richly deserved and sensible re- 
tired life on the old place. His success was 
due to his own energies and hard work, and 
to a careful attention to his business inter- 
ests. 

His marriage to Helena M. Hoyord, 
which occurred in Scandinavia township, 
October 24, 1855, was the second to be sol- 
emnized in that township, Mr. Peterson him- 
self being the third settler in that neighbor- 
hood. He has consequently experienced all 
the hardships and privations that are un- 
avoidably associated with pioneer life, and 
Mrs. Peterson, whose natural gifts and re- 
fined character can not be overestimated, 
proved a worthy helpmate. She was the 
daughter of Peter and Annie Hoyord, and 
was born in Norway August 29, 1835. She 



died May 4, 1889, and is buried in Scandi- 
navia cemetery. Mr. Peterson, fully ap- 
preciating the priceless value of education, 
has given most of his ten children a course 
in the high school as a supplement to their 
common-school education. The prosperous 
and contented family is now located as fol- 
lows: Carl P. is at home; John Oscar is a 
farmer of Farmington township; P. Amelia 
is the wife of Louis Thompson, a real-estate 
dealer of Chicago; Andrew M. is a merchant 
at Scandinavia; Otto F. is a farmer of Scan- 
dinavia; Hannah is the wife of T. Tronson, 
a farmer of Amherst; Henry W. operates 
the saw and feed mill on the home farm, built 
by Mr. Peterson in 1862 and operated by 
him until 1893; Teman A. is a salesman in 
Scandinavia; Helen Luella lives in Scandi- 
navia; Susan is deceased. In politics Mr. 
Peterson is a Republican, and he cast his 
first vote for John C. Fremont in 1856. He 
has filled every office in the township except 
that of constable and clerk, and has held of- 
fice continuously for twenty-seven years. In 
this remarkable continuance of public service 
he has filled all positions of honor and trust 
with satisfaction to his constituents and 
credit to himself. Mr. Peterson holds to the 
faith of the Lutheran Church, and in all the 
relations of life, public and private, he has 
acquitted himself as a man above reproach, 
as an exemplar of the highest type of citizen- 
ship. 



SALVE KNUTSON, a farmer of Am- 
herst township. Portage count}', was 
born in Sanes, Norway, June 7, 
1852, and was brought by his parents 
to this country when he was an infant. He 
is a son of Knute and Sena (Oleson) Sal- 
verson, both also born in Norway. 

Knute Salverson was the son of Salve 
Knutson, who died in Norway many }ears 
ago, and whose children were Knute (big), 
Dora, Knute flittle) and Osmond. Knute 
Salverson, father of the subject of this 
sketch, had one child by his first marriage — 
Salve Knutson, deceased; three by his sec- 
ond marriage, of whom Christiana, the eld- 
est, is deceased, and two died in infancy; 
and by his third marriage, the following: 



438 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Emma (i), deceased; Julia, who married 
Knute Osmanson, a farmer of Red River, 
Minn. ; Annie, deceased; Salve, of whom we 
write — all four of whom were born in Nor- 
way; and Ole, deceased; Emma (2), at 
home; Mary, who married John O. John- 
son, a farmer of Minnesota; and Torger, 
living at home — all four born in Amherst. 
Knute Salverson, with his wife and family, 
sailed from Norway in June, 1853, when his 
son Salve was only about a 3'ear old, and 
after a voyage of seven weeks landed at 
New York, coming directly to Rock River, 
Wis. Here he worked at the carpenter's 
trade, which he had learned in Norway. 
From Rock River the family moved to 
Scandinavia, Waupaca county, where they 
remained with a friend till the following fall, 
1854. In the summer of 1854, Mr. Salver- 
son bought 180 acres of wild land in Am- 
herst township. Portage county, and, after 
making a clearing, built a home, to which 
he brought his family, who have resided 
there ever since. Mr. Salverson died at 
home January 10, 1886, where his widow 
also died November 20, 1894, and they are 
buried in Scandinavia. Both were mem- 
bers of the Lutheran Church. 

Salve Knutson, son of the foregoing, and 
subject of this sketch, received a meager 
education in the schools of Scandinavia and 
Amherst. In May, 1877, he went west into 
Minnesota, hired out as a farm hand, and 
worked farms for himself until the fall of 
1878; then returned home and has worked 
his farm ever since. After their father's 
death, he and his brother Torger made 'ex- 
tensive improvements upon the farm. Mr. 
Knutson is yet unmarried. In politics he is 
a strong Republican, and in religion a 
Lutheran. 



ADOLPHUS G. HUNTER, superin- 
tendent of James S. Kirk & Co. 's 
(Chicago) soap-box manufacturing 
establishment at Rhinelander, Onei- 
da county, is a native of Canada, born at 
Grimsby, Upper Canada (now Province of 
Ontario), March 24, 1835. 

His great-grandfather Hunter migrated 



from Scotland to the North of Ireland, 
whence he came to America in a \exy early 
day. He had three sons — Andrew, Thomas 
and Henry — the two latter settling in Michi- 
gan about the year 1797, though nothing is 
now known of them or their descendants. 
Their parents both died in Maryland. An- 
drew Hunter fgrandfather of our subject) 
was born in Cecil countj-, Maryland, in 1761, 
moved to Canada in 1797, and there mar- 
ried Miss Maggie Wilson, by whom he had 
thirteen children, to wit : James, Rachel, 
Hugh, Margaret, Joseph, Martha, John (a 
physician at one time of Hamilton, Ontario), 
Mary, George, Ann, Henry, Thomas, and 
one that died in infancy. The father of 
these, who was a well-to-do farmer, giving 
each of his children, when of age, a good 
farm, died in the winter of 1852, at the ad- 
vanced age of ninety-one, his wife passing 
away in i86i. She was of Scotch parent- 
age, and had two brothers — Hugh and John 
— the former of whom was a farmer and 
local preacher, the latter a farmer and poli- 
tician, having for some sixteen years been a 
member of the Canadian Parliament, during 
eight of which he was speaker of the House 
of Commons. James, the eldest son of 
Andrew, and the father of Adolphus G., was 
born in 1800, in Grimsby, Canada, and until 
he came of age assisted his father on the 
home farm, when, or at the time of his 
marriage, he was given a farm b}' his father 
near the old home. He married Arethusa 
Kilbourn, who was born in 1805, daughter of 
John and Melinda Hubbard Kilbourn, and 
three children were born to this union : Al- 
fred J., Andrew H. and Adolphus G. ; of 
whom Alfred J. died, in 1861, in Canada, 
and Andrew H. in Tennessee, in 1875. The 
father of these served on the side of law and 
order during the Canadian Rebellion of 1 S37, 
and died in October, 1838. His widow 
subsequently married Samuel C. Kenny, and 
died in 1848. By her second marriage she 
had two children : John H. and Samuel C, 
both of whom married, Samuel dying with- 
out issue ; John had six children — Samuel 
C, Anna, Viola, Adele, Alfred and Joseph- 
ine. The mother of Mr. Hunter traces her 
family in this country back to April 15. 
1635, when Thomas Kilbourn. with his 




/^2^ .^^/t^^i^'C^^' 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 



439 



•familj', embarked from London in the ship 
"Increase" for America, the Kilbourns of 
this country springing from him. They 
trace baclc in England to i 170, when Will- 
iam De Kilbourn owned a large estate in 
Yorkshire. He, \\'illiam De Kilbourn, was 
called the proudest Briton of the Thirteenth 
Century, he being a great entertainer, " King 
John of England" having been one of his 
guests. William De Kilbourn died in 1233, 
aged about si.\ty years. 

Adolphus C. Hunter, the subject proper 
of these lines, was three years old when his 
father died, and when he lost his mother, 
up to which time he worked on a farm, at- 
tending school during the winter months, 
and then commenced clerking in a shoe 
store. In 1853 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, 
where for one winter he worked in a lumber 
3'ard, returning to Canada in the spring of 
1854, taking charge of a sawmill and lumber 
yard in the town of Bayham, Elgin county, 
one year, or until 1855, when, in company 
with his brother Alfred]., he commenced 
the manufacture of lumber in that county. 
Up to the death of Alfred J., in 1861, they 
also owned a lumber yard in Huron, Ohio, 
but our subject then sold out his entire busi- 
ness interest both here and in Canada. In 
1859 he shipped before the mast on a Lake 
Erie vessel, for the three following years 
sailing the lakes, being promoted to mate in 
1861. In 1863 he took charge of Shaw & 
Williams's sawmill at Port Burwell, Ontario, 
with whom he remained some seven years, 
part of the time at Saginaw, Mich., where 
the firm had located. In the fall of 1868 
Mr. Hunter and his brother Andrew H. (the 
style of the co-partnership being Hunter 
Bros.) followed the business of vessel owners 
and shippers and lumber inspectors (which 
he had been engaged in many years in 
Canada;, in which they continued until the 
death of Andrew in 1875. I" '871 they 
fitted up a sawmill at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 
connection with A. Fay (firm being Fay & 
Hunter), which they placed on a flat-boat, 
Adolphus taking it to Clark's Landing, Tenn., 
on the Obion river, where he remained, 
operating it till 1878, when he closed up 
everything at a loss, and returned to Sagi- 
naw, Mich., later nio\ing to Muskegon, 



same State, where for two years he followed 
the business of lumber inspector. After this 
he was in the employ of James S. Kirk & 
Co., soap manufacturers, of Chicago, for 
nine months bux'ing lumber for them, and 
then having the entire charge of their soap- 
box factory at Muskegon, \Iich. In April, 
1 893, they moved their plant to Rhinelander, 
where Mr. Hunter has since had his home. 
In addition to his duties as superintendent 
of from si.xty to eighty men, the turning out 
of the boxes, etc., he buys all the lumber 
consumed in that extensive business. 

On October 7, 1880, at Muskegon, Mich., 
Mr. Hunter was married to Miss Emma 
Cherney, born in Buffalo, N. Y. , in 1855. 
daughter of Joseph Cherney, a cabinet 
maker by trade, who was born in Bohemia, 
Austria, and came to America in 1854. He 
was killed in 1887 by accidentally falling 
into the hold of a steamship; his widow is 
yet living, the mother of children named as 
follows: Fannie, Josephine, Emma, Mary, 
Anna, William, Maggie, Carrie and Louise. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Hunter have been born 
two children: Alfred J. and Harry K. The 
home of the family, built in 1894, is both 
elegant and commodious, and in its entirety 
is a reflex of the culture and good taste of 
its owners. In his political preferences Mr. 
Hunter is a straight Republican, and, though 
frequently pressed to accept ofSce, has in- 
variably declined to accept; socially, he is a 
Knight Templar, and a member of the I. O. 
O. F. His education was limited to the 
common schools of his boyhood, and two 
terms at an academy, but he has been a great 
reader, and a keen observer of men and 
things, and he is a typical self-made man; 
in fact, his success in life has been the direct 
result of his own exertions, and not of that 
"good luck" which the world (little under- 
standing what the words impart) so often 
ascribes to those who rise unaided to 
positions of affluence and honor. On his 
mother's side he comes of a long line of 
doctors, lawyers, statesmen and soldiers, 
chiefly in Connecticut, and in the Indian 
wars of this country his great-grand- 
father, old John Kilbourn, defeated the 
Indian Chief Philip and 200 warriors, in 
Connecticut. He was also an officer in 



440 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the Revolutionary war, in which he was 
wounded, and the nobihty of his nature 
has descended to his succeeding genera- 
tions. 



FD. NABER. Prominent among the 
foremost, in progressiveness and 
prosperity, of Shawano county busi- 
ness men, stands this gentleman, a 
worthy son of a worthy father — Judge Na- 
ber. 

Mr. Naber was born May 2i, 1853, in 
Mayville, Dodge Co., Wis., where, when a 
child, his parents left him in the care of his 
grandfather Naber, at the time they moved 
to Shawano, the schools of which latter new 
place were much inferior to those of May- 
ville. Here he remained until he was four- 
teen years old, receiving his elementary 
educational training, the schools he attended 
being for the most part German ; then, re- 
joining his parents at Shawano, he com- 
pleted his education at the English school 
of that then village, which was held in a 
frame building still to be seen in the south- 
west portion of the present city limits. His 
school days over at an early age, he entered 
his father's store, where his first lessons in 
mercantile business were secured, and while 
yet a boy he began to buy and sell lan'd for 
the timber growing on it, showing an un- 
usually early aptitude for commercial life. 
All his transactions in those days, up to the 
time of his majority, were made, necessa- 
rily, in his father's name, and the success of 
his ventures were the foreshadowings of his 
future prosperity. He thus continued till 
he had passed his majority and reached the 
prime of his early manhood, when he began 
to launch into still wider fields. In 1881 he 
purchased from Charles L. Wiley the then 
almost defunct drug store in Shawano, the 
fixtures being worth $1,300, while the value 
of the stock amounted to not more than 
$400 ; but the push, energy and sound man- 
agement of Mr. Naber soon fanned the em- 
bers of an expiring business into new and 
healthy life, for ere long the drug store be- 
came one of the most popular and extensive 
in northern Wisconsin — in fact, no town in 
all the State, of the size of Shawano, could 



boast of such a well-equipped store, at the 
same time enjoying so large a patronage. 
In 18S4 a new business block, one of the 
best in Shawano, was built to accommodate 
the increasing trade, but in 1893 our sub- 
ject, on account of failing health, had to 
retire from the business, his brother, Charles 
C. (who had been employed in the store 
some ten years), succeeding him. Charles 
continued to conduct the concern till June, 
1894, when the hand of Death removed him 
from his usefulness. The drug business was 
then formed into a stock company, entitled 
the Naber Drug Co., with F. D. Naber as 
vice-president. 

In February, 1894, our subject was act- 
ive in the formation of the Wolf River Pa- 
per and Fibre Co. , who erected an exten- 
sive plant at Shawano for the manufacture 
of paper pulp from wood, which plant was 
equipped with the latest improved machin- 
ery, etc. Of this important industry Mr. 
Naber was elected treasurer and appointed 
superintendent, incumbencies he has since 
filled with eminent ability. He is also pres- 
ident of the Shawano Water-power Co. , who 
constructed a dam at Shawano; is vice- 
president of the Shawano Shoe Co. , and a 
director of the Shawano Bank. To the 
city of Shawano he has made two additions, 
known, respectively, as "Naber's Addition" 
and " Fairview Addition," one of which has 
been made to the southeast part of the cor- 
poration limits; and in very many other 
ways has he enhanced the growth and pros- 
perity of the city of his adoption. In 1S91 
he completed what is said to be the finest 
private residence in the city, where he and 
his family live, and he also owns several 
other dwelling houses. 

An August 8, 1882, Mr. Naber was mar- 
ried, at Clintonville, Wis., to Miss Mary 
Bucholtz, a native of Belle Plaine township, 
Shawano county, daughter of Alexander 
Bucholtz, who was among the noble army 
of pioneers of Shawano county. Four 
bright children have been born to this union, 
their names and dates of birth being as fol- 
lows: F. Bernard, September 17, 1883; Paul- 
ina M., June I 5, 1885; Alexander H. .October 
10, 1888, and CharlesF., January 21, 1895. 
Although Mr. Naber has ever been foremost 



COMMEirORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



4^1 



in all movements tending to the welfare and 
prosperity of the community at large, yet he 
has never aspired to political honor, being 
content, as a stanch Democrat, to give his 
friends and party the benefit of his influence, 
aside from which, politics have no attrac- 
tions for him. In addition to his other in- 
terests Mr. Naber owns several thousand 
acres of timber land, and for years he has 
been engaged in buying and selling that 
class of real estate. In every way he is one 
of the leading men of Shawano county, one 
of the shrewdest, most capable and yet most 
unassuming, a happy combination of char- 
acteristics that have won for him many 
warm friends. 



JACOB BENTZ, who for a number of 
years was one of the leading general 
merchants of Clintonville, Waupaca 
county, senior member of the firm of 
J. Bentz & Son, has been immigrant, 
pioneer and merchant. Well educated in 
Germany, his native land, he came to Amer- 
ica to participate in its freedom and oppor- 
tunities, and after spending years of toil in 
the undeveloped State of Wisconsin, he in 
his more mature years became a prosperous 
and prominent business man. 

Mr. Bentz was born in the village of In- 
gerkingan, Wurtemberg, Germany, Janu- 
ary I, 1839, son of Jacob and Mary (Mess- 
ier) Bentz, who died when our subject was 
ten years old. The father was a farmer and 
brick maker, owning a farm of 100 acres, 
and reared a family of nine children, as fol- 
lows: Ulrich, Joseph, John, Jacob, Anton, 
Francis, Theresa, Crecencia and Mathias, 
six of whom are now living, all but one be- 
ing in Germany. Joseph came to America, 
enlisted at Cincinnati, Ohio, as an artillery- 
man in the Union army, and died during the 
war, while still in the service. Jacob Bentz 
received in his native land a high-school 
education, studying Latin. Greek and some 
French, and in 1856, at the age of seven- 
teen years, sailed for America. Landing at 
New York City, after a voyage of seven 
weeks, he came directly to Kenosha, Wis., 
where he rented a farm and there engaged 
in agriculture some three years. In 1861 he 



married Mary Newhouse (a lady of German 
descent, whose parents emigrated from West- 
phalia) and moved to Waukegan, 111. , where 
he purchased an improved form of forty 
acres. Selling out three years later, he 
bought 123 acres in Bear Creek township,. 
Waupaca Co. , Wis. , on which tract stood a: 
small log house, and only five acres of the 
land were cleared. With only rude tools at 
his command, Mr. Bentz began the arduous 
work of clearing up this forest-grown farm, 
remaining here until 18S0, when he rented 
the place and moved to Clintonville. Here 
he purchased a lot, erected a substantial 
store building, and stocked it with general 
merchandise worth about fifteen hundred 
dollars, which he had gradually increased 
until he carried about ten thousand dollars' 
worth of goods, along with his son conduct- 
ing one of the most prosperous mercantile 
establishments in the northern part of Wau- 
paca county. On May 20, 1894, he retired 
from mercantile business, turning the entire 
concern over to his son, Joseph Bentz, who 
has since continued it. Mr. Bentz's re- 
tirement was caused principally by failing 
health. 

Mrs. Bentz died in 1888, leaving four 
children; Joseph, mentioned above; Frances, 
now Mrs. Gustave Humm, of Clintonville; 
Mary, wife of Mathias Zehrn, of Larrabee 
township, and Pauline, at home. Mr. Bentz 
was again united in marriage, July 2, 1889, 
this time to Catherine Smith, daughter of 
Michael and Mary fCorrigan) Smith, who 
emigrated from Ireland to America in 1841, 
farming for eight years in Fairfield county. 
Conn.; then in May, 1849, coming to Wis- 
consin. Sojourning for a short time at Frank- 
lin, Milwaukee county, they moved to Cale- 
donia township, where he bought and oper- 
ated a small farm until 1857, in that year 
selling it and moving to property he had 
bought in 1849, ^" eighty-two acre tract in 
Dale township, Outagamie county, which was 
then still in a primitive condition. Here 
with bear, deer and Indians for near neigh- 
bors, Michael Smith cleared his farm of 
eighty acres and lived until i 8S0, when he 
removed to Clintonville. His wife died Oc- 
tober 10, 1S65, leaving four children: Cath- 
erine, now Mrs. Bentz; Mary Anna, now 



442 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mrs. Mader, and living in Bear Creek, Wau- 
paca Co., Wis.; John and Edward. Mr. 
Smith now resides with Mr. Bentz. By his 
second marriage Mr. Bentz has two chil- 
dren, John and Regina. 

In politics Mr. Bentz is a Democrat. 
He is a public-spirited citizen, and has satis- 
factorily filled many local offices, for two 
^ears serving as treasurer of Bear Creek 
township, Waupaca Co. , two years as treas- 
urer of Larrabee township, and two jears 
as city treasurer of Clintonville; for two 
years he served on the town board. Him- 
self and family are members of the Catholic 
Church. In 1886 Mr. Bentz took a three- 
months' trip to his native land. He pos- 
sesses a ripe judgment on business matters, 
and has stored within his memory a wide 
range of information. He is one of Wau- 
' paca county's most valuable and esteemed 
citizens. 



AUGUSTUS F. BANDELIN, late 
proprietor of the popular hostelry 
known as the " Centralia Hotel." 
of Centralia, ^^'ood county, was a 
pleasant, genial gentleman, having many 
warm friends, and few enemies, if any. The 
record of his life is as follows: A native of 
Northern Prussia; he was born near the 
shores of the Baltic Sea July 3, 1850, and 
was a son of John and Angeline fBandelin) 
Bandelin. The relationship of second 
cousins existed between the parents, and 
both were natives of Prussia. The father 
was a sea captain, and after his arrival in 
the United States sailed on the Great Lakes 
for three or four years. He then turned 
his attention to the more quiet pursuit of 
farming which he followed in connection 
with various other enterprises up to the time 
of his death, which occurred in Watertown, 
Wis., October 7, 1892, he having reached 
the advanced age of eighty-three years. 
His wife died May 7, 1887, at the advanced 
age of eighty-seven years. Of their family 
of si.\ children, three yet survive as follows: 
Mary, widow of Robert Haas; John; and 
Bertha, wife of William Wandersee. 

Augustus F. Bandelin was a lad of only 
seven summers when with his parents he 



came to Wisconsin, locating in Watertown. 
His primarj' education, acquired in the pub- 
lic schools of that place, was supplemented 
bj- study in the Northwestern University-, 
where, in addition to the other branches of 
learning he pursued, he mastered several 
languages. He was a progressive man, al- 
ways keeping well informed on the issues of 
the day, and was conversant with current 
events. When his literary education was 
completed he entered upon his business 
career, serving as salesman and bookkeeper 
in Watertown until 1880, when he removed 
to Centralia, and purchased land, erecting 
thereon a hotel which he occupied up to the 
time of his decease, conducting a first-class 
establishment, complete in all its appoint- 
ments, his house becoming a favorite hos- 
telry with the traveling public. 

While in Watertown, Wis., Mr. Bande- 
lin was married August 11, 1873, to Emma 
Maria Erickson, a native of Norwa)'. born 
April 8, 1850. They became the parents 
of seven children, namely: Fritz, who was 
born in New London, Wis., March 19, 
1874, and died in Watertown September 19, 
following; Carl H. F., born in Dubuque, 
Iowa, October 9, 1875; Oscar G. F. , born 
in Watertown, October 28, 1877; Esther, 
who was born in Watertown September 3, 
1879, and died in Grand Rapids, Wis., 
April 26, 1882; Alexander, born in Grand 
Rapids, December 26, 1881; Aurelia Car- 
oline, born in Grand Rapids, June 21, 1S83; 
and Augustus ^^^ A., born in Centralia May 
2, 1S85. The mother and children attend 
the Centralia Unity Church. In his po- 
litical affiliations Mr. Bandelin was a Repub- 
lican. He had that pleasant and genial 
manner so essential for one in his calling, 
and was alike popular with young and old, 
rich and poor. He died December 12. 1894. 



JOSEPH SWEENEY was formerly, 
for four years, agent for the Pabst 
Brewing Company at Grand Rapids, 
Wood county, but is now living on his 
eighty-acre farm in the thriving little town of 
Biron, about two miles from Grand Rapids. 
He was born in Canada. March 3, 1854, 
and is a son of Horace and Elizabeth Sweeney 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



443 



whose family numbered five children, as 
follows: Mitchell W. , now residing in Mer- 
rill, Wis. ; Mary, wife of Frederick Clousit. 
who is located in Grand Kap)ids; John, an 
engineer residing in Marshfield,Wis. ; Joseph, 
subject of this sketch; and Catherine, wife 
of Nelson Pippin, also of Grand Rapids. 

The subject of these lines was brought 
to Grand Rapids, when only eighteen 
months old, by his parents, who are num- 
bered among its pioneer settlers. His father 
embarked in the livery business, and after 
completing his education in the public 
schools Joseph began work in his father's 
stables, and followed the livery business un- 
til December, 1891, when he was appointed 
to the position of agent for the Pabst Brew- 
ing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

On October 25, 1873, Mr. Sweeney 
was united in marriage with Miss Almeda 
Kightlinger, a native of Pennsylvania, and 
to them have been born eight children, 
seven of whom are living, namely: Joseph, 
Hattie, Arthur, Albert, Frank, Earl and 
Wilbur. The parents are communicants 
of the Roman Catholic Church, and in his 
political views Mr. Sweeney is a Democrat, 
but has had neither time nor inclination for 
public office, preferring to devote his ener- 
gies to his business interests. 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 
ALLEN is one of the worthy 
citizens that the Keystone State 
has furnished to Portage county. 
He was born March 26, 1841, in Tioga 
county, Penn., son of David and Elizabeth 
(Wilmot) Allen, the father born in 18 17 in 
Dryden, Tompkins Co., N. Y. , whence in 
early manhood he removed to Pennsylvania, 
and there for a short time engaged in farm- 
ing, subsequently returning to Tompkins 
county, and making his home in the town 
of Ithaca. Previous to this time he had 
worked on the Erie canal, and returning to 
his old business in 183 1 bought a canal- 
boat of which he himself acted as captain, 
engaging in this during the summers until 
1849; during the winter time for a number 
of year he made shingles. While in Penn- 
sylvania he was married March 13, 1837, 



and in 1850 he migrated westward with his 
family to Illinois, there working farms on 
shares until the fall of 1852, when he 
came alone to Portage county. Wis., and 
here purchased a quarter of Section 35, 
.-Vmherst township. Having made a clear- 
ing and built a log house, he was joined by 
his family in the fall of 1853, and here they 
have ever since remained. Mr. Allen work- 
ed in the woods for several years after his 
removal hither, and for about ten years 
furnished provisions to different lumber 
camps, on contract. In 1866 he paid a 
visit to relations in New York State. He 
has led a long and useful life, but age is be- 
ginning to tell on him, and he has been in 
poor health for some time. 

William H. H. Allen removed with his 
parents in childhood to Tompkins county, 
N. Y. , and in the town of Ithaca acquired 
the greater part of his education, his physi- 
cal training being obtained through farm 
labor. He attended school to a limited ex- 
tent in Illinois, subsequently came with the 
family to Amherst, Wis., and was here mar- 
ried. May 18, 1 86 1, to Miss Ellen A. Tarr, 
daughter of Rufus and Clarinda (Ames) 
Tarr, the former of whom was born in 
Maine; the paternal grandfather was a 
native of England. Mrs. Allen was born in 
Bangor, Maine, July 4, 1845, and when a 
little maiden of five summers came to the 
West with her mother and brother, the 
family settling in Sheboygan, Wis., and 
Mrs. Tarr engaged in dressmaking for four 
years. They were then joined by the father, 
and removing to Weyauwega, Wis., settled 
on a rented farm; but after a short time 
went to Dayton township, Waupaca county, 
where Mr. Tarr purchased eighty acres of 
wild land. After cultivating that farm for 
three years he sold, and for a similar period 
operated a rented farm in Amherst town- 
ship. Portage county. Between 1S64 and 
1S74 he lived upon a rented farm in Day- 
ton township, Waupaca county, and then 
purchased eighty acres in the same township 
— the place of his residence at the time of this 
writing. His wife died in Amherst, of con- 
sumption, in January, 1861. The children 
of the family were Ellen A. , wife of Mr. 
Allen; Renello, who died in infancy; Frank, 



[H 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a farmer of Hartley, Wis., who married 
Esther Gano, by whom he had seven chil- 
dren, three yet living; Mary, wife of Wesley 
Brooks, of Springwater, Waushara Co., 
Wis., by whom she has eight children, all 
living; and Viola M., who died in infancy. 
For his second wife Mr. Tarr married Miss 
Sarah Jane Bates, and their children are 
William, Marion, Wert, Harriet, Chester 
and Lucy. 

Mrs. Allen left school at the age of four- 
teen to care for her mother and the house- 
hold, but though the task was a heavy one 
for the young girl it was ably and faithfull}- 
performed. She continued at home until 
her marriage, when with her husband she 
took up her residence upon an eighty-acre 
farm which he had purchased a short time 
previous. In 1S67 Mr. Allen sold that prop- 
erty and removed to Springwater, Wis. , pur- 
chasing a farm of 1 20 acres, which he suc- 
cessfully cultivated for some time. On Sep- 
tember 29, 1 88 1 , a day never to be forgotten 
by the people of that locality, a terrible cy- 
clone swept over the region, destroying 
everything in its path. The buildings of 
Mr. Allen were utterly demolished, and the 
family barely escaped with their lives. His 
neighbors, however, kindly came to his as- 
sistance, and aided him in erecting a new 
house, into which he moved within three 
weeks. With brave heart and unfaltering 
perseverance he set to work to retrieve his 
lost possessions, and by constant industry, 
which is never without its reward, at length 
accomplished the task. In 1890 he disposed 
of that farm and brought his family to Am- 
herst township, Portage county, purchasing 
his present farm of eighty acres. During 
several winter seasons he worked in the 
lumber camps, and throughout his life he 
has used every opportunity to secure for him- 
self and family a pleasant home. 

The first child of Mr. and Mrs. Allen died 
in infancy, unnamed; Mina B. is the wife of 
Julian Wilcott, a farmer of Belmont, Wis., 
by whom she had six children, the four liv- 
ing being Homer, Lloyd, Cecil and Clyde; 
Nettie A. became the wife of Ernest Kurtz, 
and died leaving one child, William H. ; 
Cora E. is the wife of John Pinkerton, and 
their only daughter is named Bessie; Eliza 



M. is the wife of \\'illiam Tarr, a farmer of 
Dayton, Wis., and their children are E.xie, 
Ethel, Herbert and \'edj% all at home; and 
Fred and Gladys F. ; Grant, Frank and 
Bessie, also children of William Allen, all 
died of scarlet fever in the spring of 1881. 

During the Civil war Mr. Allen responded 
to the President's call for troops, enlisting 
in June, 1864, at Waupaca, as a member of 
Company A, Fortj'-second Wis. V. I., un- 
der Capt. Duncan McGregor. After three 
weeks' drill in Madison, Wis., the companj- 
was ordered to \\'ashington, but while cii 
route received word to go no farther than 
Cairo, 111. ; it was on detached dut\- most of 
the time, being in no field service. Mr. 
Allen was mustered out in Madison, in June, 
1865. He cast his first vote when only six- 
teen years old. He was employed at shin- 
gle-making in Knowlton, Wis., and the pro- 
prietor of a hotel at that place told him and 
a number of other bo\s that he would give 
them an extra good dinner if they would 
vote for Fremont. As Mr. Allen's sym- 
pathies were with the Republican party he 
did this, and has since supported its candi- 
dates. Socially, he is a member of the 
Temple of Honor, to which his wife also be- 
longs, and of Capt. Eckels Post. G. A. R. , 
of Amherst. Though dependent upon his 
own resources from an early age, and though 
his path has been crossed by difficulties and 
obstacles, he has nevertheless worked his way 
upward, and is now numbered among the 
substantial farmers of his adopted county. 



GR. LEER, who owns and operates 
a good farm of forty acres in lola 
township, Waupaca county, and has 
also 120 acres of timber land, came 
to this country twenty-six years ago a poor 
man, and has made himself one of the sub- 
stantial citizens of this community. He was 
born in Norway, December 30, 1838, and is 
a son of Reier G. Leer, a farmer, who 
earned his living by day's labor. He had 
five sons and six daughters, who, with the 
exception of one son and two daughters who 
died in Norway, all came to the United 
States. The father died in that country, 
but the mother, who was born in Maj, 



COMMEMOIIA TIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



445 



1817, is living in Harrison township, ^^'au- 
paca county. 

Our subject is the second child and eldest 
son. His educational and other privileges 
were exceedinglj- meagre, and at the age of 
seventeen he began to learn the tailor's 
trade, which he followed three years, when, 
thinking it an unprofitable business, he be- 
gan work as a farm hand, and later with a 
number of young men went to the lumber 
woods in Sweden, being there employed and 
on a "log drive " for six and a half j-ears. 
At the age of twenty-nine Mr. Leer was 
married in Norway to Esther Anderson, who 
was born November 26, 1844, and ere 
coming to America they had one son, Reier, 
who is now farming in Harrison township, 
Waupaca county. In the spring of 1869, 
with his wife and child, our subject sailed 
for the United States. The opportunity for 
a man to accumulate enough to get a good 
home were verj' poor in Norway, and with 
the help of others he secured enough money 
for the contemplated voyage. He embarked. 
on the "Flora," which seven weeks later 
reached Quebec, and for a year he lived in 
Dane county, Wis., where he took a con- 
tract for grubbing. He was able to save 
some of his earnings, and desirous of getting 
a home of his own he removed to the Indian 
lands in northern ^^'isconsin, where many 
settlers were locating, he having previously 
visited this place. For about nine months 
he lived with Tron Tronson, and then pur- 
chased fort}- acres of land in Section 9, lola 
township, Waupaca county, on which not a 
furrow had been turned or an improvement 
made. He had to go in debt for the land, 
but for two winter seasons worked in the 
woods and earned enough to pa}' off the 
mortgage. He afterward added to the 
original purchase until he now owns a val- 
uable property of 160 acres, which is well- 
improved and under a high state of cultiva- 
tion. 

Since coming to this country Mr. and 
Mrs. Leer have had seven children: Annie, 
wife of Andrew Gutho, of Harrison town- 
ship, Waupaca county; Edward, a farmer 
of the sanie township; Carrie and Thomas, 
at home; Martha (ij, who died at the age of 
three years, and was the first person buried 



in Hitterdall Cemetery; Gena and Martha 
(2), who are still under the parental roof. 
In his political views Mr. Leer is a Repub- 
lican. He is a prominent member of the 
Hitterdall Lutheran Church, and was in- 
strumental in building the house of worship. 
He has served as church trustee, and takes 
a deep interest in everything pertaining to 
the welfare of the community. On his ar- 
rival in the United States he was in debt to 
the extent of $50, on which he had to pay 
seven per cent interest. He could speak 
not a word of English, but he resolved to 
secure a good home for himself and family, 
and to this end has led a busy and useful 
life which has resulted as he anticipated. 
He spent fourteen winters working in the 
lumber woods, and for three springs ran the 
river from Trapp, Wis., to St. Louis. 
Honesty and fair dealing have always char- 
acterized his business transactions, and he 
has not only gained a comfortable compe- 
tence, but has won the confidence and re- 
spect of those with whom he has been 
brought in contact, and has gained many 
warm friends. 



LEWIS F. SHOEMAKER is num- 
bered among the native sons of Wau- 
paca county, his birth ha\ing oc- 
curred on the old family homestead 
in Section 15, Dayton township, March 27, 
1856, his parents being Frederick and Jane 
(Lewisj Shoemaker. 

Our subject attended the district schools 
in the neighborhood, proving an ambitious 
and thorough student, desirous to gain bet- 
ter advantage along that line, but his health 
forced him to leave the school room. At 
the age of fourteen he had a third grade 
teacher's certificate, and while in his six- 
teenth year he successfully engaged in teach- 
ing, being first employed in Springwater, 
Waushara county, at $28 per month. Later 
he taught school in Almond township. Port- 
age county, for $40 per month, and soon, 
instead of seeking a school, his ability was 
such that his services were sought by differ- 
ent school directors, and he could command 
the highest salary paid to teachers. For 
fourteen terms (fift\'-six months) he success- 



446 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fully followed this profession, but during all 
this time he considered the farmstead his 
home. In the winter of 1877-78 he was 
employed as a school teacher in Wayne 
county, Neb., and when the school season 
was over he returned to his home, where in 
connection with his brother he managed the 
farm, his father being one of the extensive 
land owners of the county. 

On March 19, 1890, Mr. Shoemaker in- 
creased his happiness and prosperity by his 
marriage to Miss Ella E. Poland, who was 
born in Dayton township, January 8, 1S63, 
a daughter of S. S. and Mary (Warren) Po- 
land, who came from Knox county, Ohio, 
to this State in an early day, and are yet 
living in Dayton township. The young 
couple began their domestic life at the old 
homestead, and there remained until Sep- 
tember 21, 1893, when they removed to 
Section 16, Dayton township, where the 
subject of this review had erected a very fine 
residence upon a farm of 170 acres, being a 
part of the old home farm. The home, a 
large and beautiful residence, is neatly and 
tastefully furnished and is the abode of 
warm-hearted hospitality. A little daugh- 
ter, Laura M., born .\pril 8, 1892, adds joy 
and brightness to the household. The par- 
ents occupy an enviable position in social 
circles, aud their friends in the community 
are many; they hold membership with the 
Presbyterian Church. 

Mr. Shoemaker is one of the leading sup- 
porters of the Republican party in his 
neighborhood, and has filled various posi- 
tions of honor and trust, discharging his 
duties in a manner that has won him the 
highest commendation. He was township 
clerk for five years, preceding April, 1891; 
in the spring of 1893 ^^ became chairman 
of the board of supervisors, was re-elected 
in 1894, and again in 1895 without opposi- 
tion. He served on the committee to settle 
with the county officers, and on various im- 
portant committees while a member of the 
county board. During the summer of 1895 
he served on the building committee to erect 
new buildings on the County Poor Farm, 
the former buildings having been destroyed 
by fire. He has also been clerk of the 
school district, and though prominent in 



municipal affairs yet finds time to devote to 
Church work, and is serving as superintend- 
ent of the Sunday-school. He has been a 
member of the Farmers Union, and served 
as its shipping agent. He is foremost 
among the leading men of his township, and 
a prosperous farmer, having inherited the 
excellent business traits of his father. 



EW. STRATTOX, one of the sub- 
stantial farmers and valued citizens 
of Waupaca county, claims \'ermont 
as the State of his nativity, having 
been born in Addison county April 13. 1842. 
His parents. Joel and Adeline (Lewis) Strat- 
ton. were also natives of the Green Mount- 
ain State, and were farming people. 

In 1846, with their two children. E. W. 
and Edgar, they started for Wisconsin, 
journeying by way of the lakes to Milwau- 
kee, and making a location near Burlington. 
Subsequently they removed to Walworth 
county, and in June, 1854, the father made 
his first purchase of land in Section 8. Day- 
ton township. Waupaca county. Three 
more children had been added to the family 
in the meantime: Emma, now the wife of 
Nelson Brigham. of Waushara county. Wis., 
Wellington, of Dayton township; and 
Martha, wife of E. M. Bailey, a newspaper 
editor of Britt, Iowa. After living on his 
first farm for two years, the father removed 
to the vicinity of Stratton's Lake, and after- 
ward took up his residence near Crystal 
Lake, where he remained until April, 1894, 
since which time he has lived retired in Fre- 
mont, Wis. The family was further in- 
creased, in Dayton township, by the addi- 
tion of the following children: Oliver S. 
and Charles L. , now farmers of that town- 
ship; Ella, who became the wife of John A. 
Lewis, and died in Dayton township; Alice, 
wife of Robert Pinkerton, of Dayton town- 
ship, and Frankie, who died at the age of 
four months. The mother, who was a con- 
sistent member of the Methodist Church, 
died in Dayton township. In his political 
views, Mr. Stratton is a Republican. He 
reared a large family of children, who do 
credit to his name, and accumulated a com- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



447 



petency that now supplies him with all the 
comforts of life. 

E. W. Stratton, the eldest child, was 
reared on a farm, and in the winter season 
worked in the lumber woods. He enlisted 
February 18, 1864, at Appleton, Wis., in 
Company G, Twenty-first Wis. V. I. , went 
to Madison, thence to Lookout Mountain, 
in Tennessee, and was for six days under 
fire at Buzzard's Roost, after which he start- 
ed with the regiment for Atlanta. He was 
wounded at the battle of Resaca, May 13, 
1864, and for eighteen daj's remained in field 
hospitals, after which he was sent to a 
hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., and later to 
Nashville, where he remained two weeks. 
He then went to the convalescent hospital 
at Jeffersonville, Ind., and on to Madison, 
Ind., thence to Madison, Wis., after which 
he was transferred to Davenport, Iowa, 
where he was honorably discharged Septem- 
ber I, 1865, returning at once to his home in 
Waupaca county. 

While home on a furlough, September i , 
1864, Mr. Stratton was joined in wedlock 
with Martha M. Mynard, who was born in 
the town of Virgil, Cortland Co., N. Y., 
October 6, 1845, ^rid was brought to Wau- 
paca county in the fall of 1855, by her par- 
ents, Martin and Harriet (Ford) Mynard. 
She taught in School District No. 6, Dayton 
township, and is a cultured lady, enjoying 
the warm regard of many friends. One son 
has blessed this union: William I., who 
was born August 23, 1866, and follows farm- 
ing in Dayton township. He married Miss 
Katie Green, April 4, 1889, and they have 
a son. Earl M., born June 28, 1892, and one 
daughter, born June 10, 1895. 

In February, 1867, Mr. Stratton located 
upon his present farm, which he had pre- 
viously purchased, and to the original tract 
of eighty acres has added until now 160 
acres yield to him a golden tribute in return 
for the care and labor he bestows upon the 
land. He has been very successful in his 
dealings, and is accounted one of the sub- 
stantial and progressive agriculturists of the 
community. He is the oldest representative 
of a family that probably stands without an 
equal in Waupaca county. The parents 
were people of ordinary means, and the sons 



were early thrown upon their own resources, 
but have become the most prosperous farm- 
ers in the ' ' banner township " of the county. 
They are highly respected men and law- 
abiding citizens, and the example which 
they furnish to their posterity is surely one 
worthy of emulation. In 1891 our subject 
erected one of the finest residences in the 
township, and also, in 1894, a fine barn 
32 X 70 feet, with 20-foot posts. The many 
improvements upon the place are monu- 
ments to his enterprise. In politics, Mr. 
Stratton is a stanch Republican, and has 
served as constable and in school offices, but 
has never sought political preferment. He 
is a member of Garfield Post No. 21, 
G. A. R., of Waupaca, is a wide-awake and 
enterprising citizen, one who gives his hearty 
support to any enterprise calculated to prove 
of public benefit, and is a well-informed 
man, keeping abreast with the times in all 
particulars. 



SAMUEL S. POLAND is numbered 
among the honored pioneers of Wau- 
paca county, having located here 
when the land was wild and unim- 
proved, when settlements were widely scat- 
tered, and when the traveler followed Indian 
trails through the forest. Deer and other 
wild game were then plentiful, and the work 
of progress and civilization seemed scarcely 
begun. 

In the history of his adopted county, 
Mr. Poland well deserves mention. He was 
born in Franklin county, Penn., January 1 1,. 
1 83 1, and is a son of Charles L. and Mary 
(Stoner) Poland, the former born in Frank- 
lin county, in 1805, the latter in 1807. The 
father was a farmer by occupation, and with 
his wife and two children, Samuel and Abra- 
ham, removed to Knox county, Ohio, where 
he spent his remaining days, being almost 
eighty years of age at the time of his 
death; the mother passed away some years 
previous. In Knox county, Ohio, the fol- 
lowing children were born to them: Charles, 
a farmer of Milford township, Knox Co., 
Ohio; John and Edwin, of the same county;. 
William, of Harrison county. Mo. ; Freeling, 
also of Harrison county; Wesley, who was 



448 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



a member of the Fourth Ohio Cavalry, and 
was killed at the battle of Stone River; Mrs. 
Mary Bradfield, of Knox county, Ohio; Mar- 
garet, wife of Henry Benie, of Knox county. 
The oldest son, Abraham, also lives in Knox 
count}'. This family had eight represent- 
atives in the Union army during the Civil 
war, and their loyalty was beyond question. 

Theearly education of Samuel S. Poland, 
acquired in the district schools, was supple- 
mented by one term at the high school of 
Chesterville, Ohio. He was reared on his 
father's farm, and in 1852 visited southern 
Wisconsin, but in the month of July re- 
turned to Ohio. In 1854 he went to Polk 
and Dallas counties, Iowa, but on account 
of chills and fever he returned to Waupaca 
county. Wis., in the fall, and spent the win- 
ter with Thomas T. Warren. In the winter 
of 1855-56, he taught the first school in 
District No. 3, and for nine terms he fol- 
lowed that profession, having previously 
been employed as a teacher for two terms 
in Ohio. In the spring of 1855, he located 
his present farm in Section 34, Dayton 
township, and soon began its improvement, 
for it was then in its primitive condition. 
In the fall of 1857 Mr. Poland was married 
in Dayton township to Miss Mary Warren, 
a nati\e of Knox county, Ohio, born Feb- 
ruary 8, 1834, daughter of Otis and Eliza- 
beth (Stephens) ^^'arren, \'ermont people, 
who came to this State in June, 1854. Six 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Pqland: 
Warren, who died at the age of sixteen 
years; Edwin Chester, a school teacher; Ella 
E., wife of L. F. Shoemaker, of ^^^aupaca 
county; Lucinda and Wesley, who died in 
childhood; and Clara, wife of Truman Shoe- 
maker, of Dayton. 

During the Ci\il war Mr. Poland offered 
his services to the government, and went to 
Madison, Wis., but was rejected on account 
of physical disabilitj-, one limb being shorter 
than the other, the result of an attack of 
white swelling which he had suffered when 
a boy of eleven years. He has ever been a 
loyal citizen, devoted to the best interests of 
the community in which he makes his home, 
and whatever tends to advance the general 
welfare receives his hearty support and co- 
operation. He voted with the Republican 



party until 1876, since which time he has 
been independent. He served as supervisor 
of his township, and for twenty-seven years 
was school treasurer, but has never been an 
office seeker, preferring to devote his time 
and attention to his business interests. He 
has reclaimed from the wilderness 160 acres 
of land, and transformed it into one of the 
fine farms of his adopted countj'. 



THOR THORSON, one of the active, 
prominent and most enterprising citi- 
zens of Helvetia township, Waupaca 
county, is at present engaged in farm- 
ing in Section 6. He was born in Norwa}-, 
March 26, 1852, and is a son of Stein Thor- 
son, who was there engaged in shoemaking. 
In the family were six children, of whom our 
subject is the only son. 

In the fall of 1853 the family embarked 
on a sailing vessel bound for the New ^^^orld, 
and after a voyage of fourteen weeks landed 
at Quebec. Their first location was in 
Philadelphia, Penn., where the father worked 
at his trade. On leaving that city they emi- 
grated to Rock River, Wis., where they re- 
mained one year, at the end of which time 
they came to Waupaca county, where land 
was cheaper, and the father wished to ob- 
tain a home for his family. They made the 
trip in a covered wagon with an ox-team, 
sleeping by the roadside where night over- 
took them. It was a long and tedious jour- 
ney, the roads not being as good as at the 
present day. In the northern part of Scan- 
dinavia township, Waupaca county, the 
father purchased eighty acres of wild land, 
on which he built a small log cabin, 12 x 16 
feet, into which the family moved, and the 
barn was only large enough to hold one cow. 
This was the first home of the family in 
America, and, though small and humble, 
they enjoyed it, knowing that it was their 
own. The father had a bench in one corner, 
and there worked at his trade, though he 
was also employed at various other occupa- 
tions in order to support his family of little 
ones. On that farm they continued to live 
several years, during which time it was par- 
tiall}' improved, but in course of time it was 
traded for eighty acres of new land in Sec- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



449 



tion 6, Helvetia township, a log house being 
the onlj' improvement. In the trade he had 
received some money, and the farm was free 
from debt. Not a stick of timber had been 
cut, and it required considerable labor before 
the land was made read}' for the plow. 
There the father spent the remainder of his 
life, dying July 2, 1885 ; the mother passed 
away October 18, 1891, and they now lie 
side by side in the Scandinavia Cemetery. 
They were both faithful members of the 
Lutheran Church of Scandinavia. 

Thor Thorson, our subject, had but little 
or no educational advantages, for at the age 
of thirteen he began work, being placed in 
charge of a yoke of cattle, horses at that 
time being few and high-priced, and an\' 
man who owned a horse was thought to be 
wealthy. Being a new country, work was 
plentiful, and thus his physical training was 
not neglected. At the age of eighteen he 
began working in the lumber woods during 
the winter, while his summers were spent 
upon the home farm. For eighteen seasons 
he was in the pineries, during three springs 
he engaged in log driving, and during nine 
autumns he followed threshing. In Wau- 
paca, August 27, 1877, Mr. Thorson mar- 
ried Miss Hannah Tubaas, the ceremony 
being performed by Samuel Bailey, a justice 
of the peace. She was born in lola town- 
ship, Waupaca count}', October 28, 1857. 
To this union have been born seven children 
— Susanna, Oliver, Laura, Julia, Edgar, 
Willie and Alma. 

After his marriage Mr. Thorson still re- 
mained with his parents, who were getting 
old and needed his assistance. He now has 
160 acres of land in Section i, lola town- 
ship, and Section 6, Helvetia, eighty acres 
of which have been transformed into rich and 
arable land. He is one of the most in- 
dustrious men of the community, and has 
witnessed and aided in the wonderful changes 
that have taken place since his arrival in the 
county. He has seen such times as will 
never be witnessed by his children, as the 
country is now opened up, and improved 
machinery makes work much easier. When 
he removed to his present farm wild animals 
and game abounded in the forests, wolves 
could be heard howling all night long, deer 



could be seen in droves, and bears, prairie 
chickens and other wild game could be found 
in abundance. Those days are all past and 
gone, and the wild animals were either 
killed or left as the country became more 
thickly settled. Mr. Thorson has ever been 
a hard worker, not stopping on account of 
bad weather, which is now felt by the pres- 
ence of rheumatism. His place is neat and 
orderly in appearance, supplied with all 
modern machinery, and everything about 
the farm denotes the industrious and pro- 
gressive spirit of the owner. Possessing the 
esteem and respect of the entire communit}', 
he may well be ranked among the honest 
and representative Norwegian citizens of 
^^'aupaca county. PoHtically, he supports 
the Republican party, and has held the office 
of pathmaster; in religious belief he is a Lu- 
theran, a member of the Church at lola. 



FRANK ADELBERT SOUTHWICK, 
M. D. The physician occupies one 
of the most responsible, as well as 
confidential, relations in our social 
existence. To him are entrusted our inner- 
most secrets, as well as the lives and wel- 
fare of our dearest friends. To worthily 
and acceptably fill such a position is one of 
the most difficult tasks ever imposed on man, 
yet such a task we find successfully assumed 
by Dr. F. A. Southwick, the well-known 
successful practitioner of Stevens Point, 
Portage county, Wisconsin. 

Our subject is a native of New Hamp- 
shire, born in Groton, Grafton county. 
May 14, 1858, a son of Isaac D. and Laura 
(Annis) Southwick, both of New Hamp- 
shire nativit}', born in Rumney and Orford, 
respecti\'ely. Nathaniel Southwick, great- 
grandfather of the Doctor, was of English 
descent, and was a resident of Danvers, 
Mass. ; his son Amos (grandfather of Dr. 
Southwick) moved from Weare, N. H., to 
Rumney, same State, when Isaac D. South- 
wick (father of our subject) was nine years 
old. The family of Annis were of Scotch 
e.xtraction, and Laura (Annis) Southwick. 
mother of our subject, was a daughter of 
John and Nancy (Pitf) Annis. Isaac D. 
Southwick was a carpenter h\ trade, which 



45° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



he followed until he was thirty-six \ears of 
age, part of the time in Philadelphia, and 
then returned to New Hampshire, where 
during the later years of his life he was en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. The father 
died April 4, 1879, aged seventy-two 3'ears, 
the mother on February 12, 1878, aged 
sixty-two. 

The subject proper of these lines received a 
liberal education at Kimball Union Academy, 
Meriden, X. H. , graduating therefrom when 
eighteen years old, and then commenced the 
study of medicine in the Medical Department 
of Dartmouth College, which institution he 
attended one year, after which he spent two 
years at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, 
Maine, graduating from the medical depart- 
ment of same in September, 1881, after 
which he commenced the practice of his 
profession in Buxton, Maine. Here he re- 
mained till November 27, 1889, when he 
removed to Stevens Point, and at once re- 
newed his practice with every prospect of a 
bright and successful future before him. In 
1891-92 he took a course of study at the 
Post-graduate School in New York, becom- 
ing eminently qualified by both study and 
experience to take a leading position among 
the eminent physicians of the State, which 
his wide clientele and unqualified success 
pronounce he has already attained. 

In September, 1883, Dr. Southwick was 
married, at Salisbury, N. H., to Miss Mat- 
tie L. Sawyer, daughter of Nathaniel and 
Lucy (Wood) Sawyer, who were born in 
Salisbury and Lebanon respectiveh", and 
three children have come to brighten their 
home: Margaret, born October 14, 1884; 
Katherine, born January 9, 1886, and Louise, 
born December 30, 1894. Socially, the 
Doctor is a Mason, and a member of the 
Knights of Pjthias, Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, and the United Order of Amer- 
ican Mechanics; in religious faith he and his 
wife are Presbyterians. While a student at 
Bowdoin College, Dr. Southwick enjoyed 
not only the acquaintance but also the gen- 
uine friendship of the celebrated Dr. Will- 
iam \\'arren Greene, professor of surgery in 
that institution. Their personal intercourse 
was of a more intimate nature than is cus- 
tomary between professors and students, and 



during eight months of two successive years 
our subject acted as assistant to Surgeon 
Greene, and frequently' accompanied him 
on occasions of capital operations in various 
parts of the New England States. Dr. 
Greene died while on his way home from 
attending the International Medical Con- 
gress held at London, England, August 8, 
1 88 1, and was buried at sea. 



GEORGE MARCHANT, whose long 
and well-spent life has gained him 
the high regard of all with whom 
he has been brought in contact, was 
born at Silver Hill, County of Sussex, Eng- 
land, December 15, 1831, and is a son of 
Richard and Jane Marchant. His father, 
who was in somewhat limited circumstances, 
supported his family of eleven children by 
gardening. George attended the free schools 
of his native country, and when quite young 
he learned the value of money and began to 
save what he could. For some time he 
drove a team, and, laying up his earnings, 
at the age of eighteen years he had almost 
enough to bring him to America. He had 
heard much of the privileges and advant- 
ages afforded young men in the land of the 
free, and resolved to try his fortune on this 
side' of the Atlantic; so in June. 1849, he 
took passage at London on the sailing ves- 
sel " Laurie," which, after a voyage of seven 
weeks and four days, reached the harbor of 
Quebec. A number of the passengers on the 
•• Laurie " were cii route for Madison county, 
N. Y. , and thither our subject bent his 
steps, reaching his destination with but 
thirty English shillings in his pocket. 

The first money which Mr. Marchant 
earned in America was seventy-five cents, 
received for a half-day's labor in helping to 
raise a house. He had no experience as a 
farmer, but at length obtained a position as 
a farm hand with Horatio Pope, and so 
faithful was he to his duties that he was re- 
tained in Mr. Pope's employ for two and a 
half years. Out of his earnings for four 
and a half years he saved almost $500, and 
in the fall of 1853, with that capital, he 
came to the West m search of a favorable 
location. In November he arrived in Lind 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



451 



township, Waupaca county, having accom- 1 
panied the family of Stephen Harrison, and 
during the succeeding winter he purchased 
eighty acres of land in Section 30, Lind 
township, all in its primitive condition. A 
log cabin had been started, and he com- 
pleted the house in course of construction; 
then turned his attention to the develop- 
ment of the land, raising the first crops 
grown in this locality. For a time he 
worked in the woods and on the river, but 
did not locate permanently upon his farm 
until his marriage, in 1857, in Lind town- , 
ship, to Miss Ann Harrison, daughter of 
Stephen and Ann Harrison. She was born 
at Silver Hill, September 13, 1834, and was ; 
one of the family with which Mr. Marchant 
came to the West. To this worthy couple 
have been born four children: Charles A., 
who operates the old home farm; Mar}", 
wife of George Faulks, of Lmd township; 
and Jane and Katie. 

Mr. and Mrs. Marchant have always i 
lived on their present farm, and Mr. March- 
ant has since devoted his energies to the i 
raising of hops and cereals adapted to this I 
climate. He now owns 210 acres of rich 
land in his present farm, also twent\' acres 
in Waushara county, and the improvements 
upon his place are monuments to his perse- 
verance and enterprise. He has made of 
his property one of the valuable farms of 
Ihe count}-, and by his untiring labor which 
has overcome all obstacles, his sagacity and 
capable management, he has won his place 
among the substantial citizens of the county. 
He has always been a lover of fine horses, 
and keeps on hand several head of fine 
■stock. On questions of national import- 
ance, Mr. Marchant is a stalwart Democrat, 
but at local elections, when no issue is in- 
volved, he votes independently. He has 
never been an aspirant for office, preferring 
to give his entire attention to his business 
interests. His dealings have been charac- 
terized by straightforward and honorable 
methods, and it is said of him that his word 
is as good as his bond. He is charitable and 
benevolent, and even through the days 
when his own capital was very limited he 
would send mone}' home to his mother and 
sisters in England. He has provided his 



children with good advantages, both educa- 
tional and otherwise, and his greatest happi- 
ness comes from promoting the comfort and 
welfare of his familv. 



EP. SCHEIBE, who is connected 
with the Marshfield Brewing Com- 
pany as manager, has always resided 
in Wisconsin. He was born in Man- 
itowoc, September i, 1861, and comes of a 
sturdy and worthy German family, his father 
being Christian Scheibe, who was born in 
Germany in 1824, while his mother, who 
bore the maiden name of Josephine Goetz- 
ler, was also a native of that country. Hav- 
ing crossed the briny deep to the United 
States, he came to Wisconsin, and for a 
time resided in the city of Manitowoc. In 
1867 he removed to Centerville, Manitowoc 
county, where he conducted a brewery until 
1889, when the plant was destroyed by fire. 
In the family are si.\ children: Emil, 
Emma, Adolph, Richard, Gustav and 
Amelia. 

Our subject secured his education in the 
high school of his native city, and at the age 
of fifteen entered his father's brewery to 
learn the trade, at which he served a regular 
three-years' apprenticeship. He then be- 
came bookkeeper in the brewery, and held 
that position eight years, thus continuing 
with his father as an employe eleven years, 
on the expiration of which time he came to 
Marshfield, and in the fall of 1889 began 
the erection of a brewery in partnership 
with Albert Schneider, conducting it in con- 
nection with that gentleman until February 
20, 1893, when the Marshfield Brewing 
Company was organized with a capital stock 
of $65,000. Mr. Scheibe has since been its 
manager, and the success of the concern is 
largely due to the able administration of its 
affairs by him. 

In 1883 Mr. Scheibe married Miss Min- 
nie Schutte, who is a native of Wisconsin, 
and they have four children: Erwin, Ella, 
Hugo and Oscar. Mrs. Scheibe's parents 
were both natives of Germany, but are now 
I living on a farm in Sheboygan county, this 
i State. Mr. and Mrs. Scheibe attend the 
i Lutheran Church, and he is a member of the 



452 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Knights of Honor and the Sons of Her- 
mann. An active, energetic business man, 
all that he has having been acquired through 
his own efforts, to-day he is the possess- 
or of a comfortable competence. He is rec- 
ognized as one of the leaders of the Demo- 
cratic party in Wood county, taking quite 
an active interest in political affairs and do- 
ing all in his power to promote the growth 
and insure the success of his party. His fel- 
low townsmen, appreciating his worth and 
ability have frequently called him to public 
office, and for three years he served as 
school director, while, in 1889, he was 
elected to the State Legislature from the 
First District of Manitowoc county. Wis., 
and at this writing he is serving as alderman 
of the First ward of Marshfield. His fidel- 
ity to his duties of citizenship, and his faith- 
fulness in public office, have won him the 
commendation of friends of all shades of 
politics throughout the community. 



M 



ICHAELSTEINMETZ. It is not 
the statesman on the lecture plat- 
form or those occupying seats in 
the legislative halls that make the 
nation but their supporters at home — the 
enterprising, progressive business men who 
promote the public welfare and add to the 
material and intellectual prosperity of the 
communities with which they are connected. 
Each community has its representatives of 
this class, and among them in Marshfield is 
numbered Mr. Steinmetz. 

He was born in the town of Addison, 
Washington Co., Wis., January 11, 1852. 
His grandfather, Matthew Steinmetz, was 
born in Germany, in 1797, and worked as a 
common laborer to support his family, con- 
sisting of wife and seven children. The 
eldest child, Henry, father of our subject, 
was born in Luxumburg, German}-, in 1820, 
and was the first of the family to come to 
America, the date of his emigration being 
1845. In i860 the other members of the 
family crossed the Atlantic, and settled on 
a farm in Washington county, Wis., where 
the father died in 1890, the mother in 1891. 
Henry Steinmetz learned the blacksmith's 
trade in his native land, and followed that 



pursuit in this country until his marriage, 
which was celebrated in 1847, the lady of 
his choice being Mary Sekman, who was 
born in Hanover, Germany, in 1824. They 
became the parents of nine children: 
Henry, Michael, Theodore, Angeline, Mary, 
Maggie, Katie, Annie and Lizzie. Upon 
his marriage the father turned his attention 
to agricultural pursuits and cleared and im- 
proved a farm of 210 acres in Washington 
county. Wis., where he resided until 1891, 
since which time he has been a resident of 
Marshfield. 

Thus, from an honorable and respected 
family is Michael Steinmetz sprung. To 
his father he gave the benefit of his services 
until nineteen years of age, working in the 
fields until after the autumn crops were 
gathered, when he would enter the common 
schools and pursue his studies up to the open- 
ing of spring, when he would be again found 
at the plow. On leaving home he took up 
carpentering, and after working as an em- 
ploye for four years, he, at the age of 
twenty-three, began contracting and build- 
ing, which he followed until twenty-eight 
years of age, spending two years of that 
time in St. Paul, Minn. His residence in 
Marshfield dates from 1879, at which time 
he opened a hotel and saloon in that place, 
where the "Thomas House" now stands, 
conducting it for five years, when he sold 
out. During the succeeding two and a half 
years he was engaged in dealing in staves, 
and his next venture was as proprietor of a 
grocery store, which he conducted alone for 
five months. Forming a partnership, he 
then established a general store, but after 
ten months bought out his partner, and has 
since been sole proprietor of one of the lead- 
ing mercantile establishments in the city. 
In 1892 he erected his present fine store 
building, a two-story brick structure, 44 x 70 
feet, which is fitted up with a full line of 
general merchandise. He enjoys a liberal 
and constantly increasing trade, and has 
won a success that is the just reward of in- 
dustry, perseverance and honorable dealing. 
Other business interests have claimed the 
time and attention of Mr. Steinmetz: is 
one of the stockholders in a creamery and 
brewery, and is a director in the German- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



453 



American National Bank. He is also pres- 
ident of the Marshfield Brewing Company, 
and owns a fine farm conveniently and 
pleasantly located a half mile from the city. 
On November 28, 1879, Mr. Steinmetz 
was married to Miss Anna Doll, a native of 
Washington county, Wis., and a daughter 
of Henry and Gertrude (Kaiser) Doll, who 
were both born in Kellon, Germany. They 
came to America in 1848, settling upon a 
farm in Washington county, where they 
lived until 1883, the date of their removal 
to Marshfield. Their children, five in num- 
ber, are Fred, Maggie, Mary, Anna and 
Lizzie. Eleven children were born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Steinmetz: Theodore A., Eugene 
J., Frances R., Helen M., Elizabeth E., 
Fenjolia Af . , Fred W'. , and four who died 
in infancy. Mr. Steinmetz holds member- 
ship in the Catholic Church, and has been 
honored with public office, his fellow towns- 
men appreciating his worth and ability. 
For ten years he has served as alderman, 
and is now president of the city board. 
His devotion to public interests has long 
been known and recognized, and the wel- 
fare of the community is largely due to his 
earnest efforts in its behalf. At the time of 
his marriage, Mr. Steinmetz had managed 
to save $600, and the remainder of his 
property he has since accumulated. Stead- 
ily has he worked his way upward, and 
through the legitimate channels of business, 
has secured a success which numbers him 
among the leading and representative men 
of his adopted county. 



FRED P. AND JACOB SIPHER, Jr. 
Fred P. Sipher was born May 12, 
1833, in Herkimer county, N. Y. 
The parents of Fred P. and Jacob 
Sipher, Jacob and Catharine (Windecker) 
Sipher, had six children, as follows: John, 
who died in Cattaraugus county, N. Y. ; 
Levi, who died in the army near Nashville, 
Tenn. ; Moses, who resides in Monmouth, 
111. ; Mary, who married Elias Hayes, and 
died in Montgomery county, N. Y. ; Jacob, 
who died in Lind township, Waupaca Co., 
Wis., and Fred P., the two last named be- 
ing the subjects of this sketch. Jacob 



Sipher, Sr. , who was a carpenter and joiner 
by trade, died in 1834, leaving a widow and 
si.x children, but no property, as he was a 
comparatively poor man. His widow kept 
the family together, aiding in their support 
by spinning, weaving, etc., and died in 1850, 
in Herkimer county, N. Y. Only two of 
this family, both of them sons, came to Wis- 
consin. 

Fred P. Sipher had but a limited educa- 
tion, no schooling at all, and when but a boy 
went to work among the farmers. In the 
fall of 1852 he left Dunkirk, N. Y., for the 
West, coming by rail, by water and by stage 
to where an acquaintance lived, in the prai- 
rie country near Oshkosh, Winnebago coun- 
ty. Here he found work at threshing, and 
later in the pine woods at ten dollars a 
month, which at that time seemed to him 
big wages. On August 23, 1854, in the 
township of Utica, Winnebago Co., Wis., 
Fred P. Sipher was united in marriage with 
Lucy E. Skinner, who was born in Vermont, 
and by her he had the following named chil- 
dren: Dora M., now Mrs. Dan Brooks, of 
Pierce county. Neb. ; Olive, who died at 
the age of three years and three months; 
Alva, now Mrs. Aaron Dewey, of Lind 
township, Waupaca Co. , Wis. ; and Levi 
and Eli, twins (Levi resides in Royal- 
ton, Waupaca Co., Wis., and Eli is a 
carpenter in Chamberlain, South Dakota). 
After his marriage Mr. Sipher located a farm 
in Winnebago county. On March 19, 1864, 
he enlisted at Oshkosh in Company D, 
Eighth Wis. V. I. The first active engage- 
ment which he saw was at Guntown, Miss. ; 
then followed an expedition in Arkansas and 
in Missouri to St. Louis, in which States he 
was doing guard and skirmish duty. Thence 
he went to Nashville, and later to winter 
quarters at East Fork, Tenn. He was at 
Mobile, Ala., and after the fall of Spanish 
Fort, was en route to Montgomery, Ala., at 
the time of the receipt of the news of Lin- 
coln's death. After the closing of the war 
his company was at Uniontown, Ala., guard- 
ing a railroad. He was mustered out at 
Demopolis, Ala., September 6, 1865, and 
received his final discharge at Madison, Wis. , 
September 16, 1865. In 1867 Mr. Sipher 
removed to Lind township, Waupaca county, 



454 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



where he has since lived. His wife died on 
November 19, 1878, and was buried in the 
township of Utica, Winnebago Co., ^^'is- 
consin. 

Jacob Sipher (Jr.), brotlier of Fred P., 
was born March 27, 1828, in Herkimer 
county. N. Y. , and was a carpenter, though 
he never served a regular apprenticeship at 
the trade. He married Eliza M. Snyder in 
Cattaraugus count}', N. Y. , and b}- her had 
three children: \\'illiam, Ellen, and Emma 
(now Mrs. M. Aman, and living in \\'aupaca 
county, Wis. ). In 1855 Jacob Sipher came 
to Wisconsin to look about. He was first 
in Winnebago county, afterward located at 
Parfreyville, in Da\ton township, Waupaca 
county, and later removed to Section 11, 
Lind township, same county, where he 
afterward lived to the time of his decease, 
and where his first wife died. On June 1 1, 
1873, in Weyauwega, Waupaca county, he 
again married, taking as his second wife 
Elizabeth B. Harvey, by whom he had the 
following named children: Ralph and Mary, 
who both died in infancy, and Myrtle L. , 
living at home. At the time of the war 
Jacob Sipher served for one year in Com- 
pany F, Forty-fourth Wis. \. I. As soon 
as the war closed he began to fail in health, 
and was never robust afterward. He grad- 
ually sank away, dying May 31, 1878, and 
was buried in Weyauwega. He was a Dem- 
ocrat in politics. 

Mrs. Jacob Sipher was born in New 
York September 21, 1842, and is a daughter 
of Marcus and Ann (Mackeyj Harvey, who 
came to Wisconsin in September, 1855, 
locating at Weyauwega, Waupaca county. 
They were the parents of the following chil- 
dren: Sarah J., who married ^^^ R. Smith, 
now of Lind township, \\'aupaca county; 
Newton W., of Knowlton, Marathon county; 
Susan, who married, and who died in ^^'ey- 
auwega; Ann, who died young; Elizabeth, 
who married Jacob Sipher; Eleazer L. , 
deceased; Thomas, of Auroraville, Wau- 
shara county; and Marcus E., of Lind town- 
ship. 

In April, 1881, in Lind township, Wau- 
paca Co., Wis., Fred P. Sipher again mar- 
ried, taking to wife the widow of his brother 
Jacob, deceased. She had remained on the 



home place. To this union, on April 20, 
1889, was born a son, Fred H., who is at 
home with his parents. Fred P. Sipher is 
a member of Andrew Chambers Post No. 
180, G. A. R., in Weyauwega, ^^'aupaca 
county. He is a stanch Republican, and a 
good neighbor, but no office-seeker. Mr. 
and Mrs. Sipher are respected people, have 
a comfortable home, and have friends among 
all their neighbors. 



JOHN W. MORGAN. In every active 
and progressive communit\' there are 
men whose force of character, and 
whose interest in the public welfare, 
make them natural leaders. They move 
in larger circles than the rank and file of 
men, and their suggestions and official con- 
duct must bear the stamp of public ap- 
proval, else they are quickly retired to the 
ranks again by the people, whose voice in 
this land is supreme. Mr. Morgan, well- 
known as the owner of the "Spring Brook 
Farm," one-half mile south of Embarrass 
Village, in the township of Matteson, Wau- 
paca county, belongs to that favored social 
element of which the public has expressed 
its approval. He enjoys to an eminent de- 
gree the esteem and confidence of his fellow 
citizens. This is amply shown by the fact 
that for ten continuous years — from 1877 to 
1887 — he has served his township as chair- 
man, and that in 1894 he was again elected 
to that posician. The greater part of the 
interim Mr. Morgan spent as a government 
farmer on the Indian reservation, Lac Court 
Oreilles. Mr. Morgan is also a pioneer. In 
1857 he came when a boy with his father to 
Matteson township, W^aupaca county, and 
settled on wild government land, which he 
helped to open up. 

Our subject is the son of \\'illiam D. 
and Mary A. (Kirkpatrick) Morgan, and was 
born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1S43. 
\\''illiam D. Morgan was a Virginian by 
birth, while his wife was born and reared in 
Pennsylvania, and they were married in 
Ohio, in 1848 removing to Miami county, 
Ind. In 1854 they migrated to Wisconsin, 
first opening up a farm in Omro township, 
Winnebago county. Two years later they 




l> %iicn^u:i^cy 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



455 



removed to Belle Plaine township, Shawano 
county, coming by boat on the Wolf and 
Embarrass rivers, and twelve months later, 
in 1S57, the family made a permanent set- 
tlement in Matteson township. W'anpaca 
county, where Mr. Morgan died in 1889, his 
wife surviving until 1894. William D. Mor- 
gan was a Democrat of the Southern type. 
He served as supervisor in Matteson town- 
ship, and was widely respected. His family 
consisted of David A., now residing at An- 
tigo. Wis.; John W; Rachel J., who died 
in 1877, and H. D., of Matteson township. 

John W. Morgan in his boyhood attend- 
ed the schools of Omro township (Winne- 
bago county) and Matteson. He aided his 
father in opening up the farm, and in i860, 
at the age of seventeen years, he bought a 
timber tract in the woods, and now owns a 
good farm of 200 acres, one-half of which 
is cleared and under cultivation. Mr. Mor- 
gan enlisted, September 11, 1862, at Osh- 
kosh, in Company C, Twenty-first Wis. 
\'. I., for three years or during the war. 
The regiment proceeded to Covington, Ky., 
and thence to Louisville. It was engaged 
in the sanguinary struggle at Perryville, Ky., 
October 8, 1862, where Private Morgan fell 
severely wounded, in consequence of which 
he was removed to the Louisville hospital, 
and there honorably discharged from serv- 
ice, January 30, 1863. In February, 1863, 
Mr. Morgan re-enlisted, at St. Louis, in the 
Mississippi Marine Brigade, for three years 
or during the war. He participated in the 
protracted siege of \'icksburg, and was hon- 
orably discharged at that city, in February, 
1865. Returning to Matteson township, he 
has since made that his home, except during 
the four j^ars — 1889 to 1893 — when he was 
employed by the government as a farmer on 
the Indian reservation in Sawyer county. 

In 1876 Mr. Morgan began the study of 
law, and from that time until 1889 devoted 
a considerable part of his time to the prac- 
tice of that profession in Waupaca county, 
principally in justice courts. Though not 
admitted to the bar to practice in courts of 
record, he acquired in his vicinity a reputa- 
tion second hardly to any attorney in his 
county for legal learning, and he is still often 
consulted by his neighbors on subjects re- 



lating to legal usage. In 1892 Mr. Morgan 
commenced the breeding of tine Shropshire 
sheep on his celebrated "Spring Brook 
Farm," in Matteson township, situated one- 
half mile south of Embarrass. His first 
herd consisted of several head of the pure- 
bred imported Shropshire stock, everywhere 
prized both for the mutton and wool — the 
latter, which is of medium length and fine 
qualit}-. commanding at present the highest 
price in the market, and averaging from 
twelve to fifteen pounds to the fleece. These 
sheep at maturity weigh from 200 to 300 
pounds, and are undoubtedly the best for 
mutton raised or bred in the State of ^^'is- 
consin. The herd has since been largeh- 
increased, and kept specially for sale for 
breeding purposes, and there is no doubt 
that the introduction of this fine grade of 
sheep into this part of Wisconsin will im- 
prove the quality of sheep throughout the 
State, and keep it up to the standard. Mr. 
Morgan makes a specialty of sheep, but he 
also pays considerable attention to raising 
and breeding pure-bred Jersey cattle and 
Clydesdale horses. In fact, all his stock is 
thorough-bred and valuable, even the poul- 
try — Spangled Hamburg and Buff Cochin 
fowls— and for sale at "Spring Brook 
Farm" at "live and let live" prices, for 
Mr. Morgan has acquired his popularity as 
much by his fairness and honesty as hy his 
abilit}- and enterprise. 

Mr. Morgan was married, in Matteson 
township, in 1866, to Miss Lana Ewer, a 
native of Washington county. Wis., and 
daughter of Esben and Lucy (Matteson) 
Ewer, natives of New York, and early Wis- 
consin pioneers. To Mr. and Mrs. Morgan 
si.\ children were born: Roswell J., who 
is married, and now resides at Antigo; Nora, 
a teacher, who taught one jear in Waupaca 
county, and for five years in the Indian 
reservation; Mattie, Maggie, Gracie, and 
Rill, the youngest, who was born on the 
Indian reservation. Mr. Morgan is an ear- 
nest Republican. He is a member of J. B. 
Wyman Post, No. 32, G. A. R., and was 
one of the promoters of the Waupaca 
County Institute. He is one of the best 
informed and most progressive citizens of 
Waupaca county, one who is substantially 



456 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



interested in her welfare, and many long 
years of residence within her borders have 
thoroughly familiarized him with her needs. 



ORIN D. SANDERS is one of the pro- 
prietors of the Baldwin Creamery 
Co., Weyauwega, the largest manu- 
facturers of butter and cheese in 
AN'aupaca county, and he is actively engaged 
in promoting the business of that most thriv- 
ing industry. It has alread}' proved a valu- 
able accession to the dairy interests of the 
county, though of comparatively recent 
origin. 

Mr. Sanders is a native of W'aupaca 
county, born in Lind township in 1859, and 
is the son of P. P. and Elizabeth (Smith) 
Sanders, the former of whom about the year 
1852 came to Lind township, Waupaca 
county, from. New York State, settling in 
the woods. Partially clearing the place, he 
sold it, and bought another. Later he 
moved to Brandon, Fond du Lac county, 
and later still to Ripon. In 1873 he en- 
gaged in the meat-market business in Wey- 
auwega, and for ten years conducted same 
profitably; then went to Ashland, Wis., and 
engaged in the same business. His next 
change of location was to Florida, thence 
to the State of Washington. He has since 
retired, and now lives at the residence of his 
son, Orin D. His two children are Milton 
and Orin D. Milton owns a grocery and 
meat business at Ashland, Wis., which he 
started in 1882, and has since continuously 
conducted, save for about two years, from 
1891 to 1893, which he spent at Weyauwega. 
Orin D. Sanders received a common- 
school education in the district schools of 
Lind and Weyauwega townships, and from 
the age of sixteen until he was twenty-four 
assisted his father in the meat business. He 
remained with him eight years, and then, in 
1883, settled on a farm in Weyauwega town- 
ship where he was engaged in agricultural 
pursuits until 1892, when he became in- 
terested in the Baldwin Creamery Co., and 
has since devoted his attention thereto, by 
his efforts contributing in no small degree to 
its success. He was married, in Weyau- 
wega, to Miss Elizabeth (Libbie) Wagner, 



who was born in that town, daughter of 
Peter and Catherine Wagner, natives of 
Germany who emigrated to America and 
settled in Lind township, Waupaca Co., 
Wis., where they still reside. Mr. Sanders 
has for four years served as town clerk at 
Weyauwega. His political preferences are 
with the Prohibition party, and his religious 
connection with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

The Baldwin Creamery Co. succeeded 
to the property of the cheese factory, which 
was 22 X 30 feet in size, and was erected in 
1888. The creamery business was estab- 
lished in 1892, and a two-story building, 
24X 31, was added to the old structure, ad- 
ditions also being made to the boiler room, 
and expensive improved machinery for gath- 
ering cream added. Besides the members 
of the firm six men find employment here. 
The company runs four wagons, and the 
output for the season is about one hundred 
and sixty thousand pounds of butter, and 
fifty thousand pounds of cheese. 



OLIVER YORTON, a prominent re- 
tired farmer of Amherst, and a pio- 
neer of Portage count}', was born in 
Lenox township, near the village of 
Clockville, Madison Co., N. Y. , September 
7, 1827, son of Paul and Hannah (Marcalj 
Yorton, both born in New York State, of 
German ancestry, who were early settlers in 
this country; Oliver Yorton's grandfather 
fought in the Revolutionary war, and his fath- 
er in the war of 1812. Paul Yorton and his 
wife both died in the State of New York, 
the parents of eleven children, of whom 
eight are now living, namely: Henr\-, in 
Ashland, Wis. ; Oliver, the subject of this 
sketch; Elizabeth, wife of Louis Buyea, re- 
siding in Michigan; Marion, widow of Henry 
Benson, her home being in the town of Stock- 
ton, Portage county ;Reuben, in Stevens Point, 
same count}'; Paul, in Stockton; Hannah, 
wife of William Carey, of Michigan; and 
William, residing in Clarksville, New York. 
The boyhood days of Oliver Yorton were 
spent upon the homestead farm, and in the 
old log schoolhouse, with its big fireplace, 
he received a limited education when the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



457 



duties of farm work would permit. He left 
his native town in 1848, and for about a 
year worked in a sawmill in Flint, Mich., 
then returned to Clarksville and worked 
there for three years in a gristmill. In 1853 
he came to Wisconsin and located at Stevens 
Point, where he was engaged in lumbering 
and running the river. At Stevens Point, 
January 28, 1857, Oliver Yorton was 
united in marriage with Miss Marcia Spauld- 
ing, and five children have been born to 
them, namely: Ida. born February 5, 
1858, married September 29, 1880, to 
David Iverson, and died October 16, 1885; 
Frank A., born October 15, 1859, residing 
at home with his parents; Florence, born 
June II, 1862, married to Charles W. An- 
derson December 25, 1879, and died De- 
cember 21, 1882; Effie, born February 22, 
1 86 1, married to George Anthony, and re- 
siding in the village of Amherst; and James 
O., born July 16, 1879, deceased in infancy. 
Mrs. Yorton was born in Essex county, N. 
Y. , daughter of Safford and Adeline (Wells) 
Spaulding. 

About 1858 Mr. Yorton moved to Stock- 
ton, Portage county, where he followed 
farming about fourteen years. In 1873 he 
removed to the town of Amherst, same 
county, and continued actively engaged in 
agricultural pursuits until 1889, when here- 
moved to the village of Amherst, where he 
lives a quiet, retired life, though still retain- 
ing and conducting the farm. Mr. Yorton 
served four terms as town treasurer of 
Stockton, and has been supervisor and as- 
sessor of the town of Amherst. He is a 
member of Amherst Lodge No. 274, I. O. 
O. F. , and in political views is a Republi- 
can. The family attend the Methodist 
Church. Mr. Yorton is one of the progress- 
ive citizens of Amherst, taking an active part 
in measures tending to the advancement of 
the town or of the county generally, and he 
and his family are held in high esteem. 



LUCIUS FOSTER. The study of biog- 
raphy is a profitable as well as an in- 
teresting one, especially if we would 
heed the obvious lessons contained 
therein. This is particularly true of the rec- 



ord of a self-made man whose perseverance, 
diligence and good management have 
brought him success and enabled him to 
rise from an humble position to one of 
affluence. In the career of Mr. Foster we 
see pictured forth those traits of character 
which bring prosperity, and read in his his- 
tory the struggles and triumphs of one who 
was early thrown upon his own resources, 
and steadily worked his way upward. 

He was born in the town of Antwerp, 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. , November 22, 1822, 
and belongs to a family that has been con- 
nected with this country since Colonial days. 
When the United States was still in the 
possession of Great Britain three brothers 
by the name of Foster crossed the Atlantic 
from England and located in Connecticut. 
One of these, the great-grandfather of our 
subject, was a hero of the Revolution. He 
married and had two sons — Hopestall and 
John — and three daughters, one of whom 
became the wife of Dr. Hyde, of Brooklyn, 
N. Y. The first son, the grandfather of 
Lucius Foster, was born in Connecticut, be- 
came a tailor by trade, and in the Nutmeg 
State both he and his wife spent their en- 
tire lives. Their son, Hopestall, was born 
in Connecticut, July 27, 1783, and there 
married, in February, 1808, Laura Osborn, 
a native of that State, born November 12, 
1786. Soon after he removed with his 
young wife to Jefferson county, N. Y. , 
where he cleared three farms. During his 
residence there his wife was called to the 
home beyond, her death occurring in 1838. 
Five children had been born of that mar- 
riage, but the only daughter, Eliza, died at 
the age of four years. The four sons are 
Harvey, Volney, Hopestall E. and Lucius. 
For his second wife he wedded Mrs. Harris. 
In 1839 he emigrated with his family to 
Jefferson county. Wis., and locating upon a 
tract of wild land transformed it into a fine 
farm. He erected a good home, and was a 
tireless worker, making of his place one of 
the most valuable farm properties in that 
section of the State. His life which was 
well spent won him the respect of all, and 
his death, which occurred in 1868, was 
deeply mourned by those who knew him. 

Lucius Foster made his home with his 



458 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 



parents until seventeen years of age, al- 
though in the meantime he worked for 
others to a limited extent, earning his liveli- 
hood b}- farm labor. His intellectual train- 
ing was obtained in the common schools, 
and few advantages came to him in his 
earlier years. He came to the West with 
the family, and in 1S49 located in Dodge 
county. Wis., where he was employed two 
years, within which time he saved enough 
money to buy a team, after which he en- 
gaged in teaming. Living frugall}' and 
working earnestly, he at length secured 
sufficient capital to enable him to embark in 
the restaurant business, and he also opened 
a small store in Fox Lake, ^^'is. In the 
meantime he chose as a companion and 
helpmeet on life's journey Miss Margaret 
Richards, who was born in Great Bend, 
Penn., in 1831. Their wedding was cele- 
brated July 3, 1S50, and they have two 
sons, Charles and Orr, both now married, 
and who are connected with their father in 
business, carrying on the " Fremont House," 
which is the leading hotel in Marshfield. 
They purchased this fine property in Octo- 
ber, 1890, and in its management have been 
very successful, receiving a large patronage, 
which is well deserved, for the hotel is con- 
ducted in first-class style. 

While Lucius Foster was residing in 
Fox Lake he soon added to his restaurant 
business, and became the proprietor of a 
general mercantile establishment which he 
conducted fourteen years, when, selling out, 
he removed to Melrose, Wis., on the Black 
river, aad there purchased a hotel, con- 
ducting same for nine years. His next home 
was in Sparta, Monroe county, where for 
two years he carried on a farm, when he 
traded his land for a stock of groceries, 
and for four years carried on a grocery 
store in Sparta. On the expiration of that 
period he traded his store for a farm in Bush 
prairie, Monroe county, devoting his ener- 
gies to its cultivation some twelve years, 
and then rented the " Eau Claire House," 
in Eau Claire, Wis., which he conducted 
four years. His next removal took him 
again to Dodge county, where he carried on 
farming until coming to Marshfield. He is 
well known to the traveling public, and his 



genial, pleasant manner, which springs from 
a true interest in his fellow men wins him 
many friends. In politics he is a Democrat, 
and has several times been honored with 
public office. Mr. Foster is a man of in- 
defatigable energy and resolute purpose, and 
though he has met with reverses in life he 
has overcome these by persistence, and is 
now numbered among the substantial citi- 
zens of Marshfield. 



GEORGE W. DURRANT was born 
in Massachusetts February 17, 1 85 i , 
and is a son of Thomas and Mar- 
garet (Day) Durrant. Thomas Dur- 
rant was born in England in 1 8 1 1 , and there 
learned the trade of shoemaker. \\'hen a 
boy of twenty years he came to Prince Ed- 
ward Island. Afterward he lived for seven- 
teen years in Nova Scotia, where, in 1843, 
he married Margaret Day, who was born in 
that Province. Mr. and Mrs. Durrant be- 
came the parents of the following children: 
William, who was a Union soldier in the 
war of the Rebellion, being a member of the 
Fourteenth Wis. V. I., and died in Minne- 
sota soon after the war; Thomas, also a 
Union soldier in the war. now a farmer of 
Lanark township. Portage Co.. Wis.; 
Charles, killed in the army at Whitewater 
Bridge. Mo. ; James and John, of Farming- 
ton, Waupaca county; George W. , subject 
of this sketch; Willard, of Lind township, 
Waupaca count)'; Mary, who was the wife 
of Royal Ballard, and died in North Dakota; 
and Benjamin, a farmer. 

In 1848 Thomas Durrant removed to 
Boston, Mass., where he remained till the 
spring of 1855. He had followed his trade 
of shoemaker and saved some money; and, 
as the West at that time offered better 
chances for a home to a man of his means 
than the Eastern States, he concluded, in 
May, 1855, to come to Wisconsin. The 
journey was made partl\- by rail, partly by 
water, and Waupaca county was his desti- 
nation; there were no railroads at that time 
into this part of Wisconsin, so he came from 
Oshkosh to Gill's Landing by boat, and then 
by wheeled conveyance to the town of 
Waupaca, Waupaca county, where his first 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



459 



settlement was made. He bought land in 
Section 4 of that township, made it his home 
for six 3"ears, sold it out to a Mr. Plowman, 
and removed to Hortonville, Outagamie 
county, where he remained one year, going 
then to Farmington. Afterward he bought 
120 acres in Lanark township, Portage 
county, and again went to farming. After 
about half a dozen years there he bought a 
farm in Section 3, Lind township, Waupaca 
county, where but few and rude improve- 
ments had been made. Here he made his 
home till his death which occurred on this 
farm July 29, 1884; his wife died in March, 
1885; each was seventy-five years of age, at 
the time of death, and they were both buried 
in ^^'aupaca Cemetery. Mr. Durrant added 
to the value of his farm in many ways, and 
when he died the improvements had practi- 
cally all been made. He was greatly handi- 
capped as the result of many unfortunate 
happenings, but none affected him so much 
physically as the loss of his left leg at the 
knee. This leg was first wounded by a 
scythe, then was in some way attached, and 
later was broken by being caught under the 
stringer of a bridge, which gave way while 
he was crossing with a loaded team. Po- 
litically he was a Republican, though no of- 
fice-seeker, and he took little or no interest 
in politics. 

George \\'. Durrant was but a child 
when his parents came to Wisconsin. He 
received a common-school education such as 
the times afforded, was reared on the farm, 
and, except for the term of ten winters has 
been on the farm. On May 14, 1874, in 
^^'aupaca, Waupaca county, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Catharine McCunn, 
who was born January 21, 1857, in Glas- 
gow, Scotland, and they have had children 
as follows: W'illiam, who died at the age of 
four years; Frank T., ^\'innie and Jeanette, 
all at home; and, since this was written, a 
little son, Kirkwood G., born April 7, 1895. 
Mrs. Durrant was reared from the age of 
ten years in Farmington township, Wau- 
paca county, her parents, James and Janet 
(Niven) McCunn. having come to the United 
States May 19, 1867. After his marriage 
George W. Durrant located in Lind town- 
ship, Waupaca county, remained one win- 



ter, then moved to W'aupaca, and then to 
Scandinavia township, both in Waupaca 
county, and in 1884 came to the "home 
farm " in Lind township, in the same coun- 
ty, where he yet lives, having 120 acres in 
Lind township and forty in Waushara 
county. He follows general farming and 
stock raising, is one of Lind's good fanners, 
well-to-do, and a citizen well known and of 
good repute. Politically he is a Republican, 
takes some interest in political matters, 
and has held public offices in the township. 



THOMAS G. BACON, an honored 
veteran of the Civil war, and a 
worthy representative of the agricul- 
tural and official interests of Belmont 
township, Portage count}', was born March 
9, 1 82 1, in the town of Digby, Nova Scotia. 
His parents were Thomas and Rachel ( Mar- 
shallj Bacon, respectable farming people in 
comfortable circumstances. In March, 1847, 
he was struck by a falling tree, and died 
four hours later; his wife long survived 
him, reaching the advanced age of eighty 
years. 

The subject proper of this sketch is the 
second son and third child in a family num- 
bering five sons and four daughters. He at- 
tended the subscription schools, and at the 
age of fourteen he left home, going to New 
York City with a carpenter and contractor, 
for whom he worked fifteen months, when 
his employer failed. He then returned to 
his native land and worked at his trade for 
a short time, after which he removed to 
Maine, following carpentering in the neigh- 
borhood of Eastport and Lubeck, that State. 
When a young man Mr. Bacon was married 
in- Nova Scotia to Sarah Ropp, a native of 
that country, who bore him three children: 
Mary, and two who died in infancy. His 
second marriage was celebrated in Hodgdon, 
Maine, the lady of his choice being Martha 
A. Towne, who was born March 3, 1834, a 
daughter of Howard P. and Sarah A. (Fos- 
ter) Towne. Together they traveled life's 
journey for many years, but were separated 
by death November 5, 1881, the wife being 
called to her final rest. The children of 
that marriage were John B., who died at the 



460 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



age of five years; James D., a resident 
farmer of Belmont township; Sarah, wife of 
James H. Rice, of the same township; Ed- 
ward, who died at the age of twenty-nine 
3-ears; Laura A., at home; W'infield, who 
died at the age of twenty-three years; Syl- 
vester, at home; Hattie, wife of William 
Russell, of Buena Vista township. Portage 
county; Eva and Ralph. 

Mr. Bacon dates his arrival in Wisconsin 
from 1854, at which time, with his family, 
he accompanied his brother-in-law, David 
Towne, to Chicago, and went to Mendota, 
111., where he worked at the carpenter's 
trade for his wife's uncle. On leaving that 
place he proceeded to Green Bay, Wis., but 
after three days there continued on his way 
to Menasha, thence to Oshkosh, went up 
the ^^'olf river to Gill's Landing, and with 
a team and lumber wagon to ^^^aupaca, 
where he arrived July 8, 1854. He spent 
one winter and two summers in that place, 
working at his trade, and in the fall of 1855 
came to Belmont township, Portage coun- 
ty, with his wife's father and brother. He 
was one of the pioneers of this locality, and 
is familiar with its historj- from that early 
da}'. He located in Section 29, Belmont 
township, and afterward removed to Sec- 
tion 35, but though he lived on a farm he 
followed carpentering, and in this way has 
done much for the development of that 
locality. 

On December 16, 1861, in Plover, Wis., 
Mr. Bacon joined the " boys in blue" by 
enlisting in Company E, Eighteenth Regi- 
ment, Wis. V. I., went to Milwaukee, and 
thence to Pittsburg Landing, where occurred 
the first engagement in which he partici- 
pated. He was in the fight all day Sunday 
until about five o'clock in the evening when 
he was taken prisoner, sent to Corinth, 
thence to Mobile, and up the Alabama river 
to a prison about twelve miles from Selma. 
He was afterward transferred to Montgomery 
and later to Macon, Ga., where he was pa- 
roled and given in charge of the Tenth Wis- 
consin Regiment in June, 1862. Exposure 
brought on illness, and he was sent home, 
arriving July 3, 1862, in a precarious condi- 
tion. He afterward again tendered his serv- 
ices to the government, but on medical e.\- 



amination in Madison was rejected, and 
since his arm}- experience he has never been 
the same man physically. 

On questions of national importance Mr. 
Bacon is a stalwart Republican, but at local 
elections he votes for the man and not the 
party. He has held the office of treasurer 
longer than any man in his township, hav- 
ing served in that position eighteen years, 
when he retired from same, also resigning 
the position of school treasurer after some 
twenty-five or thirty years of service. He 
also served on the town board three years, 
and was justice of the peace two years, in 
all which offices he discharged his duties 
with a promptness and fidelity that is well 
indicated by his long retention in the posi- 
tion. In his social relations, he is connected 
with Belmont Post No. 115, G. A. R., and 
in his religious belief he is a Baptist, as was 
also his wife. He has led a busy and use- 
ful life, was a loyal soldier, a trusted official, 
and is a valued and respected citizen. 



M 



RS. HATTIE (PORTER) WHIP- 
PLE, one of the most highly es- 
teemed residents of Lanark town- 
ship. Portage count}-, is a nati\-e 
of Wisconsin, born January 29, 1848. in 
Racine county, daughter of John and Ann 
(Shey) Porter. 

John Porter was born April 17, 1829, in 
the Stale of Ohio, where he received a good 
education, and was reared to farm life. He 
came to Wisconsin, first locating in Mil- 
waukee, and was married in that city, to 
Miss Ann Shey, who was born June 10, 
1835, in County Waterford, Ireland. In 
1845, in company with her mother and 
three brothers — Patrick, Thomas and John 
— she came to the United States, landing 
in New York City, whence they came west- 
ward, locating in Chicago, 111., where the 
mother died of ship fever. After remaining 
in that city four years, Ann Shey, removed 
to Milwaukee, and there secured employ- 
ment as domestic in the only hotel the town 
could boast of in that early day. After 
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Porter took up their 
residence on a farm which he had pur- 
chased, twelve miles from Milwaukee, and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



461 



there resided twelve jears, during which 
time children as follows were born to them: 
Henry, deceased in boyhood; Mary, deceased 
in infancy; Lester, who enlisted in Company 
H, Thirtieth Wis. \'. I., serving three 
years, and was discharged at the end of the 
war; George, who enlisted in 1861, when 
but fifteen years old, at Wautoma, Wis., 
in Company H, Si.xteenth Wis. V. I., run- 
ning away from home for that purpose, and 
joining the regiment at Berlin, went with 
them to Madison, where they were drilled 
until March, 1863, when they proceeded to 
the seat of war (he was wounded at the 
battle of Pittsburg Landing, taken prisoner 
by the Confederates, and died on the way 
to Libby Prison). In Racine county the 
following children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Porter: Hattie; John; Belle; Milton 
and Andrew J. ; Jennie, born at Neenah, 
Winnebago county, died in 1891; Alvord 
and Samuel were born at Mt. Morris, Wau- 
shara count}'. 

During the California gold fever Mr. 
Porter sold his farm, and decided to seek 
his fortune in the Far West. He set out with 
his family in a " Conestoga " wagon, and 
joined an emigrant train, making the journey 
with them as far as Council Bluffs, Iowa, at 
which point he changed his mind and re- 
turned to Wisconsin, settling in Racine 
county for a short time. Removing thence 
to Neenah, Winnebago county, he there 
bought a farm on which he lived eight years, 
when he sold and moved to Waushara coun- 
ty, where he now has his home. 

Mrs. Hattie (Porter) Whipple received 
her education at Mount Morris, Waushara 
county, where her father was teaching 
school, attending up to the age of eighteen 
3'ears. She then for a few years engaged in 
housework, and previous to her marriage 
was employed for a time in the hotel at 
Lanark. On October 14, 1873, she was 
married to Ira Whipple, who was born in 
Erie county, N. Y. , where he married, after- 
ward moving to Illinois, and thence to Win- 
nebago county. Wis., where he bought a 
farm and conducted same some eight years. 
He then traded this place for a tract of 200 
acres in Lanark township. Portage county, 
where he made a permanent home and 



passed the remainder of his life. Bj" his 
first wife he had children as follows: An- 
nette, now of Little Butte, Wyo. ; Frank, a 
druggist at Waupaca; Emmarette, who died 
August II, 1877, when twenty-four years of 
age, previous to which she was engaged in 
missionary work among the Teontine In- 
dians in Dakota, being located at Fort Sully, 
and was on her way to Wisconsin to visit 
her parents when taken sick at Chicago, 
where she died after a short illness, mourned 
by all who knew her. To Ira and Hattie 
(Porter) Whipple were born children as fol- 
lows: Ada A., born October 11, 1874; 
Gertie M., born May 4, 1876; Sarah J., 
born March i, 1878; Theron J., born De- 
cember 14, 1 880; Myra L. , born September 
7, 1882; Amy D., born July 27, 1884; Hat- 
tie R. , born January 16, 1886; and Harry 
R., born October 8, 1888. In 1861 Ira 
Whipple came to the town of Lanark, and 
was a member of the board of supervisors of 
Portage county seven years; also justice of 
the peace for nearly eight years; postmaster 
at Badger, Portage county, two years and a 
half, and took the census of 1880. 

On March 17, 1864, Ira Whipple enlisted 
in Company B, Thirty-eighth Wis. \'. I., 
and received his discharge July 26, 1865. 
He died May 14, 18S8, since when Mrs. 
Whipple has carried on the farm, and within 
eighteen months from the time of his de- 
cease had paid debts on the farm amounting 
to several thousand dollars, a proof indeed 
of her excellent business ability, which is 
recognized by all who know her. She is a 
Presbyterian in religious faith. 



LM. VANNORMAN, a well-to-do farm- 
er of Larrabee township, Waupaca 
county, and who was a Union soldier 
in the war of the Rebellion, was born 
in 1832, in Onondaga county, N. Y. , son of 
William R. and Elmina (Perrine) Vannor- 
man. 

William R. Vannorman was born in 
Massachusetts, his wife in New York. They 
came to Winnebago county. Wis., in 1852, 
and settled in Omro village, where he fol- 
lowed the business of butcher and grocer 
for twenty years or more. His death oc- 



462 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



curred in Oshkosh. Wis., in 1874, and that 
of his wife, who survived him four years, in 
Waushara county, ^^'is. (Mrs. Vannorman's 
father, John Perrine, born in New York of 
Holland ancestry, was in the war of 1S12). 
They reared a familj' of six children, namely : 
L. M., the subject of this sketch; Oliver, 
residing in \\'aukesha county. Wis. ; Phe- 
dyma, wife of James H. Weston, of Mar- 
telle, Jones Co., Iowa; Hattie E., wife of 
Francis Marion Nash, of Nashville, Vt., who 
enlisted at Sparta, Wis., in Company I, 
Seventh Wis. V. I., was discharged for dis- 
ability, came home, re-enlisted in April, 
1864, in the Seventh Wis. V. I., Company 
I, served till the close of the war, and was 
discharged at Madison, Wis. (in 1864, at 
the battle of the Wilderness, he received a 
gunshot wound, and was taken to the hos- 
pital at Federal Hill, Baltimore, Md.); 
Ransom S. enlisted in June, 1861, in Com- 
pany G, Fifth Wis. V. I., was a member of 
the Fifth Army Corps, and was killed at the 
battle of Spottsylvania ; and Abbie L. , who 
was the wife of John Eldred. of \\'aushara 
county, Wis., and died in 1S88. 

L. M. Vannorman was reared in New 
York, and educated in the schools of that 
State. On December 25, 1851, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary Caroline 
Daniels, who was born in Oswego county, 
N. Y. , and by their marriage twelve children 
have been born, as follows: Carmy, resid- 
ing in Matteson township, Waupaca county ; 
Earl, married, and residing at Clintonville, 
Waupaca county ; Charles, married, and re- 
siding at Whitcomb, Shawano county. Wis. ; 
Hannah, the wife of William E. Rice, of 
Matteson township ; Truman ; Cephas A. ; 
Ransom M., and Niles. Of this family they 
have buried three sons — Ransom, Carmy 
and Roy — and one daughter — Cornelia. 
Mrs. Vannorman's parents, David and Sally 
(Keller) Daniels, were born in New York, 
and came in 1859 to Waushara county, Wis., 
where, in 1865, Mr. Daniels enlisted in the 
Forty-fourth Wis. V. I., and served till the 
close of the war. His death occurred at 
Appleton, Wis., in 1881, that of his wife in 
1886, also at Appleton. They had three 
children : George, who resides at Neillsville, 
Clark Co., Wis.; Mary Caroline (Mrs. Van- 



norman); and Cornelia, the widow of Abram 
Russell, who was in the One Hundred and 
Tenth N. Y. V. I., and was killed, in 1890, 
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Vannormsn came to Oshkosh, \\'in- 
nebago Co., Wis., April 29, 1852, then to 
Omro, in the same county, remained two 
\ears, went to Waushara county, and lo- 
cated in the woods near Eureka, where he 
opened up a farm. On February 22, 1864, 
at Auroraville, Waushara county, he en- 
listed in Company I, Seventh Wis. V. I., 
known as the " Iron Brigade," was mustered 
into service at Madison, Wis., and assigned 
to the Fifth Army Corps, Army of the 
Potomac. He received a gunshot wound 
at the battle of the Wilderness, was two 
days in the field hospital, for some time in 
the hospital at Washington, came home on 
thirty days' furlough, then returned to the 
hospital, and in September, 1864, rejoined 
his regiment at Petersburg, Va. He was 
at Petersburg, Five Forks, Appomatto.x, 
Hatcher's Run, and at the Review at Wash- 
ington, D. C, was honorably discharged at 
Louisville, Ky. , July 3, 1865, returned to 
Waushara county. Wis., remaining there 
till 1 88 1, when he came to Clintonville, and 
located in Section 13. Larrabee township, on 
his present farm, which was then all in the 
woods. Here he owns fifty-four and a half 
acres of land, now considerabh" improved. 
In 1885 he built a good story-and-a-half res- 
idence, 16 X 24 feet in the main part, with 
an L 12 X 18, and in 1887 a barn 24 x 44 
feet. In politics Mr. Vannorman is a Re- 
publican, has held the office of justice of the 
peace three times, and has been school 
clerk and path master. He is a member of 
J. B. Wyman Post No. 32, G. A. R., and 
has been senior vice. He has seen much of 
the development of this section of the 
county. 



WESLEY MASON, a highly respect- 
ed and worth}- citizen of Amherst, 
Portage county, now retired from 
active life, is a native of New York 
State, born March 3, 1832, in Pinckney, 
Lewis count)', a son of Jared and Margaret 
(Green) Mason. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



463 



Elias Mason, father of Jared, was also 
of New York State nativity, was a gardener 
by occupation, and lived near Tro}'. The 
following children were born to him: David, 
John, Jared (father of the subject of this 
sketch). Mar}', Elmira, Aaron and Moses 
(who reside in Rensselaer county, N. Y.), 
Betsey (who married David Soper, now de- 
ceased, and resides in Manitowoc count}'. 
Wis.), and Marvin (a farmer in Manitowoc 
county). Jared Mason, a farmer by occu- 
pation, was born in Rensselaer county, N. 
Y. , in February, 1804. He was educated in 
his native county, married in Lewis count}', 
N. Y. . and soon after his marriage moved 
to Lyme, Jefferson Co., N. Y. , where he 
bought a farm on which he lived for twenty- 
five years. He then moved with his family 
to Cato, Manitowoc Co., Wis., where he 
bought from a man named Carey a 160 -acre 
tract of wild land, on a soldier's claim, on 
which he made his home until his death, 
which occurred in September, 1880. He 
is buried in Cato. Jared Mason was twice 
married. The children by his first wife, 
Margaret (Green), who died when her son 
Wesley was only twelve years of age, were 
as follows: Eli, who was a private in the 
Sixteenth Wis. V. L, and died in hospital 
at New Albany, Ind. (he was unmarried); 
Martha, who resides in Adams, Jefferson 
Co., N. Y., and was married three times — 
first to James Odell, the third time to a Mr. 
Boomer; Leonard, a retired farmer of Am- 
herst, Portage county; Wesley, subject of 
this sketch; Rufus, who married Rhoda Bar- 
nard, was a private in Company C. Forty- 
fourth Wis. V. I., and died of smallpox in 
hospital at Nashville, Tenn., leaving a wife 
and three children — Rosie, John and Fanny; 
Albert, who is proprietor of a canning fac- 
tory in Sycamore, 111., and married Fanny 
Van Napps, by whom he had four children 
— Sherman, Arthur, Hattie and Virgie; and 
Jeannette, who married R. E. Rickaby, and 
resides on a farm in Marinette county. Wis. 
(their children are Eva, Margaret, Earl, Ed- 
win and Leonard). For his second wife 
Jared Mason married Mrs. Ruth Barnard, a 
widow, and to their union were born two 
children — Isaiah, who was elected clerk of 
court in the fall of 1894, married Evelyn 



Flagg, and they reside at present near New 
Lisbon, Juneau Co., Wis.; Ryley, a farmer 
and carpenter, who resides near Antigo, 
Langlade Co., Wisconsin. 

Our subject, as will be seen, was but a 
small boy when his parents moved to Jeffer- 
son county, N. Y., and here he received a 
good common-school education, at the same 
time being reared to agricultural pursuits. 
On December 4, 1852, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Ann Thumb, who was 
born March 11, 1835, in Johnstown, N. Y., 
on the banks of the Mohawk, daughter of 
Peter and Mary Catherine (Castleman) 
Thumb. After marriage the young couple 
commenced housekeeping in Lyme town- 
ship, Jefferson Co., N. Y. , where their eld- 
est child was born, and in May, 1854, the 
little family, accompanied by Mr. Mason's 
father, came west to Wisconsin, the trip 
being made by steamer from Sackett's Harbor 
to the Niagara river; from there by stage to 
the Falls, by cars from there to Buffalo, 
and from Buffalo to Detroit on the "May- 
flower," crossed the State of Michigan on 
the Michigan Central railroad to Chicago, 
and then journeyed from Chicago to Manito- 
woc by water. On the very first day of 
the " Mayflower's " voyage from Buffalo to 
Detroit, she took fire, the flames being with 
difficulty extinguished, all onboard narrowly 
escaping a terrible death. The family set- 
tled on a farm in Cato township, where they 
continued to reside until a year or two after 
the death of Jared Mason, which occurred 
in September, 1880. This farm, which 
comprised 160 acres of wild land, the latter 
had purchased from a Mr. Carey on a sol- 
dier's claim, and was cleared by him and 
his son with much labor and assiduous care. 
In 1882, after disposing of his possessions 
in Cato township, our subject and family 
removed to Amherst township, Portage 
county, making their home on eighty acres 
of land which Mr. Mason had purchased, 
but which he afterward disposed of. 

On August 1 1, 1862, Mr. Mason enlisted 
in Company K, Twenty-first Wis. V. I., 
Capt. C. H. Walker, and immediately went 
into camp at Oshkosh, whence, after drill- 
ing a short time, the regiment left, on the 
I ith of the following month, for the seat of 



464 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



war, proceeding via Cincinnati, Ohio, to 
Louisville, Ky. Here it was assigned to the 
Twent\-eighth Brigade, Fourteenth Army 
Corps, under command of Gen. Stark- 
weather. The first active engagement our 
subject participated in was that of Perry- 
ville, Ky., October 8, 1862, where he was 
wounded in the groin by a spent musket 
ball, on account of which he was ordered to 
hospital, but refused to go, although he was 
suffering acute pain, preferring to remain 
with his regiment until it reached Nolens- 
ville, Tenn., where, owing to his wound, 
which was aggravated by the exposure to 
storm and cold he underwent, and lack of 
proper clothing, tents, etc., he was com- 
pelled to remain, his regiment in the mean- 
time continuing its march to Stone River, 
participating in the battle fought there from 
December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863. 
At Nolensville Mr. Mason and several other 
Federal soldiers were surprised and made 
prisoners by a party of Confederates, a de- 
tachment of Gen. Wheeler's cavalry; but 
our subject was released on parole and al- 
lowed to proceed to Nashville, Tenn., where, 
having rejoined his regiment, he remained 
until January 20, 1863, thence moved to 
Camp Chase, Ohio, and from there in the 
following June proceeded to Murfreesboro. 
Soon afterward the regiment took active 
part in the battle of Chickamauga, after 
which it marched to Chattanooga, and while 
there witnessed the battle of Lookout Moun- 
tain, although not actively engaged, but im- 
mediately thereafter the Twentj-first Wis- 
consin and a Pennsylvania regiment took 
possession of the battlefield, and there re- 
mained on guard all that winter. In the 
spring the Twenty-first joined Sherman's 
command, and commenced operations at 
Buzzard's Roost. The next battle of con- 
sequence in which our subject participated 
was that of Resaca. Ga. , fought May 14-15, 
1864, followed by the engagements at 
Pumpkin \'ine Creek and New Hope Church, 
or Dallas, in the same State, and so on fight- 
ing almost continuously up to the memorable 
battles and siege of Atlanta, which was cap- 
tured August 31, 1864, under a terrific fire, 
the position of the Fourteenth Army Corps 
being in the center. After Atlanta our 



subject's regiment pushed on to Savan- 
nah, engaging in numerous engagements en 
route: also taking part in the pursuit of 
Hood, and participating in the battles of 
Jonesboro, Ga., and Bentonville, N. C, 
which latter was the Twenty-first's last 
fight in the great struggle. After the Grand 
Review in Washington, in 1865, Mr. Mason 
came north to Wisconsin, and on receiving 
his discharge, June 8, 1865, at Milwaukee, 
returned home to the pursuits of peace, soon 
afterward securing work in a sawmill, where 
he was employed during the three following 
years. \\'hile he was absent from home 
fighting the battles of his country his faith- 
ful wife had some hard experiences, finding 
it often difficult to provide for herself and 
family of four small children. At one time, 
anticipating a severely cold winter spell, and 
being without fuel, she bravely went into 
the woods, and, with axe in hand, chopped 
enough wood to carry them through the 
severe weather. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Mason were born chil- 
dren as follows : Osias, born Februarj- 21, 
1854, in Lyme, N. Y. , married Carrie Peck, 
and they reside in Wausau, Wis. ; Albert 
Franklin, born April 22, 1858, in Cato, mar- 
ried Elma Washburn, and they have two 
children — Herbert and Charles — (they live 
on a farm in Colorado); Ida Lucinda, born 
in Cato April 18, i860, married Marcus 
Mason, and they have three children — Clif- 
ford, Maxwell and Thorn ; Wesley, Jr., born 
November 30, 1862, married Lena Ander- 
son, and died August 31, 1891, leaving three 
children — Virgie, Wayne and Jennie ; Clar- 
ence, born July i, 1866, residing in Osh- 
kosh. Wis., married Annie Bartlett, and has 
one child — Lyman ; Sherman, born June 6, 
1870, married Ella Lago, and has one child 
— Lillian Irene (they live in Gladstone, 
Mich.); and Lillian Irene, born November 
16, 1873, died July 14, 1888. In his polit- 
ical preferences our subject is a strong Re- 
publican, and he is a zealous advocate of 
the cause of temperance ; in religious faith 
he and his estimable wife are Protestants. 
He is now retired from active life, having 
by patient industry and judicious economy 
secured a sufficiency for the later days of his 
life, and he is the owner of a comfortable 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



465 



home in Amherst, which is presided over 
with becoming grace by Mrs. Mason, and 
where he finds a well-earned repose in the 
bosom of his familj-. Ph3sicall3' he is a 
handsome man, having clear-cut features, 
iron-grey hair and a beard almost as white 
as the driven snow. 



ZOPHAR MATTESON, a prosperous 
farmer of Matteson township, Wau- 
paca county, was born in 1843 in St. 
Clair county, Mich., and is a son of 
Roswell and Miranda (Palmer) Matteson, 
born, respectively, in Vermont and New 
York. Roswell Matteson was a son of 
Beriah Matteson, who was born in Connec- 
ticut, and was a millwright by occupation. 
He went to \'ermont, and thence, in 1804, 
to New York. Afterward he went to Monroe 
county, Mich., where both he and his wife 
died. 

Roswell Matteson was reared near 
Utica, N. Y., from the age of seven years, 
was educated in New York, and married 
there in the Mohawk Valley. In an early 
day he came to Monroe county, Mich., then 
to Port Huron, and in 1844 to Milwaukee, 
locating on a farm near Wauwatosa, where 
he remained two years. Going thence to 
Hartford, Washington count}-, he opened up 
a farm and made it his home till 1855. 
Leaving this farm, he went by team to Fond 
du Lac, then by boat to New London, up 
the Embarrass river by scow, remained one 
year on a farm in Section 12, Larrabee 
township, Waupaca county, and in 1856 
located in Matteson township, opening up 
another farm. The house and barn which 
he here put up were all of cedar, and the 
first in the township. Later in life he lived 
here with his son, the subject of this sketch. 
In politics Roswell Matteson was a Whig 
and a Republican; his life was spent on the 
frontier. His death occurred in 1887, when 
he was nearly ninety years of age; his ex- 
cellent wife died December 5, 1888, in her 
eighty-fourth year, having been married 
nearly si.xty-eight years. They reared a 
family of thirteen children, some of whom 
are as follows: Ezekiel D., who is married 
and resides in Phlox, Langlade Co., Wis., 



was the first of the family to come to Mat- 
teson township, arriving in 1854, and made 
this his home for years; Mark P. resides in 
Monroe county, Wis. ; Mrs. Ewer resides in 
Clintonville, Waupaca county; Charles, who 
resides in Wittenberg, Shawano county, was 
a member of the Thirty-sixth Wis. V. I., in 
1864; David, who resides at Phlox, was a 
member of the Thirty-sixth Wis. V. I. ; 
Martha, now deceased, was the wife of 
George Warren; John enlisted from Monroe 
county. Wis., in the Fourth Wis. V. I., and 
was killed in a charge at Port Hudson; 
Zophar is the subject of this sketch; Noyes 
died at the age of seven years in Washing- 
ton county. Wis. , and Aaron died at the age 
of two and a half years in Washington 
county, Wisconsin. 

Zophar Matteson was reared in Wiscon- 
sin, and educated in the schools of Wash- 
ington county. From Hartford township, 
Washington county, he came in 1855, when at 
the age of twelve years, to Larrabee township 
Waupaca county, and in 1856 to Matteson 
township, and aided in opening up the home 
farm. In 1867, in Matteson township, Mr. 
Matteson was united in marriage with ]\Iiss 
Elizabeth Shipman, who was born in Can- 
ada, and they have become the parents of 
three children, namely: Noyes, who is at- 
tending Lawrence University, and has 
taught school two terms in Matteson town- 
ship; Mabel, who died at the age of six 
years; and Glenn, who is attending school 
at Clintonville, Waupaca Co., Wis. They 
also have an adopted child, Wallace Web- 
ster. Mrs. Matteson came to Waupaca 
county in 1859, and taught school in Mat- 
teson township and in Belle Plaine, Shaw- 
ano county, and in Outagamie county, 
teaching till she was married. Her parents 
were Timothy and Rebecca (Noble) Ship- 
man, both born in New York. They 
went to Canada, then after seven years re- 
turned to New York, and in 1848 came to 
Byron township. Fond du Lac Co., Wis., 
located in the woods and opened up a farm. 
Afterward they went to Omro, Winnebago 
Co., Wis. , where Mr. Shipman died in 1884; 
his wife died in Canada. Timothy Ship- 
man's father, William Shipman, was born 
in Vermont, and was in the Revolutionary 



466 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



war. Mrs. Timothy Shipman's father, 
William Noble, was also in the Revolution- 
ary war, and was one of A\'ashington's body 
guard. 

In 1 869 Mr. Matteson bought a timber 
tract of 103 acres in Section 19, Matteson 
township, Waupaca county, where he lo- 
cated, and had to make a clearing to build 
a house. He now owns 183 acres, eighty 
of which are in Larrabee township, with 
about eighty-five cleared. He is a descend- 
ant of one of the oldest families in this 
part of \\'isconsin, and has seen much of 
the development and progress of improve- 
ment in this section of the State. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican, and both he and his 
wife are members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church in Clintonville, Larrabee town- 
ship. 



WALTER M. ROBERTSON, an 
honorable and honored citizen of 
^\'aupaca count}', claims Scotland 
as the land of his nativity, his 
birth having occurred in Glasgow, March 7. 
1857. 

His parents, Duncan and Mary (Houston) 
Robertson, were also natives of Scotland, 
and the father earned his living by day la- 
bor, while the mother attended a small store 
which they owned. Eight children were 
born to them in Glasgow, three of whom 
died in Scotland, five coming to America 
with their parents, viz.: William H., now 
of Dayton township, Waupaca county; 
George S., of Royalton, Wis.; Walter M. ; 
Andrew S., of Royalton; and Christine M., 
who died in Royalton. The family landed 
at Castle Garden, New York, after si.xteen 
days, thence proceeding by rail and water to 
Royalton township, Waupaca county, where 
Walter Houston, an uncle of our subject, 
then lived. The father purchased forty acres 
of partially cleared land, and carried on 
farming in Royalton township until his life's 
labors were ended in January, 18S0; he was 
laid to rest in Weyauwega Cemetery; the 
mother still resides on the old homestead. 

The subject proper of this sketch was a 
lad of eleven summers at the time of the 
emigration of the family to America, and 



has since attended school but three winters. 
Here he became familiar with the arduous 
task of developing a new farm, and for three 
winters was employed in the lumber woods. 
He also spent one year as a laborer on 
the Northern Paciiic railroad, working in 
western Dakota and Montana. On Feb- 
ruary 22, 1883, in Weyauwega, Wis., he 
married Miss Sophia Anderson, born in 
Denmark, August 3, 1S62, a daughter of 
Hans and Carrie (Jensen) Anderson, who in 
the spring of 1 863 came to the United States, 
locating first in Royalton township, Wau- 
paca county, and now living in the cit}' of 
Waupaca. Six children were born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Robertson: Carrie M., Walter 
M., Alfred H., John A., Lizzie S., and 
Christina, the last named born July 28, 
1894, died March 27, 1895. 

Mr. Robertson never spent his money 
foolishly, and ere his marriage had purchased 
a part of the home farm in Royalton town- 
ship, upon which he lived until Januar)', 
1 89 1, when he removed to a farm which he 
had purchased in November, 1890, com- 
prising 208 acres in Sections 19 and 30, 
Dayton township. His life has been one of 
honest, earnest toil, and the success that has 
come to him is the reward of his own la- 
bors. His word can ever be relied upon, 
and, although he has lived in Dayton town- 
ship for only a short period, he has the re- 
spect of the entire community, wherein he 
is known as a law-abiding citizen and pros- 
perous farmer. He usually votes with the 
Democratic party, but is not strictly partisan, 
and while living in Royalton township he 
served as pathmaster. 



JAMES JORDAN. The Emerald Isle 
has furnished to America many men 
who are numbered among her best cit- 
izens, and in this class is included the 
gentleman whose name introduces this ar- 
ticle. 

He was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, 
November 6, 1838, and is a son of Joseph 
and Jane (Spratt) Jordan, whose family 
numbered eight children, James being the 
eldest; the others were Fannie, wife of R. 
Riddler, of England; William, deceased; 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



467 



Joseph, of Ireland; John, who makes his 
home in England: Joseph, deceased; and 
two who died in infancy. The grandparents, 
Joseph and Betsy (Worthington) Jordan, 
were of English descent, and the former was 
an extensive farmer and very wealthy man, 
but becoming interested in fast horses he 
lost all of his property in that way. 

James Jordan received very meagre edu- 
cational privileges, and at the early age of ten 
years had to begin to earn his own living. He 
worked at farm labor through the day, and 
thus was employed until 1863, when he de- 
termined to try his fortune beyond the At- 
lantic, and sailed for Quebec. His imme- 
diate object of emigration, however, was his 
great desire to aid the United States in the 
war which was then in progress. After two 
months spent in the city of Ottawa, Canada, 
he went to New York, and enlisted Decem- 
ber 21, 1863, in Company I, Fourteenth 
New York Heavy Artillery, was mustered 
into the United States service at Rochester, 
and sent to Staten Island, where the re- 
mained until the spring of 1864. The com- 
mand was then ordered South, and he par- 
ticipated in the seven-days battle of the 
Wilderness. He was later in the engage- 
ments at Spottsylvania, May 12, that year; 
Cold Harbor, Va., on the first three days of 
June; the battles of Petersburg, Va. , on the 
17th of June and 30th of July; Weldon Rail- 
road, August 19; and Pegram Farm, Sep- 
tember 30. Not long after the troops went 
into winter quarters, there remaining until 
the spring of 1865. In the last year of the 
war, Mr. Jordan was with his command 
at the battle of FortHaskel, March 25, 1865; 
Fort Stedman, March 31, 1865; and entered 
Petersburg on the 3d of April, 1865. At 
Fort Haskel he was wounded by the burst- 
ing of a shell, which caused the loss of the 
sight of his left eye and destroyed the hearing 
of his left ear. He also contracted disease 
from which he has never fully recovered, 
and the government now grants him a pen- 
sion as a slight compensation for the injuries 
sustained. He was discharged September 
5. 1865, in Rochester. He then engaged 
in farm work for two years in Canada, 
whence he removed to Berlin, Wis., where 
he was employed in a hotel for nine months, 



resuming agricultural pursuits on the expi- 
ration of that period. He was sick in Can- 
ada two years. Ere leaving that country 
he had wedded May 10, 1868, Mary Jane 
Rogers, daughter of W. T. and Jane Rogers, 
who were of English descent. 

In the fall of 1869 Mr. Jordan brought 
his wife to Waupaca county, and purchased 
eighty acres of land in Section 16, Dupont 
township, a part of his present farm. He 
had to cut his own roads through, for this 
section of the country was still in its primi- 
ti\'e condition, the work of civilization be- 
ing scarcely begun. The land was covered 
with heavy timber, and he had to clear away 
the trees ere he could build his 18x12 feet 
log cabin. Soon he had a small clearing, 
and some potatoes and corn were planted. 
In the lumber woods he was employed 
through the winter, while during most of 
the summer he engaged in harvesting, being 
obliged to leave his wife and babies alone 
in their forest home. He had hard work to 
get along at first, and eight years passed be- 
fore he was able to purchase a team, so he 
usually had to walk to market, carr\ing his 
provisions home on his back from Clinton- 
ville or New London, the latter place being 
twenty- six miles distant. To his first pur- 
chase he added eighty acres — forty being in 
Section 18, forty in Section 23 — and eighty 
acres in Section 7, one of which tracts, 
however, he mortgaged to pay for his team. 
The cultivation and improvement of his 
place is all due to him, and only hard and 
persistent labor has accomplished the splen- 
did results. 

Mrs. Jordan died February 22, 1889, 
leaving seven children: James H., of Chi- 
cago; Jane Rebecca, of New London, Wis.; 
Joseph B., of Tomahawk, \\'is. ; William 
John, who died March 27, 1895: Walter 
A., at home; Flora C, of Poy Sippi, Wis.; 
and Laura. Mr. Jordan was again married 
October 19, 1894, on this occasion to Mary 
E., daughter of Calvin L. and Minta 
(Mitchell) Latta, natives of North Carolina, 
the father a carpenter by trade. Mrs. 
Latta died eighteen years ago, but Mr. 
Latta is living in Illinois, at the advanced 
age of eighty-five years. They had a family 
of ten children, namely: Mrs. Jordan; 



468 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



John M., Dr. William James, Josephine, 
Jerome, Mattie, Alice, Noveline and Ger- 
trude (both deceased), and Belle Zora. 
Mr. Jordan has always been a stalwart sup- 
porter of the Republican party and its prin- 
ciples, and has served as township assessor. 
Socially he is connected with the Grand 
Army Post of Marion, Wis. The deeds of 
battle have been the theme of story and 
song for earliest ages, and we would add 
our tribute of praise to that already written. 
Especially would we honor him who crossed 
the Atlantic that he might defend the princi- 
ples of liberty in which he believed, braving 
danger and death for the cause of right. 



CM. FENELON. one of the earliest 
pioneers and best-known citizens of 
Waupaca county, prominent in poli- 
tics, and closely identified with the 
development of her industries, can look 
back over an active career of forty years 
spent within her borders. 

He was born in Maryland in 1830, son 
of W. W. Fenelon, who was the son of 
Thomas Fenelon, an emigrant from Ireland 
to Cayuga countj', N. Y. , where W. W. 
was born and reared. The latter became a 
contractor, and was identified with the con- 
struction of the most important public works 
of New York State, during its period of 
rapid expansion early in the present century. 
Mr. Fenelon during the construction of the 
Erie canal established a number of stage 
routes from points on that important water- 
way. Later he was engaged in a Canadian 
enterprise, and was afterward a contractor 
in building the Chesapeake & Ohio canal; 
also interested in placing a line of packets 
on the same canal. He married Eunice 
Bostedo (the family originally spelling their 
name Bosteder) a native of New Jersey, 
daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Reed) Bos- 
tedo, early Holland emigrants to New Jer- 
sey. Mr. and Mrs. Bostedo emigrated at 
an early day with an ox-team from New 
Jersey to Cayuga county, N. Y. , settling on 
a farm near Auburn, and there establishing 
a pioneer mill. Mr. Bostedo died February 
2, 1 8 14, Mrs. Bostedo in 1842. Their 
children were Susannah, who became the 



wife of Loren Brown, and died at Toledo, 
Ohio; Maria (Mrs. Jewett), deceased in 
Ohio; Eunice, wife of Mr. Fenelon; John 
and Elvina, who both died in New York; 
and Louis, who in 1852 moved to Weyau- 
wega and became a member of the firm of 
Weed, Birdsell & Co., owning the village 
plat, and who was elected representative 
in 1856. To W. W. and Eunice Fenelon 
were born five children: John and Louis 
D., who both died in Cayuga county, N. Y. , 
the latter in 1892; Seymour, who died at 
St. Joseph, Mich., July 10, 1891; Char- 
lotte L. , who became the wife of M. L. 
Marr, bookkeeper at Dunkirk, N. Y. , for 
the New York & Erie railroad (she died in 
Ceresco, Calhoun Co., Mich.); and C. M. 
the subject of this sketch. The father of 
these died at Owego, N. Y., in 1834, the 
mother in Cayuga county, N. Y. , in 1845. 
C. M. Fenelon was educated in Cayuga 
county, N. Y., and in 1852 went to Califor- 
nia via the Nicaragua route, where for three 
years he was engaged in mining. In 1855 
he returned to the East, and after prospect- 
ing at New York, and at Grinnell, Iowa, 
where he purchased a half section of land, 
he settled at Weyauwega, as a clerk for 
Weed, Birdsell & Co., who had opened a 
store of general merchandise there. In the 
following spring he entered business for him- 
self as a trader in land and dealer in lum- 
ber; but in 1857 sold out and went to Win- 
neconne to estimate and scale logs. Here he 
was offered a raft of logs for his watch. In 
1858 he was engaged in farming, and the 
same year, with David Robinson, opened a 
general mercantile and tailoring business at 
Weyauwega, which they conducted three 
years. Resuming farming, in 1861, Mr. 
Fenelon was elected sheriff of Waupaca 
county in 1862, and served two years; in 
1 87 1, he was elected county treasurer, and 
served two terms, or four years. Between 
these periods of public service he was an 
active farmer and lumberman, and after re- 
tiring from the treasurership he dealt exten- 
sively in hay and produce. Politically, in 
earlier life Mr. Fenelon was a Whig, cast- 
ing his first vote in California for Gen. Scott; 
in 1856 he voted for John C. Fremont, and 
became an ardent Republican. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



46^ 



In 1S59 C. M. Fenelon was married at 
Weyauwega to Miss Jeanette Moodie, daugh- 
ter of David Moodie, originally from Wash- 
ington county, N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Fenelon were born four children: W. W. , 
a merchant at Rhinelander, Wis.; C. D., a 
physician and surgeon at Phillips, Wis. ; 
Eunice A., who resides at home, and Emma 
M. , deceased. Besides the offices mentioned 
above, Mr. Fenelon has officially represented 
his town and township, and also county, in 
various capacities. He has been and is now 
a member of the county board; has been 
county commissioner, and also assistant as- 
sessor of internal revenue. He owns con- 
siderable land in the count}', and is one of 
its best-known representative citizens. 



LEMUEL W. R. KROMER. In pro- 
portion to its population Grand 
Rapids, Wood county, can justly 
claim as large a number of pioneer 
families, whose names have been indissolu- 
bly woven with the history of the county, 
as any other part of the State. Among 
those who have assisted in the development 
of that city is Mr. Kromer, who was one of 
its earliest settlers. 

A native of Pennsylvania, he was born 
in Philadelphia, July 4, 1825, and is a son 
of John and Parmelia (Winer) Kromer, who 
had a family of seven children, four of 
whom are yet living. The subject of this 
sketch is the eldest, the other surviving 
members of the family being Henry, in 
Indiana; Eliza, living in Grand Rapids, 
Mich. ; and Napoleon, making his home in 
Grand Rapids, Mich. With his parents our 
subject removed in an early day from Phila- 
delphia to Auburn, N. Y. , and later went 
with the family to Monroe, Mich. Their 
next place of residence was in White Pigeon, 
Mich., and on leaving that city they became 
residents of Lima, Ind. There, in the 
public schools, our subject acquired the 
greater part of his education, and in 1845, 
when twenty years of age he came to Grand 
Rapids, Wis., at that time a mere hamlet 
in the midst of a wilderness, for the now 
busy city could at that time boast of but one 
sawmill and two white families. Mr. Kromer 



engaged in lumbering and logging on the 
Wisconsin river until 1S56, when, the town 
having grown to a considerable extent, he 
opened a general merchandise store which 
he conducted for about five years. 

In 1 86 1, Mr. Kromer, imbued with the 
spirit of patriotism, and anxious to aid in 
the preservation of the Union, enlisted in 
Company G, Seventh Wis. V. I., was made 
second lieutenant and with his regiment was 
assigned to the "Iron Brigade," then sta- 
tioned at Arlington Heights, Va. In 1862 
he resigned his commission and returned to 
Grand Rapids, once more identifjing him- 
self with its business interests by establish- 
ing a fancy grocery and restaurant which he 
conducted for some years. He also repre- 
sented the American Express Company there 
thirteen years, and for the past three years 
has been agent for the United States Ex- 
press Company in Grand Rapids. On March 
I, 1849, in Portage City, Wis., he was 
united in marriage with Miss Avilla Allen, 
daughter of John and Betsey Allen, and they 
have had eight children, five of whom are living 
namely: Harriet E., wife of D. D. Demaris, 
a resident of Minneapolis, Minn. ; Elizabeth, 
widow of S. D. Demaris, and a resident of 
Grand Rapids, Wis.; Allen L. , who is locat- 
ed in Ashland, Wis.; Orin E., who is living 
in Helena, Mont.; and Ellis L. , a resident 
of Grand Rapids. 

Previous to 1856, or before the division 
of the county, Mr. Kromer served as county 
treasurer for one term, and held the office of 
register of deeds continuously from 1856 
until 1876, with the exception of two terms. 
He has been a member of the city council 
several times, at various elections has been 
chosen city clerk, and has held many other 
civic offices. He has always taken an act- 
ive interest- in matters pertaining to the wel- 
fare of the community, and his progressive 
spirit is widely recognized. In his political 
views he is a Democrat. Socially he is con- 
nected with the following organizations — 
Grand Rapids Lodge, No. 128, F. & A. M.; 
Stevens Point Chapter, No. 34, R. A. M. ;. 
and Crusade Commandery, No. 17, K. T. , 
of Stevens Point. The family attend the 
Methodist Church. 

Mr. Kromer is a man of more than or- 



470 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



dinary intelligence, and his strict integrity 
and amiable disposition have won for him 
hosts of friends. During a continuous resi- 
dence of nearh' half a centurj' in Grand 
Rapids he has seen many important changes, 
improvements and developments, and it may 
truthfully be said of him that he stands to- 
day as one of the few remaining links be- 
tween the pioneer days of hardships and 
trials and the mighty present, teeming with 
wonderful achievements and foreshadowed 
by the possibilities of still greater triumphs 
in the future. 



J GEORGE BRUXNER, who enjoys 
the distinction of having been the first 
settler in the thriving village of Witten- 
berg, Shawano county, having settled 
in what was then a primeval forest some 
fourteen years ago, is a native of Wisconsin, 
born Jul}- 5, 1849. in Mequon, Ozaukee 
county. 

Andrew Brunner, his father, a Bavarian 
by birth, and a miller by trade, in 1842 emi- 
grated to the United States, coming direct 
to Wisconsin and to Ozaukee county, where 
he bought eighty acres of wild land, cov- 
ered with a dense forest, inhabited by wild 
animals, who jealously resented the en- 
croachment of civilized man. This land 
our subject bravely set to work to clear, and 
in course of time, bj- assiduous care and 
consummate industry, he transformed it into 
a fertile farm. Later, he bought another 
twenty acres of wild land, and this, too, 
he in due course converted into productive 
fields. After a residence of four years in 
his New- World home, Mr. Brunner took 
unto himself a wife in the person of Miss 
Jane Spareber, also a native of Bavaria, 
and ten children were born to them, a brief 
sketch of whom is as follows: John P. lives 
on the old homestead, caring for his mother, 
who is now seventy-five years old; J. George 
is the subject of these lines; Margaret is de- 
ceased; Sophia is the wife of Nicholas Renk, 
a baker, of New London, Wis. ; Leonhard 
is a resident of Leopolis, Wis.; William J. 
lives in Milwaukee; Barbara is the wife of 
Fred Kolpeck, of Almond, Wis., a farmer; 



Michael is a conductor on a street railway 
in Milwaukee; August G. is a motorman on 
a street railway in Milwaukee; Gottlieb is a 
carpenter in Wittenberg. The father died 
in 1 87 1, and the widowed mother subse- 
quentl)' married John Dehling, since de- 
ceased. 

At the age of fourteen years our subject, 
who was given a fairly liberal common- 
school education, left the parental roof and 
commenced to work among strangers for 
his board, first in Dodge county, Wis. , where 
he was employed about one j'ear. From 
there he went to Waukesha county, thence 
at the end of a )^ear to Green Ba}', Brown 
county, where he found work in a shingle 
mill for a time, and thence, in company 
with a friend, moved to Michigan, there la- 
boring in the lumber woods six years, at the 
end of which time he returned to Wiscon- 
sin, bought the old homestead in Ozaukee 
county, and settled down to agricultural 
pursuits. 

In the fall of 1S75 Mr. Brunner was 
married to Miss Emma Schneider, who was 
born April 11, 1858, at Mequon, Wis., 
daughter of Methuselah and Fredericka 
(Radel) Schneider, well-to-do people of 
Sa.xon}', Germany, who came to this coun- 
try and to Wisconsin early in the " fifties," 
settling in Mequon, Ozaukee county, where 
the father followed agricultural pursuits. 
They were the parents of eight children, 
namely: Rosalie, Edward, Fred, Charles, 
Emma, Frank, Annie, and one deceased. 
Mr. and Mrs. Brunner continued to make 
their home at the old place in Ozaukee 
county some three \ears after their mar- 
riage, and then, selling the property there 
at a profit of $500, moved to Shawano 
count)', locating on 120 acres of partially 
improved land in Herman township which 
Mr. Brunner had purchased, and which he 
has since sold. Here they lived three }ears, 
or until toward the end of April, 1881, when 
they came to Wittenberg, at that time, as 
already intimated, a " howling wilderness, " 
but, to quote from the columns of a local pa- 
per: "he at once proceeded to annihilate 
the primitive and historic beauty of the place 
by tearing the mighty monarch of the forest 
from his imperial throne, and utilizing the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



471 



remains of his excellencj's fallen grandeur 
for the erection of a first-class liostelry, 
which he very appropriate!}' named ' The 
Wittenberg- House,' and took upon himself 
the duties of a genial and heart}- landlord. 
But the urbane proprietor of the first hotel 
of which Wittenberg could proudly boast 
was not satisfied alone with the honor of 
being the first settler in our prosperous vil- 
lage, for he took upon himself, as it were, 
another and still greater honor. Before 
many moons had passed away there was an 
arrival at the 'Wittenberg House" who did 
not register. His appearance was some- 
what e.xtemporaneous, to say the least, and 
decidedly decollette; but these little peculi- 
arities, if such they were, found favor in 
George's eyes, so the little guest was allowed 
to remain, and, in fact, is still stopping at 
Brunner's as we go to press. He was a boy, 
and a bouncing boy at that, the first white 
child born in the place, and George was the 
happy and hilarious father." In 1887 Mr. 
Brunner erected a fine brick building, 24x46 
feet in size, two stories high, and at the 
present time is conducting a retail liquor 
establishment, in addition to which he 
owns a farm in Eldron township, Marathon 
county, with good improvements, besides 
other real estate, including three lots in Mil- 
waukee; he is also interested in the lumber 
industry. 

To our subject and wife were born five 
children, two of whom — Edwin and Alice — 
are deceased; those yet living are Alvina, 
Alexander and Allen. Politically, Mr. Brun- 
ner is a Republican; has been a trustee of 
the village of Wittenberg ever since its in- 
corporation, served as a justice of the peace 
one year, and as constable also a year, fill- 
ing these several incumbencies with charac- 
teristic zeal and fidelity. In religious faith 
he and his wife are members of the German 
Lutheran Church, toward which he has been 
a liberal donor. He has ever been a leader 
in enterprises tending to the advancement 
and prosperity of Wittenberg, substantially 
verifying the assertion by donating $355.00 
toward a factory located there, and from 
one dollar to ten dollars for other enter- 
prises almost every year since he has lived 
in Wittenberg. 



HERMANN NABER, one of the most 
extensive agriculturists of northern 
Wisconsin, especially of Shawano 
county, is a representative German- 
American, one in whom is exemplified the 
truthful saying that " intellect and industry 
are not incompatible." There is more 
wisdom, and will be more benefit, in com- 
bining these attributes, than scholars like to 
believe, or than the common every-day 
world imagines. Life has time enough for 
both, and its happiness will be increased by 
their union. 

Mr. Naber was born November 12, 1825, 
on a farm in the Grand Duchy of Olden- 
burg, Germany, the country whence the 
Saxons of old departed for England centur- 
ies ago. He is a son of John Diedrick Naber, 
a well-to-do farmer of Oldenburg, and of 
the better-educated class, for ten years hold- 
ing the position of president of an Agricul- 
tural Society, besides filling other important 
offices in his locality. " Diedrick" has for 
many generations been a family name with 
the Nabers, and the Hollandishor Dutch ad- 
miral, Diedrick, is said to have been the 
original "Flying Dutchman" of romance. 
To John D. Naber and his wife, Annie Cath- 
erine (Hillen), were born ten children, as fol- 
lows: Hermann; Diedrick, of Mayville, 
Wis., a merchant; Gerhard, a retired farmer 
of Mayville, Wis. ; Charles, who at the age 
of thirteen was afflicted with some non- 
ossiffic disease, and died in Mayville, Wis., 
at the age of twenty-two, after years of 
helplessness; Henry D., who was a well- 
to-do merchant, deceased in California; 
Margaret, wife of Charles Radebusch, a 
merchant of Mayville; Gesine, deceased in 
infancy; Sophia, widow of J. D. Koch, 
of Dodge county. Wis. ; Mary, Mrs. August 
Mann, of Dodge county. Wis., and a daugh- 
ter, deceased in infancy. 

Our subject received a common-school 
training, and later a special agricultural edu- 
cation, when he enjoyed, for about six 
weeks, two lessons a week in English — all 
the schooling he ever had in that language. 
In the spring of i 848, at the age of twenty- 
two, he was sent by his parents to the 
United States in order to prospect in that 
country, especially in the State of Wiscon- 



473 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 



sin, for future homes for their own family 
and for those of others, under agreement to 
report by letter, or in person, inside of 
three years, which was done, resulting in 
.the Naber and many other families coming 
to Wisconsin and establishing comfortable 
and prosperous homes. Our subject on his 
voyage out sailed from Bremen on the ship 
"W'ieland," and after a voyage of seven 
weeks landed at New York, thence proceed- 
ing direct to Wisconsin. In the fall of 1850 
he made his return trip to the Fatherland, 
in the meantime "spying out the land" and 
posting himself in the mode of farming in 
America, especially in Wisconsin, which 
was at that time a new State. In Germany 
he staid long enough to plunge into the sea 
of matrimony, the ceremonj- being per- 
formed June C, 1 85 1, while his choice of 
partner on life's voyage was Miss Margaret 
Schweers, who was born in the Grand 
Duchy of Oldenburg in 1833. On the fif- 
teenth of the same month he and his youth- 
ful bride set sail from Bremen on the good 
ship "Stephanie," bound for New York, 
which port they reached after a most pleas- 
ant voyage of over seven weeks, the sea 
during the entire trip being as placid and calm 
as "love's young dream." Nor were Mr. 
and Mrs. Naber the only passengers, for he 
had chartered the entire second cabin, which 
was filled with acquaintances of the happy 
couple, bent, like themselves, on seeking 
new homes in the New World. 

Our subject first located in Mayville, 
Dodge county, where he remained until Oc- 
tober, 1858, at which time he moved his 
family to Shawano, the journey being made 
by team to Oshkosh, thence by steamer. 
This was not his first visit to Shawano 
county, for on his last trip from Mayville 
he brought some produce with him which he 
convejed to Shawano and sold to the new 
settlers there. Mr. Naber fully intended at 
that time to return to Mayville, but the 
prospect of a railroad being constructed to 
Shawano induced him to remain there, and 
he purchased 160 acres of land, near to that 
city, through which the contemplated rail- 
road would pass. This was never built, and 
the grand prospect of Shawano was blighted. 
Embarking in mercantile business, in part- 



nership with Mr. Rudebusch (the style of 
the firm being Naber & Rudebusch), our 
subject became sole proprietor of the con- 
cern later on. They did a vast trade in pro- 
duce, bringing the goods all the way from 
Mayville, a distance of over one hundred 
miles, the trips during the winter having to 
be made with sleighs, the river being frozen 
over. Mr. Naber also built the first saw- 
mill at Shawano, operating same many 
years, and he owned the first hay-press and 
scales ever seen in Shawano, the pressed 
hay being sent to the lumber camps. He 
also owns a farm of one thousand acres in 
the county. 

A brief record of the twelve children 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Hermann Naber is as 
follows: F. D., a prominent citizen of 
Shawano; Adaline, deceased in infancy; 
Matilda, deceased in infancy; Hermine, liv- 
ing at home; Charles C., who was a drug- 
gist and one of the prosperous business men 
of Shawano, where he died; Emma, at 
home; Hermann L. , a liveryman of Cecil, 
Wis.; Mary A., Mrs. William C. Zachow, 
of Cecil, Wis. ; Margaret, a bright young 
lady, who commenced teaching school at 
the age of fifteen, and died at the early age 
of nineteen; Henry G., attending Rush 
Medical College, Chicago; Annie, a school 
teacher; and Gerhard, who died in infancy. 

Mr. Naber, in spite of his various and 
extensive business interests, has j'et found 
time to devote to the service of his fellow 
citizens, his adopted county and State. In 
both Dodge and Shawano counties he held 
minor offices; in 1875-76 he was mayor of 
Shawano; in 1876 was candidate for Pres- 
idential elector, and in 1888 was a candidate 
for railroad commissioner, both on the Dem- 
ocratic ticket. In 1889 he was elected 
county judge of Shawano county, by all the 
votes in the county e.xcept ten. 

In 1864 he was sent to the Assembly, 
by the vote of the people, to secure for 
Shawano the U. S. military road about to be 
built from Ft. Howard, Wis., to Ft. Wilkins, 
Mich., and he succeeded in his mission. 
In 1875 he was elected to the same office 
in order to secure better educational facil- 
ities for Shawano, resulting in the passage 
of the present free high-school law for the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



473" 



whole State. In 1880 he was again sent to 
the Assembly, chiefly by the votes of the high- 
minded Republicans of Oconto, for the des- 
perate task of securing State aid of swamp 
land for the building of what was then 
called the St. Paul & Eastern Grand Trunk 
railway, which road was a last possibility 
for Shawano getting a railway at all (all 
other chances having passed by), and for 
Oconto to get a road into the interior of the 
State. The enterprise was a success, so 
far as legislation could assist it, but proved 
a failure for lack of money to build a 
"trunk line," as contemplated. In 1883 
Mr. Naber was again elected to the As- 
sembly, when Shawano county became for 
the first time an Assembly District. A dis- 
graceful quarrel among Democrats, in their 
county convention, over the spoils of office, 
disgusted the better elements in the party, 
and they, together with many Republicans, 
forced Mr. Naber onto the ticket just a 
week before the election, and after nearly 
every voter was supposed to have been 
pledged. The advent of the two railroads, 
the one through the western, the other 
through the eastern, portion of Shawano 
county, changed it from a Democratic to a 
Republican county, by reason, Mr. Naber 
avers, "of the large population of 'floaters' 
which followed the roads and which were 
here for 'the money there was in it,' and, 
among others, I was twice in succession de- 
feated for the Assembly." 

The above has been gleaned, for the 
greater part, from a brief and modest auto- 
biography of Mr. Naber, intended specially 
for this work, the following being his con- 
cluding sentences: "While in much other 
business during my life, I have never claimed 
any other profession than that of a farmer, 
and the height of my present ambition is 
not 'office,' but to be allowed to retire to 
our family farm, on our beautiful Lake 
Shawano, to develop and cultivate it — not 
for profit, for there is no profit in farming 
now, but for a family life insurance, the 
cashier of which can not lose the cash in 
gambling or otherwise, and for a harbor of 
refuge for all of my numerous descendants, 
who may get wrecked in the storms of bus- 
iness life." 



OLE C. SETHER. The subject of 
this sketch stands second to none 
among the well-to-do farmers of 
Scandinavia township, Waupaca 
county, whose record it has been deemed 
wise to preserve in this manner for the peru- 
sal of the coming generation. As a judicious 
tiller of the soil he has met with success, 
and as a man and a citizen holds a good po- 
sition among his neighbors. He is a native 
of Wisconsin, born in the town of Ocono- 
mowoc, Waukesha county, March 10, 1848, 
and is a son of Christopher Sether. 

The father's birth occurred near Skien, 
Norway, March 9, 181 5, and he was one of 
a large family of children. When he was 
but nine years of age, his father, who was a 
farmer and woodsman, died, and at the age 
of nineteen years he was apprenticed to the 
carpenter's trade, serving seven years, when 
he became a full-fledged carpenter. Al- 
though his wages were very low, he saved 
enough by working at his trade to bring him 
to America. On May 17, 1843, he left 
Skien on the sailing vessel " Salvator, " 
Capt. Gassman, and at the end of a nine- 
weeks' voyage landed at New York. He 
then proceeded up the Hudson river to Al- 
bany, thence by canal to Buffalo, where he 
boarded the steamer "Great Western," 
which landed him in Milwaukee. There 
were a great many passengers and the ac- 
commodations were very poor, Mr. Sether 
having to sleep upon his trunk. In Mil- 
waukee he worked at his trade, but could 
only realize $7 per month, as carpenters 
were generally paid in merchandise, little 
money being in circulation in this State at 
that time. 

In the town of Merton, Waukesha Co., 
Wis., in August, 1845, Christopher Sether 
wedded Miss Gunhilde Listul, who was born 
in Norway, August 7, 1825, a daughter of 
Torkel Listul, a farmer, who brought his 
large family to the New World on the same 
vessel on which Mr. Sether sailed. At the 
time of his marriage he bought eighty acres 
of land in Oconomowoc township, Wau- 
kesha county, which was still in its primitive 
condition, but he immediately began its im- 
provement which was carried on under diffi- 
culties as he had no team and had to drag 



474 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the rails for his fences on a hand sled. He 
was also employed at various kinds of labor 
outside of his farm by which he could earn 
a livelihood, fn \\'aukesha county three 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sether: 
Carrie, who died at the age of nine weeks; 
Ole C. , subject of this sketch; and Carrie 
M., now Mrs. Dr. George Dale, of lola, 
Waupaca county. Four other children were 
added to the family after their removal to 
Scandinavia township, Waupaca count}-; 
Christian, Thomas, Andrew (deceased in 
childhood), and John Theodore (who died 
in childhood of lung fever). Christian 
Sether, the second son, graduated from Rush 
Medical College, Chicago, at the age of 
twenty-three. He proceeded to Northwood, 
Iowa, where he practiced medicine for three 
years, after which he entered Bellevue Col- 
lege, New York City, and graduated from 
the same at the age of twenty-seven, being 
the youngest graduate in Bellevue College at 
that time. He engaged in the practice of 
his profession at Stoughton, Wis. , where he 
acquired an extensive practice; but his health 
failing him, he was compelled to leave his 
country practice, and thinking that city 
practice would agree with him, he moved 
with his family to Chicago and got well es- 
tablished in the practice of medicine, when 
his health compelled him to leave his much- 
loved profession for good. He then sought 
his old home, W'aupaca, where he remained 
until death separated him from his family 
and many friends, at the age of thirty-si.\ 
years. 

In June, 1854, the father came to the 
" Indian lands " in Waupaca county, look- 
ing up a location, and selling out in Wau- 
kesha county, he removed his family to 
Scandinavia township. They drove the en- 
tire distance in a covered wagon with an ox- 
team, sleeping where night overtook them, 
and most of the streams had to be forded as 
there were few bridges. The trip was made 
by Berlin, Pine River and Waupaca. On 
their arrival the}' stopped at the cabin of 
Jacob Listul, which already sheltered two 
families, and remained there while a shanty 
was being built on their own land, which 
comprised 200 acres in Section 4, Scandina- 
via township. Their first home here, which 



was 14x20 feet, was built of logs, and 
though rudely constructed sheltered them 
from the wintry blasts. Besides clearing 
and improving his land, the father also 
worked at the carpenter's trade for others, 
which proved quite a lucrative profession. 
\\'heat became the main crop, and was 
hauled by oxen to market at Gill's Landing. 
Indians still roamed the forest and wild 
game was quite plentiful; but as years rolled 
by these things were entirely changed, and 
where once was dense timber now waving 
fields of grain are to be seen, and many sub- 
stantial 'ouildings were erected on the home 
farm. All through his active business life 
the father followed his trade in connection 
with the labors on the farm. While now well 
advanced in years he is still hale and hearty, 
and his good wife is also well preserved. 
They are consistent and faithful members of 
the Lutheran Church of Scandinavia, and 
gave liberally to the erection of the church ed- 
fice. The father never fails to use his right of 
franchise, and first voted with the Free-Soil 
party, but now is an ardent Republican. 

Being the eldest son, Ole C. Sether 
assisted his father in the cultivation of the 
farm, and received a limited education in 
the district schools, which were not very far 
advanced in those days. There was no im- 
proved machinery at that time, and conse- 
quentl}' farm labor was much more difficult. 
At the age of eighteen our subject left home, 
going to lola, where he learned the trade of 
a miller under the Burr s3-stem, being em- 
ployed in a flouring-mill, and for eleven 
years followed that pursuit, working for 
others in Amherst, Waupaca and Scandina- 
via, besides lola, where he remained most 
of the time. 

On June 3, 1879, in the town of Leed, 
Jefferson Co. , ^^'is. , Mr. Sether was married 
to Miss I. M. Johnson, a native of Wauke- 
sha county. Wis., and a daughter of John 
Johnson, a farmer bj- occupation. This 
wife died June 24, 1887, and now lies 
buried in the Scandinavia Cemeter)';she left 
one child — Le Roy, who died at the age of 
eleven years. Mr. Sether was again mar- 
ried, this time January 5, 1889, in the Scan- 
dinavia Lutheran Church, to Miss Clara 
Peterson, who was born in Scandinavia 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



475 



township, daughter of Christian Peterson, 
who carries on agricultural pursuits. They 
have three children — Olger Gerhard, Carl 
J. Leroy and Victor Christian. 

After his first marriage Mr.Sether located 
on the home farm, operating same in con- 
nection with the real-estate business, in 
which he was engaged. In the fall of 18S5 
he was elected sheriff of Waupaca county, 
which position he creditably filled two years. 
His farm now comprises 200 acres of excel- 
lent land, besides which he owns a great 
deal of property elsewhere, being extensive- 
ly engaged in real-estate dealings and specu- 
lation, in which he is meeting with good suc- 
cess. He is interested in several enterprises 
with local and foreign capital, and has 
handled thousands of dollars' worth of prop- 
erty. His extensive business transactions 
have given him a wide acquaintance, and he 
has the esteem and confidence of all with 
whom he comes in contact. Mr. Sether is 
one of the leading members of the Republi- 
can party in his part of the county; takes an 
active interest in politics, and has served in 
various township offices. Socially he be- 
longs to the F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F. ; 
while in religious faith he is a member of 
the Lutheran Church of Scandinavia. 



HEALY MARCY LOOMER, at pres- 
ent one of the Agency Clerks at 
Green Bay Indian Agency, Keshena, 
Shawano Co., Wis., but whose 
home is in the city of Shawano, was 
born in the town of Oppenheim, near the 
village of Brocketts Bridge (now Dolge- 
ville), Fulton Co., N. Y. , November 5, 
1847, ^ncl is the son of Aaron Perry and 
Esther Marcy (Healy) Loonier. 

Aaron P. Loomer, the father of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was born in the town of 
Stratford, Fulton Co., N. Y. , on the 31st of 
May, 1822, and was brought up a farmer, 
but for the past thirty years has been a ho- 
tel keeper. He had three children, as fol- 
lows: Healy M., the subject of this sketch, 
is the oldest; Byron Lucien, unmarried, is 
a farmer at Zillah, Washington; Guilford 
Morell, is a resident of Beaumont, Jefferson 
Co. , Texas, and has been engaged in lumber- 



ing the greater part of his life, meeting with 
fair success. He married a daughter of Col. 
T. D. Rock, of Woodville, Texas, and has 
four children : Perry, Harry, Mary and 
Bessie. The subject of our sketch is of 
Scotch, English, Irish and Mohawk-Dutch 
ancestry. George Loonier, his great-grand- 
father on his father's side, and Job 
Wood, his great-grandfather on his moth- 
er's side, were Revolutionary soldiers, the 
latter living to be upward of ninety years 
old, and his wife was one hundred years old 
at the time of her death. 

The Loomers are descendants of emi- 
grants from Connecticut, who moved into 
New York State shortly after the Revolu- 
tionary war. George Loomer, grand- 
father of H. M. Loomer, died with the 
cholera when his son, Aaron P. Loo- 
mer, was an infant, and his widow, Han- 
nah (Chase) Loomer, a few years after- 
ward, married again, and lived to the age of 
ninety- five years. At the time of her death 
it was claimed that she was the oldest living 
heir tu the noted Chase-Townley estate of 
England. Aaron P. Loomer was an only 
son, and had a half-sister, Ophelia White, 
who married Andrew Thompson, and died 
in Oshkosh, Wis., a few years ago. 

Healy M. Loomer was reared a farmer's 
boy, but being averse to that mode of life, 
was sent to school. After learning what 
could be taught him in the rather primitive 
district country school, where he lived, he 
attended Fairfield Seminary, in Herkimer 
county, N. Y., which, at that time, was 
quite a noted institution of learning. At 
the age of seventeen he commenced teach- 
ing district schools, and while not attending 
school himself, engaged in this vocation 
until he was about twenty-three. Taking 
Horace Greeley's advice, at that time quite 
notorious, to "Go west, young man, go 
west," he landed in Oshkosh, Wis., May i, 
1869. In the fall of 1869, Charles M. 
Upham, a merchant of Shawano, engaged 
him to go to Shawano and teach the village 
school, and he arrived in the then frontier 
village of Shawano, November 6, 1869. At 
that time Shawano was the last settlement 
between Green Bay and Ontonagon, Mich., 
on Lake Superior, a distance of over two 



476 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



hundred miles. The nearest railroad was 
at Green Bay, Brown count}', a distance of 
forty miles. After teachinj^ school in Sha- 
wano for two years, Mr. Loomer went to 
work in the lumber woods. His first job 
was given him by T. H. Dodge. He worked 
in the woods for two years, and then, in 
company with John A. Winans, John M. 
Schweers and Chas. R. Klebesadle, pur- 
chased the S//i77ua/i(> County Journal from 
M. H. McCord, changed its politics from 
rabid Republican to rabid Democratic, 
eventually bought his partners' interest, and 
while under his control, the paper was one 
of the stanchest and sprightliest Democratic 
country weeklies in the State. In 1879 he 
sold the Journal to Mrs. Peavey, now State 
School Superintendent of Colorado, and a 
sister of Governor Upham, of Wisconsin. 
Mr. Loomer, after taking a trip to Montana 
in company with a colony from Chippewa 
Falls, which was headed by ex-Speaker of 
the Wisconsin Assembly, A. R. Barrows, 
returned to Shawano and engaged in lum- 
bering for several years; was the editor and 
half owner of the Shaivano County Advo- 
cate for some time, after which he was land 
man and private secretary for Chas. M. 
Upham, of Shawano, for two years. In 
1887, Col. Wm. F. Vilas, then postmaster- 
general, obtained for him the position of 
agency clerk at the Green Bay Indian 
Agency, under Thos. Jennings, agent, which 
position he resigned at the end of a year to 
accept a position with Robinson & Flinn, 
pine land dealers of Detroit, Mich., to go 
south to purchase pine lands for them, which 
business he was engaged in for several years, 
becoming familiar with all the long-leaf 
pine territory from Te.xas to Florida. In 
September, 1894, Thomas H. Savage, agent 
at the Green Bay Indian Agency, appointed 
him to his present position. 

In politics Mr. Loomer has alwajs been 
a Democrat, and has taken an active inter- 
est in politics ever since coming to Wiscon- 
sin. He has received many nominations 
from his party; but on account of the large 
Republican majority in his vicinity has been 
elected but a few times. In 1876 he was 
nominated by his party for member of 
Assembly, the District at that time consist- 



ing of Shawano and Oconto counties. He 
ran away ahead of his ticket in his own 
count}', but Oconto county gave a large 
enough majority for his opponent to elect 
him. In 1878 he was his party's candidate 
for State Senator for the First Senatorial 
District, which at that time was composed 
of the territory that now embraces the 
counties of Shawano. Oconto, Door, 
Kewaunee, Marinette, Florence, Forest and 
Langlade, nearly one-fourth of the whole 
State. His opponent, George Grimmer, of 
Kewaunee, was elected in 1876 by over 
nineteen hundred majority, but he only 
succeeded in defeating Mr. Loomer by about 
two hundred and fifty votes; but who had 
the satisfaction, however, of receiving in his 
home city all the votes cast but twenty- 
seven. Mr. Loomer has repeatedl}' been 
elected a member of the county board of 
supervisors of Shawano county, and several 
times has been chairman of the board. He 
has also several times been elected city 
clerk and alderman of Shawano. In 1882 
he was elected county clerk of Shawano 
county, but failed to be re-elected. He has 
been chairman of the Democratic Count}' 
Committee of Shawano county, several 
times, and has repeatedly been a delegate to 
all his party's conventions from a ward cau- 
cus to the Congressional and State Conven- 
tions. In 1884 he was an alternate to the 
Democratic National Convention at Chicago 
that renominated Grover Cleveland for 
President, and was one of his stanch sup- 
porters. 

On July 7, 1875, Healey M. Loomer 
was united in marriage in the Presbyterian 
Church at Shawano, by the Rev. A. F. De- 
Camp, to Bessie Ann Charnley, who was 
born at Newport, R. I. April 2, 1852, and 
they have had two children born to them, 
namely: Grace Esther, born March 6, 
1877, who is now a schoolteacher; and Inez 
Healy, born February 16, 1879, who is now 
a school girl and resides at home. The 
parents of Mrs. Loomer were William and 
Sarah (McNeil) Charnley, the former of 
whom was an Englishman from Lancaster, 
England, the latter a Scotch woman from 
Johnstone, near Glasgow, Scotland, both of 
whom emigrated to America in early life. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPIIWAL RECORD. 



477 



and were married in the State of Rhode 
Island. 

Mr. Charnley was a mason and a farmer 
by occupation. He removed from Rhode 
Island to a farm he purchased near Black 
Lake in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , where 
he lived for many years. In 1869 he came 
to Milwaukee, Wis., removing to Shawano 
in 1 87 1, and both he and his wife died there. 
Their children living are as follows: Mary, 
wife of James A. Allen, of Shawano, Wis. ; 
James, wife of John Loan, a farmer of 
Shawano; Bessie A., the wife of H. M. 
Loomer, the subject of this sketch; John T. , 
of Alexandria, Louisiana, who has a wi'fe 
and two children (he is a mason by trade, 
and is also engaged in the soda-water bot- 
tling business); Frances Ida, of St. Paul, 
Minn., who is an assistant principle in one 
of the city high schools; William H. C, un- 
married, who is a farmer and speculator and 
lives in the town of Richmond, Shawano 
county, and Anna, wife of John Williams, a 
hardware merchant of Marshfield, Wis- 
consin. 

Mr. Loomer is a Knight Templar Ma- 
son, and in 1878-79 was grand senior 
deacon of the Grand Lodge of A. F. & 
A. M. of Wisconsin. He has been the rep- 
resentative of his Lodge in the Grand Lodge 
many times, and is an enthusiastic Mason. 
He formerly belonged to the I. O. O. F., 
and Mrs. Loomer is still a member of the 
Daughters of Rebekah of that order. Mr. 
Loomer is not connected with any religious 
denomination, but his wife and two daugh- 
ters are Episcopalians. 



CHARLES C. GILBERT, postmaster 
at Alban, Portage county, and a 
well-known farmer of Alban town- 
ship, is, like many of the thrifty set- 
tlers of his section of Wisconsin, a Nor- 
wegian by birth, having been born in Nor- 
way February 5, 1837. His parents, Erik 
and Carrie (Larsen) Gilbert, were also na- 
tives of Norway, where the father was a 
laborer. In the spring of 1855 they emi- 
grated thence with their family, sailing from 
Christiania and landing in Quebec, Canada, 
and from that city continuing their journey 



to Wisconsin. Here, in Cato township, 
Manitowoc county, they made a permanent 
settlement, the father investing in eighty 
acres of land, whereon he built a home and 
spent the remainder of his days. In 1885 
he passed to the home beyond, whither his 
wife had preceded him. 

Charles C. Gilbert received a common- 
school education in Norway, where he was 
also reared to farming, and he was eighteen 
years of age when he came with the rest of 
the family to this country. In Wisconsin he 
worked as a farm hand until the Civil war, 
when he offered himself for the support of 
the Union cause, enlisting September 1 1 , 
1 86 1, at Manitowoc, in Company A, Fifty- 
sixth 111. V. I. Immediately thereafter he 
went with the command to Chicago, 111., 
and on February 28, 1862, the Fifty-sixth 
Regiment having disbanded, he became a 
member of Company H, First Illinois Light 
Artillery. They remained in Chicago, drill- 
ing, until March, when they left for the seat 
of war, proceeding first to St. Louis and on 
April 4 leaving that city for Shiloh, Tenn. 
The took an active part in the engagement 
there and remained in camp in the vicinity 
for about a month, after which they pursued 
the enemy to Corinth, Miss., thence pro- 
ceeding to Memphis, Tenn. , where they 
went into camp. In December, 1862, they 
were ordered to Vicksburg, intending to at- 
tempt an attack on the rear of that strong- 
hold; Gen. Sherman, however (in whose 
command our subject served), failing to re- 
ceive the expected aid from Grant, they left 
Vicksburg and crossed to Arkansas, where 
they fought the battle of Arkansas Post. 
Returning to \'icksburg on the Louisiana 
side, they remained there until early in May. 
1863, when Sherman crossed the Mississippi 
river at Grand Gulf and coming round took 
up his position in the rear of Vicksburg, 
fighting the battle of Champion Hills en 
route. After the fall of Vicksburg the com- 
mand went to Jackson, and participated in 
the engagement there, after which, return- 
ing to Vicksburg, they were in camp there 
about two months. They went on to Mem- 
phis, Tenn. , thence, after a short stay, 
pushing on to Chattanooga, and shortly 
thereafter took part in the battle of Mission- 



47S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ary Ridge, from which battleground they 
were marched to Larkinsville, Alabama. 

On February 28, 1864, Mr. Gilbert vet- 
eranized, re-enlisting in the same company 
for three years, and after a short visit home, 
on a thirty-days' furlough, he rejoined his 
command at Chicago, proceeding thence to 
Larkinsville, Ala., and from that time on 
until the taking of Atlanta his regiment saw 
constant service. On December 4, 1864, 
at Jonesboro, Mr. Gilbert was taken prison- 
er; the main body of the army was consid- 
erably in the rear, and he and forty com- 
rades were surprised and captured by the 
Rebels, being conveyed to the prison at 
Florence, S. C., whence they were released 
on parole March i, 1865, on the approach 
of Sherman. They were sent to Wilming- 
ton, N. C, and later to Baltimore, Md., 
from which city our subject came home on 
a thirty-days' furlough, rejoining his com- 
pany at ^^'ashington, D. C. On June 13, 
1S65, he was honorably discharged, at 
Springfield, 111., and returning to his home 
in Cato, Manitowoc Co., Wis., he remained 
there about a year. In the spring of 1 866 
he purchased eighty acres of land in Sec- 
tion 28, Alban township, Portage county, 
the farm which has ever since been his 
home, and to which he has since added an- 
other eighty acres, lying in Section i. Be- 
sides attending to his agricultural labors, 
Mr. Gilbert has taken an active interest in 
local affairs, having held various township 
offices and positions of trust, and that he 
has been attentive to business and faithful 
to his duties as a citizen may be readily 
judged by his present prosperity and high 
standing in the community. For some years 
he conducted a general store, but he has 
recentl)' retired from the business. He is 
the present postmaster at Alban, has served 
his township as clerk t\\o years, as assessor 
one year, and as treasurer two years, and 
has been justice of the peace since 1878. 
In the spring of 1895 he was appointed 
notary public, and his continuous public 
service has given him a prominence and 
popularity in his community which he well 
deserves. 

In September, 1865, Mr. Gilbert was 
married, in Cato, to Miss Martha Johnson, 



like himself a native of Norway, who was 
born August 14, 1837, and died August 14, 
1892. Their union has been blessed by the 
following named children: Emilj' Matilda, 
now Mrs. John Oleson, of lola, Waupaca 
Co., Wis.; Charles J., of Cato, \\'is. ; 
Laura Maria, unmarried; Nettie Caroline, 
Mrs. George Lee, of Alban; Eliza Amelia, 
Mrs. John Erikson, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; 
and William Albert, Clara Josephine, and 
Martin Oliver, at home. In religious con- 
nection Mr. Gilbert is a member of the Nor- 
wegian Lutheran Church at Alban. 



HENRY SEIM, city treasurer of Wau- 
sau, is one of that city's most estim- 
able citizens. He was born in 
Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, May 
30, 1848, son of Conrad and Mary (Siepel) 
Seim, both natives of the Fatherland. 
Conrad and Mary Seim had five children — 
Henry, Conrad, John, Mary and Louis; the 
last three are still residents of Germany, and 
the parents died in their native land. 

In his boyhood Henry Seim attended 
the public schools of Germany, and at an 
early age he was apprenticed to the trade of 
shoe-making. When his trade was com- 
pleted, in 1866, he resolved to try his fort- 
une in the New World. He came to Mil- 
waukee, and after a brief residence in that 
city was attracted to northern Wisconsin by 
the reports of abundant work and high 
wages paid there. Mr. Seim in the same 
year came to Wausau, which was then a 
small village, about which the lumbering in- 
terests were actively prosecuted. For near- 
ly four years he worked in the woods, and 
on the river, and thus obtained a start in 
the new country. But he had no intention 
of permanentl}" abandoning his trade. It 
was about the year i 870 that he establi.'^hed 
himself in business at Wausau, by opening a 
little shop in the growmg town. His trade 
grew, and he has ever since followed shoe- 
making very successfully. 

In 1 87 1 Mr. Seim was united in marriage 
to Miss Louisa Patzer, a young lady of 
German descent, daughter of John and 
Louisa Patzer. To their union five children 
were born, four of whom yet survive : 



COMMEMORATIVE BTOGEAPHICAL liECORD. 



479> 



Henry, Jr., Edward K., Herman R. and 
William C. Mr. and Mrs. Seim are mem- 
bers of St. Paul's German Evangelical 
Church; in political views he is a Republi- 
can. Mr. Seim is a man of sterling quali- 
ties and irreproachable character. He 
ranks high in the community in which he 
resides, and is highly respected by all classes 
of citizens for his straightforward business 
methods. He is one of Wausau's most 
trustworthy officials, and one of her oldest 
residents. 



JOHN B. GAUTRON DIT LaRO- 
CHELLE, a prosperous and deserved- 
ly popular citizen of Grand Rapids, 
Wood county, was born in the city of 
Joliette, Province of Quebec, Canada, August 
5, 1837, and is a son of Francois and Louise 
(St. Amour) Gautron Dit LaRochelle, who 
were also natives of the same province. 
They had a family of thirteen children, 
seven of whom are yet known to survive, 
their names and places of residence being as 
follows: Frank, a well-known and popular 
hotel man of Junction City, Portage Co., 
Wis. ; Fabian, a resident of Lillooet, Cari- 
boo, British Columbia; John B., of this 
sketch; Joseph, who is living in Loretta, S. 
Dak. ; Mealia, wife of Peter Noel, a resident 
of Merrill, Wis. ; Philomene, wife of Louis 
Monville, of Massachusetts; and Armeline, 
wife of Medy Racette, a resident of Arpin, 
^^^ood Co., W^isconsin. 

Our subject did not receive the advan- 
tages of an education, it being considered in 
in his country, in those early days, an un- 
necessary lu.xury. He worked as a farm 
hand for his father until thirteen years of 
age when he left home for Upper Canada, 
where he was employed in the lumber woods 
for about three years. At the age of six- 
teen he became a resident of the United 
States, locating in Troy, N. Y. , where he 
remained three years, rafting timber in the 
summer and working through the winter in 
the lumber woods near Rome, N. Y. Mak- 
ing his way to Chicago, he intended to re- 
move to Green Bay, Wis. , but navigation 
was closed ere he arrived at that place, and 
as there were no railroads yet built he was 



obliged to return to New Buffalo, Mich., 
where he spent the winter employed in the 
lumber woods cutting timber. In March, 
1857, he again made his way to Chicago, 
and a few days later started for Grand Rap- 
ids, Wis. , being obliged to make the journey 
on foot from Madison, Wis. On reaching 
his destination, he secured employment at 
log driving on Mill creek, but in April of the 
same year he went to Wausau, Marathon 
county, and assisted in taking a raft of lum- 
ber to St. Louis, whence he returned to 
Chicago. Subsequently he went to Mound 
City, 111., resided there one year, then re- 
moved to Cairo, where he made his home 
during the summer, spending his winters in 
New Orleans from 1859 to 1864. In the 
latter year, acting on the advice of a physi- 
cian, for he was suffering from ill health, he 
removed to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. 
Upon his recovery he returned to Grand 
Rapids, where he resided until 186S, when 
he became a resident of Richardson county. 
Neb. Eight years were there passed, when 
on account of his wife's health he returned 
to Grand Rapids in 1876, and has since been 
identified with the interests of that city. 

Mr. Gautron Dit LaRochelle was there 
married, by Rev. Father Gleason, Decem- 
ber 29, 1S67, to Sarah Martin, daughter of 
John B. and Sarah (McLean) Martin. Five 
children were the result of this union: 
Mary, born November 9, 1868, and died in 
infancy; John Franklin, born in Rulo, Rich- 
ardson Co., Neb., April 29, 1871; Lillian 
Louise, born in Rulo, Richardson Co., Neb., 
March 4, 1874; Charles, born in Grand 
Rapids, February 21, 1879, and died Octo- 
ber 26, 1 881; and George Nelson, born in 
Grand Rapids, December 23, 1883. John 
B. Martin was a native of Quebec, Canada, 
his wife of Little York, N. Y. Their family 
numbered eleven children, five of whom are 
yet living, namely: Caroline, wife of Joseph 
Homier, a resident of Mosinee, Wis. ; John, 
who is living in Grand Rapids; Elizabeth, 
widow of Joseph Seavey, and a resident of 
Lynn, Mass. ; Justine, wife of Francis Brcy- 
on; and Sarah. There is also a stepbrother 
and stepsister — Prudent Martin, and Jovite, 
wife of Eugene Roy, residing in Petit 
Rocher, New Brunswick, Canada. 



4So 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Gautron Dit LaRochelle and his 
family are members of the Cathohc Church, 
and in his poHtical views he is a Democrat. 
In his business career he has prospered, 
capable management and enterprise winning 
him success and securing for him a comfort- 
able competence. He is an industrious and 
energetic man and is numbered among the 
leading citizens of his adopted county. 



HARMON BEGGS, a prominent agri- 
culturist of Almond township, Port- 
age county, was born March 25, 
1 864, in Pine Grove, Portage county, 
a son of James and Arabella (Roseberry) 
Beggs, and remained at home with his par- 
ents until his marriage. 

On November 12, 1885, Mr. Beggs was 
married to Miss May E. Burrows, who was 
born in Oasis, Waushara Co., Wis., Octo- 
ber 9, 1867, and they have two children: 
Harold, born February 27, 1893, and Ver- 
non, born September 12, 1894. The par- 
ents of Mrs. Beggs, Calvin and Sarah A. 
(Crandall) Burrows, were from Binghamton, 
N. Y. , and Pennsylvania, respectively, com- 
ing to Wisconsin in an early day. 

At the time of his marriage Harmon 
Beggs bought 120 acres of land in an 
improved condition, and equipped with 
buildings, situated in Section 30, Almond 
township, Portage county, and he also 
owns twenty acres of timber land in 
Pine Grove, Portage county. Politically, Mr. 
Beggs is a stanch Democrat, and has always 
loyally supported that party. Mrs. Beggs 
is a member of the Baptist Church. 

William Burrows was born May 20, 
1822, in Susquehanna county, Penn., a son 
of Jesse (a carpenter by trade) and Cynthia 
(Cheever) Burrows, who were originally 
from Connecticut, and had a family of six 
children: Jesse H. (deceased), William E., 
David (deceased), Olive (widow of A. J. Bolls, 
of Pennsylvania) and Hartwell. Our sub- 
ject attended but a short time the common 
schools, having in early life commenced to 
work for a living, and remained at home, as 
did also his brothers and sisters, until he 
had attained the years of maturity. At the 
time of his marriage he rented land in Penn- 



sylvania, which he worked two years, and 
then bought a farm, but adversity following 
him he had to allow the property to revert 
to the party he had purchased it from. 
Then for two years he worked in mills, after 
which he moved to New York State and 
bought a piece of timberland, of which, 
during his residence thereon of eight years, 
he cleared fifty-three acres, about half its area, 
and then sold out to advantage. In 1 860 Mr. 
Burrows come to Wisconsin, renting a farm 
in Stockton township. Portage county, 
which he carried on until 1865, when he 
bought 2 I 7 acres of partially improved land 
in Oasis, Waushara county, continuing agri- 
cultural pursuits until about the year 1880, 
when he sold out there and moved into Bel- 
mont township. Here he also followed farm- 
ing three years, at the end of which time he 
returned to Almond township. Portage 
county, and has since made his home with 
his son William, who is badly crippled, hav- 
ing lost both a hand and leg by accident. 

On January i, 1843, Mr. Burrows was 
married to Parna E. McLeod, who was born 
in Pennsylvania, March 28, 1821, a daughter 
of John and Hannah (Gregorie) McLeod, 
and six children were born to them, viz. : 
Calvin A. (now a resident of Plainfield, 
Waushara county, a mechanic and black- 
smith by trade, married to Sarah M. Cran- 
dall, by whom he had five children: Ma\-, 
Mrs. Harmon Beggs; Marion, Minnie, 
Vernie, and \'ere, three of whom are li\ing); 
Lucy E., Warren E., Ellen J., William M. 
and Alice. Mr. Wm. Burrows and wife, with 
two of their children, C. A. and Lucy E., 
and their families, are members of the Bap- 
tist Church, in which Mr. Burrows has been 
a deacon some thirty years; politicall}' he is 
a Republican. 

The parents of Mrs. Calvin Burrows 
were John T. Crandall and Betsey A. (Ha- 
german) Crandall. They were married in 
Hector, Thompson Co. , N. Y., in Septem- 
ber, 1823, and resided there until 1827, 
when they moved to Pennsylvania where 
they spent about thirty-one jears of their 
married life, when the western fever, so com- 
mon in those da\s, caused them to dispose 
of their property, and in 1855 they came 
to Illinois. They remained there only two 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



481 



years on account of ill health of the family, 
and came to Pine Grove, Portage Co., Wis., 
in the fall of 1857, where they lived until 
Mr. Crandall's death in 1865. There were 
twelve children born to them — eight sons 
and four daughters — Mrs. Burrows being the 
youngest. She was married January 6, 
1866, to Calvin A. Burrows. Of the eight 
sons four were volunteers in the Civil war, 
all that could go, three being dead and one 
deaf. One died from wounds received in 
the battle of the Wilderness. There are 
now living three boys and two girls. Their 
mother, Betsey A. Crandall, lives with her 
youngest daughter, Sarah A. Burrows, at 
the advanced age of ninety-two years. 



JOHN KLICKMAN, one of the oldest 
and most highly respected settlers of 
Belle Plaine township, Shawano county, 
is a Prussian by birth, having been 
born at Gaegersburg, Neumark, Frankfurt, 
July 26, 1832, a son of William (a day 
laborer) and Anna S. (Draeger) Klickman. 
They were the parents of five children, only 
two of whom we have any record of, viz. : 
August, who served in the American Civil 
war nine months, and died, in 1865, in 
hospital at Louisville, Ky., and John. 

Our subject received but a very limited 
education in the common schools of his 
native land, and at the age of fourteen com- 
menced learning the trade of a brickmaker, 
which he followed in the Fatherland till 
1854, in that year emigrating to the United 
States, landing at New York in the month 
of June. From there he came direct to 
Milwaukee, Wis., thence by wagon to 
Watertown, Jefferson count}', thence.toOak 
Grove township, Dodge county, where he 
hired out to a farmer. Here he remained 
about two years, working as a farm hand, 
and then rented land, which he cultivated 
for a season or two. In the meantime, his 
father having died in Germany, the widowed 
mother and her son August came to this 
country and to Wisconsin, and in 1859 they 
and our subject settled in Belle Plaine town- 
ship, Shawano county, the journey from Oak 
Grove, Dodge county, being made with an 
ox-team. Here Mr. Klickman bought from 



Alexander Bucholz forty acres of wild land 
in Section 21, on which stood a small log 
slab-roofed shanty 16 x 20 feet in size, and 
here the little family set to work in earnest, 
to make a clearing and prepare the soil for 
crops, their onlj' implements being an axe 
and grub hoe, their ox-team being not the 
least important item in their equipment. 
Day and night they labored assiduously till 
finally they succeeded in getting enough 
clearing made to put in a small crop of 
potatoes, the next being wheat, which was 
harvested with a scythe and threshed with 
a flail. Here the mother died December 
18, 1886, at the advanced age of ninety 
years, the brother, as above recorded, having 
passed away, far from home, in 1865. Since 
his marriage in the latter year, which will be 
full}' mentioned farther on, our subject has 
from time to time bought more land until he 
now owns 200 acres, seventy of which are 
under the plow, equipped with substantial 
and commodious buildings, all accumulated 
by hard work, indomitable perseverance and 
judicious economy. 

On November 12, 1S65, Mr. Klickman 
was married to Wilhelmina (Klickman) 
Klickman, a cousin, also a native of Ger- 
many, born in 1834, coming in her girlhood 
to this country, and locating in Fond du Lac 
county, Wis. ; her father, who was a day 
laborer in the Fatherland, died there leav- 
ing three children: Ernestine, now Mrs. 
Fred Eberhardt, of Fond du Lac, Wis. ; 
August, a farmer in Eau Claire countj-. 
Wis. ; and Wilhelmina, Mrs. Klickman. 
Three children have come to bless the union 
of our subject and wife: John, born Sep- 
tember 18, 1866, died November 5, of the 
same year; Albert, born September 25, 
1867, was married January 5, 1893, to Anna 
Schultz, daughter of Robert and Henrietta 
(Schewe) Schultz, of Liberty, Outagamie 
county. Wis. , and who was born at Maple 
Creek, that county, June 20, 1871; they live 
with our subject; Herman, born February 
18, 1870, also lives at home, and is a tele- 
graph operator, having been in the employ 
of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road Company. Mrs. Klickman died Sep- 
tember 20, 1892. Her mother died April 
23, 1 88 1, aged nearly eighty-six years. 



482 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In the fall of 1864 Mr. Klickman en- 
listed in Company F, Forty-fourth Wis. V. I. , 
was mustered in at Madison, and from 
there sent to Nashville, Tenn., where for a 
time his regiment did guard duty some six 
months. From Nashville it proceeded to 
Paducah, Ky. , and here our subject was 
taken sick and sent to the hospital, remain- 
ing there until his discharge in June, 1865. 
Politically he is a Republican, has served as 
chairman of Belle Plaine township ten years, 
and has also filled the positions of super- 
visor, assessor and treasurer. In fraternal 
fellowship he is a member of the F. & A. M., 
and in religious faith he is a Lutheran. He 
is highly respected in the community, and 
well merits the esteem in which he is held. 



JOHN C. WIXON, senior member of 
the firm of Wi.xon & Bronson, proprie- 
tors of the planing-mill at Rhinelander, 
Oneida county, was born October 5, 
1856, near Lakeport, St. Clair Co., Michi- 
gan. 

Benjamin Wi.xon, his father, was born 
near Toronto, Canada, a son of Joshua 
Wixon, a native of the State of New York, 
whence in an early day he moved to Upper 
Canada (now Ontario), where he carried on 
farming operations; he was also a Baptist 
minister, preaching the Gospel "without 
money and without price. " He died in 
Canada the father of nine children, Benja- 
min being the youngest, and the names of 
the others are Amos, Asa, Joel, Ozias, Ruth, 
John, Rachel, Joshua and Solomon; Amos 
and Joel were ministers. Benjamin was a 
farmer by occupation, and in early times set- 
tled in St. Clair county, Mich., at a time 
when stage coaches were the speediest means 
of transportation. For many years he kept 
a well-known tavern between Port Huron 
and Lexington; but in 1865 he moved his 
family to Ottawa county, near Grand 
Haven, same State, where he bought a tract 
of land and engaged in lumbering. He mar- 
ried Miss Mary Ellerthorp, a native of Eng- 
land, born in 1S22, a daughter of Joseph 
Ellerthorp, who had a family of six children: 
Mary, William, Ann, Jane, Sarah and Jo- 



seph. They came to Canada in the } ear 
1832 and settled on a farm near Toronto. 
To Benjamin Wixon and his wife were born 
twelve children, named as follows: Joseph 
B., Sarah, William, an infant son not named, 
Rachel, Joshua, Mary Jane, John C. , Thomas 
G., Annie E., Elizabeth and Emma. Of 
these, Joseph was a soldier during the Civil 
war, serving in the Second Michigan Cav- 
alry one year, when he came home sick, and 
died. The father died at Cedar Springs, 
Mich., in 1876, aged fifty-seven years. He 
was a Republican in politics, and formerly 
a Whig; the mother survives, and is residing 
at Grand Rapids, Mich., and is seventy- 
three vears old. 

John C. Wixon, the subject proper of 
this sketch, received his education at the 
common schools, and at the age of sixteen, 
his father being a cripple, commenced work- 
ing in the lumber woods, having charge, at 
that early age, of a gang of twenty-four men. 
W'hen eighteen years old he left home and 
worked on a farm two years, or until 1S75, at 
which time he made a trip to Texas, sojourn- 
ing there some four months, then returning 
to Michigan. Mr. Wixon now commenced 
working in a sawmill at eighteen dollars per 
month for Walworth and Reed, remaining 
with that firm nine and one-half years, a 
good part of the time in their yards as 
grader and inspector. He then entered the 
employ of the Ives Estate at Hungerford, 
Mich., as general superintendent of their 
mills and yards, remaining with them two 
years, after which he removed to Big Rapids, 
in the same State, filling a similar position 
with L. S. Baker. In the spring of 1887, 
he moved to Merrill, Wis. (still in Mr. 
Baker's employ), and there remained until 
the following July, when he proceeded to 
Wausau, being there engaged in inspecting 
lumber till November, the same year, at 
which time he came to Rhinelander in the 
employ of the Underwood Lumber Com- 
pany, as general superintendent. With this 
firm he remained until June, 1894, and then 
commenqed his present business, having, in 
partnership with C. C. Bronson, purchased 
their planing-mill plant, the firm name be- 
ing Wixon & Bronson. 

Mr. Wixon has been twice married, the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



4S3 



first time in Michigan, in the spring of 1875, 
to Miss Ahvilda Davenport, a native of that 
State, and two children were born to them: 
Mary L. , and one that died in infanc}'. 
Mr. Wixon was married at Waupaca, Wis., 
in October, 1S93, to Mrs. Bessie (Shearer) 
Van Tassel, who was born in Melbourne, 
Australia, in 1856, and who, for her first 
husband, was married, in 1875, to E. F. 
Van Tassel, by whom she had one child, 
Inez Isabel Van Tassel. Mr. and Mrs. 
W^i.xon are members of the Baptist Church, 
of which he is treasurer and a trustee; so- 
cially, he is a Knight Templar and a mem- 
ber of the K. of P. ; politically he is a stanch 
adherent of the Republican party. 



ANDREW S. WELLS, proprietor of 
the Waupaca Feed Mills, is one of 
the most enterprising business men 
of Waupaca. His present prosperity 
he owes so his own efforts. He was born 
in Cambridge, Dane Co., Wis., August 25, 
1 86 1, a son of Thomas and Mary (Scobiei 
^^'ells, both of whom were emigrants from 
Scotland. 

Thomas Wells, the father, was a self- 
made man. He was born at Tillicoultry in 
1823, and was but a year old when his 
father, John Wells, died. In his boyhood 
Thomas entered a woolen-mill in Scotland, 
and thoroughly learned the trade. When a 
young man, twenty-one years of age, he 
decided to emigrate to America. Coming 
to Cambridge he temporarily abandoned his 
business and opened up a farm. He was 
married here to Miss Mary Scobie in 1854, 
and established for himself a pioneer woolen- 
mill at Cambridge; and, being an efficient 
workman and the possessor of good business 
traits, he soon commanded a good trade. 
The children of Thomas and Mary W^ells 
were John, who died at the age of twelve 
years; Andrew; Mary; Thomas; and one 
child who died in infancy. In 1867 Thomas 
\\'ells sold out his business at Cambridge, 
and removed to Madison where he accepted 
the position of superintendent of the woolen- 
mills at that place. This position he filled 
two years, and then removed to Neshkoro, 
Wis., and built a woolen-mill which he still 



operates. His faithful wife died in January, 
1886, 

Andrew S. Wells attended the common 
schools at Neshkoro, and in his youth spent 
seven years in his father's woolen-mill at 
that village, completing the trade at the age 
of twenty years. But the work proved dis- 
tasteful to him, and was also injurious to his 
health. He therefore entered a gristmill to 
learn the milling trade. In the fall of 1882 
he came to Waupaca, having accepted a 
position as second miller in the milling es- 
tablishment there. Remaining fifteen months 
he removed to Berlin, Wis., but si.\ months 
later he returned and became head miller 
for Roberts & Oborn, a position which he 
filled satisfactorily for eight and a half years. 
Desiring to enter business for himself Mr. 
Wells, in May, 1893, rented the Waupaca 
F'eed Mills, which he now operates and 
where he now handles all brands of flour. 

Mr. Wells was married, in June, 1888, 
to Anna Hamilton, who was born in Erie 
county, N. Y., a daughter of Orlando and 
Sarah Hamilton, both natives of that county 
and of Scotch ancestry and Quaker descent. 
Oilando and Sarah Hamilton were married 
in 1857, and reared a family of five chil- 
dren. The father of Orlando Hamilton was 
William Hamilton, a native of Pennsylva- 
nia. To Mr. and Mrs. Wells one child has 
been born, Catherine E. In politics Mr. 
Wells was a Democrat until 1892, when he 
affiliated with the principles of the Republi- 
can party. He was elected to the city coun- 
cil as alderman in the spring of 1894. He 
is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and 
socially is connected with the Knights of 
Pythias. Mr. Wells is an energetic and 
successful young business man of Waupaca, 
and enjoys the respect and esteem of a wide 
circle of acquaintances. 



LF. W^EST (deceased), who was a suc- 
cessful pioneer farmer and respected 
citizen of Waupaca county, was born 
in Bradford, N. H., January 26, 1828, 
and was the son of Timothy West. The 
parents of L. F. West were people of 
means, and he had good opportunities for 
an education. He had a teacher's certifi- 



COMMEMOBATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



cate, but never taught school. When a 
young man, about 1853, in a pioneer period, 
he came to Lind, Waupaca county, and was 
among the early settlers. 

On November 17, 1859, at Berlin, Wis., 
L. F. West was united in marriage with 
Miss Lucia Gibson, who was born in Can- 
ada July 15, 1835. They located on a farm 
in Lind, of which only six acres were im- 
proved when they took possession. On this 
property there was a •' claim " shanty, with 
two roofs, which was among the best resi- 
dences in the neighborhood at that time. 
To their marriage there were born the fol- 
lowing named children: Henry L. , born 
March 9, 1861, a farmer, at home; Charles 
M. , born August 2, 1864, of Oregon City, 
Oregon; and John G., born July i, 1869, in 
Winneconne, Winnebago Co., Wisconsin. 

Mr. \\'est resided on his farm in Lind 
until the fall of 1868, when he removed to 
Winneconne, Wis. , where he engaged in 
the livery business and remained one year. 
He then returned to Lind and lived thence- 
forth on his farm, the same on which he 
and his wife commenced housekeeping. On 
October 29, 1894, when in Waupaca attend- 
ing to some business he was stricken with 
paralysis, and lived only four hours. He was 
buried in Lind Cemetery. Mr. West was a 
Republican in politics, but voted the Pro- 
hibition ticket on several occasions, being a 
sympathizer with the principles of that party. 

The parents of Mrs. West were Royal and 
Harriet (Thorne) Gibson. In her younger 
days Mrs. West was a school teacher, 
having received her literary education at an 
academy in Franklin, Vt. She taught 
her first school in Canada, receiving a 
dollar a week, and boarding around among 
the scholars. This was at the age of fifteen, 
and at a time in the history of women, 
when, although doing the same work equally 
as well as their male competitors, they re- 
ceived only one-fourth as much pay. She 
received various wages at different times, 
ranging from a dollar a week up to forty 
dollars a month. Mrs. West first united 
with the Baptist Church in Lowell, Mass., 
and, in 1889, united with the Wesleyan 
Methodist Church at Lind, of which she is 
yet a member. Since her husband's death 



she has had charge of matters which he 
supervised, and conducts the business as 
left by him. The success which attended 
the affairs of Mr. West can to a consider- 
able degree be attributed to his wife, who is 
a woman of intelligence and exceptional 
business ability. While not a dictator, she 
suggested many moves which afterward 
showed her wisdom; and her good manage- 
ment and frugality, as well as the proceeds 
of her own efforts, went a long way toward 
building up a very substantial and pleasant 
home. Mrs. West is well known, and is a 
most highly respected lady. 



LOUIS DE VAUD. Among the resi- 
dents of Dupont township, Waupa- 
ca county, there is but one who has 
longer resided within its borders 
than this gentleman, who dates his resi- 
dence here from 1S57. He has lived in 
Wisconsin since 1854, at which time he lo- 
cated in Oshkosh. A year later he went to 
Winneconne, and thence to his present 
home. He has witnessed the entire growth 
and development of this region, and in the 
work of progress and upbuilding has ever 
borne his part, being especially active in 
transforming the wild land into rich and fer- 
tile fields. 

Mr. De Vaud was born November 15, 
1825, in the township of Forrest, Canton of 
Vaud, Switzerland, and is a son of Freder- 
ick and Jane (Deseraut) De Vaud, who 
were of French descent. The father was a 
farmer by occupation and a successful busi- 
ness man. The family numbered six chil- 
dren besides our subject^David, Francis 
and Daniel, all in Switzerland, and Jean 
nette, Mary and Caroline, who are married 
and also reside in that country. Our sub- 
ject, the only representative of the family in 
America, was educated in the common 
schools of his native land, and as soon as 
old enough began work on the farm, becom- 
ing familiar with all the duties that fall to 
the lot of the agriculturist. He continued 
with his parents until twenty-two jears of 
age, and then began working for others that 
his labors might more directly benefit him- 
self, spending his time thus until 1852, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



485. 



when he sailed for America. After a twen- 
ty-seven-days' voyage on a saihng vessel he 
reached New York, and during the two suc- 
ceeding years engaged in farming in the Em- 
pire State, where he received as much for 
his services in two months as was given him 
in Switzerland in a year. In 1854 he arrived 
in Oshkosh, Wis., where he worked in the 
lumber woods and followed the river for 
about four seasons. 

After his removal to Winneconne, in 
1855, Mr. De \'aud began farming, and also 
operated a threshing machine. On remov- 
ing to Waupaca county he settled in what 
was then Union township, within whose 
borders at that time there lived only one 
other family. The previous year he had 
purchased of the government 160 acres of 
land in Section 26, and in 1857 located 
thereon, and began the development of his 
present farm, which is now included in Du- 
pont township. The timber was so thick 
that a number of trees had to be cut away 
in order to give space for a house. As there 
were not enough men in the locality to raise 
a log building, a small lumber shanty was 
constructed, and Mr. De \"aud began life on 
the farm, which has since been his home, in 
true pioneer style. He had an ox-team 
which he used in clearing the land, and with 
crude implements the work went slowly but 
steadily on, until, where once stood wild 
forest trees, golden harvests were garnered. 
The nearest market was Oshkosh, a distance 
of sixty miles. As he had no team at first, 
Mr. De Vaud was often obliged to carry 
supplies home on his back, and many a time 
has he walked several miles, carrying flour 
and other necessaries. The present genera- 
tion hear the stories of pioneer life, but can 
little realize what it was to live on the very 
borders of civilization, where comforts were 
hard to obtain, in homes situated in the 
midst of a wilderness which was the haunt 
of wild beasts, and through which the Indians 
often traveled. 

Mr. De Vaud lived alone until 1858, 
when he secured as a helpmeet and com- 
panion on liie's journey Miss Phcebe Ouimby. 
He brought his bride to the little shanty, in 
which they lived for three years, when a log 
house 18x26 feet was built on the site of 



their present elegant home. Those first 
settlers had to cut their own roads through 
the forests, and their farm work was done 
with a grub-hoe, cradle and flail. As time 
passed Mr. De Vaud added to his original 
purchase until he had 600 acres; but as the 
country became more thickly settled he dis- 
posed of it, retaining possession only of his 
first tract. Of this, 100 acres are under a 
high state of cultivation, a work that was 
accomplished through his own arduous la- 
bor. He has made farming his life pursuit, 
and has won success, though in the earlier 
years he encountered many hardships and 
met many difficulties. 

Mr. and Mrs. De \'aud were the first 
couple married in Dupont township, their 
marriage occurring November 28, 1858, and 
their union was blessed with eight children, 
viz.: Francis M., born September 14, 1859, 
who owns and operates a sawmill at Elm- 
hurst, Langlade Co., Wis. (he married Miss 
Mary Mines at her parents' home in Marion, 
and they have two children — Luella and 
Leonard); George, born January i, 1862, 
who died from the effects of a fall at the age 
of thirteen ; Charles, born August 14, 1866, 
Ida, born February 5, 1871, died February 
5, 1877, and Etta, born February 14, 1874, 
died February 14, 1877, all three of whom 
died of diphtheria ; Ada, who was educated 
at the Clintonville schools, and lives at 
home ; Elton, who died in 1881, when six- 
teen months old ; and Ina, born October 
31, 1885, at home. When Mrs. DeVaud's 
people, the Quimbys, came to Dale, that 
village could boast of only one house, and 
the now thriving city of New London con- 
tained but two houses. 

Since the organization of the party, Mr. 
De Vaud has been a stalwart Republican, 
and his fellow townsmen have frequently 
called him to office, thus substantially recog- 
nizing his worth and ability. For three 
years he was chairman of Dupont township, 
was assessor three years, and also served as 
side supervisor; he was postmaster at Du- 
pont for several years, having the post office 
at his house for ten years, during part of 
which time his son also served as postmas- 
ter. During the Civil war he manifested his 
loyalty to the government by enlisting, on 



t86 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



November 3, 1864, in Company C, First 
Wisconsin Cavalrj', beinjj mustered in at 
Madison, whence the regiment was sent to 
Louisville, Ky. After two weeks the com- 
mand followed Gen. Lyon on his raid 
through Kentucky, with three thousand 
men, for some five weeks. Subsequently a 
week was passed in Nashville, and then the 
army went into winter quarters at Water- 
loo. In the spring he went to Alabama, 
and after participating in the battle of 
Selma, started for Montgomery, but the 
city surrendered before their arrival. They 
next captured West Point, then marched to 
Macon, Ga., where the company to which 
Mr. De \'aud belonged, was detailed for the 
capture of Jefferson Davis. They followed 
three days and three nights, succeeding in 
the capture on the lOth of May, after which 
they went to Macon, Ga., and four weeks 
later to Nashville. Mr. De Vaud was hon- 
orably discharged July 19, 1865, at Nash- 
ville, for the war was over and his services 
were no longer needed. While in the South 
he contracted disease, from which he has 
never recovered, and the government now 
gives him a pension. His long residence in 
Waupaca county numbers him among her 
most honored pioneers, and her history 
would be incomplete without the record of 
his life. He is true to every trust reposed 
in him, whether public or private, and is re- 
spected alike bj' young and old, rich and 
poor. Mr. De Vaud was reared under the 
influence of the Lutheran Reformed Church 
in Switzerland, and the family are now at- 
tendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
at Marion. 



JOHN C. CURRAN, one of the most 
progressive citizens of Rhinelander, 
Oneida county, where he is held in 
high respect, is a Canadian by birth, 
having first seen the light August 22, 1838, 
in Huntingdon county. Province of Quebec. 
Patrick Curran, his father, was born 
March 17, 1798, in Ireland, whence at the 
age of si.xteen years he emigrated to Quebec, 
Canada, making his home in the then new 
count)' of Huntingdon, which borders on 
New York State, and followed farming. 



Here he married Miss Julia Finnegan, also 
a native of Ireland, whence when a child 
she came to Canada with her parents, and 
to this union were born thirteen children, 
four of whom died young, the names of the 
others being Martin P., James, Michael. 
Patrick, John C, Thomas, Nora, Mary and 
Patrick F. Of these, Martin P., John C, 
Thomas and Patrick F. are 3'et living. The 
father died in 1891, near where he had set- 
tled; he served in the Canadian militia dur- 
ing the Papineau and McKenzie rebellion in 
that country of 1837-38. His mother died 
in Ireland, his father, who was also a farmer, 
subsequently emigrating to Canada, dying in 
the State of New York in 1S63, the parent 
of six sons. The mother of our subject was 
a daughter of Patrick Finnegan, who was 
killed in Canada by a falling tree, while he 
was engaged in clearing land; his wife, 
grandmother of Mr. Curran, li\ed to be one 
hundred years old. 

John C. Curran, of whom this sketch 
more particularly pertains, received but a 
limited education at the district schools of 
the neighborhood of his place of birth, work- 
ing afterward in the woods of Essex county, 
N. Y., until 1855, when he came to \\'is- 
consin, making his first western home at 
Jennie, now known as Merrill, Lincoln 
county, and here he also worked in the 
woods, and also rafting lumber on the river 
till 1857. In that year he proceeded up the 
Eagle river, to a little above where is now 
the village of Eagle, and here he prospected 
in land, made hay, etc., in the employ of 
Helms & Co., lumberers, also superintend- 
ing their camp. In the fall of 1859 he re- 
turned down the river, and settled where he 
at present lives, part of his house being now 
within the city limits of Rhinelander, all 
that section at that time being included in 
Marathon county. He was the first settler 
in that vicinit\', and conducted a trading 
post for the Indians, which was also a stop- 
ping place for travelers on their way up or 
down the river. The nearest railroad sta- 
tion was at Berlin, 170 miles distant, from 
which point he had to haul his goods; this 
business Mr. Curran continued until 1864, 
about which time the land came into the 
market, and he then commenced logging. 



*J»^%.. 


t .^ 


iil^^ 


^^y^ : 


-v 





COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEICAL RECORD. 



487 



buying land of the government, all the time 
continuing his lumbering business and farm- 
ing, eventually clearing 150 acres, which he 
sold in 1883. He also conducted a store 
where he first settled and now lives, till 
1882. He took a very active part in getting 
Oneida count}' organized, was the first 
chairman of the Pelican township board, 
and is its present chairman. Politically he 
is a Democrat, and since 1S83 he has served 
on the school board. He owns an addition 
to Rhinelander, platted in 1890, and known 
as " Curran's Addition." 

On September 27, 1870, our subject was 
married in Canada to Miss Lizzie Sloan, a 
native of that country, born in 1850, a 
daughter of Patrick and Julia (Atkins) Sloan, 
both natives of Ireland, coming to Canada 
with their parents, when children. Patrick 
Sloan and his wife had thirteen children, 
two of whom died in infancy, eleven yet 
living as follows: Jane, Cordelia, Lizzie, 
Catherine, Mary Ann, William, Charles, 
Albert, George, Theresa and Isabel, all still 
residents of Canada, as are also their par- 
ents; Mr. Sloan was a member of the 
Canadian militia. To Mr. and Mrs. John 
C. Curran have been born five children, to 
wit: Julia M., Thomas B., Lizzie Pearl, 
Muriel J. and Frances M., all yet living at 
home. Of these, Thomas B., a very bright 
young man, was a cadet at West Point from 
the Ninth Wisconsin District, but was 
obliged to resign at the end of a year on ac- 
count of failing eyesight. 

Our subject is a typical pioneer, whose 
foot.steps are the stepping places for the 
inevitable and ine.xorable army of civiliza- 
tion, in fact he is known as "the Pioneer," 
having been the very first to settle in Rhine- 
lander. He was brought up in the Roman 
Catholic faith, but is liberal in all things 
pertaining to the social status of his adoption, 
regardless of sect, particularly in educational 
matters, and he is the organizer and patron 
of what is one of the first ward schools in 
Rhinelander, and which is named, in his 
honor, the "John C. Curran School." Mr. 
Curran is highly respected, far and near, and 
is remarkably well-preserved for his age, 
owing in a great measure to his temperate 
habits in all things. 



A P. JONES (deceased) was one of 
the honored early settlers of Wau- 
paca county, making his home for 
many years in Little Wolf town- 
ship. He was born in Otis, Berkshire coun- 
ty, Mass., September 4, 1828, and was the 
third child in a family of eight born to Ada- 
nijah and Sophia Jones. His education was 
such as the common schools of that early 
day afforded. 

In 1848 he came west as far as Illinois, 
locating at Grafton, that State, where he 
remained for two years. The year 1850 
witnessed his arrival in Little Wolf town- 
ship, Waupaca county, where he first met 
the late James Meiklejohn, between whom 
the warmest friendship sprung up. With 
him he remained until 1857. At that time 
he was the owner of considerable land in 
that section of the country, on which he 
erected a frame building and embarked in 
general merchandising, at the same time 
also operating his land. He was one of the 
first men to locate within the borders of Lit- 
tle Wolf township, and being possessed of 
an unselfish nature, a warm and generous 
heart toward all, he proved a most valuable 
member of the young and rapidly growing 
community. In 1865 Mr. Jones led to the 
altar Miss Anna F. Vinton, a daughter of 
David Vinton, of Fond du Lac, Wis. (na- 
tive of Wales). 

Mrs. Jones was born in Canaan, Wajne 
Co., Penn., and is one of a family of four- 
teen children, all of whom grew to man and 
woman hood. In 1847 the parents, with 
their family, removed to Fond du Lac. 
Wis., which was then a place containing 
only two or three wooden buildings, and 
near there the father purchased 320 acres 
of wild land, immediately beginning its 
improvement. The timber being light, 
it was cleared, and soon waving fields 
of grain were to be seen on all sides. 
There the mother died in 1847, 'sav- 
ing many little ones, the youngest daugh- 
ter being only nine days old, who was then 
cared for by the older children. On reach- 
ing maturity the children were all married 
and had families of their own. The father 
continued to live on the farm until 1868, 
when he sold out and moved into Fond du 



488 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Lac city, where his death occurred, January 
14, 1880, at the age of eight3'-three j'ears. 
Mr. Jones made his home in Little A\'olf 
until 1 89 1, when, accompanied bj- his wife, 
he went to New London. Wis. , where he lived 
with James Meiklejohn, for they were still 
bosom friends. There he remained until 
1894, when (strange to say) he and Mr. 
Meiklejohn sickened and died — one on the 
19th and the other on the 27th of March. 
Their remains now lie interred in the ceme- 
tery of New London. It might well be said 
of them — "United in life; in death not di- 
vided." Mr. and Mrs. Jones had no chil- 
dren, but reared as their own th^ir nephew. 
Marquis E. Wood, who is now engaged in 
the livery business at Manawa, ^^'isconsin. 
For thirty-five consecutive years Mr. 
Jones held the office of postmaster; for 
twenty-five j'ears served as township clerk; 
was chairman of the town board for many 
years, and was also justice of the peace, 
ever discharging his duties to the satisfac- 
tion of all concerned. Politically, his sup- 
port was given to the Republican party, and 
at all times he was willing to labor and 
make sacrifices for the good of the com- 
munity at large. His death was widely and 
deeply mourned, as he had gained the friend- 
ship and respect of all with whom he came 
in contact. 



JOHN F. SWENSON, one of the enter- 
prising and respected citizens of Ida 
township, Waupaca county, was born 
in Norway, June 18, 1840, and is a son 
of Swen Iverson, a brewer by trade, who 
supported his family by day's work. Our 
subject is the oldest of three children, the 
others being .\ndrew, of Harrison township, 
Waupaca county; and Christina, who is mar- 
ried and lives in Norway. 

Mr. Swenson received a good common- 
school education in his native tongue, and 
being the son of poor parents he learned a 
trade. When nineteen j-ears of age he be- 
gan work as a brewer, which occupation he 
followed until coming to the United States. 
His wages were ver\' meagre, yet by saving 
he was able to board and clothe himself and 
have a little left; but he knew that it would 



be a difficult matter to secure a home for 
himself in Norway from his small earnings. 
By coming to the New World, .where chances 
were better for a poor boy, he hoped to im- 
prove his condition. 

In April, 1867, Mr. Swenson bade fare- 
well to parents, home and friends, taking 
passage at Christiania on a Guion Line 
steamer bound for Liverpool, where he 
boarded another steamer, and after si.xteen 
days landed at Portland, Me. His destina- 
tion was Wausau, Wis. , where his brother 
Andrew was located. He came to Oshkosh, 
Wis., by rail, thence by boat to Gill's Land- 
ing, and by stage to Waupaca, where he met 
John Murat, who was there on business, and 
with him rode to Scandinavia. Mr. Swen- 
son then walked to New Hope, Wis., where 
he remained a few days and later proceeded 
to Stevens Point, and thence b\' stage to 
Wausau, where he earned his first dollar at 
construction of a lumber raft bound for St. 
Louis. After its completion he went down 
the river to Hannibal, Mo., and then re- 
turned to Stevens Point, north of which he 
went to work in a sawmill. This was the 
first work of this kind that he had ever done, 
but after two years he had become so com- 
petent that he was made head sawyer, which 
business he followed for twenty-one seasons. 
He also worked in the lumber woods along 
the Wisconsin river and its tributaries, being 
employed by Stewart & Co. five years, and 
even longer for the W'ausau Lumber Com- 
pany. His extensive experience gave him a 
full knowledge of this important capacity in 
a sawmill, so that his services were always 
in demand, and even after he left the lumber 
regions his services were often sought. 

In lola, September 24, 1871, Mr. Swen- 
son married Caroline Olson, who was born 
in Ashton, Dane Co., Wis., February 12, 
1853, and b}' her marriage has become the 
mother of. five children: Nettie, now Mrs. 
Olof Gullickson, of New Hope, Portage Co., 
Wis.; Halbert, of lola; and John, Edna and 
Walter, at home. The father of Mrs. Swen- 
son. Hans Olson, came to America in 1S49, 
locating in Dane county. Wis. In 1855 he 
came to lola township, Waupaca county, 
where he purchased a new farm in Section 
32, and erected the first house on the place, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



489^ 



which stood a short distance west of the 
present home of our subject. He expe- 
rienced all the trials and privations of pio- 
neer life, but he bore these patiently in order 
to make a home for his family, which com- 
prised three daughters who grew to woman- 
hood: Mrs. Swenson; Annie, the widow of 
Ole Benson, of lola; and Betsy, now Mrs. 
Ole Solum, of the same place. The father 
departed this life July 19, 1888, at the age 
of seventy years, and the mother of Mrs. 
Swenson, who was his first wife, died in 
1864. Their remains now lie interred in the 
cemetery at Scandinavia. 

After his marriage Mr. Swenson lived at 
the different places where he was employed, 
and the first home he ever owned was at 
Stevens Point; but in December, 1882, he 
removed to lola township, Waupaca count}', 
where his family has since resided, though 
his work called him to the lumber regions 
for several years. Prior to 1891 he was ab- 
sent from home during the summer months, 
working in sawmills, but since that time he 
has devoted his attention to farming, in 
which he is meeting with good success. Mr. 
Swenson now has 140 acres of good land, 
and, though he has only followed agricultural 
pursuits for a short time the neatness of his 
place indicates the thrift and enterprise of 
the owner. On his arrival in this country 
he was but a poor young man, a stranger in 
a strange land, unable to speak a word of 
English, and with no start in life other than 
his own strength and ambition, he has by 
hard work and industry succeeded in secur- 
ing a good home for himself and family, thus 
showing what a boy can do, though he be 
poor, if he is faithful to the interests of his 
employers. 

Mr. Swenson is a member of the Repub- 
lican party, but takes no active part in polit- 
ical affairs, his time and attention being 
given to his business interests. He is num- 
bered among the leading agriculturists of 
lola township, and is a man, who, by fair 
dealing and straightforward business prin- 
ciples, has won a good name and reputation. 
His estimable wife has been of great assist- 
ance to him, sharing with him in the adversi- 
ties and prosperities of life, and also de- 
serves much credit for the success they have 



achieved. Religiously they are faithful mem- 
bers of the Lutheran Church of Scandinavia, 
Waupaca county. 



FRANK L. SCHILLING, who resides 
in Minocqua, Vilas Co., Wis., was 
born in the town of Almond, Port- 
age county. Wis. He comes of Ger- 
man ancestry and possesses many of the 
traits of that thrifty people. 

George F. Schilling, the father of our 
subject, was born in Germany about 1820, 
and in 1842 emigrated to America, going at 
first to Chicago, later on to Milwaukee and 
afterward settling in Grand Rapids, Wis., 
where he was engaged in cabinet making. 
His second wife was Caroline E. Young, to 
whom he was married in i860. She was 
born in Saxony, Germany, in 1840, and 
when five years old came with her parents 
to America. They settled on a farm near 
Milwaukee, where her father was thrown 
from a wagon and killed. They were the 
parents of six children: John, Fred, Car- 
oline, May, Christine and Elizabeth. The 
mother afterward married Louis George, 
by whom she had three children: John, 
Louis and Kate. The sons served through- 
out the late war with great distinction, John 
in the Infantry and Fred in the Artiller}'. 
George F. Schilling, by his first marriage, 
had three children: Emma J., George H., 
and John F. By his second marriage nine 
children were born as follows: Frank L. , 
our subject; Martha, deceased; Edward C. ; 
Daniel J. ; Frederick A. ; Lauretta S. ; Ella 
L. ; Rosetta E., and Fred, deceased. Soon 
after coming to this country Mr. Schilling 
settled on the farm in Portage county where 
he now resides, which was then in a wild 
state, his neighbors being chiefly Indians. 
He has seen the country emerge from its 
primitive state, and has assisted in bringing 
it up to its present prosperous condition. 
He is a well-educated man, and comes of 
good old German stock. He had one 
brother and one sister, but they never left 
their native land. Mr. Schilling is a Re- 
publican in politics, and has held several 
minor offices, and has always commanded 



49° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the respect and esteem of the community in 
which he has so long made his home. 

Frank L. Schilling, the subject of this 
sketch, was the eldest son by the second 
marriage of his father. He attended the 
district school in his boyhood and also 
the high school at Stevens Point, this 
State, until eighteen years of age. He then 
went to Fifefield, Wis., and assisted his 
brother John, who was station agent at that 
place, during the winters, returning home to 
work upon the farm through the summer 
seasons. After reaching his majority he 
went into his brother's store at Fifefield, 
where he remained until the spring of 1887, 
when he came to Minocqua, being one 
among the first settlers in that town, and 
started a general store; this he carried on 
for two years and in 1 889 returned to Fife- 
field for one year. From there he went to 
Wakefield, Mich., and was in the employ of 
Westcott & Jones, general merchants, for 
eighteen months, when he returned to 
Minocqua, which he has since made his 
home, being engaged as a bookkeeper for a 
large lumbering firm. Mr. Schilling was 
married September 5, 1888, to Miss N. 
Ellen Guilda}-, who was born in Stockton, 
Portage Co., this State, in 1868; she is a 
daughter of James and Kate (Curran) Guil- 
day, natives of Ireland, who came to 
America in 1 849, and were married in 
Albany, N. Y. They came west in 185 1, 
settling first in Ohio and later in Milwaukee, 
Wis., whence they came to Portage county, 
and settled on a farm. The father died 
April 8, 1885, and the mother then moved 
to Stevens Point, where she now resides. 
They were the parents of eight children, 
four of whom are living: Anna L. , Richard 
J., Kate C. and N. Ellen; James and Math- 
ias were both killed in the woods while 
lumbering, and one died in infancy; Mary 
F., who died August 18, 1887, was married 
in 1880 to H. G. Dreyer, and left three chil- 
dren, Adelaide F., Mary M. and Katherine J. 
Mr. and Mrs. Schilling are the parents of 
two children. Earl Richard and Lyle Frank- 
lin. 

Politically Mr. Schilling is a Republican 
and takes an active part in politics, his 
general knowledge of affairs, wise judg- 



ment and correct business methods, having 
made him a leader in his party. He was 
the first clerk of this town, which he was 
instrumental in having set off from Eagle 
River, and on his return here was elected 
town treasurer for a term of two years. In 
the election of 1 894 he was elected clerk of 
the court of \'ilas county, and in the spring 
of 1895 ^^'as made town clerk of Minocqua. 
He has also held the office of school clerk. 
He is one of the Central County Com- 
mittee and secretary of the Republican 
Club. Socially, he is a member of the 
order of Modern Woodmen of America. He 
is well-liked by his fellow citizens, and takes 
great interest in the welfare of his com- 
munity. 



WILLIAM E. EMMONS is a worthy 
representative of the agricultural 
interests of Waupaca county. He 
claims New York as the State of 
his nativity, the place of his birth being 
Lansing, Tompkins county, and the date 
April 17, 1846. When a child of two and 
a half years his parents removed to Dale 
township, Outagamie county, and when he 
was eight j-ears old thej' moved to Dayton 
township, Waupaca county, where he at- 
tended the district schools. His early edu- 
cational privileges were supplemented by 
one year's study in the high school at Ap- 
pleton, \\'is. He was reared in the usual 
manner of farmer lads, and at the age of 
si.xteen began to follow the river, "driving 
logs." He also worked in sawmills, and in 
other departments of lumbering. In 1874, 
he entered the Wisconsin Central Railroad 
office at Medina, Wis., and after learning 
telegraphy took charge of that office, serv- 
ing as station agent and telegraph operator 
for one year. 

On the expiration of that period, Mr. 
Emmons went to Sherwood, \\'innebago 
Co., \\'is., where he remained two and a 
half years, afterward spending three years 
in Dale, Wis. , and four and a half years in 
Medina Junction, this State, and one year 
in Wej'auwega, Wis. During the succeed- 
ing two years he was engaged in looking up 
a location in the Northwest, traveling 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



491 



through Washington, Oregon, Montana and 
\\'3'oming. He then returned to Waupaca 
county, and for some time worked on a farm, 
after which he entered the employ of the 
Milwaukee, Northern & Sault Ste. Marie 
railroad at Pembina Junction. A year 
later he resumed farming upon the old home- 
stead in Dayton township, where he resided 
until the spring of 1893, when he purchased 
of W. C. Tapping 120 acres of land in 
Section 36, Farmington township, the farm 
on which he now resides. 

During the war of the Rebellion Mr. 
Emmons responded to the country's call 
for troops, enlisting at Waupaca, August 
24, 1 864. as a member of Company A, 
Forty-second Regiment of Wisconsin Volun- 
teers, under Capt. Duncan McGregor. He 
was then only eighteen years of age. He 
went first to Madison, Wis., thence to Cairo, 
111., where he did guard duty until the close 
of the war, when he was honorably dis- 
charged at Madison, June 20, 1865. He 
has always been a true and loyal citizen, 
and now does all in his power to promote 
the best interests of the community in which 
he makes his home. 

On attaining his majority, Mr. Emmons 
was married in Waupaca to Alice Benedict, 
who was born in Outagamie county. Wis., 
and died in 1882, leaving a son, William 
M. Two years after his marriage, Mr. 
Emmons removed with his wife to Blue 
Earth county, Minn., traveling in a covered 
wagon drawn by a team of horses. He 
there spent one summer working on the 
railroad, which was being constructed from 
La Crosse to Mankato, after which he re- 
turned to the Badger State. He was again 
married April 27, 1893, in Mankato, Minn., 
his second union being with Mary A. Tipler, 
a native of Dayton township, Winnebago 
Co., Wis., born October 29, 1851. Her 
parents were William and Sarah A. (Bene- 
dict) Tipler, the former a native of Lincoln- 
shire, England, and the latter of Ohio. 
Mrs. Emmons is a well-educated lady and 
for one term was a teacher in Florence 
county. Wis. She belongs to the Baptist 
Church. Mr. Emmons is an enthusiastic 
Republican, and an inflexible supporter of 
the party principles, but has never sought 



or desired office. He gives his entire time 
and attention to his farm, of which lOO 
acres is under a high state of cultivation, 
and, in 1894, he erected one of the finest 
residences in the township. He is a self- 
made man in the truest sense of that oft 
misused term, and is an honored citizen of 
the State that has been his home since the 
vear of its admission to the Union. 



OLIVER S. STRATTON. The sub- 
ject of this sketch has, by his force 
of will, good character and robust 
muscles, cleared from his pathway to 
success obstacles that would daunt many a 
man and bring to them only failure in life. 
He has carved out for himself in DaN'ton town- 
ship, Waupaca county, a home and a splen- 
did reputation, though yet a comparatively 
young man. 

Mr. Stratton was born February 1 3, 
1853, in Walworth county. Wis., a son of 
Joel and Adeline (Lewis) Stratton, and was 
a babe of several months when his parents 
moved to Waupaca county. His education 
was received in the common schools, and he 
remained at home until the age of nineteen, 
when he began working for farmers. The 
services of "Ollie, " as he was known to his 
many acquaintances, were in great demand, 
for he had a strong arm and permitted no 
man to surpass him in work. He chopped 
cordwood, split rails, or was ready to earn a 
dollar by any honest labor. Often the din- 
ner which he took with him out into the 
woods was frozen solid. Yet he thrived on 
the diet, for he was strong and robust. Be- 
fore he was twenty-one years of age, or in 
October, 1873, he purchased 120 acres of 
uncleared land, in Section 27, at Crystal 
Lake, making an advance pajment of $200, 
which he had saved from his wages as a farm 
hand, and after a hard day's work he was 
seen working until midnight at his clearing. 
He was married November 27, 1873, in 
Dayton, to Miss Clara Morey, who was born 
at the same place, Feb. 15, 1852, daughter 
of Joseph and Eliza (Warren) Morey, na- 
tives of Vermont. Their three children 
were Clara, Rosannah (who died young) and 
Mary (who married and died at Crystal 



492 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Lake). Mr. and Mrs. Morey came to Wis- 
consin in 1854, settling in Dayton township, 
Waupaca county, where the mother died, 
Mr. Morey now making his home with his 
son-in-law, Mr. Stratton. 

Beginning housekeeping in a small frame 
house, Oliver Stratton and his wife have, by 
the genius of hard work, won signal success 
in life. Their children are Fred B., born 
December 5, 1876; Frank O., November 
27, 1878; Adeline E., October 30, 1882; 
Katie B., April 14, 1885, and Fremont C, 
August 27, 1887. Mr. Stratton is a great 
friend of education, and is placing within 
the reach of his children the opportunities 
which were lacking in his own childhood and 
youth. Politicall}' he is a Republican, with 
Prohibition tendencies. He has never drank 
a drop of into.xicating liquor, nor has he 
ever smoked or chewed tobacco. He is a 
director of School District No. 3. Mr. Strat- 
ton follows general farming, and is highly 
respected by all who know him. He has a 
reputation among his fellow men for fair, 
honest dealing, and is one of Dayton's best 
farmers. 



SAMUEL BUTTON, who was success- 
fully engaged in farming in Dayton 
township, Waupaca county, is a 
self-made man, and the prosperity 
that has come to him is entirely the reward 
of his own labors. Energy and industry are 
numbered among his chief characteristics, 
and have been important factors in bringing 
to him a well-deserved success. 

As Mr. Button is widely and favorably 
known throughout the community, we feel 
assured that the record of his life will prove 
of interest to many of our readers. He 
claims England as the land of his birth, 
which event occurred in the parish of North- 
iam, Sussex county, on the 8th of Decem- 
ber, 1837. His parents, Samuel and Har- 
riet (Sargent) Button, were also natives of 
that country, and the father made his living 
by work as a farm hand. In the family 
were si.\ children, four sons and two daugh- 
ters, as follows : James, an agriculturist 
living in the town of Saxeville, Waushara 
Co., Wis.; Samuel; Hannah, wife of James 



Carter, of Sussex county, England; Mary, 
wife of Charles Clout, Sussex county; Will- 
iam, who is living in Northiam, Sussex coun- 
ty; and Alfred, a farmer of Dayton township, 
Waupaca county. Both the father and 
mother were almost eighty years of age at 
the time of death, and their entire lives were 
passed in Sussex county. 

Samuel Button attended the parish 
school of the Episcopal Church, and when a 
boy was emplo^'ed as a driver on a stage 
route, receiving about sixty cents per week 
and his board in compensation for his serv- 
ices. At the age of nineteen he left home, 
desiring to better his financial condition and 
went to London to take an examination 
which would admit him to the police force. 
He successfully passed the examination, but 
was too young at the time to be admitted 
to the force. He possessed a laudable am- 
bition, and used every opportunity for ad- 
vancement. In the fall of 1857, at twenty 
years of age, he arranged to come to this 
country with an uncle, but the uncle 
changed his mind and our subject then de- 
termined to come alone. He embarked at 
London on the sailing vessel, "Southamp- 
ton," which after thirty-seven days dropped 
anchor in the harbor of New York, and by 
rail he continued his journey to Milwaukee, 
thence went to Berlin, and on foot came to 
Waupaca county, traveling through the 
forests. His money gave out at Milwaukee, 
but he found a friend in Mr. Jones, the 
proprietor of the "Atlantic Hotel," who 
gave him assistance. For a time Mr. Button 
lived with his uncle, Stephen Harrison. 
During the first year and a half he was able 
to save only $30, for times were hard, but 
at length he secured enough capital to pur- 
chase a forty -acre tract of land in Section 
25, Dayton township, then in its primitive 
condition. 

In Lind township, Waupaca county, 
March 10, 1861, Mr. Button was united in 
marriage with Alzada O. Mumbrue, who 
was born in Calhoun county, Mich., a daugh- 
ter of Harmon and Betsy (Barrows) Mum- 
brue. They began their domestic life near 
their present home, but soon moved to the 
farm which has since been their place of 
abode. Nine children have been given them : 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEICAL RECORD. 



493 



Alfred A., who was born September i8, 
1862, is now employed in the pension office 
in Milwaukee, \\'is. ; Samuel H., born April 
22, 1865 ; George B., October 23, 1870 ; 
Burnell, May 12, 1873 ; Ellsworth, Febru- 
ary 2, 1876; Adelbert W., September 4, 
1878 ; Clarissa O. , February 21, 1881 ; 
Arthur, Februar}' 3, 1883 ; and Lottie, who 
was born February 21, 1885, and died at 
the age of five weeks. 

Since his marriage Mr. Button has suc- 
cessfully engaged in farming, and also for a 
time was a hop grower. He now- owns 300 
acres of land, comprising one of the best 
farms in Waupaca county, and all of the 
improvements have been placed thereon 
through his ow'n efforts. He is an e.xcellent 
farmer, and the neat and thrifty appearance 
of his place indicates his careful supervision. 
He is now numbered among the substantial 
citizens of the community, and his example 
is very encouraging, for it shows what can 
be accomplished in a land where merit may 
win, unhampered by caste or class. He 
takes great delight in travel, and has in- 
dulged this taste to a considerable extent. 
In the fall of 1865 he returned on a visit to 
his native land, and spent several months in 
renewing the acquaintance of his youth, 
again coming to America in February, 1 866. 
In May, 1889, he visited the Pacific slope, 
traveling over the Northern Pacific route 
and returning by way of the Union Pacific 
railroad. He also stopped to see Salt Lake 
City, the stronghold of the Mormons. 



VA. MUMBRUE is one of the highly 
respected citizens of Lind township, 
Waupaca county, and a well-to-do 
farmer, whose prosperity is the re- 
ward of his own labors. He was born on 
the 8th of April, 1842, in Washtenaw coun- 
ty, Mich., and is a son of Harmond and 
Betsy (Barrows) Mumbrue, the former born 
in Montgomery county, N. Y. , October 8, 
181 1, the mother in Florence, Erie Co., 
Ohio, August 8, 1822. The father was a 
farmer by occupation. His parents were in 
limited circumstances, and when a young 
man he emigrated westward, hoping thereby 
to benefit his financial condition. He lo- 



cated in Michigan, becoming one of its 
pioneers, and in Sharon, that State, was 
married March 22, 1840, to Miss Barrows. 
While there residing they became the par- 
ents of the following children: Arminta, 
who was born August i, 1841, and died in 
childhood; Vernon A. ; Alzada O. , who was 
born May 12, 1845, and is now the wife of 
Samuel Button, of Dayton, Wis.; Peter B., 
who was born March 9, 1847, ^"d is now a 
farmer of Saxeville, and the postmaster of 
Cedar Lake, Wis. ; George W. , who was 
born October 29, 1848, and is now living in 
the State of Washington. 

In July, 1849, Mr. Mumbrue, the father, 
came with his family to Wisconsin, locating 
in Fremont township, Waupaca county, but 
after a year removed to Lind township, and 
located in Section 21, where he made the 
first improvements that were placed there 
by a white man. On the southeast corner 
of the farm he built a house, hauling the 
lumber from Fremont with a yoke of oxen. 
Like many of the pioneers of this locality, 
he manufactured shingles by hand, market- 
ing them in Berlin and Ripon, Wis. In 
those early days wild game of all kinds, na- 
tive to this localit}', was to be had in abund- 
ance, and Mr. Mumbrue not only found 
opportunit}' to indulge his love of hunting, 
but also amply supplied the table \vith game. 
He continued to engage in agricultural pur- 
suits throughout his remaining days, and 
made his farm one of the valuable proper- 
ties of the neighborhood. Upon this farm 
the two youngest children of the family were 
born— Mary E., born April 18, 1852; and 
Lura L. , born October 13, i860. The lat- 
ter is now the wife of Aden Darrow, of Day- 
ton township, Waupaca county. 

Harmond Mumbrue was prominently 
identified with the development and upbuild- 
ing of his adopted county, and took an active 
part in its growth. He donated the land for 
the first school in his district, and it was 
known as the Mumbrue school. The first 
teacher there employed was a Mr. Harris, 
who came into the neighborhood as a shin- 
gle-maker. Mr. Mumbrue held a number of 
school and other local offices, and in his po- 
litical views was a Republican. He died of 
pneumonia, September 21, 1890, and was 



49+ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



laid to rest in Lind township. His widow 
died February ii, 1895. 

Vernon A. Mumbrue was onl}- eight years 
of age at the time of his arrival in Wiscon- 
sin. He attended the first school in his 
neighborhood and with the family he went 
through all the experiences and hardships of 
life on the frontier. He aided in the ard- 
uous task of opening up a new farm, and 
spent some time in the lumber woods, but 
continued to make his home with his par- 
ents until January 5, 1864, when he enlisted 
in Sharon, Mich., as a member of Company 
I, Ninth Michigan Infantry. With the regi- 
ment he proceeded from Jackson to Grand 
Rapids, Mich., thence to Nashville and par- 
ticipated in the battles of Chattanooga, 
Chickamauga, Tunnel Hill and Kenesaw 
Mountain, and went to Atlanta as rear 
guard. Mr. Mumbrue was then sent with a 
detachment from Atlanta back to Nashville, 
where on the 15th of September, 1865, he 
was honorably discharged. After his re- 
turn to the North he lay sick for a few 
months at Sharon, Mich., after which he 
came to Lind township, Waupaca county. 
Here he began working in his own interest 
and since that time his home has been in this 
community. 

Mr. Mumbrue was married in Waupaca, 
December 25, 1866, to Miss Mary E. Wil- 
co.\, who was born in the town of Riplej', 
Chautauqua county, N. Y., July 16, 1845, a 
daughter of Charles and Emily (Palmer) 
Wilcox, who came to Waupaca county 
about 1855, and after living in the village of 
that name for a time removed to Waupaca 
township, where Mr. Wilcox followed farm- 
ing. The children of their family areas fol- 
lows: Winthrop, now of Wej'auwega, Wis. ; 
Lewis, of Fifield; Mary E , now the wife of 
our subject; Sheldon, of Osage, Iowa; and 
Adelbert, also of Weyauwega. The father 
of this family died in the year of his removal 
to Waupaca county, and the mother after- 
ward became the wife of Joel Rice, and is 
now living in Weyauwega. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mumbrue lived on a farm 
in W'aupaca township until the spring of 
1 868, when they removed to the farm which 
has since been their place of abode, in Sec- 
tion 31, Lind township. It comprises 160 



acres of rich land, which has been trans- 
formed from its primitive condition into rich 
and fertile fields by the untiring labors of 
the owner. Their home has been blessed 
with two children, Leon C, who was born 
August 28, 1872, and for two years attended 
the State Normal School at \'alparaiso, 
Ind. ; and Emily A., born November 18, 
1875, who is now the wife of Henry D. 
Bemis, their marriage taking place March 
14, 1895. 

Mr. Mumbrue is a Republican in politics, 
having been a stalwart supporter of that 
party since its organization. He has several 
times held school offices, but has never been 
an aspirant for political honors. Socially, 
he is allied with Garfield Post, No. 21. G. 
A. R. , of Waupaca. A kind-hearted man, 
pleasant and genial in manner and benevo- 
lent in disposition, he is justly entitled to the 
high regard which is accorded him. 



CARL ROEMER was born in Prussia 
March 4, 1837, and is a son of Ar- 
nold and Elizabeth (Roland) Roe- 
mer, natives of Germany, as were 
also their six children, of whom two died in 
the Fatherland, and four came to the United 
States. 

Arnold Roemer was born Januar}' 11, 
1794, and was a cooper by occupation, 
making his living by day's work. With his 
family he, in April, 1847, left his native 
land for America, taking passage at Antwerp 
on the "Albertina," and, after a voyage of 
sixty-three days, they landed at New York. 
Wisconsin, then a Territory, was their des- 
tination. Proceeding up the Hudson to 
Albany, they journeyed by the Erie canal 
to Buffalo, being six days on the canal, and 
from Buffalo came to Milwaukee. Mr. 
Roemer had sold all his possessions, real- 
izing some five hundred dollars, with which 
he bought of Enos Smith, in the town of 
Greenfield, Milwaukee county, a new farm, 
having only a few improvements, including 
an old log house. He added to the farm, 
had a good home, and in later years the 
property became very valuable. Mr. Roe- 
mer died there, as did also his wife, who 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



495- 



was born in April, iSoo, and each lived to 
be nearh' eighty-four years of age. 

Carl Roemer had a common-school ed- 
ucation in Germany, and when ten years of 
age, came to the United States. There 
was plenty of work on his father's new farm, 
besides which he learned the cooper's trade 
with his father and brother, remaining at 
home till about nineteen years old. Then, 
in 1856, he came to Saxeville, 'Waushara 
county, with Coley Smith, for whom he 
afterward worked two years and a half, 
later, with the money saved from his wages, 
buying thirty acres of land in that locality. 
On March 19, i860, in Waushara county, 
he married Christiana Hildred, who was 
born in England, and after his marriage lo- 
cated on his farm, then consisting of seventy 
acres. They became the parents of the fol- 
lowing children: Arthur, of Saxeville town- 
ship, Waushara county; Frances, now Mrs. 
Charles Wilde, of Lind township, and 
Samuel, now of Oshkosh. Mrs. Carl Roe- 
mer died February 3, 1868, in Waushara 
county. 

Mr. Roemer, the subject of this sketch, 
continued to reside in Saxeville township 
till March, 1884, when he removed to Lind 
township, Waupaca county, where the year 
before he had bought 120 acres in Section 
28. Again marrying, Helen A. Warner be- 
came his second wife, and the children of 
this union were: Bernard, William, Jennie, 
Walter, Archie and Daniel, all living, ex- 
cept Jennie. Mr. Roemer has always been 
a Republican, and in religious faith attends 
the Methodist Church. He followed the 
cooper's trade part of the time with his 
farming while living in Waushara county. 
He has now 140 acres of land without in- 
cumbrance, has been successful in spite of 
all the difficulties he has had to contend 
with, and deserves great credit. 



KNUD K. HATTEBERG, one of 
Wood county's self-made men, and 
a representative citizen of Nor- 
way, was born in Rosadale, Kvind- 
herred, Norway, June 24, 1838, a son of 
Knud Hatteberg, one of the early settlers of 
that locality. In the schools of his native 



land he acquired his education, pursuing his 
studies until fifteen years of age. He then, 
commenced work in a shop in the city of. 
Bergen, Norway, where was manufactured) 
furniture, and there learned turning and 
bench work. He did not serve a regular ap- 
prenticeship, but soon mastered the business' 
and afteward worked in several cities in Nor- 
way. For nine years he occupied the posi- 
tion of foreman of a company which owned 
a mine and machine shop, and for four years 
he was employed in Bergen. His labors- 
were interrupted by four years' service in 
the Norwegian army, and in the discharge 
of his duties he displayed the same loyalty 
and fidelity which has characterized his en- 
tire life. 

In May, 1871, Mr. Hatteberg was united! 
in marriage to Jakobine Jacobison, who was 
born in Bergen, in 1848, a daughter of Hans 
and Bertha (Lampe) Jacobson. The father 
was a cable maker, and both he and his wife- 
died in Norway. In their family were four- 
teen children, of whom Mrs. Hatteberg is- 
the eldest. The others who still survive are- 
Christopher, Jacob, Ole M. and Margaret,, 
the last named being a resident of Norway. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hatteberg have a family of 
eight children: Betsy, Clara, Sarah, Ger- 
trude, Christie, Axel, Clarence and Joyce. 
In June, 1875, Knud Hatteberg bade adieu, 
to friends and native land and sailed for 
America, hoping to benefit his financial con- 
dition, for wages were low in his native land, 
and he saw not much chance of advance- 
ment. He took up his residence in \\'hite 
Water, Wis., where he worked at the turn- 
er's trade some seven years, during which 
time he built a pleasant home and got com- 
fortably started in life. He reached Chi- 
cago with less than $40 in money, and with 
a wife and two children dependent upon him 
for support; but with resolute purpose he 
began work and success has crowned his 
efforts. In April, 1882, he moved his family 
to Marshfield, and entered the employ of the 
Upham Manufacturing Company, employed 
at turning and bench work. His fine home 
in that cit}' is a monument to his enterprise 
and industry, and his life demonstrates what 
can be accomplished through perseverance 
and determination. 



}96 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Hatteberg has given his children 
good educational pri\'ileges, and three of the 
daughters are now teachers in the public 
schools, Bessie having taught for six years 
in the high school of Marshfield. They are 
graduates of this school, and Gertrude will 
have completed the prescribed course in 
1896. In his youth Mr. Hatteberg was con- 
firmed in the Lutheran Church, and both he 
and his wife hold membership with the con- 
gregation at Marshfield. Socially, he be- 
longs to the United Workmen of America, 
and in politics he is a stalwart Republican, 
but has never been an office seeker. 



GEORGE RUDER was born in Nu- 
remberg, Bavaria, September 7, 
1827, and was a son of Wolfe and 
Kathrina Ruder. The family are of 
German ancestry, and Wolfe Ruder, as was 
his father before him, was born in Germany. 
George Ruder was educated in his native 
land, and in early life learned the brewing 
business in his father's brewery, worked at 
his trade in some of the large cities of 
Europe, and traveled extensively through 
Germany. He came to the United States 
in 1854, locating first in Milwaukee, and 
worked at his trade in that city for upward 
of two years. In 1856 he removed to Ste- 
vens Point, Portage Co., Wis., purchased a 
brewery under construction, and was in 
business there for four years. Here he mar- 
ried Louisa Schmidt, who was born in the 
Province of Posen, Germany, April 25, 1835, 
and they became the parents of the follow- 
ing named children : Louis, Herman, Clara, 
Emma (wife of Henry Momburg, residing in 
Wausau), Edward (residing in Merrill), 
Henry, William, Louisa, Helen and Emil. 
The last named, who was proprietor of a 
brewery in Merrill, Lincoln Co., Wis., 
passed away May 23, 1894, at the age of 
thirty-four years, leaving a widow and six 
children. The parents of Mrs. George Ru- 
der, Godfried and Henrietta (Geilhardt) 
Schmidt, were born in Germany. 

In 1 860 George Ruder removed to Wau- 
sau, Marathon county, and .erected a brew- 
ery, which he conducted up to 1887, when 
he retired from active business. In 1888, 



with his wife and daughter Emma, he paid 
a visit to his native land, and spent more 
than a year traveling in the country and 
visiting his relatives and friends, going to 
Berlin, Munich and other places. His death 
occurred December 29, 1893, in Milwaukee, 
where he had gone for medical attendance, 
and he was buried in Wausau Cemetery. 
Mr. Ruder was village president, and an 
alderman of the city of Wausau four years. 
Henry Ruder, secretary and treasurer 
of the George Ruder Brewing Company, 
was born at \\'ausau, Marathon Co., Wis., 
April 20, 1 87 1, and is a son of George and 
Louisa (Schmidt) Ruder. He received his 
primary' education in the public schools of 
his native city, and also attended the May- 
ers College, Milwaukee, for three 3-ears, 
graduating from that institution in 1889. 
After completing his college course he re- 
turned to Wausau, entered the office of his 
father's brewery as bookkeeper, and, after 
the stock company was formed, in 1892, he 
was elected to his present position of secre- 
tary and treasurer. On May 22, 1S94, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Alma Kick- 
busch, daughter of August and Amelia Kick- 
busch, who were both born in Germany, and 
are now residents of Wausau. Mr. Ruder 
is a member of the Wausau Liederkranz and 
of the West Side D. A. U. V. He is one 
of the live, progressive young business men 
of the conmiunit}-, and highly esteemed as 
a citizen. 



JOHN A. LEWIS is one of the most en- 
terprising and progressive agriculturists 
of Dayton township, Waupaca county. 
His farm is a valuable tract of land 
comprising 120 acres. His home, one of 
the most comfortable country residences in 
the neighborhood, was erected in 1892, and 
stands as a monument to his business ability, 
his energy and enterprise. 

Mr. Lewis was born in ^'irgil, Cortland 
Co., N. Y., September 12, 1853, and is a 
son of Jonas L. and Sophrona (Ford) Lewis. 
The father was a farmer, as was the grand- 
father, James Lewis. The former was born 
in Connecticut, and removed to Western 
New York when it was a frontier settlement. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



497 



He married the daughter of OHver Ford, a 
farmer, and they became the parents of 
eight children, seven of whom were born in 
the Empire State, namely: Mary A., wife 
of Orin Olmstead, of Red Willow county. 
Neb. ; Oliver, who died in Wisconsin at the 
age of nineteen; Renette, wife of James 
Lewis, of Bay county, Mich. ; William, Philo 
and Alice, all of whom died in Wisconsin; 
John A. ; and Oliver, who was born in this 
State, and is still living here. 

In the fall of 1856, Mr. Lewis brought 
his family to Wisconsin, traveling by rail 
and boat to Sheboj'gan, thence to Fond du 
Lac, where he had a brother living and 
where he located temporarily. Shortly after 
he drove to Da}-ton township, Waupaca 
county, where he had a number of relatives 
living, and in Section 18 made his first pur- 
chase of land, eighty acres in its primitive 
condition, not a furrow having been turned 
or an improvement made upon the tract. 
He paid $700 for the property, and thereby 
exhausted his means, and to add to the 
hardships of the family two sons, William 
and Philo, died of diphtheria in September, 
1856. In the fall of 1858, the father, 
mother and two youngest sons, returned to 
New York, where they spent two years, then 
again located upon the old home farm in 
Dayton township. He added to the original 
tract forty acres, and with success carried 
on agricultural pursuits until called to the 
home beyond September 19, 1889. His 
wife had passed away March 16, 1884, and 
both were interred in Crystal Lake Ceme- 
tery. In politics, Jonas Lewis was a stal- 
wart Republican, and was a very energetic 
and industrious man, who labored earnestly 
to provide his family with the comforts of 
life, and through his own well-directed efforts 
won prosperity. 

John A. Lewis was only three years old 
when brought by his parents to this State, 
and in the primitive schools of the frontier 
he was educated, while amid the wild scenes 
of pioneer life he was reared. He became 
familiar with the duties of farm life upon the 
old homestead which is now his place of resi- 
dence, and there continued until eighteen 
years of age, when he began to earn his own 
living by working as a farm hand. On his 



father's death he came into possession of 
the home place, and his excellent care and 
supervision have made it one of the most 
desirable properties of this section of the 
county. In 1880, in Dayton township, Mr. 
Lewis married Miss Ella Stratton, who died 
in May of the same year, and for his second 
wife he chose Frances E. Darling, a native of 
Dayton township, and a daugh^^er of T. C. 
Darling. She was called to the home 
beyond April 25, 1894, and left one child, 
Charlie A., a most promising boy, born 
August 14, 1889. 

Mr. Lewis votes with the Republican 
party but has never sought or desired polit- 
ical preferment, his time and attention be- 
ing largely taken up by his business interests, 
in which he is meeting with excellent suc- 
cess. His wide-awake and progressive spirit 
destine him to become a man of considerable 



DOUGLAS L. SAUERHERING, M. 
D., founder of the Riverside Hos- 
pital, at Wausau, Marathon county, 
was born May i, 1861, in Mayville 
township. Dodge Co., Wis., and is a son of 
Dr. Adolph F. and Clara (Ubert) Sauer- 
hering. 

Dr. Adolph F. Sauerhering was born in 
Liebstadt, Prussia, studied medicine at 
Koenigsberg, and graduated at Berlin, Ger- 
many. He came to the United States in 
1848, lived in Milwaukee one year, and in 
1849 located at Mayville, Dodge Co., Wis., 
where he was a well-known and prominent 
physician, and in active practice until Jan- 
uary 23, 1894. On that day, while return- 
ing from a visit to a patient, his horse took 
fright and he was thrown from the buggy, 
receiving injuries from which he died thirty- 
six hours later, aged seventy-two years, 
four months and eleven days, and having 
practiced medicine nearly fifty years. 

Dr. Douglas L. Sauerhering received 
his literary education at Mayville, Dodge 
Co., Wis., graduating at the high school 
there in 1875. Then he was in a drug 
store at Brooklyn, N. Y. , and in one at 
Horicon, Wis., reading medicine the while, 
for a period of about two years in all; his 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



health failing at this time, he was sent west 
by his father, and lived on a stock ranch 
near Greeley, Colo., for two years. Then 
returning home, he resumed the study of 
medicine with his father, and subsequently 
studied six months with Dr. Nicholas Senn, 
the noted surgeon, of Milwaukee, Wis., now 
of Chicago, 111. In 1884 Dr. Sauerhering 
became a student in the Medical Department 
of the Northwestern University at Chicago, 
known as the Chicago Medical College, re- 
mained during the winter and the following 
summer, taking a course at the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons, and by studious 
and hard work was graduated from the Chi- 
cago Medical College in March, 1886. He 
returned home, and practiced with his 
father until November, 1886, locating then 
at Wausau, Marathon county, where in a 
short time he became well-known as a suc- 
cessful physician, and soon secured a large 
clientage. 

In 1887 Dr. Douglas L. Sauerhering was 
united in marriage at Mayville, Dodge Co., 
Wis., with Huldah Sauerhering, and they 
have two children, Adolph L. and Henrietta. 
In 1888 the Doctor took a post-graduate 
course at the New York Post-Graduate 
Medical School, and in January, 1892, went 
to Berlin, Germany, where he took a special 
course of instruction in medicine and sur- 
gery at the Frederick William University. 
He is a prominent member of the I. O. O. 
F. , and has taken all the degrees. He is a 
Democrat in politics, and is the present 
coroner of Marathon county. 

After his return from Germany Dr. 
Sauerhering conceived the idea of estab- 
lishing a hospital at Wausau, and bought 
the property on the southwest corner of 
Main and Scott streets, fronting on each 
street, 180 x 152 feet. He conducted a 
hospital for one year in a small building then 
on the land, and, finding business encourag- 
ing, decided to build a more commodious 
and modern structure, adapted especially to 
the convenience and comfort of patients. 
This was commenced in June, 1893, and 
was finished in December of the same year. 
It is of brick, and has two stories and base- 
ment; the main part is 2 i x 48 feet, and the 
wing, or L, 36 x 56. There are twenty 



rooms in the building, each well lighted, 
bright and cheerful; it is furnished with 
modern conveniences, such as electric call 
bells connected with all the rooms, hot and 
cold water, a complete system of ventila- 
tion, steam heat, gas, bath rooms, closets, 
etc., and in general is well-equipped with a 
view to the benefit and comfort of the sick 
or convalescent. The ordinary capacity of 
the hospital is twenty-six beds, but this 
number can be increased to forty if neces- 
sary. The patronage has increased two 
hundred per cent since the institution was 
established, and it is no doubt one of the 
most popular of its kind in Northwestern 
Wisconsin. Not only are its interior ar- 
rangements ordered with especial thought to 
the welfare of patients, but an ambulance is 
attached to its service, such as is generally 
only found in large cities, and it is the only 
one of its kind in use in Wisconsin outside 
of Milwaukee. The Doctor has also had 
built a large and commodious barn on the 
premises for the accommodation of the 
horses and carriages of visitors and patients. 
The medical attendance of the hospital is 
under the personal supervision of Dr. Sauer- 
hering, assisted by Dr. P. J. Taugher, and, 
if desired, any one of the fifteen physicians 
of the city can be called in consultation. 
The nursing is in charge of regularlj- grad- 
uated nurses. 



PATRICK J. TAUGHER, M. D., a 
prominent physician of Wausau, 
Marathon county, and treasurer of 
the Riverside Hospital in that city, 
was born at Newton, Manitowoc count}', 
November 28, 1861. He is a son of Michael 
and Bridget (Tighe) Taugher, who were 
born in the Emerald Isle, but left their na- 
tive land when quite young, and came to 
America. 

The mother of Michael Taugher died at 
sea, during the passage to America. The 
Doctor's father and four uncles and two 
aunts settled in Manitowoc county. Wis., 
early in the "fifties," and engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits. There the parents of the 
subject of this sketch still reside, and are 
honored and highly-respected members of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



499 



the community. They had born to them a 
family of eleven children, eight of whom are 
living, namely: Margaret, wife of Thomas 
Morris, residing in Newton, Wis. ; Rev. 
Michael, pastor of St. Joseph's Roman 
Catholic Church, Fond du Lac; John, en- 
gaged with the Northern Railway Company 
at kaukauna, Outagamie Co., Wis. ; Bridget, 
wife of James Kreeland, residing in Milwau- 
kee: Patrick J., subject of this sketch; 
Katie, married to Herman Head, a grocer 
of Oshkosh, Wis.; Anthony A., a promi- 
nent druggist of Fond du Lac; and Jose- 
phine, residing with her brother Michael in 
Fond du Lac. 

Dr. Patrick J. Taugher was reared in 
his native town, and received his primary 
education in its public schools. At the age 
of sixteen he engaged as a teacher in the 
district schools of the county, and followed 
this profession for a period of five years. At 
the expiration of that time he entered the 
Medical Department of the Northwestern 
University of Chicago, and was graduated 
from that institution March 23, 1886, during 
the latter year, up to the time of his gradua- 
tion, being interne of the Emergency Hos- 
pital of Chicago. After graduating he en- 
gaged in the practice of his chosen pro- 
fession at Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac Co., 
Wis. , and remained there some seven 
months, when he formed a partnership with 
Dr. Hayes, of St. Nazianz, Manitowoc Co., 
Wis. , which partnership existed for a year, 
when he purchased Dr. Hayes' interest in 
the business, and continued the practice by 
himself for seven years. 

At Elkhorn, Walworth Co., Wis., Octo- 
ber II, 1887, Dr. Patrick J. Taugher mar- 
ried Miss Mary Buckley, and to their union 
have been born four children: Louis, Mon- 
ica, Victor and Claude. Mrs. Taugher is a 
daughter of Dennis and Bridget (Neylon) 
Buckley. In 1893 Dr. Taugher was ap- 
pointed a member of the board of pension 
examiners for Fond du Lac, returned there, 
and on his arrival was appointed president 
of the board. He resigned this position Oc- 
tober I, 1894, and his resignation was ac- 
cepted by the government November i of 
the same year. He then formed a partner- 
ship with Dr. Sauerhering, removed to Wau- 



sau, Marathon county, and later on was ap- 
pointed treasurer of the Riverside Hospital, 
in that city. Dr. Taugher is a member of 
the Catholic Knights, Catholic Foresters, 
and the A. O. U. W. , and politically is an 
active member of the Democratic party. 
The family attend the Roman Catholic 
Church. 

The Northwestern Tr.mning School 
FOR Nurses. — The school was organized by 
the leading ladies of Wausau, and incorpor- 
ated under the laws of the State of Wis- 
consin. Its present officers are: President, 
Mrs. G. D. Jones; vice-president, Mrs. J. 
M. Smith; treasurer, Mrs. Finlaj' McDon- 
ald; recording secretary, Mrs. J. S. Bishop; 
corresponding secretarj'. Miss Margaret 
Ryan. The management of the School is 
conducted by a board of twenty-four direct- 
ors. A contract for the practical education 
of the pupils has been made with the River- 
side Hospital, while didactic lectures are de- 
livered by Dr. F. R. Zeit, of Medford, Dr. 
O. T. Hougen, of Grand Rapids, and Drs. 
Wilson, Taugher, Spencer and Sauerhering, 
of Wausau. The nurses' work is under the 
supervision of a trained and graduated sup- 
erintendent, while the Home is presided over 
by a matron. There will eventually be two 
classes, first and second year students, of 
twelve members each. 



JOHN E. HOFFMAN. The lives of our 
forefathers are of interest on account 
of the inspiration and example they 
afford, 3'et we need not look to the past 
for lessons which may well be studied and 
practiced. The young men of to-day, 
especially in the West, display a spirit of 
progress and enterprise which would per- 
haps have astonished those who lived in dajs 
gone by. Mr. Hoffman possesses this true 
Western spirit, and it is to his life record 
that we would now call attention. 

Mr. Hoffman was born in Berlin, Mara- 
thon Co., Wis., March 31, 1S64. His 
father, John Hoffman, was born in Ger- 
many in 1842, and when a child of six years 
was brought to America by his parents, 
John and Christine Hoffman. The former 
was a merchant tailor, following that busi- 



k 



500 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



ness until coming to the New World. The 
family numbered seventeen children, but 
John is the only son living; Augusta, Regina, 
Leana, Pauline, Maggie, Mary and Chris- 
tine, also survive, and the others died in 
childhood. The date of the emigration of 
the family to the New World is 1845. 
They made a location in Buffalo, N. Y. , 
where for a time the father worked at the 
tailor's trade, then removed to Michigan, 
taking up a homestead claim near Town 
City. There he carried on farming through- 
out his remaining days and died in 1892, 
almost a centenarian. He was a man of 
fine education; attained considerable promi- 
nence in his native land; and served in the 
German army. His wife passed away in 
1880. They took great interest in religious 
work and lived consistent Christian lives 
which gained them the respect and con- 
fidence of all with whom they came in con- 
tact. 

John Hoffman, father of John E., was 
educated for the ministry, pursuing his 
studies in Buffalo, N. Y. , then at Fort 
\\'ayne, and later in St. Louis, Mo., where 
he graduated when about seventeen years 
of age. He was then assigned to a charge 
in Marathon county. Wis., and has devoted 
his entire life to the work of the ministry 
of the German Lutheran Church, preaching 
in seven different languages. He is now 
located in New Orleans, La. In i860 he 
married Rosa Anteitz, who was born in Ger- 
many about 1843, one of the seven children 
of George and Wilhelmina Anteitz, the oth- 
ers being George, Anton, Reginald, John, 
Christine and Anna. This family crossed 
the Atlantic about 1848. The father was 
a gunsmith by trade, and manufactured 
guns for the German government. On his 
his way to America he was stricken with a 
fever which affected his sight, and he has 
since been blind. He located near Towns, 
Mich., where he now resides. He is a Ger- 
man nobleman, and brought with him to 
this country some capital, which he judici- 
ously invested, adding greatly to his wealth. 
He now owns a sawmill and lumber yard 
which are carried on by his sons, Reynold 
and John. To Rev. and Mrs. Hoffman were 
born eleven children, and all are yet living, 



save the eldest, William. The others are 
John E., Jacob, Martin G., Clarissa Z., 
Philip E., Adolph E., Otto E., Edward E.. 
William E. and Harry H. 

John E. Hoffman, whose name begins 
this sketch, acquired his early education 
under his mother's instructions, she teach- 
ing her children in the evenings. When a 
boy of nine j^ears he fell down cellar, break- 
ing his leg three inches below the hip. and 
this accident crippled him for life, making 
one leg shorter than the other. Later he at- 
tended the parochial schools until thirteen 
years of age, when he began work in a 
woolen-mill in Sheboygan Falls, Wis., be- 
ing thus emploj-ed for a year and a half. 
He next learned the riiiller's trade in that 
city, following that pursuit for nine years, 
when his health failed. During the three 
succeeding years he engaged in the lighter 
pursuit of school teaching in Marathon 
count}', A\'isconsin. 

Mr. Hoffman was married October 7, 
1885, to Minnie A. Ebert, who was born in 
Berlin township, Marathon county, April 30, 
1865. Her parents, William J. and Amelia 
(Bartlett) Ebert, were both born in German}-, 
and came to America at the ages of seven- 
teen and thirteen years, respectively. The 
father settled with his parents in Berlin 
township, and after his marriage there fol- 
lowed farming. During the Civil war he 
served for one year in the Third Wisconsin 
Volunteer Infantry, ^^'illiam Ebert is agent 
for the Esterly and Milwaukee Jr., Harvest- 
ing Machine Cos. , and also local agent for 
Lindsay Bros, of Milwaukee, and Yankee 
Horse Rakes of Fond du Lac, Wis. , and 
has made a great success in whatever he has 
undertaken. Mr. Ebert's mother was first 
married to Mr. Lunke, having by him seven 
children in thirteen years, when he died. She 
then married Mr. Ebert, having by him two 
children in seven years, when he died. The 
third husband was Mr. \\'eidboldt, who died 
fifteen months after their marriage. She 
remained a widow for thirteen years, living 
with her son Wm. J. Ebert until she died at 
his home in the town of Berlin, and was 
buried on his farm in a grove of cherry 
trees, east from where the house now stands. 
She was fifty-si.\ years old at the time of her 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHIUAL RECORD. 



501 



death. Only three are Hving out of the whole 
family, namely: Aug Lunke in Wausau, Car- 
oline Lunke, now Mrs. Bauman, of Berlin, 
and William J. Ebert, of the town of Berlin, 
Marathon Co., Wis. Mrs. Wm. J. Ebert's 
mother, Mrs. Barteldt, had four children as 
follows: Julia, Minnie, Herman and Emillia, 
now Mrs. Wm. J. Ebert. Mr. John Barteldt, 
Mrs. William J. Ebert's father, died in 
April, 1S78. All the rest of this family are 
living and belong to the Lutheran Church. 
In the Ebert family were thirteen children: 
John A., Minnie, Anna, Henry, August, 
Otto, Bertha, Theodore, Ida, William, 
Emma, Clarissa and Herman, all living but 
Anna, who died at the age of twenty years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman have five children, 
three j-et living: Ellen A., Chester A., and 
Arthur I. ; Irwin W. and Alvina B. both 
died in infancy. Soon after their marriage, 
Mr. Hoffman established a general mercan- 
tile store in Reedsville, Wis., but a year 
later was burned out and lost all he had. In 
1887 he came to Merrill and was employed 
as clerk in a grocery store until May i, 1893, 
when he formed a partnership with R. J. 
Collie, under the firm name of Collie & Hoff- 
man, which connection still continues. He 
deserves great credit for his success in life, 
for he has had many difficulties to overcome. 
In politics he is a Republican, and is serving 
as alderman from the Fifth ward, but is by 
no means a professional politician. He is a 
member of the Modern Woodmen and 
American Mechanics Societies, in which he 
takes an active interest, and he and his 
family attend the Presbyterian Church. 



JOHN W. HORTON (deceased) was a 
prominent and influential citizen of 
Waupaca township, and took an im- 
portant part in the development and 
upbuilding of this locality. He deserves 
mention on the pages of this history, and 
we take pleasure in thus perpetuating his 
memory and handing down to his children 
an authentic record of his well-spent life. 

Mr. Horton was born in Steuben county, 
N. Y., May 5. 1826. His father, John Hor- 
ton, who was a farmer, married a Miss 
Stewart, by whom he had nine children, 



namely: Ira H., Emily, John W., Lyman 
S., Morris M., Eliza, Spencer F., Owen R. 
and Mary F. Both parents died in the Em- 
pire State. John W. Horton was reared 
upon the old home farm, and remained un- 
der the parental roof until he had attained 
his majority. In September, 1847, he was 
united in marriage with Lorinda Early, 
daughter of William and Tamar Ann (Howe) 
Early, who were natives of New York, and 
were farming people. Their family num- 
bered seven children, as follows: Lydia, 
Lobeis, Lorinda, Nancy, Mary, Daniel, and 
one who died in infancy. This family be- 
came identified with pioneer life in Wau- 
paca county, whither they emigrated in the 
fall of 1849. They lived in Waupaca city, 
where the father worked at the mason's 
trade, following that pursuit until his death, 
which occurred in 1872. His wife survived 
him some years and passed away in 1892. 
Two weeks after their marriage, Mr. and 
Mrs. Horton started for the West hoping to 
benefit their financial condition, for they be- 
lieved that better opportunities were afford- 
ed in the less thickly populated States. For 
two years they lived upon a rented farm in 
Illinois, and in the spring of 1849 came to 
Waupaca county, settling on a farm on the 
Berlin road, where Mr. Horton passed the 
remainder of his life. The county-was then 
all new and wild, and the city of Waupaca 
at that time had no existence, while the set- 
tlements were few and widely scattered. 
He at once began to clear and improve his 
farm, and in course of time the once wild 
tract was transformed into rich and fertile 
fields. He took a deep interest in every- 
thing pertaining to the welfare of the com- 
munity, and was especially acti\'e in estab- 
lishing churches and schools. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Horton were born thir- 
teen children — twelve sons and one daughter 
— as follows: Morris W., George T. , Eme- 
line, John W., Charles D., Willis, Daniel 
W., Ira H., Frank E., Cyrus M., Bert M., 
Fred H. and Arthur, of whom Frank E. 
and Arthur are both now deceased. In his 
political views, Mr. Horton was a Demo- 
crat, but took no active part in political af- 
fairs, preferring to devote his time and 
energy to his business interests, to the en- 



502 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 



joyment of his home and to the promotion 
of those enterprises which were calculated 
to advance the general welfare. He con- 
tinued to operate his farm until called to the 
home beyond, May 2, 1888, deeply mourned 
throughout the communit_v. He lived to 
see all of his children grown and settle near 
him, except the daughter, who became the 
wife of a Mr. Bailard, and is living in Cassel- 
ton, N. Dak. Mrs. Horton has married 
again, becoming the wife of John R. McCar- 
rick, and they reside on the old home place. 



THOMAS H. SAVAGE. The subject 
of this sketch, Thomas H. Savage, 
was born in Brownville, Jefferson 
Co., N. Y. , March 22, 1842, and is 
the son of Nathaniel and Mary (Sharon) 
Savage, born in New York, and of Irish 
descent, who went into Jefferson county in 

1837- 

Nathaniel Savage was a successful cabi- 
net maker, but died at the age of thirty-three 
years at Brownville, N. Y. , leaving a family 
of six children, only three of whom are now 
living: Judge John A., lawyer, ex-banker 
and a successful business man of Livingston, 
Montana; Elizabeth, the wife of John Main, 
of Sterlingville, N. Y. , and Thomas H., who 
left home at the age of twenty-three, and 
came west as far as Oconto, Oconto Co., 
Wis., where he engaged extensively in lum- 
bering; he also took up a homestead in the 
eastern part of Shawano county, then an 
unbroken and almost impenetrable wilder- 
ness. He and a companion were the only 
persons residing in that tract of country now 
called Green Valley, Shawano county. 

In 1872 he was united in marriage to 
Catherine Strong, of Evans Mills, Jefferson 
Co., N. Y. , and they have two children: 
Mary, born August 9, 1 873, and Frances born 
February 19, 1875. The parents of Mrs. 
Savage, Patrick and Marj- (Dean) Strong, 
were of Irish parentage, and died in June, 
1895, at the advanced age of nearlj' ninety 
years, at Evans Mills, N. Y. In 1886, Mr. 
Savage was appointed by the Hon. Commis- 
sioner of Indian Affairs to the position of 
farmer for the Menomonee tribe of Indians, 
and to superintend the lumbering operations 



carried on by them. This position he held 
for four years and a half. At the close of 
the Democratic administration he was re- 
leased from further duty, and returned to his 
home. He was then engaged for three 
years in the mercantile business at Un- 
derbill, Oconto Co., Wis., where he also 
held the position of postmaster. In 1892 
he received the appointment from President 
Cleveland to the office of Indian Agent for 
the Green Bay Indian Agency, Keshena, 
Wis., which position he now holds. In 
politics Mr. Savage has been a life-long 
Democrat 



HERMAN HACKER. Among those 
whose industrj' and honest worth 
contribute largely to the welfare of 
the community, and thus to the 
honor and prosperity of the State at large, 
is Herman Hacker, of Pella township, Sha- 
wano county. 

Mr. Hacker was born on his father's 
homestead in Pella township, December 3, 
1 86 1, son of John and Wilhelmine Hacker, 
the former of whom was born June 22, 1832, 
in the city of ^^'aldeck, Germany, received 
a common-school education, and was a shep- 
herd in German}'. He came to the United 
States in 1858, and here married Wilhelmine 
Preppernow. who was also born in Germany. 
They both came to America before marriage, 
and were married directly after their arrival. 
They came to Wisconsin, and located in 
Mayville, Dodge county, where Mr. Hacker 
worked land for others for three years. In 
1 86 1 he came with an ox-team from Dodge 
county to Pella, where he bought eighty 
acres of land in Section 18, which forms a 
portion of the farm now owned by his son, 
Herman Hacker, the subject of this sketch. 
No roads were cut through here at that time, 
and there were onlj' Indian trails for paths. 
They built a shanty, which was covered with 
grooved logs and floored with boards. It 
had half a window and a door. Thus they 
made a beginning. In this house Herman 
Hacker was born, and he can well remem- 
ber it, as it remained long after he grew up. 
The work of clearing was begun at once, 
and provisions had to be brought from New 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



London, Waupaca county, in a scow on the 
Embarrass river. The\' Jiad to work out in 
harvesting time on Ripen prairie, Winne- 
bago county, and then resumed the clearing, 
so continuing to labor until the farm was 
sufficiently cleared to be of some service as 
a means of support. Thus father and son, 
by their own efforts, hewed a home from 
the wilderness. They also bought land to 
the extent of i6o acres, some seventy of 
which were cleared. In 1865 John Hacker, 
together with the rest of the settlers, bought 
cemetery grounds, building a Lutheran 
Church on same. In 1866 he erected a log 
house, where the rest of his family were 
born, and in 1885 he put up a good frame 
house, which is the dwelling of to-day. No 
water for drinking or general house purposes 
could be got within half a mile, and had to 
be carried through the woods from a creek ; 
there being no threshing machines, grain 
had to be threshed with a flail, in the cold 
winter days, on hard-frozen ground, before 
the}' had a barn or floor of any kind. In 
1870 John Hacker dug and curbed up a well 
near the dwelling house, 130 feet deep, 
where he found good, pure water in plenty, 
and it remains there }-et. In 1879 the first 
big stones were blasted by Herman Hacker 
on the homestead, out of which the fences 
were built, and in this way very stony fields 
were cleared and prepared for all farm ma- 
chinery. John Hacker died October 28, 
1 889. His widow is still living on the home- 
stead with her son Herman. Mr. and Mrs. 
John Hacker had four children, namely : 
Herman, the subject of this sketch ; Minnie, 
wife of August Grunwald, of Clintonville, 
Waupaca county, who is a carpenter by 
trade (they have one daughter, Lydiaj; 
Louise, who married Fred Kroll, of Clinton- 
ville, also a carpenter, and has one son, 
Arthur ; and Anna, who does dressmaking 
in Clintonville, and lives with her brother 
Herman. 

At the time his father died Herman 
Hacker owned the farm, and he had for 
some time been the head of the family. On 
October 28, 1890, he was united in mar- 
riage with Amelia Worm, and they have had 
a daughter, Louise, who was born May 28, 
1894. The parents of Mrs. Hacker, John 



and Augusta (Worm) Worm, distant rela- 
tives of Mr. Hacker, were from Germany, 
came to New London, Waupaca Co., Wis., 
in 1859, and, locating there, cleared land 
on which they made their home, where both 
are now living, and where they expect to 
spend the remainder of their lives. They 
have had seven children, as follows : Will- 
iam, on the homestead in New London ; 
John, in New London ; Albert and Mary 
(twins), at home ; Amelia, Mrs. Hacker ; 
Matilda and Louis, at home. Politically, 
Mr. Hacker is an Independent. Both he 
and his wife are members of the Lutheran 
Church. In addition to his farm work Mr. 
Hacker engages in selling farm machinery 
and windmills, in which he has made a de- 
cided success, as he is an industrious and 
hard-working man, and is well liked by all. 
He and his wife received a good common- 
school education in both German and En- 
glish. 



IVl 



J. CURTIS, one of the leading and 
highly-respected citizens of Bel- 
mont township, Portage county, 
was born in Erie county, N. Y. , 
March 5, 1842, and is a son of Benjamin and 
Melissa (Colby) Curtis, who had a family of 
five children — four sons and one daughter. 
Mr. Curtis' parents moved to Canada 
West, when he was two years old, where 
they resided until after the death of the 
father, which occurred when our subject 
was ten years old. At the age of twelve he 
moved with his mother and family to Bel- 
mont, Portage county, in the spring of 1854, 
the pioneer days of the county, and two 
3ears before a school district was estab- 
lished. The winter of 1854-55 following, 
will be remembered by all old settlers as 
the winter of the deep snow, it being four 
feet deep on the level. Mr. Curtis' older 
brother, being in the pinery with the team, 
was unable to get home during the winter, 
on account of the deep snow, and there be- 
ing no roads in the township. Thus Mr. 
Curtis was compelled, at the age of twelve 
\ears, to provide all the fuel for the fires, 
which he had to chop and draw to the house 
on a hand-sled; also feed for the cow and 



504 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



calf, which was purchased of a neighbor, 
and drawn home on a hand-sled a distance 
of one and a half miles, he being obliged to 
make the trip everyday, no matter what the 
weather was like, as he could only draw 
enough feed at once to last twenty-four 
hours. But a persevering disposition carried 
him through the winter, and in the spring he 
came out with five cords of stove-wood 
ahead, and the cow and calf in good condi- 
tion. He remained with his mother until 
the year of 1862. 

In July, 1863, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Mary T. Barton, of Farmington 
township, Waupaca county, after which he 
moved back to Erie county, N. Y., and from 
there to Leon township, Monroe Co., Wis., 
arriving there in the year of 1869. By this 
union were born the following children: 
Henry B., who now resides in Centralia, 
Wash.; Mabel M., wife of Harvey Bishop, 
a resident of Belmont; Philo M., at home; 
Florence E., wife of Michael Crowl, of 
Cerro Gordo county, Iowa; and Merton E., 
at home; also Earnest E. Curtis, who was 
adopted by Irwin and Eliza Colvin, at the 
age of six months, soon after the death of 
the mother of this family, which took place 
January 26, 1879; she was buried in Leon 
township, Monroe Co. Wis. On December 
12, 1880, Mr. Curtis was again united in 
marriage, this time to Miss Eavis J. Colvin, 
who was born in Angelo township, Monroe 
county, December 12, 1859, and is a daugh- 
ter of Irwin S. and Eliza A. (Makana) Col- 
vin, who were natives of Vermont, her 
maternal ancestry coming from England. 
By this second union there are two children: 
Earl M. and Lloyd M. Curtis. 

On November 7, 1864, Mr. Curtis offered 
his sevices to the government, he being the 
first of a party of seven who enlisted in his 
neighborhood. He took part in the capture 
of Jefferson Davis, his regiment forming a 
part of the batallion which was assigned to 
that duty. He continued in the South un- 
til after the cessation of hostilities, and 
when the war was over he returned to his 
home. 

In March, 1881, Mr. Curtis took up his 
residence on his present farm in Section 5, 
Belmont township, and has since devoted 



his time and energies to agricultural pur- 
suits. His place is neat and thrifty in ap- 
pearance, is improved with good buildings, 
and is now highly cultivated. Aside from 
his farming interests he finds time to devote 
to public work, and he and his wife are 
both earnest laborers in the Methodist 
Church, in which he has served as steward, 
class leader and trustee, being now chair- 
mad of the board of trustees. He has also 
been Sunday-school superintendent, and his 
wife teacher and secretary in the same. He 
also took an active part in establishing Bel- 
mont Post No. 115, G. A. R. , of which he 
has been officer of the day, and is now com- 
mander. His wife is a charter member of 
the W. R. C. of Belmont. Charitable and 
benevolent, the poor and needy find in them 
friends, and their lives are replete with good 
deeds. Mr. Curtis exercises his right of 
franchise in support of the men and measures 
of the Republican party. 



GW. JONES, one of the substantial 
business men of Clintonville, is 
president of the G. W. Jones Lum- 
ber Co., a company which was in- 
corporated in December, 1890, but which, 
in the brief time since then, has, by the en- 
erg\' and business ability of its managers, 
built up a trade amounting to $200,000 an- 
nually. Mr. Jones is a native of Wisconsin, 
and with trifling exception, has devoted his 
time and attention to the development of 
its industries. 

He was born at Watertown in 1853, 
son of E. W. and Jane (Thomas) Jones, 
both natives of Wales. E. W. Jones, about 
1842, crossed the ocean and settled at Ra- 
cine, Wis., where he was married, and a 
few \'ears later he removed to Watertown. 
Here he conducted a mercantile business for 
a time, and then removed to Fox Lake. 
Starting for Pike's Peak, Colo., in 1859, he 
fell ill cii route, and, returning, died at Cam- 
bria, Wis., in November, 1859, his wife 
surviving until P'ebruary, 1862. Their three 
children were G. W. ; Frank P., vice-presi- 
dent of the G. W. Jones Lumber Co., and 
H. C. ; the last named was adopted by a 
family named Humphrey, assuming that 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



SOS- 



name, and is also connected with the above- 
named firm. 

Bereft of parental care at the early age 
of nine j'ears, the subject of this sketch was 
reared to young manhood on a farm near 
Fox Lake. He assisted in clearing the land, 
and attended the schools in that vicinity. 
He was also a student at Ripon College, 
Ripon, Wis., from 1869 to 1872. In 1876 
^Ir. Jones started in the grain business at 
Manitowoc, and a year later transferred the 
scene of his operations to Dundas, where 
he engaged in both the grain and mercantile 
trade. In 1878 he sold out his Dundas 
business and removed to Clintonville, where 
he has since remained. In that city he first 
engaged in handling grain and machinerj', 
building the warehouse now occupied by 
Stein Bros. This business thrived under 
the active management of Mr. Jones, and he 
established branches at New London and 
Marion. In 1884 he started "The Bank 
of Clintonville," a private bank, subse- 
quently admitting Mr. Gibson as a partner, 
and still later selling to him his remaining 
interest in this flourishing institution. Mr. 
Jones, in 1888, also sold out his grain busi- 
ness, and in 1889 went to North Yakima, 
Wash., where, until the fall of 1890, he. en- 
gaged in the real-estate and insurance busi- 
ness. Returning to Clintonville, Mr. Jones 
engaged in the lumber business, and in 1892 
he organized the G. W. Jones Lumber Co. 
The mills were then located in Buckbee, 
Waupaca county, but are now at Elcho, 
Langlade county. They give employment 
to about fifty men. The company makes a 
specialty of hardwood lumber, and also does 
an extensive jobbing trade, handling all 
classes of lumber, but giving the greater at- 
tention, perhaps, to the hard woods. The 
business has grown to immense proportions, 
and its growth has been due wholly to the 
efforts of Mr. Jones and his brother, Frank P. 

In 1876 G. W. Jones was married, at 
Manitowoc, to Miss Ella Sackett, a native 
of New York State, and daughter of Daniel 
D. and Rhoda (Squier) Sackett, who were 
early settlers at Plainfield, Waushara county, 
and who now reside at Clintonville. Mrs. 
Jones died in 1888, leaving one child, Roy. 
In 1892 Mr. Jones married Miss Maud F. 



Sackett, a sister of his first wife. They are 
members of the M. E. Church, of which 
Mr. lones is secretary and treasurer. He 
takes an active interest in Church work, and 
is now superintendent of the M. E. Sunday- 
school. Mr. Jones is a member of Clinton- 
ville Lodge, No. 197, F. & A. M., of Man- 
itowoc Chapter, No. 16, and of Oshkosh 
Commandery, No. 11. In politics he is an 
ardent Republican, and he is deeply inter- 
ested in the success of that party's princi- 
ples. He was a member of the first coun- 
cil of Clintonville, and is one of that little 
city's most enterprising and public-spirited 
citizens. 



ROBERT METZNER, one of the 
prominent citizens of Clintonville, 
Waupaca count}-, was born in the 
city of Hohenstein, Saxony, Ger- 
many, June 13, 1837, son of Carl and Wil- 
helmina (Reich) Metzner. 

Carl Metzner was a weaver by trade, 
and joined the large tide of German emi- 
grants to America in 1848. Locating first 
in Erie, Penn. , and spending one winter 
there, Mr. Metzner came west in the spring, 
and bought eighty acres of wild land in 
Sheboygan Falls township, ten miles west of 
Shebo)'gan, and, returning to Erie, brought 
his family at once to the new home. He 
improved it, and lived there through life, 
dying at the advanced age of eighty-five 
years, his wife preceding him to the 
grave at the age of seventy-four years. 
They reared a family of thirteen children, 
as follows: Wilhelmina, Augusta, Chris- 
tine, Herman, Carl, Theodore, Robert, 
Bertha, Amelia, Gustav, Anna, William and 
Louise. Robert was twelve years old when 
hi.'^, father came to Wisconsin. He remained 
on the homestead until 1S56, when, at the 
age of nineteen, he went to Aurora, III., and 
conmienced an apprenticeship to a black- 
smith, the coal smoke, however, being so 
unhealthy, he was compelled to abandon 
the trade. Then taking up the tinner's 
trade, ill health compelled him to gi\'e this 
up also. Returning to the farm he worked 
during the summers and attended the school 
in winter until 1859, whi;n he worked for a 



^o6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



time in the stone quarries in Upper Michi- 
gan, and later at lumbering. 

In 1 86 1 he began, in Houghton county, 
Mich., the manufacture of potash, an occu- 
pation he followed until 1876, producing 
about four hundred barrels per year. The 
potash was of a quality so superior that 
nearl)' every shipment brought words of 
commendation, accompanied by a larger or- 
der. Mr. Metzner in connection with this 
business cut cordwood in large quantities. 
He was one of the most prominent settlers 
in Houghton county. Through his efforts 
Schoolcraft township, Houghton county, 
was set off in 1865. He also laid out the 
village of Lake Linden, and created the first 
school district. First renting a small log 
house, which soon proved inadequate, he and 
four other pioneers contributed $500 for the 
erection of a more commodious structure. 
As the immigration increased this, too, was 
soon too small, and in .1878, when Mr. 
Metzner left Lake LindeS,' seven teachers 
were employed in the buildings. For twelve 
consecutive 3'ears he was moderator of that 
school district. During the break-up in 
spring the early settlers were often without 
mail for six weeks; the mail sacks would 
often be found hanging to trees beside the 
trail where the storm-caught carrier had 
abandoned them. 

In 1878 Mr. Metzner came to Clinton- 
ville, and with others built a tan-bark ex- 
tract plant, which produced a salable article, 
but not with a margin sufficient to make 
production profitable: and the plant in 1880 
was abandoned. With ^^^ H. Stacy he 
purchased an interest in the fiouring-mill at 
Clintonville, soon after selling out to P. \'. 
Lawson. Returning to the old homestead 
in Sheboygan county for three years, Mr. 
Metzner sold it in 1883, and purchased the 
G. S. Doty residence, at Clintonville, which 
he has since made his home. On August 
13, 1866, he was married to Miss Johanna 
Brandis, who is of German parentage. They 
have a family of three children, Amelia, 
Louise and Anna (now the wife of Claude 
Gibson, cashier of the Clintonville Bank). 
Mr. Metzner is independent in politics, vot- 
ing for the best man and for the measures 
which commend themselves to his judgment. 



Himself and wife are members of the Con- 
gregational Church, and he is a member of 
the F. & A. M. Both for his past mem- 
orable labors in developing the great North- 
west, and for his present interest and efforts, 
expended in the public welfare, Mr. Metzner 
is esteemed by all who know him as one of 
the foremost men of Clintonville. 



REV. FATHER A. A. GAGNON, 
the pastor of St. Hubert Church at 
Rosiere, is a native of the Province 
of Quebec, Canada, born July 3, 
1854, at St. Paul's Bay, Charlevoix county. 

A. G. Gagnon, his father, was of the 
same nativity, and was a carpenter by trade. 
He married Miss Malvina Marcoux, who 
was born in Quebec, and two children were 
the result of the union: A. A. and James, 
the latter of whom died at the age of 
eighteen years. The mother was called 
from earth in 1880, but the father is yet 
living in Canada. 

The subject of this sketch received his 
elementarj' education at the high school of 
his native place, at the age of nineteen en- 
tering the seminary of Chicoutimi, at Sague- 
nay. where he studied nine years in all. On 
September 21, 1883, he was ordained to the 
priesthood by Bishop Antoine Racine, bishop 
of Sherbrooke, and his first charge was as 
curate of Coaticook. For four years he was 
a missionary at Fort McLeod (Rock}- Moun- 
tains), and served seven months in that 
capacity in the Rocky Mountain region. 
Being taken sick in 1892, he returned to his 
old home at St. Paul's Bay, Canada, in 
order to recuperate, remaining there two 
years. In November, 1894, he was called, 
by Bishop S. G. Messmer, of Green Bay, to 
his present pastorate at Rosiere. 



CS. O. CHRISTISON. the popular 
and efficient postmaster of Ogdens- 
burg, Waupaca county, is a native 
of the beautiful land of Norway, his 
birth having occurred in Christiania, on the 
13th of July, 1844, and when seven years 
of age he was brought by his father, Got- 
fried Christison, to the New World. The 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



507 



latter, who is a shoemaker by trade, now 
lives in Milwaukee, \\'is. , but on his arrival 
in this State first located at Menasha, when 
that place was a small village. Two chil- 
dren were born prior to the emigration of 
the family, our subject and Theresa, now 
Mrs. Ole Olson, of Milwaukee, who accom- 
panied the father to the United States. The 
voyage lasted seven weeks. In this countr}' 
the family has been increased by the birth 
of three children: Vina, the wife of Louis 
Hoskinson, of Neenah, Wis. ; and George 
and Mary, twins, the former a resident of 
Merrill, Wis., and the latter the wife of 
Henry Roehmer, of Neenah. 

In August, 1 861, our subject enlisted in 
Company G, Third Wis. V. I., but his 
father would not let him serve on account 
of his youth. The following year, however, 
he became a member of Company I, Twenty- 
first Wis. V. I., although his father would 
rather have had him enlist in the Fifteenth 
Regiment. From Oshkosh the regiment 
went to Louisville, and participated in their 
first engagement at Perryville, Ky. After 
the battle of Murfreesboro, Mr. Christison 
was taken ill and remained in the hospital 
for three or four weeks, after which he re- 
joined his company, although against the 
advice of the surgeon. At Resaca, he was 
wounded May 14, 1863, a ball entering his 
neck on the right side and passing out on 
the left. Being averse to going to the 
hospital he still remained with his company, 
and was again wounded at Altoona Mountain 
on June 30, 1S64, after which he was unable 
to engage in active duty, but was in several 
hospitals until he was sent back to Madison, 
Wis. He received his discharge at Milwau- 
kee, on the 4th of July, 1865, at which time 
he was still very weak. He has in his 
possession the ball which was extracted 
from the wound received in the right shoulder 
at the battle of Altoona, and intends to 
keep the same as a memento. 

For some time Mr. Christison remained 
at home with his parents at Neenah, Wis., 
where he was employed as a drayman and 
teamster. In Winchester, Winnebago Co. , 
Wis., on the 7th of February, 1870, he was 
united in marriage with Caroline Rasmussen, 
a native of this country. They began house- 



keeping in Neenah, and continued to reside 
there until their removal to St. Lawrence 
township, Waupaca county, in February, 
1878. They located upon a farm of 185 
acres of partially-improved land in Section 
17, which our subject immediatelj' began to 
improve, placing it under a high state of 
cultivation, and there made his home until 
November, 1892, when he came to Ogdens- 
burg. He still owns his farm however, 
which he now rents. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Christison was born one child, Emma, who 
married Adelbert A. Phillips, but she passed 
away on the lOth of September, 1893, and 
lies buried in Ogdensburg Cemetery. She 
was a member of the Woman's Relief Corps, 
No. 114, in which she held the office of 
treasurer, and her death was deeply and 
sincerely mourned, not alone by her parents, 
but by many warm friends as well. 

Mr. Christison was appointed postmaster 
of Ogdensburg by President Cleveland in 
May, 1893, ^nd is now filling that office to 
the satisfaction of all concerned. He is a 
charter member of C. A. Arthur Post, No. 
239, G. A. R , in which he has filled all the 
offices; and also belongs to the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. He is well known 
in Waupaca county, and is "Charley" to 
his many friends. He still serves his 
adopted country as a loyal citizen in days 
of peace, as well as when fighting on 
southern battle-fields. In the army he was 
always found at his post of duty when able 
to be there, and was greatly averse to hav- 
ing a hospital record. A daring soldier and 
one more enthusiastic than Mr. Christiso.n 
did not exist, but he does not now receive 
the pension which he justly deserves. 



ANDREW RASMUSSEN. .\mongthe 
prosperous farmers of Helvetia town- 
ship, Waupaca county, the record 
of whose lives fills an important 
place in this volume, it gives us pleasure to 
commemorate the name of the gentleman, 
a sketch of whom we here now give. His 
birth occurred in Denmark, March 23, 1844, 
and he is a son of Jens Rasmussen, a farmer 
in ordinary circumstances. 

Disposing of his property in Denmark, 



KoS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in the summer of 1851, the father brought 
his family to the United States, sailing from 
Hamburg, Germany, and after a long and 
tedious voyage of several weeks landed in 
the New World. By the Erie canal they 
went to Buffalo, where they embarked on a 
lake vessel bound for Sheboygan, Wis., 
thence by plank road to Fond du Lac, and 
on to Neenah, Wis., bj' Lake Winnebago. 
With the father's brother in Winchester, 
Winnebago Co. ,Wis. , they made their home 
for a time, and from him the father purchas- 
ed forty acres of land, and began farming. 
Later he bought and pre-empted land in St. 
Lawrence township, Waupaca count}-, which 
was known as the Indian Lands, and there 
he built a log house fourteen feet square. In 
the spring of 1853 the family located in their 
new home. They came from Winchester 
with three j'okes of oxen, and as not a 
bridge spanned the Wolf river, the wagons 
were carried over on a f!at-boat, but the 
oxen and cattle had to swim. There were 
no hotels on the route, and they were obliged 
to sleep in their wagons by the roadside. 
They were among the first settlers in St. 
Lawrence township, Waupaca county, and 
at that time but one log house stood on the 
present site of Ogdensburg. 

The children of the family were as fol- 
lows: Christiana, now Mrs. J. Kurtz, of 
Neenah, Wis. ; Mary, widow of S. Herman- 
son, of St. Lawrence township; Andrew, of 
this sketch; Stina, wife of Ole Rasmussen, 
of Farmington township, Waupaca county; 
Henry, of Wausau, Wis. ; Annie, wife of 
George Whitman, of Minnesota; Peter, who 
died at Albany, N. Y., when the parents 
were i'« route for Wisconsin; and Peter, the 
second of the name, who was born in this 
country, and is now a farmer of St. Lawrence 
township. In the spring of 1851 the mother 
of this family died in Winchester, Wis., and 
was there buried. In that place the father 
was again married. He has now passed 
away, dying when over seventy years of age. 

The first school Andrew Rasmussen ever 
attended was in St. Lawrence township, 
though they lived there about three years 
before any schools were established. The 
building in which he conned his lessons was 
a rude structure of logs, 12x18 feet, with 



primitive furniture, and his first teacher was 
L. D. Moses. Being the oldest son his 
services were required at home, so that his 
opportunities for securing an education were 
quite limited, and his parents, who were 
poor, did not impress upon him the neces- 
sity of a good education. He was only able 
to attend school about two terms, and part 
of that time was after he had reached the 
age of twent3'-five years. At Waupaca, 
Wis. , Mr. Rasmussen enlisted for service in 
the Union army during the Civil war as a 
member of Company A, Forty-second Wis. 
V. I., under Captain McGregor, but was re- 
jected on account of weak lungs. Later he 
was drafted, and on going to Berlin, ^^^is., 
where he was examined, he was again re- 
jected. Up to this time he had always re- 
mained at home with his parents, but now 
he entered the lumber woods, where he has 
since spent fourteen winters. 

In Waupaca, on the 22nd of April, 1875, 
Rev. Anderson performed a marriage cere- 
mony which united the destinies of Mr. Ras- 
mussen and Miss Bertha Clemmensen, a 
native of Norway, born December 5, 1S49. 
Her father was a farmer and small land 
owner of Norway, where the parents both 
died when she was a girl of twent}' years. 
She then came to America, where she ob- 
tained work as a domestic. To our subject 
and his wife have been born six children: 
Minnie, born in Waupaca township. March 
26, 1876; Carl J., born in St. Lawrence 
township, November 5, 1877; Anna L. , 
born in Alban, Portage Co., Wis., Decem- 
ber 16, 1879; Clara A., also born in Alban, 
Portage county, March 12, 1882; Flora, 
born in Helvetia township, October 30, 
1884; and Lucy E., born in Helvetia town- 
ship, October 6, 1887. 

After his marriage Mr. Rasmussen lo- 
cated on a rented farm in Section 6, Wau- 
paca Tp. , Waupaca Co., though he had pre- 
viously bought 120 acres of land in the same 
section. In 1 877 he built on his own land and 
lived there for a short time, after which he 
removed to his father's farm in St. Lawrence 
township, but later located on a tract of 
new land in Alban township. Portage Co., 
Wis. In March, 1883, he took the "Dakota 
fever," and going to Clark county, S. Dak., 



I 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



509 



secured 160 acres of land eight miles south- 
east of Webster, but he had no team, so 
found work on the railroad. Becoming dis- 
satisfied he returned to Wisconsin in the fall 
of 1S83, and bought 120 acres of land in 
Section 34, Helvetia township, then entirely 
unimproved, not even a road leading to the 
place. A log shantj' had been built, 14X 20 
feet, and he soon had part of the tract un- 
der cultivation. He now owns eighty-seven 
acres, fifty of which have been cleared and 
placed under the plow, now yielding to him 
a read}-' return for his care and cultivation. 
Mr. Rasmussen is a strong temperance 
man, and on that account now casts his vote 
with the Prohibition party, though he was 
formerly a Republican. He has held many 
township offices to the satisfaction of all 
concerned, being overseer of highways and 
justice of the peace in Waupaca township; 
and assessor, pathmaster and member of the 
township board in Alban township, Portage 
county. Since a resident of Helvetia town- 
ship, Waupaca county, he was supervisor 
three years, justice of the peace, and in the 
spring of 1895 was elected township treas- 
urer, which office he had declined two years 
previous. He takes great interest in Sun- 
day-school and Church work, belonging to 
the United Brethren denomination. 



EH. UPHAM. Longfellow has some- 
where said: "The most interesting 
books to me are the histories of 
individuals and individual minds, all 
biographies and kindred subjects being my 
favorite reading," and assuredly any medium 
whereby may be perpetuated family genea- 
logy and history, such as we here present of 
the Upham family, can not be otherwise than 
paramount to all other kinds of biographical 
literature. 

The subject proper of this sketch, whose 
name appears above, is a native of Massa- 
chusetts, born September 19, 1851, in 
Southbridge, Worcester county, a son of 
Otis N. Upham (of whom further mention 
will presently be made), who was a son of 
Isaac Upham, Jr., who was born March 2, 
1772, a son of Isaac, Sr. , born October 3, 
1 74 1, both born in Sturbridge, Mass. Isaac 



Upham, Sr. , was a son of Ezekiel Upham, 
who was born in 1700, and in 1730 settled in 
Sturbridge, Mass., where he bought a tract 
of land and became a prominent citizen. 
He was one of fourteen individuals who 
organized the first Congregational Church 
in that place, and the records of that town 
show that he was a captain of militia. John 
Upham, his father, born in December, 
1666, was twice married, first time to Abi- 
gail Howard, and, after her death, to Tam- 
zen Ong; he died in 1733. His father, 
Lieut. Phineas Upham, who was born in 
1635, in Weymouth, Mass., was married in 
1658 to Ruth Wood; he was a lieutenant in 
the King Philip war, serving with distinction, 
and being complimented for bravery dis- 
played at the battle of the great swamp fort, 
December 19, 1675, near Kingston. R. I., 
between the Narragansett Indians and the 
combined forces of the Massachusetts, Ply- 
mouth and Connecticut colonies, in which 
engagement his captain fell at the first on- 
slaught, leaving him in full command of the 
company. He here received wounds from 
which he never recovered. His father, 
John Upham, came from England with the 
Hull Colony, who landed on the shores of 
America May 16, 1635, his wife, Elizabeth, 
and three children — John, Jr., Nathaniel 
and Elizabeth — also his sister Sarah; from 
him sprung all the Uphams in America, 
through the son Phineas, who was born 
on this side of the Atlantic, as above re- 
corded, the two other sons, John and 
Nathaniel, dying without issue. Thus has 
been traced the genealogy of E. H. Upham 
to the emigrant of 260 years ago — John 
Upham. 

Isaac Upham, great-grandfather of our 
subject, had seven brothers and sisters; he 
married Hepzibah Shapley, and had four 
children: Lucretia. Isaac, Marina and Ma- 
tilda. Of these, Isaac married Hannah 
Sumner, who bore him nine children, towit: 
Nancy, John, Harriet, Hannah, Polly, In- 
crease, Byron, Otis N. and Lament. 

Otis N. Upham, the youngest but one in 
the family of children born to Isaac, Jr., 
and Hannah (Sumner) Upham, was born 
June I, 181 1, at Sturbridge, Worcester Co., 
Mass., and was reared to agricultural pur- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



suits. He was married at Woodstock, 
Conn., September 13, 1842, to Caroline 
Goodell, who was born in West Woodstock, 
Conn., August 26, 1820, daughter of Asa 
and Pattie (Blood) Goodell, who were the 
parents of eleven children, named as fol- 
lows: Lovina M., Hosea B., Lorenzo D., 
Caroline, John W. , Mary E., Lathrop, 
Joseph, Lydia J., Asa and Sarah H. Asa 
Goodell was a well-to-do farmer, a promi- 
nent and useful man in his day, holding 
county and township offices; he served in the 
war of 18 12, and was present at Stonington, 
Conn., during the bombardment of that 
place by the British. His father, Asa Good- 
ell, Jr., served in the Revolutionar\' war in 
Gen. Putnam's regiment, which was after- 
ward commanded by Col. John Durkee; he 
participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, 
the Siege of Boston, and served in Rhode 
Island, New York and New Jersey through- 
out the war, and was granted a pension in 
1832 when ninety-five years of age for serv- 
ices rendered; he died in 1836, at the patri- 
archal age of ninetj'-nine years. 

After marriage Otis N. Upham settled 
on a farm in Massachusetts, and during the 
greater part of his life followed agricultural 
pursuits. His family of children, six in 
number, were named respectively: Frances, 
Edward H., Edwin O., William C, Everett 
A. and George W. The father died Febru- 
ary 28, 1885, in Massachusetts; the widowed 
mother is now living with her son Edward 
H. The Uphams have ever been noted for 
their loyalty, many of them having been 
soldiers either prior to, during or after the 
Revolutionarj' struggle. Isaac Upham, 
great-grandfather of Edward H.. partici- 
pated in that war as a "minute-man, " and 
history relates that while in the midst of 
haying in the harvest field he was " warned 
out " to take his place in the patriot ranks, 
and laying down his scythe he shouldered 
his gun and set out for the battlefield, his 
neighbors completing his harvesting for him. 

E. H. Upham, oi whom this sketch 
specially relates, received his education in 
his native town, graduating at a high school, 
after which he worked on various farms un- 
til coming, in 1871, to Wisconsin, and mak- 
ing his first western home in Mayville, 



Dodge county, where he labored in the lum- 
ber woods some three years. Returning to 
his native place, he spent three years there, 
learning the trade of machinist, after which, 
in 1877, he once more came to Wisconsin, 
and taking up his residence in Ripon, Fond 
du Lac county, there operated a stationary 
engine some four j'ears, after which he pro- 
ceeded to Missouri and was there employed 
on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad. 
In 1884 he once more came to Wisconsin, 
making his home in Marshfield, Wood 
count}', and has since had charge of an en- 
gine on the Wisconsin Central railroad. 

On May i, 1890, Mr. Upham was mar- 
ried to Mrs. Fannie A. (Tracyj Prouty, 
widow of H. Prouty, by whom she had no 
children. She was born at Rolling Prairie, 
Dodge Co., Wis., in i860, daughter of 
Lyman J. and Mary (Swan) Tracy, well-to- 
do farming people of Dodge county, the 
father born in New York State, the mother 
in Vermont. They had a family of eight 
children, named as follows: Fannie A., 
William H., Dora B., Edith M., David D., 
John, Bessie M. and Henry. Mr. and 
Mrs. Upham have an adopted daughter 
named Frances L. Politically the Uphams 
have always been stanch Republicans or 
Whigs, and our subject decidedly is no ex- 
ception to the rule. In civic affairs he is at 
present serving as alderman of the Third 
ward, Marshfield, while socially he is an ad- 
vanced Freemason, having passed all the 
degrees. He is a plain, unassuming man, 
one who thoroughly understands his bus- 
iness, and attends to it; has a pleasant 
home, and for his sound integrity, genuine 
hospitality and warmth of geniality, he en- 
joys the respect and esteem of all who know 
him. 



JOSEPH KEATING, one of the most 
genial and whole-souled men of Wau- 
paca county, makes his home in St. 
Lawrence township, where for several 
years he has been one of the prominent 
agriculturists. He is a native of the Emer- 
ald Isle, his birth having occurred in County 
Monaghan, March 17, 1824, and is a son of 
John and Ellen (Ferguson) Keating. The 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



511. 



father was a farmer in comfortable circum- 
stances, and reared a family of five children, 
three sons and two daughters. The parents 
both died in Ireland, where all of the family 
continue to make their homes, with the ex- 
ception of our subject, and James, who re- 
sides in lola, Wisconsin. 

Joseph Keating was the second son and 
fourth child of the family. He attended 
the common schools of his native land, and 
remained with his parents until coming to 
the United States. It was in January, 1849, 
that he concluded to emigrate, as he had 
many friends and acquaintances who were 
coming, and left Liverpool, England, bound 
for New York, where he arrived on the 4th 
of March, after a tedious voyage of six 
weeks. In Dutchess county, in the Empire 
State, he obtained a position with Archibald 
Campbell, a farmer, remaining with that 
gentleman for three years, when he rented 
land and began farming for himself, though 
he had to board as he was single at that 
time. 

In the fall of 1855 Mr. Keating returned 
to Ireland on a visit to his parents, and there 
he was married in March of the following 
year, the lady of his choice being Miss Ellen 
Gregg, who was born on that Isle, June 24, 
1838, and is a daughter of Robert and Jane 
Ann (Rickey) Gregg, the father a tavern- 
keeper. Mrs. Keating received a good com- 
mon-school education in Ireland. After 
their marriage, the young couple bid farewell 
to their childhood home and friends, and 
started for America. Leaving Liverpool, 
they were four weeks in crossing the Atlantic, 
and the vessel on which they embarked car- 
ried seven hundred passengers. Their des- 
tination was lola township, Waupaca Co., 
Wis., and they made the journey by rail 
from New York to Fond du Lac, Wis. , 
thence by boat up the lake and Wolf river 
to Gill's Landing, from which place they 
came by conveyance to Waupaca, then a 
small village, and then on to lola. On his 
arrival here Mr. Keating had $200, with 
which he purchased a new farm in lola 
township, in Section 19, Range 12, it com- 
prising eighty acres of land. It was just as 
nature left it, and during the erection of his 
log house he made his home with his brother 



in a shanty 16x16. Our subject and his 
wife started out in true pioneer style but, be- 
ing young and robust, they were undaunted 
and began life in earnest. Mr. Keating con- 
tinued the improvement of that place until 
the fall of 1868, when he sold out and re- 
moved to Section 35, St. Lawrence town- 
ship. He purchased eighty acres in Section 
22, in the same township, in November, 1882, 
and there continues to reside. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Keating have been born 
the following children: John, who was ac- 
cidentally killed in April, 1883, while load- 
ing logs at the Green Bay, W^inona & St. 
Paul depot at Ogdensburg.was about twenty- 
five years of age, and socially was an Odd 
Fellow; Joseph R., Jr., is a prosperous young 
farmer of St. Lawrence township, where 
he holds the office of township treasurer; 
Jennie is the wife of Gilbert Moore, of Og- 
densburg; William died at the age of six 
years. 

Besides owning 120 acres of farm land, 
Mr. Keating has two houses and lots in Og- 
densburg, and also ten acres of timber land. 
At one time he owned five hundred acres, 
but sold a portion and also gave some to his 
son. He started out in life a poor boy, but 
by persistent effort he has obtained a hand- 
some competence, being now well-to-do. 
He has assisted his children in' securing 
homes of their own, and has a family of 
which he may well feel proud. His wife 
has always been a true companion and help- 
meet to him, and to her is due much credit 
for the comfortable position in which they 
are now placed. They are highly respected 
people, and have the well wishes of all who 
know them. Politically, Mr. Keating sup- 
ports no particular party, prefering to vote 
for the man best qualified to fill the office, 
regardless of party ties. 

Joseph R. Keating, Jr., was born on Sec- 
tion 19, lola township, Waupaca county, 
March 14, 1861, and attended the district 
schools of the count)' during boyhood. He 
has witnessed much of the advancement and 
development of this region, in which he has 
also aided materially. He remained at home 
until his marriage, with the exception of 
several winters spent in the woods, and for a 
time was on the river. On the first of Jan- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



uary. 1S87, he was married in St. Lawrence 
township to Miss Carrie Moore, who was 
born in Ogdensburg. June 11, 1862, and is a 
daughter of Myron and Phcebe (Collier) 
Moore, who came from New York State. 
Her father was an agriculturist, and died 
several years ago, but the mother still re- 
sides in Ogdensburg at the age of sixty- 
seven. Mr. and Mrs. Keating have one 
child, Fred, who was born June 15, 1891. 
Previous to his marriage, Mr. Keating 
had formed a partnership with Alexander 
Feragan, in 1886, dealing in general mer- 
chandise; but in 18S9 he disposed of his 
share and began farming, though he still re- 
sided in Ogdensburg until the fall of 1891, 
when he purchased a tract of eighty acres 
in Section 22, St. Lawrence township and 
removed thereon. He is now the owner of 
180 acres of fine land, and is one of the 
prosperous young farmers of the vicinity. 
He is straightforward and honest in all busi- 
ness transactions, and wins the confidence of 
all with whom he comes in contact.' He is 
a stalwart supporter of the Republican 
party, and has become quite a leader in lo- 
cal politics. In 1893 he was elected town- 
ship treasurer, which office he still holds. 
Socially he belongs to the Independent Or- 
der of Odd Fellows, being a member of the 
Osrdensburg Lodge, No. 211. 



ALONZO W. JOHNSON, a worthy 
representative of one of the honored 
pioneer families of Union township, 
W'aupaca county, was born in Graf- 
ton county, N. H., February 5, 1836, and 
his parents Nathan and Mary C. (Webster) 
Johnson, were also natives of the same 
State. In 1855, the father, with our sub- 
ject, started westward, reaching Port Wash- 
ington, Wis., May 5, 1855, and not long 
after they located land in Washington 
county, this State, where the family soon 
took up their abode. There all resided 
until 1859, save our subject. 

Mr. Johnson was married March 4, 
1857, to Harriet M. Taylor, daughter of 
Charles L. and Margaret (Pierson) Taylor, 
the former a carpenter and millwright. Mrs. 
Johnson was born in Senaca count}', N. Y. . 



and was one of a family of eleven children, 
namely: Leonard, now deceased; Sarah 
Ann, who became the wife of Henry Hol- 
land, and died leaving one child: William 
Augustus L. , a soldier who died in New Or- 
leans; Joel A. and Harriet, twins, the former 
a soldier of the Civil war, who for nearly 
four years was a member of Company A, 
Eighth Wisconsin Infantry; Henrietta A., 
wife of Henry Mole, of Milwaukee, W'is. ; 
Esther, deceased; Charles R. , a soldier in 
Co. C, First Wis. Cavalry, three years, of Col- 
b)', Wis. , with whom Mr. Taylor resides at 
the advanced age of eighty-nine; George W., 
deceased; Elnora A., wife of Charles Clark, 
a publisher, of California; and Ada L. , wife 
of W'illiam Clark, of California. This family 
came West in a very early day, and for two 
years resided at East Troy, Wis., whence 
they removed to Barton, Washington county, 
where the father worked at his trade of car- 

! pentering. He later removed to Newburg, 

j where he pre-empted eighty acres of wild 
land, but subsequently sold his farm and 

; made his home in the town, where he fol- 
lowed carpentering. His next place of resi- 

i dence was in Saukville, Wis., later he re- 
turned to Newburg, and subsequently went 

\ to Iowa, where his wife died. He has since 
made his home with his children in Wis- 

j consin. 

Upon his marriage, Mr. Johnson removed 
to Union township, Waupaca county, and 
secured a tract of land in Section 12, which 
he at once began to clear and improve. He 
made a three-acre clearing, the first north 
of John Scanlin, and then returned to New- 
burg, where he continued until the spring of 
1859. There were no roads cut at that 
time, and not a settlement was made in 
Dupont township. About 1862, he pre- 
empted eighty acres of land, and through his 
industrious efforts placed the greater part of 
it under cultivation. The nearest post office 
was Royalton, a distance of twelve miles. 
As he fiad no team he did his logging by 
hand, and all his farm work was carried on 
with crude machinery. 

On the 14th of November, 1864, Mr. 
Johnson enlisted in Companj' A, Sixth Wis- 
consin Infantry, was mustered in at Berlin. 
W'is., and from Madison was sent to City 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



513 



Point. He engaged in the second battle of 
Hatcher's Run, February 6 and 7, 1865, and 
there remained until March 29, when the 
company started for Five Forks. Two days 
later they had a battle at Grovely Run, and 
also met the enemy at Five Forks, after 
which they started in pursuit of Lee. On 
the surrender of the southern general Lee, 
at Appomattox, they returned to Black and 
White Station, where they remained two 
weeks, and were then sent to Petersburg, 
and on to Washington, where the}' arrived 
on the 1 2th of May. After participating in 
the grand review, they were ordered fo Par- 
kersburg then went to Jefferson, Indiana, 
^^•here they remained until discharged on the 
i4thof July. Mr. Johnson had been wounded 
at Gravely Run, but continued with his regi- 
ment until after the close of the war. 

On the 31st of July, Mr. Johnson pur- 
chased forty acres of land and successfully 
carried on farming until 1894, when he sold 
his property and went to live with his son- 
in-law. In the family were thirteen chil- 
dren: Henrietta A. and Henry A., twins, 
the former now Mrs. Riggs of Harvey, 111., 
and the latter living at Tomahawk, Wis. ; 
Charles, of Union township, Waupaca 
county; Ella M., wife of H. Bingham, of 
Norrie, Wis.; Estella M., wife of Uriah 
Fletcher, of Royalton, Wis. ; Lillian, de- 
ceased; Leora, wife of Burt Booth, of Bran- 
don, Wis.; May, wife of N. H. Smith, of 
Clintonville, Wis. ; William, deceased; Syl- 
via, wife of N. P. Jorgenson, with whom the 
father lives; Jessie L. at home; Maggie V., 
now at home. 

Since the organization of the party, Mr. 
Johnson has been a stalwart Republican, 
has served for three years as chairman of 
the town board, was town clerk, town as- 
sessor, town treasurer sixteen years, justice 
of the peace twenty years, and school treas- 
urer sixteen years. In 1880 he was elected 
county surveyor, serving in that office for 
fourteen consecutive years, when on account 
of failing health he was obliged to resign. 
In iSSo he took the census. Being called 
to these various positions, and retained so 
long in office, shows his personal popularity, 
the confidence and trust reposed in him and 
his strict adherence to duty. He is truly 



one of the valued citizens of the community. 
When he first came to Waupaca county, he 
lived in a little shanty, and for six weeks 
slept upon hemlock boughs without a 
blanket; but as the years passed prosperity 
attended his efforts and he attained a com- 
fortable competence. 



IVI 



IXOR S. RICE, one of the fore- 
most agriculturists of St. Law- 
rence township, Waupaca count}', 
was born on the 20th of April, 
1848, in the town of Russell, St. Lawrence 
Co., N. Y. , and is a son of William S. and 
Jeannette (Sternberg) Rice. The father's 
birth occurred in the East, March 22, 1S09, 
and the mother, who was of German de- 
scent, was born in New York April 25, 181 5. 
They were married September 12, 1833, and 
their union was blessed with the following 
children: Martha, born June 16, 1834, is 
the wife of William Tanner, of St. Law- 
rence township, Waupaca county ; Charles 
D., born March 16, 1836, was a farmer of 
Little Wolf township, and died at the age 
of fifty-two years; Hiram, born June 13, 
1835, resides in Waupaca, Wis.; Van Buren, 
born August 4, 1840, is a retired farmer of 
Neligh, Neb.; an infant son, born July 17, 
1843, died on the 14th of the following Sep- 
tember, in New York; William H., born 
September 1 1, 1844, lives in Plainfield, Wau- 
shara Co., Wis. ; and our subject completes 
the family. 

The father engaged in farming in the 
Empire State until the spring of 1853, when 
with his family he started for Wisconsin. 
From Ogdensburg, N. Y. , he came by lake 
to Shebojgan, Wis., and thence by team to 
Fond du Lac, where the first winter was 
spent, but in the following spring he located 
in Section 19, Little Wolf township, Wau- 
paca county, making the journey with a team 
of horses he had brought from New York. 
After pre-empting land he returned to Fond 
du Lac for his family, and they made their 
home in a log cabin 18x26 feet, situated 
in the midst of the timber, through which 
they had to cut their own road. The origi- 
nal tract comprised 160 acres of wild land, 
but its development was carried forward 



5H 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



until it became a well-cultivated farm. At 
the time of his death, however, the father 
was living in Ogdensburg, where he passed 
away in 18S9, at the age of eighty years, 
and was interred in Brick School House 
Cemetery. In politics he was formerly an 
Old-line ^^'hig, but later supported the Re- 
publican party. For several years he had 
suffered with neuralgia, and his death was 
caused by a stroke of paralysis. Both he 
and his wife were active members of the 
Methodist Church. She is yet living, mak- 
ing her home with her children. 

For one term Minor S. Rice attended 
school in New York, and after his arrival in 
Wisconsin pursued his studies in the Block 
School House in St. Lawrence township. It 
was a primitive structure, i 2 x 20, built of 
logs, with rude benches for seats, and was 
not built until a few years after the family 
located, here. There were no schools in 
Little Wolf township on their arrival, as 
work was considered more important than 
school training. Our subject was compelled 
to give up his studies at the age of thirteen 
and assist in the labors of the farm. 

On the 24th of August, 1864, Mr. Rice 
enlisted at Oshkosh, Wis., in Company E, 
Forty-second Wis. V. I., and went to Madi- 
son, Wis., where he passed an examination, 
although he also had to get the consent of 
his parents, which was obtained with diffi- 
culty. He ran off to enlist, walking to Gill's 
Landing, where he took a steamboat for 
Oshkosh. He refused $2,000 to go as a 
substitute, as he preferred to go for himself. 
With his company he went to Cairo, 111., 
where the regiment was stationed until Oc- 
tober, 1 864, when he went to Camp Butler, 
near Springfield, 111. , where he remained 
until the early spring of 1865. While at 
the latter place our subject went with a de- 
tachment who were to conduct some prison- 
ers to Nashville, Tenn., via Indianapolis, but 
while III route the battle of Nashville was 
fought, and when they reached that place 
every available place for keeping the pris- 
oners was occupied by the wounded. This 
necessitated their being transferred to New 
York, by way of Indianapolis, Pittsburg and 
Philadelphia, and on reaching New York 
they were placed on Governors Island. 



While CI! route Mr. Rice contracted the 
black measles, but as he wished to return 
to Camp Butler, he concealed the fact. On 
arriving there he was refused admittance to 
the camp, and was placed in a rude pest- 
house made of boards, which was his shelter 
for some time. Later, as there were several 
cases of the same disease they required more 
room, he was taken to the hospital, where 
he remained two months and then rejoined 
his company in March, 1865, at Cairo, 111. 
At the close of the war he returned to Madi- 
son, Wis., where he was discharged June 
28, 1865, and the following day returned 
home, where he was placed under the care 
of Dr. Towsley, of Weyauwega, as his ill- 
ness had developed into chills and fever. 

On his recovery, Mr. Rice worked with 
his father, and for ten years spent the winter 
in the lumber woods and in " river driving. " 
Mr. Rice was married in St. Lawrence 
township, Waupaca county, Jul}' 4, 1868, 
to Miss Margaret J. Hanna, who was born 
in Steuben county, N. Y. , on the ist of Au- 
gust, 1848, and is a daughter of Isaac and 
Margaret (Lindsay) Hanna, both natives of 
Ireland, where the}' were married. They 
had a family of nine children, five sons and 
four daughters. Mr. Hanna was a lumber- 
man and a farmer, and owned considerable 
land. With his family he came to Wiscon- 
sin in the fall of 1854, and located in Little 
Wolf township, Waupaca county, in the 
spring of 1855, where his death occurred. 
His wife died in Royalton, the same county, 
and they were buried in Brick School House 
Cemetery. To Mr. and Mrs. Rice have 
been born the following children: Isaac W., 
born November 7, 1869, is a farmer of St. 
Lawrence township, ^^'aupaca count}'; Mary 
E., born March 30, 1872, is the wife of 
Harry Herbert, of St. Lawrence township; 
Ada B., born February 22, 1874, died 
February 9, 1884; and George H., born 
January 10, 1876; Ernest E., December 17, 
1877; Jesse C, December 25, 1879; \\'esley 
J., December 15, 1881; Robert M., Febru- 
ary 16, 1884; Helen L., March 20, 18S6. 
and Belle M., June 15, 1888, are all at 
home. 

Mr. Rice first located on eighty acres of 
unimproved land in Section 16, St. Law- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



rence township, Waupaca county, for which 
he went in debt, but in the fall of 1 871, he 
purchased thirtj- acres in Section 25, of 
the same township, and began its develop- 
ment. On his arrival a log cabin was about 
the only improvement, but he still makes 
that farm his home, and now has one of the 
most highly cultivated tracts in the neighbor- 
hood. He follows general farming in which 
he has been very successful and has added 
to his original purchase until he now has 140 
acres, to the cultivation of which he gives 
his entire attention. Mr. Rice has always 
been a Republican, and served his party as 
assessor of the township three terms. fn 
the spring of 1895 he was elected chairman 
of the town board, after bitter opposition 
from a faction which had long been in power, 
it being the worst political fight ever waged 
in St. Lawrence township. He holds mem- 
bership with the Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 
211, and C. A. Arthur Post, No. 239, G. A. 
R. , both of Ogdensburg. He is one of the 
foremost men and influential citizens of the 
community, where he is so widely and favor- 
abh' known. 



M 



ARTIN V. DAY. Wisconsin has 
been the home of many men 
prominent in commercial, polit- 
ical and social life. Each com- 
munity has its leading citizens, and among 
those of Waupaca county is numbered this 
gentleman, who has the honor of being a 
native of the Badger State. He was born 
in Waukesha county, June 10, 1841, and is 
a son of Joel Day, a native of New York. 
When a young man he went to Ohio, where 
he married Rebecca DeWitt, a native of 
■Cayuga, N. Y. , whose parents went to 
Northern Ohio at an early day. Their eld- 
est child, Eliza, was born there. She mar- 
ried Humphrey Rogers, and died in California. 
About 1834, Joel Day took his family to 
Milwaukee, Wis., and near there engaged 
in keeping hotel. About 1846 he went to 
Strong's Landing (now Berlin), this State, 
and built the first frame house there. He 
subsequently removed to Dayton township, 
Waupaca count}', and later spent a winter 
in Missouri alone, after which he returned to 



Dayton township, where his death occurred 
in August, 1882, at the age of seventy-four 
years. His wife then made her home with 
our subject until she was called to her final 
rest December i , 1 894, when nearly eighty- 
eight years of age. He followed farming 
the greater parter of his life and was a 
highly respected man. In politics he was a 
stanch Democrat, and in early life, both he 
and his wife were members of the Baptist 
Church, but afterward united with the 
Christian Church. 

Their children were Cynthia, who died 
in Dayton township at the age of eighteen 
years; Calvin, postmaster of Eldren, Mara- 
thon Co., Wis.; Martin v.; and Vernelia, 
who married George Osborn, and died in 
Winnebago county, Wisconsin. 

Martin V. Day attended the common 
schools until eighteen years of age, but like 
many boys spent much of his time in play 
that should have been given to his lessons. 
In 1859, he left home and with his father 
started for Dubuque, Iowa, they carrying 
their packs on their backs. They then went 
to St. Louis and on to Leavenworth, Kans., 
and about three miles from that place hired 
to Myers & Goldsmith to drive teams to 
Denver. They went by the way of the 
Smoky Hill route, and after fifty-five days 
reached their destination. This. was at the 
time of the gold excitement at Pike's Peak. 
From Denver, Mr. Day and his father went 
to the mountains, and after looking around 
for a time began prospecting. He visited the 
beautiful Colorado Springs in the summer of 
1859, carving his name upon the rocks there, 
and after a summer passed in the West 
returned to Missouri. He spent a part of 
the winter in Kansas chopping wood, and in 
the spring of 1 860 reached his home in Day- 
ton township, \\''aupaca county, where he 
secured work at breaking land. The follow- 
ing winter he was employed in the lumber 
woods, and was there when he first heard the 
news of the attack on Fort Sumter. In the 
summer he was for two months ill with 
t\phoid fever, but as soon as he had recov- 
ered his health he enlisted at Waupaca, 
September 25, 1861, in Company B, Four- 
teenth Wisconsin Infantry. 

The regiment was in camp at Fond du 



5i6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOIiAPHICAL RECORD. 



Lac, Wis., until the spring of 1862, when it 
went to Benton Barracks, St. Louis, and 
two weeks later to Savannah, where the 
troops acted as provost guards at Grant's 
headquarters. They participated in the 
battle of Pittsburg Landing, where the regi- 
ment captured the First New Orleans Bat- 
tery, and one of the guns thus obtained was 
presented by General Grant to the regiment 
and is now in the State House at Madison. 
With his command, Mr. Day afterward 
participated in the battles of luka and Cor- 
inth, and was detailed at Holly Springs for 
service in the commissary department at 
division headquarters. After the fall of 
Vicksburg, he was thus employed on steam- 
ers and was on the Cit\- of Madison when it 
e.xploded, he escaping with his life but re- 
ceiving painful injuries. At Vicksburg he 
re-enlisted for three years' service, and, after 
the thirty-days' furlough spent at home, 
went to Milwaukee to join his command. 
Many of the soldiers did not put in an ap- 
pearance, and the regiment was then divided. 
Mr. Day was sent to Vicksburg and to East- 
port, Tenn., thence with the Seventeenth 
Army Corps to join General Sherman at Big 
Shanty, participated in the engagements 
around Atlanta, and later pursued Hood's 
army back to Nashville. There Mr. Day 
joined the main part of his regiment which 
had been sent on an expedition up Red 
River, and from Nashville went to New 
Orleans, camping there on the old battle 
ground. After participating in the engage- 
ments at Fort Blakely and Spanish Fort, 
the troops spent the summer at Montgomery, 
Ala., and were discharged at Mobile, August 
9, 1865, Mr. Day being mustered out at that 
place. He then followed farming in Win- 
nebago county. Wis., until locating upon a 
rented farm in Dayton township, Waupaca 
county, in the fall of 1874. 

In Waushara county. Wis. , February 6, 
1875, Mr. Day married Jennie Hyatt, who 
was born in Cattaraugus county, N. Y. , 
March 24, 1853, a daughter of Harrison and 
Lucy M. (Allen) Hyatt, also natives of the 
Empire State, whence they came to Wis- 
consin during Mrs. Day's early childhood. 
She had a good education, and successfully 
taught school for seven terms in Waupaca 



county. The family now numbers three 
children: Mabel L. , who was born March 
I, 1877, and is the wife of Amos Olson of 
Waupaca; Martin H., born February 28, 
1879; and Harvey E., born April 7, 1889. 
For some time after his marriage. Mr. 
Da\- carried on agricultural pursuits in Farm- 
ington township, and on the 14th of March, 
1 88 1, came to his present home in Section 
14, Dayton township, then a partiallj* im- 
proved tract of land of 1 20 acres. He has 
since erected a good dwelling and other 
buildings, and now has a highly-culti\ated 
and valuable farm. Socially, he is connect- 
ed with Garfield Post, G. A. R., and was 
formerly an Odd Fellow. His wife belongs 
to the Woman's Relief Corps, No. 93, of 
Waupaca. In politics he has been a stal- 
wart Republican since casting his first presi- 
dential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. 
He has held offices in School District No. 8, 
having been treasurer and director, and is a 
man who takes a deep interest in all matters 
pertaining to the social, educational or 
moral advancement of the community. He 
is a well-informed man who takes great 
delight in books, and believes in enjoying 
life, to which end he has provided himself 
and family with a comfortable home. 



GEORGE H. CALKINS, M. D., a 
prominent physician of Waupaca 
county, and also proprietor of the 
beautiful Sheoltiel Mineral Springs, 
three miles west of that city, is a Grandson 
of the American Revolution, for his grand- 
father, John Calkins, a yeoman of New 
York, was one of the liberty-loving patriots 
who took up arms to free America. John 
Calkins married Jane Eyre, and had a fam- 
ily of eight children: John, Hiram, Russell, 
Norman, \'olney. Nelson, Varanes and 
Sarah. 

\'aranes Calkins, father of George H., 
was born in New York, April 18, 1808, and 
was by occupation a farmer. He married 
Betsey C. Utter, three years his junior, a 
native of Washington. N. Y. , and only 
daughter of .\brain and Matilda Utter. 
Their two children were Dr. George H. 
and Abrain U. The former was born at 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



517 



Castle, W\oming Co., N. Y. , April 21, 
1830. \'aranes Calkins was a man of nota- 
ble character, energetic and prominent 
among his fellows, but he met with financial 
reverses through kindness of heart. He be- 
came surety on the negotiable paper of 
friends, who failed to meet their obligations, 
and the property of Mr. Calkins was con- 
sumed in settling the claims. In 1852 he 
moved to Maryland, and settled on a farm 
near Washington. Two years later he re- 
moved to Delavan, Wis., but a little later 
joined his son at Waupaca, where he died 
December 18, 1867. The mother died July 
10, 1880, at the residence of her son in 
Amherst, Portage Co., Wisconsin. 

Young George remained on the farm 
until he was eighteen, attending school at 
every opportunity. He was ambitious, and 
wavered for a time between the professions 
of law and medicine. The chicanery prac- 
ticed by some lawyers decided the important 
question for him, and in 1849 he entered the 
office of Dr. J. B. Stanton at Ellicottsville, 
Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. , as a student, re- 
maining with him five years in his drug 
store. To obtain funds to attend lectures 
at Buffalo Medical College, he practiced 
medicine for two years in Maryland before 
graduation, and finally received his diploma 
at Buffalo in 1856, spending two years in 
college and hospital. The young physician 
opened an office at Waupaca in 1857, and 
has ever since resided in that city. In the 
early years of his practice the country was 
new, and the patients were widely scattered. 
The Doctor met with many adventures 
while making distant professional calls, but 
he soon built up and has always held a large 
and lucrative practice. In i 863 he entered 
the army as a contract surgeon, doing hos- 
pital duty, and was commissioned assistant- 
surgeon of the Thirty-seventh Wis. V. I., 
May 12, 1864, and took charge of the 
Branch Harvey Hospital, at Camp Randall, 
Madison, Wis., serving till the close of the 
war, when he was presented by the patients 
with an elegant gold watch as a token of 
their esteem. 

Dr. Calkins was married March 18, 
1852, to Miss Caroline L. Jenkins, who was 
born in eastern New York, February 5, 



1834, a daughter of John and Rachel 
(Greene) Jenkins. Her mother was a near 
relative of the brilliant and patriotic Gen. 
Nathaniel Greene, of Revolutionary fame. 
The Doctor has had a family of ten chil- 
dren: Henrietta, Ella L. , Carrie E. , Ma- 
rion W. , Earl G., Maggie M., Jennie May, 
Minnie A., Blanche E. and Junie A., seven 
of whom survive. Yielding to the persua- 
sion of his friends. Dr. Calkins, in 1874, 
became a candidate for the State Assembly, 
and was elected by a handsome majority, 
serving two years. In politics he is a Re- 
publican. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a 
Sir Knight, and a member of the I. O. OF., 
and a Knight of Pythias, having taken all 
the degrees in the Temple of Honor; also a 
member of the A. O. U. W. For twenty 
j-ears he has been a prominent member of 
the Presbyterian Church. In years gone by 
he has been closely identified with the State 
and county medical societies. 

The Doctor has a handsome residence 

in the city of Waupaca, and also owns Lake 

Park, where he has several nice cottages, 

and where he spends his summers. Besides 

looking after his large practice, he is the 

I owner of the celebrated Sheoltiel Mineral 

Springs and bottling works, at Chain of 

I Lakes, three miles west of Waupaca, of 

] which he is proprietor. These, sparkling 

I waters, free from organic matter and sul- 

I phate of lime, have won a wide reputation, 

and are now shipped in large quantities to 

all parts of the country. Being remarkably 

i free from solid matter, it acts as a tonic 

i solvent when taken as a beverage, and for 

many of the ailments to which humankind 

is heir it acts as a specific. The Spring is 

one of the most attractive spots in the State, 

and is much frequented by lovers of Nature 

and by invalids in quest of health. 



WILLIAM H. WOODARD, a re- 
spected citizen of Waupaca coun- 
ts-, came to Royalton township 
about .December, 1858, locating 
in Section 35, where he is now engaged in 
agricultural pursuits. He was born in Sara- 
toga county, N. Y., in May, 1840, and is a 
son of John Nelson Woodard and Lucinda 



.5.8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Thornton ^^'oodard, both natives of New 
York, who came to Wisconsin with him. 
Besides William H., with whom they make 
their home, they have another son and two 
daughters: Jane, who is unmarried and lives 
on the farm; John, living elsewhere in Roy- 
alton township, and Frances Augusta, who 
was born in Dayton township, W'aupaca 
county, and now lives in Royalton township. 

Having passed his earlier years in New 
York, being educated in the city of West 
Troy, N. Y. , William H. Woodard was 
married, in 1858, in Fremont, Wis., to 
Miss Adeline Story, also born in New York. 
He first came to W'isconsin in 1859, locat- 
ing in Winnebago county, and came to 
Waupaca county in the same year, locating 
in Fremont township, where he worked in 
sawmills. Then, going to Dayton town- 
ship, he made his home there until he went 
to Royalton township, W'aupaca county, in 
1868, but was absent from the State during 
the greater part of the year 1865, on duty 
as a soldier. Eight children have been born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Woodard: Julia Anna, the 
wife of Harvey Lyttle, of Staaley, Wis. : 
Jennie, wife of Dwight Brown, of Hancock, 
\\'aushara Co. , Wis. ; Adda, the wife of 
Wilmer Shumway, of Hancock, Wis. ; Ida, 
wife of Charles Smith, of Stanley, Wis. ; 
Stella, the wife of George Eaton, of Fre- 
mont, Wis. ; Lois, the wife of Abram Mills, 
of Hancock, Wis. ; Belle, the wife of Nels 
Hardey, of Chippewa Falls, Wis. ; and 
Frances, unmarried and living at home. 

The parents of Mrs. W'oodard were Ste- 
phen and Hulda (Baker, iin- Clark) Story, 
both born in New York. In 1846 they 
came to Kenosha, Wis., and in 1848 to 
Dayton township, Waupaca county, remain- 
ing there until they came to Royalton town- 
ship, in 1888, where Mr. Story now resides. 
His wife died in 1888. 

On February 8, 1865, Mr. Woodard en- 
listed at Oshkosh in Company C, Forty- 
sixth Wis. V. I. , for one year, or during the 
war, and was mustered into the United 
States service at Madison, Wis., in Feb- 
ruary, 1865; assigned to the army of the 
Cumberland, Fourth Army Corps; went to 
Athens, Ala. ; was on garrison duty the en- 
tire time; was mustered out at Nashville, 



Tenn., September 27, 1865; and paid at 
Madison, ^^'is. , then returning to Waupaca 
county. Sociall}' he is a member of An- 
drew Chambers Post No. 180, G. A. R., 
has been an officer of the guard and senior 
vice for two j'ears, and is now commander. 
He is a member and is clerk of the school 
board, takes an active interest in politics, 
and belongs to the Republican party. Mr. 
and Mrs. Woodard are honored pioneer set- 
tlers of Waupaca county, and are well and 
favorably known. 



JOHN H. LEUTHOLD is one of the 
most genial and whole-souled men of 
Waupaca county, and in Section 31, 
Helvetia township, has built up a fine 
homestead. His tastes have always inclined 
to agricultural pursuits, and he has been very 
successful in his chosen calling. He is a 
native of Switzerland, born in the Canton of 
Zurich, December 11, 1821, a son of John 
Leuthold, also a farmer. There were only 
two children in the family who grew to ma- 
turity, namely, John H. and Henry. 

The subject proper of these lines had but 
an ordinary education in the schools of 
Switzerland, where he continued his studies 
until twelve years of age, after which his 
school attendance consisted of but one day 
in the week. His training at farm work was 
not so meagre, however, as he early began 
to assist in the labors of the field. At the 
age of t went}' -five years he was married to 
Fredaline Fehr, who was born in Switzer- 
land, in November, 1821, and in that coun- 
try four children were born to them, two of 
whom died in the old country, the other 
two — John W. , a farmer and engineer; and 
Amelia, now Mrs. Jacob Wipf — live in Wau- 
paca county. Wis. In April, 1857, Mr. 
Leuthold with his family left Europe from 
Havre, France, for Southampton, England, 
where they boarded the steamer ' ' Washing- 
ton, " which at the end of sixteen days 
dropped anchor in the harbor of New York; 
the vessel was old and dilapidated, and that 
was her last trip. As our subject had ac- 
quaintances living in lola and Scandinavia 
townships, W^aupaca county, he came di- 
rectl}- here, bj- rail as far as Fond du Lac, 





<^^. ^^^21._2^£^-^ 



s<_. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



5!9 



where he was met by friends with a team, 
who took the famil}- to Black \\'olf, Winne- 
bago county, and on the first boat up the 
Wolf river that spring they came to Gill's 
Landing. From that place the}- drove to 
Scandinavia, where Mr. Leuthold's brother 
Henry had lived for some time. 

In Section 3 i , Helvetia township, Wau- 
paca county, Mr. Leuthold purchased eighty- 
eight acres of land, only one and a half acres 
of which had been broken, oats being his 
first crop. In the fall of 1857 he built the 
first house upon his farm, where his aged 
parents, who had come with him to this 
country, spent their remaining days. The 
mother passed away in 1865, and was in- 
terred in Scandinavia, while the father, who 
died in 1876, was buried in lola. The first 
wife of our subject, who departed this life 
in January, 1872, was also interred in the 
cemetery of lola. 

In Helvetia Mr. Leuthold was again 
united in marriage, this time with Miss 
Emma Staub, who was born in Thalweil, 
Switzerland, September 25, 1854, a daugh- 
ter of Jacob Staub. Her father, who crossed 
the Atlantic on the steamer "Germania," 
in 1868, died at Detroit, Mich., while c/i 
route for Wisconsin, and was there buried. 
The widowed mother and eight children, 
who had accompanied him, came on to Hel- 
vetia township, where the former died June 
7, 1874, and was buried in the lola ceme- 
tery. In that township Mrs. Leuthold has 
since resided. By her marriage she has be- 
come the mother of seven children : John 
H., Jr., born August 31, 1873 ; Edward, 
born December 13, 1874, died at the age of 
five months ; Rosa Emma, born November 
29, 1876, is teaching school ; Edward Ar- 
nold, born February 6, 1882, is at home; 
Robert Richard, born June 7, 1884, died at 
the age of two years ; Meta Louisa, born 
May 21, 1887, is at home; and Robert 
Emanuel, born December 20, 1889, com- 
pletes the family. 

Mr. Leuthold battled bravely for a num- 
ber of years with the elements of a new soil, 
and looking upon his possessions to-day it is 
hardly necessary to state that he has made 
good use of his time, and been remarkably 
fortunate. His entire attention was given 



to his farm until 1865, when he began lum- 
bering and land speculating, and at one time 
he owned many hundreds of acres. In 18S1 
he erected a fine stone dwelling, which is 
one of the finest homes in the northern part 
of the county, and the other buildings upon 
the place are substantial and commodious. 
His farm now contains over 450 acres, two- 
thirds covered with pine, oak and other tim- 
ber, the rest being under culture, and with 
the aid of modern machinery and the most 
improved methods the land has been brought 
to a superior state of cultivation, and yields 
an abundance of rich crops. Our subject 
took an active part in the development of 
the granite deposits near Marion, Wis., be- 
ing one of the first to engage in that indus- 
try. This quarry contains one of the finest 
grades of granite in the United States, and 
is a valuable property. 

Politically, Mr. Leuthold generally casts 
his ballot with the Democratic party, though 
not strictly partisan, preferring not to be 
bound by party ties, and votes for the man, 
not the party. He is one of the popular and 
influential citizens of his township, in which 
he has held several official positions, being 
clerk for thirteen years, chairman ten years, 
and justice of the peace two terms. In i860, 
when Helvetia township was set off from 
lola, it was Mr. Leuthold who suggested the 
name, and he has ever since taken an active 
interest in its affairs. 

In 1880, accompanied by his wife and 
children — John H., Jr., and Rosa — Mr. 
Leuthold visited the beautiful scenes of 
Switzerland, being absent some four months, 
during which time they also went to Eng- 
land, Scotland, and many European cities. 
The family hold an enviable position in so- 
cial circles, and are well-informed, cultured 
people. John H. Leuthold, Jr., after re- 
ceiving his primary education in the schools 
of lola, went to Sheboygan, Wis., where he 
continued his studies ; later took a business 
course in the Northern Illinois Normal 
School, and was a student in the agricul- 
tural department of the State University at 
Madison, Wis. He has contributed many 
valuable and interesting articles on scientific 
farming, of which he is a close and well- 
informed student. 



520 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHIOAL RECORD. 



ENGEBRET G. DAHLEN, a leading 
and influential farmer of Helvetia 
township, Waupaca county, makes 
his home in Section 31, wherein he 
owns 220 acres of excellent farming land. He 
was born in Norway, November 6, 1852, 
and is a son of Guldbrand Dahlen. ' In 1857 
the father came to the United States, being 
accompanied by his wife and four children, 
two sons and two daughters, besides his 
father. It was his intention to locate in a 
place where his family would have better 
opportunities than were afforded in the Old 
World. After a voyage of si.\ weeks, they 
landed on the shores of America, and came' 
direct to Helvetia township, Waupaca county. 
As the railroads had not been built through 
this part of the country, they proceeded up 
the Wolf river to Northport, Wis., and from 
there came by team to Helvetia, where Mrs. 
Dahlen had a brother and sister living. With 
them they made their temporary home. 

The father purchased land in Section 6, 
St. Lawrence township, Waupaca county, 
the only improvement upon the place being 
a log house with a roof made of rails and 
birch bark and covered with sod. Wild 
game of all kinds was then quite numerous, 
and our subject has seen a drove of ten deer 
come down from the hills in the evening and 
feed on the winter wheat. Instead of the 
brush and small timber found at the present 
day, large oak and pine trees covered the 
land, the other having grown up since then. 
On that farm the parents have continued to 
reside with the exception of the time when 
the father served as a soldier in the Union 
Army during the Civil war, as a member of 
the Thirty-seventh \\'is. \' . I. He has now 
reached the ripe old age of seventy years, 
his birth having occurred January 4, 1825, 
and the mother, who was born January 6, 
1822, is also still living. They are highly 
respected people of the community. 

The first school which our subject at- 
tended was held in a farm-house, which is 
now used as a part of his barn, while the 
second school-house in which he pursued his 
studies is now his kitchen, both buildings 
having been removed to his farm later. His 
first teacher was a Mrs. Bliss. He full)' en- 
dorses the advancement made by the schools 



of the present day, and while his own oppor- 
tunities were limited he does not believe in 
restricting his children, but wishes them to 
enjoy such advantages as his means will 
afford. His early life was spent after the 
manner of most farmer boys of those days in 
a new country, when the improved machin- 
ery of the present day was unheard of, and 
to develop the land they had to work hard, 
early and late. He remained at home until 
reaching the age of twenty-three, during 
which time his earnings went to his parents. 
At the age of eight years he was put to work 
at driving oxen, which were then their beasts 
of burden, and with them they did all the 
farm work. On leaving home he was em- 
ployed as a farm hand through the summer 
season, while the winters were spent in the 
lumber woods for two years. 

On the 9th of May, 1877, Mr. Dahlen 
was joined in wedlock with Miss Ambjor 
Wasrud, the ceremon\' being performed in 
St. Lawrence township, Waupaca county. 
The lady was born in Norway, April 23,1 844, 
and came to America with her parents on 
the same vessel in which our subject crossed 
the Atlantic, it being the "Three Brothers," 
under Captain Berg, which sailed from the 
port of Christiania. This worthy couple have 
become the parents of four children, Gil- 
bert M., born October 3, 1878; Clara G., 
October 31, 1880; Anna E., March 30, 1883; 
and Elvin O., March 31, 1890. 

In 1 86 1 Mr. Dahlen's grandfather gave 
him eighty acres in Section 3 1 , Helvetia 
township, which he received from the gov- 
ernment, and which has now been in the 
possession of the family for three genera- 
tions. When our subject took possession 
the only building upon the place was a log 
house which had been erected in 1S58, so 
that all the improvements upon the farm 
have been placed there by his own hands, 
and stand as monuments to his thrift and in- 
dustry. He now has 220 acres, all of which 
is in Helvetia township, and he is numbered 
among the successful agriculturists of the 
community, his dealings in real estate having 
also netted him quite a handsome return. 

Mr. Dahlen is an earnest advocate of the 
principles of the Republican part}', which 
he always supports by his ballot, and is also 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



5= 



a friend to prohibition, being a pronounced 
enemy to the liquor traffic. He has been 
called upon to serve in several official posi- 
tions of honor and trust, the duties of which 
he has alwaj's faithfullj' performed. For 
seven years he was treasurer of the town- 
ship, and for one j-ear was assessor. For 
one term he was chairman of the town 
board, and is now serving his third term as 
clerk, and this is also his third year as justice 
of the peace, besides which he has tilled 
nearly all the school offices, and is at pres- 
ent a director. He belongs to the Lutheran 
Church of Scandinavia, and has been acting 
as collector for the same for a long time. 



JOHN G. ERICKSON is numbered 
among the native sons of Waupaca 
county, for he was born on the farm, 
which is still his home, December 24, 
1856. His father, Knute Erickson, was 
born in Norway, May 14, 1824, and was a 
son of Erick Ingebretson Twetan, a farmer 
of Norway, who operated small landed es- 
tates. His wife, Ingbord, died in her native 
land, and in May, 1849, with his four chil- 
dren, he sailed from Skien on the vessel 
"Superb," bound for New York, which had 
on board one hundred and twenty-five pas- 
sengers, and reached New York after seven 
weeks. The grandfather, who was a con- 
sumptive, died after being on the water for 
a week, and was buried at sea. The family 
went up the Hudson river to Albany, by 
Erie canal to Buffalo, by lake to Milwaukee, 
and on to Pine Lake, Waukesha Co., Wis., 
where a half-brother of Mr. Erickson was 
living. The grandfather left only $100 to 
be divided among his four children, and with 
this capital Mr. Erickson began life in the 
New World. He worked at mowing for 
seventy-five cents per day, and then re- 
ceived $50 for cutting timber for si.\ months. 
After a year in ^^'aukesha county, he went 
to Manitowoc, Wis., where he purchased 
land, but did not locate thereon. 

Knute Erickson was married in Wau- 
kesha county. May 31, 1852, to Carrie Gun- 
derson, who was born in Norway, October 
31, 1830, a daughter of Gunder Jorgensen. 
In 1844 his father's family crossed the .At- 



lantic on the vessel "Sah'ator, " reaching 
this country after eight weeks and four days 
sailing, landing at New York July 4, 1844. 
The party numbered the parents and five 
children. They came by way of the Hud- 
son river, Erie canal and Great Lakes tO' 
Milwaukee, thence across the country to 
Morton, Waukesha county, where the father 
died. The family afterward removed to 
Tola, where the mother died when past the 
age of si.xty years. 

In June, 1852, Knute Erickson removed 
to lola township, traveling with an o.x-team 
and wagon, and sleeping where night over- 
took him. He was accompanied by his 
young wife, and they were eight da\s upon 
the road, passing through Watertown and 
Berlin, and crossing the prairies to Ripon 
and Waupaca, and on to Scandinavia, where 
they spent a week with Jacob Rosholt. The 
previous March the husband had purchased 
forty acres of land in Section 29, lola town- 
ship, which was surveyed only in the pre- 
vious winter, and was not yet in the market, 
so it was fall before he secured his title by 
going to the government land office in Men- 
asha. Wis., whither he traveled on foot, 
crossing the river at Fremont, and going 
through swamps and marshes and through 
ten miles of dense forest ere reaching his 
destination. In connection with his broth- 
er-in-law, John Gunderson, he built a log 
cabin 12x14 feet of tamarack logs, covered 
with tamarack bark, which was the home of 
six persons during the summer of 1852. 
namel}-: Mr. and Mrs. Erickson, Mr. and 
Mrs. John Gunderson, Hans Gunderson and 
Lars Erickson. This was the first settle- 
ment in lola township, and there all kinds 
of wild game was plenty, including bear and 
deer, and Hans Gunderson furnished many 
a meal for the party b)' killing the latter. In 
the fall the father of our subject began to 
build a home on his forty acres of land, the 
home being 15x17 feet, and constructed of 
hewn logs, with a roof of boards that had 
been brought by ox-teams from Waupaca. 
His building stood a few rods southeast of 
the present home, and was one of the pio- 
neer settlements in that part of the county. 
The land was partly prairie and timber, and 
the timber was mostly brush, for the Indians 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



would each year start forest fires, and it was 
not until the white settlers had taken posses- 
sion that the timber grew to any size. On 
two different occasions he secured a tract of 
forty acres, which, in addition to his first 
claim, made a good farm of eighty acres, the 
latter forty being timbered land, which he 
placed under a high state of cultivation. 

To ^fr. and Mrs. Erickson were born 
nine children: Erick, born March 2i, 1853, 
only lived seven days; Erick, born July 4, 
1854, died July 16, 1858; John G. is the 
next younger; Carl E. , born August 13, 
1859, died of croup October 22, 1863; 
Conrad J., born December 7, 1861, died of 
croup, November i, 1863; Emma C, born 
October 20, 1864, is the wife of Rev. A. J. 
Anderson, a Lutheran minister of Grants- 
burg, Wis. ; Josephine A., born May 5, 1867, 
died July 27, 1870; Lewis A., born August 
27, 1869, died July 15, 1 87 1 ; Josephine L., 
born June 6, 1872, died on the i8th of July, 
following. 

Mr. Erickson has always been a farmer, 
and has lived at his present home for more 
than forty-three years. He was in the town- 
ship before its organization, and served as 
its tax collector when the total amount of 
taxes paid was $75. He enlisted at Wau- 
paca, October 29, 1 864, in Company C, 
Forty-fourth Wis. \. I., under Captain 
Omar D. Vaughn, and was sent to Madison, 
and then to Nashville, where he did guard 
duty during the following winter. In April, 
1865, he went to Paducah, Ky. , where he 
■was discharged August 28, 1865, then re- 
turned home. With the exception of the 
ten months spent in the army he has never 
left the farm. His political sympathies were 
first with the Democratic party, then he be- 
came a Whig, and since the organization of 
the Republican party has been one of its 
stanch advocates. For several years he 
served as a member of the township board. 
He assisted in building the first Lutheran 
Church in Scandinavia, has since contrib- 
uted to its support, and he and his wife are 
faithful members of that congregation. He 
has always been a hard worker, and yet 
aids to some extent in the cultivation of the 
old home place, which through his efforts 
has been transformed from its primitive con- 



dition into one of the finest farms of the 
county. He is to-day among the oldest res- 
idents of lola township, but his seventy-one 
j'ears rest lightly upon him, and his well- 
spent life has gained him the high regard of 
many friends. 

John G. Erickson, who is now the man- 
ager of the farm, acquired his education in 
the district schools, and in lola, his first 
teacher being Amelia Leutholt. He has 
seen a vast improvement in the schools of 
his locality, and is a warm friend of educa- 
tion. His mental training thus obtained 
was largely supplemented by a ph\sical 
training secured through the arduous labors 
of the farm, and by work in the lumber 
woods, where he spent four winters. He 
also made one trip down the river, going as 
far as Louisiana, Mo. He is now engaged 
in the operation of the old home farm, and 
is recognized as one of the leading, influen- 
tial and progressive agriculturists of the 
community. In his political views he is a 
Republican, and in the spring of 1895 was 
elected township treasurer. He holds mem- 
bership with the Scandinavian Lutheran 
Church. Those who know him esteem him 
highly for his genuine worth, and he has a 
wide acquaintance throughout the county, 
where his entire life has been passed, and 
where he is known as a worthy representa- 
tive of an honored pioneer family. 



VBETLACH, the well-known and pop- 
ular pioneer butcher and proprietor 
of a meat market at Stevens Point, 
Portage count)-, is a native of Bohe- 
mia, Austria, born January 19, 1845, one in 
the family of seven children (five of whom 
were sons) of Frank Betlach. 

Our subject received an ordinary educa- 
tion in his native land, and at the age of 
sixteen commenced learning the trade of 
sausage butcher, in which connection it may 
be here explained that in his native country 
the butchering business is divided into three 
branches, to wit: butchers, smokers, and 
sausage butchers, the latter of which Mr. 
Betlach selected for his trade. When twenty 
years of age he entered the army, according 
to the requirements of law in Austria and 



COMMSMOKATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



523 



other European countries, and served five 
years, during which time and afterward, 
also, he found some opportunities of improv- 
ing his education. After leaving the army 
he followed his trade until coming to the 
United States. Carefully and prudently 
saving his earnings, and securing also his 
share from his father's estate, he set sail in 
May, 1874, from Bremen in the steamship 
" Braunschweig, " bound for Boston, Mass., 
the voyage occupying eighteen days, includ- 
ing one day they were hove-to of? the coast 
of England. 

Chicago, 111., being Mr. Betlach's first 
objective point, he proceeded thither from 
Boston, via the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, 
furnished with a letter of introduction to one 
of his countrymen in Chicago, whom he suc- 
ceeded in finding. This "friend" it appears, 
recommended our subject to "read the daily 
papers, " whereby he might find suitable 
work, salutary advice to a stranger in a 
strange land who did not even know the first 
word of English. Concluding that he would 
get no assistance from this individual, Mr. 
Betlach decided to come to Wisconsin, and 
to Stevens Point, where his younger brother 
Frank was then residing, and here he ar- 
rived May 28, 1S74, soon obtaining work 
with Ed. Nuegebauer, a butcher by trade, as 
" general utility man. " At the end of four- 
teen months he left Mr. Nuegebauer's em- 
ploy, and formed a partnership with Geo. 
Steuger, under the firm name of Steuger & 
Betlach, in the butchering business on Third 
street, Stevens Point, which continued from 
June 15, 1875, to June, 1889, when Mr. 
Betlach bought out his partner's interest, 
and has since conducted the business alone 
and with eminent success. 

At Grand Rapids, Wis., June 11, 1876, 
Mr. Betlach was united in marriage with 
Miss Mary Schmit, a native of Germantown, 
Wis., and a daughter of Nicholas Schmit, 
who came from Germany to the United 
States about the year 1855. Six children 
were born to this marriage, named respect- 
ively: Emile, William, Lillie, Amelia, Le- 
ander, and Arabella, all living. Our sub- 
ject is a stanch Democrat, but has no time 
to waste on politics, his business demanding 
and receiving his close attention. The en- 



tire family are members of the Catholic 
Church, and he is affiliated with the Catho- 
lic Knights and Eintracht \'erein. Mr. Bet- 
lach has a very comfortable home on 
Strong's avenue, where peace and harmony 
prevail. He has given his children e.xcellent 
school advantages, including music and the 
higher branches of literary attainments. Mr. 
and Mrs. Betlach and their interesting 
family enjoy the esteem and respect of all 
who have the pleasure of knowing them. 



JOHN NEWTON BRUNDAGE, Sk.. 
ranks among the early settlers of Wood 
county, and for many years was a 
leading journalist of Grand Rapids. He 
was born in Ithaca, N. Y., June 28, 1828, 
and is a son of Elisha and Lucinda (Brown) 
Brundage, who had a family of two children, 
our subject yet surviving. He was educated 
at Clyde Academy in New York, and resided 
in the Empire State until 1852, when he 
came to Wisconsin, afterward removing to 
Waukegan, 111., where he spent five years. 
In 1857 he became a resident of Grand 
Rapids, where he established the ]\'oocf 
County Reporter, continuing its publication 
until 1863, when he sold out and enlisted in 
the Forty-fourth Wis. V. I. In 1867 he 
went to Missouri, where the succeeding five 
years of his life were passed, and in 1872 
he returned to Grand Rapids, establishing 
the Grand Rapids Tribune in 1873, and en- 
tering into the hardware business in 1878. 
He continued to reside there until 1881. 
since which time he has been a resident of 
Dawson and Bismarck, North Dakota. 

Mr. Brundage was married August 24, 
1854, to Harriet Maria, daughterof Nathaniel 
and Dorothy Marie (Hall) Ingraham. The 
lady was born in Columbus, Ohio, Septem- 
ber I, 1835, and their union has been 
blessed with si.x children, five of whom are 
living, whose names and places of residence 
are as follows: Arthur Austin, born March 
I, 1856, is now a publisher residing in Daw- 
son, N. Dak. ; Frank IJenton, born May 22, 
1858, is a prosperous fanner also living in 
Dawson, N. Dak.; Edward B., born May 
17, 1863, is a publisher and the efficient 
postmaster of Grand Rapids, Wis. ; John 



534 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Newton, Jr., born April 29, 1872, is a printer 
residing in Grand Rapids; Mary Belle, born 
August 3, 1866, is the wife of Hon. E. G. 
Kennedy, a resident of South Dakota; an- 
other daughter died at birth. 

Mr. Brundage's first newspaper venture 
was in New York City in the spring of 1852, 
where the firm of Smith & Brundage pub- 
lished what was probably the first labor pa- 
per in the United States, called the ^\'ra' 
/iidiistria/ World, one of the cardinal prin- 
ciples advocated being a United States home- 
stead law, which was finally passed in 1862. 
His second venture in journalism was in 

1855, when he published a monthly paper in 
Waukegan, 111., merging it into a weekly in 

1856, and supporting John C. Fremont for 
the Presidency. Mr. Brundage is an en- 
thusiastic Republican, but for twenty years 
after the war allied himself with the Demo- 
cratic party. During his residence there he 
always took a deep interest in all matters 
tending to the advancement of Wood 
county, and of Grand Rapids in particular, 
and in connection with educational affairs 
he has done much toward elevating the 
standard of instruction, as well as taking an 
active interest in all movements tending to 
elevate or improve the condition of the com- 
munity at large. He is now living a retired 
life at Bismarck, N. Dak., and commands 
the respect of all who know him, being one 
of the most useful, honorable and public- 
spirited men in the community. 



EDWARD B. BRUNDAGE, junior 
member of the firm of Luehr & Brund- 
age, editors and proprietors of the 
Centralia Enterprise and Tribune, is 
also the efficient postmaster of Grand Rapids. 
There are men in all communities whose in- 
fluence is felt rather than seen; whose lives 
and characters, like the deep under current 
of a mighty stream, have deeper and 
weightier effects in modeling their surround- 
ings and shaping the course of events that 
those who in outward appearance may 
have an important showing in the affairs of 
the community. Among the quiet, earnest 
men whose depth of character and strict ad- 
herence to principle e.xcite the admiration of 



those who know them is this popular young 
journalist. 

Mr. Brundage was born in Grand Rapids, 
Wis., May 17, 1863, and is a son of John 
N. and Harriet M. (Ingrahani) Brundage, 
the former a native of New York, and the 
latter of Massachusetts. They now reside 
in Bismarck, N. Dak. Our subject was ed- 
ucated in the public schools and Howe High 
School of his native town, and in 1881 en- 
tered the office of the Grand Rapids Tribune. 
which paper was at that time owned and 
published by his father, and the latter having 
gone West, he took entire charge of the 
office. In little less than two \'ears, or in 
January, 1883, he bought out the business 
and conducted and published the paper on 
his own account. On the 1st of June, 1887, 
the Grand Rapids Tribune was consolidated 
with the Centralia Enterprise, with E. B. 
Rossier as senior partner and E. B. Brund- 
age as the junior member of the firm. The 
paper was then published under its present 
name of the Centralia Enterprise and Tri- 
bune, and was conducted under that man- 
agement until August, I 89 1, when Mr. Ros- 
sier (now deceasedj was obliged to withdraw 
from the active management on account of 
failing health, and Mr. Brundage once more 
assumed full charge of the business. On 
the 1st of April, 1892, Mr. Rossier sold 
his interest in the paper to W. H. Luehr, 
who was at that time principal of the Howe 
High School of Grand Rapids, and from that 
date to the present time the business has 
been conducted under the firm name of 
Luehr & Brundage. 

On the 9th of January, 1894, Mr. 
Brundage was appointed postmaster of 
Grand Rapids, succeeding F. W. Burt, and 
on the 27th of the same month took pos- 
session of the office. His first official act 
was the purchase of an entirely new post- 
office outfit made by the Yale & Towne 
Manufacturing Company, and such as is sup- 
plied by the government to all first and 
second class offices. He has also served as 
alderman for one term, during which time 
several marked impro\ements were made in 
the city, including the erection of the new 
city hall and library building, the supplying 
of arc lights and the addition to the fire de- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



525 



partment of a city team. In this work of 
advancement and progress he bore an active 
part, being warmly interested in everything 
pertaining to the welfare of the community. 
In his political views he is a Democrat. 
Socially he is connected with the Knights of 
Pythias Lodge, No. 100, and was unani- 
mously elected its first chancellor com- 
mander, holding the office for two terms. 
He has filled all the offices in the Masonic 
society, and is at present worshipful master 
of Grand Rapids Lodge, No. 128, F. & A. M. 
For four years he was secretary of the Wood 
County Agricultural and Mechanical Associ- 
ation, and up to March, 1895, was a mem- 
ber of the Grand Rapids Fire Department. 
On the 30th of October, 1889, in the 
city which is now their home, the marriage 
of Mr. Brundage and Miss Mary Emma 
Miller, daughter of James and Caroline 
(Yeatsj Miller took place. She was born in 
Grand Rapids, and for several years was a 
teacher of recognized ability in the Howe 
High School. She holds membership with 
the Congregational Church. One child has 
been born to them. Dean Kennedy. Prior to 
his marriage, Mr. Brundage erected a com- 
fortable and commodious dwelling house, in 
which with his little family he now resides. 



EDWARD WHEELAN, a prosperous 
and highly-esteemed citizen of Grand 
Rapids, has from an early day in its 
history been associated with the best 
interests of Wood county. He is public- 
spirited and progressive, and has at heart the 
welfare of his adopted county, withholding 
his support from no enterprise which he be- 
lieves calculated to promote the general 
welfare. 

A native of the beautiful green Isle of 
Erin, Mr. Wheelan was born in the County 
of Wicklow, Ireland, on the 20th of Febru- 
ary, 1839, and is a son of Edward and Cath- 
erine I'Cody) Wheelan. The mother died 
during the infancy of her son Edward, after 
which the father brought his children to 
America, locating in Milwaukee, Wis., in 
1847. His death there occurred two years 
later from cholera, and our subject was thus 



at a very early age left an orphan. Edward 
Wheelan received but limited educational 
privileges, pursuing his studies in the com- 
mon schools of the town of Oakfield, Fond 
du Lac Co. , Wis. , and in early life he started 
out for himself, working at the tailor's trade 
for a short period. He afterward engaged 
in agricultural pursuits for a time, and in 
1859 he came to Grand Rapids, where he 
embarked in the lumbering business. For 
some years he was occupied with that in- 
dustry, and successfully managed his affairs, 
accumulating a comfortable competence, 
which has enabled him to live retired of late 
years, enjoying a rest that he has truly 
earned and richly deserves. 

On the 6th of January, 1870, in Grand 
Rapids, the marriage of Mr. Wheelan and 
Miss Mary Wright, a daughter of William 
and Harriet (Weice) Wright took place. 
They have a family of five children, all yet 
living, as follows: William Edward, who 
was born December 30, 1870; Harrison, who 
is usually called Harry, and was born July 
30, 1872; Nettie, born September 22, 1874; 
Edmund W., born April 25, 1876; and Frank 
R. , who was born April 18, 1878, completes 
the family. The parents and children attend 
the Methodist Church, and in the community 
where they live they are highly respected 
people. 

Mr. Wheelan e.xercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the Democracy, and has 
been honored with several local offices. In 
1 880, he was elected sheriff of Wood county, 
which position he creditablj- and acceptably 
filled for two years, and was also supervisor 
for several terms. He has long been a resi- 
dent of Grand Rapids, and is a man highly 
respected for his strict integritj', high moral 
character, sterling qualities and unassuming 
manner. 



M 



ILO S. STROUD has taken a 
prominent part in public affairs in 
Waupaca county, being especially 
active in promoting those interests 
which he believes calculated to advance the 
general welfare. He was born in Sandy 
Creek, N. Y., December 12, 1840, and is a 
son of Joseph T. and Melinda (Howard) 



5^6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Stroud. His mother died when he was only 
seven years old, after which he went to the 
home of his grandfather, Joseph T. Stroud. 
His parents were both twice married, and 
had children by their former unions, but 
Milo had no own brothers and sisters. The 
common schools afforded him his educa- 
tional privileges. In 1844 his father re- 
moved to Sheboj'gan county. Wis., and 
after two years settled in the town of Ply- 
mouth, where he purchased forty acres of 
land. Of this he cleared thirty acres and 
made it his home for twelve years, when he 
sold that property and removed to Symco 
township, AN'aupaca county. He was one 
of the first settlers on the west side of Little 
Wolf river, north of the home of Dr. Woods. 
He purchased eight}' acres of land in its 
primitive condition, and lived in a tent until 
the erection of a log house, 16x20 feet. 

Our subject had accompanied his father 
on these various removals, and aided him in 
the arduous task of improving new land. 
To the farm mentioned was added a forty- 
acre tract of land which was pre-empted 
from the government, and upon that prop- 
erty they made their home for five jears. 
Their moving was done with oxen, which 
was the first team on the west side of Little 
Wolf river, which stream they had crossed 
in canoes. Their nearest post ofifice and 
market was at Roj^alton, nine miles away. 
Father and son began the work of clearing 
the land, placed thirty acres under cultiva- 
tion, and continued the work conjointly until 
July 12, 1861. On that date Milo S. Stroud 
joined Company B, Third Wisconsin In- 
fantry, which was sent to Hagerstown, Md. 
They passed the winter at Frederick City, 
Md., and in April, 1862, crossed the Poto- 
mac and went to Winchester, where they 
were engaged in a skirmish, also had a 
slight encounter with the enemy at Little 
Washington while cii route. They drove 
the enemy as far as Edenburg, \'a. , thence 
fell back to Winchester, where two battles 
were fought. They took part in what was 
known as Banks' retreat down the Shenan- 
doah, and after recruiting at Williamsport, 
Md., returned to Winchester, where a sec- 
ond battle took place. They were present 
at the battle of Cedar Mountain, August 9, 



1862, then went to Washington, and on to 
Monocacy Bridge, where an engagement 
was brought on. After leaving Frederick 
City, Md., they took part in the battles of 
South Mountain and Antietam, and at the 
latter Mr. Stroud was wounded in both legs 
and in the right forearm. He was then 
sent to the general hospital in West Phila- 
delphia, where he was discharged February 
26, 1863. He immediately returned home, 
but on the 7th of March, 1864, re-enlisted 
in Company A, Fifth United States Cav- 
alry, which was sent for drill to Carlisle 
Barracks, Penn., and thence in December to 
Winchester. The command was in what 
was known as the Loudoun \'alley raid, in 
which the valley was burned over for 1 10 
miles. After twenty days, during which 
they frequently encountered General Mosby's 
guerrillas, thej' returned to camp, where 
they continued until March, 1865, when 
they started for Petersburg. This command 
was engaged in the battles of Cold Harbor, 
Five Forks and Petersburg, and was pres- 
ent at the surrender of General Lee's army, 
then went to Richmond and on to Washing- 
ton, participating in the grand review. 
Later they went to Cumberland, Md., and 
from the Capital Cit}' went by steamer to 
Charleston, S. C, and two weeks later to 
Raleigh, N. C, where Mr. Stroud remained 
untjil honorably discharged March 7, 1867. 
During the year that he was absent from 
the war he married Sarah M. Corey, of 
Ro3'alton, Wis., who was born December 
28, 1844, in Saratoga county, N. Y. , whither 
her parents, William and Phoebe (Wait) 
Corey, emigrated to Wisconsin in 1851. 
Her father was a farmer, and in the family 
were eight children: James, Sarah M., 
Francelia, Eliza, Mary, Hattie, Angeline 
and Nettie. The father of Mr. Stroud had 
died March 26, 1864, and in 1865 he had 
purchased 160 acres of land in Section 34, 
Union township, Waupaca county, whither 
he removed on his return from the army. 
He operated that farm and the one which 
his father had left, but now he has sold all 
of his property save forty-seven acres that 
are under a high state of cultivation. The 
home is a ploBsant one, the abode of hos- 
pitality. ^lr. and Mrs. Stroud have no chil- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



527 



dren of their own, but have adopted two, 
May E. and John M. 

Since 1868 our subject has each jear 
been elected constable, and in the present 
year, 1895, he is serving both as constable 
and justice of the peace. He has been 
notary public for twelve years, was town 
clerk in 1894, and was assessor one term. 
He aided in the organization and was one of 
the charter members of the Good Templars 
Lodge, and is a member of the Temple of 
Honor. He discharges his duties of citizen- 
ship with the same fidelity which marked 
his career when on southern battle fields as 
he followed the old flag. He receives a 
pension of $17 a month, which seems a 
trifling reward for five years and eight 
monts of hard service, including wounds 
and painful illnesses. 



IRA GIBBONS, a successful and progress- 
ive farmer of Waupaca county, is num- 
bered among the native sons of the 

Empire State, his birth having occurred 
in St. Lawrence count}', X. Y. , January 7, 
1836. His father, Henry Gibbons, was born 
in England, October 20, 1S07, and during 
his youth emigrated to the United States, 
where, on the 22d of December, 1827, oc- 
curred his marriage with Betsy Ames, who 
was born February 10, 1809. By occupa- 
tion he was a farmer. His parents being in 
limited circumstances, he was early thrown 
upon his own resources and at length ob- 
tained a comfortable home and property in 
New York. In i 863, he came to Waupaca 
county. Wis., locating on a farm in Section 
7, Farmington township, where he resided 
until his death in August. 1879. His wife 
survived him nearly ten years, and they both 
now lie sleeping in the cemetery of Sheri- 
dan, Wis. In early life, Mr. Gibbons, was 
a Whig and afterward a Republican, and his 
religious views were in harmony with the 
doctrines of the Methodist Church. 

In the Gibbons family were the following 
children: William, now living in Illinois; 
Elijah, of St. Lawrence county, N. Y. ; Har- 
riet, wife of Levi Spinks, of St. Lawrence 
county; Ira, of this sketch; Martin, a gar- 



dener and small fruit grower of Berlin, Wis. ; 
Alvin, of Waupaca, Wis. ; Abner, now de- 
ceased, who followed agricultural pursuits in 
Farmington township; Fhilo, of Waupaca; 
Rosina, now Mrs. Wash Jeffers, of Sheri- 
dan, Wis.; Adelia, deceased; and two who 
died in infancy. 

The subject of this sketch was reared 
upon his father's farm, and early became 
familiar with all the duties which fall to the 
lot of the agriculturist. The common 
schools afforded him his educational privi- 
leges, and his advantages therefore were not 
of the best. During his youth he worked in 
the lumber woods and for different farmers 
of the neighborhood, but continued to make 
his home with his parents until his marriage, 
which was celebrated in St. Lawrence 
county, October 16, 1859. The lady of his 
choice, Miss Martha Sayles, is a native of 
that county, and a daughter of Ambrose and 
Sophia (Booth) Sayles, who were natives of 
Vermont. The parents were married in the 
Green Mountain State, and made their wed- 
ding journey in a wagon drawn by o.\en. 
Her father died in New York, and her moth- 
er's death occurred in Michigan, and Mrs. 
Gibbons was the fourth child and second 
daughter in their family of ten children. 

Our subject and his wife located upon a 
farm in St Lawrence county, N. Y. , which 
he operated until August 6, 1862, when, in 
response to the President's call for troops, 
he enlisted at Potsdam, N. Y. , in Company E, 
One Hundred and Sixth New York V. I. 
The regiment was sent to New Creek, Va., 
and at Martinsburg, Va., in its first regular 
engagement, suffered defeat and retreated to 
Harper's Ferry, thence to Washington, then 
went to re-enforce the army at Gettysburg. 
The troops of that command afterward took 
part in the battle of the Wilderness and the 
operations around Richmond and Peters- 
burg; were present at the surrender of Lee, 
and participated in the grand review at Wash- 
ington, the most brilliant military pageant 
ever seen on the Western Hemisphere. Mr. 
Gibbons received his discharge in June, 1 865, 
and returned home about the ist of July, 
after three years of faithful service. He was 
slightly wounded in the battle of the Wild- 
erness but otherwise escaped uninjured. 



528 



COMMEMORATH^E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



although he participated in a number of im- 
portant engagements. 

After his return from the war, Mr. Gib- 
bons sold his farm in New York and follow- 
ed his parents to Waupaca count}'. Wis., in 
the fall of 1865. Repurchased in Section 7, 
Farmington township, eighty acres of land 
adjoining his father's farm, and has since 
given his time and attention to agricultural 
pursuits, having now about sixty acres under 
the plow. He has also repaired the build- 
ings and added other good improvements, 
which attest to his progressive spirit, and the 
neat and thrifty appearance of the place indi- 
cates his careful supervision. While in New 
York three children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Gibbons, who are still living — William 
A., a merchant of Oshkosh; Carrie, now 
Mrs. Amassa Ross, of Waupaca, Wis., and 
Warren, who is living in Scandinavia town- 
ship, Waupaca county. They also lost 
one son, Orlo. who died in infancy. Since 
coming to Wisconsin, the family circle has 
been increased by the following children: 
Hattie, wife of John Taylor, of Gladstone, 
Minn. ; Addie and Minnie, both at home; 
Lillian, wife of Carl Krostu, of Sheridan, 
Wis. ; Mary and Allen, both at home. 

Mr. Gibbons is a stanch Republican, and 
has served as pathmaster, but has never sought 
official preferment, giving the greater part 
of his time and attention to his business in- 
terests, in which he is meeting with good 
success. He and his family attend the 
Presbyterian Church, and in social circles 
hold an enviable position. Mr. Gibbons is a 
kind-hearted man, pleasant and genial in 
manner, and in his adopted county has won 
many warm friends who esteem him highly. 



IRA H. JONES, one of the inHuential 
and self-made men of Lind township, 
Waupaca county, was born in South 
Dansville township, Steuben Co., N. Y. , 
February 13, 1826, and is the son of 
Uriah and grandson of Major Jones. Uriah 
Jones was a native of Pennsylvania, and a 
successful farmer of New York, and lived to 
the age of seventy-five years. 

Ira H. Jones was well educated for the 
times, receiving, in addition to a common- 



school education, one year's academic in- 
struction. He remained at home until 
eighteen, though he had previously worked 
out at intervals. For four j'ears he was 
a clerk in two of the general stores at 
Dansville, Livingston Co., N. Y., not far 
from his home. The railroads were then 
beginning to assume importance, and were 
offering opportunities for labor. Early in 
1853 Ira went to northern Ohio, where he 
had relatives, and at Cleveland accepted a 
position as brakeman on the Cleveland & 
Toledo railroad, now a part of the Lake 
Shore road. Acting as brakeman for a year, 
he was promoted to the position of baggage 
master, but a month later was prostrated 
by fever and ague, and returned to his par- 
ents' home in New York to recuperate. A 
little later he returned to his old run, but a 
second attack of ague coming on he aban- 
doned railroading and started for the wilds 
of Wisconsin. Reaching Chicago by rail, 
he went by boat to Sheboygan, thence by 
team to Fond du Lac and to Gill's Landing 
by boat again. By team he then reached 
the home of his uncle. Minor Jones, in Lind 
township, \\'aupaca county, in May, 1854. 
He resolved to remain and identify himself 
with the new land, and entered i 20 acres of 
unimproved land in Section 9, Lind township, 
which, after breaking about eight acres, he 
traded for his present farm of 1 20 acres in 
Sections 28 and 29. 

In the fall of 1856 Mr. Jones was mar- 
ried in Lind township to Sarah J. Fox, who 
was born in Fredonia, N. Y. , December 18, 
1834. She is a daughter of Shubel and 
Minerva (Foxj Fox, who later became early 
pioneers of Wisconsin, migrating about 
1842 to Aurora, 111., and some ten \ears 
later moving b}' team to Lind township. 
Waupaca county. Wis., locating there be- 
fore the land upon which they settled had 
yet been surveyed. After his marriage Mr. 
Jones lived for a year in a log house on the 
land of his father-in-law. During the rainy 
season the famih- was compelled to fre- 
quently shift from one side of the house to 
the other to keep dry. In 1857 he moved 
to the farm where he has since resided. He 
now owns iSo acres, lOO of which have 
been broken. Mr. Jones has made all the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



529 



improvements and erected all the substan- 
tial buildings on the farm, and he now lives 
there, one of the substantial and esteemed 
citizens of the region. His children are 
Floyd, a cattle and horse raiser, of Ne- 
braska; Leroy, a farmer, of Lind township; 
and Jessie, now Mrs. John Hopkins, of Lind 
township. 

In politics Mr. Jones is a stanch Demo- 
crat. For six years he was clerk of the 
township, and for two years treasurer. He 
has served as a school officer for many 
years. Mrs. Jones is a member of theM. E. 
Church, and a charter member of the Lind 
Lodge of Good Templars. No man would 
accuse Mr. Jones of a contentious or quar- 
relsome disposition. He has never appeared 
in court either as a plaintiff or defendant, 
and only once in his life has he been in at- 
tendance as a witness. The active manage- 
ment of the farm he has resigned to his son- 
in-law, and has retired to the enjoyment of 
a more sedate life, to which his long serv- 
ices as a pioneer in'developing the resources 
of the land have so amply entitled him. 



STEPHEN F. HOLMAN, one of the 
late comers to Buena Vista town- 
ship, Portage county, who has just 
turned his half century mile post, 
has perhaps in his history to the present 
time met with more than his share of life's 
vicissitudes, but he has ever shown the 
sterling mettle that is in him, and to-day he 
is one of the highly-esteemed and prosper- 
ing men of the township. 

He was born in Erie county, N. Y. , Oc- 
tober 6, 1844, son of William Holman. his 
mother's maiden name being West. Will- 
iam Holman is a native of Vermont, the son 
of Abel Holman and the grandson of a 
Revolutionary soldier. Abel Holman mi- 
grated with his family from Vermont, his 
native State, to Springville, Erie Co., N. 
Y. , where he settled on a farm near Catta- 
raugus creek and engaged in farming and 
blacksmithing until his death, in 1865. He 
had si.\ children, as follows: (i) Perry, a 
blacksmith, who married Alzina Wilcox, by 
whom he had five children — Charles, Mar- 
cus, John, Perry and Linda. (2) Samuel, 



who died a young man. (3) Wilfred, a 
sailor, who died on a vessel rounding Cape 
Horn. (4) Marcus, a sailor, drowned on 
the coast of Fayal. (5) Sally, wife of Sam- 
uel Houst, a blacksmith of Boston, N. Y. , 
whose two children were accidentally 
drowned, and (6) William. 

William Holman was a boy when he 
moved with his parents from Vermont to 
Erie county, N. Y. He there married and 
in the " fifties " emigrated to Wisconsin, lo- 
cating first at W'eyauwega where for nine 
months he followed his trade of blacksmith- 
ing. For a year he lived on a farm near 
Weyauwega, then for five years occupied a 
rented farm in Dayton township, Waupaca 
county. Removing to Lanark, Portage 
county, he there purchased a farm of eighty 
acres to which he has since added forty 
acres more, and the parents now reside in 
comfort and health upon that farm. Their 
children are as follows: Alice, wife of John 
Hall, and mother of one child, Wallace; 
William and Wallace, twins, at home; 
Nancy, who died, aged twenty-six years; 
Stephen F., subject of this sketch; Adol- 
phus, who died in boyhood; Mary, wife of 
Edward Heath, a druggist, of Spencer, \\'is., 
and mother of two children, Edwin and 
Irene; John, who farms in Kansas, has four 
children; and W'ilfred, a farmer, of Lanark 
township. 

Our subject obtained a common-school 
education while on his father's farm, and at 
the age of sixteen started to learn the mill- 
er's trade. Ill health compelled him to quit; 
six months later he drove team in the woods 
and worked until August 24, 1864, when he 
enlisted in Co. A, Forty-second Wis. V. I., 
Capt. Duncan C. McGregor. The regiment 
did garrison duty until the close of the war; 
was discharged May 29, 1865, and mustered 
out at Madison June 20, 1865. Resuming 
farming, Mr. Holman soon after purchased 
eighty acres of partially-improved land, and 
November 23, 1867, in Farmington town- 
ship, he was married to Isadora Winkler, 
daughter of George and Mary Ann (Tyler) 
Winkler, both natives of Pennsylvania. By 
this marriage he has had four children, as 
follows: Etta, now the wife of John Har- 
vey, a farmer of Belmont township, and 



530 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



mother of one child, Stephen; Ira, at home; 
George, at home; Eliza, wife of Fred Heb- 
blewaite (a farmer of Lanark), and mother 
of one child, Edward. Mr. Holman ex- 
changed his farm for property in Winne- 
conne. Wis. , and with his family removed 
to Blue Earth county, Minn., where he pur- 
chased a farm of 120 acres, and lived there 
three years. Disposing of this property, he 
sent his family temporarily to the home of 
his father, in Waupaca county, and a month 
later went to Montana, where he was en- 
gaged as a wood chopper for a month. Re- 
turning to Wisconsin, Mr. Holman learned 
that his Winneconne property had been de- 
stroyed by fire. Mr. Holman then engaged 
in farming on shares in Lanark township 
for eleven years, and in the spring of 1894 
purchased his present farm of 180 acres, 
mostly improved. His wife, who was a de- 
vout Christian and an active member of the 
Baptist Church, died November 3, 1885. 
Mr. Holman was again married April 16, 
1893, at Waupaca, this time to Ann Allen, 
who was born in New York, September 6, 
1839, daughter of David and Elizabeth 
fWilmot) Allen. Mrs. Holman had been 
twice married previously. By her first mar- 
riage she had two children, Ella Etta, who 
died in infancy, and Charles Monroe, acci- 
dentally shot and killed at the age of eighteen. 
By her second marriage her children were 
James Larson, who died aged sixteen years; 
Martha Elizabeth, wife of Willis Whitney, 
and Ella, who died in infancy. Mrs. Hol- 
man, when fourteen years of age, went into 
the woods as cook for her father's crew. 
At the time of her marriage to Mr. Holman 
she had been engaged in the millinery busi- 
ness at Amherst for twelve years. In poli- 
tics Mr. Holman is a stanch Republican. 
He is a member of Capt. Eckels Post, No. 
16, G. A. R., and of the Temple of Honor 
at Amherst. Both himself and wife are 
Protestants in belief, but not members of 
any religious society. Since coming to 
Buena Vista township, Mr. Holman has 
made many improvements on the place, and 
already ranks as one of its substantial citi- 
zens.— [Since the above was written, Mr. 
Holman has embarked in the cheese busi- 
ness, operating a factory. 



LOUIS BAUMANN. Each man as he 
starts out in life is imbued with the 
hope of winning success; but though 
many aspire to it, there are compara- 
tively few who achieve it. Among the smaller 
class, however, is numbered this gentleman, 
who, through his own industry, perseverance 
and good management, has become one of 
the prosperous and leading business men of 
Marshfield. 

He first saw the light in Austria, August 
24, 1865, and is a son of Joseph Baumann, 
born in the same country in 1829, and who 
worked as foreman for a cattle buyer. He 
married Anna Peck, and to them were born 
a family of nine children, of whom one son, 
Joseph, died at the age of three years ; the 
others are Louis, Mary, Theresa, Anna, 
Frances, Veronica, Barbara and Frank. 
This family sailed for America in 1867, and 
took up their residence upon a farm in Mani- 
towoc county. Wis., the father securing a 
tract of wild land which he transformed into 
a valuable and highly-improved propertv. 
There he carried on agricultural pursuits 
until his death, which occurred in 18S0 ; his 
widow still lives on the old home place. The 
grandfather. Mat Baumann, was a farmer, 
carrying on work along that line in his na- 
tive land. He was there married, and had 
a family of five sons and two daughters — 
Wolfgang, Joseph, Frank, Verdant, Mat, 
Barbara and Katie. 

The subject proper of this article was 
two years of age when the family sailed for 
the New World. As he was the eldest child, 
he was early called to aid in the labors of 
the farm, and soon became familiar with the 
arduous task of developing new land. To 
his father he gave the benefit of his services 
until sixteen years of age, when he began 
learning the carpenter's trade, which he fol- 
lowed until he attained his majority, in con- 
nection with which he worked in the lumber 
woods in the winter season. In the mean- 
time he had purchased a small farm in Wood 
count}'. Wis. , near Hewitt, and for some 
time thereafter engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits on his own account. Carefullj' man- 
aging his farm, he made this a paying in- 
vestment, and during the three years of his 
residence thereon added many excellent ini- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



531 



provements to the place, which stand as 
monuments to his enterprise. On the ex- 
piration of that period he sold out and came 
to Marshfield, where he purchased unim- 
proved property and erected his present 
business block, a fine brick building, in 
which he now conducts a saloon. The lad\' 
who bears the name of Mrs. Baumann was 
in her maidenhood Miss Anna Meidl, a na- 
tive of Germany, and a daughter of Blass 
and Maggie (Weber) Meidl. Her parents, 
accompanied by their family, sailed for 
America in 1S68, and also became residents 
of Manitowoc count}', locating upon the 
farm which is still their home. Ten chil- 
dren were born to them, namely : Anna, 
Michael, Theresa, Barbara, Maggie, Mary, 
Blass, John, Frances and Clara. Five chil- 
dren bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bau- 
mann, named as follows : Theresa, Barbara, 
Anton, Louis and Philip. 

Mr. Baumann takes quite an active in- 
terest in political affairs, and is a stalwart 
advocate of Democratic principles. For 
four years he has served as alderman from 
the Sixth ward, and as a member of the 
council has done effective service to the city, 
giving his support to all matters pertaining 
to its upbuilding and promotion. He holds 
membership with the Catholic Church, and 
for the past four years has been the honored 
treasurer of the Catholic Knights of Wiscon- 
sin. He possesses the true Western spirit of 
progress, and in business and in public af- 
fairs he has ever been enterprising and pro- 
gressive. 



EDWARD ASCHBRENNER, carriage 
and sleigh manufacturer, and gen- 
eral blacksmith, Wausau, Marathon 
county, also dealer in agricultural 
implements, was born in Berlin township, 
Marathon county, January 2, 1872. His 
parents, Augustus and Minnie (Kluender) 
Aschbrenner, were both born in Germany, 
came to the United States, and were among 
the very earliest settlers of Marathon coun- 
ty, having located in what is now Berlin 
township in 1855, where they purchased 
land, and have been engaged in agricultural 



pursuits up to this date, and are now residing 
on the farm in Easton township. 

Augustus Aschbrenner was thrice mar- 
ried. His first wife was Miss Annie Fen- 
haus, and by this union was born one child; 
his second wife was Miss Amelia Grawen, 
and two children were born to this union, of 
whom one is living — Annie, wife of Frank 
Guerke, residing in Texas township, Mara- 
thon Co., Wis. By his third wife, whose 
maiden name was Minnie Kluender, Augustus 
Aschbrenner had a family of nine children, 
of whom six are living, namely: Edward 
(the subject of this sketch), Henry, Gustaxe, 
Bertha, Tena and Richard, all at home with 
the exception of Edward, who is unmarried 
and resides in Wausau, Marathon county. 

Edward Aschbrenner was educated in 
the public schools of Marathon county, and 
after leaving school was a delivery clerk and 
salesman in a grocery store in Wausau four 
years. Later he learned the trade of black- 
smith, in which occupation he has been en- 
gaged ever since. In August, 1894, Mr. 
Aschbrenner became associated in business 
with Frederick Fenhaus, and as practical 
carriage makers and blacksmiths, live pro- 
gressive 3'oung men, they built up in a short 
time a large and rapidly increasing trade. 
On June i, 1895, Mr. Aschbrenner bought 
out Mr. Fenhaus' interest, and is now, alone, 
conducting the business, which is still on the 
increase. 



JOHN T. BECKER, of Lessor township, 
Shawano county, a successful farmer 
and miller, was born in Austria, in 
1847, and is a son of Thaddeus and Jo- 
sephine (Erhart) Becker. 

Thaddeus Becker was a learned shoe- 
maker, and also a blacksmith, though he 
never worked much at this latter trade. In 
I 850 he sailed with his wife in a two-masted 
ship from Bremen to America, landing in 
Philadelphia after a very rough passage of 
sixty-five days. From Philadelphia they 
went to New York, then came to Milwaukee, 
Wis., where Mr. Becker was employed in 
the Bradley shoe shop, doing the fine work, 
and remained about a year. He then made 
the trip with oxen from Milwaukee to Elling- 



532 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ton, Outagamie Co., Wis., where he bought 
eighty acres of land, and building a log house 
thereon began the work of making a home, 
snbsec]uently adding forty acres to his origi- 
nal purchase. The journey thither occupied 
about two weeks, and on July 4, while on 
their way, they passed through Fond du Lac, 
Fond du Lac county, then but a small town. 
He brought leather enough with him from 
Milwaukee to last him one year, and was 
thus enabled to provide for his family until 
he could get a start. There was but one 
road there at the time, known as the mili- 
tary road. He was among the early settlers 
in that region, and in the opening up and 
clearing of his land endured all the hard- 
ships and privations of pioneer life. Thad- 
deus Becker died on the homestead in Ell- 
ington during the Civil war, leaving five 
children, namely: Antone, married, now a 
successful farmer in Greenville, Outagamie 
county; Joseph T. , subject proper of these 
lines; Anna, wife of Conrad Kraetcberk, a 
farmer of Ellington, Wis. ; John, living on 
the homestead, where his mother, now 
eighty years of age, lives with him; and 
Andrew, a farmer of Ellington, who is mar- 
ried and has a family. 

Joseph T. Becker had ver}' meager op- 
portunities for an education, for the school 
was four miles distant, and he could not 
attend more than half the time. He was 
put to hard work rather young, and has 
earned his own living since he was about 
seventeen years old. He learned the car- 
penter's trade, at which he has always 
worked, and has also been engaged in the 
sawmilling business. He made his home in 
Ellington. Outagamie Co., Wis., until 1868, 
when he was united in marriage with Mar- 
garet Stroup, who was born in Austria, and 
they have had six children, namely: Fannie, 
who is now the wife of Louis Gokey, a land- 
lord in Pulcifer, Shawano Co., Wis.; and 
Mary, Albert, Joseph, P'rank, and Emma, 
all at home. Margaret Stroup accompanied 
her parents to America, and they came to 
Wisconsin, locating at Greenville, Outa- 
gamie county, where they bought a farm on 
which they spent the remainder of their lives, 
Mrs. Stroup passing away about 1865. 

When Mr. Becker was married he 



bought his wife's father's farm, which was 
nearly cleared, and engaged in farming there 
about three years, after which he went to 
Colby, Clark Co., Wis., where he erected a 
temporary shingle-mill and remained about 
one year, in that time losing about three 
thousand dollars. Returning to the farm, 
he lived there about five years, also working 
in the sawmill in Black Creek, Outagamie 
county. About 1884 he came to Lessor 
township, Shawano county, here building a 
mill costing three thousand dollars; he first 
had a partner, but soon bought him out, 
afterward conducting the mill himself. In 
1888 he was burned out here, losing some 
three thousand dollars, and he had pre\iously 
been burned out on the farm. Thus he has 
been unfortunate, and it is only by his own 
hard labor and that of his family that he has 
kept afloat. To-day he has 280 acres of 
land, and contemplates building a planing 
mill at a probable cost of two thousand dol- 
lars. He has operated the threshing machine 
twenty-five years, and at the present time 
owns one threshing machine and self-trac- 
tion engine. Twentj'-three years ago he 
owned two engines, one of which he sold to 
his brother, while the other he converted 
into a self-traction engine by adding more 
machinery to it. This was the first of the 
kind in his part of the country, and Mr. 
Becker hauled it from place to place with a 
team of oxen. At present (1895) he owns 
the " Briarton Hall," hotel and saloon, 
combined, besides a lumber-mill, shingle- 
mill, planing-mill and feed-mill, all com- 
bined. Politically, he is a Democrat, and 
has alwajs supported that party; the family 
are members of the Catholic Church. When 
he was eighteen years old Mr. Becker went 
into the service of the Union as a substitute 
for his brother Anton. 



HENRY MERTENS is a native of 
Rheinland, Germany, born October 
5, 1833, son of Anton Mertens, a 
shepherd, who married Margaret 
Kropp, by whom he had a family of ten 
children: Margaret, Casper, Jacob, Henry, 
Anna M. , and five who died in infancy. In 
1842, accompanied by his family, the father 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



533- 



emigrated to America and took up his re- 
sidence in Milwaukee, Wis. In this countrj' 
he was a farmer, and died in Calumet coun- 
ty, this State, in 1870; his wife had preceded 
him to the grave, dying in 1859. 

Our subject was reared on the old home 
farm, and as soon as old enough to handle 
the plow began work in the fields, not long 
afterward securing employment in the pine- 
ries. Thus early thrown upon his own re- 
sources, his educational privileges were 
necessarily limited, and in the hard school 
of experience he was forced to gain much of 
his knowledge. In his early days he was 
also engaged in stage driving for a year in 
Ohio. Mr. Mertens was first married in 
1857, in Washington county. Wis., to Mar- 
garet Peters, who died in 1859, leaving 
three children: Katie, Peter and Christina. 
On April 3, 1861, he wedded Clara Kreischer, 
who was born in Europe, a daughter of 
John and Anna M. (Filtzs) Kreischer. Her 
father, who was a farmer, came to America in 
1847, locating near Fond du Lac, Wis.; his 
death occurred in 1887, that of his wife in 
1889. They had a family of nine children: 
Herbert, Herman, MaryO., John P. , Eliza- 
beth, George, Clara, Sophia and Josephine. 
After his marriage, Mr. Mertens located in 
Holstein, Calumet county, upon a farm, 
but later changed his residence to Wood- 
ville, where he lived some nine years. His 
ne.xt home was in a Bakerville, Wis., and 
securing a tract of heavy timber land he 
transformed it into a fine farm, upon which 
he made his home until 1886, at which time 
he sold out and removed to Marshfield. Here 
he purchased a hotel, successfully conduct- 
ing it until the disastrous fire which swept 
over the city in 1887, in which his property 
was destroyed. With characteristic energy 
he began building his present fine brick 
hotel, which is conducted under the name of 
the "Central House." It is a first-class 
establishment, and receives its patronage 
largely from the farmers. He possesses 
good business ability, and through well- 
directed efforts, diligence and perseverance 
he has won prosperity. He may truly be 
called a self-made man, for whatever he 
possesses has been acquired through his own 
labor. Children as follows have been born 



to Mr. and Mrs. Mertens: Mary, Margaret, 
Sophia, Clara, Casper, Anna, John, Joseph, 
Elizabeth, Henry, Susan, Caroline, William 
and Rose. The parents are members of 
the Catholic Church, and in politics Mr. 
Mertens is a Democrat. 

Joseph Mertens, a wide-awake and en- 
terprising young business man of Marshfield, 
was born on the home farm in Brown coun- 
ty. Wis., in 1875. Under the parental roof 
he was reared, and in the common schools 
he conned his lessons until ten years of age, 
when he began learning the trade of a bar- 
ber. When a youth of only fourteen years 
he established a shop in Stanley, which he 
successfully carried on until 1894, when he 
sold out and purchased his present place of 
business in Marshfield, the finest of the kind 
in the city. He is progressive and enter- 
prising, and arguing from the past we pre- 
dict that his career will be a very successful 
one. He is now only twenty-one jears of 
age, yet is already numbered among the 
leading business men of Marshfield. 



FRANK McREYNOLDS, who for six- 
tee.n years has been bookkeeper with 
The Joseph Dessert Lumber Co., at 
Mosinee, was born in Batavia, N. Y. , 
September 24, 1859, son of Jamesand Mary 
(Emerson) McReynolds, natives of Ireland 
who emigrated to America in 1850. Mrs. 
McReynolds first located with her parents 
at Cleveland, Ohio, but a year later they 
came west and settled in Brookfield, Wau- 
kesha Co. , Wis. Here she married Mr. Mc- 
Reynolds, and the young couple removed to 
Batavia, N. Y. In the spring of 1861 he 
returned to Brookfield, Wis., and a little 
later he enlisted in the Forty-eighth P. V. I., 
serving in the war for three years, at the ex- 
piration of his service returning to Milwau- 
kee, Wis., where he followed his trade as a 
carpenter, and where both parents still re- 
side. Their family consists of three chil- 
dren: Frank; Harriette, residing at home; 
and William H., of Chicago. 

Our subject received a high-school edu- 
cation at Milwaukee, and also took a course 
in the Spencer Business College of that city. 
His services were engaged as an accountant 



534 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in Milwaukee until 1878, when he came to 
Mosinee and entered the lumbering estab- 
lishment of Joseph Dessert & Co., as book- 
keeper. He has since been constantly in 
the emplo}' of the firm, which has become 
incorporated under the name of The Joseph 
Dessert Lumber Co., and where his fidelity, 
energy and ability have made his services 
invaluable. Mr. McReynolds is also a part- 
ner in the lumbering and mercantile firm of 
C. Gardner & Co. 

He was married April 13, 1887, to Miss 
Marie F. Martin, daughter of \ictor and 
Harriet Martin, formerly of Grand Rapids, 
Wis. Mr. and Mrs. McReynolds have one 
child, Helen, born October 17, 1888. Our 
subject's political faith is Republican, and 
himself and wife are members of the Epis- 
copal Church. 



FREDRICH FENHAUS, of the late 
firm of Aschbrenner & Fenhaus, in 
Wausau, Marathon county, was 
born in Berlin township, same coun- 
ty, September 19, 1868, a son of Caspar 
and Matilda if Aschbrenner ; Fenhaus, who 
were born in Germain'. 

Caspar Fenhaus, when he was about 
fourteen years of age, came to the United 
States with his parents, who located in 
Granville, Milwaukee Co., Wis. He com- 
pleted his education in the public schools of 
Milwaukee, and in 1861 enlisted in the 
United States Cavalry, serving three years 
and a half in the army during the war of the 
Rebellion. After being discharged he re- 
turned to Milwaukee, and in 1865 removed 
to Marathon county, locating in Berlin town- 
ship, taught school during the winter months, 
and also engaged in farming. About 1882 
he gave up teaching, and since that date has 
devoted his whole attention to agricultural 
pursuits. Mr. Fenhaus owns and operates 
one of the largest and most productive farms 
in Marathon county. He is an active poli- 
tician and a stanch Republican, has been 
town treasurer, town clerk, and postmaster, 
and held other minor offices. 

Mr. and Mrs. Caspar Fenhaus had born 
to them a family of nine children, of whom 
eight are living, namely: Mary, wife of 



Julius Naitzke, a prominent agriculturist 
of Berlin township, Marathon county: Fred- 
rich, the subject of this sketch; Edward, re- 
siding on the homestead; Albert, a black- 
smith, in Wausau, Marathon county; and 
Arlena, Robert, Emma and Malle, all living 
at home. Matilda Aschbrenner, who be- 
came the wife of Caspar Fenhaus, was born 
in the western part of Germany August 13, 
1845, and when she was but nine years of 
age came to this country with her parents, 
who were among the verj' earliest settlers in 
Marathon county. Wis. Her father was a 
hunter in his native land, and after his ar- 
rival in this country was engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits up to the time of his death, 
which occurred December 9, 1884, after an 
active and well-spent life. His widow is 
still living, and resides in Berlin township. 
Marathon county, at the advanced age of 
eighty years. 

Fredrich Fenhaus was educated in the 
public schools of Berlin township, Marathon 
county, afterward learned the trade of a 
blacksmith in Marathon, same county, and 
in 1890 commenced business for himself in 
Berlin township. In 1891, in Berlin town- 
ship, Marathon county, he married Miss 
Minna Steffen, and to their union have been 
born two children: Arthur, July 26, 1892; 
and Fredrich. Jul\- 14, 1894. The parents 
of Mrs. Fenhaus, John and Minna Steffen, 
were born in Germany, and reside in Berlin 
township. Mr. Fenhaus continued in busi- 
ness in Berlin until April, 1894, then sold 
out and removed to Wausau. In August. 
1894, together with Edward Aschbrenner, 
he purchased the business of Albert Schwan- 
tes. in which he then engaged, but June 
I, 1895, the partnership with Mr. Aschbren- 
ner was dissolved. In political views Mr. 
Fenhaus is a Republican. The family at- 
tend the Lutheran Church. 



ALLEN B. CRANE was born in Ed- 
dington, Maine, in November, 1831. 
His paternal grandparent, Elijah 
Crane, was a resident of Massa- 
chusetts, and by trade was a cooper. He 
married and became the father of eight chil- 
dren, viz. : Allen, Priscilla, Nancy, Anna. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



535 



■George, Ezekiel, F. and Eliza. Both the 
grandparents died in Maine. 

Allen Crane, the father of our subject, 
was born in Massachusetts in 1790, where 
for many years he was a prominent farmer 
and lumberman, and was also a soldier in 
the war of 1S12. Mr. Crane was united in 
marriage with Mar}- Coggshall, who was 
born in Taunton, Mass., in 1793; her father 
was a sea-faring man, and the owner of 
several vessels. Mrs. Crane had but one 
sister, Nancy, and one brother, Timothy. 
Allen Crane's family consisted of ten chil- 
dren, viz.: Timothy E., Francis (who died 
in infancN'), Samuel C, Francis, Allen B., 
Mary, Susan, Charlotte and Celia, another 
child, Celia, dj'ing when quite }"oung. Only 
two are now living, Allen B. and Samuel C, 
the latter now residing in Potsdam, N. Y. 
Allen Crane's death occurred in Maine March 
8, 1859. The mother died in New London, 
Wis., in 1867. 

Allen B. Crane, the gentleman intro- 
duced at the commencement of this sketch, 
received a good education in Maine, and 
afterward assisted his father in the running 
of a large lumber-mill. At the age of 
twenty-two he was married to Anna M. 
Miller, daughter of William R. and Ann 
(Simonton) Miller; she was born in Howland, 
Penobscot Co., Maine, in 1833, and was 
one of seven children, viz. : Albert, Walter, 
William E., Frank, Anna M., Mary L. and 
Rebecca. Mrs. Crane's father was a resi- 
dent of Massachusetts, and a lumberman by 
occupation; her mother was born in Port- 
land, Maine. After his marriage Mr. Crane 
moved to Potsdam, N. Y., and engaged in 
the lumber business, but only remained 
there for one year. In the fall of 1856 he 
came to Oshkosh, Winnebago Co., Wis., 
where he remained for some time, looking 
over the country, and in 1857 he moved to 
Rock Island, 111., and operated a mill, after- 
ward going to Missouri, where he engaged 
in the manufacture of ties for the Hannibal & 
St. Jo railroad, remaining there nearly a year. 
He then returned to Maine and engaged in 
logging, which pursuit he followed until 
1865; then came west and eventually settled 
in Oshkosh. Mr. Crane's elder brother, 
Timothy, whose death occurred January 6, 
34, 



1893, had always been interested with him 
in his different enterprises, and after coming 
to Wisconsin the second time they were 
actively engaged in the manufacture of lum- 
ber, building their first mill at Gagen, Forest 
Co., Wis., which, in 1890, they moved to 
Tomahawk. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Crane were born three 
children, viz.: Fannie S., Edward M., and 
William A., who died June 25, 1890, aged 
thirty-three years. The mother's death took 
place December 3, 1893. Mr. Crane is an 
ardent Republican, and takes an active in- 
terest ill all political affairs of the State. 
Socially he is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias, Royal Arcanum, and the Legion of 
Honor. His home is virtually at Oshkosh, 
where he is the ower of considerable prop- 
erty, but his business interests are princi- 
pally in Tomahawk. Mr. Crane is an able, 
scholarly man, and for five years he was a 
teacher in a public school in his native 
State. 



LEWIS TERRIO, than whom no citi- 
zen of St. Lawrence township, Wau- 
paca county, deserves more promi- 
nent mention in the pages of this 
volume, is a native of \'ermont, born July 
30, 1852, in Rutland county. 

John Terrio, his father, was a French 
Canadian, reared in the city of Montreal, 
where he married Miss Angeline St. George, 
a lady also of Canadian birth, and the young 
couple then moved to Essex county, N. Y. 
Mr. Terrio had in his boyhood learned the 
trade of stone-cutter and mason, commenc- 
ing at the earl)' age of twelve, so that his 
chances of attending school were necessarily 
much circumscribed; but being an attentive 
and apt scholar, he made better headway 
with his studies than most other pupils of 
his age. In Essex county he followed his 
trade for a time, then he and his wife re- 
moved to near Rutland, Vt., but some time 
in the latter part of the " fifties " they came 
west to \\'isconsin, locating in Ripon town- 
ship. Fond du Lac county, where a brother 
of Mrs. Terrio lived, Mr. Terrio having to 
borrow sufficient money to defray their 
traveling expenses. Here he again took up 



536 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his trade, the family part of the time Hving on 
a rented farm, and part of the time at Arcade, 
near Kipon, till the fall of 1868, when, con- 
cluding to try their fortune in northern Wis- 
consin, the)' migrated to Little Wolf town- 
ship, Waupaca county, their settlement in 
this then new and wild region being made 
in Section 17. They drove the entire dis- 
tance, bringing their household chattels in 
two wagons, the journey occupying from 5 
o'clock in the morning till between 7 and 8 
in the evening. Fortj' acres of wild land 
were here purchased by Mr. Terrio, on 
which stood a log shanty 20x32 feet, the 
price being $200, for which he had to go in 
debt, and here, with the exception of a few 
years preceding his death, he followed his 
trade. He had three strokes of paralysis, 
from the effects of which he died May 2, 
1891, his remains being interred in Manawa 
Catholic Cemetery. His widow, now over 
seventy years of age, is living at Weyau- 
wega. In his political preferences he was a 
stanch Republican, formerly a NN'hig, and in 
religious faith he was, as is the entire fam- 
ily, a member of the Catholic Church. 
Children as follows were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. John Terrio: John, a mason by trade, 
residing in Weyauwega, W'is. ; Lewis, the 
subject proper of this sketch; George, living 
in northern Michigan; Julia, now Mrs. John 
Beach, of Menominee, Mich. ; Emily, de- 
ceased in infancy; Eliza, now Mrs. Daniel 
McKenzie of ^Ianawa, Wis. ; and Josette 
(wife of Frank Jackson) and Joseph, both 
residents of Ogdensburg, Wisconsin. 

Lewis Terrio, whose name introduces 
this sketch, was but a small boy when he 
accompanied his parents to Wisconsin, so 
that most if not all of his education was re- 
ceived at Ripon, the public schools of which 
city he attended. After coming to Wau- 
paca county he commenced working in the 
lumber woods, continuing in that line eight 
summers, and "driving logs" as many win- 
ters on the Little Wolf river and its tribu- 
taries, also running logs on the Wisconsin 
river in spring. On May 15, 1871, he was 
married in Lebanon township, Waupaca 
county. Wis., to Miss Emma C. Williams, 
a native of New York State, daughter of 
Abraham Williams, who was of Welsh ox- 



traction, and the young couple then settled 
on eighty acres of new land in Little Wolf 
township (forty acres being in Section 16 
and forty in Section 17), for which he paid 
$200, $50 cash down, the first buildings on 
which were erected by him, and he soon had 
forty acres of it cleared. Here the family 
resided until November 28, 1875, when 
they removed to Section 6, same township, 
Mr. Terrio having there bought 240 acres, 
also wild land, retaining his other property. 
Here he had again to open up a new farm, 
but after clearing some fifty acres of it he 
in the spring of 1878 returned to the old 
farm, a few weeks later buying eighty acres 
in St. Lawrence township, again all new 
land, whereon he had to make all the neces- 
sary improvements. To this property he 
removed with his family in the fall of 1878, 
and has since resided there. 

To Lewis and Emma C. Terrio were 
born children as follows: Lewis J., Charles 
E., Clarence, Emma M., Eva G., Frank H. 
and George \\'. The mother of these died 
June 26, 1894, and was buried at Ogdens- 
burg Park Cemetery, and June 29, 1895, 
Mr. Terrio married Mrs. Alice Hopkins, /n'f 
Hike, widow of Lewis Hopkins. On Sep- 
tember 29, 1894, Mr. Terrio's residence was 
burned, all its contents being consumed ex- 
cept one bed; but he at once erected on the 
same site his present elegant and comforta- 
ble home, built entirely by his own hands, 
he having learned, or rather "picked up, " 
the trade of carpenter in his younger days; 
he also put up all his outbuildings, besides 
several residences, etc. , for other people. 
From time to time he has added to his pos- 
sessions until now he owns 220 acres of ex- 
cellent farming land, situated in St. Law- 
rence, Little Wolf and Helvetia townships, 
Waupaca county; and all this in spite of 
losses by fire, etc. ; but, never discouraged, 
he kept on the even tenor of his way which 
led him to the goal of success and independ- 
ence. Politically he was formerly a Repub- 
lican, but for the past few years has sup- 
ported the Prohibition party, being a strong 
advocate of temperance, a member of the 
Good Templers Lodge at Ogdensburg, in 
the organization of which he was among the 
most active. Mr. Terrio is well-known in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



537' 



the country, where he bears the reputation 
of an honorable, straightforward man, and 
is held in the highest esteem. 



HEXKY H. HARTMAN, of Matteson 
township, Waupaca county, who was 
a Union soldier in the war of the Re- 
bellion, is one of that company of 
noble tillers of the soil whose courage, per- 
severance and worth contribute so much to 
give Wisconsin her high position in the sis- 
terhood of States. He was born in Saxonj', 
Germany, in 1847. His father, August 
Hartman, an early pioneer of Sheboygan 
county, Wis., came here in 1847, located 
in the woods, and opened up a farm. The 
death of August Hartman occurred in i 8S8. 
His wife died in Germany. 

Their son, the subject of this sketch, was 
educated in the schools of Sheboygan county, 
and when young left home and engaged in 
farm labor by the month. After this he 
worked in the mills at Sheboygan Falls. In 
September, 1861, at Sheboygan Falls, Wis., 
he enlisted for three years in the service of 
the Union, unless sooner discharged. He 
was mustered into the service at Milwaukee 
in October, 1861, and assigned to the Army 
of the Cumberland. He went to Louisville, 
Ky., and was in the battles of Perry ville. 
Stone River, Hoo\er's Gap, Dug Out Gap, 
Peach Tree Creek, Franklin, Kenesaw, Mis- 
sionary Ridge and Chickamauga. In the 
latter engagement he received three gunshot 
wounds in the leg, below the knee, from the 
effects of which that leg is two inches shorter 
than the other ; was confined in the field 
hospital at Nashville, lay there five months, 
joined his regiment at Missionary Ridge, and 
then went on the march to Atlanta, Ga. , 
skirmishing all the waj-. Mr. Hartman was 
a member of Company H, First Wis. \'. I., 
which was in the First Brigade, Fourteenth 
-Army Corps. He was honorably discharged 
at Milwaukee in October. 1864. For seven 
months, in 1864 and 1865, he worked at 
Soldiers' Rest, Louisville, Kj'., and then '• 
returned to Sheboygan, Wis. From She- t 
boygan county he came to Waupaca count}', 
locating, in 18S1, on a tract of eighty acres 
which he bought in Section 17, Matteson 



township, then in the woods. This farm 
he improved, and he now owns forty-five 
acres. 

In 1S83, in Larrabee township, Waupaca 
county, Henry H. Hartman was united in 
marriage with Theressa Tillie Malottski, who 
was born in Pommern, Germany, and came 
to Wisconsin, and to Larrabee township, in 
1 88 1. There were born to them six chil- 
dren, named in the following order: Angus, 
Fred Henry, William, Oscar John Herman, 
W'ilhelm Herman Richard, and Frederick 
August Gustav, of whom only the first three 
named are living. Mrs. Hartman's father, 
Theodore Malottski, died in Germany in 
1885. Mr. Hartman and his wife attend 
the Congregational Church. In politics he 
is a Republican, but is not an office seeker. 
He was in eighteen battles during the Civil 
war, and draws a pension of fourteen dollars 
a month. He was one of the charter mem- 
bers of J. B. Wyman Post, G. A. R., of 
Clintonville, Waupaca county; is a member 
of one of the older families of the county, 
and has seen much of the growth of this 
portion of the State. 



JOHN H. MENTING, one of the most 
active and progressive citizens of An- 
tigo, Langlade count}', is a member of 
a family well deserving of prominent 
mention in the pages of this Biographical 
Record. 

He is a native of Wisconsin, born in 
Grand Chute township, Outagamie county, 
April 20, 1862, a son of Albert and Mary 
(Hietpas) Menting, both natives of Holland, 
the former born in 1830, the latter in 1833. 
The father came to the United States when 
twent\'-five \ears old, as did also his brother 
John, who is a farmer in Outagamie county. 
Wis. Their parents both died in Holland. 
.After coming to the United States, .\lbert 
at first worked as a common laborer in Wis- 
consin, but it was not long before he was 
enabled to ])urchase a farm near Appleton, 
which he improved and cultivated. Later 
he worked at wagon making, a trade he had 
learned before leaving his native land; also 
conducted a general merchandise store at 
Little Chute, Outagamie county; but in 1877 



538 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he closed out his business there and came to 
Langlade county in company with his son 
John H., leaving the rest of the family in 
Outagamie county. The father located on 
a farm in Norwood township, and in 1879 
he was joined by his family, who, or most 
of them, still reside on that farm, which 
comprises 640 acres, i6o of which are in a 
high state of cultivation. Albert Menting 
was one of the first pioneers in that town- 
ship, there not being a solitary settler where 
now stands the thriving village of Phlox. 
In Little Chute he was the victim of hard 
times, so that he failed in business and got 
into very straightened circumstances, his 
wife having to support the family during the 
two years she was left behind in Little 
Chute; to-day he finds himself with a mag- 
nificent farm, equipped with the finest build- 
ings in the county. In i860 he married 
Mary Hietpas, daughter of Herman Hietpas, 
a farmer, who was of German descent, mar- 
ried in Holland and had alarge famih'; two 
of the sons, John and Albert, served all 
through the Civil war in this country with 
distinction. To Albert and Mary Menting 
were born eight children, two of whom died 
in infancy; those yet living are John H., 
Arnold, Mary, Henry, Herman and Anna. 
Politically, Albert Menting is a Democrat. 

John H. Menting, whose name intro- 
duces this sketch, received the greater part 
of his education in private schools up to the 
age of fifteen, at which time he came to 
Langlade county with his father, as above 
related, and helped him to clear ninety-five 
acres of heavily-timbered land, remaining 
with him until he was twenty-five years old, 
■when he took a homestead in the neighbor- 
ihood. In 1 88/ he opened a hotel in the 
village of Phlox, which he conducted about 
two years, and then became interested in 
the newspaper business with P. H. St. Louis, 
of the Langlade Coiinfy Special, at Phlox. 
Later he bought out the paper and removed 
it to Antigo, where it is now edited by Mr. 
Dawley. While a resident of Phlox he es- 
tablished a wooden-bowl factory, and later a 
broom-handle factory, which latter was 
burned in 1894, entailing a total loss. In 
March, 1890, he came to Antigo with the 
newspaper above referred to, which he aban- 



doned in the fall of that year, having at that 
time been elected register of deeds; in 1892 
he was re-elected to that office, and in 1894 
he embarked in the lumber business, also 
selling real estate in the county. He is still 
very active in business, and has all along 
taken great interest in the upbuilding of both 
the county and citj- of his adoption. In 
January, 1888, Mr. Menting was married to 
Miss Helen Langlais, who was born in Out- 
agamie county. Wis., one in the family of 
fourteen children of Pascal and Helen (St. 
Louis) Langlais, well-to-do farming people, 
both natives of Wisconsin; the family moved 
to Green Bay, later to Langlade count\', 
where they were among the pioneers of 
Norwood township. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Menting were born four children: Walter 
(deceased at the age of five years), Estelle 
(deceased at the age of three years), Henry 
and Estelle. The entire family of both 
generations are members of the Catholic 
Church, and our subject is affiliated with 
the Catholic Knights and Catholic Forest- 
ers. Politically a Democrat, he is an active 
worker in the ranks of that party. By his 
own unaided efforts he has made a success 
of life, and in the face of adversity has se- 
cured a comfortable competence. 



WILLIAM HENRY WRIGHT was 
born in Allegany county, N. Y. , 
September 2, 1850, and is a son of 
W'illiam M. and Elizabeth (Hinds) 
Wright. When he was about nine years of 
age he accompanied his parents on their re- 
moval to Friendship, Adams Co., Wis., 
where his father engaged in the hotel busi- 
ness and conducting a stage line between 
Kilbourn City and Grand Rapids up to the 
time of his death, which occurred May 24, 
1882. His wife died in Allegany county, 
N. Y. , about 1857. 

The subject of these lines acquired the 
greater part of his education in the public 
schools of Friendship, and after leaving 
school worked in his father's hotel and at 
stage driving until he had attained his ma- 
joritv. He then began learning the trade of 
a mason and plasterer, and has since fol- 
lowed those pursuits. He first came to 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



539 



Grand Rapids in 1868, and made his home 
here at intervals until 1886, since which 
time he has been a permanent resident, and 
in the line of his chosen occupation he is 
now doing a good business. In February, 
1873, he was united in marriage with Clem- 
ent Eaton, who was born July 14, 1850. a 
daughter of Alanson and Elmira (Snyder) 
Eaton, who were among the earliest set- 
tlers of Grand Rapids, the former having 
located here in 1846, the latter in 1848. 
Mr. Eaton was a pilot on the Wisconsin 
river for over twenty years, and died May 
16, 1883, in the city which he had so long 
made his home. Mrs. Eaton is still living 
in Grand Rapids. Their family numbered 
ten children, seven of whom are yet living, 
as follows: Clement, wife of our subject; 
Derinda, wife of Edward Mahoney, engineer 
of the Grand Rapids Fire Department; 
Annie, wife of Patrick Burnett, who is liv- 
ing in Phillips, Price Co., Wis.; Mary Ed- 
wardsen, wife of Robert Blow, a resident of 
Stevens Point, Portage Co. , \W\s. ; Cholia, 
wife of John Patrick, of Grand Rapids; 
William Alanson, who makes his home in 
Grand Rapids; and Cora, wife of Dayton 
Sizer, a resident of Stevens Point, Wis- 
consin. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wright 
has been blessed with a family of seven 
children, as follows: Rosa E., born Janu- 
ary 8, 1874; William Alanson, born Febru- 
ary 17, 1S76 — the first white child born at 
what is called Grandfather's Falls, about 
twenty miles above Merrill, Wis. ; Beulah 
E., born January 16, 187S; Mary Ann, born 
July 23, 1881; brinda, born June 17, 1886; 
Cora C., born April 9, 1888; and lona, 
born July i, 1892. The parents and their 
children attend the Congregational Church, 
and in his political connections Mr. Wright 
is a Republican. 



DJ. HALE, one of the enterprising 
farmers of Plover township. Portage 
county, is one of the native sons 
of \\'isconsin, born in Union town- 
ship, Rock county, July 28, 1848, and is a 
son of Joseph W. and Maria L. (Downer^ 
Hale. The father was born in Herkimer 



county, N. Y., December 28, 1804, and in 
that State he was married; his wife's birth 
occurred September i, 1809, in Bennington 
county, Vt. In 1842, accompanied by their 
three children, they emigrated to this State, 
locating in Rock county. They had si.x chil- 
dren, namely: George W., vvho was born in 
Smithfield, N. Y., April 26, 1838, and died 
during his service in the Civil war, Septem- 
ber 24, 1862; Harriet S., who was born in 
New York, December 25, 1839, now the 
widow of Moses Poole, who was a farmer 
of Fond du Lac count}', Wis. ; Candac 
(widow of William Grover), born in New 
York May 7, 1841; Mary E., born in Rock 
county, 'VVis., March 16, 1843, now the wife 
of David Hayes, of Idaho; Scott, who was 
born January 21, 1846, in Rock county, died 
February 7, 1857; and D. J., our subject. 
In 1854 the father purchased a farm of two 
hundred acres of wild and totally unim- 
proved land in Plover township. Portage 
county, whither the family moved. It is the 
same farm on which our subject now lives, 
located in Sections 1 and 12. There the 
parents spent their remaining days, the 
father's death occurring April 30, 1876, that 
of the mother on February 27, 1892. 

In the common schools of this vicinitj^ 
D. J. Hale acquired his education, and as 
he grew older took upon himself more and 
more the cares of the home farm, thus re- 
lieving his father. In 1867 he made a trip 
to New York with his mother, but nearly his 
entire life has been passed upon the old 
homestead. Agricultural pursuits have been 
his chief occupation through life, in which 
he has been very successful. For three 
years, however, he conducted a grocery 
store in Plover. He raises all kinds of farm 
products, but makes a specialty of potatoes, 
planting from fifty to seventy acres of that 
vegetable every year, and the quality he 
raises is of an excellent grade, commanding 
the highest prices in the market. He now 
owns 480 acres of good land, 200 of which 
are placed under cultivation, and yields to 
the owner a golden tribute in return for his 
care and labor. 

Mr. Hale was married October 22, 1878, 
to Miss Sylva J. Smith, who was born at 
Grand Rapids, Wis., a daughter of Rev. 



54° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Charles and Maria fBixby) Smith. The 
mother was born in New York, and is still 
living at the age of sixty-seven years. The 
father, who came to this country from Eng- 
land, was a professor, and was also a min- 
ister some twenty-five j'ears. In 1866 his 
parents came to Portage county, locating in 
Stockton, where the father engaged in farm- 
ing until his health failed, and in 1889 they 
removed to Plover, where he passed away 
July 27, 1893, at the age of seventy-five 
years. In their family were nine children: 
Josiah A., Charles A., Alice, Ida, Mary, 
Sylva, Sarah, Nellie, and Anna, who died 
at the age of five years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hale are the parents of eight children, all 
of whom are at home, their names and dates 
of birth being as follows: Bertha G., 
August 12, 1879; Nellie E., February 24, 
1 881; Gertrude A., February i. 1883; Ada 
M., December 26, 1884; Edna M., Septem- 
ber 27, 1886; Anna M., December 2, 1888; 
Evelyn, September 16, 1891: and Harold, 
May 22, 1894. Mr. Hale holds a prominent 
place among the intelligent and progressive 
agriculturists of Plover township, and his in- 
tegrity and manliness have won the respect 
of the entire communit}-. In religious faith, 
he is a faithful member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church of Plover, to which his 
wife also belongs. Politically, he votes the 
straight Republican ticket, and has served 
his fellow citizens as a member of the town 
board. With the Masonic Lodge No. 96, 
of Plover, he holds membership. 



ANSON SMITH, one of the leading 
contractors and builders of Merrill, 
Lincoln count}', was born in Ger- 
many, April 21, 1854, a son of John 
G. Smith, who was a native of the same 
Province, born in 181 3. Little is known 
concerning the father's famil\- except that 
he had two brothers. He was married in 
Germany to Kate Mannes, and to them were 
born four children, three of whom died in 
infancy, our subject being the only survivor. 
By trade the father was a cabinetmaker. 
He brought his wife and child to the New 
World in 1854, stopping for a short time in 
Chicago, but later removing to Batavia, 111., 



where the mother of our subject died in 1856. 
After her death the father married Christine 
Hensel, bj' whom he had seven children, only- 
two of whom are now living: Charles and 
Edward. The family remained in Batavia 
until 1865, when they removed to Iowa, 
where they resided two years, on the expira- 
tion of which time they went to Chicago. 
In that city the father worked at his trade of 
cabinet making until the great fire in the fall 
of 1 87 1, when he located at Green Bay. 
From that place he went to Appleton, W'is. , 
where he remained two years and then lo- 
cated in Black Creek, where his death oc- 
curred in January, 1892. He was a well- 
educated man, and in the various communi- 
ties in which he made his home was held in 
the highest esteem. Political!}' he was a 
Democrat. His widow now resides with 
her son Edward; Charles is living with our 
subject in Merrill. 

Anson Smith, whose name introduces 
this review, had but limitecf educational ad- 
vantages, only being able to attend the com- 
mon schools until he reached the age of ten 
years. \\'hen eleven years old he started 
out in life for himself, first being employed 
in a sash and door factory at Chicago, where 
he remained seven years. In 1873 he went 
to Appleton, Wis., where he was engaged 
on the government works for six months, 
and then entered the emplo}- of a contractor 
as a carpenter, following the same for two 
years and a half. He then began contract- 
ing for himself among the farmers living near 
Black Creek, Wis. After his arrival in Mer- 
rill, in April, 1881. Mr. Smith worked for 
others about two and a half years, then com- 
menced contracting and building for himself. 
He has employed as high as fifteen men at 
one time, and has erected some of the best 
buildings in the city, including the Heinman 
Block and the German Lutheran church. 
In business dealings he is alwa}s fair and 
honorable, faithfully fulfilling his part of the 
contract, and in this way has won a promi- 
nent place in business as well as social cir- 
cles. He has been very successful in his 
transactions, and now owns a fine home in 
Merrill, as well as a farm near the city. 

On Februar}' 4, 1885, Mr. Smith wedded 
-Alferetta Given, who came to Wisconsin 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



541 



from the Eastern States, where her birth oc- 
curred. Politically our subject affiliates 
with the Democratic party, while religiously 
he holds membership with the Catholic 
Church. He is one of the industrious and 
reliable business men of Lincoln county, and 
has gathered around him many warm friends 
whe) hold him in the highest regard. 



D.W'IU LUTZ, who forms the subject 
of this sketch, is engaged in the 
manufacture of cigars in Grand 
Rapids, and is one of the well-known 
business men of the city. A native of Ger- 
many, he was born in the Grand Duchy of 
Baden, June 14, 1858, and is a son of David 
and Barbara Lutz, )nu- Oertel, also natives 
of Germany, where they resided until 1874, 
when they bade adieu to the Fatherland and 
crossed the broad Atlantic to America, tak- 
ing up their residence in Grand Rapids, 
Wis., where they are still living. 

David Lutz, whose name introduces this 
article, spent the daN's of his earl}' boyhood 
in the land of his nativit}-, and its public 
schools afforded him his educational privi- 
leges. He was a youth of sixteen when 
with his parents he left Germany for the 
United States, and taking up his residence 
in Stevens Point, Wis., he learned the trade 
of cigar making, which he has followed con- 
tinuously since. He soon became familiar 
with the business in all its details, and was 
recognized as an excellent workman. In 
18S0 he went to Milwaukee, where for a 
year he followed his chosen pursuit. While 
in that city he was married August 12, 1880, 
to Miss Mary Antoinette, daughter of Simon 
and Estella (Langosky), natives of Ger- 
many. Two children grace this union: 
Estella, born January 8, 1886, and John 
David, born October 30, 1891. The par- 
ents of Mrs. Lutz are both still living, and 
make their home in Stevens Point. 

In 1 88 1 our subject brought his young 
wife to Grand Rapids, and during their resi- 
dence here they have made many acquaint- 
ances and gained a wide circle of friends. 
On coming to Grand Rapids he established 
his cigar manufactory, which business he 
still carries on, and the fine (lualitv of goods 



he turns out has secured him a good trade, 
while a liberal patronage jields him a de- 
sirable income. 



SAMUEL MEYER, a successful farmer 
of Washington township, Shawano 
county, was born in Schubin, Prus- 
sia, September 9, 1824, son of Michel 
and Maria (Riemer) Meyer, who were also 
both born in Schubin. 

Michel Meyer was a farmer in Prussia, 
and followed that occupation until his death, 
which occurred in 1842; his wife, Maria, 
died in 1830. They had three children, 
namely: Peter, now deceased; Fred, a 
farmer in Nebraska: and Samuel, the sub- 
ject of these lines, who received a common- 
school education in his native place, was 
reared a farmer boy, and worked at home 
until he enlisted in the army at the age of 
twenty-one. He served three years, and 
was in the war between Germany and Den- 
mark in 1848. In 1852 he sailed from Bre- 
men for New York in the steamer ' ' Ger- 
mania," which was one of the only two 
steamers that ran between those ports. On 
account of violent storms, they were twen- 
ty-eight days in crossing to New York, and 
were obliged to lie over at Halifax, N. S., 
for twenty-four hours. It took all the money 
Mr. Meyer had to pay his passage, and he 
procured work on the wharves at New York, 
loading and unloading vessels, and received 
good wages for his services. At the end of 
six months he went to Newport, Herkimer 
Co., N. Y., and hired out to a farmer at six 
dollars a month and his board, later receiv- 
ing twelve dollars a month and board. He 
worked on different farms in that county 
two years, then went to Hamilton, Butler 
Co., Ohio, and was employed there as a 
farm hand for several years. 

From Hamilton Mr. Meyer went to Mil- 
ton, Wayne Co., Ind., where, about the 
year 1S62, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Sophia Delka, who was born in Penn- 
sylvania, daughter of Andrew and Louisa 
Delka, natives of Germany, and they had 
two children as follows: Albert Charles, 
who died at the age of thirty; and Mary, 
now Mrs. John Kaempf, and they are now 



542 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



living on the farm with her father. When 
Mary was nine months old her mother died, 
and in i86g Mr. Samuel Meyer married a 
widow lady by the name of Friedericka 
Shulz, of the town of Herman, Shawano, 
Co., Wis. She had one child, at that time 
twelve years old, named Dora, now the wife 
of John Rossow, a farmer; the)' have seven 
children. Mary Meyer was married to John 
Kaempf in 1885, and the}' had two children: 
Elmor Roman, who died at the age of two 
3'ears and five months; and Urvin Oliver, 
who is now (August, 1895), three and one- 
half years old. 

After his marriage Mr. Meyer located on 
a rented farm in Wayne county, Ind. Four 
years later he disposed of his possessions 
and removed with his family to Washington 
township, Shawano county. Wis. , where he 
purchased eighty acres of wild land from 
the government, and erected a small log 
shanty, which was burned three years later. 
Mr. Meyer and his family were at some dis- 
tance from the house at the time, picking 
berries, and on his return he found it in 
ashes. It is supposed that Indians, who 
came to steal when the family were away, 
started the fire to cover up all traces of their 
theft. Mr. Meyer then built his present 
home. He now has 140 acres in Section 
20. the greater part of which is cleared, and 
is putting up a larger and more modern 
dwelling, which it is expected will be ready 
for occupancy by the fall of 1895. Mr. 
Meyer was the first white settler of Wash- 
ington township, and held the office of town- 
ship chairman the first year of its organiza- 
tion. In politics he is a strong Democrat. 
Both he and Mrs Meyer are members of the 
German Lutheran Church in Cecil, Wash- 
ington township. He is a man of intelligence, 
fond of reading, and is much respected. 



FRANK H, BRADY, proprietor and 
editor of the Clintonville Tribune. 
is a live and successful newspaper 
man, and inherited his journalistic 
proclivities, for his father was a newspaper 
publisher before him. Mr. Brady, when a 
young man of tvcnty-live years, in 1881, 



established the Clintonville Tribune, which 
has been a successful publication since its 
first issue. He began with a hand-press, 
but a few years ago distinguished himself 
and the Tribune by introducing the first 
steam cylinder press in Waupaca county. 
The paper has a paid circulation of 1,100 
copies weekly. Mr. Brady in 1888 launched 
into being the Lake Shore Waeelitcr, a Ger- 
man paper, and built up for it a large cir- 
culation. After conducting it profitabh' for 
eighteen months he sold the publication to 
Henry J. Lohmer, who subsequently re- 
moved the place of publication from Clinton- 
ville. Mr. Brady also in 1890 established 
the New London Tribune, which he after 
sold to W. H. Barnum. 

Mr. Brady was born in Appleton, Wis., 
in 1856, and is the son of Sylvester H. and 
Mary J. (Finch) Brady, the father being a 
native of Oswego county, N. Y., and the 
mother of Plattsburg, the same State. They 
were married in New York. Sylvester H. 
Brady in his younger days was a great . 
traveler. He was one of the original Argo- 
nauts who went to California during the first 
gold excitement in 1849, remaining two 
years. After his marriage he, in 1856, came 
to Appleton, Wis. , where he established the 
Appleton Free Press. Later he sold it and 
returned to the East, where he followed 
newspaper work until the Civil war was in- 
augurated. At Hudson, N. Y., in 1861, he 
enlisted in a New York regiment, and served 
two years. Upon his discharge he proceeded 
to Holyoke, Mass. , and there re-enlisted, re- 
maining in service for two years, when he 
was honorably discharged on account of 
sickness. After the war Mr. Brady located 
at Elmore, Ohio, then moved to Waterloo. 
Iowa, and afterward to Mason City, work- 
ing in the printing office. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Brady nine children were born: F. H. ; 
Fred, accidentally shot at Clear Lake. Iowa, 
in 1874; Nell; Harry; Clinton; Mark; Alexis; 
Harxej' and Aimee. The parents now reside 
with their eldest son, at Clintonville. 

F. H. Brady attended the schools of 
Hudson. N. Y. , Holyoke, Mass., and Ot- 
tawa count)', Ohio. In Iowa he learned the 
printer's trade, which he followed until he 
established the Tribune in 18S1. He was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



543- 



married, in 1884, to Miss Carrie H. Folk- 
man, a native of Waupaca county, and 
a daughter of Henry Folkman, an early 
pioneer of Bear Creek township and now 
deceased. They have one child, Harold 
Earle. Mr. Brady is a member of Clinton- 
ville Lodge No. 314, I. O. O. P., and of 
Clintonville Lodge No. 179, F. & A. M. In 
politics he is a Republican. 



WILLLAM H. REAS has for forty 
years been a prominent business 
man of Weyauwega. Waupaca 
county. On April 5, 1855, he 
came from Berlin, Green Lake county, to 
that village, with six horses, and started the 
livery business which he still conducts, 
though during this long period other inter- 
ests have necessarily absorbed a portion of 
his attention. He has to some considerable 
extent shared in public life, and is also a 
farmer of well-known repute, sixty-five of 
the 210 acres which he owns in Weyauwega 
township lying within the corporate limits 
of \\'eyauwega. 

Mr. Reas was born in Cortland county, 
N. Y., April 12, 1836, and was the eldest 
son of Frederic and Eliza (Dockstader) Reas. 
The father was born in Fulton county, N. Y. , 
and the mother in Mohawk Valley, and both 
were descendants of pioneer German fami- 
lies of New York State. Frederic Reas and 
family about 1840 emigrated from New York 
to Racine, Wis. , and eight 3'ears later to 
Berlin. He was a carpenter by trade, but 
settled on a claim on Willow Creek and 
opened up a farm. In 1864 he removed to 
Weyauwega, but the ensuing year he mi- 
grated to Minnesota, where he died in 1888, 
his wife surviving three years. They reared 
a family of eight children, as follows: Will- 
iam H.; Daniel W. , who in 1861 enlisted at 
St. Louis in the three-months' service, and 
at the expiration of the term re-enlisted in 
the First Missouri Cavalry, and served 
throughout the war, dying of cholera at St. 
Louis in 1865; Josephine, wife of L. Leach, 
of Dodge county, Minn. ; Lydia, wife of 
George Cole, of Minnesota; Lucy, wife of 
Rev. Ward, an early settler of Weyauwega; 
Julia, now Mrs. Shultes, of Dodge Center, 



Minn. ; Dever, a resident of western Minne- 
sota; and Sarah E., deceased wife of M. E. 
Jones. 

The boyhood of William H. Reas was 
spent in Berlin, where he attended school, 
but he early displayed a liking for horses, 
and naturally drifted into the livery business. 
He was thus engaged at Berlin in 1850, and 
continued until he removed to Weyauwega 
five years later. Early in the war of the 
Rebellion he enlisted in the Thirty-second 
\N'is. V. I., but failed to pass the physical 
examination and was rejected. In October, 
1864, he enlisted in Company B, Forty- 
fourth Wis. V. I., for one year or during 
the war. The regiment was assigned to the 
army of the Tennessee, and Mr. Reas was 
detailed on duty and served in the postoffice 
at Nashville, Tenn., as clerk during the war. 
He was discharged in August, 1865, and, re- 
turning to W'eyauwega, resumed the liver\- 
business, and also engaged in farming. He 
has opened up and cleared three farms, be- 
sides the pleasantl}' situated and highly cul- 
tivated tract which he now owns. 

Mr. Reas was married April 18, 1856, to 
Miss Margaret M. Howe, a native of Cleve- 
land, Ohio, daughter of Henry and Margaret 
M. Howe. Two years earlier Mr. Howe, a 
carpenter and joiner, had moved from Ohio 
to Weyauwega, where he operated a sash 
and door factory. For many years he was a 
justice of the peace, and later in life he re- 
moved to Shawano, Wis. , where he died. 
His wife died in Merrill, Wis., and is buried 
at Weyauwega. To Mr. and Mrs. Reas 
four children have been born: Charles 
Henry, a resident of Stockton, Cal. ; Ida M., 
wife of Del Tripp, of Weyauwega; Fred B. 
and Roy W. , of the same place. In poli- 
tics Mr. Reas and his sons are strong Re- 
publicans. Mr. Reas has served as a mem- 
ber of the town board, and for two years was 
deputy sheriff of the county. He is a mem- 
ber of Andrew Chamber Post No. 180, 
G. A. R., and has served as its commander. 
He is also a member of W'eyauwega Lodge 
No. 177, I. O. O. F. Mr. Reas is one of 
the best known and respected pioneers of 
Waupaca county, and his useful life has 
been intimately blended with its entire period 
of development. He has been for over forty 



544 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



years in business, and may be rightfully 
considered the oldest business man in 
W'evauwega. 



FRANCIS CONRAD (deceasedj, who 
during his lifetime was one of the 
substantial and public-spirited citi- 
zens of Royalton township, Waupaca 
county, had an eventful history. He had 
barely attained his majority in the land of 
his birth, the Fatherland, when, with hun- 
dreds of thousands of his fellow countrymen, 
he expatriated himself because of tyrannous 
oppression, and sought the freedom of the 
new country across the seas. Here he was 
pioneer, patriot and farmer, and here the 
native energies of his mind found full ex- 
pansion. In the large circle of his acquaint- 
ance he was a man of recognized character, 
energy and renown. 

Mr. Conrad was the posthumous child 
of Francis Conrad, a gunsmith in the city 
of Berlin, where he was born March 21, 
1827. The father was of Hungarian birth, 
and the mother, Dorothea Conrad, was of 
Moravian parentage. She died when Fran- 
cis was a babe, leaving him an orpban. The 
boy was reared and educated in the capital 
of Prussia, served an apprenticeship to the 
drug business, received a military training, 
and was connected with the artillery service. 
In 1S48 he set sail from Hamburg, landing 
sixty-seven days later at New York City, 
and for a year he lived in Cayuga county, 
N. v., working in the woolen-mills at 
Auburn, after which he spent another year 
running an engine on Long Island. In 
1850 he came to Fond du Lac county. Wis., 
working on a farm for two years, and then 
for another year was engaged in carrying 
United States mail on contract. Then, in 
1853, Mr. Conrad came to Waupaca county, 
at first renting land, and he worked in the 
mills at Weyauwega until the breaking out 
of the war. 

In August, 1862, Mr. Conrad enlisted at 
Waupaca in Company G, Twenty-first Wis. 
V. I., was mustered in at Oshkosh, and was 
assigned the first year to the army of the 
Tennessee. In the battle of Perryville, Ky. , 
October 8, 1862, he received a gunshot 



wound in the thigh, and was conveyed to 
the Perryville hospital. Rejoining his regi- 
ment upon recovery, he participated in the 
desperate battles of Chickamauga and Chat- 
tanooga in the fall of 1863. He was a 
member of the gallant army at Chattanooga 
which was invested by the Rebel forces and 
reduced almost to starvation, practically 
subsisting on acorns for six weeks, before 
the herculean efforts of Gen. Grant released 
the invincible band from its dangerous posi- 
tion. The Twenty-first Wis. \'. I. followed 
Sherman on his daring march through 
Georgia, and in the irresistible advance Mr. 
Conrad participated in the numerous engage- 
ments made necessary by the stubborn re- 
sistance of the enemy. He was at Dalton, 
at Kenesaw Mountain, at Rocky Face Ridge. 
Buzzard's Roost and numerous other skirm- 
ishes; he faced the enemy at stern Atlanta, 
and during the memorable campaign saw 
service so active that for one hundred days 
he could scarcely remove his shoes or cloth- 
ing. Proceeding from Atlanta to Jonesville. 
he advanced to Savannah and then up 
through the Carolinas, meeting the enemy 
in serious conflict for the last time at Ben- 
tonville, N. C in the spring of 1865. For 
gallant conduct Mr. Conrad was made cor- 
poral. He participated in the Grand Re- 
view at Washington, and was honorabl}- dis- 
charged in June. 1865. 

Returning to Waupaca county, Mr. Con- 
rad located permanently in Royalton town- 
ship; he had first purchased forty acres of 
timbered land, and had cleared it at odd 
days and nights, while working in the mill 
at Wejauwega. On September 3, 1865, he 
was married, in Lind township, to Miss 
Susan Adelaide Jenney, who was born in 
Fair Haven, Mass., daughter of Thomas 
and Susan Adeline (Thomas) Jenney, of the 
same family as Gen. "Pop" Thomas. 
Thomas Jenney. a millwright by trade, was 
born in Fair Haven, Mass., in 181 7, married 
Susan Adeline Thomas in 1840. and in 1S49 
migrated to Fond du Lac, \\'is. He helped 
erect the foundr\- there, and in 1850 came 
to Weyauwega and there put up the sawmill 
for Weed & Birdsall. For a number of 
\ears he worked as a carpenter at Weyau- 
wega, then in 1856 he located in Lind town- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



54: 



ship, where he still resides. Mrs. Jenney 
died in \\'eyau\vega in 1852. Her son, 
Horace, brother of Mrs. Conrad, enlisted in 
the First Wisconsin Ca\alr\- in 1864, and 
died of measles soon after, at Madison. Mr. 
and Mrs. Conrad had one child, Frederick 
William. 

In politics Mr. Conrad voted with the 
Repnblican party, and filled many of the 
local offices, serving as town clerk of the 
township for three years, and also as chair- 
man and assessor of Royalton township, al- 
ways taking an active interest in politics, 
and being one of the best known men in 
Royalton township. He was honored with 
the presidency of the Waupaca County Ag- 
ricultural Society, and held the position of 
commander and filled other oiifices in Andrew 
Chambers Post No. 180, G. A. R., of which 
he was an honored member. In November, 
1894, Mr. Conrad was taken ill with pneu- 
monia, and died November 25, after one 
week's illness, aged sixty-seven years, eight 
months and four days. 



HENRY W. WILLIAMS, senior mem- 
ber of H. W. Williams & Co., the 
leading hardware firm of Waupaca, 
Waupaca county, is one of the most 
successful and prominent merchants of that 
city. He was born in Caledonia township, 
Columbia county, Maj' 4, 1849, a son of 
Samuel F. and Mary Jane (Kingsbury) Will- 
iams, early pioneers of that county. 

The paternal grandparents of Henry W. 
\\'illiams were Charles and Mar}' (Feroe) 
Williams, who li\'ed on a farm in New York 
State and whose seven children were: Peter, 
Samuel F., Henry, Charles, Matilda, Har- 
riet, and one who died young. Samuel F. 
was born on the New York farm January 19, 
181 7, and married Mary Jane Kingsbur_\', 
who was born in Connecticut October 12, 
1 8 17, a daughter of Hezekiah Kingsbury. 
The latter was a millwright, and served as a 
soldier in the war of 1812; a brother, who 
was a colonel in that war, was killed in bat- 
tle. Hezekiah Kingsbury had four children: 
Charles M., Henry, Mary J. and Hezekiah. 
Of these Henry was the major of a \\'iscon- 
sin regiment during the Rebellion. After 



the death of his wife Hezekiah Kingsbury, 
Sr. , married again, and died in \^'isconsin. 

The children of Samuel F. and Mary 
Jane W'illiams were: Charles S., Henrj- 
\\'., George H. and Eugene H. Mr. \\'ill- 
iams was a farmer, and in 1848 migrated 
with his wife and family, then consisting of 
one child, to Wisconsin. He landed at Mil- 
waukee with only five dollars in money. 
and walked one hundred miles to Fort Win- 
nebago, now Portage City. Here he found 
employment as a teamster, and soon after 
took up government land in Caledonia town- 
ship, adjoining, which he made his home 
and where he lived until his death, in 1880. 
His wife died January 4, 1891. Samuel 
\\'illiams was a Democrat of the old Jackson 
school, and was one the first permanent 
settlers in the vicinity of Fort Winnebago. 
He assisted in organizing the township, when 
there were only twelve votes cast. 

Henry W.- Williams was educated in the 
Portage High School, and in the business 
college of that city. When eighteen years 
old his education was completed, and for 
three years he taught school. In 1870, when 
he attained his majorit}', he began clerking 
in a hardware store at Portage, and two years 
later he purchased an interest in the busi- 
ness, which he still retains. In 1878 Mr. 
Williams came to Waupaca and established 
the hardware firm of H. W. Williams cS; 
Co. It has had a successful career, and 
now controls the leading hardware store in 
this part of Wisconsin. The firm carries a 
large and well-selected stock, which occupies 
a handsome double store, and does an im- 
mense trade. Mr. Williams is also interest- 
ed with his brother Eugene in a hardware 
store at De Pere, Wisconsin. 

On March 16, 1876, our subject was 
married, in Milwaukee, to Sarah Brown, a 
native of Portage, Columbia county, and a 
daughter of Samuel and Anna (Arthur) 
Brown, who in 1851 emigrated from Eng- 
land to Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Brown 
had a family of eight children: John S., 
Elizabeth, Sarah, Anna, Samuel A., Ida 
(deceased), Jennie R., and a child who died 
in infancy. Mrs. Brown died in 1871, and 
Mr. Brown, who in earlier life was a team- 
ster, is now a conmiission merchant in Mil- 



546 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



waukee. Henry W. and Sarah Williams 
have three children: Anna A., Nellie S. 
and Samuel. In politics Mr. Williams is a 
Democrat. He has served two terms as 
alderman of Waupaca, and sociallj- is a 
prominent member of the I. O. O. F., and 
the Knights of Pythias, having filled all the 
Chairs. He is a member of the Grand 
Lodge, K. of P. He is also a member of 
the Northwestern Curling Association. In 
business Mr. Williams has been eminently 
successful. His patrimony was but $500, 
and the remainder of his possessions is the 
result of his own mercantile energy and ca- 
pacity. He possesses those business traits 
which lead to success, and which win the 
confidence and esteem of his fellow men. 



DANIEL GOTHAM, who resides in 
Royalton township, Waupaca county, 
is one of the sturdy pioneers who have 
had a part in bringing this great State 
to its present condition of wealth and pros- 
perity, and comes of a family well repre- 
sented among those who have nobly borne 
arms against disunion and in defense of lib- 
erty. His grandfather, John Gotham, who 
was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, was 
a native of England, and came, when a 
child, to New York, where he lived and 
died, and where also two of his children died: 
Brainerd, who was for some time a member 
of the Sixteenth New York Artillery, and 
Phineas, who was burned to death at the 
age of four years.* 

Daniel, son of John Gotham, and father 
of Daniel Gotham of the present narrative, 
was born in New Hampshire. He was by 
occupation a farmer, was a soldier in the 
war of 1S12, in 1855 came to Sheboygan 
Falls, Wis., and died in 1856. He married 
Sabantha Rice, of New York, who died in 
St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , in 1839. He 
again married, and his second wife also died 
in New York. There were seven children 
by the first marriage, as follows: Gilbert is 
married and resides in Sioux City, Iowa; 
Andrew went overland to California in 1849, 
and died there; William enlisted in New 
York as a soldier, was wounded at Rich- 
mond, taken prisoner, and died at Ander- 



sonville; Daniel is the subject of this article; 
Louisa, who was the eldest of the family, 
died young; Caroline died at Whitewater, 
Wis. ; and Harriett is the wife of Mr. Mills, 
of Toledo, Ohio. Of the two children of 
the second marriage, James was born in St. 
Lawrence county, N. Y., and served four 
years in the N. Y. V. C. ; and Lois became 
the wife of H. Skeels, a soldier, who was 
killed during the war. 

Daniel Gotham, whose history forms the 
subject of this sketch, was born in St. Law- 
rence county, N. Y. , in 1836, spent his early 
years there, and was educated in the public 
schools. For four years he was engaged in 
lumbering in the woods of Canada, and for 
twenty-six years followed this occupation, 
spending many winters in the lumber camps 
through the woods of northern Wisconsin. 
He came to this State in 1855, locating in 
Sheboygan county. In 1857 he came to 
W'aupaca county, and in 1859 located in 
Little Wolf township, bu3'ing a tract of 120 
acres. In 1859 he married Mary Crane, a 
native of New York, whose parents, Henry 
R. and Salome (Willard) Crane, also natives 
of New York, came, in 1857, to Waupaca 
county, and settled in Royalton township. 
Mr. Crane died in 1 876, and his wife in 1 886. 
Mr. Gotham established himself on a farm 
in Royalton township in 1865, buying eighty 
acres of partly-improved land in Section 23, 
on which he erected the present buildings, 
and where he now resides engaged in farm- 
ing. In June, 1894, he was called upon to 
mourn the death of his wife, and their chil- 
dren a mother's loving care and counsel. Of 
their six children, Andrew is married and 
resides in Royalton township; Eugene has 
for some time taught school in Waupaca 
county, and is now attending the Normal 
School at Oshkosh; Charles, another of 
Waupaca county's teachers, is likewise at- 
tending the Normal School at Oshkosh; Ed- 
win, who is now at the same institution as 
his two brothers, taught a ward school at 
Oconto, Wis., last year; May, who is teach- 
ing in Sheboygan, has been an assistant in 
the high school for the past two years; and 
Myrtle is engaged in preparing for the work 
of teaching, as others of the family have 
done. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



547 



In 1865 Mr. Gotham enlisted, at Wau- 
paca, in Company D, Forty-seventh Wis. 
V. I., for one year or during the war, and 
was stationed at Tullahoma, Tenn., on gar- 
rison duty, obtaining his discharge in Sep- 
tember, 1865, at Nashville, Tenn. Socially 
he is a member of the G. A. R. An early 
settler and pioneer, he has seen much of the 
growth of the county and of the woods of 
Wisconsin to the present advanced state of 
development and progress. 



M 



OSES A. STINCHFIELD, a resi- 
dent of Waupaca township, Wau- 
paca county, is a native of the 
old Pine Tree State, his birth 
having occurred in Cumberland county, near 
the city of Portland, January 16, 1826. His 
father, who also bore the name of Moses, 
was born in the town of New Gloucester, 
Cumberland county, June 15, 1792, was a 
farmer by occupation and married Betsy 
Toby, also a native of Maine. They had 
nine children: Daniel L. , Julia A., Betsy T., 
Ruth A., Moses A., Freeman, Mark, Sarah 
P. and Adelaide. The father served in the 
war of 18 1 2 as captain of an artillery com- 
pany. Although his school privileges were 
not of the best he was a great reader and 
kept well informed on national affairs, vot- 
ing with the Whig party in early life and later 
with the Republican party, for he was a 
strong anti-slavery man. He died at the 
home of his daughter in Elgin, 111., in 1867, 
and his wife passed away in 1888, also in 
Elgin. For many years he was a deacon 
in the Baptist Church, and left to his family 
an untarnished name. 

The grandfather of our subject, James 
Stinchfield, was born July 13, 1745, and 
was one of the heroes of the Revolution. 
He it was that piloted the Forbes family 
from Canada to Maine after their escort 
had left them, and throughout the struggle 
he did duty as a scout. His occupation 
was that of farming. Having married a 
Miss Parsons, he became the father of twelve 
children, namely: Sarah, James, Lydia, 
William, Daniel, Mark, Moses, Jacob, Betsy, 
John, Henr}' and Sarah. 

In taking up the personal history of 



Moses A. Stinchfield we note first that he 
was reared on his father's farm up to the 
age of fifteen, when he began lumbering. 
His life has been one of toil, with few idle 
moments, and his earnest labor has been 
the most important factor in bringing him 
the success which to-day crowns his efforts. 
In September, 1849, Mr. Stinchfield mar- 
ried Miss Eliza B. Moore, daughter of Dan- 
iel and Eleanor (Thompson) Moore, natives 
of Frankfort, Maine, the former of whom 
was born in 1800, and was a ship carpenter 
by trade. After the mother's death, which 
occurred in 1836. he married again, and died 
in 1875. His children were Albert, Hattie, 
Andrew, Eliza and Jane. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Stinchfield have been born four children, of 
whom Charles A., born May 28. 1851, 
married Ida Vaughn, and has four children; 
he carries on the home farm; Moses Roswell. 
born March 31, 1856, died May 15, 1878; 
Daniel L. , born August 8, 1858, married 
Edith House (he is now a printer at Wau- 
paca); Frederick, born November 19, 1862, 
died July 29, 1870. 

In June, 1850, Moses A. Stinchfield ar- 
rived in Waupaca, leaving his wife with 
friends in Illinois, with whom she remained 
until September, 1851, when she came to 
the new home he had prepared. He first 
preempted land in the town of Lind, which 
he afterward sold, removing then to St. 
Lawrence township, where he carried on agri- 
cultural pursuits eleven years. In 1866, he 
purchased his present farm of 200 acres, in 
the cultivation and improvement of which 
he has since been engaged until he has made 
it one of the valuable and desirable proper- 
ties of the neighborhood. His duties of 
citizenship have always been faithfully per- 
formed, and for twelve years he served his fel- 
low townsmen as a member of the board of 
supervisors, acting in the capacity of chair- 
man for seven years; in fact he has been 
almost continuously in some town office, 
thereby manifesting his fidelity to duty. 
By his ballot he upheld the men and meas- 
ures of the Republican party until after the 
first election of Gen. Grant, since which time 
he has been independent. He is recognized 
as a leader in this community, and does 
much to mold public opinion and to advance 



546 



COMMEMOaATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the best interests of his adopted county. 
His undertakings have been prospered finan- 
ciallj', and though his advantages in youth 
were hmited, and he has had many difficulties 
to encounter, he now has a handsome com- 
petence. 



LOUIS SPECHT, one of the well- 
known citizens and leading farmers 
of Angelica township, Shawano coun- 
ty, was born June 22, 1845, in Rhen- 
ish Bavaria, Germany, and is a son of John 
Specht, who was a carpenter, and made his 
living at his trade. 

The children of John Specht were as 
follows: John, who lives in Oregon; Wiliiani, 
who died in Sullivan count}-, N. Y. ; Mag- 
dalene, who died in Germany; Catherine, 
married to Jacob Dose, and lives in New 
York; Elizabeth, now Mrs. John Dietz, of 
Sullivan count}', N. Y. ; Louis, subject of 
this sketch; Henrietta, now Mrs. Gumbert, 
of New York city; and Charles, who was 
born in the United States, and is a farmer, 
living in Buckwalter, Penn. The other 
children were born in Germany. It was in 
the fall of 1854 when John Specht, Sr. , the 
father, and his six children, went from Ger- 
many to London, and there embarked for 
America on the sailing vessel "Southamp- 
ton," landing in New York after a voyage 
of thirty-five days. John, Jr., one of the 
children, had been in the United States. 
The father located in Sullivan county, 
N. Y., in the town of F"remont, then a new 
country, and where the father bought land. 
They were poor, and for three weeks the 
famil}' had only rice to eat. Mr. Specht 
lived to own his farm, and died there at the 
age of seventy-one. His widow survived 
him eight years, and died at sevent}-one 
years of age. In religion they were Lu- 
therans. 

Louis Specht was but a boy of nine 
years when he came to the United States, 
but remembers the details of the journey. 
The region was new where they located, 
in Sullivan county; there were not many 
schools, and his help was needed at home; 
after schools had become established he had 
grown up, and it was work instead of 



school. He lived at home until twenty-two 
years of age, and at that time possessed 
three hundred dollars, which he had earned 
by peeling hemlock bark, and selling it to 
tanneries. He started for Wisconsin in 
1867 with all his earthly possessions; came 
via Green Bay and the stage route to Hart- 
land township, Shawano county, to his 
brother John, who was then living there. 
He first bought, in Section 19, eighty acres 
of land, all new, on which not a stick of 
timber had been cut; deer, bear and other 
game were plenty. He was in debt for his 
farm, and the first winter he worked in 
Shawano county in the lumber woods; in 
in the summer he worked on his land. He 
had a hewed-log house, i8.\24, which he 
built himself, and this was his first home in 
Wisconsin. In March, 1868, in Waukechon 
township, Shawano county, Louis Specht 
was united in marriage with Miss Ottelia 
Schmitt, who was born in Mayville, Dodge 
county. Wis., August 24, 1850, and the fol- 
lowing named children were born to them: 
Henry, who is a carpenter, was born in 
Hartland township, July 27, 1869; Emma, 
August 31, 1 871; Rudolph, born January 
31, 1874, in Hartland; Charles, born March 
20, 1876; Robert, born in Hartland, August 
30, 1878; William, born in Angelica town- 
ship, February 2, 1881; Ella, born June 23, 
1884; John, July 3, 1886; Hattie, May 23, 
1889; and Linda. December 29, 1893. The 
father of Mrs. Specht, Henry Schmitt, was 
born in Germany, where he followed weav- 
ing; coming to the United States, his occu- 
pation was that of a farmer. He first set- 
tled in Dodge county, Wis., then removed 
to Waukechon township in 1 866. Mrs. 
Specht was one of two children, the other 
a brother, who died on the ocean when the 
parents were coming to the United States. 
Mr. Schmitt married again, and reared a 
family of children. 

Louis Specht remained in Hartland un- 
til August, 1879, when he sold out, came to 
Angelica township and bought eighty acres 
of land in Section 19, five acres of which 
were cleared and the remainder heavily 
timbered, a log house being the only im- 
provement on the place when he took it. 
Work was begun at once; the task of clear- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



549- 



ing another new farm was his. He was an 
energetic worker, and each year new im- 
provements were made. Later he added 
forty acres more, and he has given his time 
entirely to farming. In 1885 he built his 
comfortable home, and in i S94 a large mod- 
ern barn. He has improved his farm in 
every way, and it is to-day one of the good 
farms of Angelica. He is a self-made man, 
has done considerable hard work, was strong 
and robust in his prime, and, by his per- 
severing toil is owner of a good home. Mr. 
Specht has been a Democrat, but at present 
is an Independent, and has served as a 
member of the township board for two 
years. The family are members of the Lu- 
theran Church. 



March 
and if 



BYRON S. FULLERTON, one of the 
wide-awake and enterprising busi- 
ness men of Bonduel, Shawano 
county, was born on the 28th of 
1870, in Washington county. Wis., 
a son of Andrew and Elizabeth 
(Templeton) Fullerton, who were married in 
that county. 

Andrew Fullerton was of Irish extraction, 
and was a carpenter by trade. During the 
Civil war he enlisted in the service as a pri- 
vate of Company G, Twenty-sixth Wis., 
V. I., but for two years held a captain's 
commission, which was conferred upon him 
in recognition of his meritorious service. He 
was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, 
but except when thus incapacitated was 
always found at his post of duty as a loyal 
defender of the Union. Upon his return to 
the North he engaged in operating a sawmill 
in Manitowoc county, Wis., until 1876, 
when he came to Shawano county, locating 
in Sections 20 and 21, Hartland township. 
Here he operated a gristmill and sawmill 
until it was destroyed by fire in 1879, to- 
gether with considerable stock which caused 
a loss of $14,000. Rebuilding the sawmill, 
he continued to carry on business along that 
line until his death, which occurred August 
18, 1882, his remains being interred in the 
Reformed Lutheran Cemetery. His death 
was the result of a wound which he received 
in battle. He was in the broadest sense of 



the term a self-made man, and, overcoming 
the obstacles and difficulties in his path, 
worked his way upward from a humble posi- 
tion to one of affluence. He took no active 
part in politics, aside from always casting a 
ballot in support of the Republican party. 
Mrs. Fullerton yet survives her husband and 
is living in Kaukauna, Wis. The children of 
the family are Alpha, wife of Charles Bey, 
of Green Bay, Wis. ; Byron S. , of this 
sketch; Elsie, Robert, Mabel and Elmer, 
who are still at home. 

Our subject attended the public schools 
only until thirteen years of age, and then 
began working in a sawmill which belonged 
to his father, whose death, during the boy- 
hood of Byron, necessitated the latter taking 
charge of the business. The responsibility 
was a heavy one for his 3'oung shoulders; but 
he bore the burden well, and displayed ex- 
cellent business ability for one so young. 
In September, 1 890, his mill was destroyed 
by fire but phoenix-like seemed to rise from 
its own ashes, for, with characteristic 
energy, Mr. Fullerton began to rebuild, and 
about that time became sole proprietor of the 
establishment, which he had formerly owned 
in connection with his mother. In May, 
1895, he again suffered a $500 loss through 
tire, but with a cheerful determination 
worthy of all commendation he has con- 
tinued his work, making the best of his op- 
portunities, and surely and steadily becoming 
the possessor of a fine business and coin- 
fortable competence. 

On September 27, 1893. in Milwaukee, 
was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Fuller- 
ton and Miss Dora Paschen, who was born 
in that city, November i, 1872, and is a 
daughter of George and Emily (Diestler; 
Paschen. She was educated in her native 
city, and is a lady highly esteemed in the city 
where she now makes her home. One child 
blesses their union, Grace K.. born Novem- 
ber 14, 1894. 

The political support of Mr. b'uUerton is 
given to the Republican party, but he has 
neither time nor inclination for office. He 
is a steady-going young man, unassuming in 
manner, kind and pleasant in disposition 
and highly esteemed by those who know 
him as an honorable gentleman and excel- 



550 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lent citizen. He deserves great credit for 
the successful management of the business 
of which he assumed control when a mere 
boy, and few young men of his age have 
gained as great prosperity. 



CHRISTIAN NELSON, a well-to-do 
shoemaker and boot and shoe dealer 
at Waupaca, has a wide acquaint- 
ance throughout Waupaca county, 
and is known for his liberal-mindedness in 
public affairs, his fair-mindedness in trade, 
and for his general culture and business 
sagacity. 

Mr. Nelson is a native of Denmark, and 
was born in that country December 3, 1828, 
a son of Nelson Chris and Christine Jorgen- 
son, who had three children, George, Chris- 
tian and Mary. By a previous marriage 
Mr. Nelson had one child, Anna. He was 
the owner of a small farm in Denmark, 
which he cultivated, and on which he died 
in 1S45, when Christian was si.xteen years 
of age. The latter remained on the farm 
until he was fifteen \ears of age, attending 
the schools in the meantime, and was then 
apprenticed for a term of five years to a 
shoemaker in the city of Frederiksberg, near 
Copenhagen. Upon the completion of his 
trade he went to Copenhagen and remained 
there ten years, going into business for him- 
self. In June, 1863, he came to America 
with his family, settling in Waupaca, where 
for seven and a half years he worked at his 
trade for Louis Larson. In 1871 he opened 
a shop of his own, and three years later he 
rented it for a time while he made a six- 
months' visit to his old home in Denmark. 
In 1880 he sold his shop and moved to a 
farm, located about four miles north of the 
city, which he had previously purchased. 
The summer of 1883 he spent on the Pa- 
cific coast, visiting friends. In 1888 Mr. 
Nelson established his present business. 
His son Thorwald remained on the farm 
until the following spring, then joined him 
in the shoe shop, which they have since 
conducted jointly. 

In 1854 Mr. Nelson was married in Den- 
mark to Julia Jorgenson. Five children 
have been born to them, three of whom 



died in Denmark. The eldest son, Julius 
Nelson, Ph. D. , has for si.K years been Pro- 
fessor of Biology, in charge of the experi- 
mental station at the Agricultural College of 
New Jersey. Thorwald, the younger son, 
is with his father in business. In politics 
Mr. Nelson is a Republican, but he has re- 
peatedly declined office. He is liberal in 
Church matters, contributing generousl}' to 
the support of all Protestant denominations. 



CASPER FAUST, proprietor of the 
electric- light plant at Rhinelander, 
Oneida count3\ is a native of Ger- 
many, born near the cit}- of Bingen- 
on-the-Rhine. May 30, 1852. 

Peter Faust, father of our subject, and a 
weaver by vocation in his native country, 
was born in Germany in 1 809, and there 
married Barbara Bart, by whom he had ten 
children: Peter, Ann, Barbara, Lawrence, 
Lena, Kate, Barbara, Margaret, Gasper and 
Phillip, all born in Germany. In 1856 the 
family came to the United States, settling 
in Oshkosh, Wis. . where the mother died in 
1878, and the father, who was a gardener 
by occupation, is vet living. 

Casper Faust, the subject proper of these 
lines, was about four years old, when his 
parents brought him to Wisconsin, and at 
the common schools of Oshkosh he received 
a liberal education. When twelve years 
old he commenced to work in the sawmills, 
an occupation he continued in until he was 
about twentj-seven years old, when he 
moved to Merrillan, Jackson county, whence 
after two years he returned to Oshkosh, 
then in 1879 took up his residence in Clin- 
tonville, where he commenced in the saloon 
business. In about eighteen months, how- 
ever, he again moved to Oshkosh, keeping 
a boarding house and grocery in that city 
until 1882, in August of which year he came 
to Rhinelander, where for three years he 
was engaged in the hardware business. In 
1889 Mr. Faust and J. H. Clark built the 
electric plant in that city, but at the end of 
some six months our subject bought out Mr. 
Clark's interest, and he has since operated 
the concern alone. 

In 1877 Mr. Faust was united in mar- 




.^^Z^<^^<^ \Tcz^oiW 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 



551 



riajje with Miss Elizabeth Shellhorn, a lady 
of \\'isconsin birth, daup^hter of F"rank and 
Sophia (Albrightj Shellhorn, natives of 
Augsburg, Bavaria, German}', respectable 
people, engaged in the tailoring and weav- 
ing business, now residents of Oshkosh. 
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Faust: Otto, Edward, Elizabeth, Hugo, 
Mary, Frank and Barbara, all now living 
except Otto and Frank. Mr. Faust was 
the very first to settle in Rhinelander, open- 
ing out his first business, the pioneer one, 
in a tent, which was a general supply store, 
and which later he converted into a hard- 
ware store. He came in the month of Juh', 
and had to walk all the way from Pelican, a 
distance of twenty-one miles. In course of 
time he commenced dealing in real estate, 
at the start buying five village lots, and 
building first on the corner where the Mer- 
chants State Bank now stands, besides other 
stores at intervals until he was the owner of 
.several business places in the city. In fact 
he has all along dealt more or less in real 
estate, and has met with well-merited suc- 
cess. Our subject, in his political associa- 
tions, is an Independent, and he served the 
city of Rhinelander as supervisor three 
terms. Socially, he is affiliated with the 
Catholic Order of Foresters, and in religious 
faith he is a member of the Roman Catholic 
Church. 



FISHER BROTHERS, who are gen- 
eral merchants and dealers in imple- 
ments at Angelica, Shawano county, 
are among the wide-awake and push- 
ing young business men of the county. The 
firm consists of two brothers, Harry and 
Albert, born, respectively, July 14, 1859, in 
Milwaukee, and June 12, 1862, in Sheboy- 
gan Falls, Shebo}gan county. Wis. They 
are sons of Martin Fisher, at present one of 
the prominent farmers of Lessor township, 
Shawano county. 

Martin Fisher was born in Canada, came 
to the United States a young man with no 
means, save his own energy and industry, 
and was united in marriage in Granville, 
Milwaukee Co., Wis., with Miss Carrie 
Dutcher, who was born in that county. 



They have had the following named chil- 
dren: Harr}' and Albert, the subjects of 
this sketch; Nellie, now Mrs. Frank Hatha- 
way, of Centralia, W'ood count}'; William, 
at home; and Clara, now Mrs. Plynn Miller, 
of Shawano county. Wis. Martin Fisher 
was employed for some time as a section 
foreman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul Railway, and about i860 removed to 
Sheboygan Falls, Wis., where for si.\ or 
seven years he was engaged in the manufac- 
ture of pumps. He then went to Coopers- 
town, Manitowoc county, where he con- 
ducted the hotel known as "Kings House," 
carried on a successful business, and later 
removed to De Pere, Brown count}'. There 
he was landlord at the " National House," 
where he remained until the spring of 1878, 
when he removed to Lessor township, Sha- 
wano county, and bought eighty acres of 
land in Section 24, which was in a primitive 
condition, and undisturbed by the early set- 
tler. A small log house in the woods was 
the first home, and there were but few set- 
tlers in the neighborhood. The land was 
heavily timbered, there was plenty of work 
to be done, and clearing, etc., was com- 
menced. This represented much work, be- 
fore the new farms became the source of 
any revenue to the early pioneers, and this 
was the case with Mr. Fisher's farm, but 
the work of himself and his boys soon put a 
different appearance upon the scene. 

Mr. Fisher has improved his farm from 
time to time until now it comprises si.xty 
acres of land, which has all been cleared by 
himself and family. In politics he has al- 
ways been a Democrat, and stanch is his 
support of the party. He is one of the sub- 
stantial farmers and citizens of Lessor town- 
ship, has made his money by hard knocks, 
perseverance and industry, having com- 
menced a poor young man, and is respected 
and held in esteem by all who know him. 

Harry Fisher received the common- 
school education of his time, lived at home 
when a young man, and was employed at 
such work as a young man could get to do 
in the different places where his parents re- 
sided. While in De Pere he learned shin- 
gle-making, which occupied much of his 
time until he launched into mercantile life. 



552 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and was the cause of the loss of two fingers 
of his left hand b}' accident. In October. 
1889, with his brother Albert, he purchased 
the mercantile stock at Angelica, and though 
it was a new undertaking to them they 
seemed to adapt themselves to it at once, 
prospered from the start, and increased the 
trade considerably. After a short time they 
purchased the store-room, and later added 
implements to their stock, a department of 
the business which is under the able man- 
agement of Albert, the younger member of 
the firm. Albert had a common-school edu- 
cation, and made his home with his parents 
until he embarked in business. 

In May, 1891, Albert Fisher was united 
in marriage in Lessor township with Miss 
Christine Arnaman, who was born of Ger- 
man parentage, and was one of the estima- 
ble young ladies of Two Rivers, Manitowoc 
county. They have had two children: Er- 
win and Harry. Mrs. Fisher's father was a 
farmer in Manitowoc county. Harrj' Fisher 
and his brother Albert are both Republicans, 
and, though workers in their party, have 
never mingled in politics, declining offices 
and preferring to devote their time and at- 
tention solely to their business. Harry 
looks after matters in the store, and Albert 
attends to the sale of implements and 
horses. They have, by fair and systematic 
methods, built up a large trade, enjoy the 
respect and confidence of a wide circle of 
patrons, and deserve to be classed among 
the foremost in the ranks of the representa- 
tive business men of their county. 



RM. HUDNALL. Perhaps no man in 
Dayton township, Waupaca county, 
is better known than this gentleman, 
who enjoys the distinction of being 
the only Southerner in his locality. Mr. 
Hudnall was born October 12, 1828, on a 
tobacco-growing plantation in Fauquier 
county, Va., a son of James Hudnall, who 
belonged to a race of Southern farmers, and 
whose ancestors settled in Virginia early in 
the Seventeenth centur3\ Of his nine chil- 
dren three now survive: Wilford, seventy- 
seven years old, a resident of \'irginia; Wes- 
ford, aged seventy-two years, also of Vir- 



ginia, and R. M. James Hudnall died in 
1854 at the age of fifty-six years, his wife 
surviving him to the age of seventy-seven 
years. 

R. M. Hudnall is the only representa- 
tive of the family in Wisconsin. His educa- 
tion was meager, most of it being received 
from private instructors. He was raised 
among slaves, and as customary under the 
institution of slaver\' did no work at home. 
At the age of twenty-one he became over- 
seer on a large farm in Rockingham county, 
W^ Va. , owned by a German merchant, re- 
ceiving a salary of $500 per 3ear. Remain- 
ing here three years, he returned to his 
father's plantation. After his father's death 
Mr. Hudnall concluded to come to Wiscon- 
sin with Albert Underbill, who had rela- 
tives in Waupaca count}'. They came by 
rail to a point north of Milwaukee, then 
across the country to Fond dii Lac, thence 
by boat to Gill's Landing, and on to Wau- 
paca. Mr. Hudnall was the possessor of a 
few hundred dollars, and began his life as a 
boarder in the "Old Higgins Hotel." For 
two years he was a guest there, doing little 
else. He then went into the woods, and in 
all spent twelve winters in lumbering. On 
December 27, 1861, he was married, at 
Parfreyville, to Susan Dayton, a native of 
Wyoming county, N. Y., where she was 
born in August, 1826, a daughter of Lyman 
Dayton, later one of the early settlers of 
Dayton township, and in honor of whom it 
received its name. After his marriage Mr. 
Hudnall settled in Rural village, and for 
several years was engaged as a farm hand. 
He enlisted in Company D. Forty-seventh 
Wis. V. I., January 20, 1865, at \\'aupaca. 
While at Madison, iii route to Nashville, 
Tenn., he was seized with the measles, but 
he insisted on remaining with the regiment 
and proceeded South. At Louisville, Ky., 
he was sent to the hospital, where he re- 
mained six weeks with an attack of pneu- 
monia and measles. His regiment in the 
meantime had been sent home, though he 
was not discharged until September, 1865. 

It required a year for Mr. Hudnall to 
fully recover his health. He then sold his 
home at Rural and purchased t6o acres in 
Section 9, Dayton township, where his pres- 



COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



555 



ent home of 120 acres is located. It was 
then all wild save ten acres, which had been 
broken some years previously, not a build- 
ing stood upon the tract, and all the im- 
provements were made by Mr. Hudnall. He 
built one of the finest residences in the 
township, which was destroyed by fire No- 
vember I, 1877, the family barely escaping 
with their lives, the only furniture saved be- 
ing a chair and an organ stool. The organ, 
a $200 instrument just purchased, perished 
with the other goods. The children of Mr. 
Hudnall are George B. , a practicing attorney 
at Superior, Wis., who married Sophia 
Wallace, of lola. Wis., December 25, 1894; 
Fannie L. , now Mrs. Clarence Bemis, of 
Dayton; Mary E., at home. John C. died 
at the age of eighteen years, and PZtta in in- 
fancy. Mr. Hudnall has spent ten winters 
in Virginia since his settlement in Wiscon- 
sin. He is postmaster at Rural, and a mem- 
ber of Waupaca Post No. 21, G. A. R. 



JOSEPH NUBER. Germany has fur- 
nished to Wisconsin majiy men who 
have become leaders in business and 
political life, and are loyal and sub- 
stantial citizens. Mr. Nuber, who resides 
at Bakerville, Wood county, is one who 
claims the Fatherland as the place of his 
birth, and on leaving that country he sought 
a home in the New World. He was born 
in the village of Langenvosan, Januarj' 27, 
1839, and is a son of Mit and Anna (Schea- 
der) Nuber. The father was a farmer by 
occupation, and both parents died in Ger- 
many. Joseph was the si.xth in order of 
birth in their family of seven children. He 
acquired a good education in the public 
schools of his native land, and at the age of 
fifteen he began learning the blacksmith's 
trade, at which he served a five-years' ap- 
prenticeship. He received no compensa- 
tion for his services during that time, but, 
on the other hand, had to pay $25 for the 
privilege of learning the business. When 
his term of service had expired he began 
working for others, and was thus employed 
until twenty-two years of age, when he en- 
tered the army as an infantryman, serving 
six years and participating in two engage- 



ments. On receiving his discharge he re- 
sumed work at his trade, which he followed 
until his emigration to America. 

In the year 1869 Mr. Nuber bade adieu 
to home and friends, sailing for the United 
States, and when he had reached New York 
harbor he resumed his journey across the 
country and took up his residence near Mani- 
towoc, Wis. For a year he worked as a 
farm hand, and then followed his trade in 
Barton, Wis., for two years, after which he 
went to the village of Rentol, in Calumet 
county, where he was engaged at black- 
smithing for five years. Since September, 
1 877, he has been a resident of Wood county. 
With the capital he had acquired through his 
own labors he purchased forty acres of land, 
to which he has since added a twenty-acre 
tract, making in all sixty acres, which is 
covered with timber, all save a small tract 
of five acres. Upon this property he erected 
a smithy and began business, for the first 
time being his own boss. He has since 
successfull}' followed his chosen calling and, 
being an expert workman, has received from 
the public a liberal patronage, and thereby 
a good income. 

In Milwaukee, Wis., in 1873, Mr. Nuber 
was joined in wedlock with Miss Barbara 
Ott, who was born in Germany in 1850, and 
is one of a family of nine children born to 
Ulrich and Elizabeth (Haker) Ott. The 
father and mother both died in Germany. 
The children are as follows: Barbara, Mar- 
garet, Elizabeth, George, Mary. Vincent, 
Anna and Theresa. Mrs. Nuber came to 
America alone when a young lady of twenty 
years. The other members of the family 
have all since crossed the Atlantic, save 
George, who is engaged in farming in Ger- 
many. Ten children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Nuber, of whom .seven are living, 
namely: Maggie, Theresa, Michael, John, 
Joseph, Christine and Anna. One son. 
George, died at the age of six years; Frank 
at the age of one year, and Anton when only 
five weeks old. The living children are all 
under the parental roof, although Maggie is 
now Mrs. Michaels. 

Mr. Nuber and his family are members 
of the Catholic Church, and in politics he is 
a Democrat. Thev have a fine home in 



554 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Bakerville, and other property is owned by 
Mr. Nuber, and stands as a monument to 
his thrift and enterprise. His life demon- 
strates what can be accomplished when 
honesty of purpose is supplemented by in- 
dustry and perseverance, and his example is 
one worth\' of emulation. 



HARBISON McLean, one of the ear- 
liest pioneers of Dayton township, 
Waupaca count)', and one of its sub- 
stantial and highly-respected citi- 
.zens, might have lived and died a poor 
weaver in Ireland had he not taken his des- 
tinj' into his own hands, and without friends 
emigrated to a distant land where primitive 
farms under the jurisdiction of a beneficent 
government offered adequate rewards to men 
who would bra\e dangers, endure hardships 
and patiently await the fullness of time for 
competence, honor and comfort. Mr. Mc- 
Lean was one of the pioneers who passed 
through the trying ordeal, and under circum- 
stances that would have deterred or dis- 
heartened a soul less brave and courageous. 
Harbison McLean was born in County 
Londonderry, Ireland, March 20, 1828, a 
son of Robert and Martha (Dickey) McLean, 
who belonged to the sturdy Scotch-Irish 
stock of North Ireland. Robert McLean 
was a poor but respectable artisan who sup- 
ported his family of nine children by hard 
■work at his trade of a carpenter and mason. 
He lived to a good old age, and died in 
County Londonderry in 1847. The mother 
died many years later, at the home of her 
son in Dayton township, where for twenty 
years she had lived. The school advantages 
of Harbison, the second son and third child, 
were good, but he was unable to take ad- 
vantage of them. Poverty compelled him 
at the age of thirteen years to suppport him- 
self. He learned the trade of a weaver, and 
followed it for about si.x years, becoming an 
expert weaver of the finest linen. Just 
after the death of his father he resolved, at 
the age of nineteen, to emigrate to America, 
his older brother Joseph having then crossed 
the ocean and settled near Troy, N. Y. In 
return for the wages which for six years he 
had turned over to his parents, he received 



barely enough money to pay his passage. 
Bidding friends and relatives good-bye he 
took boat at Belfast in March, 1847, for 
Liverpool, and there took passage on the 
sailing vessel "Franconia," which eight 
weeks and three days later landed him, a 
sick boy, at Philadelphia. He proceeded to 
New York by railroad, the first he had ever 
seen, and several days later went by steamer 
to Troy. Recovering from his illness a few 
days later, he found his first employment in 
a brickyard, and later he entered the Burton 
Iron Works at Troy as general utility man. 
Remaining here eighteen months he hired 
out as a farm hand to Cyrus Lawson for a 
year, receiving $108 for his services, a large 
portion of his savings going back to Ireland 
to support his younger brothers and sisters. 
In the spring of 1850 young Harbison 
began to think of getting a home for himself. 
Wisconsin had lately been admitted as a 
State, and a strong tide of immigration was 
moving that way. He resolved to join the 
exodus from the East, and starting from 
Buffalo by boat May 2, 1850, he landed at 
Milwaukee with scarcely any capital. He 
was in search of land that had not yet been 
taken up, and coming to Manitowoc he 
walked through a wild country to Green Bay, 
forty miles away, making the journey in two 
half days. From Green Bay he came up 
the Fox river via De Pere to Appleton, arriv- 
ing May 10, and thence proceeded on foot to 
Hortonville, thence to Mukwa township, 
Waupaca county, and on to Weyauwega. 
Continuing to Little river, he passed through 
a new and unbroken country to Cedar Lake, 
and from that point began to look around 
for a claim. Making a selection in what is 
now Section 25, of Dayton township, no sur- 
vey of the land having yet been made, the 
young man built thereon a temporary shelter 
b}' extending poles from tree to tree and 
co\'ering the crosspoles with spruce boughs. 
This primitive shanty stood a short distance 
southeast of Mr. McLean's present residence. 
Two weeks later he built a little shanty, 
10x12 feet, with logs, and with an axe and 
spade he planted a small patch of garden 
truck. Game was plentiful, but the pioneer 
was no hunter. Indians prowled about, and 
as manv as thirteen were entertained at one 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



555 



time in Mr. McLean's little cabin. He 
learned the art of shingle-making, and mar- 
keted the product at various points, trading 
the shingles for articles needed at the cabin. 
For one year he lived alone, then his moth- 
er, who had come to New York, moved west 
and kept house for him. He steadily broke 
up his land, bought a yoke of oxen, and after 
a while began to raise wheat and corn. 

In Waupaca Mr. McLean was married 
on Christmas Day, 1856, to Mary Ann But- 
ton, who was born in Sussex county, Eng- 
land, February i, 1842, a daughter of James 
and Harriet (Piper) Button. Her father, 
a blacksmith, emigrated from England in 
1S50, with his family of three children, 
Elizabeth, Ellen and Mary Ann, locating 
first in Montgomery county, N. Y. , but 
moving in the spring of 1856 to a farm in 
Dayton township, where Mr. McLean met 
and married the eldest daughter. He be- 
gan housekeeping on the farm of eighty 
acres which he first located, and where he 
still resides, the owner of 300 acres of 
choice land and a most prosperous and suc- 
cessful farmer. The children born to Mr. 
and Mrs. McLean were Robert J., born 
January 8, 1859, a farmer, of Dayton town- 
ship; Joseph S., born February 2, 1861, at 
home; William, born May 27, 1863, a 
farmer; Jane, born July 25, 1865, now Mrs. 
A. L. Norris, of Springwater, Waushara 
county; David H., bom May 29, 1868, died 
March 3, 1869; George G., born March 20, 
1870; Charles E., born April 5, 1873; Ellen 
A., born November 17, 1875, died Novem- 
ber 26, 1880, of scarlet fever; Alice, born 
September 8, 1878, died November 29, 
1880, of scarlet fever. Mr. McLean is a 
believer in the Presbyterian faith, and his 
wife was reared an Episcopalian. In the 
pioneer home she has been a worthy life 
partner, helping him in the harvest field and 
managing the household affairs in an eco- 
nomical and creditable manner. Toward the 
success in life to which he has attained she has 
fully contributed all that was possible from 
a faithful and intelligent wife, and she now 
shares in his prosperity. In politics Mr. 
McLean is a Republican, but he has never 
sought office, preferring to attend to the du- 
ties on the farm, to which, from his long 



residence, he has become deeply attached, 
and where he now lives a retired life, having 
transferred to younger shoulders the burden 
of active operation. 



CHRIST RETZLAFF, a pioneer set- 
tler of Belle Plaine township, Sha- 
wano county, where he ranks among 
the most prosperous of her indus- 
trious agriculturists, is a native of Prussia, 
Germany, born October 15, 1833, near 
Prenzlow, Province of Brandenburg. 

John Retzlaff (a weaver by trade), father 
of Christ, married, for his second wife. Miss 
Christine Schultz, by whom he had three 
children: Charles: Minnie, now Mrs. Preuss, 
of Belle Plaine, and Christ; by his first wife 
John had one son, William, also a resident 
of Belle Plaine. Our subject received in 
the Fatherland a fair public-school educa- 
tion, and at the age of twelve years com- 
menced to learn the trade of a weaver with 
his father, working at the same until he was 
twenty-four years old. In 1853 his brother 
Charles and half-brother William emigrated 
to the United States, coming direct to Wis- 
consin, and September 15, 1857, the rest of 
the family, including our subject, took pass- 
age at Hamburg on the sailing vessel "Ru- 
dolph, " which landed at New York Novem- 
ber 18, 1857, whence the family proceeded 
to Wisconsin, traveling by rail to Watertown, 
Jefferson county, where William and Charles 
had already located. For a time our sub- 
ject and the others lived with William. 
Christ working as a day laborer some six 
months and then moving to Illinois, whence 
after about eight months he returned to 
Wisconsin, and in White Water, Walworth 
county, he worked on the farm of Dan 
Nowell two and one-half years. Here our 
subject married, and in 1861 he and his 
young wife came to Belle Plaine township, 
Shawano county, Mr. Retzlaff purchasing 
eighty acres of wild land in Section 22, 
which he still owns, the journey from 
White Water, made by teams, occupying 
eight days. Here they built a log house 
16x20 feet in size, roofed with shingles 
manufactured by John Klickman, and as 
they had oxen to do the hauling, etc.. a 



^^6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



clearing was soon effected. Later Mr. 
Retzlaff purchased more land, until to-day 
the farm comprises 320 acres of land, ninety 
of which are cleared. 

On February 28, 1861, Mr. Retzlaff was 
married to Miss Augusta Ninman, who was 
born November 11, 1836, in Prussia, a 
daughter of Frederick and Dorothea (Struck) 
Ninman, who reared a family of eight chil- 
dren, as follows: Hannah, deceased wife of 
William Moss, of Minnesota: Augusta; Fred, 
a farmer of Belle Plaine: Carolina, deceased 
wife of Fred Teich, a farmer of Minnesota; 
Minnie, wife of Charles Grosnick, a farmer of 
Watertown; Charles, an editor and principal 
of schools in Sioux City, Iowa; August and 
Louisa (twinsj, the former of whom is a 
farmer in Dakota, the latter the wife of 
Gastaf Schroeder. a farmer near New Lis- 
bon, Wis. In June, 1845, the Ninman 
family sailed from Stettin, Germany, for 
America, landing at New York after a voyage 
of six weeks, thence traveling still farther 
westward to \\'isconsin, by rail to Buffalo 
and boat from there to Milwaukee. Mr. 
Ninman bought eighty acres of wild land at 
\\'atertown, Jefferson county, which, with 
the assistance of his family, he cleared and 
cultivated, and here he and his wife passed 
the remainder of their honored lives, Mrs. 
Ninman dying in 1868, being killed in a 
threshing-machine accident, and Mr. Nin- 
man dying in 1880. To Mr. and Mrs. Christ 
Retzlaff were born nine children, to wit: 
Charles F. , a sketch of whom follows; 
Louise, wife of Herman Neighbor, a livery- 
man at Cecil; Minnie at home with her 
parents; William, deceased at the age of 
thirteen; Herman, at home; August, clerk- 
ing in Chicago; Robert, who died at the age 
of eight years; Henry, deceased in infancy; 
and John, a druggist, of Shawano Mr. 
Retzlaff in his political preferences has al- 
ways been a stanch Democrat, and in relig- 
ious faith the entire family are Lutherans. 

Charles F. Retzlaff, eldest son and 
child of Christ and Augusta (Ninmanj Retz- 
laff, was born May 24, 1862, in Belle Plaine 
township, Shawano Co. , Wis. , and received 
his education at the old log school-house of 
the neighborhood. He commenced active 
work pretty early in life, has been industri- 



ous and careful, and now owns 160 acres of 
the original home farm, and will care for his 
parents during the remainder of their lives. 
Like his father he is a Democrat, and at the 
present time is serving his third term as 
town clerk. He is secretary of the Belle 
Plaine Creamery and Cheese Incorporation 
at Belle Plaine, and is recognized as one of 
the most progressive, hustling young men 
of the county, with the promise of a bright 
future before him. 



WILLIAM WALKER (deceased). 
The life of this earnest and re- 
spected citizen of Stevens Point. 
Portage count}', was a long strug- 
gle with an insidious foe, maintained man- 
fully to the end. That enemy was consump- 
tion, a malad}' which not only blotted out 
the life of Mr. Walker, but with an uncon- 
querable thoroughness destroyed both his 
parents and six brothers and sisters. W^ill- 
iam was cut off in his early manhood, being 
not quite thirty-three years old when he 
died and left a widow and child to mourn 
his early departure. For many years he 
held off the foe at arm's length, and sought 
every relief then known to the medical 
world. His early life indicated brilliancy 
and power, and had he been spared he must 
have attained to a station of prominence 
and influence among his fellow men. 

William Walker was born in Canada, 
September 16, 1853, of Scotch-Irish descent, 
a son of Michael and Margaret Walker, who 
in an early year came to Almond township. 
Portage countv, and engaged in farming. 
Michael Walker died on his farm in 1882, 
at the age of sixt\'-six years; his wife in 
1893, at the age of eighty years. Their chil- 
dren were: Jane, James, Mary Ann, John, 
William, Martha and Elizabeth, all of whom 
have died of consumption. William was 
reared on his father's farm, receiving his 
education largely at Stevens Point. In 1873, 
at the age of twenty years, he went with his 
eldest brother, James, to California, in the 
interest of their health. James soon after- 
ward returned and died in Almond township. 
\\'illiam remained four years, and upon his 
return to Almond township, in 1877, he 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



557 



bought a farm but was unable to do more 
than the work for one season, and six 
months later he came to Stevens Point, 
where for three j'ears he engaged in the 
livery business and also conducted a whole- 
sale and retail liquor business. Three years 
later he sold out his business, and on ac- 
count of his health he and his wife visited 
California, where they remained eighteen 
months. Returning to Almond township, 
they built and occupied a residence upon a 
farm of 120 acres which Mrs. M'alker's 
father, Isaiah Felker, had left her. They 
resided here until Mr. Walker's death, De- 
cember II, 1884. In politics he had been 
a Republican, and socially was a member of 
the I. O. O. F. 

Mr. Walker was married, December 27, 
1879, to Anna Rosetta Felker, who was 
born March 20, 1861. Isaiah Felker, her 
father, was born in Stratford, Stratford Co., 
N. H., in 1820. He was well educated, 
and in his younger days was a school super- 
intendent near Boston, Mass. About 1854 
he came west and purchased a farm in Al- 
mond township, and also a half interest in a 
hotel where the village of Almond now 
stands. In 1857 he was married to Chris- 
tina Ferber; she was born in Baden, Ger- 
many, daughter of John P. and Barbara 
(Buerkle) Ferber, the eldest of whose five 
children is Barbara, now Mrs. Michael Mil- 
ure, of Almond township; the second, Eliza- 
beth, is Mrs. D. Shafer, of Almond; the 
third is Mrs. Christina Felker, now of 
Stevens Point; the fourth, Mary, now Mrs. 
George Tysan; the fifth, Margaret, now Mrs. 
Albert Young, of Almond. In the fall of 
1846 John and Barbara Ferber emigrated to 
America. They were eight weeks in cross- 
ing the ocean, and came directly to Racine, 
Wis. Mr. Ferber bought 160 acres of par- 
tially-improved land ten miles from Racine, 
and lived there until 1854, when he came to 
Almond township. Portage county, here buy- 
ing 260 acres of land, where Albert Young 
now lives. It was mostly prairie land, and 
contained a small building. The parents 
occupied and improved this farm until their 
death, many years later. After their mar- 
riage Isaiah and Christina P'elker were en- 
gaged in farming and in conducting the 



hotel at Almond until the death of Mr. Fel- 
ker, November 29, 1874. The}' had four 
children: Anna Rosetta, now Mrs. William 
Walker; Herman, who now owns the old 
homestead; and twins that died in infancy. 
Politically Isaiah Felker was a Republican, 
and for many years he was postmaster at 
Almond. The widow of Mr. Felker now 
lives at Stevens Point. 

To William and Anna Rosetta Walker 
three children were born: Harry E., who 
died in infancy; Grace Belle, now living; 
and Mabel M., who died at the age of three 
years. After the death of her husband Mrs. 
Walker remained on the farm until 1889, 
when she and her daughter went to Cali- 
fornia for six months, visiting relatives of 
her father. In 1891 she moved to Stevens 
Point, where she now lives. 



EDWIN TURNER, a substantial citi- 
zen of Amherst, Portage county, was 
a Union soldier in the war of the 
Rebellion. One of his great-grand- 
fathers fought through the war of the Revo- 
lution, and both his grandfathers fought in 
the war of 1812. His maternal great-grand- 
father, Nathan Beman, was but a boy when 
he guided Ethan Allen and his band to the 
fort at Ticonderoga. 

It is supposed that the first members of 
the Turner family to settle in America came 
over from England with some one of the 
numerous colonies about the middle of the 
seventeenth century. Edwin Turner traces 
his descent from John Turner (i), of New 
Haven, Conn., who on December 16, 1686, 
married Johanna Benton, daughter of Dan- 
iel and Rachel (Goodrich) Benton, of Guil- 
ford, Conn., and died in November, [696. 
Mrs. John Turner was born October 8, 1660, 
and died in Guilford, Conn., December 29, 
1692. They had two children: John (2) 
and Mercy. Mercy died in 1738 without 
issue. John Turner (2) was born Septem- 
ber 16, 1687, and died in Guilford, Conn., 
May 28, 1759. On December 29, 17 10, at 
Guilford, he married Hannah Penfield, who 
was born in 1G88, and who died in Guilford 
October 12, 1778. The children born to 



^^8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



their union were: John (3), born Decem- 
ber I, 171 1 ; Patience, born December 2, 
171 3, and died February 26, 1751, unmar- 
ried; Rebecca, born May 31, 17 16, and 
died May 17, 1756, unmarried; Abraham; 
Samuel, born at Guilford, February 14, 
172 1 : Hannah, born May i, 1723, married 
Christopher Foster; Mary, born December 
28, 1726; Isaac, born July i, 1730, and 
married Phcebe Parsons March 22, 1753, 
and to t heir union were born two children, 
Sebad and Rebecca. 

John Turner (3), born December i , 1 7 1 1 , 
was married, at Guilford, to Experience 
Benton, who was born June 15, 1706, and 
children were born to their union as follows: 
Mary, born June 21, 1734, married Nathan- 
iel Lee April 6, 1752; Patience, born Ma}' 
5. 1737; John (4), August 2, 1739; Timo- 
thy, October 13, 1742; Experience, August 
26, 1745; and Jonathan, September 10, 
1749. 

Samuel Turner, Sr. , born February 14, 
1 72 1, died at Tinmouth, Rutland Co., Vt., 
August 2, 1808. He married and had chil- 
dren as follows: Abel, grandfather of the 
subject of this sketch, born August 22, 1758; 
Samuel, Jr. ; Anna, and possibly others. 
Samuel Turner, Jr., married Sarah Fenton 
January 29, 1778, at Williamsburg, Mass., 
and they had two children, David and 
Miles. David located in Canada some time 
prior to the war of 1812. He started to 
come over to this side during the war, but 
was never heard from afterward. Miles 
was born November 20, 1785, and died at 
Richville, N. Y. , November 7, 1861. At 
Gouverneur, N. Y. , May 28, 1820, he mar- 
ried Hannah Cole, who was born February 
•3> 1796. and who died at Richville, June 6, 
1862. They had children as follows: David 
C. died in California in 1890; James was 
killed in the battle of the Wilderness; Lois 
Fenton married Burton Baker, of St. Law- 
rence county, N. Y. ; Thurza (or Tirzah) 
married Perry C. Bacon; and Thomas D. 
had a son, Orrin S., who now resides at 
Gouverneur, N. Y. , and is the last descend- 
ant of Samuel Turner, Jr., who bears the 
name of Turner. 

Anna Turner, daughter of Samuel Tur- 
ner, Sr., was married at Tinmouth, \"t., to 



Charles Brewster, a lineal descendant of 
Deacon Brewster, who came over in the 
" Mayflower." Hon. Henry Brewster, grand- 
son of Charles Brewster, married Mariette 
Eddy, and now resides at Huntington, \'t.. 
as do other descendants. 

Abel Turner, Sr. , son of Samuel. Sr., 
married Olive Munsell. who was born May 
I, 1759. He died at Schuyler Falls, N. Y., 
then a part of Plattsburg, on December 27, 
1829. His widow died at Schuyler Falls 
April 25, 1846. The children born to their 
union were as follows, the first three born 
at Tinmouth, Vt., the remaining seven at 
Huntington, Vt. : Lucinda was born Octo- 
ber 26, 1783, and married John Buell, by 
whom she had four children, Sally, Elias, 
Chauncey and Chester; she died at Hunt- 
ington, Vt. Sally was born March i. 1785. 
Polly was born November 2, 1787, and mar- 
ried Reuben Derby, who died in 18S0, at 
Huntington, Vt., leaving three children, 
Polly, Heman and Clarissa; Mrs. Derbj' 
died at Huntington in 1868. Salmon was 
born in 1789, and died Januar}' 22, 1804. 
Amanda was born in 1790, and was married 
March 31, 1817, to Nathan Ells, by whom 
she had five children, Herman, Nancy, 
George, Cyrus and Horace; the mother died 
November 20, 1845, ^t Peru, N. Y., the 



father September 12, 
in 1792, died July 1 1, 
February i, 1804. 
September 18, 1797. 



i860. Pamelia, born 
1796. Hannah died 

Abel, Jr., was born 
Chester, born Octo- 



ber 21, 1798, died March 16, 1799. Amzi 
was born Maj' 16, 1802, married Roxanna 
Harrington, and died at Peru, N. Y. ; they 
had five children — Eliza, George, Henry, 
Zentley S. and Allen G. 

Sally Turner, born March i, 1785. daugh- 
ter of Abel Turner, Sr. , married Cleveland 
Spofford, and died in Canada September 14, 
1828. Children were born to their imi<in as 
follows: Eliza, Abel T., Rowland, Cathar- 
ine, Sally, Garrett, Samuel, Lewis and Sal- 
mon. Most of the descendants live in Can- 
ada, Abel T. at Forfar, and J. Cleveland 
Spofford, son of Samuel, at Lansdowne. 

Abel Turner, Jr., born September 18, 
1797, son of Abel Turner, Sr. , was united 
in marriage August 16, 1818, at Plattsburg, 
N. Y., with Marv Turner, who was born at 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



559^ 



Salmon River, in Schuyler Falls, then a part 
of the town of Plattsburg, N. Y. , August 
1 6, 1798, and who was the first white woman 
born in the town of Schuyler Falls. They 
both died at Schuyler Falls, N. Y. , Mr. 
Turner February 25, 1865, Mrs. Turner 
February 3, 1890. They had twelve chil- 
dren, as follows: Salmon C, Chauncey, 
Charles, Olive, Albert, Edwin (the subject 
of this sketch), Andrew Jackson, Mary Eliza- 
beth, La Fayette, Phcebe, Martin \'. B. and 
Anna E. The line of descent, from father 
to son, to Edwin Turner, inclusive, is, so 
far as given in this record: 1 i) John Turner 
of New Haven, (2) John, (3) Samuel, (4) 
Abel, fs) Abel and (6) Edwin. 

Edwin Turner was born April 7, 1830, 
in Schuyler Falls, Clinton Co., N. Y. He 
acquired a good common-school education 
in his native town, attending school from 
four to si.\ months a year up to the age of 
eighteen, and helping his father on the farm 
during the summer and vacation time. He 
remained at home until he came west, in 
September, 1850"^ making the journey to 
Appleton, Wis., where he first resided, by 
boat and stage. His brother Charles was 
at that time surveying land for the govern- 
ment, and his first employment was teaming 
for the government, transporting United 
States mails with team from Appleton to 
Green Bay and return. He also carried 
passengers. After one year at this business 
he went to work in the woods. In Septem- 
ber, 1852, he returned to Plattsburg, N. Y., 
worked there at home on the farm for a 
year, in the fall of 1853 coming to Grand 
Haven, Mich., there working in the woods 
for eight months, and then for eight months 
in the woods at Oconto, Wis. After that 
he made one trip with a lumber fleet on the 
Wisconsin river, and as far as Dubuque, 
Iowa. He next went to Appleton, Wis., 
and engaged to drive a supply team between 
Kaukauna and Menasha for eight months, 
returning then to Plattsburg, N. Y. , to be 
married. 

On October, 10, 1855, Edwin Turner was 
united in marriage with Miss Electa W. 
Miles, and children have been born to them 
as follows: Henry C, born January 21, 
1857, in Lanark township. Portage county. 



Wis.; Cora Rosamond, born December 10, 
1865, in Lanark, and Edith F. , who died in 
infancy. Henry C. Turner married Abigail 
Morey, and by this union had three chil- 
dren, Richard H., Edwin Miles and Sarah 
B. For his second wife, Henry C. married 
Mrs. Ada (Taylor) Ransom, and they reside 
in Nashville, Tenn. The paternal grand- 
parents of Mrs. Edwin Turner, Theophilus 
and Lydia (Chase) Miles, were born and 
married in New Hampshire, and later re- 
moved to New York State. Mr. Miles was 
killed while building a sawmill at Peaslee- 
ville, N. Y. Mrs. Miles, who was a first 
cousin of Salmon P. Chase, secretary of the 
treasury under Lincoln, died at Middlesex, 
Vt., about 1830. Children were born to 
them as follows: Elihu, Florenda, Zanwan 
G. (father of Mrs. Turner), Rodney, Jones, 
Adin, Theron, Roxanna and Orin. Mrs. 
Turner's maternal grandmother Stowe was 
a first cousin of the Lawrences of Boston, 
and she is second cousin of Gen. Nelson A. 
Miles, U. S. A. Her parents, Zanwan G. 
and Rosamond (Williams) Miles, were born,, 
respectively, July 20, 1802, in Corydon, 
N. H., and April 29, 1804, in Cornish, N. H. 
They moved from New York State to Win- 
neconne, Winnebago Co. , Wis., about 1875, 
and both died in Winneconne, Mr. Miles in 
1885, his widow in 1887. Their children 
were as follows: Martha L., married Alfred 
Wast, a carpenter, and they reside in Wash- 
ington county, N. Y. ; Electa W., Mrs. Ed- 
win Turner, was born in Barre, Washington 
Co., Vt., April 12, 1834, received a fine ed- 
ucation, and was a school teacher for a num- 
ber of years previous to her marriage. 
Augusta R. , now residing in \\^inneconne, 
Wis. , was married first to Martin Gibbon, 
and, for her second husband, Capt. D. F. 
Mapes, now deceased. James Monroe re- 
sides with his sister, Mrs. Mapes, at Winne- 
conne. George W. died in infancy. 

After his marriage Mr. Turner left his 
wife with her parents and came west, reach- 
ing Appleton, Wis., in November, 1855. 
He went to work in the woods at Oconto 
that winter, and in March, 1856. came to 
Lanark township. Portage county. Wis., 
and bought 160 acres of wild land from the 
government, later adding forty acres more. 



56o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



He made a clearing, built a log house, and 
his wife joined him that spring. They 
lived in this house, without roof or door, 
all the summer of 1856. On October 5, 
1 86 1, at Amherst, Portage county, Mr. 
Turner enlisted in Company H, Third Wis. 
\'. C, which regiment was stationed at 
Janesville, Wis., until the following March. 
On the way from Janesville to Chicago the 
train ran off the track when about thirty 
miles from the latter place, and eight men 
were killed. The regiment went to St. 
Louis, and from there to Camp Benton, 
where they remained one month, and then 
proceeded to Fort Leavenworth, Kans. , 
where they were stationed for four months. 
Mr. Turner left his regiment at Leaven- 
worth, and returned to Wisconsin to accept 
a lieutenancy in Company I, Thirt}--first 
Wis. V. I., which companj- he himself or- 
ganized, and they left the State in March, 
1863, for Columbus, Tenn. , being there sta- 
tioned until the following fall, when they 
were ordered to Lookout Mountain, but 
were detained on their way for some time at 
various posts in Tennessee. Their first en- 
gagement was with bushwhackers, near 
Trenton. Becoming dissatisfied with inac- 
tion Mr. Turner resigned his position and re- 
turned to Wisconsin to organize a company 
and bring it to the front, but was unable to 
do so for lack of men, who had already 
nearly all gone to the front. 

In 1868 Mr. Turner disposed of the farm, 
which he had held since 1856. A short 
time before he had bought 160 acres of wild 
land from his brother Charles. On this he 
built a temporary abode, in which they lived 
till he built a comfortable home, completing 
it in the fall of 1S68. His farm is in Sec- 
tions 2, in Lanark township, and 35 in Am- 
herst. In the spring of 1894 Mr. Turner 
removed with his wife and family to Amherst, 
Portage county, into a new house which he 
had just completed. Since then he has 
rented his farm. He is a strong Repub- 
lican, and takes an active part in politics. 
Socially, he is a member of Capt. Eckels 
Post, No. 16, G. A. R. , of Amherst, is a 
Protestant in religious belief, but not a 
member of any Church, and both he and his 
wife are strong advocates of temperance. 



SAMUEL HIGGINS. In the worthy 
career of Mr. Higgins it has been 
demonstrated that an orphaned boy 
without friends or means may rise to 
a competence, may serve his country faith- 
fully and well, and, perhaps chiefest of all 
considerations, may live a life that is ex- 
emplary in every respect. That a young 
man, who in boyhood has been surrounded 
by good and inspiring influences, should at- 
tain to success in life is a credit. Much 
more creditable is the career of him who 
has never known these potent influences, 
and who by the innate force of his own 
character commands the general esteem and 
respect of his fellow men. 

William Higgins, the father of Samuel, 
was born at sea on the vessel which was 
conve\ing his parents from Ireland, their 
native land, to America. The family set- 
tled in Canada, and there William grew to 
manhood and married Catherine Albrant. 
He was a farmer, and his children were as 
follows: Nancy, Maria, Robert, John, Will- 
iam, Elizabeth, James, Samuel, James (2), 
Frederick, Jesse, Jennie and a daughter who 
died in infancy unnamed. All these chil- 
dren were born in Canada e.xcept Samuel, 
who was born in Lisbon, St. Lawrence Co. , 
N. Y., April 14, 1837. The parents had 
moved to the United States, but a few years 
later returned to Canada. There the mother 
died in 1850, and the father could not keep 
his struggling family together. William Hig- 
gins was an Orangeman. He died in St. 
Lawrence count}'. New York, in 1870. 

Samuel Higgins had few educational ad- 
vantages, and after his mother's death he 
began working out for farmers. At the age 
of fifteen he hired out to chop logs for five 
dollars per month. In the fall of 1857, 
when twenty years old, he left St. Lawrence 
county, N. Y. , and came to Wisconsin. Ar- 
riving at Weyauwega, his destination, in a 
penniless condition, he earned his first dol- 
lar in Wisconsin by picking up grubs for 
Robert Givins, of Lind township, Waupaca 
county. He was married October 24. 1858, 
in Lanark township. Portage county, to Miss 
Martha H. Anthony, who was born in Ham- 
ilton county, Ind., October 17, 1837, a 
daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Phenis) 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 



561 



Anthony, natives of Preble county, Ohio, 
the former of whom died in Hamilton coun- 
ty, Ind., in 1849. His widow is now the 
wife of David Martin Anthony, of Lind 
township. Prior to her marriage to Mr. 
Higgins, Martha H. Anthony had taught, 
during the summer of 1856, a subscription 
school in District No. 1 1 , Lind township, 
receiving twelve shillings per week and 
boarding herself. After his marriage Mr. 
Higgins bought the farm of eighty acres in 
Section 12, Lind township, Waupaca comi- 
ty, which is still his home. It was originally 
swamp}', and not a stick of timber had been 
cut. Mr. Higgins built a shanty 10 x 12, 
which was their first habitation, and pro- 
ceeded to improve the farm. 

On August 12, 1862, Mr. Higgins en- 
listed, at Fremont, Wis., in Company B, 
Twenty-first Wis. \'. I., from Oshkosh the 
regiment proceeding to Chaplin Hills, Ky., 
where it had its first engagement October 8, 
1862. From that time it was in active 
service almost continually, and among the 
battles in which Mr. Higgins participated 
were Stone River, Dug Gap, Chickamauga, 
Mission Ridge, Resaca, .'Mtoona Mountain, 
Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta. Jonesboro, 
Averysboro and Bentonville. He was with 
Sherman from start to finish in the famous 
march to the sea, and he joined in the 
Grand Review at Washington City. At 
Pumpkin Vine Creek, August i, 1864, he 
received a slight scalp wound, but during 
the entire three years of his service he was 
not inside a hospital as a patient. Robust 
at his enlistment, he came out of the service 
crippled with rheumatism. He was honor- 
ably discharged at Milwaukee, June 17, 
1865, and returned to his wife and son in 
Lind township. The only child of Mr. and 
Mrs. Higgins was Lyman B., who was born 
August 4, 1859, and died March 28, 1894, 
leaving one child, William A. His death 
was a severe blow to the bereaved parents. 

Politically Mr. Higgins is one of the 
strongest supporters of the Republican 
party. Both he and his wife are Protest- 
ants in faith and Christians in act. He is a 
member of Andrew Chambers Post, No. 
r8o, G. A. R., at ^^'eyauwega, and his high 
"Worth as a soldier on the field of battle is 



recognized by all who know him. During 
his younger days he spent nineteen winters 
in the lumber woods, and was thoroughly 
familiar with lumbering operations, receiv- 
ing wages varying from thirteen dollars to 
forty-five dollars per month. He was in 
his youth an exceedingly strong and robust 
man, capable of withstanding great exposure. 
He is comfortably situated in life, and is 
well and widely known. No man in Lind 
township is more popular, and none will be 
listened to with greater respect and confi- 
dence than Samuel Higgins. 



HENRY MILLER, county judge of 
Marathon county, and one of the 
most highly honored and respected 
citizens of Wausau, is a native of 
Germany. He was born in the Province of 
Hesse-Darmstadt February 19, 1849, a son 
John and Christina (Brueckel) Miller, both 
natives of Germany. The mother died when 
Henry, the youngest of four children, was 
only ten months old. These four children 
are: John, a prominent architect and build- 
er, of Wausau; Conrad, a resident of Bel- 
fast, N. Y. ; Antoine, of Hesse-Darmstadt, 
and Henry. The father was a farmer, and 
by a second marriage had five children, all 
of whom reside in Germany. 

Henry Miller remained on the home farm 
until he was fifteen years of age. He then 
secured a position as bookkeeper for a 
wholesale liquor house, and remained a 
trusted employe for four years. Meanwhile 
his father died, in 1866, and the ties which 
bound him to home and country were loosen- 
ed. He concluded to emigrate to America, 
and he reached the United States in 1868, 
a youth of nineteen \ears. For four years 
he Hved at Friendship, Allegany Co., N. Y. , 
where he followed farming and other pur- 
suits. In 1872 Mr. Miller became a resi- 
dent of Wausau, and he has ever since been 
identified with that flourishing little city. 
His first occupation was that of salesman in 
one of the general stores. But the young 
man was ambitious, and soon after received 
an appointment as teacher in the public 
schools. He taught six terms, and while 
serving in that educational capacity he was 



562 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in 1875 nominated and elected city clerk. 
For three years he tilled that oifice. It was 
but the threshhold of a long and brilliant 
official career in the county. In the fall 
of 1878 Mr. Miller was elected county clerk, 
and for eight years he very acceptably filled 
that office. In the fall of 1886 he was again 
favored by the franchises of his fellow citi- 
;?ens who elected him to represent Marathon 
county in the State Assembly. In 1887 he 
was chosen chairman of the county board. 
During the four years from 1888 to 1892 
Mr. Miller was engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits, then, in May, 1892, he was elected 
municipal judge for Marathon county, and 
in 1894 was appointed county judge by Gov. 
Peck, assuming the duties of that judicial 
office January 8; Judge Miller has also 
served as a member of the city council. 

On August 31, 1872, Judge Miller was 
married, in Friendship, Allegany Co. , N.Y. , 
to Helen A. Mathews, a daughter of Corne- 
lius and Phcebe Mathews. To this union 
eight children have been born, five of whom 
survive: Harry L. , Leon C, Nina V., Amy 
E. and Edwin C. The family attend the 
Methodist Church. The Judge is a member 
of Forest Lodge No. 130, F. & A. M., of 
Wausau Chapter No. 51, St. Omer Com- 
mandery No. 19, the Sons of Hermann, and 
the Druids. In politics Judge Miller is a 
strong supporter of the Democratic party. 



ADOLPH SALZMAN, ex-sheriff of 
Marathon county and a highly re- 
spected citizen of Wausau, was born 
in Sheboygan county. Wis., August 
8, 1855, the son of Gottlieb C. and Mina 
(Millerj Salzman. They were born in Ger- 
many, came to this country in the year 1 847, 
were among the early settlers of Sheboygan 
county. Wis., and remained there about ten 
years; then removed to Manitowoc county 
about 1856, and resided there for the re- 
mainder of their lives. The death of Mrs. 
Salzman occurred in 1872, and that of her 
husband in 1892. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gottlieb C. Salzman were 
the parents of nine children, seven of whom 
are now living, as f(jllows: Theressa, wife 
of Frederick Poland, residing in Centreville 



township, Manitowoc county; Adolph, the 
subject of this sketch; Louis, residing in 
Wausau; Henrietta, wife of William Breit- 
kruetz, in Wausau; Edward, in the town of 
Schleswig, Manitowoc county; Millard F., 
in Grand Rapids, Wood Co., Wis., and 
Paulina, wife of Gustave Babsman, a promi- 
nent merchant and miller of Rib Falls, 
Marathon count)'. 

Adolph Salzman was educated in the dis- 
trict schools of Manitowoc county, and after 
leaving school was engaged in agricultural 
pursuits until 1877. About that time here- 
moved to Marathon county, and again en- 
gaged in farming, together with lumbering 
and logging in the township of Rib Falls, 
and taught school in that locality at inter- 
vals for a period of thirteen years. In 1880, 
in Centreville township, Manitowoc county, 
Adolph Salzman was united in marriage 
with Miss Sophia Kielsmier, and they have 
become the parents of four children, all of 
whom are living, namely: Lillie L. , \'iola 
E., Riley L. , and Lewell J. Mrs. Salzman 
died September 24, 1893. Her parents, 
Henry and \Mlhelmina (Hoeker) Kielsmier, 
were born, respectively, in Holland and 
Germany, and were early settlers of Mani- 
towoc county. They are both deceased. 

In 1890, having been appointed under 
sheriff for Marathon county, Mr. Salzman 
removed to Wausau, where he has resided 
since that date. In 1892 he was elected 
sheriff of the county, and filled that position 
until January i, 1895, with honor to him- 
self and to the satisfaction of the residents 
of the county. On January 20, 1895, he 
went to Denver, Colo., and became inter- 
ested in mining at W'ard, Boulder county, 
in that State. He returned to ^^■ausau 
April I, 1895, ^""^ 'S now also engaged in 
the oil and paint business under the firm 
name of Salzman & Callies. 



SAMUEL HINKLEY, a lumberman 
of Mosinee, Marathon county, was 
born in Mercer, Somerset Co., 
Maine, October 15, 1822, and is a 
son of Josiah and Sabra (Works) Hinkley, 
who were born in Maine, of English an- 
cestry. The first members of this branch of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 



563 



the Hinkley family in this country settled in 
Massachusetts in 1633, coniing from Kent, 
England. 

Josiah Hinkley was a farmer, and was 
twice married. B}- his first wife he had a 
family of five children, of whom only one is 
now living, Samuel Hinkley, the subject of 
this sketch. By his second wife he had 
four children, three of whom are living: 
Calvin B., a lawyer, living in Albany, Mo.; 
Seth B., a physician, at Stanberry, Mo., 
and Abbie Frances, residing in Chicago. 
Samuel Hinkley was reared upon his father's 
farm, and after attaining manhood followed 
a seafaring life off the Atlantic coast for 
about six jears. In 1849 he abandoned the 
sea, and in 1850 came west and located in 
Alexandria, Missouri. He worked at the 
butcher business there a few months, came 
to ^fosinee, Marathon count}', in the spring 
of 1 85 1, and engaged in lumbering, and has 
been a resident of Mosinee since that date. 

In Mosinee, September 25, 1882, Sam- 
uel Hinkley was united in marriage with 
Miss Hattie M. Johnston, who was born in 
Wisconsin and was a resident of Mosinee. 
One child has been born to them, Sabra 
Almeda, May 27, i888. Mrs. Hinkley 's 
parents were the Rev. A. T. and Almeda 
Johnson. Mr. Johnson is deceased, and 
his widow resides at La Grange, Wis. In 
political views Mr. Hinkley is a stanch Re- 
publican. He is one of the few remaining 
pioneer settlers of Marathon county, is a 
man of high character, well respected by 
those who have the pleasure of his acquaint- 
ance, and has lived a quiet, unassuming 
life. The family attend the Methodist 
Church. 



FOWXER P. STONE, of the firm of 
Mortenson & Stone, of Wausau, 
Marathon countj', was born in Cam- 
den, N. Y. , August 21, 1 85 1. 
Thomas and Britannia E. (Penfield) Stone, 
parents of F. P. Stone, were of English and 
French ancestry, but residents of New York 
State. They had born to them a family of 
six children, of whom three are now living: 
Benjamin, residing in Camden, N. Y. ; 
Thomas D., in \'iroqua, \'ernon Co., Wis.; 



and Fowler P., the subject of this sketch. 
Thomas Stone, the father, was the owner 
and proprietor of a grist and flour mill, and 
operated it up to within a short time of his 
death, which occurred in i860. His widow, 
Britannia E. Stone, is still living, at the 
advanced age of eightj- -three, and resides in 
Camden, N. Y. 

Fowler P. Stone was educated in the 
public schools and seminary of his native 
town, and in 1872 came west and located 
in Clinton, Iowa, where he resided for ten 
years, and was engaged as an accountant in 
the office of a large sash, door and blind 
factor}-. In 1882 he removed to Wausau, 
Marathon Co., Wis., and here followed the 
same occupation until 1889, when he as- 
sociated himself in business with Jacob 
Mortenson under the firm name of Morten- 
son & Stone. 

At Wausau, in January, 1888, Fowler P. 
Stone married Miss Margaret H. Stewart, 
and to their union two children have been 
born: Benjamin D., December i, 1888; 
and Normal S., October 5, 1891. The par- 
ents of Mrs. Stone, William R. and Susan 
H. (Hornj Stewart, were born in Pennsjl- 
vania. The former is deceased; his widow 
resides in Wausau. Mr. Stone is secretary 
of the Garth Lumber Compan}', and of the 
Jacob Mortenson Lumber Company; a mem- 
ber of Forest Lodge No. 130, F. & A. M., 
of Wausau Encampment No. 51, and of St. 
Omer Commandery No. 19. In political 
views he is a Republican. The family at- 
tend the Second Presbyterian Church. 



HENRY TER HAAR belongs to that 
worthy class of substantial farmers 
whose high character and sterling 
qualities contribute so much to place 
Wisconsin in the foremost rank of States. 
He was born in Holland July 14, 1844, and 
is a son of Bernard H. Ter Haar, who was 
a tailor by trade. 

When a young man Bernard H. Ter- 
Haar married Johanna Tenhaken, and they 
became the parents of children as follows: 
Gazena, now Mrs. J. W. Bermink, of Lima 
township, Sheboygan Co., Wis.; John, of 
Kalamazoo, Mich. ; Jane, now Mrs. J. W. 



564 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Stamerdink, of Lima, Sheboygan county; 
Herman J., of Linden, Sheboygan count}'; 
Henry, subject of this sketch; and Hannah, 
now Mrs. H. Stokdyk, of Linden, Sheboy- 
gan county. In the fall of 1 848 Bernard 
H. Ter Haar left Holland with his family 
for the United States, and being poor had 
to borrow money to come. They were 
forty-two days on the ocean, and landed in 
New York some time in September, 1848. 
Their destination was Alban}\ N. Y.. where 
they lived for nine years, and there one son 
was born, William, who died in 1891 in 
Sheboygan county, Wis. In Albany Mr. 
Ter Haar followed his trade and saved some 
money, but in the spring of 1858 the family 
came to Wisconsin — by rail to Milwaukee, 
and thence to Sheboygan, where Mr. Ter 
Haar had relatives and many acquaintances. 
In the township of Lima, Sheboygan county, 
he located on seven acres of land, with 
about one acre cleared, all of which cost one 
hundred dollars, '• which was one hundred 
dollars too much." This money was sup- 
plied by his son Herman, who found it in a 
package in the streets of Albany, and with it 
Mr. Ter Haar got a start, afterward return- 
ing the money to his son. 

Mr. Ter Haar followed his trade of tailor, 
doing journeyman work from house to house, 
as his services were sought, fifty cents a day 
being then a good day's wages for him. All 
his work was done by hand, never having 
used a sewing machine. He died May 13, 
1885, aged seventy-seven, his wife Septem- 
ber 14, 1894, aged eighty-two, and they are 
both buried in Lima, Sheboygan Co., Wis. 
In religious faith they were Baptists; in 
political sympathies Mr. Ter Haar was a 
Republican, enjoyed a good reputation in 
his neighborhood, and was comfortably cir- 
cumstanced at the time of his death. 

Henry Ter Haar was only four years of 
age when he came to the United States, and 
has but little recollection of the old country. 
He attended the public schools, and earned 
his first money by breaking type in a foundry 
on State street, in Albany, N. Y. Later he 
worked in an intelligence office, and was a 
messenger boy after he knew the city well, 
and afterward worked as errand boy for a 
dry-goods store. He came with his parents 



when they came west, and attended parts of 
two terms of school in W'isconsin. Soon 
after coming to this State, he went to live 
with an uncle, Garrett Tewinkle, and worked 
for a farmer three years. He then worked 
for another farmer. Josh Johnson, at the rate 
of four dollars a month, and in si.x weeks' 
time froze both feet, and was laid up two 
months. Then he hired out for a year to 
Dr. Whipple, of Sheboygan county, at the 
rate of sixty dollars a \ear, but only re- 
mained from March to November, when he 
left the plow standing in the field, and en- 
listing on November 10, 1862, at Racine, 
was enrolled at Sheboygan in Company H. 
Thirty-first Wis. V. I., which remained in 
camp at Racine till the spring of 1863, when 
they went to Fort Halleck, Columbus, Ky. 
They did garrison duty at Murfreesboro, 
Tenn., guarded a big bridge at Duck river 
on the Nashville & Chattanooga railway, did 
provost duty at Nashville, then joined Sher- 
man at the Chattahoochee river and followed 
him to Atlanta. They saw no active fight- 
ing till before Atlanta. Here, in August, 
1864, Mr. Ter Haar was slightly wounded 
in the right arm, and was thirty days off 
duty, though with his company. He went 
on the Savannah expedition, and was present 
at the surrender of Johnson, taking part in 
the conflicts en route. He participated in 
the Grand Review at W'ashington, was dis- 
charged July 8, 1865, at Louisville, Ky. , 
where the)' had been in camp for some time, 
and returned to Wisconsin. He enlisted as 
a private, was promoted to corporal at Mur- 
freesboro, Tenn., in 1863, and later, at At- 
lanta, was promoted to sergeant, in which 
capacit)- he served till the close of the war. 
Coming to Sheboygan county. Wis. , he took 
a contract to cradle grain, but a strange pain 
in his knee soon compelled him to give it up. 
This proved to be rheumatism contracted in 
the service, and he has been a sufferer from 
it since. 

On July 9, 1866, Henry Ter Haar was 
united in marriage with Mrs. Alfred Cain, a 
widow. Alfred Cain was a member of Com- 
pany H, Twenty-seventh Wis. V. I., and 
died at Cairo, 111. Mrs. Ter Haar's maiden 
name was Margaret Delamarche. She was 
born November 9, 1842, in Lewis county. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



565- 



N. Y. ; her parents, Hilary and Catharine 
(SmithHng) Delamarche, were from France, 
and were married in New York City. They 
then lived in Lewis county, N. Y. , on a farm, 
and in the fall of 1856 came to Sheboygan 
county. Wis., remaining there till 1864, 
after which they went to Douglas county, 
Kans., where Mr. Delamarche, who was a 
farmer, died. His widow returned to Wis- 
consin, and now lives with her daughter, 
Mrs. Ter Haar. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ter- 
Haar became the parents of the following 
named children; Clara M., now Mrs. Charles 
Erasure, of Stevens Point, Portage Co., 
Wig.; Charles F., at home; Edward, who 
died in infancy; Bennett H., at home; and 
Grace E., who died at the age of five years. 
After his marriage Mr. Ter Haar bought 
forty acres of parth-improved land in the 
township of Lima, Sheboygan Co., W'is. , 
going in debt for it at first. After one year 
he went to Holland township, Sheboygan 
county, and bought forty acres, remaining 
in that township on different farms till 1890, 
when he came to Lind township, Waupaca 
county, and bought eighty acres in Section 
I, on which he \et lives, and he has also 
twenty acres in Weyauwega township, Wau- 
paca county. He is a stanch and loyal Re- 
publican, cast his first vote for Abraham 
Lincoln for his second term, and has held 
school offices, though he never aspired to 
office. Mrs. Ter Haar is a member of the 
Methodist Church. Mr. Ter Haar is a 
member of the M. W. O. A., and of An- 
drew Chambers Post No. 180, G. A. R. , of 
Weyauwega, Waupaca county, and was 
chaplain in 1894. He is not given to boast- 
ing, was a good soldier, -and only his limited 
education stood in the way of further pro- 
motion. He is a self-made man, has a good 
house and farm, and stands well in thecom- 
munitv. 



ROBERT TENANT, a representative 
citizen of Northern Wisconsin Valley, 
was one of its pioneers, and is now a 
prosperous and successful miller and 
farmer of Matteson township, Waupaca 
county. 



He was born in Lisbon, St. Lawrence 
Co., N. Y., in 1843, son of John and Mar- 
tha (Beswick) Tenant. John Tenant was 
born in Ireland in 18 10, and in 1834 emi- 
grated to St. Lawrence county, N. Y., 
where he married Martha Beswick and en- 
gaged m farming. In 1854, he came to 
Wisconsin, proceeding by boat to Sheboy- 
gan, staging it to Fond dn Lac and continu- 
ing the journey by water to Oshkosh. He 
first located in Waukau, where he worked 
at daily labor and now resides in Rushford 
township, Winnebago county, in his eighty- 
fifth }ear; his wife died in 1872 at Waukau. 
They reared a family of se\en sons and 
one daughter, as follows; W. H., a resi- 
dent of Rushford township; H., of Arrington, 
Leavenworth Co. , Kans. , who enlisted in 
the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, at DeKalb, 
111., in 1863, and served till the close of the 
war, participating in all the battles of the 
Seventeenth Army Corps; Robert; Charles 
E., now of Minneapolis, Minn., who enlisted 
at Oshkosh, in 1863, in the Thirty-second 
Wis. V. I., and followed Sherman's victori- 
ous march to the close of the war; James, also 
member of the Thirty-second Wis. V. I. , 
who died from exposure at Decatur, Ala., in 
April, 1864; Hiram, of Elmhurst, Wis.; J. 
F. , of Berlin, Green Lake county; Julia, 
who married George Miller, of Waukau, and 
who died in 1887. 

Robert Tenant was eleven years old 
when his parents removed' to Wisconsin. 
He attended the schools in New York and also 
in Waukau, and at the latter city he learned 
the trade of a miller and followed that busi- 
ness there until his enlistment January i , 
1864, at Eureka, Wis., in Company F, Eight- 
eenth \\^is. V. I., for three years, or during 
the war. He was mustered in at Madison and 
joined his regiment at Huntsville, Ala. In 
the engagement at Allatoona, Ga., October 
5, 1864, Mr. Tenant was shot in the left 
side, the bullet passing through and coming 
out at the right hip. He was confined in 
the hospital, first at a private residence, then 
at Allatoona; later he was transferred suc- 
cessively to Chattanooga, Nashville, Louis- 
ville, Jeffersonvillc and Madison, Ind., 
where he was again transferred, this time to 
the Veteran Reserve Corps at Indianapolis, 



566 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Ind., remaining there from March to July 
20, 1 865, when he was honorably discharged. 

Returning to Waukau. he continued 
milling at that point until 1877, when here- 
moved to Embarrass, Matteson township, 
Waupaca county, and there engaged in 
milling. In 1883 he removed to Marion, 
where he followed his vocation eleven years, 
returning to Matteson township in 1894. In 
connection with his present mill Mr. Tenant 
has opened up a farm of 120 acres adjoining 
the village. He was married in Waushara 
county, in 1866, to Miss Juliette A. Bills, a 
native of New York and daughter of Jason 
and Susan (Cork) Bills, the former a native 
of Mendon, Mass. , the latter of the Isle of 
Wight, England. Jason and Susan Bills 
were married in Granby, Conn., and re- 
moved to New York, whence, in 1850, they 
migrated to Wisconsin, opening up a pioneer 
farm in Winnebago county. Two years 
later they moved Aurora township, Wau- 
shara count}-, and settled on a farm in the 
unbroken woods, where Mrs. Bills died in 
1884; Mr. Bills is now a resident of Ber- 
lin, Green Lake county. They reared a 
family of six children, as follows: Lucy 
Jane, wife of Charles Shead, of Clark 
county, S. Dak.; Juliette A.; Mary M., 
wife of Briggs Shead, of Waushara county; 
Uulcina, wife of George Tarrant, of Berlin, 
Green Lake county; Edward, who in Feb- 
ruary, 1865, enlisted at Berlin in the Fifty- 
second W'is. \ . I. , and served in Kansas un- 
til honorably discharged August 10, 1865, 
and who now resides on the old farm; Jose- 
phine E., wife of George Mclntyre, of Ber- 
lin. To Mr. and Mrs. Tenant one child, 
Jason R., was born April 3, 1869. The 
fond parents were bereaved by the loss 
of their only child, who was instantl}' killed 
by a runaway team July 22, 1873. 

In politics Mr. Tenant is a Republican, 
and he takes a deep interest in the success 
of that party's principles. He is a member 
of J. B. Wyman Post No. 32, G. A. R., at 
Clintonville, and was a member of John H. 
Williams Post No. 4, of the same Order, 
now the oldest Post in the State. Mr. Ten- 
ant is not an aspirant for office, but his sterl- 
ing business qualities, his honest and unas- 
suming manners, and his chivalrous, kindly 



spirit have made him one of the most es- 
teemed and honored citizens of Matteson 
township. 



WILLIAM B. VEYSEY. the most 
e.xtensive farmer of Lind township, 
and one of the most prosperous in 
Waupaca county, was born in 
Rock county. Wis.. March 10, 1844, son of 
John and Catherine (Carrickj \'eysey. 

John \'eysey was born on the ocean De- 
cember 19, 1 8 10, while his parents were cii 
route from England to the United States. 
He was married to Catherine Carrick Feb- 
ruary 19, 1839, and their seven children 
were as follows: Thomas, of Walker, Mo. ; 
William, subject of this sketch; Lorilla, now 
Mrs. Cornelius Koontz, of Denver, Colo. ; 
Parmelia, now Mrs. Enoch Dawson, living 
near Guthrie Center, Iowa; Sarah, now 
Mrs. J. B. Beals. of San Francisco; Har- 
riet, a successful and popular teacher for 
twenty-nine terms, who died at the age of 
thirty, at which time she was teaching at 
Lind Center: Emma, now Mrs. Hiram 
Brace, of Tigerton, Wis. John Veyse\ was 
one of the early settlers of Rock county. 
Wis., and later in life removed to Waupaca 
count}', where he was also numbered among 
the pioneers and among the progressive 
farmers. He settled first in Waupaca town- 
ship, and later in Lind township. He was 
a Republican in political affiliations, and a 
worth}- member of the Methodist Church. 
Both in Waupaca and in Lind township he 
was an extensive hop grower. He remained 
an active farmer up to within a short time 
of his death, which occurred March 12, 
1886. Mrs. \'eysey was a member of the 
Seventh Day Adventists, was a great student 
of the Bible, and delighted to spend hours 
at a time in its perusal, having read it from 
cover to cover as many as twenty-one times: 
she died May i 3. 1885. 

William B. \'eysey was reared on a 
farm, and attended the district schools. He 
also received some educational advantages 
at the city schools. He possesses an unusu- 
ally good mechanical ability, and can do al- 
most any kind of work incident to farm life 
in masonry, carpentry or any of the kindred 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL liECORD. 



trades. He remained with his parents up to 
the time of their decease, lifting from their 
shoulders the burden of active farm manage- 
ment, and comforting their declining years 
with his ripe counsel. He was married No- 
vember 28, 1876, to Miss Ida C. Carrick, 
who was born in Manawa, Wis., December 
6, 1858, daughter of Levi and Melissa 
(Morey) Carrick, the former a native of In- 
diana, the latter of Michigan. Mr. Carrick 
had been a well-to-do farmer, but through 
misfortune he was greatly reduced financi- 
ally prior to the death of himself and wife 
in 1865. Ida C. Carrick was thus left an 
orphan at the earl)' age of eight years, and 
she made her home at various places, at the 
time of her marriage living with the parents 
of her husband. 

Mr. Veysey now owns 450 acres of land, 
300 of which are cleared and under a high 
state of cultivation. It is situated in Sec- 
tions 31 and 32, Lind township, and he has 
also other large interests which require his 
attention. He has therefore never aspired 
to office, though an earnest Republican. 
There are few if any farmers in Waupaca 
county who have exhibited a business and 
financial ability superior to that of Mr. 
Veysey. He is thorough in his methods, 
broad in his views, and the possessor of a 
keen, unerring judgment. Ranking as one 
of the most successful agriculturists in the 
county, Mr. Veysey's character for integrity 
and public spirit has won for him the re- 
spect and esteem of his fellow men. 



RICHARD H. Mcmullen, mayor of 
Antigo, Langlade count3\ whose 
name is the synonym for progress- 
iveness, loyalty and integrity, is a 
Canadian by birth, having first seen the light 
near the city of Toronto, Province of Ontario, 
May 10, 1 85 I. He comes of stalwart Scot- 
tish ancestry, the first of the family to come 
from the land of heather to Columbia's shores 
having been his grandfather, William Mc- 
Mullen, who served as an officer in the Revo- 
lutionary war, and died on Long Island. 
William McMullen wedded Mary Vaughn, 
whose father, Col. \'aughn, was also a Revo- 
lutionary soldier. 



William V. McMullen, father of Richard 
H., was one in a famil}' of three sons and 
two daughters, and was born November 16, 
1 8 16, in Long Island, N. Y., whence he 
migrated to Canada. There he married 
Mary Nugent, and had nine children: Elinor, 
Margaret, John, William, Thomas, Mary, 
Richard H., Henrietta (deceased), and one 
that died in infancy. In the fall of 1855 
the father came to Wisconsin, settling in 
Brillion township, Calumet count)', being the 
third settler in that township, and there he 
passed the rest of his days, dying in Febru- 
ary, 1863; he was an Old-line Whig in his 
political tendencies, later, on the organiza- 
tion of the party, a Republican, and held 
various minor offices of honor and trust. 
Mrs. Mary (Nugent) McMullen, mother of 
our subject, was born in Canada in 1808, a 
daughter of John and Mary (Carson) Nugent, 
the father a native of the North of Ireland, 
the mother of England. They had a family 
of nine children, named respectively: John, 
Thomas, Benjamin, Henry, Daniel, Mary, 
Eliza, Ellen and Elizabeth. Grandfather 
Nugent was a farmer and sawmiller, a man 
\\ho had traveled a great deal and seen much 
of the world, held high degree in Freema- 
sonry, and, altogether, was a prominent and 
widely-known citizen; he died in Canada at 
the patriarchal age of ninety-nine years. 
Mrs. Mary (Nugent) McMullen passed away 
July 8, 1889. 

The subject proper of this memoir, who 
is the youngest son in his father's family, 
was, as will be seen, about four years old 
when he accompanied his parents to \\'is- 
consin. He secured a somewhat limited 
education at the common schools of Brillion 
township, Calumet county, and remained on 
the home farm with his mother until he was 
twenty-four years old, at which time he 
married, and for the ne.xt five years he cul- 
tivated his own farm. In 1880 he sold this 
property, and for three years conducted a 
general store in Brillion, at the end of which 
time, in 1883, he came to Antigo, where, 
during the first two years of his residence, 
he was engaged in the real-estate and hotel 
business, since when he has devoted his time 
exclusively to real estate — buying and sell- 
ing wild and impro\ed lands throughout the 



56S 



COHMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



county. In 1 890 he opened a general store 
in Antigo, which he carried on until Febru- 
ary, 1895, when he sold out that branch of 
his business. 

In 1875 Mr. McMullen married Miss 
Helen Atwood, who was born May 24, 1851, 
in Sheboygan Falls, Wis., daughter of John 
and Martha (Loveringj Atwood, who were 
the parents of four children: Helen, Emma, 
Mary and Fannie. The father of these, a 
farmer by occupation, was born in 1822, a 
son of Lowell Atwood, who was a son of 
James Atwood, all being of New Hampshire 
nativity and of English ancestry. Tfie par- 
ents of James Atwood came to America in 
1740 or 1750. James Atwood was a Revo- 
lutionary soldier, and Lowell, his son, served 
in the war of the Rebellion, losing his life 
at the battle of Shiloh; he had four sons in 
the army at the same time as he was serving, 
two of whom were killed, one — Austin — at 
Shiloh, the other — Albert — in front of Pe- 
tersburg. John Atwood, father of Mrs. Mc- 
Mullen, served in the First Wisconsin Heavy 
Artillery, was both a veteran and the oldest 
son of a veteran in the United States, and 
after the war closed he followed farming; 
he was a man of good education, and for 
some time was county superintendent of 
schools. He died in January, 1894. Mrs. 
Martha (Lovering) Atwood, mother of Mrs. 
McMullen, was born in New Hampishire in 
1823, daughter of Daniel and Ruth Lover- 
ing. who were of German descent; her 
father was a soldier in the war of 18 12, and 
her grandfather ser\ed in the Revolutionary 
struggle. Mrs. Martha Atwood died in i 88 I . 
To Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. McMullen were 
born three children: MaryW, Richard J. 
and one that died in infanc}-. In his polit- 
ical predilections our subject is a stanch Re- 
publican, and in 1895 he was elected major 
of Antigo; he has also served on the county 
board, as city treasurer, and as chairman of 
his town. In Church relaticjuship he is a 
Congregationalist, and has identified himself 
with all movements — religions, temperance 
or otherwise — tending to the benefit and ad- 
\ancement of the community at large, giv- 
ing on all occasions his support to the cause 
of right, whether to his own personal ad- 
vantage or not, lia\'ing e\er in \iew ihc 



Golden Rule. He is an especial friend of 
the Temperance cause, and has been promi- 
nently identified with the Prohibition part}-. 



HERMAN DRUCKREY. Among the 
enterprising and popular citizens of 
Pulcifer, Green Valley township, 
Shawano county, is found this 
gentleman. He was born October 28, 1859, 
on the island of Rugen, in the Province of 
Pomerania, Germany, where both his par- 
ents, Julius and Mary ( Hass;i Druckrey, were 
also born. 

Julius and Mary Druckrey had the fol- 
lowing named children: Malter, who lives 
in Germany; Matilda, who died at the age 
of twenty-si.\; Bertha, in Germany; Charles, 
in Pulcifer; and Herman, the subject of this 
sketch. Mrs. Mary Druckrey died in Ger- 
many in 1880, at the age of fifty-si.\ years. 
Julius Druckrey again married, and came 
with his wife, in the fall of 18S8, to the 
United States. They landed at Baltimore, 
and came direct to Pulcifer, Wis., where he 
now resides. There have been no children 
by this marriage. Previous to leaving Ger- 
many he worked at roof laying. 

Herman Druckrey received a got)d com- 
mon-school education. At the age of fifteen 
he went to Stralsund, Germany, and there 
procured employment as clerk in a store, in 
which occupation he continued eight years. 
Then on June 14, 1882, he sailed from Ham- 
burg on the steamer "Lessing" for the 
United States, landing on June 28 in New 
York, whence he came direct to an uncle 
who lived in Washington township, Shawano 
county, and remained with him that sum- 
mer. In the fall he went to work as a 
laborer on the Milwaukee & Northern rail- 
road, and in the latter part of the same year 
came to Pulcifer and worked for two months 
in a sawmill. During the following winter 
he clerked in the store <}f O. A. Risiun, in 
Pulcifer, and the same year attended school 
two and a half months in Washington town- 
ship Shawano county. In July, 1883, he 
went to Dodge county. Wis., where he 
worked four months as a farm hand. In the 
fall he ri'turned to Pulcifer and resumed 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



5% 



work as clerk in the store of O. A. Risum, 
continuing with him for about eight years. 
On August 24, 1884, Herman Druckrey 
was united in marriage, in Pulcifer, with 
Miss Annie W'endling, who was born in Ger- 
many in iSi2, and they have had the fol- 
lowing named children: Edward (deceased), 
Rudolph, Herman, Robert, Oscar, William 
and Louisa. Mrs. Druckrey came to the 
United States when four years old, with her 
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Wendling, who 
settled first in Sheboygan, later locating in 
Green Valley township, Shawano county. 
In 1892 they returned to Sheboygan, where 
they both died. In the spring of 1892, in 
company with Isaac H. Isaacson, Mr. 
Druckrey started his present store, putting 
in a complete stock of hardware and a full 
line of farm implements and machinery. In 
1886 he built for his home a comfortable 
modern dwelling. He owns a farm of forty- 
four acres, and hires the work done. He is 
a Republican, and takes an active part in 
politics, but has never sought office. Both 
he and Mrs. Druckrey are members of the 
German Lutheran Church. Mr. Druckrey 
began life a poor boy, is a careful business 
man, and is well liked and much respected 
in the community. 



ANDREW TORBENSEN, one of the 
wide-awake and enterprising agricul- 
turists of lola township, Waupaca 
county, was born in Norwa)-, July 
14, 1848. His father, Torben Torbensen, 
who was a farmer in Norway of limited 
means, determined, in 1854, to bring his 
family of five children to the New World, 
where the}' would have better ad\-antagcs 
for securing a competence. After a voyage 
of eight weeks they landed at (Quebec, 
whence they came to \\'aupaca county, Wis. , 
and soon after located on a new farm in 
Hehetia township, where a rude shanty, 
14 X 20 feet, formeil their onK' shelter. 
Dense woods surrounded the little home, 
covering the eighty acres comprised in the 
farm, which the father immediately began 
to clear. Bears and wolves still haunted 
the neighborhood, while ileer, wild game of 
all kinds and fish could he had in abund- 



ance. On that place the parents continued 
to reside until their deaths, and they now 
lie buried side by side in the Scandinavia 
Church Cemetery. The children of the 
family are Christian, a retired merchant of 
lola, \\'aupaca county; Grace, wife of Alfred 
Olson, of lola; Carrie, now Mrs. C. F. Sel- 
mer, of the same place; Andrew; and Ole, 
of Minnesota. 

When but si.x years of age Andrew Tor- 
bensen was brought by his parents to Ameri- 
ca. His educational privileges were quite 
limited, as at the time of his arrival no 
schools had yet been established in the 
neighborhood of his home. WHien about 
twelve years of age his parents died, after 
which the family became separated, and he 
went to work for his board and clothes the 
first year. He drove an ox-team at dragging 
and plowing, as horses were then few in this 
section of the State, and he early entered 
the lumber woods, where he was employed 
for man}' seasons. On February 15, 1876, 
he was married in the Scandina\ia Church, 
to Miss Cornelia Anderson, a native of Nor- 
way, born April 28, 1853, and daughter of 
a farmer, ^\'hen eight years of age she 
came with her parents to the United States, 
being ten weeks upon the ocean, and after 
their arrival located in lola, Waupaca 
county. To our subject and his t>stimable 
wife have been born six children: .Vdolph 
T. , Martin, Oscar, Morgan, Elmer and Ella. 

Not owning any property at the time of 
his marriage, Mr. Torbensen worked at any- 
thing by which he could earn an honest dol- 
lar, but in the spring of 1877 he bought I20' 
acres of unimproved land in Section 2, lola 
township, Waupaca county. The farm was 
heavily covered with timber, and not e\-en a 
house stood upon the place. He soon 
erected a good dwelling which has e\er since 
been the home of the iamil\'. His farm now 
includes 160 acres, fifty of which yield to 
the owner a g(jlden tribute in return for his 
care and cultivation. His good home and 
farm is the result of his industry, enterprise 
and good management, and his honesty and 
fair manner oi dealing with his fi'llow nu-n 
has won for him a good reinitation, as well 
as cau.sed him to be respected by all. Be- 
sides being an able farmer he is also a good 



57° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



carpenter, having done most of the work on 
his own residence. 

Mr. Torbensen is entirely a self-made 
man, having by his own work and manage- 
ment succeeded in Hfe, and his success goes 
to show what a }'oung man can accomplish if 
willing to work. He has seen many changes 
take place in Waupaca county since his 
arrival, and alwajs gives his support to 
everything which will advance the interests 
of the community. Though no office seeker, 
^Ir. Torbensen takes a deep interest in the 
welfare and success of the Republican party, 
with which he always casts his ballot. In 
religious belief he and his family are Luther- 
ans, and he contributed liberally toward the 
erection of the house of worship. 



FRANK M. GUERNSEY, a prominent 
attorney and business man at Clin- 
tonville, Waupaca county, was born 
at Guilford, Chenango Co., N. Y. , 
February 22, 1839, youngest son of Jona- 
than and Frances fPutnam) Guernsey. His 
father, who was a physician by profession, 
was a native of Berkshire county, Mass. ; 
the mother was a native of Madison, Madi- 
son Co., N. Y. They reared a family of 
eight children, as follows: Kate, wife of 
Ha.xton King, died at Madison, N. Y. , in 
1892; Phebe, wife of Alexander Murdock, 
died at the same place in 1893; Euphemia 
J., wife of Orson Richmond, resides at Mt. 
Upton, N. Y. ; Addison W., a physician, 
has been a resident since 1856 of Almond, 
Portage Co., Wis.; George H. was a resi- 
dent of Almond, Portage Co., Wis., for 
thirty-eight years, and now resides at Clin- 
tonville. Wis. ; Augustus H. is a physician 
at Amherst, Portage Co. , Wis. ; Henry died 
in New York in 1852; and Frank M. 

Our subject was educated in the schools 
of New York, and at the age of sixteen 
years came to Berlin, \\'is., where he was 
in the employment of Bellows Brothers, for- 
warding and commission merchants. In 
1S57 he removed to Almond, Portage Co., 
and the following year entered Oberlin Col- 
lege, Oberlin, O., where he remained a stu- 
dent for two years. Taking a six-months' 
course in a commercial school at La Porte, 



Ind., Mr. Guernsey returned to Berlin and 
read law diligently in the office of Wheeler 
& Kimball, being admitted to the bar in 
1862. But President Lincoln was still 
issuing calls for volunteers to suppress the 
rebellion. The summer days of 1S62 were 
perhaps the darkest during the four-years' 
war. ■ The young lawyer laid aside his 
diploma and his books, and shouldered a 
musket for his country's defense, enlisting 
in August, 1862, in Company C, Thirty- 
second Wis. \'. I., for three years or during 
the war. He was mustered into service at 
Oshkosh, and with the regiment proceeded 
at once to Memphis, where he became a 
member of the Army of the West. He par- 
ticipated in the first advance upon \'icks- 
burg. The regiment was ordered to Merid- 
ian, Miss., and later back to Cairo, whence 
it proceeded to Decatur, Ala., and was en- 
gaged in the stirring and momentous events 
which Gen. Sherman inaugurated through 
the Central Southern States. Mr. Guernsey 
participated in this brilliant campaign with 
its numerous and sharply-fought battles. 
He was before the guns at Atlanta, in the 
stubborn seige and battle at Jonesboro, in 
the capture of Savannah, in the fierce con- 
flict at Bentonville, and on in the triumphant 
march through the heart of the enem\''s 
country, ending in the Grand Review at 
Washington. He was mustered out at Mil- 
waukee in June, 1865, as captain of Com- 
pany E, Thirt}-second Wis. V. I. 

Mr. Guernsey did not at once begin the 
practice of law, but followed mercantile pur- 
suits. He resided for two years at Almond, 
then, in 1867, came to Clintonville, and 
here started the first store in the village, in 
1869 building a double store, which he sold 
later, and in 1880 constructed what is now 
known as the Guernsey block, a tvvo-storj' 
brick structure, 40x44 feet. In 1876 he 
actively began the practice of law, and has 
since been devoted almost exclusively to that 
profession, though he is also a member of 
the manufacturing firm of Guernsey & Mun- 
sert, manufacturers of cedar shingles, etc. 
He was married in Weyauwega in 1865 to 
Fannie Dot), a native of Rome, N. Y., 
daughter of Harry and Lucretia (Holdridge) 
Doty, natives of New York, who about 1850 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



removed to Weyauwega and engaged in 
farming. Mr. and Mrs. Guernsey have one 
child living, Ella, wife of Dr. C. E. \\'il- 
loughby, a dentist, at Clintonville. In poli- 
tics Mr. Guernsey is a Republican. He has 
served as chairman of the county board; 
district attorney of the county during 1891 
and 1892, and represented the District in 
the Assembly in 1878. He is a member of 
J. B. Wyman Post No. 32, G. A. R., of 
Clintonville Lodge No. 197, F. & A. M., 
and of the Loyal Legion, in Milwaukee. 
Himself and wife are members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. He is well and 
prominently known throughout Waupaca 
and surrounding counties in this section of 
Wisconsin. 



PROF. AXEL JACOBSON. In the 
education and civilization of the In- 
dians by the United States Govern- 
ment much money is spent, but the 
results are not the best that might be se- 
cured. This is often caused by incompe- 
tent management on the part of those in 
charge as well as by a disinclination on the 
part of the savages to leave the wild prac- 
tices of their ancestors. Of the many 
schools for the civilization of the Red race 
few stand higher in efficiency or have made 
more rapid progress toward perfection than 
the Bethany Indian Mission School at \\'it- 
tenberg, of which Prof. Jacobson is superin- 
tendent and principal. While not a gov- 
ernment school and not having the United 
States funds to draw from the three first 
years of its existence* (it being supported by 
the Lutheran Church), it yet ranks with any 
government school in point of advancement 
of its pupils, and surpasses many. Its pro- 
ficiency and the higher standard it has at- 
tained as an educational institution for the 
education of the Indians is largely due to 
its present principal. 

Our subject was born January 6, 1865, 
in Story county, Iowa, and is a son of J. A. 
Jacobson, who was born in Norway, where 
the grandfather followed tailoring. The 
father acquired a good education in the 



•Partial support has been received fron 
)vernment during tlie past five years. 



the I'niled Sla 



schools of his native land, and learned the 
trade of a tanner, after which he came to 
the United States, locating in Port ^^'ash- 
ington. Wis., where he married a lady who 
was also born in Norway. He afterward 
went to Iowa, and subsequently removed to 
Dakota in the pioneer days of that State, 
when the treacherous Sioux Indians were 
committing their bloody deeds. Mr. Jacob- 
son and his family were driven from Yank- 
ton by the Indians, and his brother was 
among those who were killed by the savages. 
He then returned to Iowa, but afterward be- 
came a pioneer of Kandiyohi county, Minn., 
and took part in the organization of that 
county. He was afterward honored with 
positions of public trust, serving in several 
county offices. For four years he was there 
engaged in business as a grain dealer, and at 
present he is living a retired life at Minot, 
N. Dak. He has always been a stanch Re- 
publican and an active worker in the inter- 
est of his party, to which he has rendered 
valuable service as an official and leader. A 
self-made man he has acquired a competence 
through his own efforts, and is a highly 
respected citizen. In the family are four 
children: Thurlow T., a merchant of Mi- 
not, N. Dak.; Axel; Carl, also a merchant 
of Minot; and Marie, wife of Rev. C. H. 
Hovde, of Hoboken, New Jersey. 

Prof. Jacobson attended the common 
district schools until fourteen years of age, 
and then entered college at Northfield, 
Minn. He subsequently attended college 
in Decorah, Iowa, and after his graduation 
from the Normal department began teach- 
ing school, although he was not then eight- 
een years of age, for two years following 
that profession. In 1887, he went to Minot, 
N. Dak., and during the few months there 
passed purchased some land. About this 
time he was prevailed upon by those who 
were aware of his ability as an instructor to 
come to \\'ittenberg. Wis. , and take charge 
of the Bethany Indian Mission School, 
which he did, entering upon his duties here 
in the spring of 1888. While little more 
than a youth. Prof. Jacobson possessed 
practical ideas much in advance of his jears, 
and putting these into general use has pro- 
moted the work of the school, impro\ing it 



572 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in various departments. He served as 
principal until Jul}*, 1893, when he was 
made superintendent. He gives personal 
attention to every department, and the 
pupils are instructed in almost every me- 
chanical vocation. The membership of the 
School is between 125 and 150, while the 
institution is steadily advancing in profi- 
ciency, and is deserving of the highest en- 
comiums. 

On September 25, 1890, in Waterford, 
Wis., Prof. Jacobson married Miss .\melia 
Jacobson, a native of Racine county. Wis., 
and a daughter of H. A. Jacobson. who was 
born in Norway. He was a man of excel- 
lent education and prepared for the ministry, 
but instead of following that calling engaged 
in farming. Prof, and Mrs. Jacobson have 
two children: Agnace T. and Caroline M. 
In politics our subject is independent; he 
keeps well informed on the issues of the day, 
reading both sides of the question, so that 
A\hen a political party has declared itself he 
is intellectual!}- competent to support the 
side which his judgment favors. He and 
his wife are members of the Lutheran 
Church, and have the highest regard of all 
with whom they come in contact. 



EZRA TOWNSEND. The splendid 
tract of land owned by this gentle- 
man in Farmington township, Wau- 
paca county, is a standing monument 
to his industry, perseverance and good man- 
agement, and he is one of the prominent 
representati\'es of the agricultural interests 
of this community. His birth occurred in the 
town of Fowler, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. , 
February 24, 1843, and he is a son of John 
and Hulda (Smith) Townsend. 

The family were originally members of 
the Society of Friends. John Townsend, 
grandfather of our subject, was born in 
Moreland, near Philadelphia, Penn., March 
I, 1777, and at that place, on May 21, 
1800, wedded Asenith Car\er, who was 
born March 24, 1780. About the year 
1805, accompanied b\- their two children, 
they removed to Jefferson county, N. Y., 
with a number of other families from near 
Philadel]iliia, and founded the colony which 



was kno\\n in after years as the "Quaker 
Settlement." The grandfather and his 
brother Thomas built the first gristmill in 
the town of Philadelphia, Jefferson county, 
but he mostly followed fauming during his 
active life, remaining in that county until 
his death, though many of the settlement 
had come west. His wife died about the 
3'ear 1846, after which the youngest daugh- 
ter was the housekeeper, even after her 
marriage to Mr. Williams. He lived to ad- 
vanced life, dying in December, 1861, and 
was buried in the town of Philadelphia, 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. He was a devout 
member of the Friends Church, a stricth- 
temperate man, and at flie organization of 
the Republican party became one of its 
stanch supporters, though he had formerly 
been an Old-line Whig. He possessed all 
the peculiarities of his faith, and followed 
its customs throughout life. 

In his family were seven children: 
Robert, born July 21, 1801, died in Rome, 
N. Y. ; Mary, born September 27, 1803, 
married Alfred Coolidge, and died in Water- 
town, N. Y. , when over eighty-eight years 
of age: John, born February 22, 1807, is 
the father of our subject; Ezra, born De- 
cember 25, 1809, died at the age of twenty- 
fi^■e; Martha, born February 20, 1812, 
wedded Nathan Coolidge, and died in the 
village of Antwerp, Jefferson Co., N. Y. ; 
Evan is unmarried, and is a farmer of Wau- 
paca township, Waupaca Co., Wis.; Abi, 
born Jul\- 27, 1821, married George Will- 
iams in Philadelphia, Jefferson Co., N. Y., 
and now lives in the city of Waupaca, ^^'is. 
The father of our subject attended the dis- 
trict schools of his day until reaching the 
age of si.xteen when he began learning the 
tanner's trade; but, disliking the business, he 
never followed it. He was somewhat of an 
unsettled nature, and throughout life en- 
gaged in various pursuits, sawmilling being 
his principal business. He had interests in 
several mills at different times, and after his 
marriage followetl that business for some 
time in New York, though he also carried on 
farming on a small scale. He lived in 
different places in Allegany count}-, N. '\'., 
and elsewhere in the same State. 

In the town of Gouverncur. St. Lawrence 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



573 



Co., N. Y., John Townsend was united in 
marriage with Hulda Smith, daughter of a 
widow lady, and in the Empire State four 
children were born to them, the birth of the 
youngest occurring after coming to Wiscon- 
sin. Our subject is the eldest in the family, 
and only son; then comes Mary (now Mrs. 
John Perkins), of Waupaca; Emma, widow 
of John Ross, and also residing in Waupaca; 
Lydia, who married James Parker, and died 
in Waupaca township, Waupaca county; 
and Laura, who was born in Fremont, Wis., 
and is the wife of Malcolm McGregor, an 
extensive farmer living near Bellinjjham, 
Minnesota. 

Ezra Townsend was brought by his par- 
ents to W^isconsin in the fall of 1856, they 
having remained in New York State until 
after the election of that year, in order that 
the father might cast his ballot for John C. 
Fremont. They then started for Waupaca 
count}', coming by rail to Fond du Lac, 
Wis., which was the northern limit of the 
road. The remainder of the journey was 
made in a sleigh to Fremont township, 
where they made their home for a time with 
Evan Townsend, an uncle of our subject. 
The father had been west several times be- 
fore, and had seen Chicago in its infancy. 
At Fremont the father was employed in a 
sawmill; later removed to Evanswood or 
Little River, where he worked at day's 
labor, and in the spring of 1861 came to 
Section i, Farmington township, Waupaca 
county, where he engaged in general farm- 
ing. His death occurred in Farmington 
township, June 9, 1883; his wife, who sur- 
vived him, departed this life June 15, 1889; 
their remains now lie interred in the Wau- 
paca Cemetery. The father ^^•as a stalwart 
Republican. 

The education of Ezra Townsend was 
begun before leaving New York State, and 
was completed in Waupaca county, he at- 
tending school in Fremont and vicinity until 
the summer of i860, when he attended 
school in Waupaca through the summer and 
fall terms. Being the only son, he remained 
at home, assisting in the labors of the farm 
until the fall of 1876, when he built where 
he now resides. He has a good farm of 120 
.acres, which has undergone such a transform- 



ation as only a resolute will and the hand 
of industry could bring about. At Weyau- 
wega. Wis., October 15, 1867, Mr. Town- 
send married Miss Kate Roberts, who was 
born in the Isle of Guernsey, one of the 
Channel Islands, February 16, 1843, daugh- 
ter of Robert and Sarah (Bennet) Roberts, 
who came to the United States in i S49. 
The father was born in Gloucestershire, 
England, November 12, 1800, and while a 
boy was a porter in the family of Gen. Ross, 
a British officer who became celebrated in 
the war of 1812 with this country. He 
later engaged in the seed business in Lon- 
don for some time, and in his native land 
married Miss Bennet, who was born in De- 
vonshire, February 7, 1803. The family 
came to the New World on the sailing vessel 
•' John Hancock," Capt. Snow commanding, 
and was forty-seven days in crossing the 
Atlantic. The father was at one time very 
well-to-do, but meeting with reverses in 
business had but little on his arrival here. 
They came by way of the Erie canal and 
lakes to Racine, Wis., near which place the 
father followed gardening for seven years, 
when he came to Waupaca county, locating 
on a farm in Section 6, Waupaca township. 
The mother had died in Racine in "1851, and 
his death occurred at Black Earth, Wis., at 
the age of eighty-four years. They were 
both faithful and consistent members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Townsend were burn 
eight children, a brief record of them being 
as follows: Minnie L. , born August 24, 
1868, was married June 21, 1892, to Moul- 
ton L. Taylor, of lola, Waupaca county; 
Thomas E., born June 14, 1870, died No- 
vember 22, of the same year; Grace M., born 
August 20, 1872, is attending college; Cas- 
sius E., born August 11, 1874, died January 
18, 1 881; Kittie M., born September 5, 
1876, died September 22, 1889; and John 
R. , born July 21, 1879, Evan C, born July 
26, 1 88 1, and Harry I., born January 22, 
1885, are at home. The family have a 
pleasant home in Farmington township, 
Waupaca countj-, where they are so widely 
and favorably known. Mr. Townsend has 
been quite prominent in local affairs, and 
politically is a stanch Republican, casting 



574 



GOMMEMORATH'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his first vote for Abraham Lincoln at the 
time of his second election. He served for 
three terms as supervisor and one term as 
assessor of his township, and in 1894 was 
elected to the office of chairman of the town 
board, in which he is serving with credit to 
himself and to the satisfaction of all con- 
cerned. 



HOLLIS GIBSON, one of the most 
enterprising and public-spirited resi- 
dents of Lind township, Waupaca 
county, has lived a life that teemed 
with thrilling incident, yet the fires of his 
natural enthusiasm have not yet burned 
low. He is still a leader among men, still 
ready to lend his influence and his efforts in 
a good and worthy cause. It is men of his 
mental stamp that make histor}-, that re- 
dress wrongs and establish rights. No Bio- 
graphical work that deals with the men who 
founded and built up the Northern Wiscon- 
sin Valley would be complete without refer- 
ence to Hollis Gibson. 

He is a representative of an old New 
England family, and was born at Canter- 
bury, N. H., December 14, 1826, son of 
Royal and Harriet (Thorn) Gibson, both na- 
tives of Merrimack county, N. H., and 
whose biographies are given in the history 
of that county of New Hampshire. Their 
five children were Hollis, John, Charles, 
Lucia and Alice, of whom John, a painter 
by trade and an Argonaut of 1850, died in 
1850; Charles (deceased) svas a farmer of 
Lind township; Lucia is the widow of 
Luther West, of Lind township, and Alice 
is Mrs. Robert Given, of Wymore, Neb. 
The maternal grandfather of Hollis Gibson 
was Phineas Thorn, better known as " Mas- 
ter" Thorn, a schoolmaster, who taught 
Daniel Webster his letters. Hollis was 
raised on a farm, and at eighteen, on ac- 
count of ill health, he shipped from New- 
buryport, Mass., as a deck hand on one of 
the many schooners then profitably engaged 
in cod-fishing on the Labrador coast. One 
haul in those days was not uncommonly 
10,000 fish, all cod. In July, 1845, Hollis 
Gibson was one of a crew of fifteen whose 
catch for the month consumed 1,600 bushels 



of salt for its preservation. The young 
sailor remained on the seas for some years. 
He made seven voyages to the West Indies, 
taking lumber, fish and produce and bring- 
ing back molasses and sugar. On some 
voyages he shipped as mate. During the 
great famine of Ireland in 1846, he was on 
the vessel which carried a load of corn as a 
contribution from New York to that starv- 
ing people. He also made a voyage to the 
coast of Africa; in 1849 he shipped from 
Boston on the brig "Curacoa, " bound for 
San Francisco via Cape Horn, nine months 
being consumed on the voyage, for cii roiitr 
the vessel was dismasted during a severe 
squall. At San Francisco Mr. Gibson joined 
the steamer "Union," from Philadelphia, 
which was wrecked off the coast of Califor- 
nia on the morning of July 5, 185 i. Four 
hundred passengers were aboard, but only 
two lives were lost, and Mr. Gibson assisted 
many passengers ashore. They were picked 
up and carried to Acapulco, Mexico, by an 
American vessel, and later by another vessel 
to Panama. Here Mr. Gibson joined the 
U. S. M. steamer " Oregon," plying between 
Panama and San Francisco, and later was 
on the " Ohio," plying between Chagres, on 
the Isthmus, and New York. He was 
seized with "Chagres fever," and returned 
to the home of his parents, who then lived 
in Canada just across the \'ermont line. 
He lay sick during the winter of 1851-52. 
and only good medical attendance and a 
strong constitution saved him from a severe 
attack of this almost fatal malady. 

Concluding to settle down, Mr. Gibson, 
in the spring of 1852, came from Ogdens- 
burg to Waupaca county. Wis., by lake to 
Sheyboygan, team to Berlin, and thence 
afoot through the wild country. In Sections 
27 and 28, Lind township, he pre-empted 
160 acres of wild land. He built his first 
habitation, a log cabin 12x12, a claim 
shanty as recognized by law, and that sum- 
mer broke about twelve acres of land; it 
was covered with oak openings, and deer, 
wolves and bears abounded. Returning to 
Stanbridge, Canada, in the fall, he was 
there married, October 5, 1852, to Miss 
Editha Borden, who was born August 5, 
1 83 1, in the village of Missisquoi Bay, St. 



COMMEMOHATIVE BWGliAPUICAL RECORD. 



575 



Armand, Canada East (now Province of 
Quebec), dauj^hter of Asa and Daphne (Cat- 
lin) Borden, the former a native of Rhode 
Island, the latter of Vermont. Their family 
of seven children were as follows: Wait, of 
Stanbridge, Canada; John, a prominent de- 
signer, of New York City, to whom citizens 
of San Francisco once presented a watch, 
the $ioo case of which contained gold from 
every mine in California, as a token of their 
appreciation for the interior decorations of 
a public building which he had designed; 
Vilroy, a fresco painter, who had done some 
of the finest work of that kind in Montreal, 
and died in Canada; Romeo, a contractor, 
of Reno. Nev. ; Editha, Mrs. Gibson; So- 
crates, a tanner, who died in early manhood; 
and Martin L. , who with his three children 
died of yellow fever in Memphis in one 
week. Asa Borden was a contractor, and 
was comfortably situated. Editha, now Mrs. 
Gibson, for some time taught school, and 
was a lady of education and refinement (she 
was educated in the Bedford Academy, 
Stanbridge, C. E. ; her maternal grand- 
mother was a descendant of the Knicker- 
bockers, of New York). 

The wedding trip of Hollis and Editha 
Gibson was the journey to their western 
wilderness home, and was made by boat to 
Gill's Landing, whence they drove to Lind 
township. The small rude cabin and wild 
surroundings naturally dismayed the heart 
of the young wife, for she had left a com- 
fortable home, and a better residence was 
soon erected. It contained the first cellar 
wall and the first brick chimnej' in the town, 
which is still a part of their present home. 
The first crop Mr. Gibson raised was corn, 
which the neighbors' cattle invaded and 
wholly destroyed, but he persevered, and 
gradually the marks of refining civilization 
appeared in the wilderness settlement. The 
children of Mr. and Mrs. Gibson are as 
follows: Elsie, who was a school teacher, 
educated at Keokuk, Iowa, and Valpa- 
raiso, Ind., is now the widow of Sam- 
uel Smiley, and has for several years past 
followed her profession of a teacher; Charles 
W. , who lives at home, is a natural me- 
chanic, and follows the trade of cabinet 
maker fhe excels as a fine and artistic wood 



carver on beautiful and intricate designs, 
and is especially adept at inlaid work and 
veneering, always having charge of and exe- 
cuting the nicest work); Elmy A., graduated 
from Cooper Union Art Institute, New 
York, and is now a celebrated artist in that 
city; Sappho, an accomplished musician, is 
now Mrs. William Brooks, whose husband 
has charge of the fifth floor of the Boston 
Store, at Chicago; Blanche died in infancy. 
Mrs. Gibson is a member of the M. E. 
Church, and has strong Prohibition convic- 
tions. For many years she has been an in- 
defatigable worker in Church matters, and 
has for many years acted as superintendent 
of the Sunday-school of the M. E. Church, 
to which she belonged in Lind township, 
officiating in that capacity at the present 
time, and now, at the age of sixty-three, 
taking as much, or more, interest in Church 
work as she ever did in her younger days. 
Mr. and Mrs. Gibson have one granddaugh- 
ter, Gladys Gibson, now one and a half 
years old, daughter of their son Charles, 
and two grandsons — Lloyd Brooks and Bor- 
den Smiley. The latter is now a student at 
Ripon College; he is a young man of fine 
natural ability, as is well evidenced by the 
fact that at the age of sixteen he received a 
first-grade teacher's certificate in two differ- 
ent States — Wisconsin and Minnesota. 

During the summer of 1864 Mr. Gibson- 
sailed on Lakes Michigan and Superior as 
pilot of the steamer "Planet." In Febru- 
ary, 1865, he enlisted, at Waupaca, in Com- 
pany D, Forty-seventh Wis. V. I., and soon 
after was transferred to the Fiftieth Regi- 
ment. Mustered in at Madison, March 7, 
the regiment was sent to St. Louis, and did' 
military duty in Missouri and Kansas until 
October, 1865, when it was dispatched' 
against the Indians. During his service Mr. 
Gibson marched from Sioux City to Fort 
Rice, N. Dak., a distance of five hundred 
miles, the marches averaging about twenty 
miles per day, which is said to have been 
the greatest march made during the war. 
His health suffered severely during the cam- 
paign. The regiment was discharged in 
June, 1866, and was the last Wisconsin regi- 
ment mustered out. Mr. Gibson has served 
in \'arious township offices. He was chair- 



576 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



■man two terms and supervisor many years, 
;and was a school officer continuously for a 
long time. He is a prominent member of 
the Garfield Post No. 21. G. A. R., at Wau- 
paca, and was a charter member of the 
Grange movement during its day. In early 
■life he was an Abolitionist, later a Republi- 
can, and he is now the leading Poi:)ulist of 
,his township, being a foremost and enthusi- 
astic exponent of the principles of that party. 
Mr. Gibson is courageous in the expression 
of his convictions, and ever a friend in the 
• cause of reform and the public welfare, and 
having many sterling qualities for which he 
is highly esteemed, is one of the most in- 
fluential men of Waupaca county. 



PATRICK J, O'MALLEY, one of the 
best known and most public-spirited 
citizens of Minocqua, Vilas county, 
was born near Ottawa, Canada, 
March i", 1855, and is of Irish descent, his 
father, Patrick 0"Malley, having been born 
in Count\' Mavo, Ireland, about the year 
1S20. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject, 
also named Patrick, was born in County 
Mayo and came to Canada about 1840, set- 
tling near Ottawa, Canada, where he car- 
ried on farming, and where he died in 1865, 
his wife survi\ing him until 1875. They had 
a famil}' of eight children: Richard, Pat- 
rick, Martin, Michael, James, John, Sarah 
and Bridget. Patrick, the father of our 
subject, was married in Canada, in 1851, to 
Mary Joyce, who was born in the same 
• county in Ireland as himself, in 18 13, her 
family coming to this country in 1851 and 
settling in Pennsylvania. This couple were 
the parents of five children, of whom Rich- 
ard, Patrick and Martin are living, the 
others having died in infancy. The father 
and mother are still living in Canada, and 
are well-to-do farming people who have re- 
tired from active life, and are enjoying a 
peaceful old age in their comfortable home. 
Patrick J. O'Malley lived at home with his 
parents until he was twenty-six years old, 
attending school in his boyhood in the prim- 
itive school houses of those days, and in spite 
of all disadvantages acquiring a goodly store 



of information, which he has put to a prac- 
tical purpose throughout his busy life. 
Later, he assisted his father upon the farm 
and in the lumber woods. He was married 
May 6, 1884, in Ottawa, Canada, to Mary 
Mahone\', who was born near that city in 
i860. Her parents Patrick and Mary fCud- 
ahy) Mahoney, were natives of Ireland, 
farmers by occupation and are still living. 
They had six children; Michael, Patrick, 
Mar}-, Margaret, Bridget and Kate, the lat- 
ter being now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. 
O'Malley four children were born: Joseph 
P. (living), Mary A. (who died when seven 
years old), Stacy M. (who died at the age of 
three years), and Gertrude Bridget (living). 
After his marriage Mr. O'MalleN'came to Wau- 
sau, where he lived until the spring of 1888, 
engaged in carrying on a hotel. In the 
year mentioned he removed to Minocqua 
and built the first hotel in the town — indeed 
it was the first building of any importance in 
the place; this he conducted four years, but 
on account of the ill-health of his wife was 
obliged to give it up. While in Wausau he 
was engaged part of the time in scaling tim- 
ber in the woods, and since coming to Min- 
ocqua, he has become quite an extensive 
dealer in pine lands, owning several thous- 
and acres, and doing considerable lumbering 
each winter. 

In politics Mr. O'Malley is a Democrat, 
and being a man of good judgment and well 
posted on the issues of the day is looked 
upon as a leader in his party. He has held 
the office of mayor of Minocqua; was town 
treasurer for three years, and chairman of 
the town board one term. He was offered 
the nomination of sheriff in 1894, but de- 
clined, and has never held any county office. 
While mayor he put in water-works, built 
sidewalks and made various improvements 
in the town; he was also purchasing agent 
for \'ilas county. He has been a delegate 
in Congressional and State Conventions at 
Milwaukee, and in every position in whicli 
he has been placed he has worked for the 
interest of his constituents. Mr. O'Malley 
is a man of great energy, progressive in his 
ideas, and withal has a warm heart and 
liberal hand ever ready to assist where help 
is needed, whether in public or jirivate af- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



577 



fairs. He is emphatically a self-made man, 
and therefore entitled to all credit. He and 
his family are prominent members of the 
Catholic Church. 



SS. SHA\'EK, member of the Hrni of 
Lawson iS: Shaver, water roller-mills, 
manufacturers of choice brands of 
flour and general mill stuffs, has for 
twenty years been one of the active business 
men of Wisconsin, and is now part owner of 
the first gristmill built at Clintonville, Wau- 
paca count}'. 

Mr. Shaver is a Canadian by birth, hav- 
ing been born April 12, 1831, in Matilda 
township. County of Dundas, Ontario, son 
of \Mlliam J. and Catherine (Weart) Shaver, 
and grandson of Jacob Shaver, a native of 
New York State, who owned 200 acres of 
land where the city of Albany now stands. 
He removed with his family to Canada dur- 
ing the Revolutionary war, and his Alban}' 
propertj' was confiscated on account of his 
having been a Royalist. He made Canada 
his home, and died in that country. There 
his son William J. was born, and partici- 
pated in tbe war of t8i3, on the British 
side; he died in 1882, his wife surviving un- 
til she reached her ninetieth year, dying in 
1886. \\'illiam J. and Catherine Shaver 
had eleven children, as follows: Reuben, 
who as general postmaster in Canada, has 
five offices to look after; William Hamilton, 
of Sioux Cit\', Iowa; Ira, of Detroit, Mich. ; 
Simeon, who lives near San Francisco, Cal. ; 
S. S., the subject of this sketch; Nicholas, 
who lives at Bates' Corner, Township of 
\\'inchester. County of Dundas, Ontario; 
John, of Portland, Oregon; Amanda, who 
was ;narried to Isaac Beach, resided near 
Arkansas City, Kans. , and is now deceased ; 
Angeline, who li\ed in Canada, and is 
now deceased; Mary Ann, wife of William 
Malloy, residing on the old homestead farm ! 
in Mountain township. County of Dundas, 
Canada, which has been in the family name 
for sixty years; and Adeline, now Mrs. 
Knapp, of Lewiston, Canada. 

S. S. Shaver was educated in the schools 
of Canada, and in his youth endured all the 
privations of pioneer life. He learned the 



trade of miller at Spencerville, Canada, and 
has made it his life work. In 1863 he mi- 
grated to Oswego, N. Y., and was there en- 
gaged in milling until 1871, when he went 
to Minneapolis, Minn., to thoroughly investi- 
gate the new process of using purifiers and 
air blast as applied to the offal in process of 
manufacture. Then, in 1872, he located at 
Appleton, \\'is., in the employ of the Conkey 
Houring-mill for two years, in 1874 moving 
to Menasha, as foreman, with a financial in- 
terest in the Empire Mills. Five years later 
he returned to Appleton and purchased a 
one-third interest in the Morey Mill. In 
1884 became to Clintonville, and remodeled 
the mill in which he is now interested, a 
two-and-a-half-storj' frame structure, above 
the basement, having a capacity of one hun- 
dred barrels per da}'. It is thoroughly 
equipped with machinerj- for the latest and 
most approved roller processes. 

Mr. Shaver was first married, in 1855, 
to Laura Pratt, a native of Canada, daughter 
of Elias Pratt, who died in California. Mrs. 
Shaver died in 1862, leaving four children: 
Adelaide, who was the wife of Emmet Little, 
of Menasha, and who died in 1891, leaving 
five children; Sarah Elmira, who married 
Herbert Lovejoy, and died in Ogdensburg, 
N. Y. , in 1 871; Hettie, wife of Herbert 
Chandler, of Antigo, Wis. ; and Mary, who 
died in childhood. In 1868, Mr. Shaver 
was married, at Oswego, N. Y. , to Mrs. 
Sarah Jane Torrey, a native of that city, 
daughter of John and Jane Laidley, the 
former of whom was a real-estate dealer from 
Yorkshire, England, the latter being a native 
of New York. Mrs. Shaver, by her first hus- 
band, Sanford Torrey, of Buffalo, N. Y., 
had two daughters — May L. and Mattie L. , 
the latter of whom was married, in 18S5, to 
A. J. Love, of Buffalo, N. Y. . an active 
insurance agent now residing in Omaha, 
Neb. ; May L. is a directress in the Kinder- 
garten school at Omaha, Neb. To this sec- 
ond marriage of Mr. Shaver has been born 
one child. Sadie E., at present a student at 
Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis. Mr. 
and Mrs. Shaver are members of the M. E. 
Church, and he is chairman of its board of 
stewards; he is an acti\'e Republican, and a 
memljcr of Ryan Lodge No. 52, F. & .A. M., 



57« 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Appleton. Mr. Shaver is interested in an 
iron mine at Hortonville, Wis. , and is one 
of Clintonville's most substantia] and enter- 
prising citizens. 



OTTO AXEL RISUM, one of the 
most enterprising and successful 
business men of Shawano county, 
and owner of a general store and 
creamery in the village of Pulcifer, Green 
Valley township, is a native of Norway, born 
February 23, 1835. 

His father, Hans LudvigRisum, who was 
born in Kiel, Holstein (then in Denmark, 
now in Germany), July 27, 1807, was a 
printer by trade which he followed in Nor- 
way and also for a time after coming to the 
United States. He married Miss Caroline 
Sell, who was born February 25, 1814, in 
Norway, and they had children as follows: 
Otto Axel, our subject; Hakon, who died 
in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1855; Louisa (widow 
of Ole Johnson), residing in Iowa; Isabella 
(widow of Ole Gullackson), also living in 
Iowa; Thorvald, a veterinary surgeon of 
Brookings, Dakota; Carl, residing on the 
old homestead in Spring \'alley township; 
and Joanna, deceased wife of William Mc- 
Nally. In the summer of 1853 the entire 
family, with the exception of our subject, 
came to this continent, making the passage 
from Norway on the sailing vessel ' ' Henry 
Wergeland," which after a voyage of thir- 
teen weeks landed at Quebec, Canada, 
whence the fatnily at once proceeded west- 
ward to Wisconsin, losing all their baggage 
on the waj' through some error on the part 
of the railroad officials. Coming to Rock 
county, they settled on a farm in Spring 
Valley township, which they at once com- 
menced to improve. In 1880 the father 
disposed of this property, and moved to a 
farm liear Bode, Humboldt Co., Iowa, where 
he died in 1890, at which time he was liv- 
ing with his second wife, who survives him; 
his first wife had died in Spring Valley town- 
ship. Rock county, Wisconsin. 

The subject proper of these lines, whose 
name appears at the opening, received his 
education at the schools of his native place 
up to the age of fifteen, when he shipped as 



an apprentice on board an English packet 
which touched at \arious ports in Scotland, 
England, Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Den- 
mark. When his apprenticeship time was 
up, he shipped as man before the mast on 
board the " Atlanta," Capt. Bush, bound for 
Holland, his next trip being to the Mediter- 
ranean, after which for some years he sailed 
from Norway to various ports of the Old 
World in different vessels. In 1854 he 
shipped at a Norwegian port on board the 
ship "Telegraph" bound for Quebec, Can- 
ada, with two hundred emigrants, from 
which port he recrossed the Atlantic to 
Liverpool, England, and from there sailed 
to Boston, Mass., on a vessel laden with 
salt, reaching that port July 4, 1856. From 
Boston, Mr. Risum journeyed westward to 
the great lakes, for the next few months, 
living the life of a fresh-water sailor, in the 
following November finding himself at Chi- 
cago, whither he had gone to meet his fath- 
er whom he accompanied back to the farm 
in Spring Valley. Here our subject worked 
until the breaking out of the war of the Re- 
bellion, when October 14, 1861, he enlisted 
at Beloit, Wis., in Company G, Fifteenth 
Wis. V. I., Capt. Gordon, which regiment 
was sent to Madison, where it was put 
through a course of training until March i. 
1862, the date on which it set out for St. 
Louis, Mo., whence it was forwarded by 
transport boats to Bird's Point, same State, 
where for a short time the several comiianies 
remained in camp, then left by transports 
for Columbus, Ky. At this point they re- 
ceived orders to attack the enemy at Union 
City, which they did, capturing man}' of the 
enemy, and then returned to Columbus. 
Soon afterward, April 8, 1862, they took 
active part in the battle of Island No. 10, 
Tenn., where Companies G and I were 
stationed all that summer, doing guard duty. 
The next battle in which our subject par- 
ticipated was at Chickamauga, Tenn., ar- 
riving in time to take part in the second 
day's battle there. Missionary Ridge was 
their next battle, after which they were or- 
dered to western Tennessee, going into 
camp at Knoxville. Here in March, 1864, 
our subject re-enlisted as veteran, and. re- 
ceiving sixt}' days' furlough, returned home. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



579 



Rejoining his regiment at Big Shanty, Ga. , 
where considerable fighting was going on, 
he received a wound in the left leg while he 
was engaged on the skirmish line, but re- 
fused to go to the hospital, preferring to re- 
main with his company; at this time he held 
the rank of sergeant-major, having been 
promoted to same from the ranks after the 
battle of Chickamauga. He participated in 
all the great battles of the Atlanta cam- 
paign, proving himself a brave and efficient 
soldier. The Fifteenth Wis. V. I., formed 
part of Gen. \\'illich's brigade. Gen Wood's 
division. Fourth Army Corps, to which it 
was assigned soon after the battle of Chicka- 
mauga; then after the Atlanta campaign it 
was ordered to Whiteside Station, Tenn., 
where it remained on guard duty until Febru- 
ary, 1865. In the meantime, on September 
14, 1864, Sergt. -Major Risum was further 
promoted to adjutant with rank of first lieu- 
tenant. In Februarj', 1865, he was mustered 
out of the arm}', his term of service having 
expired, but not yet to return home, for he had 
' ' other fish to fry, " of a matrimonial species. 
It appears while he was lying with his regi- 
ment at Whiteside Station, he "met by 
chance, the usual way," Miss Jane Wigley. 
After his discharge he had, of course, to pay 
her a visit before returning home. On May 
20, 1865, they were married at Janesville, 
Wis., and at once took up their temporary- 
home with his father, in Spring Valley, 
where our subject assisted on the farm. At 
the end of two years he and his wife and 
young son migrated to Humboldt county, 
Iowa, where he took up a homestead on 
which they remained two years, but the lo- 
cality proving unhealthy for them they re- 
turned to Spring Valley, Wis., soon after- 
ward moving to the village of Orfordville, 
in the same county, where Mr. Risum em- 
barked in mercantile business, which he car- 
ried on successfully until coming to Pulcifer 
in the spring of 1873. Here he opened out 
a small general store, which from time to 
time he enlarged as business demanded, also 
conducting a hotel in connection. In 1885 
he built his present capacious store, and in 
the spring of 1894 erected the creamery in 
the village which he conducts with eminent 
success. 



On July 3, 1884, Mr. Risum's first wife 
died, the mother of one child, John Louis, 
born December 28, 1866, and still living 
under the parental roof. She was born 
February 28, 1844, in Trenton, Dade Co. , 
Ga., the youngest daughter of John \\'iglej', 
of that locality. On No\ember 20, 1885, 
Mr. Risum was married to Miss Christina 
Louisa Krueger, who was born May 29, 
1865, in Germany, whence in 1881 she came 
to the United States with her parents who 
settled in Hartland township, Shawano Co., 
Wis. By this marriage there was one son, 
Otto Axel, born March 19, 1890, but died 
in October same year. In addition to his 
store and creamery Mr. Risum owns fifty 
acres of farm land in Section 6, Spring \'al- 
ley township, besides extensive farming lands 
elsewhere. In 1882 he erected his present 
elegant and commodious residence, which is 
gracefully presided over by his amiable life- 
partner. He is also owner of a beautiful 
pleasure yacht on Lake Shawano, which in 
a miniature way reminds him of his roving 
sailor life in years gone by. 

A stanch Republican in politics, he has 
served as chairman of his township three 
years, and as school officer some sixteen 
years. Socially, he is a member of the 
F. &. A. M., G. A. R., and Loyal Legion 
of Shawano. Mr. Risum is a man of fine 
physique, healthy, clever, affable, good na- 
tured, and deservedly popular. 



G 



EORGE V. BENNETT, one of the 

active young business men of Clin- 
tonville, Waupaca county, is a na- 
tive of the village, and was the first 
child born within its limits. He first saw 
the light in December, 1856, and is a son of 
E. W. and Eleanor Emaline (Knowlton) 
Bennett, who in 1854 migrated from New 
York and settled on a farm on which Clin- 
tonville is now situated. E. W. Bennett 
still lives in the township; his wife, the 
mother of George V., died in 1887. 

George V. Bennett attended the schools 
of Clintonville, and engaged in his youth in 
the arduous labor which falls to the ener- 
getic in a pioneer land. He received, how- 
ever, a good common-school education, and 



58o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



at the age of twenty-six was running a 
transit in the engineering corps which was 
surveying the northern division of the Chi- 
cago & North Western railroad. Three years 
later, in 1885, he entered the land depart- 
ment of the Chicago & North \\"estern, and 
was engaged in locating land. While in this 
service Mr. Bennett mastered all the details 
of the work, and was competent to fill any 
position in the land department. In 1 889 
he engaged in the lumber and milling busi- 
ness. Mr. Bennett owns considerable cedar 
and pine land in Harrison and Wyoming 
townships, and is a member of the milling 
firm of Wall & Bennett, who deal also in 
hard wood. The mills are located in \\ y- 
oming township, and with the lumbering in- 
terests connected therewith give employ- 
ment to about thirty men on an average. 

Mr. Bennett was married at Clintonville, 
in 1 88 1, to Hester Jant Osborn, a native of 
Michigan, and daughter of Edward and Abi- 
gail (Smith; Riley, early settlers in Michi- 
gan. Edward Riley is a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, and now lives in Washington; Abi- 
gail Riley, his wife, died there in i8gi. Mr. 
Bennett is a member of Clintonville Lodge 
No. 197, F. & A. M., and of New London 
Chapter No. 62, R. A. M. In politics he is 
a Republican. He is public-spirited, taking 
an active interest in all matters that invohe 
the welfare and well-being of the conununit)' 
in which he lives, and of his county and 
State. He is one of the most influential 
citizens of Clintonville. 



GEORGE WARREN, one of the old- 
est settlers of Matteson township, 
and one of the best known and most 
prominent residents of the northeast 
portion of Waupaca count)', purchased in 
1856 a timber tract on the Embarrass river, 
in Section 5 of what is now Matteson town- 
ship, and at the present village of Embar- 
rass, there opening up a pioneer farm. In 
1864 he purchased a farm of eighty acres in 
Section 19, several miles south in the same 
township, twenty acres of it being under 
improvement. He has since increased the 
acreage to 160, made notable improvements, 
and now resides there in a substantial two- 



storv frame structure erected by him in 
1875. 

Mr. Warren was born in Greene county, 
N. Y. , in 1828, son of John and Eliza (Mer- 
win) Warren, the former a native of New 
York, the latter of Connecticut. John\\'ar- 
ren was a farmer, and in early life settled 
on a tract of land in Greene county, N. Y. , 
where he lived through life and died in 1S84, 
at a ripe old age, his wife preceding him to 
the grave by five years. They reared a 
family of eight children, as follows: John, 
who was a \olunteer in a Pennsylvania regi- 
ment during the Civil war, and who died in 
Nebraska; James, now a resident of Monti- 
cello, N. Y. ; Jane, who died in 1874, and 
who was the wife of Harvey Horton, of 
Tioga county, Pcnn., who, while in the 
United States military service, spent eight- 
een months in Libby Prison; Thomas, who 
enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment, and 
died in the service; George, subject of this 
sketch; Charles, who enlisted in a New York 
regiment, and died in service; Bruce, who 
many vears ago migrated to An.stralia; and 
Sarah, now Mrs. Davis, a resident of Penn- 
sylvania. 

George \\'arren was educated in the 
schools of Greene county, N. Y., and dur- 
ing his entire life he has been closely iden- 
tified with farming interests. P'or two years 
he was engaged in getting out ship timber 
in New Jersey, but until his migration to 
the West he was mainly employed on his 
father's farm. He came to Wisconsin an 
unm.arried man, proceeding by boat to Mil- 
waukee, and by foot again to New London, 
thence walking twenty miles up the Em- 
barrass river to the timber land which he 
first purcha.sed, and where he devoted many 
years of his active life in converting the 
dense forest into fruitful fields. Here in 
Matteson township he was married, in 1858, 
to Miss Martha Matteson, who was born in 
Michigan, daughter of Roswcll Matte.son, 
the first pioneer in that township, which re- 
ceived its name from him. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Warren eight children were born, as 
follows: Lydia. who died at the age of 
twenty years; RuricN., a resident of Bear 
Creek township, Waupaca county; Helen, 
who died aged eighteen years; Orva. wlm 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



580 



was married, and who died at the age of 
twenty-three years; May, wife of Harr\- L. 
Davis, of Tioga county, Penn. ; Sarah and 
Charlotte, both residents of Waupaca county, 
and Bruce G., at home. Mrs. Warren died 
in 1886, and five years later Mr. Warren 
was again united in marriage, this time to 
^frs. Charlotte Sutherland, widow of Col- 
lins Sutherland and daughter of Gordon and 
Mary House, natives of New York, who mi- 
grated to Wisconsin in 1844, settling first 
in Waukesha county, and later, in 1855, in 
Winnebago county. Mr. House built the 
second cabin on the site of Menasha. He 
enlisted in Winnebago county in Company 
G, Third Wis. \'. I., and served in the war 
two years, being honorably discharged in 
1865. He died in Matteson township, Wau- 
paca county, in 1887, and his widow still 
lives with Mr. and Mrs. Warren. 

In politics Mr. Warren is a Democrat. 
He has been clerk and treasurer of the town- 
ship, and held various other offices. In 1882 
he was elected to the State Assembly, serv- 
ing creditably for two years. Socially, he 
is a member of Clinton ville Lodge, No. 197, 
F. & A. M., and of the Chapter at New 
London. He is also a member of the I. O. 
O. F. Lodge at New London. Mr. Warren 
is one of the best informed men of the com- 
munity in which he lives, and one of its 
most influential citizens. He has witnessed 
the rapid growth of this portion of the State 
from its condition of primitive wildness, and 
has been an honored and prominent factor 
in its de\elopment. 



JOHN McDIVITT, one of the oldest 
settlers of Tigerton, Shawano county, 
and a prominent farmer and lumber- 
man, is a Canadian by birth, having 
been born January 26, 1856, in the ([uaint 
old city of Quebec, appropriately called the 
"Gibraltar of America. " 

Thomas McDivitt, father of our subject, 
was a native of Liverpool, England, whence 
when a young man he emigrated to Canada, 
settling in Quebec, where he taught in the 
high school twelve years with eminent suc- 
cess, being a man of superior education. In 



that city he was married to Miss Jane 
Smith, who came to Canada from the 
North of Ireland, aiid twelve children were 
born to them, a brief sketch of whom is as 
follows: Rebecca is the wife of Edward Mc- 
Glin, a day laborer, of Canada East; Archi- 
bald is a farmer in Red River Valley, N. 
Dak. ; Mary is the wife of John Johnson, a 
farmer of Canada; John is the subject of these 
lines; Thomas has been a lumberman in the 
State of Washington for the past twelve- 
years; Agnes and Jane (twins), of whom 
Jane is married to Harry Priest, of Canada; 
William is a merchant in Canada West; 
Elizabeth is the wife of William Johnson, a 
day laborer of Canada; James, who lives in 
Prescott, Canada, is roadmaster of railroad 
bridges; Emily is the wife of Charles Dillon, 
in Greenleaf, Wis. ; Margaret is the wife of 
R. Leader, a printer, of Chicago. The 
father of these died in Canada in September, 
1878; the mother is now living with her 
daughter, Mrs. Emily Dillon, in Greenleaf, 
Wisconsin. 

John McDivitt, whose name introduces 
this sketch, recei\'ed but a limited education, 
as at the age of thirteen years he left the 
parental home for Toronto, Canada, from 
which city he went into the lumber woods 
in Canada West, and continued in that line 
of work there until he was seventeen years 
old (1872), when he came to Wisconsin, 
making his home at Marion, Waupaca coun- 
ty, till the spring of 187,1; he then com- 
menced lumbering on the river, and from 
that time on, until his marriage in 1877, he 
was engaged either in the woods or on the 
river, cutting logs and rafting them. Mov- 
ing now to Bear Creek, Outagamie county, 
he there conducted an eighty-acre farm till 
1880, the year of his coming to Tigerton, 
where he bought some land and built a 
hotel and saloon, which he conducted nine 
years, at the end of which time he sold out 
and turned his attentinu to farming and 
lumbering; but in 1894 he sold his farm at 
Bear Creek, and has since confined himself 
to his lumber interests, which are (juite ex- 
tensive. Our subject was about the first 
business man to set foot in Tigerton, and 
he has done much toward aiding in its 
erow'th and advancement. 



5^2 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



On July 24, 1877, Mr. McDivitt was 
married to Miss Mary Toomey, who was 
born February 22, 1859, at Cedarburg, 
O/aukee Co., Wis., daughter of Timothy 
and Mary (O'Brien) Toomey, the former of 
whom was a son of James and Mary (Pur- 
cell) Toomey, who came to America when 
the son Timoth\- was a seven-year-old boy. 
The father was from the city of Cork, Ire- 
land, was a capitalist, owning steamboats 
which he continued to run after coming to 
America and settling in Massachusetts, 
where he and his wife both died. Timothy 
Toomey was reared in Massachusetts, and 
died there. For a time he was overseer of 
a cotton factory in that State, thence moved 
to Vermont, later to Virginia, where he kept 
a railroad boarding house. In the South 
Mr. and Mrs. Toomey remained until i860, 
then came to Wisconsin, locating at Cedar- 
burg, Ozaukee county, where the}' were en- 
gaged in farming till 1865, in that year re- 
moving to Bear Creek, Outagamie county, 
and buying a farm there, whereon they 
lived until 1881, then coming to Tigerton 
to visit our subject and wife. Mrs. Toomey 
died there in 1890 at the age of sixty-five 
years, and Mr. Toomey is now residing at 
Milwaukee. They were the parents of chil- 
dren as follows: John, deceased; Abbie, 
wife of Dennis Callahan, of Canada; Law- 
rence, deceased; John; Timothy, a resident 
of Wisconsin; Mary, Mrs. McDivitt; James; 
Ellen, deceased wife of Jerry Ford, of Tiger- 
ton, who has married since her decease 
(she left two children). Mr. Toomey served 
four years in the war of the Rebellion, en- 
listing in Company E, First Wis. V. I., and 
rc-enlisting in the same regiment. He has 
a brilliant war record, having seen some 
hard .service, among other engagements par- 
ticipating in the battle of Pittsburg Land- 
ing, and was in Sherman's march to the sea. 

To Mr. and Mrs. McDivitt have been 
born four children, all yet at home: Jennie 
May, Emily, John and Archibald. The en- 
tire family are members of the Roman 
Catholic Church, and in his political prefer- 
ences Mr. McDivitt has always been a stanch 
Democrat. He is a prosperous, progress- 
ive, loyal citizen, enjoying the respect and 
esteem of the community at large. He has 



a fine home in Tigerton, and owns some 
200 acres of land near the town, besides lots 
in Milwaukee, and other property. 



JOHN KNAUF (deceased). The sub- 
ject of this sketch was born in Treves, 
or Trier, Germany, June 24, 1844, 
and came with his parents to America 
in 1847. His father, William Knauf, was 
born in 181 1, and was united in marriage 
with Mrs. Anna Gerend. Their children 
were: Nick, John and Charles. 

On their arrival in America the family 
settled in Shebo)'gan county, Wis., on a 
rough and uncultivated piece of land, and 
remained there for some time, afterward 
removing to Sheboygan city, where the 
father has since resided, living a retired 
life. The mother died on the farm in 1854. 
William Knauf, later, was married to Mrs. 
Snyder, who had three children, viz. : 
Joseph, W^illiam and Anna. Mr. Knauf's 
second wife died in 1872. 

John Knauf had but the limited advan- 
tages of a common-school education, and at 
the age of fourteen he apprenticed himself 
to the trade of baker in Sheboygan; but not 
liking it, he only remained there a very 
short time. He then went to the Lake 
Superior region, and secured a position as 
cook, afterward clerking in a store until the 
breaking out of the Civil war, when he 
raised a company of volunteers for the 
Twenty-seventh Mich. V. I. At one time 
he was in Company A, Twenty-seventh 
Regiment Michigan Infantry, commanded 
bj' Capt. William Freeman. Mr. Knauf 
was a brave soldier, and saw considerable 
service, but on receiving a severe shot wound 
in the neck at the battle of Cumberland 
Gap, in 1864, he was compelled to retire 
from active service. He had enlisted August 
13, 1862, and received his discharge July 
26, 1865. He then engaged in the manu- 
facture of soda water in St. Paul, Minn. 
In June, 1873, he was united in marriage 
with Sophia Gerkin, born at Centerville, 
Wis., February 22, 1851, the only daughter 
of William and Catherine Gerkin; Mrs. 
Knauf's parents came to America in 1848, 
ami were married in St. Louis. Mo. Mr. 





7^«?^ 




COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



583 



Gerkin followed agricultural pursuits in 
Manitowoc count}', Wis., d\ing in Septem- 
ber, 1851. His widow was afterward mar- 
ried to Theodore Schulte, to which union 
were born six children, viz. : Mary, The- 
resa, Frank, Joseph, Anton and Helen. 
Mrs. Schulte died in April, 1894. 

Mr. and Mrs. Knauf had a family of 
children as follows; Agnes, Alfred, Mary, 
Classina, Edmond, Arthur, Clarence, Wal- 
ter and Mary, the latter of whom died in 
infancy. In 1875 the family went to Stev- 
ens Point, where Mr. Knauf engaged in the 
grocerv business, remaining there until 1889. 
He then removed to Tomahawk, and opened 
a saloon. His death occurred June 3, 1893. 
Politically he was a Democrat, and was an 
active politician and a public-spirited man. 
At Stevens Point he filled the position of 
chief of police one year, and was an alder- 
man and supervisor for several terms. At 
Tomahawk he was president of the first city 
council and alderman of the Third ward. 
Mr. I\nauf was a thoroughly self-made man, 
and was ranked among the most popular 
and respected citizens of Tomahawk. 



GEORGE ALLEN. This prosperous 
and highly-esteemed farmer of Mat- 
teson township, W^aupaca county, 
owes it perhaps to his plucky and 
noble wife that he has become an honored 
pioneer of the county, and there shared gen- 
erously in the material fruits of its develop- 
ment. While Mr. Allen was lying in an 
hospital at the city of Washington, recover- 
ing from a dangerous wound which he had 
received in the deadly assault upon Peters- 
burg, Va. , nearly six months before, the 
wife with her three small children migrated 
from Pennsylvania to the wilds of W' iscon- 
sin, and purchased forty acres of wild land 
on which she was dwelling in a rough shanty 
when her husband, after recovery from a 
long and painful illness, finally rejoined her 
and, crippled as he was, battled side bj- side 
with the devoted wife to gain a livelihood 
and finally a competence from the priiiiitive 
wilderness. 

Mr. Allen was born in Middlebury, Wy- 
oming Co., N. Y. , May 12, 1833, son of 



Seth and Catherine (Burst) Allen, both of 
Vermont birth and ancestry. Seth was the 
son of Eli and Charlotte Allen, who reared 
a family of five children: Eli, Obediah, 
Seth, Illiza and Marilla. The family of 
Seth and Catherine Allen consisted of seven 
children, as follows: Sophia, now Mrs. H. 
D. Judd, of Tennessee; George, subject of 
this sketch; Susan, now Mrs. A. Hewett, of 
New York; Alvira, now widow of Z. Sisson, 
also of New York; Elizabeth, wife of D. 
Fiddler, of Pennsylvania; Delia, widow of 
A. Fiddler, of Ashtabula. Ohio; and De- 
Ette, now Mrs. William Lawrence, of 
Pennsylvania. Our subject is the only son 
in the family, and his father, who had 
adopted the trade of his own father, that of 
a blacksmith, sought also to teach it to his 
son; so George was obliged to assist his 
father in the shop, but he was averse to the 
trade. He would infinitely have preferred 
a good education, but opportunities were 
meager, and in the absence of schooling he 
became attached to active farm life. W^hen 
George was thirteen years old his father 
moved to Erie count}', Penn. The daugh- 
ters one by one married and left the home, 
but George remained, engaged, however, in 
farming for his father, who had acquired 
property in that county. 

On March 18, 1864, he enlisted in 
Company K, One Hundred and Forty-fifth 
P. V. L, which w-as dispatched at once to 
Bowling Green, Ky., where it experienced 
its first brush with the enemy. It was then 
transferred to Virginia, and participated in 
the heavy fighting about Cold Harbor; was 
at Spottsylvania, and in the three-days' 
desperate advance through the Wilderness. 
In the charge upon Petersburg, in June, 
1864, Mr. Allen was wounded in the foot; 
he threw down his gun, and was borne from 
the field to the field hospital in Virginia and 
thence to Washington, where he remained 
nearly a year. It was an ugly wound, 
necessitating the amputation of the great 
toe. For a long time the wound refused to 
heal, and at one time it was thought that 
amputation of the leg would be necessary, 
but medical aid saved it. He was honor- 
ably discharged July 18, 1865, at Washing- 
ton, D. C, and at once came to his un- 



5S4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



known wilderness home in Matteson town- 
ship, Waupaca Co. , \\'isconsin. 

Mr. Allen was married December 28, 
1857, to Miss Marietta Burgess, who was 
born in New York, March 20, 1841, daugh- 
ter of Alonzo and Lucretia (Cobb) Burgess. 
Her paternal grandparents were Samuel and 
Rachel (Lathrop) Burgess, whose nine chil- 
dren were Samuel, Alvah, Hiram, David, 
Lathrop, Lewis, Andrew, Alonzo and Jane. 
The six children of Alonzo and Lucretia 
Burgess were Marietta; Emma Jane, formerly 
wife of Charles Connie, now deceased; Les- 
ter, of Matteson township; Delphine, now 
wife of M. Amell, of Matteson township; 
Lewis, of Embarrass; and Edwin, deceased. 
Mr. and Mrs. Burgess migrated to Matteson 
township, Waupacca county, arriving De- 
cember 14, 1864. and taking up a home- 
stead where the\' remained until their death, 
he passing away October 12, 1881, and she 
on June 30, 1888. Mrs. Allen, the eldest 
daughter, accompanied her parents and pur- 
chased forty acres of land, ^^'ith her three 
small children she lived in a small log house 
1 6.x 24, containing a large wooden chimney 
which occupied nearh' half the enclosed 
space. This was the home that greeted Mr. 
Allen upon his return from the war. He 
had not yet recovered from his wound, and 
was illy fitted for the work that lay before 
him, yet he applied himself manfully to his 
task. New London was the nearest trading 
point, and flour was $11 to $14 per barrel; 
the surrounding country was very wild and 
dreary, the timber was still inhabited by 
bear and deer, and an occasional Indian was 
seen, while the midnight stillness was broken 
by the hideous howling of wolves. For the 
first seven years of his residence here Mr. 
Allen followed lumbering in the winters, but 
the work of clearing up the place went 
bravely on, Mrs. Allen conducting the farm 
during his absence. The first crop was corn 
and a little wheat; the yield was bountiful, 
and the next year's acreage was larger. In 
about eight years he bought fortv acres more, 
and gradually by their united efforts the lit- 
tle home grew in size and improved in value 
until now Mr. Allen has i6o acres of fertile 
land, seventy of which are improved. They 
lived here for eight years before they had a 



horse-team, oxen being used altogether up 
to that time. In 1876 Mr. Allen visited 
California in search of gold, but returned 
two years later and resumed farming. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Allen nine children were born, 
seven of whom are now living: Frank G., 
Eugene, Jennie L., Lillie D., Seth K., 
Hiram G. and Mabel C. Effie died at the 
age of twenty, and one child died in infancy. 
In politics Mr. Allen is an earnest Republi- 
can. Himself and wife are members of the 
Congregational Church, of which he has 
been deacon three years. He has been su- 
pervisor a number of years, and is one of 
the most influential citizens of Matteson 
township. Socially he is a member of J. B. 
Wyman Post No. 42, G. A. R., at Clinton- 
ville, and Mrs. Allen is a member of the 
Woman's Relief Corps, auxiliary to that 
Grand Armv Post. 



HENRY STEENBOCK, an old resi- 
dent of Wisconsin, and one of the 
best known men in his section of 
the country, was born in Schleswig- 
Holstein, Germany, in 1845, and is a son of 
John Heinrich Nicholas Julius and Catha- 
rine (Rohwerj Steenbock, both of whom 
were born in Schleswig, and reared in Ger- 
many, where they were also married. 

Heinrich Steenbock, sailed from Ham- 
burg, and after a voyage of seven weeks, 
landed at New York City, came to Sheboy- 
gan, Wis., and always made that his home; 
he died in 1862; his widow resides in Larra- 
bee township, Waupaca county. They 
reared a family of three children: Henry, 
whose name opens this sketch; Katie, wife 
of F"red Pringle, of Larrabee township, and 
Augusta, wife of Bernard Geilow, of Matte- 
son township. Waupaca county. Of these, 
Henry came to Sheboygan, May 29, 1853, 
was reared there, and was educated in the 
schools of that cit\-. He engaged in fishing 
and sailing, commencing at the age of six- 
teen to sail from Sheboygan, and making all 
points on Lake Michigan, following that oc- 
cupation till 1870. In Sheboygan county, 
in 1868, Henry Steenbock married Miss 
Wilhelmina Hardman, who was born in 
Prussia, Germany, and thev had born to 



COMMEMORATIVE! BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 



58? 



them the following: children: ^\'ilhelmina 
Louisa, wife of Fred Bellew, of Matteson 
township, \\'aupaca count}'; John Henry, 
married and residing in Larrabee town- 
ship: and Katie, who became the wife 
of Fred \\'ilken, and died in 1894. In 1870 
Mr. Steenbock rented a farm for two jears; 
then, on September 13, 1872, came to Lar- 
rabee township. Waupaca county, from the 
city of Sheboygan, and bought in the woods 
a farm of eighty acres, five of which were 
cleared; afterward he cleared the farm, 
built his residence in 1884, and a two-story 
frame barn in 1889. On September 25. 
1889. his wife died. She was the daughter 
of Henry and Louisa Hardman. natives of 
Germany, who located in Wilson township. 
Sheboygan county. December 22. 1848. 
Henry Hardman died in 1893, surviving his 
wife, who died in 1S88, in the city of She- 
boygan. In May. 1891, in Larrabee town- 
ship. Mr. Steenbock was again married, 
taking for his second wife Mrs. Amelia 

(Kroll) . who was born in Germany, 

and by this marriage three children ha\e 
been born: Arthur, Martin and Hedwig. 
Mrs. Steenbock is the daughter of Herman 
and Lena ilSraatzJ Kroll, natixes of Ger- 
many who came to Caledonia township, 
Waupaca county, in 1867, and in 1872 to 
Bear Creek township, in the same county, 
where they now reside. 

In politics Mr. Steenbock votes with the 
Republican part}'. He was elected chair- 
man of Larrabee township in 1885, has 
served continuously since, and has also been 
one of the side commissioners. He has 
seen many changes in his localit}'. He 
carries on general farming operations, and 
owns a good farm adjoining the cit}' limits. 
Both he and his wife arc members of the 
Lutheran Church. 



HAKON M. XORDVI. I'or nearly 
thirty years prior to his lamented 
death, which occurred September 6, 
1894, Hakon M. Nordvi was a 
prominent merchant of Waupaca, and one 
of its most enterprising and estimable citi- 
zens. 

He was born in Martensnos, East Fin- 



marken, Trondhjem's Stiff, Norway, Febru- 
ary 4, 1829, son of a merchant, whose busi- 
ness connections extend to Russia, Spain 
and Denmark, and who resolved to make a 
ph}sician of his son. Accordingly young 
Hakon received a liberal education in the 
schools of Copenhagen, and at the National 
University of Norway, at Christiania, where 
he graduated in the Medical Department. 
But the inherited mercantile instincts were 
too strong. Having lost his parents and his 
only sister, Hakon, in 1852. came to .\meri- 
ca. and successfully engaged in mercantile 
trade at Taycheedah, Fond du Lac. Mani- 
towoc. Fort Howard and Kewaunee. \\'is. 
Once, while a member of the firm of O. Tor- 
rison & Co., Manitowoc, Wis., an unrest 
seized him to revisit his nati\'e land, and re- 
gain if possible his failing health. He en- 
gaged passage on the "Austin, "but arrived 
at New York too late to catch the steamer, 
a Providential interference, for she burned 
at sea when a few days out, and nearly all 
on board perished. Returning to Wiscon- 
sin Mr. Nordvi resumed mercantile trade at 
Fort Howard, removing in 1865 to Wau- 
paca, where he remained through life. 

Mr. Nord\i was one of those men fitted 
by nature and attainments to fill almost an\' 
station in life. He was known by his intim- 
ate friends as " a li\ing encyclopedia," be- 
ing blessed with a remarkable memory, 
which he stored by careful, general and un- 
ceasing reading. As a linguist he e.xcelled, 
for in addition to his native and the English 
tongues he had received a thorough course 
in the French and German languages, while 
he could translate readily from Latin, Greek 
and Hebrew. His onl}' brother, A. G. 
Nordvi, like himself had been liberally edu- 
cated, but returned to mercantile life. Mr. 
Nordvi received the first notice of the death 
of his brother in i 892. in a Christiania news- 
paper sketch, which sketch alluded to the 
deep love for scientific study which had im- 
bued the life of the deceased. He had been 
elected a member of the Royal Northern 
Antiquarian Society, from which he received 
a dij^loma and silver medal; he was also ait 
honorary member of the Danish Botanical 
.Society, had received a silver medal and 
diploma from the scientific society of Tron- 



586 



COMMEMORATIVi: BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



dhjem, and was connected with a number of 
foreign museums, to which he sent many 
articles of interest. These scientific pursuits 
were followed onl}' as a pastime, for A. G. 
Nordvi had taken charge of the mercantile 
business of his deceased father in Finland. 
Hakon M. Nordvi was in e\ery sense an 
exemplary American citizen. He had ac- 
quired a reputation for uprightness and 
square dealing which falls to the lot of few 
men. Strong in his integrit}', generous to a 
fault, he was always conservative. He was 
liberal in politics, but usuall}' voted the 
Democratic ticket. As a citizen he was 
public-spirited, committed to public improve- 
ments, hberal to the poor and unfortunate, 
and a strong supporter of the public schools. 
In his domestic relations he was exception- 
ally happy, and ever attached and devoted 
to his wife and family. His marriage to 
Miss Mary Jane Hudson was solemnized at 
Fort Howard, Brown Co., Wis., September 
29, 1863. Mrs. Nordvi was born in 1842 in 
Clayton, Jefferson Co., N. Y. , daughter of 
Samuel and Charlotte fHalleck) Hudson, 
the former of whom was a member of an 
old Maine family, and was born at Clinton, 
Kennebec Co., Maine, September 7, 18 15. 
The mother of Mrs. Nordvi was a native of 
Elizabethtown, Conn., born December 20, 
1824. Mr. and Mi"s. Hudson were married 
at Oswego, N. Y., in 1838, and had a fam- 
ily of nine children; Timothy, Mary Jane, 
Caroline, Samuel, Henry, Charles R., 
Joseph, Joseph Alvin and David William. 
■ The family came west and settled in Fort 
Howard in 1850, where the father died in 
1892; he was a ship carpenter and mason, 
and besides following these trades he kept 
hotel many years; the mother is still living. 
Mrs. Mary Jane Nordvi survives her hus- 
band. Of their four children, Albert M. 
died in 1872; Charlotte Annis, now Mrs. Leh- 
man, George Henry and Alfred Charles 
survive. 



JE. BREED, M.D..\vho as a successful 
practitioner and as a pioneer farmer 
has been activel)' identified with the 
growth and development of the North- 
ern Wisconsin Valle}' for almost forty years. 



has recently retired from his busy labors in 
Matteson township, Waupaca county, to a 
handsome house in the prosperous village of 
Clintonville, where he now enjoys the par- 
tial rest to which his long career of useful- 
ness has so richly entitled him. 

Dr. Breed was born in Adams, Jefferson 
Co., N. Y., March 28, 1823, son of Reuben 
and Martha (Everett) Breed, the father a 
native of Connecticut, the mother of Ver- 
mont. Reuben Breed was a currier, whose 
father, born at Stonington, Conn., served 
as a captain in the the Revolutionary war. 
The maternal grandfather of Dr. Breed was 
a surgeon in the Revolutionary- struggle. To 
Reuben and Martha Breed nine children 
were born, as follows: Louisa, who was 
the wife of Lewis Kellogg, a pioneer at Osh- 
kosh in 1852, and who died at Menasha 
March 26, 1892; Calista, who married Lev- 
erett Bryan, and died in Oneida county, 
N. Y., in 1854; Samantha, who was the 
wife of E. L. Freeman, and who died in 
Outagamie county, Wis., February 37, 1874; 
Elizabeth, who died in New York in 1847, 
the wife of David Hubbard; Lucy Ann, who 
died, aged nineteen years; .\ndalucia, who 
died in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1861, wife of 
Elden S. Bryant; Samuel Dwight, who lives 
near Ann Arbor, Mich. ; Dr. J. E. ; and 
Martha, who died in New York in childhood. 
Reuben Breed moved from New York to 
near Ann Arbor, Mich., and died July 26, 

1855, aged eighty-eight years, his wife 
having preceded him to the grave Septem- 
ber 3, 1843. 

The subject of this sketch attended the 
schools at Adams, N. Y., and also took a 
three-years' course at Sacket's Harbor. He 
began the study of medicine in Michigan, 
and his initial practice was obtained at 
Florence, Oneida Co., N. Y., in 1843. En- 
tering Jefferson Medical College, Philadel- 
phia, in 1844, Dr. Breed continued the 
practice of his profession in New York until 

1856, when he resolved to come west. Lo- 
cating temporarily at Oshkosh, May 22, 
1856, he removed to New London August 
24 of the same )ear, and there practiced 
medicine, the following year also opening a 
drug store at New London, which he con- 
ducted for one year. In 1858 he mo\ed to 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



587 



Maple Creek township, Oiitas;aniie countj', 
where for over three years he practiced and 
also tauf,'ht school. Then, in January, 1862, 
he homesteaded 120 acres of wild land in 
Matteson township, Waupaca county, and 
with an ox-team moved his family and per- 
sonal effects to the new home in the wilder- 
ness. He first built a board shanty in the 
woods and devoted his energies to the im- 
provement of the farm. In 1871 he erected 
a substantial one-and-a-half-story residence, 
22x28, with additions 22x16, 16x16 and 
16 X 20, and remained in this pioneer home, 
except during his military service, until his 
removal to Clintonville in the spring of 
1895. Dr. Breed enlisted for one year at 
Madison, Wis., in 1864, in Company C, 
Thirty-eighth Wis. V. I. The regiment was 
sent to Petersburg, Va., and Dr. Breed re- 
mained in service there and on detached 
dut\' in the hospital at Washington, D. C. , 
till discharged at Washington in May, 1865. 

On October 8, 1845, the Doctor was 
married in Utica N. Y., by Rev. Charles 
Wylie, to Miss Catherine Morrow, who was 
born in Pittsburg, Penn., daughter of George 
and Catherine (McGee) Morrow, natives of 
Ireland and of Scotch ancestry. George 
Morrow served in the war of 181 2, where 
he received a bayonet wound. He died of 
cholera in 1833 at Philadelphia, Penn., 
where he was engaged in the shoe business; 
his wife died in 1838. Their four children 
were Mary, who died at the residence of Dr. 
Breed in 1892; Jane E., wife of A. W. Wil- 
marth, of Clintonville; Edward, who died at 
Memphis, Tenn., in 1873, and whose family 
died of yellow fever the year following, and 
("atherine. To Dr. and Mrs. Breed six 
children have been born: Edward Everett, 
of Shawano; Montgomery C, a farmer of 
Matteson township, Waupaca county; Fred 
S., of the same township; George M., of 
Oconto county; Arthur W., also of that 
county; and Mary Kate, who passed away 
at Matteson at the age of sixteen. 

Dr. Breed is a Democrat of the old Jef- 
ferson and Jackson school, and has served 
the city of New London, Maple Creek town- 
ship, Outagamie county, and Matteson town- 
ship, as town clerk and in other local official 
capacities. He has been commander of the 



G. A. R. Post at Embarrass, and is a char- 
ter member of Shawano Lodge F. & A. M. 
For- between thirty-five and forty years he 
was weather observer here for the Smithson- 
ian Institute, Washington, D. C, and also 
for the Signal Service and the Agricultural 
Department; but he retired from this service 
in 1893, though he still continues to take 
observations for his own gratification. The 
Doctor and his excellent wife are the oldest 
residents in the northeast section of Wau- 
paca county, and are among the most highly 
esteemed and respected citizens. 



AUGUST BLECK, a substantial farm- 
er of Washington township, Sha- 
wano county, was born in German}' 
November 22, 1846, son of Martin 
and Ernstine (Reinke) Bleck, who were born 
in Germany. 

Martin Bleck, who was a farmer, an oc- 
cupation he followed all his life, died on the 
homestead in Germany some years ago, 
aged about seventy-eight years; his wife had 
preceded him to the grave. They had the 
following children: Henrietta, in German)-; 
John, a farmer in Washington township; 
August, subject of this sketch; Herman, a 
farmer in Underbill, Oconto Co., Wis.; 
Gottlieb, a farmer in Waukesha, Wis., and 
Fred, unmarried, who resides with his 
brother August. 

August Bleck received a common-schoiii 
education, left school at the age of fourteen, 
hired out as a farm hand, and received his 
board and twenty-five dollars for the first 
year. In the fall of 1869 he sailed from 
Bremen, Germany, on the steamer "Amer- 
ica" for the United States, landing at New 
York after a voyage of fourteen days. Com- 
ing direct to Scott township, Sheboygan 
county. Wis., he remained there one month 
with his cousin, Charles Bleck, then went 
to Winnebago county, Wis., and hired out 
to chop wood during that winter in the town 
of Winchester. The succeeding summer he 
worked as a farm hand at Bold Prairie, near 
Oshkosh, and followed this occupation three 
years. On January 10, 1873, in Theresa, 
Dodge Co., Wis., August Bleck was united 
in marriage with Miss Wilhelmina Dobber- 



sSS 



COMMKMOHATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL llECORD. 



phuhl, who was born in Germany May 3, 
1853, and they have had the following chil- 
dren: Frank, at home; Charles, who works 
near Waupun, Wis. ; and Anna, William, 
Albert, Paulina, John H., Henry, Alvina 
and Clara, all at home. The parents of 
Mrs. Bleck, Frederick and Fredericka (Kre- 
gel) Dobberphiihl, were born in Germany, 
whence they came to the United States, 
bringing with them their little daughter, Wil- 
helmina (Mrs. Bleck;, who was then four 
years of age, and settling in Theresa, Dodge 
Co., Wisconson. 

Prior to his marriage Mr. Bleck had pur- 
chased the land whereon he now lives. In 
1873 he erected a small log house, now used 
as the kitchen for the large modern house 
which he has since built, which is connected 
with it. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
Bleck came to this place to live, and they 
have since resided here. The\' are both 
members of the German Lutheran Church, 
antl take an active interest in its work. In 
politics Mr. Bleck is a Democrat, and he 
now holds the office of school treasurer; has 
been township treasurer for eight years, 
supervisor one year, and assessor one year. 
He is honored and respected, and has many 
friends. 



JH. OLMSTED, town clerk of Matte- 
teson township, Waupaca county, was 
born in Upper Canada, in 1849, and is 
a son of John N. and Elizabeth (Sulli- 
van) Olmsted, who were both of Canada, 
the mother being of Irish ancestrw 

John N. Olmsted, who is a farmer by 
occupation, came to Matteson township in 
1862, settling on wild land, and opening up 
a farm, where he now resides. His wife 
died in Shawano county in 1880. They 
had four children: D. S. , who died in 
Ironwood, Mich., in 1890; J. H., of whom 
we write; Lizzie, the wife of John W. Good- 
win, of New London, Waupaca. Co. Wis. ; 
and Epraim K. , who resides on the old farm 
in Matteson township. The parents of |ohn 
N. Olmsted were Ephraim and Esther 
Olmsted, who were born in Canada, and in 
an early day located in Matteson township, 
Waupaca county. Wis. Their children are: 



James J., residing in Matteson township; 
Ephraim, in Antigo, Langlade Co., Wis.; 
JohnN., the father of the subject of this 
sketch; and Margaret, the wife of David 
Matteson, of Phlox, Langlade Co., Wis. 
Ephraim Olmsted, father of these four, 
made his home on Pigeon river, Matteson 
township, and died there many years ago. 
J. H. Olmsted was reared in Canada to 
the age of thirteen, and educated in the 
schools there and in Matteson township, 
Waupaca county, ^^'is. He came to Mat- 
teson in the fall of 1862, and aided in clear- 
ing the farm which his father opened up 
there in Section 19. In 1873, in Matteson 
township, J. H. Olmsted was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Emma Ewer, who was born 
in Hartford township, Washington county, 
^^'is., and they are the parents of two chil- 
dren — Clayton E. and Pearl. Mrs. Olm- 
sted is a daughter of Esben Ewer. Mr. 
Olmsted located in the village of Embarrass 
in 1873, worked in a sawmill, and followed 
milling for some years; he has also been en- 
gaged in farming, and owns fifty-two acres 
adjoining the village. Mr. Olmsted votes 
with the Democratic party. He was elected 
town clerk in 1892, and was assessor of the 
tow nship several times. He has seen great 
changes in this part of the State, and has 
taken an interest in what he regards for the 
advancement of the interests of the countv. 



EBENTZEL, one of the wealthiest 
and most highly respected citizens 
of this portion of northern Wiscon- 
sin, and whose home is on his well- 
regulated farm in Scandinavia township, 
^^'aupaca county, is a native of Switzerland, 
born December 15, 18 19, in the Canton of 
Zurich. 

He is one of three children born to Chris- 
tian Ernst Bentzel, the other two being Al- 
bert, who died in Austria, and Leopoldine, 
who passed away at the age of three years. 
The Bentzel family historj- is best told in 
our subject's own words, though not, prob- 
ably, so fluently rendered in these pages as 
it would be in his own beautiful native lan- 
guage: The history of the famil} Bentzel, 
as found in the books of the Swedish no- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



5S9 



bility in the archives of the Riddarhouse at 
Stockholm, shows that the Bentzels belong- 
ing to old free Sweafolks had their home at 
Bentziby Gaard in Lulea parish, in the 
Swedish Province Lulea Lappmark, where 
the\' made their living by stock raising and 
charcoal burning, shipping the charcoal to 
the furnaces of Kopparberg. Upon the 
most sheltered portions of the territory be- 
longing to the Gaard they raised some oats 
and barley for family use, principally to fur- 
nish that coarse flour called " niyor, " for the 
■' knakebred," which is baked only twice a 
year for dailj- use. In the early part of the 
third decade of the Sixteenth century, the 
record says, two young men of the family 
serving in the liberation army and fighting 
bravely against the bloody tyrant King Chris- 
tian II of Denmark and Norway, under the 
connnand of Gustav Wasa, were declared 
Knights upon the battlefield by the Prince 
himself, this honorable promotion giving 
them the noble addition to their name of 
the word "Stjerna" (star). 

On July 4, 1630, Col. Erik Christian de 
Bentzel Stjerna landed on the German coast 
with the Swedish army under King Gustav 
II .Adolf, and fought in most of the remark- 
able battles of the Thirty- Years' War. But 
after the heroic death of the King he began 
to grow tired of the endless barbarism and 
bloodshed of this war of thirty years' stand- 
ing; Softer feelings occupied his heart, and 
he quitted the service of his native country 
and married a young lady belonging to one 
of the first and most prominent families of 
Mainz; he died in 1649 at his vineyard 
property at Ober-Walluf, on the banks of 
the Rhine. 

His son, Franz Peter, attained the rank 
of Imperial Counselor in the cabinet of the 
Electoral Archbishop of Mainz. His son, 
Johann Peter, was Chancellor of the Elec- 
toral State of Mainz, and in virtue of his of- 
fice in 1745 administered the oath of the 
Empress and Queen Maria Theresia to the 
Electoral Capitulation of the German Em- 
pire; in 1746 he advanced to the title of 
Freiherr (Baron) von Bentzel zu Sternauet 
Hohenau. [Hohenau is an island in the 
Rhine a little below the city of Mainz; his 
homestead in the city burned down in 1739 



and was rebuilt during his last dajs; it bears 
to-day the name Bentzlischer Hof. ] 

His son, Franz Anshelm (grandfather of 
E. Bentzel), attained under the liberal gov- 
ernment of Churfurst Emmerich the office 
of Chancellor of the Electoral State of 
Mainz. He was one of the school of the so- 
called Encyclopedists, and under his super- 
intendency was founded the University of 
Mainz. Churfurst Emmerich was succeeded 
by Churfurst V. Erthal, of the Roman 
party, and in consequence thereof the Dom- 
Capitel dismissed Franz Anshelm de Bentzel 
from the highest office as chancellor, but 
they could not deprive him of his rank as 
superintendent of schools. Harassed by both 
parties, the Romans and the Clubbists, he 
died in the midst of the troubles that were 
then spreading across the Rhine, before the 
great French Revolution crushed the old 
laws, institutions and states to dust and 
ashes. His death occurred in 1786, and 
he left the State and his own fortunes in 
very turbulent circumstances. 

Christian Ernest Bentzel (father of E. 
Bentzel) was only nineteen years old at the 
time of his father's death. His friend and 
protector, the coadjutor Carl de Dalberg, 
used his influence in favor of the fatherless 
family, and as a result Christian Ernest 
Bentzel, being the eldest son, was declared 
of age and appointed guardian of the minors. 
Monsignor de Dalberg sent him, the next 
year, for two terms, as assessor to the Im- 
perial Court of Chancery at Wezlar. to learn 
the common and criminal laws of Germany. 
In 1790 the Bentzel family were given their 
title as Counts of the German Empire. In 
1791 Christian Ernest Bentzel entered the 
service of the Electoral State of Mainz, as 
the fourth of the name, as a member of the 
Governmental Council at Erfurt, and held 
that office eleven years, during the last two 
years of this period acting as secret counselor 
and ambassador to the assembly of the Im- 
perial District of Swaben, for the principal- 
ity of Constance. In 1802 he was advanced 
to the office of Electoral Secret Counselor 
of Mainz. In 1803 he became Government 
Director of the principality of Regensburg. 
In 1806 he entered the service of the Grand 
Duke of Baden as director of the Ministrv 



59° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of the Interior, and curator-in-chief of the 
two universities, Heidelberg and Freiburg, 
and president of the general board of 
studies. After this he was for five years 
president of the Supreme Court of the Pala- 
tinate (Pfalz) at Mannheim. 

In the beginning of the year 1812, the 
Prince Primas of the Confederation of 
Rhenen, Carl Dalberg, the Grand Duke of 
Frankfurt, recalled him to his services and 
gave him the portfolios of State and Finances, 
and at the end of 1813, he was further hon- 
ored with the office of Commissioner Gen- 
eral of War and Military Affairs, in which 
capacity his talent for organization was 
brilliantly displayed. He arranged through- 
out all the communities in the little State 
for the disposition of localities, beddings 
and bandage stuffs, and in this way the 
Grand Duch}' was enabled to give shelter 
and medical and other supplies to more than 
thirty-six thousand wounded sufferers after 
the great battle of Leipsic. The day after 
the battle of Hanau he rushed through the 
French shells fired against the poor city of 
Frankfurt, found the Emperor Napoleon I 
and insisted on his stopping the cruel bom- 
bardment, which was done, and the remnant 
of the grand French Army entered Frankfurt 
to gain free passage to the bridge of Mainz. 
i\fter this the Congress of Vienna swept 
the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt off from the 
map of Germany, Carl de Dalberg retired 
as bishop to Regensburg and refused to ac- 
cept the donation of one million florins 
offered him by the Congress, and E. Bent- 
zel's father was out of all his offices. 

Late m the year 18 17 the latter bought 
the vineyard property Mariahalde, at the 
town of Erlenbach, on the lake of Zurich, 
in Switzerland, where he spent the remain- 
der of his days, and was the author of 
numerous political and poetical works. He 
died there August 13, 1849, two hundred 
years after our subject's namesake fore- 
father, Erik Christian. 

Erik Christian, Count de Bentzel of 
Sternau and Hohenau, was born at Maria- 
halde December 15, 1819. His mother, 
Maria Teresia, Baroness de Seckendorff- 
Aberdar, was married to his father in the 
year 1805, and died in the spring of 1S38. 



After a thorough classical course Erik 
Bentzel was matriculated as a student at 
the University of Zurich in the spring of 
1835, where he studied the natural sciences 
for six semesters. After the death of his 
mother he had to superintend the farm and 
wine business, and his father, being unable 
to attend to affairs, petitioned the govern- 
ment, and our subject was declared of age. 
In 1840 he entered a corps of riflemen. In 
1846 he married (particulars of which 
event will be given farther on), and attend- 
ed to a farm of his own besides the Maria- 
halde. Late in the year 1847, he served as 
lieutenant of riflemen in the war against the 
Sonderbund, during which short campaign 
his best and closest companion was Lieut. 
Ferdinand Keller, who afterward became a 
farmer in the town of Honey Creek, Sauk 
Co., Wis. After the death of his father the 
Mariahalde was sold, in 1851. On April 9, 
1 8 52, he received his commission as captain 
of the Mobile Riflemen of the federal army 
of Switzerland. 

In 1854 Mr Bentzel and his wife emigra- 
ted to the United States, sailing from Ha\re. 
France, on the steamship "Franklin," and 
arriving in New York after a passage of fif- 
teen days, from which city they came direct 
to Wisconsin, taking train to Chicago, steam- 
boat to Milwaukee, thence stage to Fond du 
Lac, at which then village the wa}"-\vorn 
travelers took steamer for Oshkosh, the 
passage from there to Gill's Landing being 
made by the steamer "Pearl," thence jour- 
neying to Waupaca ^spending one night, 
01 route, at Weyauwega i. Leaving his wife 
in Waupaca, Mr. Bentzel traveled on foot to 
Scandinavia township, where he pre-empted 
160 acres of wild land in Section 9, which 
had been originally taken up by another 
man, our subject purchasing the hitter's 
right. To this he added by buying govern- 
ment land in Town 23, north. Range 11. 
east, and elsewhere in Waupaca and Port- 
age counties, accumulating, in all, some 980 
acres of land. Soon after his arrival here 
he sent a team to bring his wife to her new 
far-west home, their temporary abode being 
made with one Casper Zwicky. This land 
Mr. Bentzel at once set to work to clear and 
improve, in course of time converting a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



59 > 



f^oodly portion of it into a productive farm. 
In the spring of 187S they removed to Osh- 
kosh, where they made their home till 1887, 
in which year they returned to the old home- 
stead in Scandinavia township, where they 
have since resided, surrounded b\' all the 
comforts due to lives well-spent and passed 
in hours of industry and judicious economy, 
Mr. Bent;?el being now retired from active 
life. He has disposed of a considerable 
amount of his propert}' in Waupaca and Port- 
age counties, and has a site in Switzerland 
whereon he is having an Orphans' Home 
erected, having spent for that purpose in 
1S95 26,000 francs, a noble work of magna- 
nimity and philanthropy on his part. The 
present commodious and comfortable resi- 
dence of this honored pioneer couple was re- 
built and enlarged in 1887, and the library 
is well filled with literary pabulum, for Mr. 
Bentzel is a great reader, and being a high- 
ly-educated and refined man, a three-years' 
student at the University of Zurich, and 
gifted with a wonderful memory, he is a 
fascinating conversationalist, and, if we may 
be permitted to so express ourselves, a hu- 
man encyclopedia whose store of knowledge, 
especially in science and history, is a source 
of both pleasure and profit to all who have 
the pleasure of his acquaintance. 

On May iS, 1846, at Eslenbach, Switz- 
erland, Mr. Bentzel was united in marriage 
with Miss Anna Regula Aeberlm de Phlug- 
stein. Canton of Zurich, where she was born 
March 4, 1823, daughter of Jacob .\eberlin, 
a farmer of that locality. In his political 
preferences our subject is a Democrat, has 
served his township as chairman and super- 
visor, and has filled the office of justice of 
the peace fourteen years with characteristic 
ability and fidelity. In religious faith he 
and his beloved wife are members of the 
German Reformed Church. 



M 



AHLON L. MUNSERT, one of 

the energetic and successful busi- 
ness men of Clintonville, Waupaca 
county, until recently was a mem- 
ber of the firm of Munsert & Guernsey, who 
since 1891 have been engaged in the manu- 
facture of cedar shindes, etc. A member 



of one of the early families of Wisconsin, 
our subject is a native of the State, born 
near Milwaukee in 1850, son of Carl and 
Hannah Munsert, who emigrated from Ger- 
many to America in 1848. 

Carl Munsert, who was a stone mason by 
trade, first located near Milwaukee, later 
moving to Ellington township, Outagamie 
county, where he opened up a farm in the 
woods. In 1 86 1 he removed to Bear Creek 
township, Waupaca county, and settled on 
a timber tract of 160 acres, which he im- 
proved, and afterward by purchase enlarged 
his possession. His death occurred in New 
London in 1881, his wife dying on the old 
homestead in Bear Creek township in 1875. 
Carl and Hannah Munsert reared a familj- 
of children, as follows: Christina, who lives- 
in Kansas; Frederick, who enlisted in 1861 
in the Ninth Wis. V. I., serving three years 
and four months, and who now resides in 
Allen county, Kans. ; Hannah, wife of 
Michael Bungert, of Ellington township. 
Outagamie county, in 1878; and Mahlon L., 
subject of this sketch. 

Mahlon L. Munsert, as a member of his 
father's family, was reared in Outagamie 
and Waupaca counties. He attended the 
schools, and quite materially assisted his 
father in clearing up the farm in Bear Creek 
township, where he himself now owns a good 
farm of 240 acres. He resided there until 
he came to Clintonville in 1891, and entered 
upon his successful manufacturing enter 
prise, his interest in which he has recently 
sold, however, and he is principally occupied 
in looking after his vested interests in real 
estate, etc. He is a member and present 
treasurer of the Ellington Iron Mnfg. Co., 
incorporated in 1893 for the purpose of de- 
veloping an iron mine in Elllington township. 
He started into successful operation the sec- 
ond cheese factory established in Bear Creek 
township, and also owned and operated the 
second self-binder harvester owned in the 
township, in these and many other ways 
displaying his spirit of progressiveness and 
enterprise. On April 18, 1876, he was 
married, in Ellington township, Outagamie 
county, to Miss Lany Smith, a native of that 
township and daughter of Nicholas and Eliz- 
abeth (Bungertl Smith, Germans, who emi- 



•592 



COMMEMORAriVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



grated to America in an early day. Nich- 
olas Smith crossed the ocean in 1853, lo- 
cating first in Chicago, but soon after re- 
moving to the woods of Ellington township, 
Outagamie Co., Wis., locating on forty 
acres of land, but afterward increased his 
possessions to 260 acres; he is now retired, 
residing at Hortonville. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Munsert have come two children: Willie 
J., born January 24, 1878, and Hlrnira, 
born January 9, 1882. 

Politically Mr. Munsert holds allegiance 
to the Republican party. He is supervisor 
from the First ward of Clintonville, to which 
office he was re-elected in the spring of 1895, 
and was appointed a member of the building 
committee for the erection of the new 
County Poor House, to be built in the town 
of Little Wolf, on which he is serving. 
While in Bear Creek township, for two 
years he was town treasurer. He is a 
member of Clintonville Lodge No. 197, 
F. & A. M. ; while Mrs. Munsert is a mem- 
ber of the Eastern Star, connected with the 
Masonic Fraternity. Mr. Munsert has been 
an influential factor in the development of 
the northern part of Waupaca county, and 
is generall}' regarded as one of the most 
substantial and public-spirited citizens of his 
locality. 



AS. McDonald, one of the leading 
citizensof Marion, Dupont township, 
Waupaca county, came to the coun- 
ty- in 1875, and has been a resident 
■of Marion since that time. He was born in 
1845 in Crown Point, Ind., and is a son of 
Alexander and Roxie (Albie) McDonald, 
who were born, respectively, in New York 
and Illinois. 

.Alexander McDonald was a lawyer of 
national reputation, and was in the State 
House of Representatives some ten or twelve 
consecutive years. He received his early 
education in New York City. Mr. McDon- 
ald and his wife located in Crown Point, 
Ind., about 1830, and were among the early 
pioneers. He then began work in his pro- 
fession, acquired an extensive practice, and 
at the time of his death, in 1869, was the 
leading lawyer in his locality. His father. 



Alexander McDonald, was also a profes- 
sional man. Alexander McDonald was the 
parent of eight children: Gertrude, now the 
wife of H. Holton, a retired merchant of 
Crown Point, Ind. ; Flora, now the wife of 
Otto Poppe, a homeopathic ph3sician on 
Wabash avenue, Chicago, 111. ; Alexander, 
Jr., who died at the age of twenty-one; A. 
S., the subject of this sketch; Belle, now 
the wife of Charles Lathrop, a farmer of 
Crown Point, Ind. ; Donald, an attorney; 
Ma}-, the wife of George Moore, an allo- 
pathic physician of Oconomowoc, Waukesha 
Co. , Wis. ; and Byron, an electrician at 
Crown Point, Ind. The children'were reared 
at home, and educated at Notre Dame Uni- 
versity, which furnished far better ad\ant- 
ages for learning than were enjoyed by 
many of the children of that da\'. They all 
made their home with their parents until of 
an adult age. 

On November 3, 1863, A. S. McDonald 
enlisted in Company G, Twelfth Ind. \'. C, 
and was mustered into service at Michigan 
City, Ind. They went to Nashville, Tenn., 
then to Huntsville, where they guarded the 
railroad; to Tullahoma, to Murfreesboro, 
where they were held three weeks; then to 
Nashville, Vicksburg, New Orleans, Mobile 
and Fort Blakely, where Mr. McDonald's 
horse was shot. He went to \"icksburg. was 
honorably discharged in August. 1865. Mr. 
McDonald is a bachelor. He is an ardent 
Republican, and has held offices of promi- 
nence. In 1885 he was elected representa- 
tive, and again in 1887, and was four times 
chairman of Dupont township. He is a 
member of the G. A. R. Post at Marion, 
and also of Clintonville Lodge No. 1I4, 
I. O. O. F. 



L.ARS PEDERSEN, a prosperous mer- 
chant of Waupaca, fitly t\pifies in 
his successful business career in the 
Northern Wisconsin \'alley, the 
strength of fiber and the unswerving recti- 
tude of the Scandinavian character. The 
first half of his industrious and thrifty life 
was spent in Denmark, his native land, 
where his sterling qualities gave him a start 
in life, and when those traits were trans- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGUAPHICAL RECORD. 



593 



planted to the more fertile field of American 
industry they blossomed into a richer and 
more notable success. 

Mr. Pedersen was born in the town of 
Wester, Egede Sjelland, Denmark, April 
17, 1826, a son of Peter and Johanna 
(Nelson) Larson, to whom eif;ht children 
were born, but only two now sur\ i\f. The 
parents died in Denmark. Lars, the third 
son, was jj;iven a good education, and was 
reared on his father's farm. When a young 
man, in 1848, he served for a \'ear in a reg- 
iment of Danish infantry in the war between 
Denmark and Germany. l<"or a short time 
he worked in a drug store, but his labor was 
principally on the lands of Danish farmers. 
It was not until 1863, when Lars was thirty- 
seven years old, that he decided to come to 
America. He had saved $700 from his 
earnings, besides contributing largely to the 
support of his mother, who was a widow. 
Relatives had preceded him to Waupaca, 
Wis. , and that city was his destination when 
he crossed the ocean. For two years he 
worked in the sawmills during the summers 
and in the woods in winter. He also served 
as a government employe in Tennessee in 

1864. By that time he had grown accus- 
tomed to the new soil, and he determined 
to launch into business for himself with his 
little capital, somewhat augmented since 
his arrival in America. Accordingly, in 

1865, he entered the mercantile business at 
Waupaca, in partnership with Mr. Larson. 
A year later he bought out the interest of 
his partner and since then has conducted 
the business alone. Although he was once 
burned out, and sustained thereb}' a serious 
loss, Mr. Pedersen now owns a well-stocked 
general store, located in a substantial brick 
block, which he erected in 1889. He also 
owns a tine residence in Waupaca, and a 
good farm in Farmington township. 

In 1876 he was married to Johanna Jen- 
sen, a native of Denmark, who in that year 
had bravely crossed the ocean alone to join 
her uncle, Chris Johnson, in Waupaca 
county. Her parents were farmers, and 
she had three sisters, but she was the only 
member of the family who came to Amer- 
ica. Mr. and Mrs. Pedersen have eight 
•children — Evelina, Walter, Meh'ina, 01i\'ia, 



Hallidan, Thyra, Cecilia and Allerea. Mr. 
Pedersen is among the representative busi- 
ness men of Waupaca, and takes an active in- 
terest in all matters pertaining to the wel- 
fare of the city and county. In politics he 
is a Republican, and in religious faith a 
leading member uf the Danish Lutheran 
Church. 



DANIEL EMMET CAREY is a lead- 
ing citizen of Wood county, residing 
in the city of Cirand Rapids. The 
history of a nation is best told in the 
lives of its people, says a well-known histo- 
rian, and those who have served their coun- 
try faithfull}', whether in commercial, pro- 
fessional or agricultural life, form that class 
who really make the history of a commun- 
ity; such a one is Mr. Carey, and the record 
of his career is as follows: He was born at 
Three Rivers, Hampden Co., Mass., Octo- 
ber 6, 1843, and is a son of John D. and 
Joanna (Moriarty) Carey, both of whom 
were natives of Halle, County Kerry, Ire- 
land, the former born in 181 i, the latter in 
1 81 3. The mother passed peacefully awaj' 
in the city of Centralia, Wis., December 8, 
1888, while the father, after a long and well- 
spent life, was called to eternal rest Decem- 
ber 3, 1893, at the same place. 

During the infancy of our subject, when 
he was but six months old, the parents re- 
moved to Will county. 111., and three years 
later became residents of Dodge county. 
Wis., this State at that time being still in 
its Territorial days. In the spring of 1856 
they returned to Thorndike, Hampden Co., 
Mass. , but the following year again came to 
Wisconsin, and after passing two months at 
Mineral Point, the father in January, 1858, 
purchased a farm in Adams county, twelve 
miles from Grand Rapids, where they re- 
sided until 1864, removing thence to Port 
Edwards, Wood Co., Wis., and from there 
to what is now the city of Centralia, where 
they continued to make their home until 
death called them hence. 

The subject proper of this sketch accom- 
panied his parents on their various removals, 
and was reared in the usual manner of farm- 
er lads, in the common schools receiving a 



594 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fair English education. He continued to 
enj^age in farm labor with his father until 
August 22, 1862, when he responded to the 
country's call for aid in preserving the Union 
intact. He was assigned to Compan)- K, 
Twenty-fifth Wis. \'. I., at Monroe, and 
proceeded with his regiment to Camp Solo- 
mon at La Crosse, Wis., thence to Minne- 
sota on frontier duty, his command being 
stationed at Fort Snelling about the time of 
the massacre at New Ulm. When they re- 
ported to Gen. Pope the companies were 
variously disposed of, the one to which our 
subject belonged being stationed at Fort 
Rusk, at \\'innebago City, Minn., and in 
October Mr. Care}' was one of the twelve 
who were detailed from the command with 
Lieut. L. S. Grow to go to Martin county, 
twenty-two miles from Winnebago City, for 
frontier duty. Mr. Carey was mounted, and 
acted as scout until the first of December, 
when they were ordered back to Madison, 
Wis. They marched 250 miles to Winona, 
Minn., and thence to La Crosse, their last 
day's march covering forty-four miles over 
rough roads of frozen cla}' and snow, the 
weather being intensely cold. On their ar- 
rival at Madison Col. Montgomery applied 
for a furlough for his men, but did not ob- 
tain it. After the refusal of Gen. Pope he 
applied to Gov. Solomon, who declined the 
responsibility, and the Colonel, on his own 
responsibility, then gave them a ten-days' 
furlough, at the end of which time all but 
three men reported for duty. In Minnesota 
they had e.xcellent rations, but at Madison 
their food was sour bread and decomposed 
meat. This led to dissatisfaction, and with 
the meat on their bayonets they marched 
through the camp. The matter, however, 
was finally adjusted, and the troops were 
given wholesome food, together with the 
title of the "Bloody Twenty-fifth." 

In the month of February, 1863, this 
regiment was ordered to the South, going to 
Columbus. Ky. . where the troops did garri- 
son duty until May, when they went to 
X'icksburg, Miss., and participated in the 
siege of that city. Later they were stationed 
at Helena, Ark., until February, 1864, and 
there suffered terribly from disease con- 
tracted in the swamps of the Mississippi, at 



one time onlj' sixty men in the regiment be- 
ing able to do dut}'. They were sent on the 
Meridian, Miss., campaign and after destrov- 
ing railroad and other property returned to 
Vicksburg, whence they went to Florence, 
Ala., and to Decatur, Ala., where they had 
some sharp fighting. While there Mr. Carey 
was wounded in the third finger of his left 
hand, which was paralyzed for five months, 
but he did not leave his post of duty for a 
single day. He participated in the battles 
of Resaca, Dallas, Pine Mountain, Lost 
Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Or- 
chard, Rough Mills, Decatur, Ezra Church, 
Lovejoy Station, Jonesboro and Savannah, 
Ga. ; Salkehatchie River Bridge, South Edis- 
to, Wilkes' Mills and Cheraw, S. C. ; Ben- 
tonville, N. C. ; Atlanta, Ga. ; and through 
Georgia and the Carolinas. After leaving 
the latter place, they were almost daih' en- 
gaged in skirmishing until Goldsboro, N. C, 
was reached, and after the surrender of 
Johnston, at Raleigh, N. C, they marched 
through Virginia to Washington, where they 
participated in the grand review at Wash- 
ington, D. C. , on May 24, 1865. Mr. 
Care}' was made corporal and also, while 
on the march to the sea, without regular 
appointment, he served as commissary ser- 
geant. He was honorably discharged June 
7, 1865, and at once returned to Wisconsin. 
Mr. Carey then located at Port Edwards, 
whither his father had removed, and spent 
two years as head sawyer in a mill, at Sen- 
eca, Wood Co. ; also in running the river. 
In 1867 he went to Hancock, Waushara 
Co., \Ms., where he engaged in agricultural 
pursuits and later in blacksmithing; in 1873 
he removed from Hancock. \\'aushara Co., 
to Grand Rapids, where he continued the 
blacksmithing two years, but in 1875 he was 
obliged to relinquish that business on ac- 
count of sciatic rheumatism contracted at 
Macon, Ga., while in the army. For nearly 
three years he engaged in the sale of sewing 
machines, after which he secured a position 
as salesman at Grand Rapids, and in 
1S82 he was called to public office, serv- 
ing for five years as city marshal. In 
1887 he engaged in carpentering; then was 
salesman for a nursery firm, and for fourteen 
\ears acted as special treasury agent for the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



595 



State of Wisconsin, resigning that position 
in 1889, on account of ill health. He also 
acted as game warden of the State for four 
years, but since 1889 he has entirely lost 
the use of his limbs, both legs and left arm, 
through paralysis caused by sciatica con- 
tracted while aiding in the defense of the 
Union. 

On November 10, 1867, Mr. Care}' 
wedded Miss Mary Ann Rawson, who died 
in 1870 from the effects of burns caused by 
catching her clothing afire while alone in the 
house with her daughter. Rose Alice. On 
December 23, 1871, Mr. Carey married Ma- 
tilda Ann Rawson, a niece of his first wife, 
and a daughter of Calvin and Catherine 
(Dutcher) Rawson, who was born in Den- 
mark, Ca}uga Co., N. Y. , November 26, 
1S44. Their union has been blessed with 
two sons — John Daniel, born March 19, 
1876, and Emmet William, born January 
20, 1 878. During the school year they pur- 
sue their studies, but during vacations are 
employed as salesmen in Grand Rapids. 
Mrs. Carey was one of a famil}' of four sons 
and five daughters, but with the exception 
of herself there is only one living, Mary L. , 
now the wife of Julian Rogers, a prominent 
and prosperous agriculturist of Hancock, 
Wis. Mr. Carey was also one of a family 
of nine children, eight of whom still survive, 
as follows: Hannah Maria, wife of William 
Henry Flewelling, residing near Nekoosa, 
Wis.; Daniel E., in the city of Grand 
Rapids, Wis.; Ellen A., wife of Silas A. 
Pa3-ne, of South Centralia, Wis. ; Julia E., 
wife of John Monagan, a resident of De.\- 
terville, Wis.; John E., who makes his 
home in Eau Claire, Wis. ; Mar}', wife of 
William Dever, of Beloit, this State; Mich- 
ael N., who is living in Centralia, and Will- 
iam H., who is serving as deputy sheriff and 
city marshal of Centralia, Wisconsin. 

Daniel E. Carey is quite prominent in 
Grand Army circles, and has acted in the 
capacity of aide on the staffs of Commanders 
Enos and Cheek of the Department of Wis- 
consin, and of Commander-in-chief Robert 
B. Beath of Philadelphia, at the national 
encampment at Minneapolis, Minn., in 1884. 
He also acted as aide on the staff of Gen. 
Fairchild; has officiated as commander of 



Wood County Post, No. 22, G. '^ j^ ^pd 
is one of its most prominent meiii\^^„ In 
arm}' circles he has a wide acquaintaf.ce, 
and is very prominent and popular among 
his comrades of '• the blue." In politics. he 
is a stanch Republican, and he and ihis 
family attend the Congregational Church i. 



s 



WEND TORGERSEN, a well-known 
agriculturist of Farmington town- 
ship, Waupaca county, and an hon- 
ored veteran of the late war, was 
born in Norway, October 31, 1842, and is a 
son of Torger Swenson, a farmer, who 
labored hard to support his family of three 
children, two sons and a daughter — Swend, 
Torger and Dora. In the spring of 1849, 
he brought his family to the United States, 
arriving in New York after a long and tedi- 
ous voyage on a sailing vessel. By way of 
the Erie canal he went to Milwaukee, Wis. , 
and made a settlement in Dodge count}'. 
Wis., where was living his brother, who had 
there located three years previously. The 
family reached Dt)dge county, July 18, 1849, 
and a few days later the father died of chol- 
era. He was soon followed to the grave b}' 
the mother, and the onl\' daughter also suc- 
cumbed to this dreadful scourge. Thus the 
two boys, Swend and Torger, were left or- 
phans. An uncle and aunt kindly gave them 
a home, and with them our subject remained 
until thirteen years of age, when he began 
life's battle for himself. He worked one 
year for a farmer who promised him a suit 
of clothes and a free ride in a wagon to 
Waupaca county, where man}' of his rela- 
tives were located, and in the fall of 1856 
he became a resident of Scandinavia town- 
ship, Waupaca county. Here he worked 
upon a farm belonging to an aunt until 
March, 1861, at which time he returned to 
Dodge county, there spending the summer. 
In October of the same year, Mr. Tor- 
gersen responded to the call of his adopted 
country for troops, enlisting in the service 
at Oconomowoc, as a member of Compan} 
D, Fifteenth Wis. \'. I. He was then a 
}oung man of eighteen years, with a robust 
constitution, blessed with excellent health, 
but his hard service during the ne.xt few 



596 , 



COMMEMORATIVE BJOGRAPSICAL RECORD. 



ye'-TS almcgt wrecked his fine constitution. 
Tl;ie -regiment was sent to Bird Point, Mo., 
wh*ere the troops did scouting and guard 
duly for some time, the first active engage- 
ment in which our subject participated being 
at Perryville, Ky. This was followed by the 
ba-ttles of Stone River, Chattanooga, Chick- 
ainauga and Lookout Mountain, and he then 
started with Sherman on the Atlanta cam- 
paign, participating in most of its battles and 
in the engagement at Jonesboro. After the 
battle of Atlanta the regiment was sent back 
to Chattanooga for guard duty, and in that 
city was honorably discharged on the 13th 
of Februar}-, 1S65, after which our subject 
came north to Oconomowoc, Wis., and then 
made his way to the home of his aunt in 
Scandinavia township, Waupaca county. 

Mr. Torgersen was married in April, 1866, 
to Miss Julia Osofson, a native of Norway, 
and to them were born two children, T. A. T. , 
who died at the age of fouryears, and Thea G. 
T. , who died at the age of sixteen and a 
half years. After the death of his first wife 
our subject married Anna Thompson, a na- 
tive of Scandinavia township. They hold 
membership with the I^utheran Church, and 
have an adopted daughter. Alma L. Olson. 

In 1866, Mr. Torgersen purchased in 
Sections 4 and 5, Farmington township, 
eighty acres of land, thereby incurring an 
indebtedness of $700. Only fifteen acres of 
the land were under cultivation, and a small 
log cabin constituted the improvements upon 
the place, but in that primitive home he and 
his wife began their domestic life, and many 
happy hours were there passed. In 1883, 
however, the cabin home was replaced by a 
more modern residence. Other improve- 
ments have been added, such as are found 
on many good farms of \\^isconsin, and the 
landed possessions of our subject have been 
increased until he now owns i 25 acres — sixty 
acres under cultivation. 

Mr. Torgersen has had much to contend 
with in his efforts to secure a comfortable 
property. As before stated, he was blessed 
with excellent health on entering the army, 
but on account of the exposure and priva- 
tions incident to the life of a warrior, he re- 
turned home a physical wreck, and has 
never vet regained his former strength and 



vitalit}'. He has, nevertheless, always made 
the most of his opportunities and privileges, 
and the poor orphan boy of forty-five years 
ago has, through his own efforts, become 
the substantial farmer which we to-day find 
him. Sociallj-, he is connected with lola 
Post, No. 99, G. A. R. ; and with the Re- 
publican party, to which he has stanchly 
adhered since casting his first Presidential 
vote for Abraham Lincoln. The duties of 
citizenship are always faithfully performed 
by him, and his loyalty to his adopted coun- 
try is of that same steadfast quality which 
prompted him to don the blue and march 
forth to the defense of the Union in her 
hour of peril. 



ANTON MEHL, a prominent boot 
and shoe merchant of \\'ausau, and 
one of the early settlers of Marathon 
county, was born in the Rhine Prov- 
ince, German}', June 12, 1845. He is a son 
of John and Katherine Mehl, who were both 
born in Germany, where their deaths oc- 
curred, respectively, in 1868 and 1869. 

Anton Mehl was reared to manhood and 
educated in the Fatherland, where, after 
leaving school, he learned the trade of a 
shoemaker. At the age of fourteen he left 
home, and visited different cities of Ger- 
many for the purpose of perfecting himself 
at his trade. In 1866, at Berlin, he was 
drafted into the army and served during the 
war between France and Germany, .\fter 
his discharge he returned to Frankfort, 
worked at his trade there until 1872, and 
then came to America. After landing at 
New York he proceeded at once to Wausau, 
Marathon Co., Wis., where he has resided 
continuously ever since. After his arrival 
here he worked at his trade for about six 
months, and, at the expiration of that time, 
engaged in his present business, in which he 
has since continued. 

In Wausau, in 1 874, Anton Mehl was 
united in marriage with Mary Shuetz, and 
there have been born to them six children, 
of whom five are li\ing — Mary, Li/zie, Ena, 
Lena and Hattie. The parents of Mrs. 
Mehl, John and Katherine Shuetz, were 
born in Germany, were early settlers of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



597- 



Marathon county, and now reside in \\'au- 
sau, where Mr. Shuetz is engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits. 

Mr. Mehl served the city as mayor one 
term, also as alderman of the Second ward 
for one term, and is now a member of the 
school board. He is a member of the Sons 
of Hermann and of the Wausau Aid So- 
ciety. In political views he is a Repub- 
lican. 



WALTER HOBSON is one of Wis- 
consin's native sons, his birth hav- 
ing occurred in Waterford town- 
ship. Racine county, January 5, 
1843. His parents, George and Ann (Bur- 
toft) Hobson, were both natives of York- 
shire, England, and the father, who was a 
weaver by trade, worked at one loom for 
nine years. In the family were the follow- 
ing children; James, now living in Idaho; 
Hannah, widow of William Beedle, of South 
Dakota; Mary married Samuel A. Tinkum, 
who was a member of Company B, Four- 
teenth Wis. V. I., and was killed at the bat- 
tle of Corinth; her death took place in 1863, 
and she was buried in Vine Hill Cemetery; 
Allen, a farmer of Minnesota, now deceased; 
Ellen, who became the wife of Edmund B. 
Silverthorn, and died in Waupaca, Wis. ; 
and Edwin, who is living in Waupaca. The 
above children were all born in England, 
and in America the family circle was in- 
creased by the birth of two children, Wal- 
ter, of this sketch; and Emma, who died in 
Waupaca, at the age of twenty-three years, 
and is buried in Waupaca Cemetery. 

In the autumn of 1842, George Hobson, 
accompanied by his family, took passage on 
a westward bound sailing vessel, which after 
a voyage of nine weeks dropped anchor in 
the harbor of (hiebec. He then made his 
way to Milwaukee, Wis., and on to Racine 
county, this State, where he began farming 
on shares. In the fall of 1852, he came 
to Waupaca count}', and located on a farm 
in what is now Sections 31 and 32, Lind 
township; but at that time the land was yet 
unsurveyed. The journey to this count}' 
was made with ox-teams. The father and 
his eldest son, James, arrived here in the 



spring of 1852, secured their claim and 
built a cabin. In the fall they returned to' 
Racine county, harvesting their crop there, 
and then brought the family to their new 
home; but the journe\- was a difficult one- 
for the roads were so muddy as to be almost 
impassable. For many years Mr. Hobson 
operated his land, being recognized as one- 
of the successful farmers of his vicinity; 
but at length he removed to Waupaca, 
where he died in his seventy-fifth year, 
while his wife crossed the dark river in the 
spring of 1 881, at the age of seventy-one- 
years. They were laid to rest in Waupaca 
Cemetery. In politics, Mr. Hobson was a 
Republican, and cast his first vote for the 
admission of Wisconsin into the Union. 

The subject of this sketch was a lad of 
nine summers when the family came to Lind 
township. At that time there were no 
schools in the neighborhood, but afterward 
school was held in a log school-house where 
the M. E. Church now stands. He was- 
reared in the usual manner of farmer lads 
and remained at home until about twenty- 
three years of age, when he began \\-orking 
in the lumber woods and in sawmills. Sub- 
sequenth' he located on the old Hobson 
homestead, where he has since resided with- 
the e.xception of one year passed in Ripon, 
Wis., engaged in the butchering business. 
He now owns and operates 240 acres of rich 
and valuable land, which he has seen trans- 
formed from an unbroken tract into one of 
rich fertility. 

Mr. Hobson has been twice married. On- 
Christmas Day of 1869, in Saxeville, Wis., 
he wedded Sarah E., daughter of Willian-^ 
and Martha (Jones) James, and a native of 
Pennsylvania. They became the parents of 
five children: Wilbur B., who aids his- 
father in the work of the farm; Wintield, 
who died in infancy; Emma L. , George E. 
and Clara E., at home. The wife and' 
mother passed away on her eighteenth wed- 
ding anniversary, and was buried in Vine 
Hill Cemetery. For his second wife. Mr. 
Hobson married Mrs. Mary A. Padgham, 
widow of George Padgham, and a daughter 
of William Rand. She was born in County 
Kent, England, and as the bride of Mr. 
Padgham came to the United States. The}- 



59^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



had four children: Elizabeth A.. William 
T. , Charles H., deceased, and Mary J. 

Since casting his first Presidential vote 
for Abraham Lincoln in 1864, Mr. Hobson 
has been a stalwart Republican. He has 
served as township clerk, as district clerk, 
and as treasurer of the school district. He 
is now the only representative of his family 
in Lind township. From the days when 
Waupaca county was a frontier settlement 
he has been identified with its interest and 
upbuilding, and has borne an important part 
in the work of progress and development. 
Kind, generous and pleasant, he has the re- 
spect of all who know him, and his circle of 
acquaintances is extensi\'e. 

JAMES SMILEY, who carries on gen- 
eral farming in Mukwa township, Wau- 
paca county, was born on the 20th of 
June, 181 5, in County Derry, Ireland, 
and is a son of Samuel and Mary (Hutchi- 
son) Smiley, who were also natives of the 
Emerald Isle. The father was a farmer and 
followed that occupation throughout his en- 
tire life, his death occurring in 1855, at the 
advanced age of seventy-nine years. His 
wife had been called to the final home about 
four years previous, but had also reached a 
ripe old age. 

James Smiley was the third in a family 
of ten children, numbering four sons and 
si.\ daughters. He acquired his education 
in the common schools of his native land, 
and was reared upon the home farm until 
.eighteen years of age, when, wishing to 
follow some other pursuit, he secured, a 
position as clerk in a grocery store, where 
he was employed for about four years. This 
was in Londonderry. When twenty-two 
years of age he decided to try his fortune in 
America, and bidding adieu to home and 
friends he embarked on the 2nd of May, 
1837, on the ••Ainwell,"' a sailing vessel, 
which dropped anchor in the harbor of New 
Yf)rk on the 17th of June. He located in 
\\'ilmington, Del., where he was engaged in 
clerking in a retail store for about eight 
years, after which he embarked in mer- 
.•chandising for himself, carrying on business 
along that line until 1849. He then sold out 



and came to Wisconsin, locating in Osh- 
kosh, where he owned a dray in the 
city. For about eighteen months he was 
engaged in teaming, and then again changed 
his place of residence, locating in the town- 
ship of Mukwa, where he purchased a land 
warrant and secured with it 160 acres of 
land. Subsequently he bought another quar- 
ter section (the farm which he now owns 
and occupies), and since that time has fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits, sometimes pros- 
pering and sometimes meeting with reverses, 
but altogether meeting with success. 

The marriage of our subject to Margaret 
Stewart was celebrated in the city of Phila- 
delphia, Pa.. May 27, 1840. The lad}- was 
born in 181 5, in Ireland, of which country 
her father, Alexander Stewart, was also a 
native. Seven children were born to this 
marriage: Mar}', now the wife of Thomas 
Brett, of Weyauwega, Wis. ; Margaret, now 
Mrs. S. L. Perry, of Marion, Waupaca 
county; Matilda, now Mrs. Robert B}ers, of 
Mukwa township; Samuel, who is living at 
Eagle River, Wis. ; William, who is located 
at Birnamwood, Wis. ; Robert, of Mukwa 
township; and Lizzie, deceased. 

In his political views, Mr. Smiley is a 
Democrat, and has filled various positions of 
honor and trust in his township and county. 
He was elected the first county clerk, the 
first clerk of the court, the first register of 
deeds, has been deputy county treasurer, 
was the first town clerk of Mukwa township, 
which position he has held for thirty years, 
and has also served as chairman of the town 
board, assessor and justice of the peace, 
serving in the latter office twenty years. He 
cast his first Presidential vote for Martin 
\'an Buren, and has ever been a true and 
lo}'al citizen, faithful to the trust reposed in 
him, and discharging promptly the task allot- 
ted to him. He can recall the first county 
election of Waupaca county, which was held 
in 1 85 1, and but ninety votes were cast. 
Those pioneer voters have all passed away 
from this earth except Mr. Smiley and 
George W. Taggert, of Weyauwega. At 
that time he was elected county clerk, and 
during the greater part of the time since his 
name has been upon the roll of county 
officers. Socially, he is connected with the 



COMMEMORATIVK DIOGRAPUIUAL RECORD. 



599 



Order of Odd Fellows, beinj; initiated in the 
Mechanics Lodge, of \\'ilmington, Del., May 
9, 1846, and serving ever since, nearly fifty 
years, has been a member in good standing, 
and is one of those who has figured promin- 
ently in the organizations of the lodges in 
Waupaca county. 

Mr. Smiley, who is now in his eighty- 
first year, is numbered among the honored 
])ionecrs of the county, has taken an active 
part in everything pertaining to its welfare 
and upbuilding, and in all questions regard- 
ing its progress and advancement. His con- 
tinued service in a public capacity has 
earned him an enviable reputation, and his 
acts in public as well as in private life have 
all been characterized .by honesty of pur- 
pose. Wherever he is known he is held in 
the highest regar^, and his friends in this 
section of the county are many. 



TITUS C. DARLING (deceased), 
who for some years was numbered 
among the highly respected farmers 
of Waupaca county, was born in 
Conewango, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., May 
21, 1824, and was one of a family of nine 
sons and two daughters who grew to mature 
years, his parents being John and Betsy 
(Pennock) Darling. In the common schools 
he was educated and when a young man he 
took his father's team and worked for some 
time. In the spring of 1855, accompanied 
by his brother Samuel, he came to Wiscon- 
sin, and each bought land with capital which 
he had previously saved from his earn- 
ings. Thomas, another brother, bought in 
partnership the farm upon which our sub- 
ject afterward resided in Section 19, Da}'- 
ton township. There had been some rude 
improvements made, and the work of de- 
velopment was at once vigorously prose- 
cuted. Samuel Darling was soon joined 
by his wife, who had been sick at the time 
of her husband's removal, and with them 
our subject resided until his own marriage. 
On January i, 1856, in W^aupun, Wis., 
Titus Darling wedded Miss Mary J. Amadon, 
who was born in Somersworth, N. H., 
April 10, 1827, and was a daughter of Bailey 
and Maria (German) Amadon, who li\ed for 



a time in Massachusetts, then removed to 
Pittsburg, Penn., and later to Cattaraugus 
county, N. Y. , where the wife and mother 
died. The father was a machinist by trade, 
and in the spring of 1855 sought a home in 
Waupun, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Darling had 
known each other in the Empire State. 
They began their domestic life in a log cab- 
in which he had previously built and which 
was their home for some time. On the 
farm all the children were born, namely. 
Charles H., who was born October 7, 1857, 
and is a business man of Dayton, Wis. ; 
Frances E., born October 29, 1858, be- 
came the wife of John A. Lewis, and died 
April 25, 1894, leaving one son, Charles; 
John B., born November 26, 1861, died at 
the age of five years; Herbert Isaiah, born 
April 26, 1866, is a farmer of Shelby coun- 
ty, Iowa; Alma L. , born February 4, 1871, 
died June 29, 1884; Clinton E., born Au- 
gust 19, 1872, completes the family. 

Mr. Darling made farming his life work, 
and at the time of his death owned a valua- 
ble tract of land of 2 1 1 acres. His business 
affairs, managed with sagacity and ability, 
brought to him success and made him a sub- 
stantial citizen. In politics he was a stanch 
supporter of the Democratic party, and served 
as justice of the peace. In religious belief 
he was a Universalist. After a lingering ill- 
ness, he passed away February 18, 1890, and 
his remains were interred in Crystal Lake 
Cemetery. Since his death the eldest son 
has had charge of the farm in company 
with his mother, and the sons are all well- 
to-do men. Mrs. Darling, whose death took 
place March 30, 1895, was a lady possessed 
of many excellencies of character, and in all 
relations of life had friends who esteemed 
her highly for her worth. The remains 
were laid to rest in Crystal Lake Cemetery 
besides those of her husband. 



HON. P. A. HAM, one of the most 
prominent citizens of \\^iupaca coun- 
ty, and a leader in political and 
agricultural circles, has for some 
years been identified with the history of this 
community, and in a work of this character, 
devoted to a record of the lives of the lead- 



6oo 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ing and representative citizens, his name de- 
serves a foremost place. 

He was born July 26, 1843, in the town 
of Ava, Oneida Co., N. Y., and is a son of 
Philip and Esther (Gano) Ham. The father 
was born in Dutchess county, N. Y. , in 
April, 1807, and the mother was born in the 
same year in Otsego, N. Y. The grand- 
father, Jacob Ham, was a Pennsylvania 
German, and had a large family of sixteen 
children. All his sons were railroad men, 
save Philip, John and Peter. Philip Ham 
was reared upon a farm, and had but limited 
school privileges. In New York he owned 
a farm and operated a sawmill. Soon after 
his marriage he located in Otsego county, 
and afterward removed to Oneida county. 
Five children were born of the union, name- 
ly: Catherine, wife of Augustus Edgerton, 
of Oneida county; Juliet U., who became 
the wife of Sumner Packard, and died in 
Dayton township, Waupaca county; John 
D., who died in the same locality; Mary C, 
who became the wife of W. S. Eaton, and 
died in Dayton township; and P. A. 

In June, 1853, the parents bocame resi- 
dents of the town of Lowville, Columbia 
Co., Wis., where the father purchased land, 
upon which he made the first improvements. 
In spring of 1856, he came to Dayton town- 
ship, Waupaca county, and purchased 160 
acres in Section 33, of which only four acres 
were cleared. He erected the first buildings, 
and there carried on farming until his death. 
May 18, 1874. He supported the Repub- 
lican party, and in religious belief was a 
Methodist. His wife survived him until 
August 18, 1878, and was laid by his side in 
Crystal Lake Cemetery. 

P. A. Ham began his education in the 
district schools of New York, and at the age 
of ten accompanied his parents to the West, 
the journey being made by team to Roch- 
ester, by lake to Detroit, by rail to Chicago, 
by water to Milwaukee, and by team to 
Columbia county. They also drove to this 
county, where our subject remained until 
the time of his enlistment in the army, 
August 13, 1862, as a member of Company 
G, Twenty-first Wisconsin Infantry. He 
went to Oshkosh, Wis., and subsequently 
to Covington, Ky. , then to Louisville, par- 



ticipating in his first engagement at Perry- 
ville. He was afterward in the battles of 
Jefferson and Stone River, and started on the 
march to Chattanooga. In June, 1863, he 
was taken ill and sent to the convalescent 
camp at Stone River, then to Nashville, later 
to Jeffersonville, Ind. , and on to Chicago, 
where he was placed in charge of seven hun- 
dred prisoners, acting as sergeant. On the 
close of the war he was there mustered out 
July 2, 1865, and returned to Waupaca 
county, where he resumed farming. In 1894 
he commenced the grocery business at Crystal 
Lake. 

Mr. Ham led to the marriage altar in 
Parfreyville, December 29, 1869, Miss 
Esther A. Stinemates, who was born in 
Knox county, Ohio, August 16, 1S52, daugh- 
ter of George W. and Charlotte (Boyle) 
Stinemates. For a year Ihey lived on the 
home farm, and then drove to O'Brien 
county, Iowa, where Mr. Ham secured a 
homestead of 160 acres, on which he lived 
for two and a half years, when, on the death 
of a brother, he returned to Waupaca 
county and began operating the home farm. 
He has since added to this 160 acres of land, 
and has a valuable propertj', highlj' culti- 
vated and improved. He still owns 300 
acres, but since 1894, has lived in Crystal 
Lake, where, in the spring of 1895, he 
erected a comfortable home. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ham have one living child, Marion, born 
December 24, 1878; Lottie E. and Katie 
M. are both deceased. 

Mr. Ham has been a stalwart Republican 
since casting his first Presidential vote for 
Abraham Lincoln in 1 864. He was elected as- 
sessor in 1884, and again in 1893, and served 
as chairman of the township board from 1885 
until 1889. He is the present representa- 
tive in the State Legislature from his Dis- 
trict, and won the election by 2,537 votes 
against 503 cast for W. C. Scott, the Dem- 
ocratic candidate, and 207 for James F. 
Knudson, Prohibitionist. This indicates the 
confidence reposed in the ability of Mr. 
Ham, also his personal popularity. He la- 
bors faithfully in all public offices for the 
best interests of the people of the commu- 
nity, and his political record, as well as his 
private life, is above reproach. In 1894 he 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



60 1 



served as president of the Waupaca Fire 
Insurance Company, and has also been 
one of the directors. He was a member of 
the Grange and of the Farmers' Union, and 
now belongs to Garfield Post, No. 21, G. 
A. R., and to the Masonic Lodge of Wau- 
paca. He has risen from an humble station 
in life to one of prominence, and his course 
has ever been such as to command the re- 
spect and admiration of even those opposed 
to him politically. 



HO. PALMER was born September 
30, 1826, in Dutchess county, N. Y. 
His educational privileges were 
quite meager, for at the early age of 
eight years he was bound out to a Holland- 
Dutch farmer, whose object seemed to be to 
get work from the boy rather than to edu- 
cate him, even though he was a man of 
means. The family, whose surname was 
Kip, was composed of two brothers, bach- 
elors, and three unmarried sisters, and with 
them our subject remained until twenty-two 
years of age, having hired to them for one 
year after the period for which he had been 
bound. During the twelvemonth he had 
managed to save some of his earnings, yet 
his capital was quite limited. 

In 1848 Mr. Palmer started out for him- 
self, going to Chautauqua county, N. Y. , 
where he worked as a farm hand or followed 
any pursuit which would give him an honest 
living. He was industrious and energetic, 
and resolved to overcome the obstacles in 
his path and secure for himself a good home. 
About this time he chose as a companion 
and helpmeet on life's journey Miss Clarissa 
A. Snyder, the wedding taking place in the 
township of Hanover, Chautauqua county, 
December 31, 1854. The lady was born 
in Cattaraugus county, N. Y. , town of Day- 
ton, on the iith of May, 1834, and is a 
daughter of Ralph and Margaret (Park) 
Snyder. Her father was born in Onondaga 
county, N. Y. , October 15, 1805, and her 
mother's birth occurred in the town of Sher- 
burne, Chenango Co., N. Y., June 19, 1807. 
In 1843, accompanied by his family, con- 
sisting of wife and si.x children, Mr. Snyder 
migrated to Illinois, and his death occurred 



in McHenry county, that State, September 
9, 1844. The mother afterward returned 
with her family to Cattaraugus county, N. Y. , 
and married Edwin Burgett, who died six- 
teen years later in the town of Cold Spring, 
near Randolph, that county. In 1865 Mrs. 
Burgett came again to the West, and made 
her home with her son-in-law, our subject, 
until called to the life eternal, dying in Lind 
township, Waupaca county, January i, 
1887. 

Mr. and Mrs. Palmer began their do- 
mestic life in Hanover township, and he 
worked as a farm hand until August 29, 
1862. On that date he enlisted at "Villeno- 
va, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., in Company 
K, 1 1 2th N. Y. V. I., under Captain E. A. 
Ludwig. They encamped and drilled at 
Jamestown, and on being ordered to the 
front went to Suffolk, Va., where occurred 
their first active engagement. Maj.-Gen. 
Peck was in command of the department of 
Suffolk and Norfolk. They proceeded thence 
to Black Water, Va., with Longstreet, and 
went on the second peninsular campaign, 
and after the battle of Drury's Bluff re- 
turned to Norfolk; were next transferred to 
Foley's Island, which they succeeded in 
capturing, also Morris Island, Fort Wagner, 
and recaptured Fort Sumter and James 
Island. Mr. Palmer was taken sick and 
sent to Hampden Hospital at Fortress Mon- 
roe. For two months he lay quite ill with 
malarial fever, then rejoined his regiment at 
Foley's Island, where he served as ward 
master in the regiment hospital until the 
Island was evacuated, when he went to Nor- 
folk and recruited at Portsmouth Grove. He 
took part in the expedition to Jacksonville, 
Florida, and was then in active service dur- 
ing the remainder of the war, participating 
in the battle of Cold Harbor and the en- 
gagements around Petersburg. His regi- 
ment was at Appomattox, but during the 
battle he had charge of a hospital steamer, 
taking care of the sick and wounded and 
transporting them from the field to the hos- 
pital. In the latter part of his service he 
aided in the work of exchanging the 35,000 
prisoners, the work begun under Gen. B. F. 
Butler, the highest officer of exchange in 
the United States. Mr. Palmer also acted 



6o2 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



as ward master on the hospital steamer 
"George Leary," and during the time of 
the exchange he was stationed at Savannah, 
this being about the time of Gen. Sherman's 
entrance into the city. His last duties were 
to take charge of the transport steamer 
"Illinois." They left Charleston for Ann- 
apolis, Md., with 1,165 sick and wounded, 
and when their destination was reached only 
307 were living. They then went down the 
Potomac, and Mr. Palmer suffered an attack 
of malarial fever and typhoid pneumonia. 
He was transferred on a tug to Hampden 
hospital, and after an illness of two months 
was granted a furlough and returned home. 
He was discharged at Hampden June 2, 
1865, and leaving the scenes of carnage he 
hastened again to the North. 

In the following December, accompanied 
by his wife and three children, Mr. Palmer 
started for Wisconsin, reaching Lind town- 
ship, Waupaca county, on the ist of Janu- 
ary, 1866. He bought in Section 10 eighty 
acres of partially-improved land, which he 
subsequently sold, buying then 120 acres in 
Sections 3 and 10. He afterward removed 
to St. Lawrence township, in the same 
county, and upon the farm which he pur- 
chased hved until December, 1884, since 
which time he has resided in Section 8, 
Lind township, where he now owns and 
operates eighty acres of rich land, compris- 
ing one of the fine and well-developed farms 
of the neighborhood, although at the time 
of his purchase it was in almost its primitive 
condition. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have been born 
the following children: Alice is the wife of 
Jesse Kurtz, of Richland county, Ohio; 
Frank H. lived to marry, and was accident- 
ally killed by a rolling log in Harrison town- 
ship, Waupaca county, January 8, 1883; 
George W. is at home. The above were 
born in the East, and the remaining children 
in Wisconsin: Nellie J. is the wife of Will- 
iam J. Rice, of Waupaca township; Dellie, 
twin sister of Nellie, died at the age of seven 
years; Jesse M. is at home; William died at 
the age of six. 

Mr. Palmer is a stanch Republican, and 
takes a warm interest in the growth and 
success of his party, but has never been an 



aspirant for office. He was a charter mem- 
ber of Garfield Post No. 21, G. A. R., of 
Waupaca, and delights to meet his old army 
comrades. No man who wore the blue was 
more true and loyal than he, and his valiant 
service was always performed without hesi- 
tancy, whether on the field or while labor- 
ing with the sick and wounded in the hos- 
pital. The same fidelity to duty he yet 
manifests in the various relations of life, and 
through the community he is held in high 
regard. He keeps himself well informed on 
the affairs of the day, political and other- 
wise, and is an interesting conversationalist, 
having a good command of language and 
expressing his views and opinions in a pleas- 
ing manner. 



JOHN A. FASSETT, a well-to-do farm- 
er, who located in 1862 in Section 31, 
Royalton township, Waupaca county, 
on the property where he now resides, 
was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., in 1833, 
and was a son of John and Margaret (Bur- 
pee) Fassett, both natives of New Hamp- 
shire, where also their marriage took place. 
Grandfather Burpee, Mrs. Fassett's father, 
was a soldier in the war of 181 2. John 
Fassett, the father of John A. Fassett, was 
reared in his native State, engaged in farm- 
ing in Jefferson county, N. Y. , and also 
worked in factories in the East. His death 
occurred in Jefferson county, N. Y., in 1857, 
and that of his widow in the same county in 
1892. Their children were: John A., sub- 
ject of this sketch: T. W. , who resides in 
Blackhawk county, Iowa; and H. P., en- 
gaged in agriculture on the old farm in 
Jefferson county. New York. 

John A. Fassett was reared to farm life 
in Jefferson county, N. Y. , educated in its 
schools, and taught for several terms in that 
county, commencing at the age of eighteen, 
and following both farming and teaching. 
In 1854 he came out to Dodge county. Wis., 
and remained one winter and summer, en- 
gaged in teaching, and then returned to New 
York. In 1858 he was united in marriage 
with Miss Clarissa Cady, a native of New 
York. Of their children, two sons are now 
living, Jesse and Orin; Homer married Liz- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



603 



zie Fox, and died at the age of twenty-three, 
leaving one child; Rufus died at the age of 
fifteen years, Charley at the age of six 
months, and Willie at the age of three 
months. The parents of Mrs. John A. Fas- 
sett were Squire and Lucy (Penneyj Cady, 
both born in New York, and now deceased. 

Mr. Fassett came West again in i860, 
and engaged in farming in Fond du Lac, 
Wis. In 1862 he removed from Fond du 
Lac county to Royalton, Waupaca county, 
where he bought a tract, included in the prop- 
erty which he now occupies, of eighty acres, 
then all in the woods except four acres, 
which were cleared. The remainder he 
cleared, and he has improved his possessions 
and added to them so that he now owns a 
fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres, 
eighty of which are free from forest growth. 
He makes a specialty of food products, and 
the raising of stock, and has a fine herd of 
sheep. 

In politics Mr. Fassett is a Democrat, 
and he voted the ticket of his party when 
there were but four Democratic votes cast in 
the township. He was elected justice in 
1894. Socially he is a member of Weyau- 
wega Lodge No. 82, F. & A. M., having 
been made a Mason in Rising Sun Lodge 
No. 234, in Jefferson county, N. Y. , in 1856. 
His wife is a Baptist in religious faith. Mr. 
Fassett has seen many changes and great 
improvements since he first made his home 
here, and has always taken an interest in 
the advancement of the welfare of the coun- 
ty. He is still in vigorous health and able 
to attend to the duties of his farm. His 
example of persevering industry and intelli- 
gent thrift, and his devotion to the honorable, 
health-giving and remunerative business of 
agriculture — accumulating a competence and 
an inheritance for those who may follow, 
when so many are misled by the brilliant 
but often deceptive promise of professional 
and commercial life, only to meet unexpected 
burdens and vexatious cares, and to end 
their lives in failure for this world if not for 
the next — may well be carefully considered 
by the young who are seeking to lay the 
foundations for later years, and by some who 
are older who are not yet unfitted for the 
more robust labors of the farm. 



GEORGE STONER, an enterprising 
young business man of Waupaca, of 
the firm of Stoner, harness makers 
and dealers, is a native of Waupaca 
county. John Stoner, his father, one of 
the earliest pioneers of Waupaca county, 
was born in Franklin county, Penn., April 
18, 1 81 5, a son of Isaac and Fannie (New- 
comer) Stoner. Isaac Stoner, also a native 
of Pennsylvania, was left an orphan when a 
child, and was bound out to a farmer. He 
had three brothers, Abraham, Joseph and 
Jacob. Fannie Newcomer, the wife of 
Isaac Stoner, was of Holland birth, and 
came to America when a small child with 
her parents. To Isaac and Fannie Stoner 
eleven children were born: Barbara, 
Elizabeth, Christian, Fannie, John, Nancy, 
Isaac, Catherine and Samuel, and two who 
died in infancy. John remained on the 
home farm in Franklin county, Penn., un- 
til he was twenty-six years of age, and was 
given the advantages of a common-school 
education. In March, i 84 1 , he migrated to 
Ohio, where for ten years he worked on a 
farm. In 1851 he came to Waupaca coun- 
ty. Wis., and took up a claim in Waupaca 
township, working in the woods during the 
winters. He was married, in 1859, to 
Almira Ciperlie, a native of New York and 
daughter of David Ciperlie. The family of 
John and Almira Stoner consisted of eight 
children, as follows: George, John, F"annie, 
Barbara, Frank, Flora, and two children 
who died young. Mrs. Stoner died in 1873, 
and Mr. Stoner still resides in Waupaca 
township, a highly-respected and esteemed 
citizen. In politics he is a Republican. 

George Stoner, eldest son of this old 
pioneer, was born in July, i860. His youth 
was spent on the farm, and he attended the 
schools of his district. He also worked out 
much of the time until he became of age. 
In 1 88 1 Mr. Stoner determined to learn a 
trade, and selecting that of a harness maker 
served faithfully at the bench until he had 
thoroughly mastered the craft. In Jmie, 
1885, he opened a shop in Waupaca city, 
and continued in business alone for nine 
years, when, in June, 1894, he sold a half 
interest in the cstalilishmcnt to Hiram Rice, 
the firm name being Stoner & Kice. They 



6o4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



carry a fine stock of goods, and have a thriv- 
ing trade, employing three or four men. 

In May, 1894, Mr. Stoner was married 
to Miss Frieda Reinke, a native of Germany, 
who when a small child emigrated to Amer- 
ica. Her father died when she was 3'oung. 
In politics Mr. Stoner is a Republican, and 
he takes an active interest in the success of 
his party and its principles. He is a self- 
made man, starting in life as he did without 
means, and by his own energy and business 
tact and ability building up a valuable and 
lucrative trade. 



ANTONE KUCKUK. This gentle- 
man needs no introduction to the 
citizens of Shawano, for — whether 
in business or social circles — there 
are few men in that thriving little city, or 
indeed in Shawano county, who are better 
or more favorably known. Though yet a 
young man, he occupies a most prominent 
position among the successful and influential 
citizens of the county, and the fact that 
that position has been attained solely by his 
own efforts proves that the esteem in which 
he is held is well merited. 

Mr. Kuckuk is one of Wisconsin's native 
sons, born February 10, 1863, in Schleis- 
ingerville, Washington county, son of Henry 
Kuckuk, who in 1843 emigrated to the 
United States from Germany, his native 
country, and locating at Racine, Wis., then 
a new town in a new and unsettled region, 
engaged in various kinds of labor in and 
near that place. When a young man he 
wedded Miss Theresa Mueller, also a native 
of Germany, who came to the United States 
in girlhood with her stepfather, Frederick 
Menger, and to this union came children as 
follows: William, of Wausau, Wis.; Henry, 
who is local agent of the New Home Sewing 
Machine Co., at Marinette, Wis.; Antone 
Kuckuk, whose name opens this sketch; 
George, a clerk, of Shawano; John, street 
commissioner of Shawano; and Carrie, Mrs. 
George Smith, of Jamestown, N. Dak. The 
father of this family served in the Civil war 
as a member of the Forty-fifth Wis. V. I. 
He died at Wausau, Wis., May 4, 1869, 
whither the family had moved when our I 



subject was but a child, and being a working 
man, laboring hard to support his family, he 
left his widow and children with scarcely 
any means; Mrs. Kuckuk passed her last 
years at the home of her son Antone, in 
Shawano, dying Maj' 4, 1892, at the age of 
sixty-three years. She sleeps her last sleep 
in Shawano Cemetery. 

The subject proper of this sketch was 
but six years of age at the time of his fath- 
er's decease. The family, not being well 
acquainted in Wausau, shortly afterward re- 
moved to Schleisingerville, where they had 
formerly resided, but the widowed mother, 
being without means, found it impossible to 
keep her family together, and they were 
soon scattered. Our subject took up his 
home with his grandfather, Fred Menger, 
and received his education in the common 
schools, which he attended only up to the 
age of twelve years, having since that time 
earned his own livelihood. When twelve 
years old he began as roustabout in the 
"Wisconsin Hotel," at Hartford, Wis., his 
salary being five dollars a month, and about 
two years later he went to Wausau, Wis., 
where he entered the employ of John Kiefer, 
a general merchant at that place, as clerk. 
It was his first experience in this line, but 
he proved very apt in learning the business, 
and retained his position four years, or un- 
til April, 1 88 1, when he found an opening 
in Shawano, a situation having been offered 
him by H. H. Andrews, with whom he re- 
mained nearly five years. In September, 
1886, Mr. Kuckuk embarked in a new en- 
terprise, taking charge of the jewelry busi- 
ness previously conducted by G. D. Tolman, 
which came into his hands as the principal 
creditor; the stock of goods then on hand 
did not amount to more than $250, and Mr. 
Kuckuk entered the business reluctantly. 
Having once commenced, however, he re- 
solved to give it due attention, and, having 
increased the stock, he devoted himself to 
it with such success that the rooms he had 
removed into in May, 1887, were found to 
be too small for the now prosperous and in- 
creasing business, and in i 890 the substan- 
tial business block (one of the best in Sha- 
wano) of Kuckuk & Pulcifcr was completed. 
In this building are two commodious busi- 



aOMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



605 



ness rooms, one occupied by the jewelry 
business, of which Mr. Kuckuk is sole pro- 
prietor, and the other by the grocery busi- 
ness of Kuckuk & Pulcifer, in which he has 
a half interest. On February 2, 1895, ^'r. 
Kuckuk received a diploma from the Chi- 
cago Ophthalmic College, and he is the only 
graduate in ophthalmology in Shawano 
county. He has a jewelry business the size 
of which would do credit to a city treble the 
size of Shawano, and he also deals exten- 
sively in pianos, organs and other musical 
instruments. This result has been brought 
about by the good management which char- 
acterizes Mr. Kuckuk in every business he 
has undertaken, and which has been a potent 
factor in the success which has followed him 
throughout his business career. In uSgohe 
became a member of the firm of Kuckuk & 
Pulcifer, who conduct a flourishing grocery 
business in Shawano, and he is also a stock- 
holder in the Shawano Shoe Manufacturing 
Company. 

Though never neglecting his own busi- 
ness affairs, Mr. Kuckuk has always given 
his aid and support to any enterprise for the 
improvement of Shawano and the advance- 
ment and welfare of the community in gen- 
eral, and he is at present serving as a 
director of the Shawano Water Power and 
River Improvement Co. He has served as 
a member of the county board from Sha- 
wano, and was supervisor of the Second 
ward of Shawano for one term; he is a Re- 
publican in political faith, but takes no in- 
terest in politics as a "politician." Socially, 
he is a member of the F. & A. M.. being 
connected with Shawano Lodge No. i 70, of 
which he is the present master, and of the 
Temple of Honor, in which he is now serv- 
ing as trustee, and he has held every office 
in the Order, of which he has been a lead- 
ing active member. 

. On October 20, 1885, Mr. Kuckuk was 
united in marriage, in Shawano, with Miss 
Mary E. Pulcifer, who was born January 27, 
1865, in Fond du Lac, Wis., daughter of 
Daniel H. and Anna E. (Wright) Pulcifer, 
and to this union have come two children: 
Athol O., born January 28, 1887, and Inez 
B., born July 13, 1S92, both living. In 
1890 Mr. Kuckuk built a beautiful home in 



the Second ward of Shawano. Mrs. Kuck- 
uk is a member of the Methodist Church. 
Enterprising and progressive, our subject is 
identified with every movement which prom- 
ises to quicken the march of progress in his 
town and county, where he has hardly an 
equal among those of his age, as a self-made 
man of recognized worth and abilty. 



JOHN F. LAMONT, superintendent of 
schools for Marathon county, was born 
at Mills Center, Brown Co., Wis., 
June I, 1867. He is a son of Angus 
and Almira (Gault) Lainont, who were born, 
respectively, in Prince Edward Island and in 
New York State, and who located at Mills 
Center, Wis., in 1866. 

Angus Lamont owned and operated a 
sawmill at West Pensaukee, Oconto county, 
from 1869 until 1874, in which year he re- 
moved to Colby, Clark county, where, with 
his wife and family, he still resides. He 
built and operated the first sawmill ever 
erected in that locality, and to-day ranks 
among the solid business men of Clark 
county, where he and his family are highly 
respected members of the community. Mr. 
and Mrs. Lamont are the parents of nine 
children, all now living, as follows: John 
F., the subject of this sketch; William D. ; 
Effie E., wife of Howard Wicker, residing 
at Colby, Clark Co., Wis.; Ella and Charles 
A., twins; Anna, Ronald, Angus and Earl. 
John F. Lamont received his primary 
education in the public schools of Colby, 
Clark Co., Wis., and, leaving school, was 
engaged in teaching for about a year. In 
1884 he entered the university at Madison, 
where he took a four-years' course, graduat- 
ing in 1888. He then returned to Colby, 
where he engaged in lumbering until 1 890, 
and in the years 1890 and 1891 he was in 
the insurance business at Marshfield and 
Menasha. In i8go John F. Lamont was 
united in marriage with Miss Jessie Cole, 
and they have become the parents of one 
child, Vernon C. , who was born in Decem- 
ber, 1 89 1, and died in April, 1892. The 
parents of Mrs. Lamont, Ira K. and Elvira 
M. Cole, were born in Hicksville, Ohio, and 



6o6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIUORAPIIWAL RECORD. 



are now residents of Colby, Clark Co. , Wis- 
consin. 

In the fall of 1891 Mr. Lamont again re- 
turned to Colby, and engaged in lumbering 
until 1894. On November 6 of that year 
he was elected to his present position of 
county superintendent of public schools on 
the Democratic ticket, and in January, 1895, 
remo\ed to ^^'ausau. Mr. Lamont repre- 
sented the city of Colby on the county board 
during the year 1894, and has filled various 
other minor offices in Clark county. He is 
a member of Colby Lodge No. 204, F. & A. 
M. Politically he is a strong supporter of 
the Democratic party. The family attend 
the Methodist Church. 



ROBERT C. THIELMAN has the rep- 
utation of a first-class business man, 
reliable and energetic, and is a citi- 
zen of whom Tomahawk, Lincoln 
county, may justly be proud. He is a native 
of the Badger State, born in Watertovvn on 
the 1st of December, 1866, and is a son of 
Gottlieb Thielman. His primary education 
which was received in the common schools, 
was supplemented by a two-terms' attend- 
ance at the Northwestern University at 
Watertown. 

At the early age of fourteen Mr. Thiel- 
man began work for himself, being employed 
as a farm hand for one summer. In the 
spring of 1881 he joined his brother in Mer- 
rill, Wis., with whom he learned the trade 
of a butcher. With his brother Julius he 
remained until the fall of 1887 when he came 
to Tomahawk, where they opened a market 
under the firm name of Thielman Brothers. 
They also have a cold storage warehouse, 
and in connection with the retail they do a 
wholesale business, furnishing many lumber 
camps. To some extent our subject has en- 
gaged in lumbering, buying and selling logs, 
and has also dealt considerably in real es- 
tate. He is entitled to great credit for the 
success he has achieved in business, as he 
started out with no capital save an untiring 
energy, but now has a good home and is con- 
ducting a lucrative business. He started the 
first meat market in this city, and now ranks 



among the leading business men of Toma- 
hawk. 

In November, 1888, Mr. Thielman led 
to the marriage altar Miss Mary Eiden, also 
a native of Wisconsin, and the only daughter 
of John and Maggie (Smith) Eiden. Her 
father's birth occurred in Germany. By 
this union have been born three interesting 
children, Ada, Vena and Elda. Mr. Thiel- 
man uses his right of franchise in support of 
Democracy, and is an active worker in his 
party. In the spring of 1S95 he was elected 
alderman from the Second ward, and is also 
serving as chief of the fire department. He 
holds membership with the Order of the 
Maccabees. He takes a genuine interest in 
the welfare of his community, and is the en- 
courager of all enterprises tending to its 
moral, intellectual or financial advancement, 
donating liberally toward all improvements 
for his adopted citj-. 



M 



C. QUIMBY was one of the brave 
defenders of the Union in the war 
of the Rebellion, and his five 
brothers and the husbands of his 
two sisters took up arms in the same high 
cause, a glorious record. Mr. Ouimby is an 
early pioneer, having come to Dodge county, 
Wis., in 1853, and in 1855 from Dodge 
county to Evanswood, We\'auwega town- 
ship, \\'aupaca county, where he worked at 
his trade of a carpenter and joiner, and 
where he now resides. He was born in the 
town of Holland, \'t., in 1832, and is the 
son of Moses and Belinda (Clough) Ouimby. 
natives of New Hampshire. 

Moses Quimby passed his earlier years 
and was married in New Hampshire. He 
then located in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , 
going from thereto Dodge county. Wis., in 
1852. He was a carpenter and joiner, and 
in 1855 moved to Evanswood, Weyauwega 
township, Waupaca county, where he worked 
at his trade. He died in 1890, having at- 
tained the age of eighty-seven \'ears. The 
death of his wife, a Spartan mother of brave 
sons and daughters, occurred in Minnesota 
in 1877, when she was seventy-three years 
of age. The}' reared a family of eight chil- 
dren, nanieh': N. P., who resides in Oregon, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



607 



enlisted in Iowa in the Third Iowa V. C. , 
and served two years; John F., who resides 
in Evanswood, \\'eyauwega township, Wau- 
paca county, was in the Tiiirty-sixth \\'is. 
V. I., and was wounded before Petersburg, 
and served to the close of the war; George 
W. was a private in the Eighth Wis. V. I., 
served three years, and was wounded in the 
arm at Belmont; Charles R. enlisted in the 
Fourteenth W'is. V. I. for three years, vet- 
eranized in the same company and regiment, 
and was killed at Jonesboro in 1S64; Alfred 
C. enlisted in 1862 in the Twenty-first Wis. 
V. I., was wounded at the battle of Chicka- 
mauga, and served over three years (he now 
resides in Waupaca, Waupaca county) ; Lydia 
Maria is the wife of B. F. Andrews, of Og- 
densburg. Wis., who enlisted, in 1862, in 
the Twenty-first Wis. V. I., served three 
years, and now resides at lola, Waupaca 
Co., Wis. ; Mary, the widow of N. D. Annis 
(who enlisted in Chicago, 111. , served one 
year, and is now deceased), resides in Kan- 
sas; and M. C. is the subject proper of this 
sketch. 

From the age of eleven M. C. Quimby 
passed several years in New York, was edu- 
cated in the schools of that State, and 
learned the trade of a carpenter with his 
father, which he followed after coming to 
Waupaca county. In 1858, in Weyauwega 
township, Waupaca county, Mr. Ouimby 
was united in marriage with Miss Charlotte 
Everts, who was born in Clinton county, 
N. Y. , and they became the parents of two 
children: Alice A., wife of Z. South, of 
Royalton township, Waupaca county, and 
Jane. Mrs. Quimby is the daughter of 
Jesse and Cynthia (Collar) Everts, who were 
born in Vermont. Jesse Everts was in the 
war of 1 812. He always made New York 
his home, and died in 1 860. The death of 
his wife occurred in 1843. 

In September, 1861, M. C. Quimby en- 
listed in Company B, Fourteenth Wis. V. 
I., for three years, was mustered in at Fond 
du Lac, Wis. , and was in the army of the 
Tennessee. He took part in the battles of 
Shiloh and luka, in the second battle of Co- 
rinth, and at Waterford. He was taken 
sick at Lake Providence, La., and lost the 
use of his right arm, which has been trouble- 



some since. He was honorably discharged 
in September, 1863, returned to Evanswood, 
Waupaca count}', and in 1864 went to Og- 
densburg, engaged in contracting, and lived 
there till 1890, when he moved back to 
Evanswood. He draws a pension of thirty- 
six dollars a month. Mr. Quimby is a Re- 
publican, takes an active interest in politics, 
and was for four years treasurer of St. Law- 
rence township, Waupaca county, where he 
owns twenty acres of land. He is a mem- 
ber of Andrew Chambers Post, No. 1 80, G. 
A. R. , and was quartermaster of the Post at 
Ogdensburg. He always takes an interest 
in whatever he considers for the g(jod of the 
county and township. Both he and Mrs. 
Quimby have lived to see much of change 
and progress, and but few men in the town- 
ship have been longer in Waupaca county. 



CHARLES R. HOFFMANN, whose 
jewelry store at Waupaca ranks as 
the leading one in the vicinity, and 
who is one of the best known 
opticians in the State, is a native of Chi- 
cago, having been born in that city March 
10, 1859. 

Charles Hoffman, his grandfather, was a 
citizen of Prussia, Germany, and reared a 
family of five children, as follows: .Charles, 
Hugo, Rudolph, Emma and Ottilie. Charles, 
the eldest son of this gentleman, served an 
apprenticeship to a jeweler in Germany, and 
after he had thoroughly learned the trade he 
emigrated to America. He was married in 
New York, and after remaining there a few 
years he moved to Chicago, becoming one 
of its early settlers, and here his wife died, 
leaving two children, Charles R. , the sub- 
ject of this sketch, and Laura. At the time 
of the great Chicago fire, October 9, 1871, 
Mr. Hoffman had one of the largest jewelry 
establishments in Chicago, at No. 88 North 
Clark street. He was among those who lost 
everything in the terrible conflagration, but 
with characteristic energy he began again 
and amassed enough to enable him to live 
in comfort the remainder of his life. He 
married again, and Charles R., at the early 
age of eight years, was sent to a military 
school, where he remained two years. After- 



6o8 



COMMEMOBATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ward he attended the academy at Lake 
Forest, a suburb of Chicago, remaining a 
student for three years, and a subsequent 
course of three years was taken at the 
school at Kankakee, 111. Thus equipped 
in learning, the young man was apprenticed 
at the age of seventeen years to a watch- 
maker. He paid a tuition of $200 per year 
to learn the trade, and served an appren- 
ticeship of three years. After finishing his 
trade Mr. Hoffmann entered the large 
jewelry establishment of Giles Bros, at Chi- 
cago, and remained in their employ until he 
came to Waupaca, in June, 1881. Here 
Mr. Hoffmann accepted a situation with W. 
Chady for a year, and then started in 
business for himself. His trade has grown 
surely and steadily from the foundation of 
the house, until now the proprietor com- 
mands a business commensurate with the 
time and pains he has taken to thoroughly fit 
himself for his business. He enjoys the 
confidence of the entire Community in which 
he lives, and a knowledge of his professional 
skill has reached far beyond the borders of 
Waupaca county. 

In Janwary, 1883, Mr. Hoffmann was 
married to Anna Lea, the daughter of 
Richard Lea. Four children have been 
born to them: Anna L. , Lizzie Amalia, 
Carl R. , and Ralph L. Mr. Hoffmann is a 
Republican but not a politician. Socially 
he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, 
and of the F. & A. M., in both of which 
Orders he is an active member, and in the 
former of which he has filled all the Chairs. 
He is manager of the Opera House, and he 
and his wife are members of the Episcopal 
Church. While living at Chicago Mr. Hoff- 
mann was for three years a member of Com- 
pany D, Second Regiment I. N. G., and was 
lionorably discharged at the expiration of 
his term of service. 



WILLIAM SHERBURNE, one of 
the prosperous and enterprising 
young business men of Fremont, 
Waupaca county, is the represent- 
ative of a pioneer family of that locality. 
He was born in the thriving little village, in 
the commercial life of which he is an im- 



portant factor, and his interests through life 
have been welded there. Few men in the 
community are better or more widely known 
than he. 

Mr. Sherburne was born in Fremont in 
1861, a son of William G. and Mary (Smed- 
leyj Sherburne, the former a native of New 
York, and the latter of Ohio. William G. 
Sherburne emigrated to Fremont when a 
young man, with his father, Alvah Sher- 
burne, who settled on a farm where he re- 
mained throughout his life. William G. 
was a carpenter by trade, and followed that 
occupation, He married Mary Smedley in 
Waupaca county, and in 1862 enlisted at 
Oshkosh in a Wisconsin regiment, and died 
in the same year in the hospital at Nashville, 
Tenn. He left two children: Charles, a resi- 
dent of Wolf River township, Winnebago 
county, and William. Their mother still 
lives at Fremont, and is now the wife of C. 
Kinsman. 

William Sherburne was reared in the 
village, attending the local schools and sup- 
plementing his education by a commercial 
course in the Oshkosh Business College. 
He then began business for himself in Fre- 
mont. In 1880, at the age of nineteen 
years, he became a member of the firm of 
Kinsman & Sherburne, general merchants. 
The firm continued in business until 1892, 
when Mr. Sherburne purchased the interest 
of the senior partner, and has since conduct- 
ed the business under his own name. He 
carries a full line of goods, such as are gen- 
erally found in a general store, and the stock 
is as large and valuable as any that may be 
found in the village. 

In 1 886 Mr. Sherburne was married, in 
Wolf River township, Winnebago county, 
to Clara Faust, a native of Oshkosh, and a 
daughter of Peter and Sophia (Wurl) Faust, 
early residents of that county. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Sherburne four children have been 
born: Frank, George, John and Edwin. 
Mrs. Sherburne is a member of the Catholic 
Church. In politics Mr. Sherburne is a 
Republican. Since the organization of the 
village, in 1882, he has most of the time 
filled the office of village clerk, and now 
holds that jxjsition. He has been clerk of 
I''remont township, and in his social rela- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



609 



tions is a member of Fremont Lodge No. 
231, I. O. O. F. , of which he is recording 
secretary. He is a wide-awake business 
man, thoroughly ahve to the needs of this 
locaHty, and one of its most estimable citi- 
zens. 



INGEBERT OVROM, one of the enter- 
prising and leading merchants of Wau- 
paca, was born in the city of Porsgrund, 

Norway, October 27, 1853. His father, 
Mathias Ovrom, was one of the most in- 
fluential men in that city, taking an active 
part both in political and religious affairs. 
For fifty-four years he was a school teacher. 
During three terms he represented his Dis- 
trict in the Norwegian Senate. He was 
chairman of his city for twenty years, and 
was also a director in the bank. He mar- 
ried Miss Ingeborg B. Nelson, and to them 
ten children .were born: Ingebert, Ebbe, 
Marie, Olof, Waldemar, and five who died 
in infancy. The mother died in 1869 and 
the father in 1893. 

Ingebert Ovrom, the eldest child, re- 
ceived a good education, attending the high 
school of his native city. When he was 
si.xteen years old his father moved to a farm, 
and here Ingebert worked for a year. But 
his inclinations were along a mercantile 
rather than an agricultural line of work, and 
he accepted a situation as a clerk in a store. 
He retained his clerkship until 1879, when 
he emigrated to America, coming directly to 
Waupaca, W'is. Here for three years he 
clerked in the general store of E. C. Bron- 
son, and then secured a position as salesman 
in the clothing store of A. R. Lea. Mr. 
Ovrom remained in this clothing store about 
nine years, or until 1892, when he decided 
to enter business for himself. In partner- 
ship with C. Larson, he opened a clothing 
store and merchant-tailoring establishment. 
In the following December Mr. Larson dis- 
posed of his interest to George H. James, 
and since that time the firm name has been 
Ovrom & James. The house does a large 
and prosperous trade, which is constantly on 
the increase. 

In 1883 Mr. Ovrom was married, at 
Waupaca, to Sophia Syvertson, who was 



born in Norway in 1850, and emigrated to 
America in 1877. Her parents and all her 
brothers and sisters died in the native land. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Ovrom four children have 
been born: Mathias, Arthur, Alfred Elmer, 
and one who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ovrom are members of the Scandinavian 
Lutheran Church. He is a Republican in 
politics, and has served one term as an 
alderman. He is one of the founders of 
Norden Lodge No. 167, I. O. O. F. , has 
filled all the Chairs, and for twelve years he 
has been one of the most prominent mem- 
bers. The business of the Lodge is con- 
ducted in the Scandinavian language. Mr. 
Ovrom also takes an active part in Church 
work, and is a member of the choir. He is 
one of the influential and substantial busi- 
ness men of Waupaca. 



JF. CORBETT, M. D., the oldest 
practicing physician and surgeon at 
Weyauwega, was born in Sheboygan 
county in 1856, son of James and 
Cinderella (Barrager) Corbett. 

James Corbett was the son of Peter Cor- 
bett, a native of Vermont, and he left his 
father's farm in 1848 and migrated to Green- 
bush township, Sheboygan county, where he 
purchased unimproved land and settled 
down to the life of a farmer in a new coun- 
try. Here in 1853 he married Cinderella, 
daughter of Hiram and Mary Barrager, who 
in 1850 had emigrated with the family from 
Canada, the country of their birth, and set- 
tled in Fond du Lac county, Wis. Mr. Bar- 
rager later in life moved to Sheboygan Falls, 
where he died in 1888, his wife having died 
thirty years previous. After his marriage 
James Corbett continued farming in Green- 
bush township until 1861, when he enlisted 
at Fond du Lac in Company B, Thirty-sixth 
Wis. V. I. He was steward at Camp Ran- 
dall, Madison, and served in his regiment 
throughout the war. In 1885 he removed 
to Sheboygan Falls. Death came to him 
suddenly May 30, 1893, while he was pre- 
paring decoration services for the local 
G. A. R. Post, of which he was chaplain. 
His widow resides at Plymouth, Wis. 
Their family consisted of Dr. J. F. ; Sarah 



6io 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Ella, wife of G. L. Gilman, of Plymouth, 
who is connected with the Plymouth Phcenix 
table factory; Charles, a resident of Ply- 
mouth, and George, a druggist of the same 
place, a member of the firm of Corbett & 
Corbett. 

When eleven years of age J. F. left his 
father's farm in Greenbush township to live 
with his uncle, Hon. C. A. Corbett, a mer- 
chant of Greenbush, ^^'is. Here he attended 
the village school, clerked in the store of his 
uncle, and later began reading medicine, and 
in 1 874 entered Western Reserve University 
at Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from the 
Cleveland Medical College with the class 
of 1880. The young doctor settled at 
once in Weyauwega, and has been in 
continuous practice there ever since. Dr. 
Corbett commenced the practice of his 
profession under greatly adverse circum- 
stances and pecuniary disadvantages, but 
has surmounted these obstacles, and now 
enjoys an extensive and lucrative practice, 
and is numbered among the active and pro- 
gressive practitioners of Wisconsin, He 
was married, at Plymouth, Sheboygan coun- 
ty, in July, 1880, to Miss Hattie L. Barber, 
a native of Sheboygan county, and a daugh- 
ter of James and Amanda Barber, of Ply- 
mouth, Wis., natives of Ohio, who emi- 
grated to an unimproved farm in Plymouth 
township in 1854. Mr. Barber was a life- 
long Democrat, and died in 1884. His 
wife now lives at Merrill, Wis. Their eight 
children were: Clinton, a dentist at Mer- 
rill, Wis. ; Alfred, a resident of Weyauwega, 
Wis. ; Albert, his twin brother, who acci- 
dentally shot himself fatally at Iron River, in 
1894; Leonard and Ray, of Merrill; Hattie; 
Belle, wife of F"rank L. Hunt, formerly a 
merchant of Phillips, Wis., and now a resi- 
dent of Knoxville, Tenn. ; Adella, of Phillips, 
Wisconsin. 

Dr. Corbett took a special course at the 
Chicago Polyclinic in 1892. He is a mem- 
ber of the Wisconsin State Medical Society, 
and of the Northwestern Wisconsin Medical 
Society. For two and a half years he was 
secretary of the Board of Pension E.xamin- 
ers at New London, and has been for sev- 
eral years railroad surgeon for the Wisconsin 
Central railroad. Politically he is a Re- 



publican, and among the local societies he 
is past master in Weyauwega Lodge No. 82, 
F. & A. M., a member of Waupaca Chap- 
ter No. 39, R. A. M., a member of the 
L O. O. F. , and of the Modern Woodmen. 
From 1883 to 1 885 he was business mana- 
ger of the Weyauwega Clironiclc. He owns 
and resides in a new, commodious and at- 
tractive home, built two years ago. He en- 
tered the drug trade at Weyauwega in 1888 
as a member of the firm of Hardy & Cor- 
bett, later Bennett & Corbett, retaining his 
connection until January, 1894. 



FRANI\ A. CADY holds a commanding 
position among members of the bar 
at Marshfield, Wood county. He is 
yet a comparatively young man, and 
is now associated in partnership with J. F. 
Cole, and is in experience and ability one of 
the leading attorneys of Wood county. Mr. 
Cady possesses a tireless energy, which 
makes him a formidable antagonist in any 
legal contest, and which has won for him 
many a hard-fought forensic struggle. 

He was born near I\ilbourn City, Colum- 
bia Co. , \\'is., December 31, 1858, son of 
Charles A. and Helen (Bloodj Cady. The 
father, of Scotch descent, was born Sep- 
tember 7, 1829; the mother, of Irish e.x- 
traction, was bom November 27, 1831. 
Early in the " fifties " Charles A. Cady set- 
tled in Wisconsin. He was a man of con- 
siderable mental attainments, but in his na- 
ture there was enough of that restlessness 
which made him fond of a sailor's life, and 
his time in earlier years was divided between 
the water and the farm. He now lives a 
retired life at Kilbourn Cit}'. 

Frank A. Cady displaj'ed a preference 
in his youth for a career best attainable 
through an education, and did not neglect 
the opportunities which were open to him. 
He attended the common district school, 
and, later on, the high school at Kilbourn 
City, and when he left that institution be- 
came, in 1879, a student at the University 
of Wisconsin at Madison, continuing two 
years, when he entered the law school in 
1 88 1, graduating two years later. W'ithhis 
diploma Mr. Cady came directly to Marsh- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



6ll 



field, and opened an office in the city, and 
here he has during the past twelve j'ears 
continued actively in practice. During this 
time he has attached to himself a large and 
valuable clientele, and has won an enviable 
reputation for professional fidelity and abil- 
ity. He practices in all the courts. As 
the years have gone on Mr. Cady's interests 
have also widened. In his professional 
duties he has traveled extensively through 
the South and West, and his quick mind has 
ever been ready to perceive and seize busi- 
ness opportunities. He has dealt largely and 
profitably in real estate, and is interested in 
other lines of business. Among other in- 
terests he is a stockholder in the Marshfield 
Bedding Company. 

Mr. Cady was married, in June, 1883, to 
Miss Elma M. Tyler, by whom he has one 
child, Emil Charles. In social circles Mr. 
Cady is a prominent member of the Ancient 
Order of United Workmen, being an officer 
of the Grand Lodge of that Order, and is 
also a prominent member of the I. O. O. F. 
In politics he is an earnest Republican, and 
he contributes largely to the local success of 
his party, but he avoids the inroads upon 
his time which public office would bring. 
While he has served as supervisor, city at- 
torney and in other local capacities, he has 
unvaryingly resisted the requests of his 
friends that he accept nomination for county 
office. Mr. Cady has reached a position of 
wide influence in the affairs of Wood county, 
and his success in life is the reward of dili- 
gence, integrity and strict devotion to the 
interests which have been entrusted to his 
hands. 



DR. PAUL A. RIEBE, a prominent 
dentist of Wausau, Marathon coun- 
ty, was born in Greifenberg, Ger- 
many, July 20, 1856. He is a .son 
of Herman and Pauline Riebe, who, when 
Paul A. was at the age of five, removed to 
Stettin, Germany, where he was reared and 
educated, and learned the trade of barber. 
When eighteen years of age Paul A. 
Riebe left Germany for the United States, 
landing at New York, whence he at once 



came west, locating in Portage City, Colum- 
bia Co., Wis., where he resided about two 
years. He then removed to Eau Claire, re- 
maining there about a year, and in 1877 
came to Wausau, Marathon county, where 
he worked at his trade. In 1879 he left 
Wausau and took up his home in Rochester, 
Minn., but the year of 1880 saw him back 
in his former home, Wausau, Wis. In the 
spring of 1889 Dr. Riebe entered the Chi- 
cago College of Dental Surgery, where he 
graduated with the class of 1S91. He 
worked at dentistry during the vacations in 
his college course, and after graduating com- 
menced the practice of his profession in 
Wausau, where by skillful work and a care- 
ful attention to the wants of his patrons, he 
has built up a large and lucrative practice. 
In 1877 Dr. Paul A. Riebe married Anna 
Fisher, daughter of J. H. and Monika 
Fisher, and two children have been born to 
them: Paula, who is living, and Walter, 
who died in infancy. Dr. I^iebe is a Free 
Mason, and member of the Modern Wood- 
men of America; in his political views he is 
a Democrat. The family attend St. Paul's 
Evangelical Church. The parents of Dr. 
Riebe, Herman and Pauline Riebe, came to 
the United States in 1884, and located at 
Rochester, Minn., where the father worked 
at his trade of tailor, and in 1887 they re- 
moved to Milwaukee, Wis., where they still 
reside. They had born to them a family of 
eight children, six of whom are living, 
namely: Augusta, wife of Frank Handlos, 
residing in Milwaukee; Robert, in Rochester. 
Minn.; Paul A., the subject of this sketch; 
Emil, residing in Milwaukee; Bernard, in 
Wausau ; and Martha, wife of Ernest Kluge, 
in Milwaukee. The Doctor owns a comfort- 
able home, and is one of the prominent 
German-American citizens of Wausau, Wis- 



THEILMANN BROS., the well-known 
furniture dealers and undertakers of 
Antigo, Langlade county, were both 
born in W^abasha county, Minn. — 
George on October 15, 1857, and William 
April 28, 1868. Thcj- arc the sons of Chris- 



6l2 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tian and Angola (Schocke) Theilniann, the 
former a native of Baden, Germany, born in 
1833, tfie latter born in Prussia in 1821. 

Christian Theilmann came to America 
in 1854, making his home for a while in 
Ohio, and going from there to Louisiana. 
He was married in St. Louis, Mo., in 1856, 
and in the fall of that year he moved to 
Minnesota, in the spring of 1857 settling on 
the homestead where he now resides. Mr. 
Theilmann makes a specialty of bee-raising, 
to which he has devoted much time and 
study, and in which he has been very suc- 
cessful. He is a Democrat in politics, is a 
man of much intelligence and highly re- 
spected in his community. To him and his 
wife five children were born: George, 
Henry, Mary, Lizzie and F. William. The 
sons, of whom this sketch is written, were 
brought up on their father's farm and re- 
ceived a common-school education, F. Will- 
iam taking also a six-months' course at a 
besiness college. They both remained at 
home until of age, George taking charge of 
his father's business as a dealer in grain and 
produce. In 1882 the father went to the 
State of Washington, the sons joining him 
later, and there operated a general store at 
Medical Lake, Spokane county, some five 
years, the younger son remaining only one 
year, however. In 1886 George returned to 
Minnesota and opened a furniture store and 
undertaking establishment at Wabasha, F. 
William buying an interest in the business 
three years later. In 1890 the linn came 
to Antigo, and now have one of the leading 
houses in their line in the city They are 
energetic, industrious and progressive, and 
their reputation for strictly honest dealing 
has brought them an extensive trade. 

George Theilmann was married in 1884, 
in Washington, to Miss Christina Scholer, 
who was born in Germany, February 5, 
1865. They have four children: E. Lizzie, 
Theodore C, Ivy A., and Hattie C. F. 
William was married in 1890 to Katherine 
Kircher, also a native of Germany, born at 
Weidenburg. They have three children: 
Edward C, Rosa A., and Paul W. Both 
brothers are Democrats and members of 
the Congregational Church. George is af- 
filiated with the United Workmen and the 



Sons of Hermann. F. William is a mem- 
ber of the Equitable Aid and Home Forum. 
Union. 



GRANVILLE K. MANSUR, dealer in 
force pumps, windmill pumps, and 
agricultural implements in Stevens 
Point, Portage county, was born in 
Neenah, Winnel)ago county. Wis., and is a 
son of George H. and Mary (Smith) Mansur, 
who were both born in Vermont. 

George H. Mansur and his wife were 
among the early pioneer settlers of Winne- 
bago county, Mr. Mansur having purchased 
land there from the government in 1842, 
located upon it, and engaged in agricultural 
pursuits. He was present at the first county 
election ever held in Winnebago county, 
when the total number of votes and resi- 
dents of the county numbered but eight- 
een, and was a member of the county board 
for a number of years. He is a man of high 
moral character, and is much esteemed, not 
only in the community in which he resides, 
but throughout the country generally. He 
is still hale and hearty at the advanced age 
of ninety years, and resides upon the farm 
he purchased nearly fifty years ago. His 
faithful wife, Mary, passed away in 1883. 
There was born to them a family of nine 
children, four of whom are yet living, namely: 
Jefferson; Granville K., subject of this 
sketch; Esther, wife of B. F. Rodgers, of 
Neenah, Winnebago county, Wis., and 
Sidney. 

Granville K. Mansur was reared in Vin- 
land township, Winnel)ago county, and edu- 
cated in the old log district-school house 
there. After leaving school, he engaged in 
agricultural pursuits upon his father's farm, 
until he had attained the age of twenty-four 
years, when he purchased a farm of his own. 
In Neenah, Winnebago county, in 1868, 
Granville K. Mansur married Maria H. Pope, 
and they became the parents of two chil- 
dren : Carrie L. , now wife of V. M. Peck, 
residing at Marshfield, Wood county, Wis. ; 
and Lulu M., residing at home. Mrs. Man- 
sur is a daughter of Eliphalet and Hannah 
Pope, who were born in New York State. 
They were early pioneer settlers of Winne- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



613 



bago county, and were residents of Neenah 
up to the time of tiieir death. Mr. Mansur 
continued farming until he was thirty years 
of age, when he removed to Clark county. 
Wis., and resided there about five years. In 
1886 he removed to Stevens Point, Portage 
county, and engaged in his present business 
of dealer in pumps and agricultural imple- 
ments, and has been a resident of that city 
since He is an ardent supporter of the 
Democratic party, and a member of the 
Modern Woodmen of America. In religious 
affiliation the family attend the services of 
the Methodist Church. 



GEORGE W. WITTER, one of the 
most prosperous dairy farmers of 
Marathon county, owns a pleasantly 
located home in Maine township, 
two and one-half miles from Wausau. He 
was born in Madison county, N. Y., August 
10, 1839, son of Josiah and Calista (Lang- 
worthy) Witter, natives of New York and 
of English extraction. Josiah Witter had a 
family of nine children, seven of whom at 
this writing survive, as follows: Jeremiah, 
a resident of Grand Rapids, Wis. ; Sarah, 
wife of D. R. Coon, of Auburndale, Wood 
county, Wis. ; Hattie, wife of J. E. Ingra- 
ham, of Grand Rapids, Wis.; Lucy M., 
wife of F. J. Knapp, of Nortonville, Kans. ; 
Adelaide S. , wife of William Billins, of 
Boulder, Colo. ; Gertrude, wife of Gilbert 
Johnson, of Nortonville, Kans. ; and George. 
When a boy of eleven years, in 1850, 
George W. Witter emigrated with his 
father's family from New York to Wau- 
shara county, Wis., and there attended the 
public schools. He was a ready pupil, and 
received a fair education. His school days 
over, he followed the pursuits of farming 
and school teaching for several years. In 
August, 1862, at the age of twenty-three 
years, he enlisted in Company G, Thirtieth 
Wis. V. I., which was in active service. 
He was discharged from the Thirtieth, and 
in August, 1864, was commissioned in the 
Forty-third Wis. V. I., serving to the close 
of the war, and was mustered out at Mil- 
waukee July 9, 1865. Mr. Witter returned 
to agricultural pursuits in Waushara county, 



where he remained until 1874. His popu- 
larity was amply attested by his election to 
many offices during that period. In 1874 
he removed to Marathon county, where he 
has since been a continuous resident. 

Mr. Witter was married at Grand Rapids, 
Wis., in 1868, to Miss Emma Coon, daugh- 
ter of Elijah and Prudence (Bowler) Coon, 
natives of Rhode Island and of English an- 
cestry. They have one child, Harry E., 
born January 15, 18G9. They have also an 
adopted daughter, Mary Virginia. Mr. 
Witter and family are members of the 
Seventh Day Baptist Church, and in his 
political views he is a stanch Republican. 
In his agricultural pursuits Mr. Witter is one 
of the progressive type of farmers, ever 
ready to test feasible improvements, and give 
his support and adherence to whichever 
proves the best. Agriculture, the first and 
most important of all industries, is thus 
raised to a scientific basis, and the men who 
are receptive to new ideas and methods be- 
come public benefactors. 



ARNOLD MAES, member of the firm 
of Maes Brothers, furniture manu- 
facturers, Marion, Waupaca county, 
was born in Little Chute, Kaukauna 
township, Outagamie Co., Wis., in 1859. 
He is a son of Peter and Johanna f Hend- 
ricks) Maes, who were born and reared in 
Holland, and came in an early day to Little 
Chute, Wisconsin. 

Peter Maes was postmaster, and kept 
store for the Fo.x River Improvement Com- 
pany, always lived in Little Chute, and died 
in 1873; his widow resides at Little Chute. 
They were the parents of six children, as 
follows: Arnold is the subject of this sketch; 
Peter, who was killed at Kaukauna in 1893; 
Henry, residing in Marion, in partnership 
with Arnold; Anna, the wife of Bernard 
Schlude, residing in Kaukauna; Albert, in 
Marion; and Herman, who works in the 
factory. For twenty years the family lived 
in Kaukauna township. Arnold Maes was 
reared in Little Chute, Outagamie county, 
to the age of fourteen, and educated in the 
schools there. When fourteen he went to 
Kaukauna and worked for Reuter Brothers 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in the sawmill there; he also worked in the 
pulp mills at Kaukauna. 

At Appleton, Outagamie Co., Wis., May 
18, 1885, Arnold Maes was united in mar- 
riage with Delia A. Joosten, born in Little 
Chute, Outagamie county, and they have 
five children: Margaret, Arthur, Walter, 
Wilma and Delia. The parents of Mrs. 
Maes are both living in Kaukauna, her father, 
Walter Joosten, having been one of the pio- 
neers of the town. Mr. Maes went to Phlo.x, 
Langlade county, and from there to Mat- 
toon, Shawano county, in 1886, where he en- 
gaged in the hotel business. In 1894 the 
firm of Maes Brothers began the manufac- 
ture of furniture at Marion, Waupaca county, 
and bought of the Marion Furniture Manu- 
facturing Company a good two-story frame 
building. Here they manufacture all kinds 
of furniture and store fittings, also church 
fittings and bank outfits, and woodwork in 
general, giving employment to about ten 
men. He is a member of the Roman Cath- 
olic Church, at Little Chute, Outagamie 
county, though he belongs in Marion, Wau- 
paca county. He was a member of the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He has seen 
many changes in Wisconsin. 



HARVEY FEATHERS is a represen- 
tative farmer of Waupaca county, 
owning a good farm of 200 acres. 
His enterprise and progressive spirit 
have brought to him success, and made him 
one of the substantial agriculturists of the 
community in which he resides. He is an 
Eastern man by birth, but is possessed of 
the true Western spirit of progress and ad- 
vancement. 

Born in Grafton, N. Y., January 15, 
1834, Mr. Feathers is a son of William and 
Mary Jane (Smith) Feathers, the father born 
in Grafton July 4, 1801, the mother born in 
Lansingburg, N. Y., in 1808. They were 
the parents of seven children : George S., 
the eldest, who is a farmer, residing near 
the old homestead in New York, is married 
and has two children — Silas and Sarah May ; 
Hiram died at the age of four years ; the 
next died in infancy ; our subject is the 
fourth in the family ; then follows Adam, 



who served for three years in Company H, 
One Hundred and Twenty-fifth N. Y. V. I., 
and died from the effects of army life (he 
participated in the battles of Gettysburg, 
the Wilderness, and many others of import- 
ance, and was present at Lee's surrender ; 
he left a widow and daughter, Maryline, 
now the wife of George Case, of Northport, 
Wis. ) ; next comes Calvin W. , who was also 
in the same company and regiment, served 
for two years and six months, and died four 
days after his return home, leaving a widow 
to mourn his loss ; David died at the age of 
two years. The father of these, during the 
greater part of his life, followed farming. 

Harvey Feathers received but limited 
school privileges, conning his lessons while 
sitting on a bench in the old frame school 
house near his home. He was reared at his 
home, and was early inured to its hard la- 
bors. All that he earned up to the time of 
his majority he gave to his parents, and at 
the age of twenty-one he took his axe and 
dinner pail and started out for himself. He 
began cutting wood, and for some time 
worked by the day. 

As a companion and helpmeet on life's 
journey, Mr. Feathers chose Martha A. 
Acoff, daughter of John F. and Sarah Ann 
(Richer) Acoff, the wedding taking place 
April 25, 1858. Mrs. Feathers was born in 
Brunswick, Rensselaer Co., N. Y. , July 14, 
1835, second in the family, of whom Cath- 
erine M. died at the age of eleven years ; 
Nancy S. became the wife of L. K. Tinney, 
a farmer of Grafton, N. Y. , and died leaving 
five children — Minnie B. (deceased), Marcia, 
Jacob L., Hattie M. and Josephine ; John 
G., a machinist by trade, but was studying 
medicine, died in Chicago in 1888, leaving 
a widow. The parents both passed away 
in New York, the father in i860, at the age 
of fifty-three, the mother in 1872, aged sixty- 
six. Mr. Acoff was a very successful farmer ; 
a stanch Democrat in politics, but never 
sought office. Upon his marriage Mr. 
Feathers received $100 from his father, and 
that was all the assistance he ever obtained. 
He remained in Grafton, N. Y. , engaged in 
farming and lumbering until 1875, when, in 
April of that year, he came to the West. 
Having friends li\ing in Little Wolf, \\'is., 




^^^^iyV-^ ^^ 




COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



615 



he sought a home in that locality, and pur- 
chased 160 acres of partially improved land. 
He purchased a team and at once began the 
improvement of his farm, afterward buying 
and selling considerable land, at one time 
owning 640 acres. To-day he has 200 acres, 
eighty of which are under a high state of 
cultivation. In addition to farm work, he 
makes maple syrup, and has a large apiary 
of 300 colonies, from which the past year he 
took eleven thousand pounds of honey, prin- 
cipally comb honey. For sixteen years he 
has engaged in this business, and finds it a 
profitable source of income. He formerly 
devoted some attention to the lumber busi • 
ness, and altogether he is an enterprising, 
progressive man, whose success is the crown 
of untiring industry. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Feathers were born two 
children — William H. and Ensign C, the 
former of whom died in 1891. He was 
afflicted with heart trouble, and, when 
thirty-three years old, while attempting to 
save his little boy, was drowned in Little 
Wolf river. The child, however, managed 
to reach the shore. William H. left a widow 
and two sons — Chester D. and Charles — 
and this family now reside in New London, 
Wis. Ensign C. has always made his home 
with his parents, aiding in the labors of the 
farm, and to-day he is the manager. He 
was married November 27, 1884, to Eve- 
line Joslin, daughter of Jay P. and Cather- 
ine (Seber) Joslin, who removed from New 
York to Wisconsin in an early day, locating 
on a farm. Her father was a cooper by 
trade, and in his family were children as 
follows : Thomas, Blandine, Shubal, Per- 
melia. Jay, Square, Ellen, Mary, Eveline, 
Orin and William. The mother of this 
family is now living in Helvetia, Waupaca 
county, with her son, Orin. The father 
entered the army during the Civil war, and 
was killed by a sharpshooter in 1863. Mrs. 
Ensign Feathers was born in Cascade, Wis. , 
February 8, 1S59, and she is the mother of 
children as follows — Oliver Pearl and Will- 
iam. 

Harvey Feathers and his wife are both 
consistent and faithful members of the Bap- 
tist Church, in which they take great inter- 
est, and he is now serving as deacon. In 



his political views he has always been a Re- 
publican, and has held local offices both in 
New York and Wisconsin, having served for 
one year as chairman of the town board of 
supervisors of Little Wolf township. The 
Feathers family is one of prominence in the 
community, and its members have many 
friends, who esteem them highly for their 
genuine worth. 



JR. MOSES. In the busy community 
located in the thriving village of Ogdens- 
burg, Waupaca county, we find several 
energetic and thorough-going business 
men, who have attained success through 
their own tact, good judgment and perse- 
verance. Among this number is the gentle- 
man whose name introduces this biograph- 
ical notice, and who at the present time is 
the representative of the drug trade of that 
place. He is a native of New York State, 
born in the town of Hopkinton, St. Law- 
rence county, February 4, 1847, and is a 
son of William and Betsy (Robinson) Moses. 
Ttie father, who was a native of Ver- 
mont, was reared to agricultural pursuits, 
which occupation he followed throughout 
life. His birth occurred August 10. 1777. 
He was three times married, and became the 
father of a large family of children. By the 
last union were born si.x children: J. R. , 
subject of this sketch; Lorenzo D., who for 
many years was a merchant of Ogdensburg, 
Wis., and is now a prominent banker of 
Ripon, Wis. ; Betsy (widow of Spencer Hop- 
kins), of Ogdensburg; two deceased in in- 
fancy; and Hulda, who died at the age of 
eleven years. The father became quite well- 
to-do, and at the time of his death, in 1853, 
he left a comfortable competence. His re- 
mains now lie interred in St. Lawrence coun- 
ty. New York. 

The farm owned by the father went to 
a son of a former marriage, so that the 
mother of our subject was left in destitute 
circumstances with a family of little chil- 
dren depending upon her for support. Later 
she married Lewis A. W^aste, who proved 
kind and fatherly to the children, and in 
1855 the family left New York, coming to 



6i6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



Wisconsin. For one year they made their 
home in Fond du Lac, and then removed to 
the village of Winooski, Sheboygan county. 
The spring of 1857, however, found them 
residents of St. Lawrence township, Wau- 
paca county, they having come by boat 
through Lake Winnebago and up the Wolf 
river to Northport, and the remainder of the 
distance by team. They first stopped at 
Ogdensburg while the farm of 160 acres in 
Section 10 was being prepared for their re- 
ception. A log house, 16x24 feet, was 
built about a mile and a half from the road, 
and the land was covered with light timber. 
For about ten years Mr. Waste continued 
the operation of that farm, when he removed 
to Ogdensburg, and there lived retired until 
his death in 1885. The mother of our sub- 
ject survived him until 1892, and they now 
sleep side by side in the cemetery of Ogdens- 
burg. Previous to the death of his child. 
Alma, Mr. Waste was a devout Christian, a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and took an active interest in religious mat- 
ters; but after that sad event, thinking it the 
work of the Almighty, he gave up his relig- 
ion entirely. He had many friends in this 
community, and by all was highly respected. 
The education of J. R. Moses was begun 
in the schools of Fond du Lac and Sheboy- 
gan counties, but after reaching the age of 
ten years he was able to attend only during 
the winter seasons until he was fourteen, 
when failing health rendered his services of 
less avail to his parents, and for the four 
following years he was able to give more 
time to his studies, thus acquiring an excel- 
lent knowledge. Until nineteen years of 
age he remained at home, when in June, 
1865, he formed a partnership with his 
brother in general merchandising at Ogdens- 
burg, which was his first experience in any 
business outside of farming. Under the firm 
style of Moses Brothers they continued ope- 
rations for some time, when our subject re- 
turned to farming, and five years later sold 
out his interest to his brother, and bought 
the hitter's interest in the farm which he had 
still retained after returning to the store. 
On July 31, 1876, he became sole owner of 
the store, and he has since continued his 
connection with it. In the spring of 1893, 



however, he sold out most of the business, 
with the exception of the drugs, to his son, 
Charles S., and Albert Axtell; but the fol- 
lowing year he purchased the latter's inter- 
est, and now the business is conducted un- 
der the firm name of J. R. Moses & Son. 
Always attentive to the wants of their cus- 
tomers, they have secured a liberal patron- 
age, and are at the head of a prosperous and 
lucrative business. 

In Eureka, Winnebago Co., Wis., No- 
vember 15, 1869, Mr. Moses was married 
to Miss Carrie C. Cleaves, a native of Kane 
county. 111., and a daughter of Christopher 
Cleaves. Four children came to bless this 
union — three sons and a daughter — William 
C. , born September 3, 1870; Charles S., 
born April 12, 1872, is a thorough young 
business man, mentioned above; Maud M., 
born July lo, 1874, and Louis A., born 
March 11, 1876, are with their mother in 
Ogdensburg. On July 11, 1891, at Oshkosh, 
Wis., Mr. Moses married Miss Mary A. 
Dunphy, and by this union there is one child 
— Marie, born August 24, 1894. 

The general store of Moses & Son is 
one of the leading coui^ry stores of Wau- 
paca county, well kept and supplied with a 
large stock of merchandise. In addition to 
his business Mr. Moses is also a registered 
chemist. He owns large tracts of land in 
the county, and is one of the representative 
citizens and leading men of the community. 
Honorable and fair in all transactions, he 
enjoys the confidence and esteem of his pa- 
trons, and by his wide circle of friends and 
acquaintances he is always spoken of in the 
highest terms. Socially he belongs to the 
Masonic fraternity, in which he takes a deep 
interest, and rules his life in accordance 
with its excellent admonitions. Mr. Moses 
has ever been a patriotic citizen, and during 
the Civil war manifested his loyalty by his 
enlistment. May 19, 1864, in Company K, 
Fortieth Wis. V. I. He was mustered into 
the United States service at Madison, Wis., 
from which city the troops were sent to 
Memphis, Teim., where they remained per- 
forming guard duty, with an occasional small 
skirmish and trip southward guarding other 
troops. Soon after his arrival in Memphis, 
Mr. Moses was detailed as hospital nurse, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



617 



which position he held until honorably dis- 
charged at Madison, Wis., September 16, 
1864. 



M 



AN LEY MOODY, one of the pro- 
gressive and representative citizens 
of Waupaca county, settled in 
Clintonviile in 1885, where he has 
since engaged in gardening and fruit grow- 
ing, meeting with excellent success in his 
undertakings. He is a native of New York 
State, having been born in Essex county 
in 1833. 

Luther and Mary (W^hitman) Moody, 
parents of our subject, were also born in the 
Empire State, and there the father engaged 
as a laborer, and still makes Essex county 
his home. The mother died in i860. In 
their family there were thirteen children, of 
whom are still living: William, who enlist- 
ed in February, 1865, in the same company 
and regiment as our subject, and now lives 
in Omro, Wis. ; Manley is next in order of 
birth; Helen, the widow of Edward Mc- 
Donald, of New York; Russel, who became 
a member of a New York regiment, serving 
through the war, and now resides in Omro, 
Wis. ; Nancy, the wife of Luther B. Chase, 
of Franklin county, N. Y. , who also took 
part in the Civil war; Joseph, who enlisted 
in a New York regiment, and now makes his 
home in Seymour, Conn. ; Emaline, now 
Mrs. Joquish; and Kate, now Mrs. Smith. 
Our subject was reared to manhood in 
Essex county, N. Y., and there received his 
education, his school privileges, however, 
being very limited, as he was able to attend 
school only two winters after attaining his 
twenty-first year. He was married in that 
county in July, 1857, to Desiah Neal, a na- 
tive of Franklin county, N. Y., and a daugh- 
ter of Alonson B. and Eleanor (Miller) 
Neal, both also born in that State. In 1862 
the parents migrated to Winnebago county, 
Wis., where the father engaged in farming, 
but later removed to Clintonviile, Wis., in 
1889, his death occurring at that place 
January 24, 1890; his widow is now making 
her home in Omro, Wis. Pliny Miller, 
grandfather of Mrs. Moody, served as cap- 
tain of a company during the war of 1812. 



Mr. and Mrs. Neal became the parents of 
eight children: Rodney M., who enlisted in 
Essex county, N. Y. , served for three years 
in the war, and now resides in Omro, Wis. ; 
Roby, wife of John Thompson, of the same 
place; Sally Ann, the wife of Isaac Brown, 
who served for three years during the Civil 
war, and died in 1893; Mrs. Manley Moody 
comes next; Nancy, the wife of William 
Moody, of Omro; Eleanor, the wife of An- 
drew Halkney, of Delhi, Wis. ; Caroline, the 
wife of Zopher Rich, who enlisted in New 
York, serving three years in the war, and 
now makes his home in Omro; and Alanson, 
who enlisted in February, 1865, in the 
Fiftieth Wis. V. I., was taken ill with the 
measles at Madison, Wis., where he died at 
the age of sixteen, and was there buried. 

On leaving Essex county, N. Y. , our sub- 
ject removed to Franklin county, same State, 
but later, in 1863, came to Eureka. Wis., 
where he worked at general labor, and was 
also employed as a carpenter and joiner. 
He afterward rented land and engaged in 
farming, but in 1885 removed to Clinton- 
viile. To our subject and his wife have been 
born six children, as follows: Henry, mar- 
ried, and residing at Northport, Wis. (he 
has two children — Vira and Hazel); C. L., 
making his home at the same place; Ralzy, 
married, and living at Dexterville, Wis. ; 
Mary, wife of C. O. Case, of Northport, by 
whom she has one child, Roy; Rosa is the 
wife of Arthur St. Clair, of Northport (they 
have one child — Nina); and John L., also a 
resident of Northport. Mr. Moody, de- 
termined to assist in the preservation of the 
Union, enlisted at Eureka, Winnebago Co., 
Wis., in February, 1865, in Company A, 
Fiftieth Wis. V. I., intending to serve three 
years, or imtil the close of the war. He was 
mustered into service at Madison, Wis., but 
there was taken ill and confined in the hos- 
pital until receiving his discharge in June, 
1865, when he returned home. 

In his social relations Mr. Moody is a 
member of J. B. Wyman Post, No. 32, 
G. A. R. , of Clintonviile, and is now serv- 
ing as its junior vice-commander. In po- 
litical sentiment he is a Republican, and is 
an earnest supporter of the principles of the 
party. Mrs. Aloody holds membersliip with 



6i8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the Woman's Relief Corps, and is a higiily- 
esteemed lady. Our subject enjoys the good 
will and confidence of his neighbors, and is 
regarded in all respects as an honest man 
and a good citizen. 



GEORGE E. BEEDLE, station agent 
and operator for the Chicago & 
North Western railway at Embar- 
rass, Matteson township, Waupaca 
county, was born in Shawano county. Wis., 
July 17, 1864, and is a son of Edward and 
Lorinda (Stacey) Beedle, who were both 
born in New York. 

Edward Beedle was reared in New York, 
came to Belle Plaine, Shawano Co., Wis., 
in 1856, settling on a farm. He married in 
Belle Plaine township in 185S, was a farmer 
and land inspector by occupation, and made 
Shawano his home for years. In 1863 and 
1864 he was sheriff of the county. In 1868 
he moved to Embarrass, Matteson township, 
Waupaca county, engaged in farming, look- 
ing up land for others, and blacksmithing, 
and made this his home till 1882. He now 
resides at Tigerton, Shawano county, where 
he has held town offices. His wife is also 
living. They have reared a family of nine 
children, all living, as follows: Charles, a 
baggageman, at Clintonville, Waupaca 
county; Delia, residing at Tigerton; George 
E., the subject of this sketch; Flora, the 
wife of John Beedle, Antigo, Langlade Co. , 
Wis. ; Alfred and Cora, residing at Tigerton, 
and Edna, Mary and Nellie at home. 

Our subject was reared in Embarrass 
from the age of four years, and educated in 
the schools of that place. He learned teleg- 
raphy at Tigerton, Shawano county, and 
began in the employ of the Lake Shore 
(now the Chicago & North Western) Rail- 
way Company, at Hatley, Marathon Co., 
Wis. , remaining there some two years. On 
February 2, 1885, he took a position at 
Embarrass, and has been in the employ of 
the Chicago & North Western Railway 
Company at that point since. At Embar- 
rass, in 1888, Mr. Beedle was united in 
marriage with Miss Anna J. Campbell, who 
was born in Shawano county, and they are 
the parents of one child — John Rajinond. 



Mrs. Beedle is the daughter of Henry Camp- 
bell, who is an early pioneer of Embarrass, 
and has been in the hotel business for years. 
Mr. Beedle is a member of one of the 
old families of this part of the State, and 
has seen many changes and improvements. 
He is a silent partner in the general store of 
Campbell & Co., in Embarrass, who began 
business in 1894. Socially Mr. Beedle is a 
member and junior warden of Clintonville 
Lodge No. 197, Free and Accepted Masons. 
In politics he is a Republican, and has been 
justice of the peace for the past two years. 



AUGUST E. ZIEBELL, a prominent 
grocerof Wausau, Marathon county, 
was born in Germany August 28, 
1842, a son of Daniel and Minna 
(Finney) Ziebell, who were also both born 
in Germany, in October, 1798, and on Jan- 
uary 30, 18 — , respectively. 

Daniel Ziebell and his wife came to the 
United States in 1856, purchased land about 
twenty miles from Wausau, Wis , and en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. They re- 
moved to Wausau later in life, and resided 
here up to the time of their death. Daniel 
Ziebell died, in 1890 at the advanced age of 
ninety-five years. His wife, Minna, mother 
of the subject of this sketch, had passed 
away a few years before, at the age of 
seventy. August E. Ziebell came to America 
with his parents when fourteen years of 
age. He received the greater part of his 
education in his native land, but attended 
school in Green Lake county for two win- 
ters after his arrival in this country, for the 
purpose of learning the English language. 
For a few years after leaving school he 
worked at farming and in sawmills, and also 
at teaming. 

In Berlin township, Marathon Co., Wis., 
September 5, 1868, August E. Ziebell mar- 
ried Miss Augusta Fellbaum, who was born 
in Germany January 30, 1849, and to their 
union were born seven children, as follows: 
Ella, June 14, 1869; Robert W., May 4, 
1872; Otto R., May 12, 1874; Albert G., 
July 4, 1876, deceased in infancy; Frank, 
July 14, 1877; John E., March 9, 1879, 
deceased in infancy, and Emma B., June 



COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPEICAL RECORD. 



619 



10, 1880. Mrs. Ziebell's parents, Carl John 
and Wilheliiiina (Koeler) Fellbaum, were 
both born in Germany, and -were resi- 
dents of Berlin township, Marathon county. 
Wilhehiiina Koeler was born October 30, 
1825. Mr. Ziebell was employed for twenty 
years as a salesman in a general store, and 
in 1890 engaged in business for himself. 
He is a member of the National Union, 
and in political views is a Republican. The 
family attend St. Stephen's Lutheran 
Church. 



PATRICK MADDEN. Among the 
self-made men of Minocqua, Vilas 
county, and one who occupies an en- 
viable position in the esteem of his 
tellow citizens, will be found the subject of 
this sketch. 

Mr. Madden is a native of Canada, born 
in May, 185 i, in Ottawa. His father Will- 
iam Madden, was born in Tipperary, Ire- 
land, in November, 1814; his mother, Mary 
(Baxter) Madden, was born in 1825 on the 
ocean, while her parents were on their way 
to America. Her parents, Fargie and Jane 
(Tracey) Baxter, settled in Canada, where 
they carried on a farm and had a family of 
eleven children — six boys and five girls — of 
whom those living are Thomas, James, 
Barney, Patrick, John, Mary, Margaret, 
Jane and Bridget. After his marriage Will- 
iam Madden settled on a piece of wild land 
in Canada, and commenced to improve it, 
in the course of time converting it into a 
valuable farm. This he afterward sold and 
removed to Ottawa, Canada, where he died 
in September, 1892, a man of good repute, 
honored and respected by all; the mother of 
our subject is still living. They were the 
parents of nine children: Thomas, James, 
Patrick, William, Andrew, Frank, Ann, 
Catherine (deceased), and Julia. The 
grandfather of our subject, also named Will- 
iam, was born in Ireland, and came with his 
family and one child (William) to Canada, 
when the latter was a mere boy. He was 
an early settler in that part of the country, 
and impro\ed a farm out of the wilderness, 
where he lived for many years. He and 



his wife died there some time in the "six- 
ties. " 

Patrick Madden, the subject of this 
sketch, was reared upon his father's farm, 
and experienced the usual lot of a country 
boy in those days, busy from morning until 
night with the unending work on a farm all 
the summer, and attending the district school 
during the short winter days. At the age of 
eighteen he began lumbering, working in the 
woods through the winter, felling and haul- 
ing trees, and through the summer floating 
them down the river. In the fall of his 
twenty-sixth year he went to Bay City, 
Mich., and worked for a time in the woods. 
In the spring of 1878 Mr. Madden came to 
Wausau, this State, and for six years worked 
for Capt. Le Hay, at first as a common la- 
borer and later as foreman in the lumber 
camp. While in that place he was married, in 
1883, to Miss Anna Laughlin, who was born 
in Canada in 1854. They had two children, 
Charles Raymond and William. In the 
spring of 1885 Mr. Madden moved to Wake- 
field, Mich., where he built a hotel and lived 
three years. In 1888 he sold out this prop- 
erty and came to Minocqua, where he built 
his present hotel, the "Lakeside House," 
which was the first first-class hotel in the 
place. This he has carried on successfully 
ever since, and he is widely known as a man 
of upright character and a geniaL landlord. 
His house is well patronized, and he ranks 
among the best business men of the town. 

Politically, Mr. Madden is a Democrat, 
though he has never aspired to being called 
a politician, and is too busy with his own 
affairs to care to hold office. He belongs to 
the order of Modern Woodmen, and he and 
his wife are consistent members of the Cath- 
olic Church. 



ARTHUR H. BARR, one of Lincoln 
county's most enterprising young 
men, makes his home in the city of 
Merrill. He is a native of Wiscon- 
sin, born in Oshkosh, February 10, 1867, and 
is a son of James H. Barr, whose birth oc- 
curred in New Jersey in 1834, The paternal 
grandfather died when James was quite 



620 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



young, and left four children: James H., 
Leah, Ann and Jane. 

In 1854 the father of our subject emi- 
grated to Wisconsin, locating at Oshkosh, 
where he worked at the carpenter's trade. 
He was there married in 1865, the lady of 
his choice being Jane Shaw, and to them 
was born one son, Arthur H. The mother, 
who was a daughter of George and Kate 
Shaw, was born in Liverpool, England, in 
1836, and was one of a family of nine chil- 
dren, those still living being Isabel, Agnes, 
George, Mary and Melissa. The father of 
this family was a painter by trade, and 
crossed the Atlantic to America in 1848. 
James H. Barr responded to the President's 
call for troops, and became a member of a 
regiment of Illinois cavalry, in which he 
served three years and eight months. He 
had enlisted as a private, and at the time of 
his discharge was orderly sergeant. His 
first wife died in 1 877, and later, in 1 88 1 , he 
married Miss Alice Gill. To them were 
born three children: James H., Jr., Alice 
R. and Lindon T. , the latter of whom died 
at the age of four years. The father still 
resides in Oshkosh, where he is foreman of 
the Pane Carpenter Shops, and is a highly- 
esteemed citizen. 

The education of Arthur H. Barr was 
received in the schools of Oshkosh, being 
completed in the high school of that city, 
which he left at the age of fifteen, and began 
work in a sash and blind factory. For two 
years he remained with the one firm, grad- 
ually rising until he had obtained an excel- 
lent position. In 1884, however, he went 
to Charleston, S. C, and there worked at 
the same business for one year, on the ex- 
piration of which time he returned to 'Wis- 
consin and soon after came to Merrill, 
securing employment with the H. 'W. 
Wright Lumber Company as a machine 
hand. For three years he was foreman of 
the sash department, when he was made 
shipping clerk, which position he held for 
three and a half years. In April, 1894, he 
was appointed general foreman, and now has 
ninety men under his charge. He has the 
entire confidence of his employers, and the 
men under him hold him in the highest re- 
spect. 



In Sherry, W^is. , in November, 1889, 
Mr. Barr married Allie E. Hubbard, a na- 
tive of Neenah, Wis., and the only child of 
Harrison and Julia Hubbard, who were 
Eastern people, coming to this State from 
New York. The father, who was a lumber- 
man, died some years ago. Two children 
have been born to our subject and his wife: 
Harrison H. and James Lindon. The 
mother of Mrs. Barr, after the death of her 
first husband, wedded James M. Brush, and 
now makes her home in Merrill. In his 
political views Mr. Barr coincides with the 
platform formulated by the Republican 
party, although he takes little interest in 
politics outside of his duties in attending to 
his elective franchise. He holds member- 
ship with the I. O. O. P., taking an active 
part in the Lodge, and also belongs to the 
Junior Order of American Mechanics. Al- 
though a young man, he is rapidly growing 
into the esteem and respect of his fellow 
citizens, and bids fair in the near future to 
assume a prominent and influential position 
in the community. 



JOSEPH RUNDHAMER. Among the 
first settlers of the pleasant little vil- 
lage of Birnamwood, Shawano county, 
must be mentioned the subject of this 
sketch who settled there in 1882, and is well 
and favorable known throughout the county. 
Mr. Rundhamer was born in the village 
of Goisern, Upper Anstria, January 17, 
1 84 1, and is a son of John and Tressa 
(Pilz) Rundhamer, farmers, who had a 
family of seven children. In 1841 the father 
and five daughters died of smallpox, and in 
1852 the son John also died. Two years 
after, in 1854, the mother died, and our sub- 
ject, then a lad of thirteen years, was left 
alone in the world. He learned the butch- 
er's trade at which he worked until of age, 
and then, as is the custom in his native land, 
became a soldier. He was in an infantry 
regiment in the Austrian army, serving five 
years, during which time he took part in the 
war of 1866 between Austria and Italj". 

Mr. Rundhamer was married May 30, 
1867, in his native country to Marie Deubler, 
and six children were born to them: Joseph 



J 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUTCAL RECORD. 



621 



(i), who died when about fifteen months old; 
Mary, Alex, John, Tressa and Joseph (2). 
Our subject came to America in 1867, his 
wife joining him the following year. He 
first settled in Manitowoc where he worked 
for five years in a brewery, afterward open- 
ing out a butcher shop. After the death of 
his wife, in 1877, he gave up that business 
and dealt for a time in stock. In 1882 he 
came to Birnamwood and worked in a saw- 
mill some two years; then bought a piece of 
wild land adjoining the village, which he 
cleared and improved, and on which he 
lived until i 893 when he moved into the vil- 
lage and opened a saloon. When he first 
came to Birnamwood his house was a sort of 
tavern, and it was burned down in 1884. 
The neighbors at once went to work, cut 
timber, had it sawed and in three days had 
built him a new house 22 x 32. When his 
wife died Mr. Rundhamer was left with five 
small children to care for. This task he per- 
formed with remarkable fidelity, looking 
after the little ones to the best of his ability, 
and, in addition to his other duties, washing 
and cooking for them until they were old 
enough to help themselves. John, one of 
his sons is now a clerk in a store in the vil- 
lage, that of Roepke & Meisner; the oldest 
boy is on the farm; Alex is at home; Mary 
married Theodore Bilfuss and lives in Bir- 
namwood; and Tressa is in Chicago. 

In 1892 Mr. Kundhamer was again mar- 
ried, Miss Mary Androsco becoming his wife. 
In politics he is a Democrat, and has been 
supervisor and has held other minor offices. 
The family are meinbcrs of the Catholic 
Church. Mr. Kundhamer is a self-made 
man, and is popular in the community. 



CHARLES E. BLODGETT, one of 
the most enterprising and success- 
ful business men of Marshfield, 
Wood county, was born in Millville, 
Grant Co., Wis., June 8, i860, son of Eras- 
tus and Maria (Sellock) I^lodgett. 

Erastus Blodgett was born at Island 
Pond, Vt., the youngest of the five children 
of Joshua Blodgett, a farmer and cattle 
dealer, who early in the " forties " migrated 
to Wisconsin with his two sons, Erank and 



Erastus, leaving Jerry and two daughters in 
the East. He established the two boys in 
business, as merchants, at Hartford, Wash- 
ington county; they also became agents for 
the Hudson Bay Company. Erastus Blod- 
gett was married in 1848 to Maria Sellock, 
daughter of George J. Sellock, who was of 
French extraction. To Erastus and Maria 
Blodgett five children were born: Jerry L. , 
Ella M., Lillie F., one who died in infancy, 
and Charles E. Mrs. Blodgett died in 
1873. Erastus Blodgett accumulated great 
wealth in the mines and in the cattle busi- 
ness, but met with serious financial reverses 
in the panic of 1873, and now lives at 
Stevens Point. 

Charles E. Blodgett received a common- 
school education, and, after his mother's 
death in 1873, he began clerking in a store, 
remaining three years. In May, 1876, at 
the early age of sixteen years, he went west 
to the Black Hills country, and at Cheyenne 
entered the service of Gen. Crook as a mes- 
senger. It was perilous duty, for Gen. 
Crook was entering his campaign against the 
Sioux. Mr. Blodgett remained as messen- 
ger through the campaign, and in 1877 
served in the same capacity with Gen. Mer- 
rett all through the Yellowstone country. 
During the campaign he witnessed five en- 
gagements with the hostile Indians. He 
was also at the Jennie stockade ' in 1877, 
when the treasury coach was robbed. Here 
he was bound and left in a helpless state 
until released by friends. In the summer 
of 1878 he was with Gen. Bradley in the 
Sand Hills, and during the ensuing winter 
of 1878-79, when the last campaign had 
closed, he accepted a position as messenger 
with Capt. James Gill, carrying the mails 
between Forts D. A. Russell and Laramie, 
a distance of one hundred miles, and re- 
maining in that capacity until 1880, when 
he returned to Wisconsin. In partnership 
with his brother he opened, at Stevens 
Point, a grocery which they conducted four 
years. Mr. Blodgett then went to (irand 
Rapids, and, in company with a Mr. Tal- 
mage, handled lumbermen's supplies at 
wholesale. Selling out here, in 1886, he 
opened a saloon at Rhinelander, Wis. , and 
three years later disposed of this business 



622 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and came to Marshfield, where he now 
owns the finest saloon in the city. He also 
has an interest in a restaurant and saloon at 
St. Joseph, Mich. Mr. Blodgett is a stock- 
holder in the First National Bank of Marsh- 
field, and owns an elegant home. 

In April, 1888, he was married, at 
Stevens Point, to Miss Nettie E. Booth, a 
native of Indiana and daughter of Andrew 
J. Booth, a wood contractor and farmer. 
Mr. and Mrs. Blodgett have three children: 
Jerry L. , Zoa Irene and Pauline. In poli- 
tics Mr. Blodgett is a Republican. He is 
not an office-seeker, but attends strictly to 
business, and by that course he has accu- 
mulated a nice property, and to-day ranks 
among the best business men of Marshfield. 



CHRISTIAN P. DALL. Waupaca is 
indebted, for one of its wide-awake 
and enterprising young citizens, to 
the conflict in Schleswig, which, in 
1864, together with the adjoining Province 
of Holstein, passed from Danish to Prussian 
rule. 

Mr. Dall was a patriotic young Dane, 
and when might threw his home into the 
possession of a foreign government, and 
conscription in the army of that foreign gov- 
ernment faced him, he left his native land, 
and became not only a citizen of the Amer- 
ican Republic, but an honest and esteemed 
business man of Waupaca. He still, how- 
ever, maintains in a corner of his heart a 
love for his native land, has once crossed 
the ocean on a visit, and has in various ways 
sought to perpetuate that righteous affec- 
tion. So far as his fortunes in life are con- 
cerned, whatever he now possesses is his by 
his own exertions, for when he reached the 
hospitable shores of America, scarcely a 
quarter of a century ago, he was without 
money. His heart was brave, however, and 
he soon demonstrated the mettle that was 
within him. 

Mr. Dall was born at Hoyer, Schleswig, 
February 26, 1852. His mother, Naomi 
(Klyng), was of German descent, born on 
the island of Amron, in the North Sea, 
whence in 1814 she moved with her father, 
N. Klyng, to Hoyer. Here was born our 



subject, as above recorded, and here he re- 
ceived a common-school education, and in 
his earl}- youth he was apprenticed for a 
term of five years to a shoemaker. In 1 87 i , 
when nineteen years of age, and when about 
to be conscripted into the Prussian service, 
he came to America, reaching Chicago with 
only twenty-five cents in his pocket. Find- 
ing work at his trade in the city for about 
three months, he was then employed as a 
common laborer for more than a year. The 
city was being rapidly rebuilt after the great 
fire, and work for a time was plentiful. In 
1873 Mr. Dall came to New London, Wis., 
where for thirteen years he worked at his 
trade. He then moved to Waupaca and 
purchased the boot and shoe business of 
Mr. Hansen. He still operates the shop, 
and also conducts a prosperous boot and 
shoe store in connection with it. 

Mr. Dall was married, at New London, 
in 1 88 1, to Mrs. Peter Wied, whose maiden 
name was Stinson, and whose parents were 
early settlers in ^t. Lawrence township, 
Waupaca county, where Mrs. Dall was born. 
They have one child, Mabel. Mr. Dall is a 
Republican, and in 1894 was elected city 
treasurer of Waupaca. He is a member of 
the Danish Lutheran Church, and was the 
founder and first noble grand of the Scandi- 
navian Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Waupaca; is 
still a prominent member, and has filled all 
the offices. Mr. Dall is also the correspond- 
ing secretar}' of the Dane Home, the mem- 
bers of which have recently erected a very 
handsome hall, in which Mr. Dall takes great 
pride and interest. His aged mother now 
makes her home with him at Waupaca, and 
she is gratified to behold the influential and 
useful part which he is now taking in the 
affairs of the city. 



JOHN A. KUNKEL. Among the citi- 
zens of Lebanon township, \\'aupaca 
county, who are of German birth, is 
the gentleman of whom this narrative 
is written. He was reared in his native 
land, and there learned the traits of ccon- 
omj' and frugality which have been the 
source of his present compctcnc}-. Many 
of the best citizens of the country are his 



COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



623 



countrymen, and they almost invariably 
merit and receive the esteem and respect of 
the community to the same degree that he 
does. 

Mr. Kunkel is a native of the Province of 
Posen, Kingdom of Prussia, Germany, born 
October 18, 1840, and is a son of Steve and 
Mary (Kietzman) Kunkel, natives of the 
same province, where the father was a suc- 
cessful farmer. John is the second in a 
family of three children: Fred, a hotel- 
keeper in Germany, died in that country at 
the age of fortv-iive years, leaving a widow 
and three children; Minnie, the youngest, 
married Ludwig Ziegenhagen, and they had 
two children. The mother died in 1867 at 
the age of twenty-four, and in 1872 the 
father died, leaving the children orphans. 
Mr. Kunkel sent for them in 1882 to come 
to this country, and had them educated. 
Albert, the elder, is an intelligent young man 
and noted artist; August is the owner of a 
large ranch in North Dakota, which he is 
now conducting. 

In the schools of his native land John A. 
Kunkel acquired his literary education, and 
received his first knowledge of farming on 
the old homestead in Germany under the 
able directions of his father. He learned 
the miller's trade, but never followed the 
same, always remaining at home with his 
parents, who spent their entire lives in the 
Fatherland, the mother dying in 1848, the 
father in May, 1871, at the age of seventy- 
two years. He spent three years in the 
Germany army, and in 1866 again entered 
the service, for seven months participating 
in the Austro-Prussian war. In October, 
1870, at the age of thirty years, Mr. Kunkel 
took passage at Bremen on a steamer bound 
for the port of Baltimore, Md., from which 
city he came to Wisconsin, locating in Little 
Wolf township, Waupaca county, where he 
bought a piece of timber land. After par- 
tially clearing it, he sold it in 1873 and pur- 
chased one hundred acres in Section 8, Le- 
banon township, for which he paid $10 per 
acre, though it was still in it primitive con- 
dition. 

Mr. Kunkel was married April 14, 1873, 
to Miss Mary Heinrich, who was born in 
Dodge county, Wis., September 17, 1853, 



a daughter of Frederick and Caroline 
(Harker) Heinrich, natives of Saxony, Ger- 
many, who, in 1 849, came to America, landing 
after a long and tedious voyage of seventeen 
weeks on a sailing vessel. Her father, who 
was a farmer by occupation, came to Le- 
banon township, Waupaca county, in 1869, 
where he bought a partially-improved farm 
of eighty acres, and there he and his wife 
spent the remainder of their days, the 
mother dying May 8, 1879, at the age of 
seventy-three years, the father on January 
30, 1892, at the age of si.xty-nine. A son 
now operates the home farm. In the family 
were five children: August, who is married 
and has three children, is a carpenter in the 
State of Washington; John, a farmer of Le- 
banon township, is married and has eight 
children; Mrs. Kunkel comes next in order 
of birth; William, who resides on the old 
homestead, has five children; and Amelia, 
married to Christ Doughterman, and living 
at Appleton, Wis. (they have eight chil- 
dren). Mr. and Mrs. Kunkel have become 
the parents of seven children: Laura, wife 
of John Perner, a farmer of Lebanon town- 
ship; Amelia, a trimmer, of Milwaukee, 
Wis. ; and Martha, Elela, Arthur, Anna and 
Benjamin, at home. 

At the time of his marriage Mr. Kunkel 
owned his present fine farm, whereon not an 
improvement had been made, and a place 
had to be cleared in order to erect a dwell- 
ing, 18x26 feet, which was constructed of 
logs. No roads had yet been cut through 
that section, and he had to make the one lead- 
ing to his farm. His farm " machinerj- " 
consisted of an axe and grub hoe, and with 
these implements he began the improvement 
and cultivation of his land, which at first 
seemed to proceed very slowly Provisions 
had to be procured at Northport, and were 
mostly brought to them by neighbors who 
had teams. The first crop was one of pota- 
toes, planted among the stumps; but as year 
after year went by his efforts were crowned 
with success, and to-day he has 140 acres, 
seventy of which are highly cultivated. 
Coming to this country a poor man, Mr. 
Kunkel has been the architect of his own 
fortunes, and is deserving of the highest 
commendation. Possessing the esteem antl 



624 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



respect of the entire community, he may 
well be ranked among the honest and rep- 
resentative German citizens of Waupaca 
county. His honor and integrity are unim- 
peachable, his word being as good as his 
bond. Politically he has ever been a sup- 
porter of the Republican party, while in 
religious faith he is a Lutheran. 



GILBERT GILBERTSON, a leading 
and progressive farmer of Helvetia 
township, Waupaca county, was 
born in Norway August 29, 1852, 
and is a son of Gunder Gilbertson, also an 
agriculturist. In the spring of 1857 the 
father brought to the New World his wife 
and two' children — Gilbert, and Carrie, now 
the wife of Pardon Bennett, of lola, Wau- 
paca county. 

After a long and tedious voyage on a 
sailing vessel they reached the shores of the 
United States. The father had a brother 
living in Helvetia township, with whom the 
family remained while he looked up a loca- 
tion. Purchasing a lot in the village of lola, 
he erected thereon a log house, which was 
their first home in this countrj'. He began 
work as a common laborer, being engaged 
at anything by which he could earn a live- 
lihood. Later he rented a farm in Scandi- 
navia township, which he operated three 
years, when he removed to a half mile east 
of the village of lola, where he lived on a 
rented farm some four years. He then 
bought 120 acres of wild land in Sections 
4, 5 and 6, Helvetia township, of which 
only one acre had been cleared and a log 
shanty built. The place was purchased by 
the father from a sailor by the name of 
Severson, who had made the rude improve- 
ments, and after selling went on the lakes. 
The father went in debt for his farm, and at 
first had a hard time to get along. He there 
lived until his death, which occurred sud- 
denly while he was chopping wood in the 
timber, and he was buried in the Scandi- 
navia Cemetery; he died January 16, 1878, 
aged fifty-three years, seven months; the 
widowed mother now makes her home with 
our subject. 



Gilbert Gilbertson was about five years 
of age at the time he crossed the ocean to 
the New World, and as he was the onl\' son 
and his help was needed in the development 
and cultivation of the farm, his opportuni- 
ties for acquiring an education were very 
meager indeed. Besides his agricultural 
duties, in the winter season, when a boy of 
seventeen he began work in the lumber 
woods, an occupation he followed many 
winters, greatly endangering his health. 
His father was also similarly employed. 

On December 31, 1878, in the village of 
lola, Mr. Gilbertson was married to Miss 
Josephine House, who was born in the city 
of Waupaca, October 11, 1857, a daughter 
of Jacob and Maria (Longshore) House, who 
were of Holland extraction, the father a na- 
tive of Herkimer county, N. Y. , the mother 
of Ogdensburg, same State. Her parents 
were married in the Empire State, and to 
them were born four children, namely: 
George, Henry, Cassie M. and Josephine. 
Mr. and Mrs. House are yet living in Wau- 
paca. Our subject and his wife have two 
children: Edith C, born October 18, 1879, 
and Clara G. M., born October 27, 1882. 
Mr. and Mrs. Gilbertson began housekeep- 
ing on the old home place of his father, 
where he has since resided, and after the 
father's death he took complete charge of 
the farm, which he has since purchased. 
He now owns 160 acres, about fifty of 
which are under a high state of cultivation. 
He is a man of great energy and persever- 
ance, and since taking possession has effect- 
ed many improvements upon his farm, which 
is now entirely free from debt. Politically, 
Mr. Gilbertson is a Republican, and has 
been called upon to serve in office, being at 
present a member of the township board. 



JAMES McHALE, of Antigo, Langlade 
county, was born in Towanda, Penn., 
May 4, 1 86 5, and is a son of Patrick 
and Bridget (Mullen) McHale, who were 
born in Ireland. 

The parents of Patrick McHale never 
came to America, and his father is still living 
in Ireland, now aged about one hundred 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



=5 



and four years. Of their children Patrick, 
Richard, James, Ann, Bridget, and Hanorah 
came to America and live in Pennsylvania, 
and John and Mary are yet in Ireland. Pat- 
rick McHale was born in Ireland about the 
year 1825, came to America when about 
thirty years of age, settled in Pennsylvania, 
and is now a farmer in Bradford county, 
that State. He married Bridget Mullen, 
who came to America with her parents in 
1849, and they have had nine children, 
namely: Ann, Mary, James, John, Alice, 
Bridget, Norah, Katie and Patrick. Her 
parents, Bartholomew and Anna (Judge) 
Mullen, had a large family of children, only 
three of whom are now living, namely: 
Thomas, Martin and Bridget. Another son, 
James Mullen, was a soldier in the war of 
the Rebellion, serving in Company F, Fifth 
Penn. V. I., and was killed in the battle of 
the Wilderness in 1864. The Mullen family 
were farmers, and the parents both died in 
Pennsylvania, the father, Bartholomew Mull- 
en, being killed in 1862 by his team running 
away; his wife died in 1893. 

James McHale, whose name introduces 
this sketch, received only a common-school 
education, was reared on the farm until 
fourteen years of age, then went on the 
rivers running lumber and logs, working on 
the Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania, and on 
the Savage river, in Maryland. He came 
west in 1882, located in Oshkosh, Wis., and 
followed lumbering in the woods and on the 
river until 1888, when he went into the 
hotel business at Upson, Ashland Co., Wis. 
In 1889 he came to Antigo, Langlade Co., 
Wis., again engaged in the hotel business, 
which he followed until 1894, and was elect- 
ed sheriff of Langlade county, that fall. 

On January 15, 1895, James McHale 
was united in marriage with Katie D. Byrne, 
who was born in Ripon, Fond du Lac Co., 
Wis., daughter of Francis (a farmer) and 
Rose (Brenan) Byrne, who were born in 
Canada, were married in Milwaukee, Wis., 
and now live in Langlade county; they have 
had nine children, namely: Francis B. , Louis 
F., James J., Mamie L. , Edward L. , Lor- 
etta, Agnes, Sjlvester and Katie D. (Mrs. 
McHale). Mr. McHale is politically a Dem- 
ocrat, though never a very active politician, 



and he is not a member of any secret order. 
The family are members of the Catholic 
Church. 



DAVID CLEMENTS, one of the suc- 
cessful business men of Antigo, 
Langlade county, was born in Phila- 
delphia, Penn., November i, 1859, 
a son of James Clements, who was a native 
of the North of Ireland, born in 1826. The 
grandparents on the father's side were farm- 
ers in Ireland, and had five children, of 
whom three — David, James and Sarah — are 
living. 

The father of our subject came to Amer- 
ica about 1849, and landed at Philadelphia. 
He was a poor boy and went to work as a 
common laborer. In 1853 he married Jane 
Moody, who was born in the North of Ire- 
land in 1829; she was an orphan, and noth- 
ing is known of her family except that she 
had one sister who was married and lived in 
Philadelphia. To this worthy couple ten 
children were born, of whom two died in 
infancy, and of the remainder the following 
record is given: Sarah married A. Rogers 
and lives in Chicago; Maggie is at home, 
unmarried; David and James are married, 
and live in Antigo; John resides in Oshkosh; 
Robert and William are in Chicago; Martha 
is at home. James Clements came west in 
the fall of 1865, and settled in Oshkosh 
where he engaged in the wood and coal busi- 
ness, which he is still carrying on. He is a 
deacon in the Presbyterian Church, a strong 
temperance man, and, while no politician, 
takes great interest in local affairs. He is a 
man of strong character, positive in his likes 
and dislikes, but just in his opinions and a 
man of influence in his community. 

David Clements, the subject of this 
sketch, was seven years of age when his 
parents removed to Oshkosh, and attended 
the public schools of that place until twelve 
years old when he began clerking in a boot 
and shoe store, remaining with the firm some 
five years. During the following two years 
he was in a dry-goods store, and then for 
two years was employed at carriage paint- 
ing, which, however, he was obliged to give 
up on account of his health; he then pur- 



636 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



chased a milk route, a business he carried 
on seven years. In April, 1888, Mr. Clem- 
ents came to Antigo and began operating in 
wood, coal, lime and brick, shipping these 
products to various parts of the country. 
He has built up an extensive business, and 
has been remarkably successful in his enter- 
prises. 

Mr. Clements was married September 28, 
1886, to Miss Mary Simcock, of \\'aupaca. 
Wis., where she was born October 3, 1866. 
She is the daughter of James B. and Mary 
(Streeter) Simcock, the father of English 
descent, the mother a native of New Hamp- 
shire. Mr. Simcock was a hardware mer- 
chant in Waupaca for thirty-five years, and 
was a highly-respectctl citizen. He was a 
member of the Republican party, and held 
numerous minor offices; socially, he was a 
Mason in high standing. He died January 
27, 1891. Two children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Clements: Harry and Ruth. 
Mr. Clements is a Republican, taking an 
active part in politics, and although not an 
office-seeker has been honored by his fellow 
citizens with the office of city treasurer, in 
which responsible position he is now serv- 
ing his second term. He is a self-made man, 
beginning life with no aid but his willing 
hands, a brave heart and indomitable per- 
severance, and has attained his present pros- 
perity entirely by his own efforts. He is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias, and with 
his wife is identified with the Congregational 
Church. 



CHARLES H. MEISNER, one of the 
prosperous and highl3'-esteemed busi- 
ness men of Birnamwood, Shawano 
county, was born in Newton town- 
ship, Manitowoc Co., Wis., February 14, 
i860, and is a son of Frederick and Maga- 
rette (Steltzer) Meisner, both natives of 
Germany. 

Frederick Meisner was born February 5, 
1825, in Mechlenburg, Germany, and after 
the death of his father he, with his mother 
and the rest of the family, came to America 
in I 849, settling in Manitowoc county. Here 
the mother lived to the good old age, dying 
in 1888. The j)arental family comprised 



six children, namely: John, Frederick, 
Joseph, Dora, Josephine and Mary. The 
mother of our subject was born in Bavaria 
about the year 1832. Her mother died in 
Germany, and about 1850 she came to Amer- 
ica with her father and her three brothers — 
John, William and Nicholas — and three sis- 
ters — Mary, Cathrena and Lena. Her father 
was a farmer by occupation. Frederick 
Meisner had six children, of whom Charles 
H., Frederick J. and Henry are living; Will- 
iam died when four years old; John when an 
infant, and a daughter, Bertha, when nine 
months old. This worthy couple at present 
reside on a farm purchased by Mr. Meisner 
some thirty-seven years ago, and which is 
situated near Manitowoc City. They are 
consistent members of the German Lu- 
theran Church, and Frederick Meisner is a 
stanch Republican, although he has never 
taken a very active part in political matters. 

Charles H. Meisner was reared to the 
life of a farmer's boy, obtaining his educa- 
tion in the common schools, and assisting 
his father upon the farm until he was of 
age. He then spent several summers work- 
ing upon a farm. In June, 1884, in com- 
pany with John Roepke, he came to Birnam- 
wood, where he bought out a store owned 
by Hunter and Cole, and organized the firm 
of Roepke & Meisner, proprietors of a gen- 
eral mercantile store. In 1889 they com- 
menced the manufacture of lumber, buying 
and repairing a mill and furnishing employ- 
ment to fifteen men, on an average. Both 
these gentlemen have built themselves hand- 
some residences, and have dealt extensively 
in real estate, now owning some 1,300 acres 
of timber and farming lands. Charles H. 
Meisner was married January 4, 1884, to 
Miss Meta Pleuss, who was born in the same 
town and county as her husband. She is a 
daughter of Frederick and Marj' (Leverenz) 
Pleuss, natives of Germany, who came to 
America about 1850. The father, who was 
a farmer, died in 1877. They had a family 
of five daughters — Mary, Lizzie, Meta, Au- 
gusta and Minnie. Both the parents had 
children by former marriages. Mr. and Mrs. 
Meisner have no children. 

In politics our subject is a good Repub- 
lican, but has always been too busy attend- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



637 



ing to his own affairs to become an ofiice- 
seeker. However, his fellow-citizens have 
shown their appreciation of his worth by 
making him town treasurer, and electing 
him to the minor offices. He was postmas- 
ter for eight years, and is one of the trus- 
tees of the village. He and his wife are 
members of the German Lutheran Church, 
and are held in high esteem. 



DI^L. WILLIAM T. LAWRENCE, a 
prominent dentist of Wausau, Mar- 
athon county, was born at Ellington, 
Conn., July 21, 1854. His father, 
Henry H. Lawrence, formerly of Ellington, 
has been for the past twenty years a resi- 
dent of Chicago, 111., where he is engaged in 
the wholesale house of the Waterbury Clock 
Company located in that city. 

Our subject was educated at schools in 
Connecticut, and when fourteen years of age 
was employed in the mercantile, or dry- 
goods, business in Chicago, 111., and Fort 
Wayne, Ind. In 1881, when twenty-seven 
years of age, he began the study of dentist- 
ry, attending dental college in Chicago. He 
began practice at Merrill, Lincoln Co., Wis., 
and in 1885 located at Wausau, Marathon 
county, since which time he has taken a 
prominent position in the practice of his pro- 
fession in this part of the State, and prob- 
ably does the most extensive dental busi- 
ness in Wausau. 

In Merrill, Lincoln Co., Wis., Dr. Law- 
rence was united in marriage with Miss Ida 
Perkins, who was born in Auburn, N. Y. 
Dr. Lawrence is a member of the Masonic 
Order. By temperament he is careful, 
exact and thorough, and these qualities, ap- 
plied to his profession, result in perfect 
work, and have contributed to make him 
one the most successful and popular profes- 
sional gentlemen in this section of Wisconsin. 



VALENTINE RINGLE, ex-postmas- 
ter of Wausau, and at present assist- 
ant postmaster of that little city, is 
one of its most enterprising and pro- 
gressive citizens. He was born in German- 
town, Washington Co., Wis., June 8, 184", 



son of Bartholomew Ringle, a German by 
birth, who was one of the most prominent 
citizens of Marathon county. 

Bartholomew Ringle and Magdalene 
(Pick), his wife, natives of Rhine-Bavaria, 
Germany, participated in that great immi- 
gration movement, in 1846-47-48, which 
almost amounted to a national convulsion, 
and which brought to America many hun- 
dred thousands of Germany's best citizens. 
It was in 1846 that Bartholomew reached 
the land of liberty, settling with his family 
in Washington county. Wis. Two year later 
they removed to Dodge county, and in 1859 
to Wausau, where the parents remained 
until death. After taking up his residence 
in Wausau Bartholomew Ringle diligently 
read law, and was soon admitted to practice, 
becoming one of Marathon county's fore- 
most men. For five terms he represented 
Marathon county in the State Legislature; 
for twelve years he was county judge, mayor 
of the city of Wausau for two terms, and 
county clerk six years. He was deeply in- 
terested in all matters pertaining to the wel- 
fare of the city and county, and by his able 
and courageous devotion to their interests 
he maintained through life the universal 
esteem and affection of his fellow citizens. 

Valentine Ringle received the rudiments 
of his education in Dodge county, and com- 
pleted it in the public schools at Wausau. 
When his school days were over he learned 
the printer's trade, and his energy and en- 
terprise were early displayed by the publica- 
tion, in 1865, at the age of eighteen years, 
of the IViscoiisiii Ki'i'tr Pilot, a weekly 
newspaper. It is a tribute to his business 
capacity that this venture was successful. 
In fact it prospered to such a degree that 
five years later, in 1870, he added another 
publication, in the German language, the 
Wausau Woclicnblatt. Mr. Ringle con- 
tinued the publication of both until 1884, 
when he sold the Pilot. He continued as 
publisher and editor of the Woclunblatt wni\\ 
1885, when he sold it to assume the duties 
of postmaster of Wausau, a position to 
which he had just been appointed. He re- 
mained in office four years and nine months, 
filling the position faithfully and in a man- 
ner highly satisfactory to the public. In 



628 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 



1892 his brother, John Ringle, was appointed 
postmaster, and Valentine is now acting as 
his assistant. 

Mr. Ringle was married at Wausau, in 
1869, to Miss Aurora Engel, daughter of 
August and Amalie Engel, early German 
settlers of Wausau, who still reside in that 
city. Of the eight children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Ringle seven still survive, to wit: Au- 
rora, wife of George Haider, a prominent 
merchant of Wausau; Clara, a clerk in the 
post office department at Wausau; Martha; 
Antoinette; Pauline; Hedwig, and Valentine. 
Mr. Ringle is a member of Wausau Lodge No. 
215, I. O. O. F. , also of the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen, and the Sons of Her- 
mann. He has represented the First ward 
of Wausau as alderman in the city council 
for two terms, and filled the office of city 
treasurer also two terms. The family of 
Mr. Ringle attend St. Paul's Evangelical 
Church, and politically he is a stanch Demo- 
crat. 



ELI W. LONG (deceased), who was 
an enterprising farmer, and a Union 
soldier in the war of the Rebellion, 
was born in Smithville, N. Y. , April 
II, 1827, and was a son of Conrad A. Long, 
a farmer in New York State. 

On March 23, 1846, Eli W. Long was 
united in marriage with Loisa Vandarwarka, 
who was born in Steuben county, N. Y., 
November 13, 1827, and they became the 
parents of seven children: John, Charles, 
George, Warren, Mary E., William and 
Stella, all married except Stella, who is 
teaching school. Mr. and Mrs. Long lived 
in Painted Post, N. Y., until about 1852, 
then went to Potter county, Penn. , from 
there to Dale, Outagamie Co., Wis., about 
1857, then lived on his father's farm. From 
there he enlisted for three years, on Janu- 
ary I, 1864, in Company I, Thirtieth Wis. 
\'. I. He contracted heart disease while in 
the army, which eventually caused his death. 
He was discharged October 23, 1865, and 
returned home and received a pension the 
remainder of his life. In 1866 they bought 
I Go acres of wild land in Section 5, Bear 
Creek township, Waupaca county, moving 



from Dale with an o.x-team, and though the 
work seemed to go slowly at first, Mr. Long 
and his sons cleared one hundred acres, 
and the wife and mother chopped quan- 
tities of brush with green leaves for the 
cattle. Politically Mr. Long was a Re- 
publican. He died September 18, 1888, 
and was buried in Clintonville, Larrabee 
township. He was a member of the Grand 
Army Post of Clintonville. 

Mrs. Eli W. Long is a daughter of John 
M. and Polly (Van Dun) Vandarwarka, who 
were the parents of eight children: Jane, 
Peter, Henrj\ Mary, Washington, Loisa 
fMrs. Long), Charlotte and Diomma, all 
of whom are living except Jane. Mr. Van- 
darwarka was a farmer by occupation, also 
a lumberman. He took up and home- 
steaded a two-hundred-acre farm in New 
York, which they made their home, and 
there he and his wife died. Mrs. Long had 
only meager opportunities for an education, 
and remained at home until she was mar- 
ried. She is a member of the W. R. C, of 
Clintonville. 

In 1887 Wm. Long, son of Mr. and Mrs. 
Eli W. Long, was united in marriage with 
Edith Wright, daughter of Oscar and Mary 
(Baker) Wright. Mrs. William Long's 
father died when she was only six years of 
age, and his widow went to Menasha, Win- 
nebago Co., Wis., where her sister lived, 
and remained one year, then went to 
Shawano county. Wis. She had seven 
children, as follows: Edith (Mrs. William 
Long), Fannie and Charles, by her first 
marriage, and, by her second marriage, to 
Charles Shank, she had Charles, Herman, 
William and Minnie. Shediedjune 12, 1891. 



JESSE SMITH, D. D. S. This well- 
known and highly esteemed resident of 
Stevens Point, Portage county, is en- 
gaged here in the active practice of 
dentistry. He was born in Bacup, Eng- 
land, March 12. 1850, and is a son of James 
and Mary Smith, who were also both born 
in England, and were of English ancestry. 
The mother of Dr. Smith was formerly the 
wife of Mr. Duckworth, by whom she had 
three children: James, Thomas and Will- 



COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



629 



iam, the latter now deceased. By her mar- 
riage with James Smith she had only one 
child, the subject of this sketch. 

Dr. Smith was reared and educated in 
Rochdale, England, and after completing 
his education spent seven years of his early 
life at the trade of mechanical engineer, at 
the expiration of which time he commenced 
the study and practice of dentistry. In 1870 
he was married to Miss Sarah Ann Holt; no 
children have been born to their union. In 
1 87 5 he left his native land and came to the 
United States, locating in St. Louis, Mo., 
where he completed his studies in dentistry 
in the Missouri College, and also in the 
Western College of Dental Surgeons, gradu- 
ating from the latter institution in the class 
of 1879-80. (Dr. Smith had commenced 
the practice of his chosen profession in Eng- 
land, in 1873, continuing it during his col- 
lege course). In July, 1880, he removed 
from Missouri to Stevens Point, Wis., and, 
with the e.xception of a short time, has been 
engaged in his profession here since, suc- 
ceeding, through good workmanship and 
careful study, in building up a lucrative and 
constantly increasing practice. Besides be- 
ing a thorough expert in dentistry. Dr. 
Smith is a first-class mechanical engineer, 
and spends many of his leisure moments in 
the construction of model steam engines, 
steam launches, and other mechanical de- 
vices. He is a member of Sherett Lodge 
No. 92, I. O. O. P., of Monadnock En- 
campment No. 59, and of Central City Can- 
ton No. 7. He ranks among the leading 
citizens of Stevens Point, is a man of high 
character, and has many friends. 



JOHN M. COLLIER, a worthy citizen 
of Belmont township, Portage county, 
has lived a life characterized by dili- 
gence and perseverance, and his exam- 
ple is one well worthy of emulation. The 
record of his career is as follows: He was 
born May 30, 1S34, in Aroostook county, 
Maine, and is a son of Thomas Collier, a 
native of Longford, Ireland. His grand- 
father, John Collier, was a farmer in com- 
fortable circumstances, who in an early day 
crossed the Atlantic to Maine, where he en- 



engaged in agricultural pursuits. His death 
occurred in the Pine Tree State at the ad- 
vanced age of ninety years. 

His oldest son, Thomas Collier, en- 
gaged in school teaching in Ireland at the 
age of twenty years, and when a young man 
emigrated to the New World. He first lo- 
cated in New Brunswick, where he married 
Matilda Colson, who was born on the Em- 
erald Isle, but came to this country during 
her early childhood. They removed to 
Aroostook county, Maine, and became the 
parents of ten children, namely: Ann, who 
was married and died in Pine River, Wis. ; 
John M. ; George, who was a soldier in the 
Eighteenth Wis. V. I., and is now living in 
Colby, this State; Charles, who returned 
from the Union army on a furlough, being 
sick at the time, but again started for the 
front on the advice of a physician, and died 
while I'll route at Madison, Wis. ; Matilda, 
who was married, and died in Lanark town- 
ship, Portage county; Irena, wife of Willard 
Deering, of Belmont township; James, of 
Minnesota; David, who was a soldier, and 
now resides in Dayton township, Waupaca 
county; Susan, wife of Frank Gurley; and 
Elijah, a lumberman, who died at the age 
of thirty years. About 1857, the family 
came to the Badger State, journeying by 
rail and water, and proceeding from Gill's 
Landing to Fond du Lac, near where the 
father secured a tract of timber land of 120 
acres. He developed therefrom a good 
farm, which he made his home for several 
years, and engaged to some extent in lum- 
bering, accumulating a comfortable compe- 
tence. He died in Parfreyville, Wis., at the 
age of eighty-three years, and when his wife 
passed away some years later she was laid 
by his side in the cemetery at that place. 
In politics he was a Republican, and was 
frequently called to office in both Maine and 
Wisconsin, serving as treasurer of Dayton 
township, Waupaca county, and as justice 
of the peace in Belmont township. Portage 
county. From carl}' youth both he and his 
wife belonged to the Baptist Church, and 
he long served as deacon of the congrega- 
tion with which he was connected. 

In the usual manner of farmer lads John 
Collier was reared, and at the age of fifteen 



630 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he began working as a farm hand in the 
neighborhood. He also worked in the lum- 
ber woods of the Pine Tree State, and to a 
limited extent engaged in cooking for the 
lumbermen. When about twenty-five years 
of age he accompanied the family to Wis- 
consin, and spent the first winter in the lum- 
ber woods, giving his earnings to his parents 
— and his own start in life was yet to be se- 
cured. Later he saved the money with 
which he purchased his present farm, secur- 
ing a tract of eighty acres of wild land, 
which he has transformed into rich and fer- 
tile fields, making it one of the valuable and 
desirable places of the neighborhood. Often 
in the winter seasons he worked in the lum- 
ber woods, passing about twenty winters in 
that way. To his landed possessions he 
added as his financial resources increased 
until he now has 160 acres, 120 acres in the 
home farm. 

On August 20, 1864, in Waupaca, Wis., 
Mr. Collier joined Company A, Forty-second 
Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, under 
Capt. Duncan McGregor, and went to Mad- 
ison, Mo., thence to Cairo, 111., where he 
was engaged in guard and scouting duty un- 
til discharged on the iith of June, 1865, 
for disability. He then returned to his home, 
and has since devoted his time and energies 
to agricultural pursuits. 

On July 22, 1862, in Lanark township, 
was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Collier 
and Miss Clara Turner, who was born in 
Pinckney township, Jefferson Co. , Wis. , 
October 23, 1843, a daughter of Peter and 
Eleanor (Bradt) Turner, who came to this 
State in 1849, and removed to Belmont 
township in 1856. The children of Mr. 
and Mrs. Collier are as follows: Martha 
E., at home; Hattie J., wife of William 
Smith, of Lanark township; Mary A., wife 
of William Benjamin, a resident of New 
Rome township, Adams Co., Wis. ; Charles, 
who died at the age of four months and 
twenty-eight days; and Clarence H., at 
home. 

The parents hold membership with the 
Methodist Church, and are very active and 
prominent in its work. Mr. Collier is now 
serving as Church trustee, his wife as Church 
steward, and in Sumlay-school work she has 



borne an important part, acting as teacher 
for some years, and also filling the position 
of superintendent. In his political views, 
Mr. Collier is a stanch Republican, but has 
never been an aspirant for office, not desir- 
ing to enter the political arena, and prefer- 
ing to devote his energies to his business 
interests, in which he has met with a well- 
merited success. 



WL. WOODEN. A prosperous 
farmer and one of the well-known 
citizens of Larrabee township, 
Waupaca county, Mr. Wooden is 
one of the three oldest settlers of this section 
of Wisconsin. Born in Cayuga county, 
N. Y. , in 1830, he is the son of Elvin and 
Olive (Galusha) Wooden, who were born in 
Cayuga county, N. Y. , and in 1832 opened 
up a farm in Portage county, Ohio, and 
located there. They had three children, 
namely: Augustus, who resides in Kansas 
City, Mo. ; W. L. is the subject of this 
sketch; and Horace, who enlisted in Ashta- 
bula county, Ohio, in the Twenty-seventh 
O. V. I., for three years, and served the full 
term, and who now resides in Ashtabula 
county, Ohio. 

Elvin Wooden died in 1833, and his 
widow was married, in Portage county, 
Ohio, to James Huff. Mr. HufT died in 
1850, and Mrs. Huff in 185 i. By this mar- 
riage there were the following named chil- 
dren: Maria, who was the wife of Sydney ' 
Gifford, of Marquette, a soldier, died in Mar- 
quette county, Wis. ; Ellen, who was the 
wife of Lieut. Johnson, died near Eau 
Claire, Wis., and A. J. resides in Clinton- 
ville, Wisconsin. 

W. L. Wooden was reared to manhood 
in Portage county, Ohio, and received his 
education in the schools of that county. On 
January 20, 1862, he enlisted at Cleveland, 
Ohio, in Company B, Capt. Schofield's bat- 
talion, for three years or during the war. 
He was sworn into service at Johnson's 
Island, where he remained guarding prison- 
ers until honorably discharged there in the 
fall of 1862. Returning to Ohio he went to 
Geauga county, and thence in 1863 came to 
Larrabee township, Waupaca Co., Wis., 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



631 



where he bought a forest tract of 160 acres 
in Section 20, located upon it, cleared 
it, building a log house, and later a frame 
house, and lived there for ten years. In 
Waupaca county, in 1864, W. L. Wooden 
was united in marriage with Miss Bertha E. 
Tisher, who was born in Berlin, Germany, 
and to their union were born four children, 
namely: Edward, who is married and resides 
on the home farm; Lillie, who is the wife of 
Frank Buckbee, and resides in Larrabee 
township, Waupaca county; Nellie, and 
Luther W. 

Mrs. W. L. Wooden is the daughter of 
Frederick and Charlotte (Rose) Tisher. 
Frederick Tisher was born in Copenhagen, 
Denmark, was a merchant of Berlin, and in 
185 1 came to Milwaukee, Wis., and re- 
mained a short time. His family came in 
1852, and he settled in Granville township, 
Milwaukee county, worked there seven 
years, and in 1859 located in Section 30, 
where W. L. Wooden, the subject proper 
of these lines, now resides. Mr. Tisher 
made a road to this farm. Mrs. Tisher was 
born in Berlin, Germany. The last year of 
her life she was helpless, and her death oc- 
curred December 14, 1891, when she was 
eighty-two years of age. Her husband sur- 
vived her, dying February 20, 1894, at the 
age of eighty-five. There were five children 
in the family, namely: Charles, who resides 
in Missouri, is the son by the first wife; Ed- 
ward enlisted in 1863 in the Third Wis. V. 
C, for three years, served to the close of 
the war, died in 1865, on a half-day's march 
from Fort Leavenworth, cit route to be mus- 
tered out, and was buried at Fort Leaven- 
worth, Kans. ; Bertha E. is the wife of W. L. 
Wooden; Augusta is the wife of Charles 
Schoepke, of Bear Creek, Waupaca Co., 
Wis. ; and Charlotte is the wife of August 
Schoepke, of St. Paul, Minnesota. 

In 1873 Mr. Wooden sold the farm in 
Section 20, bought eighty acres in the 
woods in Section 27, erected a good frame 
house there, and lived there till 1887, when 
he bought 160 acres in Section 30, most- 
ly in the woods. Here he has erected 
two houses, and has cleared seventy acres 
of the land. In politics Mr. Wooden is a 
Republican. He has been chairman of the 



township three times, served on the side 
board four years, and was for thirteen years 
assessor of Larrabee township. He is a 
member of J. B. Wyman Post No. 32, 
G. A. R. Mr. Wooden operated a thresh- 
ing machine for twenty-five years, and 
brought the first one into the township. He 
has seen all of Clintonville built, has seen 
much of the development of the county, and 
has taken an active part in all things per- 
taining to its general welfare. 



LOREN E. BUCK is one of the self- 
made men, formerly of Portage and 
now of Waupaca county, whose 
prosperity is the reward of their own 
efforts. He came to Wisconsin with only 
fifty cents in his pocket, and by earnest la- 
bor, perseverance and diligence has acquired 
a comfortable competence. He was born 
July 21, 1833, in Brookfield, Vt., and is a 
son of Walter and Jerusha (Darling) Buck, 
the former a farmer in comfortable circum- 
stances. The parents held membership with 
the Congregational Church, and departed 
this life in Brookfield, Vt. , where they had 
long resided. Their family of nine children 
included the following: Lavina, Permelia, 
Elizabeth, Emily, Asenath, Walter, John, 
William L. and Loren E. 

The last named son supplemented his 
early education, acquired in the common 
schools, by study in a seminary. He was 
reared upon the home farm until eighteen 
years of age, and then began learning the 
trade of a machinist in Worcester, Mass., 
soon mastering the business, for he is an 
adept at tools. Three years were passed in 
that place, and on attaining his majority he 
concluded to go. to the West to see the 
country and look for work as well. In Ra- 
cine, Wis., he secured employment with J. 
I. Case, when the extensive manufacturing 
works formerly owned by that gentleman 
were run by horse-power. 

Having now established himself in busi- 
ness, Mr. Buck also established himself in a 
home. He was married May 30, 1857, in 
Bristol township, Dane Co., Wis., to Miss 
Tamar H. Brown, and they began their do- 
mestic life in Racine. The lady was born 



632 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in Oxford, Mass., April 30, 1839, and is a 
daughter of Daniel and Abigail T. (Collier) 
Brown, who with their family of eight chil- 
dren emigrated to Chicago in the spring of 
1854, then removed to Racine eighteen 
months later, and afterward went to Dane 
county. The father was a blacksmith and 
machinist by trade, and a natural mechanic. 

Mr. and Mrs. Buck resided in Racine 
until 1858, and then removed to Omro, 
Wis., where he followed farming for a short 
time, later was employed in Oshkosh, Wis. , 
and in February, 1862, removed to a farm 
of forty acres in Section 10, Belmont town- 
ship. Portage Co., Wis. They made the 
journey thither by sleigh, accompanied by 
their little daughter, Emily C. There were 
no buildings on the place and they lived with 
a neighbor until a rough board house, 
16x21 feet, was built. The land was in its 
primitive condition, and Mr. Buck turned its 
first furrow and made the first improvement 
thereon. That pioneer home was blessed 
by the presence of nine children, nearly all 
born there. Emily C. , who was born in 
Bristol, Wis., is now the wife of George H. 
Lincoln, of Santa Barbara, Cal. ; Angle L. , 
born in Belmont township. Portage county, 
is the wife of Clinton E. Lincoln, of More- 
head City, N. C. ; Azro L. , born in Omro, 
Wis., is a farmer of Dayton township, 
Waupaca county; Charles B. follows agri- 
cultural pursuits in Belmont township; Wal- 
ter E. is a carpenter at Waupaca; Celia E. 
is engaged in school teaching; Lillian M., 
Jennie M. and Arthur W. are at home. 

Mr. Buck left his family in the fall of 
1864, and in Berlin, Wis., joined the boys 
in blue of Company H, Eighteenth Wiscon- 
sin Infantry, with which he went to Madi- 
son, thence to Loudon, Tenn., then to New- 
bern, N. C, and joined Sherman's army at 
Goldsboro. The troops then marched to 
Raleigh, and subsequently participated in 
the grand review in Washington, D. C, 
where our subject was honorably discharged 
May 31, 1865. He was never wounded, 
but for two weeks lay ill in the hospital of 
Madison, Wisconsin. During his absence 
his wife had removed with her children to 
Omro, where the family experienced many 
hardships on account of their exceedingly 



limited means. Mr. Buck after his return 
successfully carried on agricultural pursuits 
in Belmont township. Portage county, until 
October, 1894, since which time he has 
practically lived a retired life in the city of 
Waupaca. His landed possessions were in- 
creased from a small tract of forty acres to a 
fine farm of 300 acres, which he yet owns 
and which yields him a handsome income. 
Mr. Buck has allied himself with Belmont 
Post No. 1 1 5, G. A. R., and for nearly forty 
years his wife has been a faithful member of 
the Methodist Church. In his political 
views, he has been a stalwart Republican 
since the formation of the party, and his 
fellow citizens, appreciating his worth and 
ability, have frequently called him to public 
office, he having served as assessor, super- 
visor and in various school offices. He was 
also elected town treasurer, but resigned on 
account of ill-health. A public-spirited and 
progressive citizen, he manifests a com- 
mendable interest in everything pertaining 
to the welfare of the community, and is a 
straightforward, honorable gentleman who 
truly merits the high regard in which he is 
held. 



AH. SCHULTZ. From the shores of 
Germany have come many emigrants 
who have sought and found homes 
in Wisconsin, forming an important 
part of the State's population, a thrifty, en- 
terprising class who have been prominent in 
the promotion of the towns and counties in 
which they have settled. Among these may 
be numbered the subject of this review, a 
resident of Clintonville, Waupaca county, 
who was born in the Province of Branden- 
burg, Germany, in 1842, a son of Johan 
Gottlieb and Charlotta Frederica (Macker) 
Schultz, who were natives of the same prov- 
ince. In that country they were married, 
and in 1863 they sailed for America, embark- 
ing at Hamburg on the sailing vessel "Oder," 
which after seven weeks and three days 
reached New York harbor on the 23rd of 
June. They made their way thence to She- 
boygan, Wis., where the father engaged in 
business as a merchant tailor until 1869, 
when he removed to Manitowoc county, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



633 



Wis. There in the midst of the primeval 
forest he opened up a farm, continuing its 
cultivation until 1877, when he removed to 
Hortonville, Wis., where he died March 
12,1895, aged eighty-three years, two months 
and two days. The paternal grandfather, 
Dechlander Schultz, was a soldier in the 
German arm}', and was killed in battle. Of 
his children only two came to this country, 
and the father of our subject is the only one 
who settled in Wisconsin. A sister, Wilhel- 
mina, wife of Charlie Keoperick, located in 
New York City, where she died many years ago. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Johan Gottlieb Schultz 
were born the following children: Gottlieb, 
who served in the German army, became a 
resident of Sheboygan county. Wis. , in 1 865, 
and is now living in the city of Sheboygan; 
Amelia, born in 1841, is the wife of A. 
Keugler, of Manitowoc county. Wis. ; Adolph 
Herman is the next younger; Bernhart came 
to Wisconsin in 1863, and is now a resident 
of Sheboygan; Charlie August is married, 
and resides in Hortonville, Wis. ; Matilda 
Augusta became the wife of Fred Heddie, 
and died in Sheboygan in 1889; Otto, born 
in Sheboygan, May 22, 1867, is now living 
in Birnamwood, Wisconsin. 

A. H. Schultz was a young man of 
twenty-one years when, with his parents, 
he crossed the Atlantic to America. He 
learned the trade of harness making in She- 
boygan, and worked in that city for some 
time, after which he removed to Plymouth, 
Wis., where he was employed at his trade 
for four years. On the expiration of that 
period he went to Lake Superior, and worked 
in the copper mines for one summer. He 
dates his arrival in Clintonville from 1878. 
Here he established himself in the harness- 
making business, which he has since carried 
on, and now has a well-appointed harness 
shop and is enjoying a good trade. In 1881 
he erected a one-story building 20 x 48 feet, 
which he fitted up with a fine line of har- 
ness, and there he has since attended to the 
wants of the public, securing, through his 
Well-directed efforts and straightforward 
dealing, a liberal patronage. 

On October 30, 1870, in Manitowoc, 
Wis., Mr. Schultz wedded Maggie Roemer, 
a native of Germany. They have a family 



of eight living children, as follows: Charles 
Adolph, Matilda Augusta, Thena, Alexander, 
Frank, Albert, Lizzie and Mary. Socially, 
Mr. Schultz is connected with the Modern 
Woodmen of America, and is head consul 
in the local camp. In politics he is inde- 
pendent, preferring to support men and 
measures regardless of party affiliations. 
He has resided in this State for almost a 
third of a century, and has therefore wit- 
nessed much of its growth and development, 
and in all possible ways has aided in its 
progress and upbuilding. 



WILLIAM MURRAY, a worthy citi- 
zen of Dayton township, Waupaca 
county, started out on life's jour- 
ney, not on the plains of affluence 
but in the valley of limited means, with the 
rough and rugged path of hard endeavor be- 
fore him. The ascent was a difficult one at 
first, but as he worked his way higher and 
higher the road became smoother, and the 
journey is now lightened by a competence 
that brings him many comforts. 

This worthy gentleman was born in 
Scotland in November, 1825, four miles from 
Edinburgh, and is a son of Thomas and Mary 
(Rogers) Murray, the father a native of 
Scotland, and the mother of County Sligo, 
Ireland. Thomas Murray was a minister of 
the Church of England, and during the in- 
fancy of our subject removed with his fam- 
ily to the Emerald Isle, locating at Castle 
Bar, in County Mayo. During the famine 
in that country several of the sons were em- 
ployed as bookkeepers, and among other 
duties had to issue rations to the poor people. 
In this way they contracted disease which 
was carried to the family, and several of the 
members, including the mother, died there- 
from. 

William Murray acquired a good educa- 
tion, and remained at home until twenty 
years of age. Possessed of a }oung man's 
adventurous spirit, he resolved to emigrate 
to America and determined that the advant- 
ages here afforded should benefit him. The 
boyish dream has been realized, but his suc- 
cess is the reward of earnest labor. His 
father offered to give him a good home if he 



634 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



would remain, but he followed his own in- 
clinations and sailed from West Port, Ire- 
land, reaching Quebec after a voyage of six 
weeks and three days. He was a very pow- 
erful young man, and could perform feats of 
extraordinary strength. The hatchway cover 
on the vessel was usually lifted by a bar, but 
he raised it with two fingers to the astonish- 
ment of all the passengers. The minister's 
son, unused to hard labor, now engaged in 
cutting hay. He spent the winter in Can- 
ada, then went to Ogdensburg, N. Y., and 
in St. Lawrence county secured work on a 
large dairy farm, doing chores and milking 
the cows for $i6 per month. There he 
worked for several years. 

In that county, Mr. Murray married 
Roancy Davis, who was born in St. Law- 
rence county. May 17, 1835, a daughter of 
Roswell and Mary (Collar) Davis. Her 
father was born in New Hampshire, in 1802, 
her mother in Vermont, September 12, 
1807, and the latter is now living with our 
subject at the advanced age of eighty-eight. 
The young couple began their domestic life 
in St. Lawrence county, where Mr. Murray 
was employed as a drover by Mr. Eggert, a 
merchant, to deliver butter, cheese and 
other produce to various towns. In the 
spring of 1855, he started for Wisconsin, 
going by boat to Milwaukee, and thence to 
Oak Grove, Dodge county, where for a year 
he was employed as a farm hand. In the 
Spring of 1856, he decided to come to Little 
River, Waupaca county, and with a team 
and wagon made the journey, reaching his 
destination after three days of travel. He 
was accompanied by his wife and children 
and Mrs. Murray's maternal grandmother, 
Sallie Collar, who was then quite an old 
lady, and her death was probably hastened 
by the exposure of the journey. By his first 
purchase of land, Mr. Murray became owner 
of forty acres in Weyauwega township, and 
in the spring of i 867 he removed to Dayton 
township, purchasing land in Section 16, 
his present farm. He built the first house 
thereon when the ground was covered with 
four feet of snow, and with the advent of 
spring began clearing his land. He now 
owns one hundred and sixty acres, and 
has a well-developed and valuable farm. 



To Mr. and Mrs. Murray have been born 
the following children: Orris I., who was 
born in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., now of 
Chehalis county. Wash. ; Mary E., who was 
born at Little River, Waupaca county, and 
is now the wife of Orrin Ouimby, of Wey- 
auwega township, of the same county; Stella 
S., wife of Ethelbert Rice, of Belmont, 
Portage Co. , Wis. ; William R. , of Belmont 
township. Portage county; Frank T. and 
Herbert C, farmers of Dayton township; 
Inez, wife of A. Williams, of Fremont, Wau- 
paca county; Catherine C. , at home; and 
Charles and William, who died in childhood. 

Since the war, Mr. Murray has been a 
stalwart Republican. He manifested his 
loyalty to his adopted country by enlisting 
at Waupaca, Wis., in March, 1864, as a 
member of Company B, Thirty-eighth 
Wisconsin Infantry, under Major Roberts. 
The troops were sent to Washington and on 
to the front, participating in the battle of 
Cold Harbor. Mr. Murray was wounded 
July 30, 1864, at Petersburg, soon after the 
mines were blown up. A ball struck his 
left shoulder, and coming out of his back 
grazed the spinal column and struck the 
right arm, which was then in a position to 
fire. He was placed in a hospital con- 
structed of pine branches, where he lay for 
three days, and the surgeon's verdict was 
that he could not live, but his great vitality 
conquered and, after being sent to Campbell 
Hospital at Washington, he slowly recov- 
ered. He was there discharged January 20, 
1865, and returned to his home, but the 
wound troubled him for near!}' a year there- 
after, and had it not been for his wonder- 
fully strong constitution, he would probably 
not have survived the injury. His life has 
been one of toil and labor, but he is now the 
possessor of a comfortable competencj', and 
the county numbers him among its valued 
citizens. 



GEORGE A. STEARNS, son of An- 
thony F. and Lucina (Sibley) 
Stearns, was born October 17, 1823. 
in Addison county, Vermont. An- 
thony F. Stearns worked in marble quarries, 
made his living by day's work, and thus sup- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 



635 



ported his family, in which there were seven 
children, including three sons. 

George A. Stearns, the eldest child in 
the family, attended the subscription schools 
of his time, and at the age of seventeen be- 
gan to learn the cabinet maker's trade at 
Batavia, N. Y. , whither his parents had re- 
moved in 1837. He completed this trade, 
and in 1843 was married, in Genesee coun- 
ty, N. Y., to Mary A. Farley, but had no 
children by this marriage. They went to 
housekeeping in Careyville, Genesee Co., 
N. Y. , and he followed his trade for four 
years and a half in different places, among 
which was " Morganville," so named from 
an abduction case there. Leaving New 
York, he went to Jackson City, Mich., re- 
mained one year, then, on account of his 
wife's health, returned to New York, and 
lived at Careyville, Genesee county, until 
his wife's death. Then, about January i, 
1848, he came to Racine, Racine Co., Wis., 
worked at his trade for a time for others, 
and then began business for himself. 

On April 28, 1850, at Racine, Wis., Mr. 
Stearns again married, taking to wife Adelia 
Dewey, who was born in St. Lawrence 
county, N. Y., July 12, 1830. Her parents, 
Amos and Zeviah (Bebee) Dewey, located in 
the township of Adams, Jefferson Co. , N.Y. , 
in 1833, and in 1846 came to Raymond 
township. Racing Co., Wis., where Amos 
Dewey died about March, 1852. The children 
of Mr. and Mrs. Stearns have been as follows: 
Aivaro, who died at about the age of two-and- 
a-half years; Mary, now Mrs. William Mykel, 
of Lind township, Waupaca county; Gilbert 
D., of Bayfield county. Wis.; Belle, now 
Mrs. Martin Kurtz, of Lind township; Ed- 
win, of Royalton township, Waupaca coun- 
ty; Addie, now Mrs. Francis Haire, of 
Weyauwega township, Waupaca county; 
and William A., at home. 

Mr. Stearns remained at Racine some 
time, but in the spring of 1855, owing to 
failing health, he removed to lola, Waupaca 
county, where he lived twelve years. It was 
a pioneer section, and he homesteaded a 
forty-acre tract of land, now a part of 
the village of lola. They drove the en- 
tire distance from Racine county, com- 
ing via Watertown, Berlin, Waupaca and 



Scandinavia. The country was new, and 
lola had only three families, Mr. Stearns' 
being the fourth one to locate there. 
After two years in the village the fam- 
ily removed to the farm near by, and 
Mr. Stearns went to Stevens Point, Portage 
county, to follow his trade. He had gone 
into the nursery business, sold his home at 
Racine, and invested the money in trees, 
etc., but the venture failed, and he was 
badly involved. The trees purchased were 
not sufficiently hardy to thrive in that local- 
ity. He paid off the debt by his trade. Mr. 
Stearns lived in lola until April, 1868, then 
removed to the farm where he has ever 
since resided, in Section 11, Lind town- 
ship, Waupaca Co., Wis. He followed his 
trade for some years, and never gave it up 
until about 1880. Since then he has been 
looking after the farming. At one time he 
had 220 acres, but gave a portion to his 
sons, and he now has 100. In religion Mrs. 
Stearns is a Baptist; she is a noble woman, 
and has done much to help her husband. 
Mr. Stearns is a stanch Republican, but 
no office-seeker. They are both kind and 
generous people, and highly-respected citi- 
zens. 



ALEXANDER STEVENS, a prosper- 
ous farmer of Almond township. 
Portage county, was a Union soldier 
in the war of the Rebellion. He 
was born June 10, 1828, in Schenectady, 
N. Y., a son of Jonathan and Hannah (Hoff- 
man) Stevens, who lived and died in New 
York State. They were the parents of nine 
children, namely: William, who was in 
New York the last time his brother Alexan- 
der heard from him; Mary, widow of Thomas 
Jackson, of Ithaca, N. Y. ; Lawrence, in 
New York; Catherine, deceased; James, in 
New York State; Oliver and Sarah, de- 
ceased; Alexander, subject of this sketch, 
and Maria, deceased. The father was a 
farmer by occupation. About 1830, Jona- 
than Stevens died, and his widow was left 
with nine children. About 1834 she mar- 
ried William Twedell, an Englishman, 
by whom she had five more children — Jacob, 
Hannah, Thomas, Ann and Simon. 



636 



commemorative: biographical record. 



Alexander Stevens had poor chances for 
an education. He lived four miles from a 
school-house, had to pay two cents a day 
for attendance there, was kept at home, and 
only attended one month. Most of the other 
children left home as soon as they were old 
enough to earn a livelihood, and since he 
was eight years old he has cared for himself. 
At that time he began working out for his 
board and clothes, continuing thus until he 
was twelve, when he began to get some 
wages, at first about three dollars per month. 
He remained near home until about fifteen 
years old, when he went to sea, first on a 
whaler, and sailed to South America. Leav- 
ing that, he enlisted in the navy in 1845, 
and served during the Mexican war, three 
years and five months. In February, 1849, 
he was paid off, and going to New York 
State remained some four years. 

During the time Alexander Stevens was 
in New York he was united in marriage, in 
November, 1852, with Cordelia Carson, who 
was born in New York in February, 1837, 
and they have become the parents of seven 
children, namely: Mary, born in August, 
1856, is the widow of Thomas Jackson; 
William, born in December, 1857; Lottie, 
in December, 1859; Lester, deceased; Fred, 
born in February, 1869; Asa A., born in 
February, 1874, deceased; and Lulu, born 
in November, 1881. Mrs. Stevens is a 
daughter of Robert and Abigail (Gould) 
Carson, the former of whom was born in 
Ireland. He had the followed named chil- 
dren by a former marriage: Sarah, Will- 
iam and Joseph. The mother died, and Mr. 
Carson again married, to which union were 
born eight children, namely: Cordelia, 
Mrs. Stevens; Julia, Eliza, Daniel, Mary, 
Frances, James and Robert. Mr. Stevens 
was engaged in stone quarrying at the time 
of his marriage. They remained in New 
York State until 1855, when he came to 
Wisconsin, locating in Almond township, 
Portage county, in 1856, where, in Section 
29, he bought eighty acres of wild land, 
which has been improved to form his pres- 
ent home. A 12x16 board shanty was 
built, in which he lived for a year, when a 
frame house was built. The work of clear- 
ing commenced at once, though it prog- 



ressed slowly at first, for he had no team, 
and for tools only an axe, a hoe and a 
shovel. The second year he put in wheat, 
which gave a good yield, in two years he 
had an ox-team, and was then pretty well 
equipped. 

In 1863 Mr. Stevens enlisted in the Sixth 
Wisconsin Light Artillery, and was mus- 
tered into service at Madison. They were 
sent to Huntsville, Ala., and their first en- 
gagement was the last battle of Nashville, 
Tenn. He remained in service until July, 
1865, was then honorablj' discharged, and 
at once returned home. He now receives a 
pension. He contracted ailments for which 
there appears to be little help, and for 
nearly a year after his return was unable to 
do much. However, he went on with his 
work, assisted by his sons, afterward built 
a good frame house and other good build- 
ings, and now has iio acres of land, of 
which eighty, constituting the homestead 
proper, are all tillable. Politically he has 
always supported the Republican party. He 
belongs to the I. O. O. F. at Almond, and 
to the G. A. R. , of Plainfield. Mrs. Stevens 
is a member of the Methodist Church. 

William Stevens, son of the subject of 
this sketch, remained at home with his par- 
ents until he was eighteen years of age, when 
he commenced to work for himself. In 1890 
he went to Chicago and learned the carpen- 
ter's trade, at which he has since continued. 
On October 3, 1894, he married Emma 
Jones, daughter of Stephen V. R. and Ann 
(Thompson) Jones, and in 1895 came to Al- 
mond, Portage county. He intends to locate 
in Appleton. Politically he is a Republican. 



FRANKLIN PHILLIPS, an honored 
and respected citizen of the town of 
Amherst, Portage county, was born 
in Rutland, Vt., February 25, 1823, 
and is a son of Benjamin and Eunice (Fisher) 
Phillips, born, respectively, in Plymouth, 
N. H., and Rutland, Vermont. 

The parents of Franklin Phillips removed 
to St. Lawrence county, N. Y., in 1828, 
when he was but five years of age; in 1834 
they removed to Ohio, in 1837 to Wayne 
county, Mich., and the following year re- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPniCAL RECORD. 



637 



turned to Ohio. Seven children were born 
to them, of whom three are Hving: George, 
residing in North Bend, Jackson Co., Wis.; 
Amanda, wife of B. K. Knowlton, residing 
in Minneapolis; and Franklin, the subject 
of this sketch. Benjamin Phillips died June 
I, 1847, at the age of fifty years, in Cordova, 
Mexico. 

The education received by Franklin 
Phillips in his boyhood days was very lim- 
ited. As his early life was spent in farm 
labor, he was allowed but little time to avail 
himself of even the meager advantages offered 
by the district schools of those days. In 1 843 
he engaged in lumbering pursuits, and later 
on in sawmilling. In Monroe county, Mich., 
on December 21, 1845, Franklin Phillips 
was united in marriage with Miss Marion 
Yerkes, by whom he has had six children 
(five of whom are living), namely: Franklin, 
Jr., a lumberman and agriculturist of Knowl- 
ton, Marathon Co., Wis.; Marion, wife of 
George F. Nelson, residing in South Wau- 
kegan, 111.; William H., a prominent miller 
of Kansas City, Mo. ; Nellie, wife of I. B. 
Turnell, express agent and telegraph opera- 
tor at Waupaca, Waupaca Co. , Wis. ; Lillian 
G., a teacher in the public schools of Wau- 
paca; and Clarence W^, who was married 
October 17, 1881, and died November 16 
of the same year, within a month after his 
marriage. 

The parents of Mrs. Franklin Phillips, 
David and Caroline (Calkins) Yerkes, were 
both born in Pennsylvania. They had seven 
children, five of whom are living, as follows: 
Oliver, residing at Marshfield, Wood Co., 
Wis. ; Mirilla, wife of Jerome Nelson, at 
Nelsonville, Portage Co., Wis.; Lucella, 
wife of R. N. Baker, of Fort City, Kans. ; 
George W., at Eagle, Waukesha Co., Wis. ; 
and Sarah, wife of Eli Hanks, at Farming- 
ton, Washington Co., Wisconsin. 

In 1847 Franklin Phillips, Sr. , enlisted in 
the Michigan Volunteers, and did frontier 
service until June, 1848, when he was dis- 
charged. He had come with his parents to 
Wayne county, Mich., in 1837, and though 
they moved to Ohio the following year he 
had remained, and his home was in Wayne 
county till 1 849. In that year he moved to 
Wisconsin, and in May of the same year 



located in Saukville, Ozaukee Co., Wis. 
There he engaged in the lumbering business 
until 1862, when he enlisted in Company 
E, Thirty-second Wis. V. I., was in Sher- 
man's command all through the war of the 
Rebellion, and was one of the veterans who 
took part in the famous march to the sea. 
He was present at the battles of Tallahatchie, 
Meridian and Holly Springs, Miss. ; South 
Edisto river, Orangeburg, Columbia, Che- 
raw, and Salkehatchie, S. C. ; Atlanta, 
Jonesboro and Savannah, Ga. ; Courtland, 
Ala.; and FayettevilleandBentonville, N. C. 
At Salkehatchie from seven in the morning 
until nine at night the troops stood in a 
swamp with four feet of water in it, nearly the 
whole of the previous night having been spent 
in the same swamp. While engaged in de- 
stroying railroads during his service in the 
army, Mr. Phillips received a severe injury 
which incapacitated him for manual labor 
for some twelve years. He was mustered 
out at the city of Washington June 12, 
1865, finally discharged at Milwaukee on 
June 25th, and proceeded at once to Am- 
herst, Portage county, where he had pur- 
chased a farm just previous to the breaking 
out of the war. Mr. Phillips is a member of 
Capt. Eckels Post No. 16, G. A. R., De- 
partment of Wisconsin, and of Amherst 
Lodge No. 274, I. O. O. F. Politically he 
is an active Republican. Both he and his 
wife are members of the Daughters of Re- 
bekah. Mrs. Phillips is a faithful member 
of the Methodist Church, and they are both 
highly-respected members of the community 
in which they live. 



WALTER POTTS, of Dayton town- 
ship, Waupaca county, and one of 
its most estimable citizens, was 
born in Roxburghshire, Scotland, 
May 4, 1836, the youngest son of William 
H. Potts, a farm overseer, and Isabella 
(Mather) Potts. The mother died Septem- 
ber 4, 1 85 I, in Scotland, and the father with 
his youngest children, David and Walter, in 
1856 emigrated to the United States. The 
entire family was as follows: Thomas, who 
died in Scotland April 7, 1845; William, 
who died in Canada in 1891; Margaret, wife 



638 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



of James Aitkin, a resident of Ireland; An- 
drew, who emigrated to Dayton township in 
1853, and died there in 1891; George, a 
resident of Liverpool, England; Jane and 
Jeanette, both of whom died in Scotland; 
James, who died in Canada in 1864; David, 
who died in Dayton, January 3, 1891, and 
Walter. 

Sailing from Liverpool on the " Endy- 
mion, " the emigrants reached New York 
after a passage of seven weeks and three 
days. Ell route Mr. Potts met a new type 
of the confidence man, and was victimized. 
He was induced by the sharpers to purchase 
from them tickets to his destination, which 
was Wisconsin, and when too late the pur- 
chaser learned that the tickets were bogus. 
The necessity of purchasing other tickets 
reduced his funds to a very low state, so 
much so that before the end of the long 
journey was reached he was obliged to re- 
quest and accept loans from kind friends. 
The trip westward was made by rail and 
water, via Horicon, Oshkosh, Gill's Land- 
ing and Waupaca. 

Walter Potts was twenty years old when 
he came to America. He had been married 
in Scotland to Miss Helen Rennilson, who 
bore him one child, before their emigration, 
William, now of Spencer, Wis. Their chil- 
dren born in this country are Margaret, now 
Mrs. E. F. Calkins, of Rural; John R., of 
Dayton; James W. , of Rose, Waushara 
county; Thomas D., of Dayton, and George 
P., at home. 

Mr. Potts was a carpenter by trade, 
having served a four-years' apprenticeship 
in Scotland. His first work after his arrival 
in Wisconsin was at this trade, and he has 
followed it most of the time in the subse- 
quent years. The requirements of the trade 
in those earlier days were much greater than 
now, for ail the material for house construc- 
tion had to be worked from the rough by 
hand, and much labor was required to erect 
a house. Mr. Potts owns about one hun- 
dred acres of land. He purchased the site 
of his present home in the summer of 1857, 
and built upon it soon after. He continued 
working at his trade until i S88, when he con- 
cluded to retire and live upon the old home 
farm. Mrs. Potts died September 14, 1890, 



and is buried in Rural. She was a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian Church, of which 
Mr. Potts has been treasurer for over thirty 
years. He was also elected treasurer of 
Dayton township in 1894, and is treasurer 
of School District No. 4, a joint district. In 
politics Mr. Potts is a stanch Republican. 
He is a self-made man, and attributes his 
success to hard work. He is a man of ster- 
ling character, popular and widely known. 
His father made his home with him until his 
death, September 7, 1S63. 



GEORGE W. THOMPSON, a justice 
of the peace of Amherst, Portage 
county, was born in Chautauqua 
county, N. Y. , September 18, 1845, 
and is a son of Rufus and Olive Thompson, 
who came to Wisconsin in 1847. 

Rufus Thompson located with his family 
in Stockbridge, Calumet Co., Wis., when 
there were but six white families in the 
county, and, buying land of the Indians, 
they built themselves a home and engaged 
in agricultural pursuits. Mr. and Mrs. 
Thompson were the parents of eight chil- 
dren, five of whom are living, namely: F"lor- 
ella, wife of Ansell Watrous, residing at Fort 
Collins, Colo., and editor of the Fort Col- 
lins Courier; Mrs. L. M. Thompson, re- 
siding in Helena, Mont. ; Eliza Jane, wife of 
Dr. J. M. Merrill; George W., the subject 
of this sketch; and Helen, wife of Ma.x 
Brose, assistant horticulturist in the State 
Agricultural College, at Fort Collins, Colo. 
Rufus Thompson died in Stockbridge in 
February, 1879, at the age of seventy-five 
years, and his widow in March, 1894, at the 
age of eighty-seven years. They were among 
the pioneers of Calumet county, and had 
lived active and useful lives. 

George W. Thompson was brought by 
his parents to Stockbridge, Calumet Co., 
Wis. , when he was about two years of age. 
He attended the district schools, the high 
school in Fond du Lac, and the Wayland 
University of Beaver Dam, Wis. After 
completing his education he taught school 
for a period of three years, then engaged in 
the lumbering business and the purchasing 
of farm produce. In 1871, at Gravesville, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



639 



Calumet Co., Wis., George W. Thompson 
was united in marriage with Miss Clara M. 
Peck, of Charlestown, Calumet Co., Wis., 
who was born in Pennsylvania. There have 
been no children by their union. 

Moving to Sheboygan county, Mr. Thomp- 
son engaged in farming for about si.\ years. 
On November 10, 1879, he removed to 
Portage county, and located a mile and a 
half east of the village of Amherst, where 
he followed agricultural pursuits until 1892. 
He then sold his farm, removed to Amherst 
village, and engaged in the sale of farm seeds 
as agent for G. K. Higby & Co. In 1894 
Mr. Thompson was elected a justice of the 
peace. Politically, he is identified with the 
Prohibition party. He is a member of Am- 
herst Temple of Honor No. 97, and of 
Amherst Temple No. 3. Both he and his 
wife are members of the Baptist Church. 



THOMAS GODFREY, one of the early 
and highly-estcemedcitizensof Farm- 
ington township, Waupaca county, 
claims Ireland as the land of his 
birth, which event occurred in County Der- 
ry, on the Emerald Isle, July 13, 1823. His 
parents, Robert and Mary (Orr) Godfrey, 
had a family of eight children, five sons 
and three daughters, of whom Thomas is 
the third in order of birth. The limited cir- 
cumstances of his father, which were the re- 
sult of his signing a note for a merchant, 
Adams by name, of Londonderry, who after- 
ward failed in business, necessarily caused 
his educational advantages to be meagre. 
He remained under the parental roof, aiding 
in the labors of the farm until his emigra- 
tion to America, which occurred in the 
spring of 1846, when, supplied with money 
for the passage from his parents, he bade 
adieu to home and friends and sailed from 
Londonderry. He was a passenger on board 
the vessel "Fannie," which, after six weeks 
and three days, dropped anchor in the har- 
bor of Philadelphia. He had heard much 
of the advantages and opportunities afforded 
in this country, and resolved to test the truth 
of these reports by seeking a home in the 
New World. 



Mr. Godfrey was willing to work at any- 
thing that would yield him an honest living, 
and he secured a position as driver of an ice 
wagon at $10 per month; but becoming dis- 
satisfied with the city, and being afflicted 
with ague, he removed to Germantown, 
Penn. , and worked as a farm hand in that lo- 
cality for nearly three years. He also served 
as coachman two years for Judge Kane, 
father of Elisha Kane, the Arctic explorer, 
who was at home during that time, and who 
often rode behind the horses driven by Mr. 
Godfrey. 

In the spring of 1851, our subject con- 
cluded to come west, and making his way to 
New York, traveled thence by boat to Al- 
bany, by rail to Buffalo, by boat to Toledo, 
by railroad to New Buffalo, Mich., across 
the lake to Chicago, and thence by water to 
Milwaukee, and drove across the country to 
Big Foot Prairie with a farmer, who was re- 
turning after having taken a load of grain to 
market. He then went to Janesville, Wis., 
Fort Atkinson, Beloit, Johnstown Center, 
Watertown, Oak Grove and Strong's Land- 
ing (now Berlin), traveling all this distance 
on foot in search of government land. He 
remained at the last named place one night, 
and then crossed the river on a scow (for 
there was no bridge) to what is now Wau- 
paca, and only one house stood on the site 
of the town at that time. He forded the 
Waupaca river about where the electric- 
light plant is now situated, struck a trail 
leading northwest and came to the Sheridan 
post office, not a settler living along the route 
between the two places at that time. Con- 
stantine Sessions had a shanty near Sheridan, 
and Delos Hutchisson had a claim near by. 
Mr. Godfrey made a settlement on what is 
now Section 7, Farmington township, where 
he secured 120 acres of land, and also laid 
claim to eighty acres in Lanark township. 
Portage county — not a furrow having been 
turned or an improvement made upon this 
tract, while the Indians were still quite 
numerous in the neighborhood, and game of 
all kinds was very plentiful. After three 
months, Mr. Godfrey walked to Kane coun- 
ty, 111., where he worked for four seasons 
on a farm, returning at intervals to his own 
farm, which he would develop as best he 



640 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



might. He gradually obtained some stock 
and farm implements, and at length began 
the work of cultivating his own land. For 
a time he engaged in teaming, hauling goods 
for merchants from Ripon, Wis., to Stevens 
Point for two years, but spent a few months 
of each year improving his farm. 

On September 27, 1861, in Waupaca, 
Mr. Godfrey married Eliza Pinkerton, a na- 
tive of County Antrim, Ireland, born in 
1843, who during her girlhood came with 
her parents, Samuel Pinkerton and wife, to 
the United States. By their union have 
been born the following children: Samuel, 
of Waupaca; William, at home; Mary, wife 
of Fred Van Alwick, of Peoria, 111. ; Ella, 
who is engaged in school teaching; Robert; 
Elizabeth B. ; James and George, all at home; 
and one son and one daughter, now deceased. 

Since his marriage, Mr. Godfrey has 
devoted his time and energies to agricultural 
pursuits, and to-day owns 100 acres of cleared 
land, one of the best farms of the county, it 
being well-improved and supplied with all 
modern conveniences and accessories. He 
cast his first Presidential vote for Fillmore, 
and since the organization of the Republican 
party has been one of its stanch advocates. 
He has never sought political preferment, 
but always faithfully performs his duties of 
citizenship, and takes a commendable inter- 
est in everything pertaining to the welfare 
of the community. He holds membership 
with the Presbyterian Church, and his life 
has been well spent, his seventy years rest- 
ing lightly upon him, and among the hon- 
ored pioneers of Waupaca county he well 
deserves mention. 



WILLIAM R. CLAUSSEN, D. V. S., 
the widely-known veterinary sur- 
geon at Waupaca, came to Amer- 
ica twenty-four years ago without 
money and without friends. That he has 
never regretted that important step of his 
life may be surmised from the comfortable 
financial circumstances in which he is now 
placed. It is certainly creditable to the 
Doctor's ability and force of character that 
his competence has been won by his own 
unaided efforts. 



Dr. Claussen was born in the city of 
Randers, Denmark, January 27, 1852; his 
father, William Theodore Claussen, was 
born in Copenhagen in 1822, and for forty- 
six years was an active printer in one house, 
excepting two years, 1849 and 1850, when 
he served his country in the Danish-German 
war, having command of two pieces of artil- 
lery, belonging to the Haxthausen Battery, 
and participating in the engagements of 
Isted, Ban and Frederickstadt. He was 
married, December 31, 1850, to Petrea 
Block, by whom he had two children — 
William R., and Agnes, now Mrs. Lyvere, 
of San Francisco, Cal. The mother died 
in i860, the father surviving until 1891. 
William R. was educated in the common 
schools of his native city, and also attended 
the Latin school. When sixteen years of 
age he became a clerk in a store, and was 
advanced to the position of bookkeeper. At 
the early age of nineteen he realized that his 
opportunities for promotion in Denmark 
were very slight, and he was also desirous of 
avoiding the compulsory military service. 
These two considerations induced him to 
emigrate to America. Arriving at New 
York, with only a nickel in his pocket, he 
worked for six months in a cigar store, in 
that city, and then for a year was employed 
on a farm in Massachusetts. In February, 
1873, he came to Berlin, Wis., and worked 
on a farm going in the lumber woods in the 
winter. In the spring of 1874 he took 
charge of a farm in Waushara county, and 
remained in that position two years. The 
young man was learning the values of land, 
and could appreciate a bargain when he saw 
it. While in Waushara county he pur- 
chased some land, and sold it at an advance. 
Several times he thus bought and sold real 
estate, and in this way he made his first sub- 
stantial start in life. Spending one year in 
Michigan, he returned to Berlin, Wis. , where 
in 1877 he was married to Miss Euella Cady, 
a native of that city. She is the daughter 
of Henry and Ellen (Carpenter) Cady, to 
whom were born two sons and four daugh- 
ters. Henry Cady was born in Vermont, 
and was a machinist by trade; his wife was 
a native of New York. Dr. and Mrs. Claussen 
have two children, Cyrus and Dora. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



641 



After his marriage Dr.Claussen continued 
his farming, lumbering and real-estate opera- 
tions successfully for several years. In 1880 
he began the study of medicine with Dr. 
Babcock, of Berlin, remaining in his office 
five years. In the autumn of 1885 he re- 
moved to Waupaca, where he engaged in 
practice. In 1889 he entered the Ontario 
Veterinary College, graduating in 1891. Re- 
turning to Waupaca he has since engaged in 
active practice. In 1886 Dr. Claussen had 
become a member of the Wisconsin State 
Veterinary Medical xA.ssociation, and in 1893 
he joined the Society of Veterinary Grad- 
uates of Wisconsin. He is also an officer 
of the Wisconsin Humane Society for Wau- 
paca county. Socially he is a member of 
the Knights of Pythias and of the I. O. O. F. ; 
he is serving as a member of the school 
board and of the board of health. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. Mrs. Claussen is a 
member of the Baptist Church. 



THEODORE FOLKMAN, a worthy 
representative of the business inter- 
ests of Clintonville, is a member of 
the firm of Folkman Brothers, gen- 
eral merchants. He has the honor of being 
a native of Waupaca county, his birth having 
occurred in Bear Creek township in April, 
i860. His father, Henry Folkman, was a 
native of Saxony, Germany, and when a 
child of about five years was brought to 
America and reared and educated in Dodge 
county. Wis. There he married Rachel 
Telkey, who was also born in Germany, and 
in 1856 they removed to Bear Creek town- 
ship, Waupaca county, settling in the midst 
of the forest, where the father hewed out a 
farm, making it his home until 1861. He 
then located in what is now Section 2 of 
the same township, when he again opened 
up a farm, continuing its cultivation until 
1872, the year of his removal to Clinton- 
ville, where his death occurred in 1883. In 
politics he was a Democrat, and during his 
residence in Bear Creek township served as 
a member of the town board. His wife died 
in December, 1867, and was buried on the 
1st of January, 1868, in a cemetery near their 
home. 



Mr. and Mrs. Folkman were the parents 
of eight children: Minnie, wife of John F. 
Meisner, a merchant at Clintonville; Her- 
man, who is married and is engaged in clerk- 
ing in Clintonville; Theodore, of this sketch; 
Carrie, wife of F. H. Brady, proprietor of 
the Tribune, of Clintonville; Charles, a mem- 
ber of the firm of Folkman Brothers; Eddie; 
Martha; and one that died in infancy. 

Upon his father's farm in Bear Creek 
township Theodore Folkman spent the 
days of his boyhood and youth, and after 
attending the country schools for a time 
became a student in Clintonville. His 
first independent effort in life was as a 
hotel clerk, in which capacity he served for 
two years, when he began working in the 
lumber woods and logging on the river, 
being thus employed for about seven years. 
He next secured a position as salesman in 
the general merchandise establishment of 
Stacy & Lawson, with whom he continued 
for a year, when the senior member sold out 
to his partner and he continued with Mr. 
Lawson for a year. The store was then 
sold to John Cloves, and Mr. Folkman man- 
aged the business for him for a year, when 
he established himself in the grocery trade, 
with R. Jackson. He had a capital of about 
$350, and the first bill of goods which they 
purchased came to $601. From this small 
beginning he has built up the lalrgest store 
in Clintonville, and is recognized as its lead- 
ing grocery merchant. He has been thus 
engaged since 1882. He erected a frame 
building 20 x 54 feet for a store, and was en- 
gaged in the grocery trade exclusively until 
1889, when he added a stock of dry goods, 
clothing and all general merchandise, his 
brother Charles being manager of this depart- 
ment. Their trade increasing, the facilities 
had to be enlarged, and they are now occu- 
pying a building 40 x 78 feet, and carrying a 
stock valued at $20,000. It is the largest 
and most complete store in the town, and 
well deserves the liberal patronage which is 
accorded it. In 18S9 he admitted to part- 
nership his brother Charles, and their an- 
nual sales now amount to about $40,000. 

In connection with this enterprise. Folk- 
man Brothers have dealt quite extensively 
in city and farm property, and now own 



642 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



four dwelling houses, which they rent, also 
a farm in Larrabee township, and two farms 
in Matteson township, Waupaca county. 
In addition they have the entire block known 
as the post office block, with an 80-foot 
frontage, have erected and own the Opera 
House, which was built in 1887, and is a 
frame structure 46x110 feet. For two 
years they there carried on a skating rink. 
Mr. Folkman's business ventures have proved 
very profitable, owing to his untiring indus- 
try, his unfaltering perseverance and his ca- 
pable management. 

Mr. Folkman is quite prominent in Ma- 
sonic circles, and is a member of Clinton- 
ville Lodge, No. 197, F. & A. M., of which 
he was secretary for years, and of New 
London Chapter, No. 62, R. A. M. His 
brother Charles holds membership with 
Clintonville Lodge, No. 314, I. O. O. F. 
In politics our subject is a stalwart Repub- 
lican, and served as city treasurer from 1882 
until I Sgo, while for over six years he has 
been clerk in the post office. In whatever 
relation of life he is found he is ever true 
and faithful to the trust reposed in him, and 
his honorable dealing, combined with his 
energy and industry, has brought him the 
excellent success which now crowns his 
efforts. 



GEORGE W. GERALD, a substan- 
tial farmer, was born February 28, 
1858, on the farm which he now 
owns in Section 13, Range 12, Lind 
township, Waupaca Co., Wis. He is a son 
of Conrad and Mary (Simmons) Gerald, who 
were born in Germany. 

Conrad Gerald was born September 12, 
1825. His parents were poor and of the 
laboring class, so that he had very little 
education, and all of that in German. When 
a young man, he came to the United States 
and worked on a railroad in New York as a 
day laborer. He married in New York, and 
about I S 50 came to Wisconsin and bought 
land near Weyauwega, Waupaca county, 
and lived there until 1852, when he located 
on primitive land, with no improvements, 
in Section 1 2, Lind township, in the same 
county, and put up the the first rude build- 



ing on the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Conrad 
Gerald were the parents of the following 
named children: Mary, now Mrs. Milton 
Sanders, of Ashland, Wis. ; Henry, a farmer, 
of Weyauwega, Waupaca county; George, 
subject of this sketch; Carrie, now Mrs. 
Edward Bork, of Lind township, Waupaca 
county; John, of Ashland, Ashland Co., 
Wis. , and Frederick, of Weyauwega. Con- 
rad Gerald died September 24, 1877, and 
was buried in Weyauwega. He was a self- 
made man, and was entitled to great credit for 
the manner in which he came up in the world. 
When he arrived in Waupaca county he had 
a capital of only twenty shillings, and from 
this beginning acquired a comfortable com- 
petence by hard work and economy, aided 
by an exceptionally good wife, who was of 
great assistance to her husband, as well as to 
her children, who benefited by her judi- 
cious and careful training. Mr. Gerald was 
a Democrat in politics, a well-known and 
well-to-do successful farmer, honest, reliable 
and respected. 

By the death of her husband Mrs. Gerald 
was left with five children, and the care of 
the business. Her management was excel- 
lent, and greatly to her credit. She retained 
the place until 1892, and now resides on the 
home farm with her son, George W. Gerald, 
of whom we write. She retains her vitality 
and activity, and is still able to do what 
would be a big day's work for a woman 
twenty years her junior. 

George W. Gerald was reared on the 
farm which he now owns, received his edu- 
cation in the same school of which he is 
now an officer, and obtained his knowledge 
of farming on his present farm, where his 
time has been spent, except when absent in 
North Dakota, where he worked seven 
months as a farm hand, and again, when he 
worked four months in the woods. He 
homesteaded a piece of land in Dakota in 
1882, and retained it until 1893, when he 
sold it. On December 13, 1892, in Wey- 
auwega, Waupaca Co., Wis., George W. 
Gerald was united in marriage with Tena 
Reif, who was born in that township on 
April 21, 1 87 1. They have no children. 
The parents of Mrs. Gerald are Henry and 
Ursula (Clausen) Reif. Mr. Gerald was for 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



643 



some time in charge of the home farm, but 
on May 2, 1893, as the result of a purchase, 
assumed control as owner. He now has 
160 acres in Sections 13 and 24. In 1890 
the house was destroyed by fire, and the new 
one built to take its place is one of the best 
in the township. The farm is an e.xcellent 
one, and has been made so by the family. 
Mr. Gerald has been a raiser of stock and 
of cereals. He is a Democrat politically, 
but not a radical partisan, has been town- 
ship treasurer two years, and school treas- 
urer of District No. 3 for twelve years. He 
is as good a farmer as there is in the town- 
ship, and a well-known and respected citizen. 



A\VEINMANN,the efficient and pop- 
ular postmaster of Tola, where he is 
also conducting a successful furniture 
and undertakingbusiness, is a native 
of the beautful land of the Alps, his birth 
occurring in Switzerland on the 6th of Octo- 
ber, 1 84 1, and is a son of Henry and 
Verena Weinmann. By occupation the 
father was a farmer, and also kept a store in 
his native land. The mother was killed by 
a robber in Switzerland when seventy-five 
years old, having her head cut open with an 
axe. There were two children in the family, 
bnt the other is now deceased. 

A. Weinmann attended the schools of 
Switzerland, and at the age of twenty began 
learning the blacksmith's trade, which he 
there followed for seven years. During that 
time he was married to Miss Elizabeth 
Hochstrasser, and in that country two chil- 
dren were born, Albert, who died in July, 
1869, at Scandinavia, Wis. ; and Wilhelmina, 
wife of O. C. Halverson, of lola. Since 
their arrival in this country the family circle 
has been increased by the birth of four others: 
Albert, the second of the name, is a lumber 
dealer and owns a sawmill in Harrison 
township, Waupaca county; Rosa married 
John McKay, of the same township; Henry 
was scalded to death at the age of three 
years, by falling in a pail of hot water; and 
Verena, who is at home, completes the 
family. 

On July I, 1869, Mr. Weinmann with his 
little family came to Scandinavia, Waupaca 



county. At Havre France, they had taken 
passage on board the "Westphalia, " which 
in due time dropped anchor in the harbor 
of New York. He resumed work at his 
trade in lola, and in January, 1870, purchas- 
ed a shop, where he carried on blacksmith- 
ing and wagon-making for some time, or 
until 1884, when he traded that property for 
his present business. From 1875 until 1877, 
in partnership with J. and C. Wipf, he con- 
ducted a shingle and planing-mill with good 
success. In 1878 he built a blacksmith 
shop where his store now stands, but in 
1 893 this gave place to his present commod- 
ious store room, where he also conducts the 
post office. He was first appointed post- 
master under President Cleveland's first term, 
and was re-appointed during the second 
term. In 1889 Mr. Weinmann purchased an 
interest in timber and a sawmill in connec- 
tion with George W. Smith, and the follow- 
ing year bought out his partner's interest. 
Later his son became an equal partner in 
the business, which was conducted under 
the firm style of A. Weinmann & Son, under 
which name it was carried on until the spring 
of 1895, when the son became sole owner. 
Our subject now gives his whole time to the 
duties of his office, and the furniture and 
undertaking business. He keeps a full and 
complete stock of everything found in his 
line, and is meeting with a well-deserved 
success. 

Mr. Weinmann is one of the stalwart sup- 
porters of the Democracy, and has held 
several local oiifices, including that of con- 
stable, which he held for four j'ears. He is 
now notary public, police justice, and justice 
of the peace, the latter of which offices he 
has now held for fifteen years, and his rulings 
are always wise and just. Religiously he is a 
member of the Reformed (German) Church, 
in which he has served in an official capacity. 
Socially he belongs to the Odd Fellows 
Lodge, No. 282, of lola, in which he has 
been through all the chairs; is a member of 
the Centennial Encampment of Waupaca; 
and was made a member of the Grand Lodge, 
at Janesville, Wis., in 1892. He, his wife and 
daughter Verena, all belong to Rebekah 
Lodge, No. 131, and he is also a Knight of 
Honor, in which he has filled all the offices 



644 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and is now recording reporter. He is 
truly a self-made man, having acquired all 
that he now possesses by his own industry, 
enterprise and economy, and is at the head 
of a paying business. He owns several lots 
in the village, and now has a comfortable 
competence. He is one of the leading and 
influential citizens of lola, being foremost 
in general matters of interest and improve- 
ments. 



JESSE G. BEMIS. New York has fur- 
nished many worthy citizens to Wau- 
paca county, chief among whom is the 
subject of this sketch, a well-known 
and highly-respected farmer, now residing 
in Section i8, Lind township. He was 
born May 14, 1820, in Jefferson county, 
N. Y., and is a son of Levi and Mary 
(Thompson) Bemis. His father was a shoe- 
maker by trade, and although he lived upon 
a farm, carried on that business in one cor- 
ner of his home. He was born in Vermont 
in 1797, and in the Empire State married 
Miss Thompson, who was born in New York 
in 1800. Their children were Jesse G., of 
this sketch; Loren,of Antigo, Wis. ; Hannah, 
widow of J. F. Tracy, of Oregon; Joel, 
who died in Winnebago county. Wis. ; Ange- 
line, now Mrs. Ward Lent, of Washington; 
Alfred, who started to California at the time 
of the gold excitement, and from there went 
to South Africa and has never since been of 
heard from; Henry, who was a member of 
Company C, Ninth Wisconsin Infantry and 
died of starvation in Andersonville prison 
during the Civil war; George, who served 
in the Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry, and is now 
register of deeds of Langlade county. Wis. ; 
Rebecca, who was burned to death in child- 
hood; and Willard, who died in Illinois in 
childhood. 

The parents remained in the Empire 
State until 1834, when they emigrated to 
Kane county, 111., subsequently removing to 
Outagamie county. Wis. The father died 
in Greenville, this State, and the mother 
died in Winnebago county. Wis., having 
been brought hither on a sick bed from Illi- 
nois. She was buried on the shore of 
Lake Winnebago, and while the grave was 



being prepared the diggers came upon the 
remains of an Indian that had previously 
been buried there. Mr. Bemis was a Jack- 
son Democrat, and died in 1864. 

Our subject was the eldest child who 
lived to adult age. His scholastic privileges 
were quite limited, but reading and observa- 
tion have made him a well-informed man. 
At the age of fourteen, he accompanied his 
parents on their removal to Geauga county, 
Ohio, the family locating in the town of 
Bainbridge, whence they afterward removed 
to Mantau, Portage Co., Ohio. There Jesse 
Bemis was married October 28, 1845, to 
Rowena Brown, a native of that county. 
He had previously made a location in Kane 
county, 111., becoming one of its early set- 
tlers, and with the money earned at farm 
labor he purchased a tract of land. This 
was in 1842. The wedding journey of the 
young couple was made in a sleigh from 
Ohio to the farm just mentioned, but after a 
short residence in Illinois, they went to 
Winnebago county. Wis., where, in the 
spring of 184G, Mr. Bemis pre-empted a 
quarter-section of land six miles from Osh- 
kosh. Their journey thither was made with 
two yoke of oxen, and at times they slept in 
the wagon, which contained their household 
effects. 

To Mr. and Mrs Bemis were born two 
children: Mary, who died in early life; and 
Winfield, who is living in Waupaca. The 
mother passed away March 29, 1853, and 
was laid to rest in the cemetery of Menasha, 
Wis. Mr. Bemis afterward wedded her sis- 
ter, Mary J. Brown, the ceremony being 
performed in Mantua, Ohio, May 12, 1855. 
Their only child, Willard, died in infanc}', 
and Mrs. Bemis was called to the home be- 
yond November 14, 1858, her remains be- 
ing interred in Waupaca Cemetery. For a 
short time after his second marriage, Mr. 
Bemis remained in Ohio, and then went to 
his farm in Vinland township, Winnebago 
county, Wis., where he lived until the fall 
of 1855, at which time he removed to a farm 
near the woolen-mill in Waupaca township, 
Waupaca county. A short time afterward 
he traded that property for land in the 
village of Waupaca, and at one time owned 
fifty-six town lots. He engaged in the mer- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 



645 



cantile and real-estate business, and con- 
tinued his residence in or near Waupaca 
until 1879, when he came to Lind town- 
ship. 

Mr. Bemis was married April 17, i860, 
to Mary A. Vaughn, and they had two chil- 
dren: James, now a druggist of Waupaca; 
and Jesse B., a farmer of the State of 
Washington. The mother died June 8, 
1 864, and was buried in Waupaca Ceme- 
tery. In February of the following year, 
Mr. Bemis enlisted in Waupaca, as a private 
of Company A, Forty-seventh Wis. V. I., 
and was sent to Tennessee, where his regi- 
ment then did skirmish and guard duty. In 
the fall of 1865 he was honorably discharged 
and returned home. On Christmas Day of 
the same year, Mr. Bemis was united in 
wedlock in Waupaca with Charlotte Selleck, 
widow of G. A. Selleck, who enlisted in 
April, 1862, as a member of Company B, 
Thirty-eighth Wisconsin Infantry, and died 
in Jarvis Hospital at Baltimore, where he 
was sent during the siege of Petersburg. 
The lady was born in Canada, December i, 
1838, and is a daughter of Henry and Mary 
(Dresser) Ludington. Her lather was born 
in Cooperstown, N. Y. , in 1809, and her 
mother is still living at the advanced age 
of eighty-four, her home being with Mrs. 
Bemis. The latter had two children by her 
lirst marriage: Arthur A., a bookkeeper of 
Denver, Colo. ; and Frank L. , now a travel- 
ling salesman for a wholesale house at Buf- 
falo, N. Y. , with headquarters in Minnesota. 
By the present marriage of our subject 
there are five children: Grace M., wife of 
Winfred Hewitt, of Dayton township; 
Fred G., Henry D., Maud and John L. , at 
home. 

Mr. Bemis is now the prosperous owner 
of a valuable farm of 220 acres, and is 
recognized as one of the practical and pro- 
gressive agriculturists of the community in 
which he has so long made his home. He 
cast his first Presidential vote for William 
Henry Harrison, and since the organization 
of the Republican party has been one of its 
stalwart advocates. He has been honored 
with several local offices, having served as 
justice of the peace, deputy sheriff and con- 
stable, and for two years was State timber 



agent. No trust reposed in him has ever 
been betrayed, and he has ever proved a 
most capable and efficient officer. He and 
his wife are charitable and benevolent peo- 
ple, and throughout the community have 
many warm friends, who esteem them high- 
ly for their many excellencies of character 
and sterling worth. 



W IRVINE, M. D., physician and 
surgeon at Royalton, Waupaca 
county, where he located in 1S92, 
was born at Alexander Bay, N. Y., 
in 1866. He is a son of Robert and Jane 
(Jeamison) Irvine, who were both born in 
Ireland, but the father was reared in New 
York, and the mother in Canada. 

Robert Irvine, M. D. , the father of Dr. 
W. Irvine, was a physician of Alexander 
Bay, N. Y., and always lived in New York 
after coming to America till he went to 
Ottawa, Canada, and engaged in the lum- 
bering interest. His death occurred in the 
latter place, in 1877, where his widow also 
died in the summer of 1893. They reared a 
family of six children (of whom four are now 
living), as follows: Christy, now residing in 
the city of Vancouver, B. C, went to Cali- 
fornia in 1874, and engaged in mining; then 
went to British Columbia, was interested in 
gold mines in Alaska, and spent two years 
in underground mining; William, who is 
married, is in the lumbering business in 
Ottawa, Canada; Robert, a graduate of Mc- 
Gill Medical College, Montreal, Canada, of 
the class of 1885, is a physician and sur- 
geon, now located at Sing Sing Prison, 
N. Y. ; W. ; Hannah died in Ottawa, 
Canada, at the age of twenty-two; and Jane 
died when young. 

The earlier years of Dr. W. Irvine were 
passed in Ottawa, Canada. He was edu- 
cated at Cook Academy, Havana, N. Y. , 
attended the Collegiate Institute at Ottawa, 
Canada, and the University of Maryland, at 
Baltimore, graduating with the class of 1 89 1 , 
after which he assisted in the laboratory at 
Sing Sing. He went to Denver, Colo., in 
March, 1892, and remained till July 19, 
1892, when he came to Royalton, Waupaca 
Co., Wis., and located here permanently. 



646 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



He has also an office in Ogdensburg, which 
he attends on Fridays. 

Dr. Irvine is a member of the Fox 
River Medical Society; socially is a member 
of Weyauwega Lodge, F. & A. M., of New 
London Chapter, R. A. M. ; New London, 
and of Ogdensburg Lodge, I. O. O. F. , R. 
S. V. G. In politics Dr. Irvine is a Demo- 
crat. He is a member of the board of 
pension examiners of Waupaca county, is 
well located and is having a good practice. 



LINUS BIDWELL BRAINARD, M. 
D., was born in Boardman, Trumbull 
Co., Ohio, October 30, 1805, the 
eldest in a family of eleven children. 
His father, who came from Connecticut, and 
was a pioneer in the Ohio wilds, lost his 
life by being crushed under a log while help- 
ing a fellow pioneer erect his cabin. 

While yet in his " teens " young Linus 
was thus obliged to become the head of the 
family. He superintended the work and in- 
struction of its members, and began his own 
career by teaching school. Having a rich, 
mellow voice, he also gave singing lessons, 
and became a successful instructor. On at- 
taining his majority he entered upon the 
study of theology, looking forward to work 
in the Episcopal ministry; but after a few 
months he turned his attention to medicine. 
He pursued his studies in the Western Re- 
serve College, and graduated with the high- 
est honors. In 1839 he removed to Cleve- 
land, where he continued his medical prac- 
tice until 1844. In the summer of that year 
he was seized with the Western fever, then 
contagious, and migrated to the Territory of 
Wisconsin in the then " Far West," his 
family following him on the opening of navi- 
gation the following year. 

Dr. Hrainard purchased a tract of 1,040 
acres of land in Sheboygan county, and 
erected a sawmill on Pigeon river; but the 
title proving imperfect the whole was lost. 
In 1849 he moved to Green Bay, and served 
during the Taylor-Fillmore administration as 
deputy collector at the port of Green Bay. 
On the incoming of the Pierce administra- 
tion his head fell into the political basket. 
In June, 1853, he went on horseback fronr 



Green Bay to the then newly-opened Indian 
lands in Waupaca county, and entered 280 
acres of land near the village of Waupaca 
and removed with his family to the village 
in November of the same year. Thus again, 
at the age of forty-eight, he began anew the 
life of a first settler on virgin land. A por- 
tion of the forest was felled, and the land 
plowed. A sawmill was erected On the 
Waupaca river a half mile above the village, 
and put into active operation, working night 
and day, but the demands upon his time 
and skill as a physician and surgeon were 
such that the mill and various shops con- 
nected therewith were left wholly in the 
care of others, and did not prove a lasting 
success. A few years later the mill was 
burned and was never rebuilt. 

Dr. Brainard was one of the moving 
energetic spirits in the early days of the 
town. He brought about the establishment 
of the Masonic Lodge, and was its first wor- 
shipful master. In his profession his services 
were constantly in demand, and in surgical 
cases he was remarkably successful. His 
fame spread through the pineries, and his 
horseback rides were often to points seventy 
and eighty miles distant from his home. In 
1862 he received a surgeon's commission in 
the army, and served with the Seventh Wis- 
consin Infantry until the close of the war. 
He was then assigned to duty in the regular 
army, where he continued several months. 
On his return to Waupaca county he re- 
sumed his medical practice and remained 
actively at work until he had nearly reached 
his eightieth year. In politics Dr. Brainard 
was an Old-time Whig, and when the party 
died he affiliated with the Republican side 
in the political world. 

A thorough scholar and a ready speaker, 
he delivered many lectures before lyceums 
and societies, besides contributing many 
articles to the Press. He also occupied a 
prominent place in all political gatherings, 
and in meetings where \\'aupaca's advance- 
ment was to be considered. He lived to see 
his forty-acre homestead embraced within 
the city limits, and his other lands rise 
greatly in value. He often said he should 
live to pass the eighthieth milestone in his 
life. He died November 14, 1885, two 



^ iS^^^I 


■ 




H 




1 


^^^^^^^fck^^^p^b^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 


9 


K' -N 


^ff^^^B 


wmi 1 


^ 


^^^^^^^B* . ^ 'j? , - A 


^■kE^i 



■%^, /\J V /13-T--<C-'-T--t t- Ol^I-^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



647 



weeks after his eightieth birthday, leaving 
three children: Charles Rollin Brainard, a 
lawyer; L. Henry, and a daughter, Alice. 



SAMUEL T. OBORN, a successful 
miller of Waupaca, and a member of 
the firm of Roberts & Oborn, inher- 
ited his tastes and capacity for the 
line of business which he now conducts. His 
father and his grandfather before him were 
millers in England, and though liberally edu- 
cated Samuel T. prefers the active life of a 
business man to a professional career. He 
was born in Odessa, Schuyler Co., N. Y. , 
February 14, 1849, a son of Samuel Oborn, 
Sr. , and grandson of Thomas Oborn. 

Samuel Oborn, Sr. , married Mary Mil- 
som in England, and in 1842 disposed of his 
milling interests in his native land, and emi- 
grated with his wife and child, Edwin, to 
America. He settled first in Schuyler 
county, N. Y., where he bought a mill pro- 
perty and remained seventeen years. In 
1859 he came west, locating at Neenah, 
Wis., where he engaged in the milling busi- 
ness in partnership with A. W. Patten. 
Years afterward he removed to Mazomanie, 
and later to Platteville, having been actively 
engaged in milling at both places. Mr. 
Oborn died at Neenah in 1888. His family 
consisted of six children: Edwin, Mary, 
Sarah, Samuel T. , Ellen A. and Ralph J., 
the latter dying in Texas in 1886. 

Samuel T. Oborn received a good com- 
mon-school education in Wisconsin, and 
then took a three-years' course at Baldwin 
University, a well-known college, located at 
Berea, Ohio, and conducted under the de- 
nominational influence of theM. E. Church. 
His education finished, Samuel T. entered 
his father's mill at Platteville, and remained 
one year. Then for a short time he worked 
in the mill at Neenah. Desiring a taste of 
city life Mr. Oborn accepted a situation at 
Chicago, and remained at work there at a 
good salary until the great fire of 1S71 de- 
stroyed the business of that city, and tempor- 
arily prostrated its industries. Mr. Oborn 
returned to Neenah and remained there until 
1876, when he came to Waupaca and en- 
tered the emplo}' of Dayton, Baldwin & 



Co. , assuming charge of their flouring-mill, 
and remaining in control until 1878, when 
he purchased a half-interest in the establish- 
ment, the firm name becoming Baldwin & 
Oborn. The mill was destroyed by fire 
January 26, 1884, and soon thereafter 
Messrs. Oborn & Roberts erected the mill 
which they now successfully operate. 

Mr. Oborn was married, at Neenah, in 
1876, to Carrie M. Lambert, a native of 
Oshkosh, Wis. , and a daughter of George R. 
Lambert, a lumberman. In politics Mr. 
Oborn is a Republican. He is now serving 
his second term as alderman of his ward. 
Socially, he is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias. 



CHARLES W. OGDEN, printer and 
publisher, was born at Ogdensburg, 
Wis , December 16, 1862, whence, 
when four years of age he moved 
with his parents to Waupaca, the county 
seat. At thirteen he went into his brother's 
office, 77/i' Waupaca Post, to learn the 
trade. In 1881 he opened the first music 
store in Waupaca, sold out after two years 
of good business, and then entered the old 
hotel, "Lewis House," as its proprietor. 
Not contented with hotel life, he ventured the 
dramatic profession under the management 
of Harry L. Seymour. It required some- 
thing over two years of character-acting be- 
fore he became convinced that his first pro- 
fession, that of a printer, was his only show 
to settle in life. Entering the Afiitiiii; Rcc- 
ord office at Ironwood, Mich., as foreman, 
in 1886, when the Gogebic range was in its 
infancy, he remained there eighteen months, 
after which he was engaged as manager of 
the Iron Journal, a paper devoted to the 
mining interests of the Vermilion range, 
located at Tower, Minn. In February, 1888, 
he resigned his position and left for San 
Diego, Cal. , where he was married to Miss 
Sylvia Sherman. In June, 1889, he re- 
turned to Waupaca, where in the fall he en- 
tered with John L. Sturtevant in buying the 
Waupaca Post. The Ogdens are a strong, 
hearty and long-lived race. Five genera- 
tions are living at the present writing; Mrs. 
Mary Ogden, the grandmother of Charles 



648 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHIGAL RECORD. 



W., is ninety-six years old, and lives in 
Madison, this State. She keeps house and 
does all the cooking, washing, etc., for her- 
self and son. 

THE WAUPACA POST, established 
in 1877 by John A. Ogden, and published 
since then successively and successfully by 
Gordon & Ogden, Gordon, Gilmore & Ware, 
Woodnorth Bros., Gordon & Ware, and 
Sturtevant, Ogden & Ware, the present 
proprietors, is a live, enterprising weekly, of 
twelve pages of six columns each. Stanchly 
Republican in politics, it is conservative and 
candid, and is under the control of no fac- 
tion, clique or ring. The active publishers 
are John L. Sturtevant and Charles W. 
Ogden. John M. Ware, who has a finan- 
cial interest in the Post, is a farmer and 
live-stock dealer, residing on a farm about 
two miles north of the city. 

John L. Sturtevant was born in Dela- 
van, Walworth county, in March, 1865, his 
father being Charles H. Sturtevant, one of 
the earliest settlers in that village. A pecu- 
liar family incident is that Charles was one 
of eighteen children, by the same parents, 
two of whom are still living, the average age 
at death of the sixteen being about seventy 
years. John L. was educated at the Dela- 
van High School, graduating at the age of 
sixteen. Having learned the printer's trade 
during vacations, he went to Stillwater, 
Minn., where he was foreman of the Sun 
for one year. Then he went to St. Paul as 
a reporter, and for seven years did news- 
paper work of all kinds in St. Paul and Chi- 
cago, being on the St. Paul Pioiiccr-Prcss 
staff over three consecutive years. He came 
to Waupaca in November, 1889, purchasing 
an interest in the Post, and has resided here 
ever since. 



FREDERICK E. LUND, who owns 
and conducts the largest harness 
business in Waupaca county, is an 
honored citizen of the city of Wau- 
paca, and one who has aided greatly in its 
growth and prosperty. He was born in the 
Province of Sjelland, Denmark, November 
7, 1843, a son of Nelson and Anna (Jensen) 
Lund. 



Nelson Lund was born in iSooinJylland, 
Denmark, and in 1840 was appointed road- 
master, or road inspector, by the govern- 
ment, a position which he held for sixteen 
years. He retired on account of ill health, 
and became a pensioner until his death, in 
1859, three years later. His widow re- 
mained a pensioner until her death, in 1870. 
They were the parents of thirteen chil- 
dren, only five of whom, Peter, Christian, 
Caroline, Sophia and Frederick E., now sur- 
vive. 

Our subject attended school from the 
age of seven to fourteen years, the period 
prescribed by the laws of Denmark, and was 
then apprenticed by his mother to a harness- 
maker for five years. During this period 
the young apprentice received nothing for 
his services, and his clothes were provided 
by his mother. For about a year after his 
trade was acquired the young man worked 
at various shops, and in the spring of 1 867 
he decided to come to America. Landing 
at New York City May i, 1867, he reached 
Waupaca, Wis., eight days later with only 
fifty cents in his pocket. At first he was 
obliged to work as a common laborer, but 
he kept in mind his trade and looked about 
for a situation. He obtained it within two 
months, for July 8 of the same year he en- 
tered the shop of William Temme, where 
he remained a steady and reliable workman 
for two years. Then, in 1869, he removed 
to Iowa and remained two years. Return- 
ing to Waupaca, Mr. Lund resumed his old 
place in the shop of Mr. Temme, and held it 
industriously and faithfully for five years. 
At the expiration of that time he had saved 
a neat little sum of money, and believed 
that he was thoroughly competent to launch 
into business for himself. Accordingly he 
opened a harness shop for himself July 4, 
1876, which was the centennial day of the 
Declaration of American Independence. Un- 
der such an auspicious opening it could 
scarcely prove less than a happy business 
undertaking for Mr. Lund. At any rate, 
whether from that cause or from Mr. Lund's 
innate business ability and energy, it has 
proved a success, for he has been in busi- 
ness at Waupaca eversince, and now operates 
the largest harness shop and carries the 



COMMEMORA TIVK BIOGRAPHWAL RECORD. 



649 



largest stock in his line in Waupaca county. 
He usually employs from four to six men. 

Mr. Lund has been married three times. 
He was first married in Iowa to Mary Lar- 
sen, by whom he had three children: Anna, 
Albert and Waldemar. His second wife, 
whom he wedded in Waupaca county in 
1878, was Christine Johnson, who died four 
years later, leaving one child, Caroline. The 
present helpmeet of Mr. Lund was Bertina 
Christianson, to whom he was united in 
1884. She has borne him two children. 
Christian and Martha. In 1893 Mr. Lund 
paid a visit to his old home and relatives in 
Denmark. He is a member of the Danish 
Home Society, and of the Danish Lutheran 
Church. In politics he is a Republican, but 
he has invariably declined office when im- 
portuned by his friends to accept. He is a 
thorough and practical business man, and 
one of the influential citizens of Waupaca. 



CHESTER H. OGDEN. This gentle- 
man, who is a leading and prosper- 
ous business man of Minocqua, Vi- 
las Co., Wis., was born in the vil- 
lage of Memphis, St. Clair Co., Mich., Feb- 
ruary 5, 1855. His father, Leander Og- 
den, was born at Ogdensburg, N. Y., and 
married Servilla Blach, who was also born 
near that city. They had seven children: 
Henry, Richard, Emily, Leander, Cathe- 
rine, Chester H. and Eliza. The father 
died in June, 1882, and the mother June 8, 
1894. The grandfather of our subject, 
Jonathan Ogden, was the founder of the 
city which bears his name. He had a large 
family, of whom five were sons: Chester, 
Richard, Orange, Jonathan and Leander. 

Chester H. Ogden, the subject of this 
sketch, had but limited advantages for an 
education, being a mere child, only nine 
years of age, when he was hired out by his 
father to work on a farm in Canada for six 
months, earning the munificent sum of 
three dollars a month. He afterward worked 
in hotels and in the woods, and was for 
three years in Saginaw City, a part of the 
time in business for himself. He was also 
in business in Fargo, N. Dak., one year, but 
was burned out in 1882. In 1887 became 



to Merrill, this State, and lived there two 
years, being in business one year of that 
time. Two years later he came to Minoc- 
qua, and in partnership with Mr. Tripp 
built the " Minocqua House." Three months 
afterward he sold out his interest in that 
property and built a saloon, which he con- 
ducted for five years, at the close of that 
time going into the meat-market business, 
which he still conducts, and which he has 
built up into a lucrative trade. 

Mr. Ogden was married at Jackson, Mich. , 
September 19, 1883, to Miss Phrona F. 
Dilling, who was born at Cairo, Mich., and 
is the daughter of Daniel and Mary (Eaton) 
Dilling. Her parents were farmers in Oak- 
land county, Mich., and had three children, 
Andrew, Phrona F. and Ella, the latter 
being deceased. The mother died October 
28, 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Ogden have no 
children. Politically Mr. Ogden is in sym- 
pathy with the views of the Republican 
party, but takes no active part in politics, 
and has never cared to hold office. He is a 
member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America. He has a prosperous business, 
and takes great interest in all that pertains 
to the growth and development of his town 
and county, and is highly esteemed by his 
fellow citizens. 



REV. DAVID JAEGER is a minister 
of the Gospel, in charge of the Lu ■ 
theran Congregation at Nicholson, 
Bear Creek township, Waupaca 
county. He was born March 7, 1861, in 
Milwaukee, Wis., a son of Jacob and Louise 
(Wergin) Jaeger, who are of German de- 
scent, and are now living in Milwaukee. 
They have six children: William (an attor- 
ney at law in Milwaukee), Emma, David 
(our subject), Augusta, Martha and Dr. Louis 
Jaeger. Jacob Jaeger is a farmer by occu- 
pation. 

Rev. David Jaeger received most of his 
education in Milwaukee, where he gradu- 
ated in 1876. In 1 88 1 he went to Spring- 
field, 111., and graduated in 1887, completing 
his education. He was sent to Kansas in 
1885, to take charge of a congregation at 
Clay Center, Clay county, and after his 



650 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



graduation had charge of a congregation at 
Pleasant Plains, III., for three years. 

On August 20, 1889, Mr. Jaeger was 
united in marriage with Julia Bowers, who 
was born and raised in Clay county, Kans., 
and they have become the parents of two 
children, Laola and Lydia. Mrs. Jaeger is 
a daughter of John and Margaret Bowers. 
In 1892 Mr. Jaeger came to Bear Creek 
township, Waupaca county, and has been 
here ever since. The Church here has been 
established about twenty-three years, and 
there are ninety active members. Mr. 
Jaeger has been serving in the ministry since 
1885, and with great success. He has 
charge of two congregations, which occupy 
his entire time; his work is carried on with 
faithfulness and exactness, and he is es- 
teemed by all. 



M 



ARTIN T. PETERSON, dealer in 
windmills, pumps, etc., at Wau- 
paca, and an extensive well driller, 
has made the trade which he learn- 
ed in Denmark, his native land, the basis for 
his present prosperous and extended busi- 
ness. He is yet a comparatively young 
man, for he was born June 20, i860. 

Peter Christenson, the father of our sub- 
ject, a well driller and pump manufacturer 
in Denmark, married Caroline Thedemann, 
who was of German descent, and of their 
seven children, Nels, Mary, Martin, Ferdi- 
nand, Sophia, William and Peter, five are 
now in America, while the parents are still 
in Denmark. Peter Christenson was born 
in 1818, and served in the Danish army in 
the infantry service. Although a well driller 
he was also owner of a small farm, and it 
was upon this farm that Martin T. was 
reared, learning from his father the trade of 
well drilling and pump making. When 
nineteen years of age he went to Copenha- 
gen, and was there foreman for a large well- 
drilling firm. There Mr. Peterson learned 
the principles that are now used by all well 
drillers. 

Determining soon after to come to Amer- 
ica, our subject reached Waupaca, Wis., 
April 29, 1 88 1, a boy not yet of age and 



without any knowledge of the English lan- 
guage. He hired out as a farm hand for six 
months, and his services were then engaged 
by Jens Hanson, who had acontract to drill 
a well for the city of Waupaca. The well 
was a failure, and young Martin then went 
to Marinette and worked in a repair shop. 
Thence going to Colby he ran an engine in 
a sawmill which burned soon after. Real- 
izing the need of a better acquaintance with 
the English language, he attended school for 
three months, paying his board during that 
time. Mr. Peterson then went to Eau 
Claire and worked at his trade for a time, 
and for a plumber and steam-fitter for two 
years. But he gravitated back to his old 
trade. Returning to W'aupaca in 1886, he 
formed a partnership with Jens Hanson in 
the well-drilling and windmill business. Two 
years later he bought out Hanson's interest, 
and since then he has conducted the busi- 
ness alone. He now operates three ma- 
chines throughout W^isconsin, Minnesota and 
the two Dakotas in drilling wells, and be- 
sides he handles windmills and all kinds of 
pumps. 

Mr. Peterson has prospered, and although 
he came to America a poor lad he has built 
a fine residence, and now owns a thriving 
business which has been built up by his own 
energy. In politics he is a Republican^ but 
he has several times declined proffered of- 
fice because his business absorbs all his 
time and attention. He is a member of the 
Danish Lutheran Church, and also of the 
Danish Home. He was married, October 
10, 1886, to Margaret Jones, who was born 
in Winnebago county. She is the daughter 
of Emanuel and Eleanor (Royer) Jones, the 
former a native of Pennsylvania and the lat- 
ter of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were mar- 
ried in Ohio, and in 1856 migrated to Wis- 
consin. Mr. Jones was a carpenter by trade, 
but owned and operated a farm in Winne- 
bago county. He had a family of nine chil- 
dren: Mary, Alice, Margaret, Elizabeth, 
Ida, Lucinda and Oliver, and two sons who 
died young. To Mr. and Mrs. Peterson 
three children have been born: Caroline E., 
Guy William and Maud B. In 1891 Mr. 
Peterson and his family paid an enjoyable 
visit to his old home in Denmark. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



65 > 



DAN CUTLER BARNUM (deceased) 
was one of the sturdy pioneers of 
Waupaca county, who not only 
helped to develop the land by clear- 
ing for himself a farm, but who, by the 
operation of sawmills and other industries, 
gave an impetus to the growth of this region 
which has heen of lasting effect. His mem- 
ory will remain as one of the chief promoters 
of the county's prosperity. Mr. Barnum 
was born in the town of Monkton, Northern 
Vermont, April 25, 1817, son of Isaac and 
Persis (Booth) Barnum, the former a native 
of Connecticut and the latter of Vermont. 
They had four children — John W. , Harriet, 
Montgomerj-, Dan C. and Jane Potter. 
Isaac Barnum was a weaver by trade, but 
also followed farming. He died at the resi- 
dence of his son Dan C. , in Waupaca county, 
in 1862. His wife died in Vermont. 

Dan C. Barnum was reared on a farm in 
Vermont, and received only a common- 
school education. But he possessed natural 
aptitude of mind, and was an omniverous 
reader, thus giving to himself an education 
which circumstances denied. When he 
reached manhood he purchased a farm in 
Vermont, and there married Martha S. 
Fuller, November 4, 1843. Four years 
later he came to Wisconsin, when this State 
was still under a territorial government, and 
settled on wild land near Ripon. His only 
child died while the parents were on their 
way West, and here on the pioneer farm 
the wife died a few years later. In the 
spring of 1855 ^^'"- Barnum sold his prop- 
erty and moved to Waupaca county. In 
partnership with James Lathrop, he pur- 
chased a sawmill on Crystal river, four miles 
south of Waupaca, and the same year erected 
a gristmill. These mills were great conven- 
iences for the scattering pioneers in this lo- 
cality, and contributed largely to the settle- 
ment in that vicinity. In 1856 Mr. Barnum 
married his second wife, Lovisa Dunton, by 
whom he had two children, both of whom 
died in infancy. Mrs. Barnum also died 
May 23, 1861. Five years afterward Mr. 
Barnum disposed of his mill property and 
removed to Waupaca. 

On November 14, 1861, he was again 
married at Waupaca, to Eliza M. Pitcher, a 



native of Cattaraugus county, N. Y. She is 
the daughter of William and Jane (Acker- 
man) Pitcher, the former a native of Con- 
necticut and the latter of New Jersey. Will- 
iam Pitcher was the son of Amos Pitcher, a 
hatter by trade and a soldier in the war of 
1 81 2. William and Jane Pitcher were mar- 
ried in 1820, and had five children: George 
W., William C, Ira C, Eliza M. and Ralph 
W. In 185 1 the family migrated to Wis- 
consin, settling on a farm in Kingston town- 
ship. Green Lake county. Four years later 
they removed to Waupaca county, where 
William Pitcher died February 4, 1878, his 
wife surviving him two years. He was a 
prominent member of the Masonic Order 
and of the M. E. Church. By his third 
marriage Mr. Barnum had two children, 
Belle and Frederick G. 

After selling his mill property Mr. Bar- 
num devoted his attention to buying and 
selling real estate and to financial opera- 
tions. About 1865 he purchased a tract of 
land adjoining Waupaca, which he after- 
ward platted, and where his widow now 
lives. Here the death of Mr. Barnum oc- 
curred July 9, 1890, when he was in the 
seventy-fourth year of his age. In life he 
had been a prominent Republican, and had 
served the township and city in which he 
lived in many of the local offices. He was 
a man of sterling business qualities, and of 
unimpeachable character, and one of the 
most highly respected pioneers of the county. 
He was a member of the Masonic Order for 
many years. 



JOHN McGOWN, an agriculturist of en- 
ergy and ability, who resides in Plover 
township. Portage county, is a native 
of New York State, born in Wayne 
county, February 3, 1835, a son of William 
and Jane (Huff) McGown, natives of New 
York State. His grandfather. Stephen Mc- 
Gown, came from Scotland in an early day, 
locating in Cherry Valley, N. Y., and was at 
that place during the war of 1 812. Our 
subject remembers hearing him tell of how 
the Indians at that time took his horses into 
the woods and cut out their tongues. 

The father of our subject was a tailor by 



652 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 



trade, at which occupation he worked dur- 
ing the greater part of his life. In his fam- 
ily there were five children: John, whose 
name opens this sketch; Sarah, wife of R. 
L. Bailey, a farmer of Plover township, 
Portage county; Phcebe, wife of Peter Dem- 
orest, of California; Emma E., wife of 
Mirain Compson, a traveling man of New 
York, and one that died in infancy. The 
children all remained at home until reach- 
ing adult age, and the education of John 
McGown was such as the common schools 
afforded, though he could have obtained a 
college course if he had been willing to re- 
main at home. Like many others, he now 
regrets that he did not take advantage of 
the opportunity thus afforded. During his 
youth he worked some at the tailor's trade, 
but on reaching his majority, being seized 
with the "gold fever," he started for Cali- 
fornia. In company with another young 
man, a friend, he went to New York City, 
and from that place came to Horicon, Wis., 
thence traveled by stage to Almond, Wis. 
Until 1858 he was employed in the pineries 
at Wausau, this State, when he arrived in 
Plover township, Portage county, and rent- 
ed a farm. He brought with him four horses 
to this county, and operated that land for 
one year, after which he revisited New 
York, but later returned to Wisconsin, this 
time locating at Stevens Point, where he 
worked for O. C. Wheelock. 

On October 12, 1861, Mr. McCown en- 
listed in Company B, Fourteenth Wis. V. I., 
and was mustered into service at Fond du 
Lac. The first engagement in which he 
took part was at Pittsburg Landing, which 
was followed by the battles of Corinth and 
luka, and later by the second battle of 
Corinth. The regiment then went to Holly 
Springs and near Grenada with Grant in his 
attempt to march to Vicksburg, but at the 
former place they were deprived of supplies 
and ammunition. Marching to the Missis- 
sippi, they went down that river and par- 
ticipated in the siege of Vicksburg. They 
then proceeded to Natchez, but later re- 
turned to Vicksburg, at which place Mr. Mc- 
Ciown participated in his last battle, and 
January 30, 1865, received an honorable 
discharge at Madison, Wis. On his return 



he located in Plover township, Portage 
county, where, after having worked for one 
season at $50 per month for Jack Finch, he 
purchased forty acres of land, which to-day 
forms a portion of his farm. He has since 
extended its boundaries, until it now com- 
prises 236 acres, eighty of which are highly 
cultivated and improved. He carries on 
general farming, and the appearance of his 
place indicates the thrift and enterprise of 
the owner. 

Mr. McGown was married November 16, 
1865, to Miss Maria J. Taylor, daughter of 
George E. and Clarissa (Gravesj Taylor, and 
to them have been born eight children: 
Ella, Frank, Otis, Addie, Maria, John, Amy 
and Levi, all still at home with the excep- 
tion of Ella, who is now the wife of Elmer 
Youmans, of Plover, and Frank, who was 
married August 22, 1894, to Miss Jennie 
Welch, daughter of Orcelia (Emerson) 
Welch, and they also reside in Plover. Mr. 
McGown in politics is a stanch Democrat, 
and does all in his power for the success of 
the party. Socially, he is a member of the 
Grand Army of the Republic Post No. 149, 
at Plover, Wis. He and his wife are highly 
respected and esteemed members of the so- 
ciety which surrounds them, and enjoy the 
confidence and regard of all who know 
them. 



HENRY R. ALLEN, who during the 
Civil war "wore the blue" and 
aided in the defense of the Union, 
is now one of the loyal citizens of 
Merrill, Lincoln county, where he is en- 
gaged in the insurance and real-estate busi- 
ness. In September, 1844, he was born in 
Lewis county, N. Y. , and is a son of Hiram 
R. Allen, whose birth occurred at Sacket's 
Harbor, N. Y. , in 18 10. Lorenzo Allen, 
grandfather of our subject, was a native of 
Dublin, Ireland, whence, when a young 
man he emigrated to Canada, and there 
served as a soldier. In that country he 
married and had one child: Hiram R. 
Lorenzo was a direct descendant of Bishop 
Allen of Dublin. The grandfather's tieath 
occurred iu Canada, his widow afterward 
marrying Lawrence Burzee, and thej^ be- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



653 



came the parents of two children — Lawrence 
and Betsy. Mrs. Burzee's death occurred 
in Lewis county, N. Y. ; she was of Scotch 
descent. 

Hiram R. Allen was a blacksmith by 
trade, an occupation he followed for many 
years. He received his education in 
Sacket's Harbor, N. Y. , and in that State 
married Louisa Morse, who was born in 
1812 in Lowville, N. Y. They became the 
parents of nine children: Orlando M., 
George H., Ethan D., Henry R., Marcellus 
H., Emery H., Ira W., Mary L. , and Lucy 
E. The father passed away in the town of 
Greig, Lewis Co., N. Y. , about the year 
1872, but the mother is still living. She is 
a daughter of Jedediah and Lucy (Gates) 
Morse, and one of a family of eight 
children: Parash L., Chauncey, Jeded- 
iah, Horatio, Louisa, Lucy, Anna and 
Jane; both the Morse and Gates families 
were from Connecticut. The father of Mrs. 
Allen served as a soldier and fife nvajor in 
the war of 181 2. He was a farmer of the 
Empire State, where his death occurred in 
1854, his wife surviving him about sixteen 
years, and dying in Fond du Lac, Wis., 
in 1870. 

Henry R. Allen, whose name introduces 
this record, worked with his father at black- 
smithing until he was si.xteen years old, be- 
coming quite proficient at the trade. At 
the age of sixteen he entered the Lowville 
Academy, graduating at the age of eighteen, 
and then taught district school for two years. 
He made four unsuccessful attempts to enter 
the Union army, twice in 1862 and twice 
the following year, but each time was re- 
jected. However, in June, i 864, he became 
a member of Company D, One Hundred- 
eighty-fourth N. Y. V. I., which was at- 
tached to the First Brigade, Third Division, 
Sixth Army Corps, under Gen. Sheridan, 
and served through the Shenandoah Valley 
campaign. In December, 1864, they were 
transferred to the James River Valley and 
attached to a separate brigade, known 
as the Army of the James, with which 
they remained until the close of the war. 
Our subject received an honorable discharge 
at Syracuse, N. Y., in July, 1865. He 
comes of a patriotic family, having four 



brothers who also fought for the stars and 
stripes. They all saw active service, but 
not one was wounded. Orlando, who was 
a member of the One Hundred and Tenth N. 
Y. V. I., served for two years; Ethan D., 
who served for over three years, was a mem- 
ber of the Fifth N. Y. V. I.; Marcellus, 
who was a member of the Second N. Y. V. 
L. A., died in the service in 1863; and 
George fought for two years and a half on 
the frontier. After his discharge our sub- 
ject returned home and taught school during 
the winters of 1866-67 and '68, while in the 
summers he worked upon the farm. 

At that time he married Miss Eleanor 
F. Cole, a native of New York, and a daugh- 
ter of L. W. and Pedee (Denison) Cole, 
farming people, and natives of New York, 
who had a family of eleven children: 
Mathew, Alonzo, Samuel, Halsey, Ly- 
sander, Angeline, Jane, Pedee, Eleanor, 
Medora and Adeline. Mr. and Mrs. Allen 
have two children: Harry R. and Cora E. 
After his marriage our subject came west 
and located at Fond du Lac, Wis., where 
for twelve years he was employed in a fac- 
tory. In February, 1881, he arrived in 
Merrill and was engaged by the Merrill Manu- 
facturing Company, remaining with them 
until the summer of 1882. During the lat- 
ter part of 1883 and the following year he 
was engaged in the insurance business, and 
in May, 1885, he opened an office of his 
own, now conducting both an insurance and 
real-estate business. He is one of the lead- 
ing men in this line in Merrill, and is meet- 
ing with a well-merited success. He has 
not only been self-supporting from an early 
age, but also materially assisted his parents, 
and can be justly ranked among the self- 
made men of Lincoln county. He was a 
pioneer of what is now West Merrill, as at 
the time of his location it was a dense for- 
est. He lived in a board shanty, and helped 
to erect the first mill of the place, which is 
now the A. H. Stange mill. 

Mr. Allen is a Master Mason, and at 
present is secretary and an active member 
of Virginia Falls Lodge, No. 226, F. & A. 
M. He also belongs to West Merrill Lodge, 
No. 39, I. O. O. F. ; Lincoln Post, No. 
131, G. A. R. ; and Columbia Council, No. 



654 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



309, Royal Arcanum, in all of which so- 
cieties he takes an active part. For many 
years he has been a stanch supporter of the 
Republican party, having cast his first vote 
for Abraham Lincoln while in the Shenan- 
doah Valley in 1 864, and is ever loyal to its 
principles. He has never been an office- 
seeker, in the common acceptation of the 
term, though he has served his fellow citi- 
zens as supervisor and alderman for two 
terms each. 



HENRY C. HETZEL is one of the 
leading attorneys of Merrill, Lin- 
coln county. In the legal profes- 
sion, which embraces some of the 
finest minds of the nation, it is difficult to 
win a name and place of prominence. Many 
aspire to it, but do not reach it. In com- 
mercial life one may start out on a more 
advanced plane than others; he may enter a 
business already established, and carry it 
forward, but in the legal profession the am- 
bitious tyro must commence at the begin- 
ning and work his way upward. This Mr. 
Hetzel has done until he is now ranked 
among the foremost lawyers of this portion 
of the State. 

Our subject was born in Raymond, Ra- 
cine Co., Wis., August 4, 1856, and is one 
of a family of eleven children, of whom 
eight yet survive — David, John, Elizabeth, 
Mary, Michael, Andrew C., Barbara and 
Henry C. Those deceased are Jacob, who 
died in 1892 at the age of fifty years; 
Amelia, who died when about fifteen; and 
one deceased in infancy. They were born 
in Germany, with the e.xception of Henry 
C. and one daughter, and nearly all now 
follow agricultural pursuits; David is a mer- 
chant of Racine, and Elizabeth (now Mrs. 
Lichendeldt) makes her home in the same 
city, where her husband is engaged in the 
manufacture of soap. The father of this fam- 
ily, John Hetzel, also a native of Germany, 
where his birth occurred in 1810, was there 
married to Barbara Schmidt. For a time 
he served as a soldier in the German army, 
and in 1852 brought his family to America, 
locating in Raymond, Wis. On his arrival 
here he was in limited circumstances, but 



by industry and good management he has 
accumulated a nice property, having now a 
comfortable competence. He and his wife 
are still living, making their home in Port- 
age county, whither they removed in 1868. 

Henry C. Hetzel, whose name opens this 
review, remained upon the home farm until 
he had reached his thirteenth year, when he 
attended the high school at Racine, taking 
a three-years' course. He then began the 
study of law with E. L. Bump, of Wausau, 
Wis., but in the fall returned home and en- 
gaged in teaching for three terms. In the 
spring of 1874 he entered the law office of 
E. L. Brown, studying with that gentleman 
until his admission to the bar in September, 
1877. In company with E. P. Perry, he 
then opened a law office of his own at New 
London, Waupaca Co., Wis., where he re- 
mained until April, 1879. At that time he 
went to Wausau and became a partner of 
E. L. Bump, but this connection only con- 
tinued until the following October, when he 
removed to Merrill, Lincoln county, where 
he has since resided. In that city, in 1881, 
he wedded Sadie Dorn, a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and daughter of John I. and Sarah 
(House) Dorn, who are the parents of five 
children: Adelda. Gay, Byron, Orin and 
Sarah. Two children have come to bless 
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hetzel: Ralph, 
who is now (1895) twelve years of age; and 
Harry, aged five. 

In politics our subject is a stalwart Re- 
publican, taking an active interest in every- 
thing pertaining to his party, and for one 
year was city attorney of New London, 
Wis. Since coming to Merrill he has been 
chairman of the county Republican com- 
mittee with the exception of two years, and 
was city attorney two terms; served as post- 
master under President Harrison's adminis- 
tration, and for two years was a member of 
the school board. He has been a delegate 
to the State conventions of his party, in 
which his influence is widely felt, and was 
elected, in 1886, to the General Assembly, 
serving in that body for one term. He is 
very popular in public affairs, always sup- 
porting enterprises best calculated to bene- 
fit the community. He is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, holding membership with 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



655 



Merrill Lodge, F. & A. M., and also belongs 
to the I. O. O. F. Mr. Hetzel now has a 
lucrative practice, and to some extent deals 
in real estate. 



DAVID PARISH MORRILL. Promi- 
nent among the foremost of Wood 
county's most prosperous and pro- 
gressive citizens stands the gentle- 
man who forms the subject of this sketch. 
He was born in Canaan, Vt., March 22, 
1818, and is a son of Moses and Mary (Mor- 
rison) Morrill, natives of New Hampshire. 
The father was a farmer by occupation, and 
a leading and influential citizen of the com- 
munity in which he made his home, and of 
the State as well. He held the office of 
county judge several years, and for the long 
period of eighteen years represented his Dis- 
trict in the Vermont Assembly, where his 
wise legislation was recognized, his efficiency 
and capable service causing his frequent re- 
election to office. His death occurred at 
the age of sixty-seven years, and he was 
deeply mourned by a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances; his wife reached the very 
advanced age of ninety-nine years. 

The subject of this sketch, who is the 
only living representative of their family of 
six children, was reared a farmer boy, and 
in the district schools of his native county 
received a limited education. At the age of 
twenty-six years he left his home for \Vo- 
burn, Mass., where he learned the trade of 
a tanner and currier. In course of time he 
returned to the place of his nativity, and in 
1844 came west to the then Territory of 
Wisconsin, locating at Sauk Prairie, where 
he embarked in merchandising, carrying on 
business there for about five years. He then 
purchased a farm and followed agricultural 
pursuits until 1861, when he came to Grand 
Rapids, and bought an interest in the tan- 
nery of J. McGrath. That partnership was 
continued for two years, when Mr. Morrill 
bought out Mr. McGrath and conducted the 
concern alone until about five years, since 
when he laid aside all active business cares, 
and has since lieen retired. Through the 
legitimate channels of business he sailed his 
bark to the harbor of success. 



In 1844, just prior to his migration to 
Wisconsin, Mr. Morrill was married in New 
Hampshire to Miss Emeline Tabor, who died 
in Sauk county. Wis., a few years later. In 
1846, at Sauk Prairie, he was joined in wed- 
lock with Miss Sarah Pound, of that place, 
who departed this life in August, 1854, leav- 
ing two children, one of whom, Eugene, 
now resides in Minneapolis, Minn. Mr. Mor- 
rill was again married, in Sauk Prairie, Feb- 
ruary 24, 1856, this time to Miss Lydia, 
daughter of William and Susan (Berry) Har- 
low, the former a native of Massachusetts, 
the latter of Maine. This union has been 
blessed with five children, and the family 
circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of 
death; their names and dates of birth are as 
follows: Scott, November 11, 185S; Frank 
L. , July 22, i860; Mary Emeline, Febru- 
ary 23, 1863; Carrie B., February 9, 1867; 
and Edwin H., March 6, 1871. Mr. Mor- 
rill and his family attend the Congregational 
Church, and in the community where they 
have so long resided they have many warm 
friends, and hold an enviable position in 
social circles. 

In his political views, our subject is a Re- 
publican, and though not an office seeker he 
has served for two terms as alderman of 
Grand Rapids, and has been a member of 
the school board. Socially, he is connected 
with the Masonic fraternity. As his long 
residence in Wisconsin dates from the Ter- 
ritorial days, he has therefore witnessed its 
entire development as a State, and in the 
progress of this community has been an im- 
portant factor. 



WILLIAM D. EMMONS is one of the 
oldest living settlers of Waupaca 
county, and an honored pioneer 
who well deserves representation 
in this volume. He was born in Morris 
county, N. J., September 20, 181 7, to 
Abraham and Hannah (Darling) Emmons. 
The father was also born in Morris coun- 
ty, and the family was founded in America 
by his grandfather, who, accompanied by 
two brothers, sailed from Holland to the 
United States in early Colonial days. The 
direct ancestor of our subject settled in New 



6^6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Jersey, the other brothers in New England. 
Squire Nicholas Emmons, grandfather of 
William D. , was a prominent lawyer and 
jurist of his day, and died in Chester town- 
ship, Morris Co., N. J., about 1822, his 
death resulting from paralysis which ren- 
dered him helpless for about five years pre- 
vious. His children were John and Abra- 
ham, twins, the former a farmer who died 
in Tompkins county, N. Y. ; Nicholas, a 
farmer of New Jersey, now deceased; Jere- 
miah, who carried on farming in Morris 
county, N. J., until his death; Isaac, who 
was a farmer and died in Tompkins county, 
N. Y. ; Catherine, who became the wife of 
Nathaniel Skinner and died in Morris coun- 
ty, N. J. ; Mrs. Polly Quimby, whose death 
occurred in the same county; Eliza, who be- 
came the wife of Simon J. Vleet, and died in 
New Jersey; Sallie, who was married, and 
departed this life in the same State. The 
father of this family was a man of consider- 
able means and owned five farms in his na- 
tive State. Both he and his wife were 
Christian people and were highly respected 
by all who knew them. 

Abraham Emmons, father of William 
D. , was reared as a farmer, and received but 
a limited education. He was married to 
Hannah Darling in New Jersey, the lady 
being a native of that State, and a daughter 
of Peter Darling, who was a miller by trade, 
and one of the heroes of the Revolution. 
Peter Darling's children were: Henry, who 
died in New Jersey; George, who died in 
Upper Canada; Ichabod, who died in Mor- 
ris county, N. J. ; William, who died in Up- 
per Canada; and Samuel, who died in Sus- 
sex county, N. J. The sons were all millers 
by trade. The two daughters were Hannah, 
mother of our subject, and one who married 
and left New Jersey. Peter Darling lived 
in Canada at the time of the war of 181 2, 
but afterward returned to Morris county, N. 
J., where he died. Abraham Emmons, 
after his marriage, which occurred in 181 1, 
spent his entire life in farming in Chester 
township, in the county of his nativity, 
where he died at the age of sixty. Physi- 
cally, he was a large and powerful man. In 
his political views he was a Democrat. His 
wife died at the age of sixty- three, and they 



were buried in a cemetery near their home. 
A brief record of their family is as follows: 
Henry, an agriculturist, died in Upper Can- 
ada; Ichabod, who was married in New 
York, removed to Waukegan, 111., in the 
"forties, "and followed farming in that State; 
Jacob was a farmer, and died in Michigan at 
the age of fifty-five; George, a miller by 
trade, passed away in Morris county, N. J., 
aged sixty-two; William D. is the next 
younger; Ira is a boatman on the Erie canal, 
and lives in Cayuga, N. Y. ; Samuel, a miller 
by trade, was poisoned from eating what he 
supposed to be mushrooms, and died in Mor- 
ris county, N. J. ; Simon, also a miller, lived 
in the same county; and Mrs. Elizabeth 
Van Doran, who removed to Michigan, 
thence to Nebraska, but has not been heard 
from for many years. 

William D. Emmons was reared upon 
the home farm, and at the age of nineteen 
went to Upper Canada, where he worked 
for about a year, when, on account of the 
troubles at the time of the Patriot war, he 
removed to Tompkins county, N. Y. , in the 
spring of 1837, there working as a farm hand 
for John Storms for three years. He was 
then employed by his uncle for a year, and 
was able to command the highest wages 
paid for farm work — $12 per month. 

In Tompkins county, on January 20, 
1842, Mr. Emmons married Sarah A. 
Youngs, who was born in the town of Lan- 
sing, that county, September 6, 1824, a 
daughter of Samuel and Mary (Shangle) 
Youngs. 

The grandparents of Mary (Shangle) 
Youngs, whose name was Spangenberg,came 
from Hanover, Germany, during the Revo- 
lutionary war. It was six months before a 
landing could be effected on account of the 
blockade by the British. While lying in 
the harbor Mr. Spangenberg lost two chil- 
dren. A landing was finally made at Eliza- 
bethtown, N. J. Two children were still 
living: One, Catherine, became the mother 
of Mary (Shangle) Youngs. The father of 
Mrs. Sarah A. (Youngs) Emmons was born 
in Sussex county, N. J., in 1797, and the 
mother in Morris county, N. J., in the same 
year. They were married in their native 
State, removing thence to New York, and 



COMMEMORATrVE BIOGRAPHWAL RECORD. 



657 



became the parents of the followinp^ chil- 
dren: John, a farmer, who died in Dale 
township, Outaf^amie Co., Wis.; William, 
also a farmer who died, in the same locality; 
Sarah A., wife of William D. Emmons; 
Margaret, wife of A. R. Gray, of Spink 
county, S. Dak. ; Isaac, a farmer of Youngs' 
Corners, of Outagamie county; Jane, wife 
of Philetus C. Hubbell, who is living near 
Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.; Vincent, 
of New London, Wis.; Mary A., wife of 
Solomon Rhodes, who died in Medina, Wis. 
Mr. Samuel Youngs came to this State in 
1849, settling in Dale township, Outagamie 
county (then Brown countyj, where he was 
joined by his wife and children the follow- 
ing year. After a short time they removed to 
Waupaca county, settling in Dale township, 
where his death occurred in 1870; Mary 
Youngs, wife of Samuel, died in 1882. They 
were buried at Medina, Wis. In politics, 
Mr. Youngs was a Republican. 

For some time after his marriage, Mr. 
William D. Emmons worked as a farm hand 
in Lansing township, Tompkins county, 
N. Y., then purchased a small house, which 
was his home until the fall of 1847. He 
then determined to try his fortune in the 
West, and accompanied by his brother-in- 
law, William Youngs, he started for She- 
boygan, Wis., in September, 1847. They 
went by way of Cayuga Lake to Cayuga 
Bridge, thence by the Erie canal to Buf- 
falo, where they boarded the steamer 
"Madison," bound for Milwaukee. In- 
stead of going to Sheboygan, as they in- 
tended, they settled near Delavan, Wal- 
worth county, where Mr. Emmons worked 
a farm on shares for about a year, at which 
time he removed to Brown, now Outagamie 
county, purchasing eigh ty acres of heavily- 
timbered land in Dale township, but after a 
year he sold that farm and spent the suc- 
ceeding year upon a forty-acre farm in 
Winchester township, Winnebago county. 
The month of June, 1852, witnessed his ar- 
rival in Waupaca county. He secured a squat- 
ter's claim of 1 60 acres in Section 8, Dayton 
township, for which he paid $1.25 per acre, 
and with characteristic energy began the 
development of his farm, making his home 
on that land and on the farm adjoining until 



June, 1893, when he removed to Waupaca, 
where he is now living retired. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Emmons 
are Anna A., wife of Hiram Robinson, of 
Waupaca; William E., a well-known agri- 
culturist of Farmington township; Charles, 
a farmer of Dayton township; and Mary H., 
who died at the age of three years and ten 
months, while her father was in the army. 
The last two were born in the Badger State. 

Mr. Emmons manifested his loyalty to 
the government by enlisting January 16, 
1862, in Lanark township. Portage county, 
as a member of Company G, Fourteenth 
Wisconsin V. I. The regiment went to 
Fond du Lac, then to Madison and Benton 
Barracks, St. Louis, after which the troops 
took part in the second battle of Corinth, 
the siege of Vicksburg, the battle of Shiloh, 
and the Red River expedition. The winter 
of 1863-4 was passed in Vicksburg. On 
the 13th of July, following, while guarding 
the wagon trains, Mr. Emmons was wounded 
in the left side and right hip, was taken a 
prisoner by General Forrest's men and sent 
to Mobile on a flat-car. He suffered in- 
tensely, and was in great danger of bleeding 
to death. From Mobile he was sent up the 
Alabama river to Cahaba, Ala., where a 
large cotton warehouse had been trans- 
formed into a prison, and there he was con- 
fined for nine months, suffering all the hard- 
ships that were inflicted upon the Union 
captives by the Southern prison-keepers. 
He had to tear up his only shirt in order to 
dress his wounds. He with others was trans- 
ferred March 7, 1865, to Camp Fisk, four 
miles from Vicksburg, that they might be fed 
by their own soldiers, and about the 20th of 
April, he was there e.xchanged and sent to 
Benton Barracks. On the 17th of May he 
was honorably discharged at Madison. 

Mr. Emmons is a stanch Republican, 
has served as supervisor of Dayton township 
for many years, and took an active part in 
laying out the roads and in developing that 
locality. He and his wife are prominent 
members of the Methodist Church. Mr. 
Emmons is numbered among the honored 
pioneers, the valued citizens and the noble 
boys in blue, who valiantly followed the stars 
and stripes while the Union was imperilled. 



658 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 



FRED FUCHS, son of John and 
Catharine (Rau) Fuchs, and one of 
the progressive citizens of Marion, 
Dupont township, Waupaca Co., 
Wis., was born in 1854 in Ozaukee county, 
Wis., reared to farm hfe in Fond du Lac, 
Fond du Lac county, and educated in the 
common schools. He made his home with 
his parents until of age, and was of much 
assistance to his father, turning over to him 
his wages until he was twenty-five years old. 
On March 13, 1878, Fred Fuchs was 
united in marriage with Miss Catharine Pet- 
rie, and seven children have been born to 
them: Ella (deceased), Charles, William, 
Fred, Edward, John and Catharine. Mrs. 
Fuchs is a daughter of Jacob and Catharine 
(Tine) Petric, who were both born in Ger- 
many and were the parents of the following 
named children: Jacob; Catharine, now 
Mrs. Fuchs; Lena, now Mrs. Claus; Mahl, 
of Shawano, Shawano Co. , Wis.; Henry, of 
New Cassel, Fond du Lac Co., Wis.; Bena, 
now Mrs. Elmer Jackson, of Omaha, Neb. ; 
Lizzie, now Mrs. F"red Miller, of Omaha, 
Neb. ; Paulina, Minnie, John, Mary, and 
Lewis. Jacob Petrie, father of Mrs. Fuchs, 
was a butcher in Germany, came to America 
when a young man, married in Wisconsin, 
and was engaged in farming. Later he 
came to New Cassel, Fond du Lac county, 
where he died in March, 1891. His widow 
still resides there on the old homestead, with 
the younger children. 

After his marriage Mr. Fuchs bought 
forty acres of partly-improved land, on 
which he lived for three years. Then he 
rented his farm and came to Marion, Du- 
pont township, Waupaca county, engaged 
in work for a pump manufactory, sold pumps 
one year, then went to Hunting, Shawano 
county, and remained nearly two years, en- 
gaged in a saloon and store business. He 
then sold out to Arnold Wheeler, returned 
to Marion, built a harness shop, sold his 
farm, met with reverses, losing about three 
thousand dollars, and then rented. Later 
he went to Split Rock, Shawano county, 
built a hotel and saloon, and cleared six 
thousand dollars. He then rented his prop- 
erty, returned to Marion, bought and re- 
paired the place he now owns, sold the 



place at Split Rock, Wis., and has since 
been engaged in the saloon and hotel busi- 
ness at Marion. He also owns an eighty- 
acre farm adjoining Marion. Politically Mr. 
Fuchs has supported both the Democratic 
and the Republican parties. He is a mem- 
ber of Lodge No. 256, I. O. O. F. , in 
Marion. 



PAUL H. MEYER, one of the promi- 
nent business men of Washington 
township, Shawano county, was born 
in Cappeln, Schleswig-Holstein, Ger- 
many, January 15, 1854, and is a son of 
Hermann and Adele (Hennsingsen) Meyer, 
who were born in Germany, and died there 
some years ago. Hermann Meyer was a 
druggist, and followed that occupation until 
his death. 

Paul H. Meyer received a good education 
in his native place, and at the age of twenty 
sailed from Hamburg for the United States 
on the steamer "Hammonia," landing at 
New York, and thence coming direct to New 
Holstein, Calumet Co., Wis., where he 
worked at almost anything he could find to 
do. In the fall of 1873 he went to Sey- 
mour, Outagamie county, and was there 
employed in sawmills and in a hub and spoke 
factory. Subsequently he started a saloon 
in Seymour, carried it on for two years, then 
sold out, 'and took a pleasure trip to his na- 
tive land, being absent some six months. 
After his return to the United States he em- 
barked in mercantile business in Cecil, Wash- 
ington township, Shawano county, with W. 
C. Zachow and others, continuing as a 
partner in this firm for eight years, at the 
end of which time he disposed of his inter- 
est. Since then he has given nearly his en- 
tire attention to the management of the 
gristmill which the Stelling Bros, had for- 
merly erected, and of which Mr. Meyer is 
now chief owner. The company is known 
as the Cecil Milling Company. 

Mr. Meyer was united in marriage in 
Seymour, Outagamie Co., Wis., May 18, 
1877, with Miss Mary Zachow, who was 
l)orn in Greenville, Outagamie county, March 
12, i860, and they have had four children, 
all yet at home, as follows: Herman, now 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



659 



(August, 1895) seventeen years of age; Ida, 
aged twelve; Charles, aged eight, and Will- 
iam, aged four months. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer 
are both members of the Evangelical Lu- 
theran Church at Cecil. In politics he is a 
strong Democrat, but he has never sought 
political office. He is an intelligent man, 
well read, of pleasing address, is honored 
and respected, and has many friends. 



GEORGE H. FRAZER, a leading 
citizen of Lessor township, Shawano 
county, was born in New York City 
May 30, 1844, a son of Henry P. 
and Jane (Moyston) Frazer, who were both 
born in Ireland, in the year 1805. 

Henry P. Frazer was a civil engineer in 
Ireland, and engaged in mercantile pursuits 
in New York until 1846, when he abandoned 
that and took up farming, which he ever 
afterward followed. There were the fol- 
lowing children in the family: James, now 
in Brooklyn, N. Y. , where he is a contractor, 
has a wife and large family, and is a very 
successful man; Isabella, married to Andrew 
H. Frazer, a distant relative, who was 
killed by a boiler e.xplosion on the Saginaw 
river in 1861 (she now lives with her 
brother George H.); William S., who is 
living in Vinland, Winnebago Co., Wis., 
engaged in farming, which he has always 
followed with gratifying success, married and 
had one daughter, Carrie, who died at the 
ageof fifteen years (his wife died in January, 
1895); Margaret S., widow of Orin Pebbles, 
of Stephensville, Outagamie Co., Wis., who 
was an early settler of that place, following 
farming there until he enlisted in the Civil 
war, and dying in 1889 from disabilities 
originating while he was in the service (he 
left a wife and five children — Charles, 
Jennie, Lottie, George and Nellie; Mrs. 
Pebbles is still living on the homestead in 
Stephensville); Annie J., wife of Henry P. 
Walrath (they have three children — Minnie 
(Mrs. Harry Ditzel, of Bay City, Mich.), 
Harry P. and Edith; (Mr. Walrath is a 
merchant in Seymour, Ontagamie Co. , Wis. , 
and was by occupation a sawfiler in saw- 
mills); Mary G., first married to John 
Murshgraves, who was killed in the war of 



the Rebellion, leaving one daughter, Jennie 
(Mrs. John F. Johnson, of Angelica town- 
ship, Shawano county, who has one son, 
Harris ].), and for her second husband mar- 
ried J. Gardiner, of Angelica township; and 
George H., the subject proper of these lines. 

Henry P. Frazer and his wife left New 
York City in 1846, and went with their 
family upon a farm in Lewis county, N. Y. , 
where he bought some hundred acres of 
land, mostly in a primitive condition, on 
which stood a log house about 18 .\ 20 feet, 
in which they made their beginning. There 
were some four acres cleared, and this 
work was continued at the expense, to some 
extent, of the education of the younger 
children. By the help of his boys Mr. 
Frazer made a home, and they lived there 
until about 1855, when, having sold the 
farm, they moved to Saginaw, Mich., 
and remained there some time. Mr. Frazer, 
being crippled, did nothing; his eldest son 
was in Brooklyn, N. Y., and George H. 
Frazer worked in the machine shop in 
Saginaw, Mich., when, in 1861, the parents 
left that place and retnoved to Stephens- 
ville, Outagamie Co., Wis. At that time 
Appleton was the terminus of the Chicago 
& North Western railway. Buying twenty- 
five acres of land, they lived there four years, 
when Mr. Frazer sold out and returned to 
Saginaw, Mich., and there he and his wife 
spent the remainder of their lives, he dy- 
ing in 1872, she in 1893, at the advanced 
age of ninety-five years. 

When George H. Frazer was two years 
old his parents removed to the farm in Lewis 
county, N. Y., and he was early accustomed 
to hard labor. He left home in Stephens- 
ville in 1864, and enlisted in Company A, 
First Wis. V. C, was mustered into service 
in Green Bay, Wis., and was sent with his 
command to Nashville, Tenn., then farther 
south, participating in active service from 
that time. This regiment and the Fourth 
Michigan had the honor of capturing Jeffer- 
son Davis. The First Wis. V. C. were en- 
gaged in several regular battles, and had 
numerous skirmishes. Mr. Frazer was wound- 
ed at Hopkinsville, Ky. , and was laid up in 
hospital. They were discharged at Nash- 
ville, Tenn., in June, 1865, at the close of 



66o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



the war, and Mr. Frazercame back to Osh- 
kosh, and was in the employ of farmers un- 
til the time of his marriage. 

On April 6, 1869, George H. Frazer 
married Lomanda C. Clark, who was born 
in Vinland, Winnebago Co., Wis., February 
II, 1850, and they have reared a family of 
nine children, as follows: George C, at 
home; Darwin A., farmer of Vinland, Wis.; 
Anna J., who is engaged in Church work in 
the Deaconess Home in Milwaukee; James 
W. , a carpenter, at home; Bessie May, 
Daisy Belle, and Verna Vane, all at home; 
a daughter that died in infancy; Kittie V. 
W., who died at the age of five years. The 
parents of Mrs. George H. F"razer, George 
and Catherine fBaird) Clark, were from Lin- 
colnshire, England, and Ireland, respectively. 
Mr. Clark, who was a farmer, came about 
the year 1846 to Wisconsin, bought a tract 
of land, opened it up and cleared a home. 
They had five daughters, namely: Elizabeth, 
wife of Robert Small, a farmer of Oshkosh 
township, Winnebago county, who was a 
soldier in the war of the Rebellion; Mary, 
wife of William Crowfoot, a farmer of Maple 
Grove township, Shawano county, who was 
also a soldier in the Civil war; Lomanda C, 
Mrs. Frazer; Rebecca A., wife of Loran 
Pennock, of Scottsville, Ky., owner of a 
spoke factory; and Ellen, Mrs. Andrew An- 
derson, of Vinland, Wis., who is living on 
the homestead, her mother living with them 
at the age of eighty years. The father died 
April 5, 1872, aged sixty-two years; he was 
a large man, weighing 280 pounds. 

Mr. Frazer came with a team and wagon 
from Vinland to Shawano county, locating 
here in what is now Lessor township, and 
took up 160 acres of land, a part of which 
he still owns. The journey took fi\e da}'s. 
There were no roads when he came, and he 
cut his own road to the farm, and afterward 
helped to cut many of the other roads here. 
He built a frame house, i8.\24 feet, in 
which they started their new life, and com- 
menced to clear a home for himself, work- 
ing the first year with only an axe and a 
grub-hoe, for he had no team. This went 
on, and he soon had crops, so that the land 
became of some assistance as a means of 
support. He paid twenty-two cents a pound 



for salt pork, and nine dollars a barrel for 
flour. Mr. Frazer did his first threshing 
with a flail, and eight cents a bushel was 
the charge made for threshing oats by the 
first machine, and ten cents for wheat. 
When he came here there were only four 
settlers in the township, which was then a 
part of Waukechon, and at the first vote in 
the township there were only seventeen 
voters. Mr. Frazer's eldest daughter, Anna, 
was the first white child born in the town- 
ship. The little hamlet of Frazer, as well 
as the postoffice of that name, were named 
in honor of Mr. Frazer, he being the first 
settler in that place. Through the united 
efforts of himself and his noble wife, Mr. 
Frazer has made a fine home out of the 
wilderness, and has not only seen the many 
improvements made in the vicinity, but has 
also been instrumental in securing them. 
To-day he has 120 acres of land, of which 
some seventy are cleared, and he has carried 
on general agriculture, for seventeen years 
also operating a threshing machine. In 
1876 he was burned out, with a loss of some 
five hundred dollars. Mr. Frazer is a mem- 
ber of Seymour Lodge, I. O. O. F. Polit- 
ically he is a Republican, and has always 
supported that party. In 1892 he was 
chosen, at Milwaukee, as one of the dele- 
gates to attend the National convention held 
at Omaha, Neb. He was the first chairman 
of Lessor township, holding the office four 
years, has been town clerk, town treasurer 
three years, assessor one year, and justice 
of the peace continuously since the town 
was organized, holding that office at the 
present time. At present he is erecting 
one of the most sightly and commodious 
farm houses in the county. 



M 



ILTON HICKS, a representative 
agriculturist of Farmington town- 
ship, Waupaca county, and an 
honored veteran of the war of the 
Rebellion, was born in Auburn, N. Y., Oc- 
tober 19, 1835. His father, Roswell Hicks, 
was born amid the Catskill Mountains of the 
Empire State, August 7, 1808, and was a 
son of John Hicks, a life-long school-teacher, 
who followed his chosen profession until 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



66 1 



after he had passed his seventieth year. He 
was also an expert mathematician, and could 
solve easily the most difficult problems. 
He married Esther Gleason, and they reared 
a large family. They were devout mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church, and in his po- 
litical views Mr. Hicks was a Whig. He 
was a man of about five feet seven inches in 
height, and weighed about 1 50 pounds. 
His entire life was devoted to educational 
work, and both he and his wife died and 
were buried in Cattaraugus county. New 
York. 

Roswell Hicks was the fourth son and 
seventh child in the family. When a youth 
of si.xteen he began learning the carpenter's 
trade in Auburn, N. Y. , and for many years 
followed that occupation. At the age of 
twenty-five he was married, in Cayuga 
county, N. Y. , to Elizabeth Townsend, who 
was born on the Hudson, opposite Sing 
Sing, N. Y. , August 29, 1812. Her par- 
ents, Darius and Abigail (Paddock) Town- 
send, were of Scotch e.xtraction. When she 
was a child of four summers they removed 
to Cayuga county, and her father worked 
on the Erie canal. For a time Mr. and 
Mrs. Hick lived in Auburn, where he fol- 
lowed carpentering, and then removed to a 
farm in Onondaga county, where he worked 
at his trade, while his wife kept boarders. 
He was afterward employed in Liverpool, 
N. Y. , and in the autumn of 1843 removed 
with his family to Wisconsin, traveling by 
way of the Welland canal to Oswego, and 
thence on the schooner " Wilcox " to Mil- 
waukee, reaching his destination after four 
weeks. In that year the father of our sub- 
ject worked at his trade for six 3'ears, during 
which time he secured a home, which, how- 
ever, he in 1849 traded for a quarter-section 
of land in Columbia county. Wis. It was 
his intention to locate on that farm, but was 
persuaded by a Mr. Jones to come to Wau- 
paca county. There were no railroads here 
at the time, and the father hauled his goods 
in a wagon drawn by oxen. There were 
only two buildings in the city of Waupaca, 
but Constantine Sessions, W. G. Cooper 
and William and Joseph Hibbard, all had 
houses in course of construction. While 
Mr. Hicks searched for a location his family 



lived in a small hut built up against some 
rocks, and were forced to hang quilts around 
the sides for protection from the cold. At 
length he secured 209 acres of land in Sec- 
tions 22 and 27, a log house was built, and 
he made the first improvements upon the 
place. He was the first man to manufac- 
ture a plow in Farmington township, secur- 
ing the iron in Berlin and making the wood 
part himself. For a time they ground their 
wheat in a coffee-mill, but afterward did 
their milling at Plover, Wis., twenty-five 
miles distant. The family endured many 
hardships and privations, and at one time 
in the winter were three days without afire; 
but they at length secured a comfortable 
home, and a good competence supplied them 
with all the necessaries and many of the 
lu.xuries of life. In the early days after a 
road was made, Mr. Hicks followed teaming 
between Waupaca and Ripon, but subse- 
quently gave his entire attention to farming. 
For some years before his death he was an 
invalid, and, for twenty months before her 
demise, his wife was also perfectly helpless, 
yet they retained their mental faculties to 
the last. The father passed away in Feb- 
ruary, 1885, the mother on August 7, 1894. 
They were consistent members of the Bap- 
tist Church; in early life he was a Whig, 
supporting William Henry Harrison, subse- 
quently becoming a stanch Republican. 

In the family there were three children 
— Milton, of this sketch; Eliza, wife of Hiram 
Clemens who died at Memphis, while a sol- 
dier of the Union army (she afterward mar- 
ried Willard Scoville, an army comrade of 
her first husband, and her death occurred in 
Arlington, S. Dak., in 1862); Laura became 
the wife of Samuel Amy, who also died at 
Memphis, Tenn., while in the army, and 
she is now the wife of John Johnson, of 
Mantorville, Dodge Co., Minnesota. 

Milton Hicks began his education in the 
district schools of New York, which he at- 
tended until nine years of age, and com- 
pleted it in the more advanced schools of 
Milwaukee. After coming to Waupaca 
county, he did not continue his studies, for 
the privileges here afforded were of a very 
poor quality. At the age of fifteen he be- 
gan working as a farm hand through the 



662 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



summer months, and in the winter season 
was employed in the himber woods. On 
September 4, 1861, in Chicago, he enlisted 
in Company K, Thirty-ninth 111. V. I. 
(Yates Phalanx). He was desirous of join- 
ing the Eastern Department, and as the 
Wisconsin troops had all been assigned to 
the Western Department, he went to Chi- 
cago to enlist. The regiment was sent to 
St. Louis, and after two weeks spent at 
Benton Barracks, joined Gen. Banks' di- 
vision of the Army of the Potomac at Will- 
iamsport, Md. The first engagement of 
note in which be participated, was at Win- 
chester, and he was with his command in 
all of its battles until, the war having closed, 
he was mustered out at Norfolk, Va. , and 
honorably discharged at Springfield, 111., 
December 16, 1865. He was present at 
the surrender of Lee, and was then sta- 
tioned at Richmond, doing guard duty, so 
that he did not participate in the grand re- 
view. After his first term had expired, he 
re-enlisted at Hilton Head, Ga. , January i, 
1864, and during the entire four years was 
never off duty for a single day. 

While at home on furlough, Mr. Hicks 
was married March 3, 1864, in Portage 
county, to Almeda M. Bostwick, daughter 
of Henry and Eliza Ann (Taylor) Bostwick. 
She was born July 5, 1840, in Malone, 
Franklin Co., N. Y., and came with her 
parents to Waupaca county at the age of 
fifteen. After his return from the war they 
located upon their present farm, which was 
the old Hicks homestead, and which has 
since been their place of abode. He now 
owns 204 acres of good land, which he has 
placed under a high state of cultivation, 
transforming it from an unbroken tract into 
rich and fertile fields. He has lived here 
since an early day, when wild game of all 
kinds was plentiful, and when the Chippewa 
Indians still fished in the lake near his 
home. His pleasant abode has been blessed 
with four children : Francis M. , who is now a 
farmer of Farmington township; and Arthur 
G., Nellie and William M., who are still 
with their parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hicks hold membership 
with the Methodist Church, and since cast- 
ing his first Presidential vote for John C. 



Fremont, he has been a stanch supporter of 
the Republican party and its principles. 
He was elected justice of the peace, but 
failed to qualify, caring nothing for office. 
He belongs to Garfield Post, No. 21, G. A. 
R. , of Waupaca, and takes great delight in 
meeting with old army comrades. During 
his career as a soldier he was of great as- 
sistance to his associates, for his knowledge 
of roots and herbs made it possible for him 
to often supply them with medicine. Prob- 
ably no private of the Thirty-ninth Illinois 
was as well known in the regiment as he, 
and to his care and watchful nursing many 
of his comrades owe their lives. His loyalty 
to his country was never questioned, and he 
has ever manifested the same fidelity to his 
duties of citizenship in times of peace as 
when upon Southern battlefields he followed 
the stars and stripes to victory. 



WALTER C. BALDWIN. Among 
the younger busisress men of Wau- 
paca the deeds of Mr. Baldwin 
shine with resplendent luster. 
Many men have risen to wealth and promi- 
nence in Wisconsin through the development 
of her great lumber interests, but not so 
with Mr. Baldwin. He has cut out for 
himself a niche in the material advance- 
ment of this section as a man of one idea. 
He is a prospering merchant, but only in a 
single line. He is an extensive buyer, but he 
confines his purchases to the one line of pota- 
toes. There are regions in Wisconsin famous 
for the bountiful production of this tuber. 
Mr. Baldwin, has, bj- organizing facilities for 
handling and marketing this crop, greatly 
benefited the many growers, and, it is per- 
haps needless to add, himself as well. 

Our subject was born Januar}' 18, i860, 
in lola, Waupaca county, and is a son of 
Milton R. Baldwin, who was born in 1830 
near Batavia, N. Y. , and when six years old 
removed to Waupaca. Young Walter was 
educated in the schools of Waupaca, and 
when seventeen years of age he entered a 
drug store, remaining nearly five years. He 
quit the drug trade in the fall of 1881 to en- 
ter business for himself as a buyer of pota- 
toes. It is sufficient evidence of the success 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



663 



of this new enterprise that, with the excep- 
tion of one and a half years, when he owned 
and operated a gristmill, Mr. Baldwin has 
ever since been engaged in this business. 
He is one of the heaviest buyers in the 
State, and ni 1889 he opened a general office 
in Chicago. Since then he has divided his 
time between that city and Waupaca. Mr. 
Baldwin was married, in May, 1883, to 
Kate Dayton, a native of Waupaca county, 
and a daughter of \\'illiam and Tealia (Ran- 
dall) Dayton. They have one child, Alice. 
In politics Mr. Baldwin is a stanch Republi- 
can. He is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias. Commencing with a capital of but 
ten dollars, his life illustrates the possibili- 
ties of ability and pluck unaided by financial 
backing, for, by the former qualities, Mr. 
Baldwin has built up a splendid business and 
accumulated a modest fortune. 



AL. HUTCHINSON, of Weyauwega, 
one of the ablest and most active 
members of the bar of Waupaca 
count}', was born in January, 1859, 
in the town where he now practices, and was 
a son of Debius and Mary (Baldwin) Hutch- 
inson. 

The father of our subject was born June 
21, 1 8 10, in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , a 
son of Joseph Hutchinson, a native of Lynn, 
Mass. , who migrated to New York State. 
The marriage of Debius and Mary Hutchin- 
son occurred in 1835 in Canada, the bride 
being a native of Canton, St. Lawrence Co., 
N. Y. He was a carpenter by trade, and 
migrated to Battle Creek, Mich., later, in 
1847, to Milwaukee, in 1849 to Oshkosh, 
and in 1856 to Weyauwega, at each point 
working at his trade and also following team- 
ing, an acti\e business in those ante-railroad 
days, carrying goods from Gill's Landing to 
Waupaca, Stevens Point and other destina- 
tions. In 1862 he moved to Royalton town- 
ship, Waupaca county, and there opened 
up a farm. His wife died there in 1881, 
after a patient illness of twelve years, and 
Mr. Hutchinson now lives with his son, A. 
L., at Weyauwega, at the ripe old age of 
eighty-five years. He has been prominent 
in local affairs, was a member of the first 



board of trustees of Weyauwega, and twice 
treasurer of Ro_\'alton township. Early in 
life he was a Democrat, but is now a Re- 
publican. His two children, Frances M. 
and A. L. , both reside at Weyauwega. 

A. L. Hutchinson grew to manhood in 
Royalton township, where he was inured to 
the stimulating toil of farm life, and where, 
in the district schools, he received his edu- 
cation. In 1880 he began reading law in 
the office of Byron E. Vankeuren, at Osh- 
kosh, and the following spring he was ad- 
mitted to practice. The young lawyer at 
once opened an office at Weyauwega. In 
1882 he was appointed postmaster bj' Tim- 
othy Howe, and kept charge of the local 
mails until relieved by President Cleveland 
in October, 1885, when he resumed more 
actively the partially interrupted practice 
of his profession. In 1886, he was elected 
district attorney, and re-elected in 1888, 
serving until 1890. Besides the practice of 
his profession, Mr. Hutchinson does a real- 
estate business, and has also dipped into 
journalism. Associated with Dr. E. H. 
Jones, he has been publishing the American 
Medical and Legal Exchange Bureau, a bi- 
monthly bulletin, the fifteen hundred copies 
of which circulate widely throughout the 
United States and Canada, and even across 
the ocean to England. 

In 1884, Mr Hutchinson was married, 
at Van Buren, Jackson Co., Iowa, to Miss 
Ada L. Baldwin, a native of that countjiand 
daughter of Dorsen and Jane (Swaney) Bald- 
win, who were early Iowa pioneer farmers, 
the father hailing from St. Lawrence coun- 
ty, N. Y. , and the mother being a native of 
Ohio. She died in 1 890. The children of 
Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson are Raymond 
(aged nine years), Hubert (six years), and 
Earle (four years). In 1886, Mr. Hutchin- 
son associated in partnership with Dr. J. F. 
Corbett, in the publication of the Weyau- 
wega Chronicle, and three years later he 
subleased it for four years, conducting the 
paper during that period. He was a dele- 
gate to the National Editorial Convention at 
San Antonio, Texas, in 1888, and after the 
convention made an extensive trip through 
Mexico, visiting the City of Mexico and 
many points of interest. In 1892, he was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



an alternate delegate to the National Republi- 
can Convention at Minneapolis. He has been 
appointed delegate to State and county 
Republican conventions, has served as mem- 
ber of town council and as justice of the peace. 
Having been born and reared in the county 
of his present residence, he has lived through 
its period of development, and is warmly at- 
tached to its every public interest. 



JAMES PIERCE, one of the honored 
pioneers of Portage county, and who 
made his home in Plover for almost 
forty years, departed this life April 
28, 1895, regretted by all who knew him. 
He was a native of the Empire State, 
born in Steuben county, June 18, 1828, 
and a son of James and Eleanor (Dailey) 
Pierce, the former a native of Massa- 
chusetts, and the latter of Steuben county, 
N. Y. The name was originally spelled 
"Puree," and the paternal grandfather, 
Benjamin Puree, was a descendant of a 
gentleman by that name who came to this 
countryin the "Mayflower." Thegrandfather 
was killed in the battle of Lexington during 
the Revolution, in which war the maternal 
grandfather, Silas Dailey, also served. James 
Pierce, Sr. was but two-and-a-half years old 
at the time of his father's death, and on the 
birth of our subject had reached the age of 
fifty-six. There were seven children in his 
fanyly: Amelia, Lucinda and Henriette are 
all deceased; Martha, the widow of Robert 
D. Roberts, now makes her home in Plover, 
Wis. ; Theodosia has passed away; our sub- 
ject is next in order of birth; and Lucretia 
is also deceased. 

James Pierce, Jr., was but fourteen years 
of age when his father died, and with the un- 
married children made his home with his 
mother. In New York he learned the trades 
of a shoemaker and mason, which he after- 
ward followed to a limited extent through- 
out his entire life. In 1855 he started west- 
ward, and on reaching Sheboygan, Wis., 
took a stage to Fond du Lac, thence to Gill's 
Landing on the Wolf river. He arrived in 
Stevens Point on the 23d of September, 
1855, where he worked at the mason's trade, 
but did not permanently locate until the ar- 



rival of his family in June, 1856. Mr. Pierce 
had been previously married in 1849, Miss 
Jane Allen becoming his wife. She was 
born near Syracuse, N. Y. , and is a daugh- 
ter of Stephen Allen. By this union have 
been born two children — M. F. ,and James W. 

When the family reached Wisconsin Mr. 
Pierce located in Plover, where he was em- 
ployed as a mason until August, 1864, when 
he enlisted for service in the Union army, 
becoming a member of Compan}- D, Fifth 
Wis. V. I., and was mustered in at Madison, 
Wis. He was in several skirmishes, but the 
first important engagement in which he par- 
ticipated was at Hatcher's Run, \'a. , where 
he was disabled and sent to the hospital, re- 
maining there for five months. On the ex- 
piration of that time he returned home with 
his health greatly impaired. To merchandis- 
ing he then devoted his attention for some 
twelve years, when he retired from the busi- 
ness, and afterward lived a quiet life. At 
the time of his death his property consisted 
of two farms, one of 1 10 acres and the other 
of thirty-three and a half acres, which is cut 
by the railroad. These were rented out. 
Mr. Pierce always took an active interest in 
the development and progress of this local- 
ity, and was numbered among Portage coun- 
ty's most highly respected citizens. In polit- 
ical matters he always cast his vote with the 
Democratic party. 

M. F. Pierce, a son of James Pierce, was 
born in Allegany, N. Y. , on October 17, 1850. 
In June, 1S56, he was brought by his mother 
to Plover, Portage county, where his father 
had previously come to find a location. In the 
common schools of this place he acquired his 
education, but on reaching the age of four- 
teen years he began working, and since that 
time has provided for his own maintenance. 
He was employed in the lumber woods during 
the winter, and in the spring worked on the 
river, which pursuits he followed until reach- 
ing his majority, when he became a clerk for 
J. B. Winslow, remaining in his employ for 
four years. In the spring of 1876, in con- 
nection with his father, he opened a grocery 
store, carrying a stock worth $500, and con- 
tinued in that business for three years, when 
our subject sold out to his father. He then 
bought the furniture store belonging to J. D. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



665 



Whitney, which he conducted alone for one 
year, when he sold a half interest to W. B. 
Shepherd, but the following spring bought 
out his partner. In the spring of 1880 he 
purchased a drug store, which he still owns, 
and in 1890 added a stock of groceries. He 
is now doing a successful business, and is 
one of the leading merchants of Plover. 

On the 5th of December, 1875, Mr. Pierce 
was united in marriage with Miss Eva Wil- 
mot, who was born in Plover, Wis., Decem- 
ber 8, 1856, and was a daughter of G. L. 
and Dorcas (England) Wilmot. She has 
one brother, Fred G., who is a resident of 
Plover, and has a family of two children, 
Eva and John, both at school. To our sub- 
ject and his estimable wife were born three 
children, Wilmot J., born February 21, 1877; 
Frank G., born May 10, 1879; and Law- 
rence E., born December 23, 1892. The 
children have been given good educational 
advantages, and Frank is now attending 
school at Stevens Point, Wis. Mr. Pierce 
has been called upon to mourn the loss of 
his wife, who passed away on the 21st of 
January, 1893, at the time when her young- 
est son was only four weeks old. She was 
only ill for about six days, and her sudden 
death caused the deepest grief throughout 
the community, where she was loved and 
respected by all. 

Mr. Pierce is a firm Democrat in poli- 
tics, and has served his fellow-citizens as 
town treasurer during the years of i 879 and 
1880. With the Methodist Episcopal Church 
he holds membership. He has watched with 
the warmest interest the growth of his 
adopted county, and no man is more cheer- 
ful in responding to the calls for assistance 
in those enterprises calculated for its ad- 
vancement. He is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging 
to Plover Lodge No. 80, which was the fir.st 
lodge instituted in upper Wisconsin, and 
which was organized in 1854. 



WILLIAM A. BESSEKDICH is a 
member of the well-known and 
enterprising firm of Zachow & Bes- 
serdich, which constitutes the Clin- 
tonville Machine Company, dealers in all 



kinds of machinery at Clintonville, Wis. 
They also do all kinds of machine repairing, 
and have carried on business along this line 
since 1891, when was erected their present 
store building, which was opened to the 
public on the first of January, 1892. The 
shop is equipped with all kinds of machinery 
and first-class work is turned out, so that the 
public grants them a liberal patronage. 

Mr. Besserdich came to Clintonville from 
Appleton, Wis., and has the honor of being 
a native of this State, for his birth occurred 
in Milwaukee, in 1867. His parents, August 
and Hannah (Busse) Besserdich, were both 
natives of Germany, the former born in 
Mechlenburg, the latter in Prussia. When 
twenty years of age, August Besserdich had 
crossed the Atlantic, locating in Milwaukee, 
where he later met and married Miss Busse, 
who had resided in this country from the 
age of twelve years. He located at Iron 
Ridge, Wis., where he worked in a stave 
factory for a time, and then remo\ed to a 
farm in Kewaunee county. He afterward 
returned to his old home, then again went 
to Kewaunee county, and in 1867 removed 
to Appleton, Wis., where he engaged in 
contracting and building, following that 
trade until his retirement from active busi- 
ness life. He and his wife are still living in 
Appleton, and are numbered among its 
highly esteemed citizens. Of their "six chil- 
dren, five are yet living, namely: Anna, wife 
of Otto Zachow, the senior member of" the 
Clintonville Machine Company; Eliza, wife 
of Herman Peotter, of Appleton; William, of 
this sketch; Etta and Hilda, also of Apple- 
ton. Gusta, the fifth child, died at the age 
of four years. 

Mr. Besserdich, whose name opens this 
record, was reared in Appleton, ac(]uired his 
education in its public schools, and there 
learned the trade of a machinist, beginning 
work along that line in i 884, with the firm 
of Morgan & Bassett. He afterward secured 
a position in the shops of the Chicago & 
North Western railroad at Kaukauna, \\''\s., 
where he continued seven months, when he 
began work in the Central shops in Wau- 
kesha, Wis. There he remained for about 
the same length of time, when he secured a 
position at Denver, Col., in the shops of the 



666 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Union Pacific Railroad Company. He also 
worked in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Topeka, 
Kans., and the Indian Territor\-, after which 
he went to Milwaukee, and subsequently 
was emplo\ed for two and a half years in 
the shops in Appleton, Wis. Coming thence 
to Clintonville, he has since engaged in 
business on his own account, and is meeting 
with excellent success. 

Mr. Besserdich was married in Appleton 
in June, 1890, to Miss Ida Siberlich, who 
was born in Ellington township, Outagamie 
Co., \\'is. , and is a daughter of Henry Siber- 
lich, a pioneer of that count}', now living a 
retired life in Appleton. To them have been 
born two daughters, Erma and Edna. Mr. 
Besserdich takes quite an active interest in 
political affairs, and supports the Republican 
party. He is now serving as alderman from 
the First ward, and is a capable and trust- 
worthy oiBcer. Socially, he is a member of 
Clintonville Lodge, No. 314, I. O. O. F., in 
which he has filled all the offices, and also 
belongs to the Order of Modern Woodmen, 
and to the A. P. A. 



OTTO ZACHOW is numbered among 
Wisconsin's native sons, and was 
born in Greenville, Outagamie coun- 
ty, in 1862. His parents, John and 
Augusta (Tischer) Zachow, were natives of 
Mechlenburg and Prussia, German}-, respect- 
ively. When about eighteen years of age 
the father sought a home in the New World, 
locating first in Toledo, Ohio, whence he 
went to Outagamie county, in 1853. He 
settled on a farm in Greenville township, 
and about five years later removed to a farm 
in Center township, where he carried on 
agricultural pursuits for some years. His 
next land was located in Grand Chute town- 
ship, and there he made his home until 
called to his final rest, in 1891. His wife 
still survives him, and is now living in Ap- 
pleton, Wis. They reared a family of ten 
children, as follows: William, who now re- 
sides in Milwaukee; Otto, whose name in- 
troduces this article; John, who is employed 
in the paper mills of Kimberly, Wis. ; Fred, 
a carpenter of Appleton; August, who died 



in Grand Chute in 1878; Henry, Anna, 
Lena, Ida and August, all of Appleton. 

Otto Zachow was reared to agricultural 
pursuits in Outagamie county, and in the 
schools of Grand Chute township acquired 
his education. He learned and followed 
the blacksmith's trade in Appleton, Wis., 
and afterward worked in a machine shop at 
that place; subsequently he removed to 
Kaukauna, Wis. , where he was employed 
in a blacksmith shop of the Union Pulp 
Company. Upon his return to Appleton he 
was employed for about two years by others, 
and then engaged in blacksniithing on his 
own account for about a year, after which 
his place of residence was changed to Hur- 
ley, Wis., where he was employed in a 
smith}'. In 1887 he opened a shop in Bes- 
semer, Wis., where he continued until his 
removal to Clintonville. 

\\'hile in Appleton, Wis., Mr. Zachow 
was married in 1882, the lady of his choice 
being Miss Anna Besserdich, by whom he 
has two children, Meta and Clarence. They 
have a wide acquaintance in this community, 
and their friendship is most prized by those 
who know them best. Mr. Zachow exer- 
cises his right of franchise in support of the 
Republican party, and socially he is con- 
nected with the Modern Woodmen and the 
American Protecti\ e Association. He also 
holds membership with the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, and his well-spent life, on 
which evil has cast no shadow, merits the 
high esteem in which he is held. He is 
serving as engineer of the fire department, 
and since 1891 has been numbered among 
the leading business men of Clintonville. 
carrying on a successful business as a mem- 
ber of the Clintonville Machine Company. 



JAMES M. JENNEY, one of Weyau- 
wega's representative farmers, came to 
the site of the village when it was a scat- 
tering settlement of ten families. That 
was in 1851, and Mr. Jenney was then a 
young carpenter twenty years of age. He 
was born in the old Bay State, and his an- 
cestors for many generations back lived and 
died in Massachusetts. Their genealogy is 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



667 



traced to John Jenney, an Englishman, who 
settled at Plymouth, Mass., in 1623. 

James M. is the son of Uavid and Han- 
nah (Jenney) Jenney, both natives of Fair 
Haven, Bristol Co., Mass., where the father 
was born in 1768 and became in after life a 
sea captain, at a time when the ocean ship- 
ping of the country was much more im- 
portant than now. David Jenney followed 
the seas, as captain of a coasting vessel, for 
sixtv years, and was captured by the English 
during the war of 1812. He died in 1S49. 
His family, by two marriages, consisted of 
twenty-one children. The first wife was 
Mary Jenney, and of their twelve children 
only one, Hannah, widow of Porterfield 
Hutchinson, of Fair Haven, Mass., is now 
living. David Jenney's second wife was 
Hannah Jenney, sister to the first wife. 
Their nine children are as follows: Thomas, 
a resident of Lind township, Waupaca Co., 
Wis., who emigrated to Fond du Lac in 
1848, and two years later moved to Weyau- 
wega, and assisted in putting in the ma- 
chinery for Weed & Co's primitive sawmill; 
Reuben, an Indiana farmer; Mary, wife of 
Luther Paul, residing in Massachusetts; 
Daniel, formerly of Weyauwega, but who 
returned to Massachusetts, and there died 
in 1 888; William, a carpenter, who came to 
Weyauwega in 1856, worked eight years for 
Knapp, Stout & Co., lived ten years in 
Royalton township, and is now a resident of 
Barron county, Wis. ; Nancy, who died in 
Massachusetts in 1847; Abram, who died in 
that State; James M., and David, the latter 
also remaining in Massachusetts until his 
death. 

James M. Jenney acquired the car- 
penter's trade in Bristol county, Mass., and 
after his arrival at Weyauwega in 1851 fol- 
lowed his trade there for some time. In 
1853 he began rafting and running lumber 
on the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers, go- 
ing as far south as St. Louis. In 1864 he 
quit the river to follow lumbering, contin- 
uing for some years. He purchased a farm 
of ninety acres which he has improved; 
eleven and a half acres are within the cor- 
poration of \N"eyauwega. He is also joint 
owner, with his son, of 1 18 acres near Gill's 
Landing. Mr. Jenney was married, in 1866, 



at Weyauwega, to Betsy Burroughs, a na- 
tive of Lincolnshire, England. They have 
one child, David. Mrs. Jenney was the 
widow of Richard Rook, and by her first 
marriage had two daughters, Lizzie, wife of 
T. F. \\'ilson, cashier of the Weyauwega 
Bank, and Fannie, teacher in the Weyau- 
wega public schools. The first vote of Mr. 
Jenney was cast in Waupaca county. In 
politics he has been a Whig and a Republi- 
can. He has served as assessor of Weyau- 
wega township, and filled other local offices. 
He has witnessed the growth of \\'aupaca 
county from the time when it was densely 
covered with pine timber, until it was de- 
veloped into fine cultivated farms. He has 
been a representative and esteemed farmer, 
and his influence and efforts have ever been 
directed in the cause of the general good. 



GABRIEL GABRIELSON is the own- 
er of one of the fine farms of Wau- 
paca township, Waupaca county, 
and has made his home thereon 
since 1876. He purchased the place in 1875, 
and the following year removed to the farm, 
to the cultivation of which he has since de- 
voted his energies. That he has succeeded 
in his work is evidenced by the well-tilled 
fields and many modern improvements which 
make this one of the valuable properties of 
the community. Our subject was born near 
Copenhagen, Denmark, May 28, 1841, and 
his father was born in the same locality in 
1802. Gabriel Gabrielson, Sr. , was a farmer 
by occupation, and when he had attained to 
years of maturity wedded Cecelia Hanson, 
by whom he had four children: Mary, who 
died in Denmark; Ciabriel, /\nna and Mag- 
gie. The father had a life lease upon a 
farm, which he operated until his death in 
1876. His widow still survives, and is living 
on the old homestead with her daughter. 
The grandfather, Gabriel Johnson, was also 
a farmer. 

Our subject, the only son of the familj-, 
was bound out when fifteen years of age to 
learn the miller's trade, serving a three- 
years' apprenticeship, during which time he 
received no compensation for his services. 
He engaged in milling during the greater 



66S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



part of the time until twenty-two j-ears of 
age, when he entered the arm}', serving for 
two and a half years in the war between 
Denmark and Germany. Being captured in 
battle by the Germans, he was taken to Aus- 
tin, where he was held for two months, 
when, the war having ended, he was dis- 
charged and sent to his home. Desiring a 
home in the land of the free, he bade adieu 
to friends and family, and in 1866 sailed for 
New York City, whence he came direct to 
Waupaca. He had no capital, and had to 
borrow the money with which to pay his 
passage. After one month's work as a farm 
hand he secured a position in a sawmill at 
Grand Rapids, where he was employed for 
three years, returning to Waupaca on the 
expiration of that period. 

In the spring of 1869 the marriage of 
Mr. Gabrielson and Miss Mary Georgson, 
who was born in Denmark on the 25th of 
October, 1847, took place. Her parents 
came to the United States in 1863, and like 
many of their countrymen sought a home in 
Wisconsin, living in Racine for one year, 
after which they came to Waupaca count\\ 
and secured a farm in Waupaca township. 
They are now living in the city of the same 
name, and are highly-respected people of 
that locality. Their children, ten in num- 
ber, are Anna D. , Carrie, Lars, Mar\', Hans, 
Hannah, Anna, John, Peter and Sarah. 
The marriage of our subject and his wife 
has been blessed with seven children, name- 
ly: Mary, Fred, Carl, Arthur, Essie, El- 
vina and Edward. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gabrielson began their do- 
mestic life in the city of Waupaca, where he 
was employed in a tannery, and in 1876 re- 
moved to their present farm, which he had 
purchased the previous year with capital ac- 
quired through his own labors. It was then 
wild land, but the work of cultivation has 
been carried on by him until, as above 
stated, it has become one of the valuable 
properties of Waupaca township. His life 
has been a busy and useful one, and in no 
degree has he slighted his business interests, 
3'et has found time to faithfully discharge 
the duties of citizenship, and has been hon- 
ored with some local offices. For five years 
he has served as a member of the town 



board of supervisors, for ten years was clerk 
of the school board, and in the councils of 
the Republican party in his neighborhood 
he has been a leader. Both he and his wife 
hold membership with the Danish Lutheran 
Church, and in social circles occup\' an en- 
viable position. 



HCAUGHELL, proprietor of the 
" Caughell House," Embarrass, is 
one -of the active and energetic 
business men of Waupaca county. 
For nearly twent\' \ears he has been a well- 
known, popular boniface in the village of 
Embarrass, and prior to his residence here 
he had opened up and operated a farm in 
Shawano county. 

Mr. Caughell was born near St. Thomas, 
County of Elgin, Province of Ontario, Can- 
ada, in March, 1 842, the son of George A. and 
Mary (Rappelagee) Caughell, both natives of 
Canada. George A. Caughell was a farmer 
and millwright by occupation, and died in St. 
Thomas, Canada, in 1853. He was the son 
of John Caughell, who was a native of New 
York, and who moved to Canada and be- 
came a pioneer settler. He was a major in 
the war of i8i2. Daniel Rappelagee, the 
father of Mrs. Mary Caughell, was the first 
settler on the site of St. Thomas, owning 
the land upon which it was subsequently 
built. He was a captain in the war of 1812. 
To George A. and Mary Caughell five chil- 
dren were born, who are now living: Henry, 
the subject of this sketch; Alonzo, proprie- 
tor of a hotel at St. Thomas, Canada; Anna, 
now Mrs. Wilson, wife of a Southern Can- 
ada railroad engineer at St. Thomas; Cath- 
erine, wife of Arthur Monroe, of St. Thomas; 
Margaret, wife of William Gilbert, a promi- 
nent business man of St. Thomas. 

The subject of this sketch was reared on 
the farm at his Canadian home, and educated 
in the schools of the district. He learned 
the trade of harness-making, but preferred 
and followed the more active vocation of 
farming. In 1862 he came to Kane coun- 
ty, 111., and for a time followed his trade, 
but returned to Canada and was there en- 
gaged in farming until the spring of 1867, 
when he emigrated to Shawano county, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



669 



Wis., and located on a farm in the woods. 
There were no roads in that section, and 
Mr. Caughell was for years engaged in the 
hardy toil of a pioneer. He remained there 
until 1876, when he removed to Embarrass. 
During the past nineteen years he has fol- 
lowed farming in connection with his hotel 
business, owning eighty-eight acres of land 
adjacent to the village. He was married in 
1868 in Shawano county to Sarah E. Conk- 
ling, who was born in New York, a daugh- 
ter of John D. and Clarissa (Hulbert) 
Conkling, natives of New York who, in 
1852, migrated to Shawano count\% and 
opened up a farm where Mr. Conkling still 
lives, his wife having died in 1890. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Caughell six children have been 
born, fi\'e of whom are now living, as fol- 
lows: Anna, wife of George Beedle, of 
Embarrass; John D., married and in busi- 
ness; George A., Alta and Harry, at home; 
one, Mamie, was drowned in the Embarrass 
river at the age of thirteen. In politics Mr. 
Caughell is a Democrat. He has served as 
constable and as supervisor of Matteson 
township for a number of years. He is an 
enterprising and influential citizen, and com- 
mands the respect of a wide circle of friends 
and acquaintances. 



JOHN CLARK (deceased) was an hon- 
ored veteran of the Civil war, and a 
highly-respected farmer of Waupaca 
county. He was born July 11, 1831, 
in Huron county, Ohio, and was a son of 
Halsey and Rebecca (De Witt) Clark. The 
mother was a native of New York, and their 
marriage was celebrated in Huron county, 
Ohio, where the father died soon after the 
birth of their only child, John. Mrs. Clark 
had previously married a Mr. Sample, and 
after being a second time left a widow be- 
came the wife of Joel Day. 

The gentleman whose name opens this 
record acquired a good education, and was 
especially apt at his studies. He possessed 
a very retentive memory, and throughout his 
life was a well-informed man. At the age 
of twenty-three he accompanied his mother 
and step-father to Wisconsin, and was em- 
ployed at lumbering and in manufacturing 



shingles for some time. On the 27th of 
April, 1856, in Parfreyville, Wis., he was 
married to Miss Jane E. Riley, the cere- 
mon}- being performed by Edmond Smith, 
justice of the peace. The lady was born in 
Covington, Luzerne Co., Penn., January 21, 
1839, and is a daughter of Elijah and Mary 
(Horton) Riley. The young couple began 
their domestic life upon a forty-acre tract of 
land in Section 12, Dayton township, the 
house having previously been erected by Mr. 
Clark. In the winter season he worked in 
the lumber woods, while in the summer 
months he carried on agricultural pursuits. 
After two years he traded that propertj- for 
eight}' acres of land in Section 2 1 of the 
same township, but afterward rented his 
farm and removed to Little Hope. 

Civil pursuits were laid aside October 
20, 1 86 1, on Mr. Clark's enlistment for serv- 
ice in the Civil war. In Waupaca, he en- 
rolled his name among " the boys in blue " 
of Company B, Fourteenth Wis. V. I. He 
then went to Fond du Lac, Wis., where the 
winter was passed, and in the spring the 
troops broke camp and started for the South. 
With his regiment, Mr. Clark participated in 
the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, luka, the 
siege of Vicksburg and others, and was in 
the commissary department at Vicksburg. 
While at Chattanooga, Tenn., he was hon- 
orably discharged on the i ithof June, 1864, 
on account of physical disability. He was 
always a faithful soldier and followed the 
starry banner wherever it led, until his 
health was broken down by the hardships of 
war. 

Mr. Clark then at once returned to his 
home in Waupaca county, and soon after 
located upon a farm in Dayton township, 
where he spent his remaining days. In con- 
nection with general farming he carried on 
well-digging, and while thus engaged met 
his death. He was employed to repair a 
well on the farm of William Toppins, of 
Waupaca township, Waupaca county. This 
was on Thursday, the 4th of May, 1882. 
He was about forty feet down when the side 
caved in upon him, and he was thus im- 
prisoned from one o'clock on Thursday until 
seven o'clock the following morning. Dur- 
insr this time men were constantlv at work 



670 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in removing the earth, but when he was 
found hfe was extinct. His remains were 
laid to rest in the cemetery at Parfreyville, 
^^'is., and throughout the community his 
death was deeply and sincerely mourned. 
In political views he was a Democrat and 
was well-posted on the issues of the day. 
He held membership with the Christian 
Church, and was a kindly, benevolent man, 
whose consistent life won him the respect 
of all. 

A widow and four children were left to 
mourn their great loss. The children are 
George E., who was born March 17, 185S, 
and is now a farmer of Marathon county, 
^^'is. ; Lucina V., born February 27, 1861, 
is the wife of Ralph Rogers, of Dayton town- 
ship, Waupaca county; Joel E., born June 
18, 1873, and Lester M., born December 5, 
1878, are still living with their mother. Two 
children had also crossed the dark river ere 
the father was called to the home beyond. 
Elmer T., born May 22, 1865, died on the 
2nd of February, 1872; Henry A., born De- 
cember 25, 1867, was drowned on the 27th 
of June, 1876, while bathing in the river, 
and the body was recovered by the oldest 
brother who dived for it. 

Since her husband's death, ]\frs. Clark 
has resided upon the home farm of 120 
acres, which she manages and operates with 
the assistance of her sons. She is a woman 
possessed of excellent business ability, and 
deserves great credit for the capable manner 
in which she looks after the interests of the 
home. Great sorrow has come into her life 
through the death of her husband and chil- 
dren, but with unselfish love she dev'otes 
herself to the surviving members of the 
family, and throughout the community is 
highly esteemed. 



FRANIv ALLEN, a carpenter and 
blacksmith of Embarrass, Matteson 
township, Waupaca count}', was 
born June 20, 1859, and is a son of 
George and Margaret (Burgess) Allen. 

Our subject remained at home with his 
parents until he was twenty-four years of 
age. He had only meager opportunities for 
an education, as he was the eldest son in the 



family and had to stay at home and help 
on the farm. On October 24, 1882, Frank 
Allen was united in marriage with Anna 
Brown, and they have become the parents 
of three children: Sadie, born December 21, 
1883; Frank, Jr., born June 3, 1885; and 
Vernon, born in 1893. William Brown, 
Mrs. Allen's father, was of Irish descent, 
and a farmer by occupation. 

When he was twenty-six years of age 
Mr. Allen learned the trade of carpenter 
and blacksmith. He had previously worked 
for a time in the lumber woods. He has 
continued working at his trades with the ex- 
ception of one year, during which time he 
was foreman in Decker & Smith's sawmill. 
Politically Mr. Allen is a Republican. He 
has been town supervisor for two years, and 
school director for a year and a half. 



HANS P. KNUDSEN, as carpenter and 
contractor, has erected some of the 
best buildings in Waupaca. He has 
recently finished the Danish Home 
Hall, which is an ornament to the city. Mr. 
Ivnudsen is prospering in his business, for 
which he has thoroughly fitted himself by a 
wide and extensive experience. 

He was born in Denmark, January 5, 
1858, the only child of Hans and Bertha 
(Knudsen) Bertelson. The father was a 
land owner and a farmer. He was born in 
1829, and died in 1887. The mother still 
lives in Denmark. Hans, the son, attended 
the common schools, and at the age of six- 
teen years was apprenticed to a carpenter 
for five years. After serving his master for 
three years he secured his release upon pay- 
ment of one hundred crowns. He then 
worked at his trade imtil conscripted in the 
Danish army, serving in the infantry. 

When his military services were ended 
Mr. Knudsen resumed his trade, and worked 
for others until the fall of 1880, when he 
emigrated to America. He came directly to 
Waupaca, Wis. , where he had friends. He 
was, however, without means, and was 
ready to undertake an\' honest employment 
that presented itself until he could get a 
start in life in the new country. While 
working in the woods a tree fell upon him. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



671 



breaking his collar bone and otherwise in- 
juring him so severely that he was unable 
to go to work for nine months. After his 
recovery he resumed his trade, working at 
Neenah, Wis , and other cities. In 1S83 
he went to St. Paul and worked there for 
two years, and during the following three 
years he traveled extensively, working at his 
trade and gaining a wide knowledge of the 
country, besides learning much of the car- 
pentry and contracting business at these 
various points. In 1888 he returned to 
Waupaca and settled there. He soon after 
married Elizabeth Jones, who was born at 
Clayton, Wis., a daughter of Emanuel and 
Elenora (Royer) Jones, natives of Ohio, who 
now live at Clintonville, Wis. Mr. Jones 
is by trade a millwright, and has seven chil- 
dren: Mary, Alice, Maggie, Elizabeth, Ida, 
Lucy and Oliver. Mr. and Mrs. Knudsen 
have one child, John, born in May, 1892. 
Since his marriage Mr. Knudsen has been 
an extensive contractor, employing about 
fifteen men. He has a good home, and is 
popular among his fellow-men. In politics 
he is a Democrat, though he is not an office 
seeker. He is a member of the Danish 
Home Society, and for a term filled the 
office of president. 



WILLIAM GRANT is one of the 
honored pioneers of Portage coun- 
ty, and the history of life on the 
frontier is very familiar to him, for 
he has experienced its hardships and trials, 
and has borne all the difficulties that come 
to those who found homes in new and un- 
developed regions. 

Mr. Grant was born in the parish of 
Comb St. Nicholas, Somersetshire, England, 
in 1823, and is a son of William and Mar- 
garet (Mayo) Grant, who spent their entire 
lives in that country, the father following 
carpentering and also operating his little 
farm. The five children of the family are 
Harriet, James, Mary, William and Sarah. 
The subject of this sketch was educated in 
the schools of his native land. His mother 
died when he was only two years of age, and 
his father never recovered from her loss. 
With him William learned the carpenter's 



trade, and remained at home until he had at- 
tained his majority. 

On March 23, 185 1, in Somersetshire, 
at the Comb St. Nicholas Church, Mr. Grant 
was married to Jane Vickery, who was born 
February 7, 1833, in Bickland, St. Mary's 
Parish, Somersetshire, a daughter of Samuel 
and Jane (Hawkins) Vickery, the father a 
farmer. Their family, numbering ten chil- 
dren, comprised the following: James, John, 
Joseph, Samuel, Daniel, William, Abraham, 
Elizabeth, Hannah and Jane (now Mrs. 
Grant). In April, 1851, Mr. Grant with 
his bride sailed from Liverpool on the ship 
'• New Brunswick," which after six weeks 
and two days reached New York harbor, 
Rochester, N. Y. , being their destination. 
Through the summer after their arrival Mr. 
Grant lay sick with chills and fever, and 
not until September was he able to do work. 
His money was almost exhausted and their 
hardships were many. At length he engag- 
ed in carpentering and painting, and later 
bought a small tract of land near Rochester, 
upon which he built a small house. Through- 
out the week he was obliged to be away from 
home, and one evening upon his return he 
said: " I dislike to remain away all week. 
We will go west where we can get a cheaper 
home, and I will remain in it." Therefore, 
in the spring of 1854, he left his wife and 
daughter, Emma, now Mrs. C. S. DeVoin, 
of Waupaca, and made his way to Gill's 
Landing, Wis. , thence to Stevens Point. 
He afterward went to Portage county, and 
secured work on Fletcher's tavern, which 
afterward became Gray's tavern, and was 
known far and wide. Through the summer 
of 1854 he was there employed, and then 
worked on Spurr's Mill in Lanark township 
of the same county. In October, 1854, he 
was joined by his wife and daughter, and 
they began housekeeping in a little cabin 
12 X 16 feet, situated on 180 acres of land 
in Lanark township, which he had previous- 
ly pre-empted. He raised a crop of pota- 
toes upon seven acres of ground which he 
had broken, and in the fall of 1855 he sold 
this property to Charles Pierce for $1100, 
thus laying the foundation for his handsome 
competence. He removed to Belmont town- 
ship in the autumn of 1855, and there made 



■672 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



liis home until the spring of 1893, since which 
time he has hved a quiet, retired life in 
Waupaca city. In Belmont township, he 
secured 160 acres of land, but much of the 
land had not then come into market, and 
wild game of all kinds was abundant. 

In the early days, Mr. Grant started to 
the home of his neighbor, Richard Lea, who 
lived two miles away, but lost his way in the 
forest, and while wandering around almost 
stepped on a fawn, which shows how plenti- 
ful were the deer. He wandered for hours 
before he found his way out of the woods, and 
consumed the entire day before reaching his 
neighbor's. On another occasion while they 
were living in Lanark township, in a severe 
rain storm the roof was blown off their cabin, 
and Mrs. Grant had to lie in bed, with her 
child, under an umbrella. Such were the 
hardships which the pioneers endured. In 
August, 1870, on a hot sultry day, when Mr. 
Grant and his son James were in the harvest 
field, Mrs. Grant started after blueberries, 
leaving the little ones in charge of the eldest 
daughter, Emma. While absent, their little 
son, Frank, less than two years old, strayed 
from the home. A search was instituted in 
which nearly one hundred neighbors joined, 
and after hours of anxious waiting and almost 
unbearable suspense the little fellow was 
found. He had started for the harvest field, 
but had become lost, and for over a mile he 
traveled through the thick woods and bushes, 
but was unhurt, save for a few scratches, 
and was found on a dry spot just at the edge 
of a deep creek. The joy of the parents on 
his recovery can better be imagined than 
described. The children of the family are 
Emma J., before mentioned; James W., of 
Belmont township, Portage county; Ells- 
worth W., of Lanark township; and Frank 
A., who is now a farmer of Belmont town- 
ship. 

Prompted by patriotic impulses, Mr. 
Grant responded to the country's call for 
troops in February, 1864, enlisting at Wau- 
paca in Company D, Forty-second Wiscon- 
sin Infantry. He went to Madison, thence 
to Tennessee, where his regiment did guard 
duty, principally against bushwhackers. He 
served until September, 1865, when he was 
honorably discharged at Nashville, and then 



returned to his home in this State. His wife 
during his absence carried on the farm and 
provided for her little children. In his farm- 
ing operations, Mr. Grant has been quite 
successful, and has owned much land; also 
has located several hundred acres for others. 
He is now in very comfortable circumstance, 
and is practically living retired. In addition 
to his home of about four acres in the city 
of Waupaca, he owns 240 acres of land in 
Belmont township. Portage county, as well 
as other property. He has found in his 
estimable wife a most faithful companion 
and helpmeet, and to her is due much of 
their success, ^^'hile in New York, after 
working all day at domestic duties, she would 
sew in the evenings, and frequently made 
three fine shirts a week, doing all of the sew- 
ing by hand. 

In 1863, Mr. and Mrs. Grant, with their 
two children, Emma and James, visited 
their old home in New York, then sailed on 
the "Great Eastern" for Liverpool, where 
they arrived after twelve days spent on the 
water. They renewed the acquaintances of 
their childhood, and revisited the scenes in 
which their \'outhful days were passed, but 
were glad to return to their American home. 
Again the}- crossed on the " Great Eastern " 
and this time thirteen days were consumed 
in making the trip. On the 19th of August, 
1863, they encountered a terrific gale, a 
severe and destructive storm which is still 
mentioned in history. Mr. Grant votes with 
the Republican party on State and National 
questions, but at local elections is independ- 
ent. Mr. and Mrs. Grant are consistent 
and faithful Christian people, and the Meth- 
odist Church in the town of Belmont, near 
their home, which was built largely through 
their generosity and instrumentality, is 
known as Grant's Church. Mr. and Mrs. 
Grant have eight living grandchildren. 



HENRY C. GEROLD, a prosperous 
farmer in Section 18, Weyauwega 
township, Waupaca county, was 
born in Lind township, in that coun- 
ty, in 1855, and is a son of Conrad and Mary 
(Simonj Ceroid. 

Conrad Ceroid was the son of George 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



6/3 



Ceroid, who was born in Hessen, Germany, 
came with his family to New York City in 
1846, made his hving as a day laborer, and 
died in New York City in 1872. Conrad 
Ceroid was reared in the Fatherland, and 
educated there in the public schools. In 
1S46, at the age of twenty-two, he came to 
New York City, and in 1848, in Barryville, 
N. Y. , was married to Mary Simon, who 
was born in Baden, Cermany. They be- 
came the parents of six children: Mary, 
the wife of M. P. Sanders, at Ashland, Wis. ; 
Henry, of whom we write; Ceorge, residing 
in Lind township; Carrie, the wife of Ed- 
win Bork, of Lind township; John, residing 
in Ashland, Wis. ; and Fred, a farmer by 
occupation, residing in \\'eyauwega town- 
ship. The parents of Mrs. Conrad Ceroid 
were Conrad and Ursula (Wettlej Simon, 
natives of Baden, Cermany, in which coun- 
try Mrs. Simon died. Conrad Simon came, 
in 1847, to Wisconsin, located in the woods 
in Weyauwega township, Waupaca county, 
opened up a farm, and always made this his 
home until his death, which occurred in 
1855. Mary Simon, his daughter, who be- 
came Mrs. Ceroid, remained in New York 
until after her marriage. In 1849 Conrad 
Ceroid came to Wisconsin, took up a home- 
stead claim in Lind township, Waupaca 
count}', and always made that his home. 
His death occurred in 1877. He was one 
of the early settlers of Lind township, and 
came at a time when there were Indians in 
the county. Socially he was a member of 
Weyauwega Lodge, I. O. O. F. His widow 
resides with her son Henry, the subject 
proper of our sketch. 

Henry C. Ceroid passed his earlier years 
in Lind township, and was educated in its 
schools. In 1S82, in Weyauwega township, 
Waupaca county, he married Minnie Neid- 
hold, born in Ro\'aIton township, Waupaca 
county, in this State, in the year 1863, and 
they have had six children: Alma, Addie, 
Norma, Emma, Laura and Conrad. Mrs. 
Cerold's parents were Charles and Fred- 
■ericka (Winters; Neidhold, both born in 
Saxony, Cermany. The former came to 
Weyauwega in an early day, married in 
Bloomtield, Waushara county, and now re- 
sides in Royalton township. Henry C. Cer- 



oid located on his present farm in 1884, 
buying 120 acres, partially improved, which 
he has since cleared, erecting thereon, in 
1890, a good two-story residence, with two 
main portions, one 18x30 feet, and the 
other iSx 30, with a one-story " L" 22 x 30. 
Mr. Ceroid gives much attention to the 
raising of grain, is the largest dairy farmer 
in his section of the county, and drew 
eighty-one dollars for the month of October, 
1894, from the creamery in Weyauwega. 
He is a Democrat in politics, and is a mem- 
ber of Weyauwega Lodge, No. 82, F. & A. 
M. He belongs to one of the older families 
of the county, and has seen many changes 
where the gloomy woods have given place 
to smiling fields and cultivated farms. 



JOHN TUTTLE, one of the early 
pioneer settlers of Wausau, Marathon 
county, and a resident of that city for 
upward of forty-five years, was born in 
Warren county, Penn. , July 22, 1829, and 
is a son of David and Annie (Hare) Tuttle, 
who were born in Pennsylvania and resided 
in that State from infancy. 

David and Annie Tuttle were the par- 
ents of five children, four of whom are liv- 
ing, namely: John, the subject of this sketch; 
William, Edward, and Catherine, widow of 
William Brown, residing in Dakota. To 
Mrs. David Tuttle's parents were born seven 
children, of whom five are living, namely: 
Esther, wife of Thomas Lengfeld, residing 
in the town of Chazy, Clinton Co., N. Y. ; 
Annie, Mrs. Tuttle; MelindaJ., wife of John 
Burbyck, residing in Wausau; Lucy, wife of 
Theodore Appleton, of Wausau, and Her- 
man L. , residing in Chicago. David Tuttle 
died at the age of forty. His widow mar- 
ried Amos Heath, and is still living at the 
advanced age of ninety-five. Mr. Heath 
is also living, and they reside in Erie county, 
Penn. To their union were born three chil- 
dren, all now living, namely: Emma, widow 
of John Lockwood, residing at Corey, Penn. ; 
Wasson and De Young, also residing at 
Corey, Pennsylvania. 

John Tuttle was reared to manhood and 
educated in Erie county, Penn. He oper- 
ated his father's mill after leaving school, 



674 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



and after his father died, and has been en- 
gaged in mill work and in operating mills 
all his lifetime. In 1850 he left Pennsyl- 
vania, came to Wisconsin, located in Wau- 
sau, Marathon count}-, when it was little 
more than a logging camp and the popula- 
tion principally Indians, and has been a res- 
ident of this city continuously since that 
date. In Wausau, Januar}- 9, 1852, John 
Tuttle was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary S. Slawson, who was born in Clinton 
county, N. Y., August 16, 1830, and eight 
children have been born to them, of whom 
five are living, namely: John F., born Sep- 
tember 17, i860, William E., February 14, 
1 868; George A., September 21, 1870; 
Henry A., March 4, 1873; and Charles E,, 
June 10, 1S78. Mrs. John Tuttle was also 
an early settler of \\'ausau, and taught the 
first district school ever opened in Marathon 
county. Her parents, Herman and Rhoda 
(Merrihew) Slawson, were both born in Ver- 
mont, and resided in Clinton count}', X. Y. 
Mr. Tuttle was formerly affiliated with the 
Democratic and Greenback parties, but now 
votes the Prohibition ticket. The family 
attend the Methodist Church. 

John F"ranklin Tuttle, eldest son of John 
and Mary S. (Slawson) Tuttle, was born and 
reared in Wausau. He has followed his 
father's occupation, that of a miller, the 
greater part of his lifetime, and still engages 
in mill work. In Wausau, in 1880, he mar- 
ried Miss Amelia Garske, by whom he has 
had one child, John H., born October 6, 
1 88 1. George A. Tuttle, a son oi John and 
Mary S. Tuttle, was educated at Ripon Col- 
lege and was married at Wausau, in 1893, 
to Miss Jennie Noiseaux, a resident of Wau- 
sau. At \\'ausau, December 25. 1894, at 
four o'clock p. M., William E. Tuttle and 
Miss Mary Steller were united in marriage, 
at the home of the bride's mother, Mrs. 
Nicholas Steller, on \\'ashington street. 
Rev. Enoch Perry officiating. Many friends 
were present, and the ceremony was im- 
pressive. In the handsome display of wed- 
ding gifts articles of use predominated, in- 
cluding a very fine organ from the groom's 
parents. Mr. Tuttle is a son of John and 
Mary S. Tuttle, was born and reared in 
Wausau, attended Ripon College, and after 



his school days learned the printer's trade. 
Later he took up telegraphy, and for five 
years past has been in the employ of the 
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway 
Company, being now in the office in Wau- 
sau. He has won general respect b\' his 
straightforward, business-like ways. Mrs. 
Tuttle is a graduate of the Wausau High 
School, has acquitted herself with great 
credit as a teacher in the schools of the city, 
and is deservedly popular. 



WERNER WIPPERFURTH, who 
now makes his home in Merrill. 
Lincoln county, is one of the rep- 
resentati\e German citizens of the 
county, his birth having occurred on the 
22d of September, 1857, near Cologne. 
Province of Rhine, Germany. His father. 
Peter Joseph Wipperfurth, was born in the 
same province in 1808, and there married 
Anna B. Decker, who was born in 181 2 near 
the home of her husband in the same place. 
They became the parents of five children: 
Mathias, \\'illiam, Michael. Werner and 
Catherine, the latter of whom died at the 
age of eight years. The father was a farmer 
and land owner of Germany, but left that 
countr\' in 1866, when with his family he 
crossed the Atlantic to America. On land- 
ing in the United States he came at once to 
Wisconsin, making a location in the town of 
Springfield, Dane count}-, near the city of 
Madison, where he purchased a farm. He 
died on that place June 8, 1873, and his 
wife departed this life on the 27th of Jan- 
uary, 1887. He was a very successful farm- 
er and accumulated considerable property, 
but he lost a great portion of it in going se- 
curity for his friends. 

The grandfather of our subject, Sebas- 
tian Wipperfurth, was also an agriculturist, 
and by his marriage with Agnes Ubbers. be- 
came the father of nine children: Peter J., 
William. Cecilia, John J., Agatha, Conrad, 
Catherine, Werner and Henry. His grand- 
mother on the maternal side was a De- 
Grasse, of France, and her brother served as 
admiral in the French fieet which came to 
America to aid in the Revolution. He be- 
came a great friend of General Washington. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



675 



The DeGrasse family at one time was very 
wealthy, but lost their property cUirins the 
wars of their native land. 

^^'hen \\'erner Wipperfurth was about 
nine vears of age he was brought by his 
parents to the United States. He was the 
youngest child of the family and his school 
training was quite good, he being able to 
attend St. Francis Seminary, near Milwau- 
kee, Wis., from which he was graduated in 
1876. He then taught for a while in the 
district and parochial schools, which occu- 
pation he followed for five years. At the 
end of that time he started a general store 
in Springfield, Wis., conducting the same 
for six years, when, in April, 1887, he sold 
out and came to Tomahawk, Lincoln county. 
At that place he built a home, and also car- 
ried on a boarding house for one year, when 
he was elected to the office of town clerk. 
He then rented his hotel, and gave his whole 
attention to his official duties and in look- 
ing up pine lands. 

In Dane county. Wis., in 1882, a cere- 
mony was performed which united the des- 
tinies of Mr. Wipperfurth and Barbara 
Trimberger. The lady was born in She- 
boygan county, Wis., in 1859, and is a 
daughter of Michael and Caroline Trim- 
berger. Both her parents were natives of 
Germany, but left the Fatherland about 
1843, coming to Ohio, where their wedding 
was celebrated. In their familj' were eight 
children, who are yet living — Joseph, Anna, 
John, Henry, George, Barbara, Cecilia, 
August; the two who have now passed away 
are Michael and Caroline. The parents were 
farming people who were held in the highest 
esteem b}' all who knew them. Mr. and 
Mrs. Wipperfurth have four living children 
— Emma M., Cecilia, Joseph M. and Wer- 
ner. 

Our subject does a large real-estate 
business, handling mostly pine lands, in 
which he is meeting with a well-deserved 
success. Religiously he is a member of the 
Catholic Church, and also belongs to the 
Catholic Knights. In politics he is decid- 
edly Democratic, and by that party was 
elected clerk of the circuit court, in the fall 
of 1890, and has twice been re-elected. He 
takes a verj' active part in political affairs, 



being one of the leaders of Democracy in 
the county, and always serves as a delegate 
to its conventions, where his opinions carry 
great weight. For six years he served as 
town clerk in Dane county, and held the 
same office at Tomahawk for two years. 
Mr. Wipperfurth took a commercial course 
in the Madison Business College, intending 
to become a business man, but since com- 
ing to Lincoln county has given his time 
almost wholly to public affairs. In his offi- 
cial capacity he is very popular, and his 
public as well as his private life is above 
reproach. 



WILLIAM HENRY BROWN. The 
records of the lives of our fore- 
fathers are full of interest to the 
modern citizen, not alone for their 
historical value, but also for the example 
and inspiration they afford to the present 
generation, and, although surroundings may 
differ, the essential conditions of human life 
are ever the same, and a man can learn 
from the success of others if he will heed 
the obvious lessons contained in their his- 
tory. Mr. Brown is a representative self- 
made man, who has worked his way upward 
from an humble position to one of affluence, 
gaining an enviable reputation and the high 
regard of those among whom his lot" is cast. 
Our subject was born at Wilfrid, On- 
tario, Canada, June 6, 1832, and is a son of 
David and Hannah (Blair) Brown, both of 
whom were natives of Ireland. ' Of their 
family of six children three are yet living, 
namely: William Henry, of this sketch; 
Alpha, who is living in Kansas; and Rebec- 
ca, wife of J. T. Sterling, a resident of 
Spokane Falls, Washington. During his 
}outh Mr. Brown removed from his native 
place to Niagara Falls, N. Y. , and there re- 
ceived but limited educational privileges in 
the common schools. Subsequently he was 
employed for four years on the steamers 
running on the Niagara river between Ni- 
agara and Buffalo, and on changing his oc- 
cupation he sought and obtained employ- 
ment in the latter city, where he remained 
for two years. Thinking that a change 
might prove beneficial to his financial con- 



676 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



dition, Mr. Brown decided to try his for- 
tune in the West, and for about a year was 
a resident of Illinois, after which he came to 
Wisconsin. Having spent a few months in 
Galena, he also remained for a similar 
period in Belmont, Wis., and in Portage 
City, this State, and from the latter place 
he came to Grand Rapids in 1855, being 
among the pioneer settlers in the town 
which is now and has since been his home. 
He here took up lumbering, working first 
for other parties and then engaging in busi- 
ness for himself, but his labors in that di- 
rection were interrupted on the 1st of Janu- 
ary, 1864, which was the date of his enlist- 
ment in his country's service, he becoming 
a member of Company G, Twelfth Wiscon- 
sin V. I., which joined the army of the Ten- 
nessee near Vicksburg. With his company 
he was also attached to the Fifteenth Ohio 
Battery for a few months, and was then de- 
tailed for service at the corps' headquarters, 
where he remained until the close of the 
war. When the South had laid down its 
arms and hostilities had ceased, he was mus- 
tered out in July, 1865, and at once returned 
to his old home in Grand Rapids, resuming 
his former employment. He continued to 
engage in lumber dealing until June, 1873, 
when he took up the ice business, which he 
carried on with most excellent success until 
1892, when he laid aside all business cares 
and has since lived retired. 

Mr. Brown was married July G, 1855, to 
Miss Sarah Horton, who died Februarj' 3, 
1872, and on the 27th of February, 1879, 
he wedded Mrs. Mary Ward, daughter of 
Thomas and Jane (Harvey) Harkness, and 
widow of the late O. P. Ward, of Grand 
Rapids, by whom she had two children, 
George W. and Rebecca, the latter now the 
wife of Henry Stocking, of St. Paul, Minn. 
The parents of Mrs. Brown had a family of 
ten children, live of who are yet living, as 
follows: Thomas, a resident of Atchison, 
Kans. ; John, who is located at McMinnville, 
Tenn; Elizabeth, wife of George Pierce, a 
resident of Plainfield, Wis.; Mrs. Brown; 
and Isabella, wife of Edward Tennant, of 
Grand Rapids. 

In his political affiliations, Mr. Brown 
is a Republican, and has served as a member 



of the county board of supervisors and of 
the city council of Grand Rapids, discharg- 
ing his duties in a manner that has won him 
the commendation of all concerned. The 
same fidelity to duty has always marked his 
career, and whether on the field of battle, in 
the counting room, in official positions or in 
private life he is always true to the trust re- 
posed in him. He holds membership with 
the Grand Army Post, of Grand Rapids, and 
he and his family are connected with the 
Congregational Church. 



J J. MEIER, who is one of the most en- 
terprising business men of Clintonville, 
Wis., there established himself in the 
jewelry trade in 1886, and has since 
conducted a successful business. In 1890, 
he erected a two-story brick-veneered block, 
22 X 62 feet, its location being among the 
best in the city. He removed there from 
Marion, Wis., where he was also engaged 
in the jewelry business. On first coming to 
this State, he had settled in Oshkosh in 
1 88 1, being there employed by a Mr. 
Kelley, and afterward spent one year in 
Joliet, Illinois. 

It is quite interesting to observe, in not- 
ing the various members of a community, 
how they were gathered together from dif- 
ferent countries and Statesof the Union, and 
how well, usually, they combine to form an 
intelligent and prosperous community. Mr. 
Meier comes from the beautiful land of the 
Alps, his birth having occurred in Zurich, 
Switzerland, in i860, and is a son of J. J. 
and Mary (Vollmar) Meier, natives of the 
same country. The father is a highly-es- 
teemed officer of Canton Zurich, making his 
home in Buelach, and his wife is also still 
living. They became the parents of four 
children, but Ernest died in 1884 in 
Buelach. Those living are Mary, wife of 
Jakob yofer, of Buelach, Switzerland; Bar- 
bara, wife of Emil Bower, of the same place, 
and our subject. 

Mr. Meier, of this record, was reared in 
Buelach, and in the schools of Switzerland 
received his education, also learning the 
trade of a jeweler in that country, which he 
followed for three years in Southern France. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



677 



He served for one year in the Swiss army, 
and then deciding to make the United 
States his future home he came to this 
country, in 1881, going direct to Oshkosh, 
Wis. , having ever since resided in this 
State. 

In 1S84, in Marion, \\'is., was celebrated 
the marriage of Mr. Meier and Miss Rosa 
Stier, who was born in Saxony, Germany, 
and is a daughter of Henry and Christina 
(Keyser) Stier, natives of the same country. 
They left the Fatherland in 1867, coming 
to Weyauwega, ^^'isconsin, where they 
now reside. The union of Mr. and Mrs. 
Meier has been blessed with four chil- 
dren: \'eronika, Amalie, Selma and 
Blanche, all of whom are at home. In his 
social relations, Mr. Meier is a member of 
the Order of Germania, while in politics he 
affiliates with the Democratic party, taking 
an active interest in politics. Though he 
has not resided in Clintonville very long, he 
has identified himself with its welfare, and 
has made many friends among the intelli- 
gent and hospitable citizens of the place. 



PARIS O. MEANS, an ice dealer in 
Wausau, Marathon county, was born 
in Burnham, Maine, February 27, 
1856, and is a son of Luther and 
Adeline (Nelson) Means, who were both 
born in Maine, and are of ancient English 
ancestry. 

Mr. and Mrs. Luther Means came to 
Wausau, Marathon Co., Wis., from Maine, 
in 1 88 1, since which date Mr. Means has 
been engaged in agricultural pursuits in 
Weston township, Marathon county, and 
they both reside in Wausau. They had born 
to them a family of si.\ children, of whom 
five are living: MerrittE., residing at Ste- 
vens Point; Paris O., subject of this sketch; 
John R., residing in Wausau; Arobinc, wife 
of George W. Call, residing at Merrill, Lin- 
coln Co., Wis., and Justice, also residing at 
Merrill. 

Paris O. Means was educated in his na- 
tive town, and, when he attained the age of 
nineteen years, came west, located in Ste- 
vens Point, Wis., and worked in the woods 
for about si.x years. In 1881 he removed to 



Wausau, and engaged in the dairy business, 
and in 1S85 embarked in his present busi- 
ness. In Wausau, December 31, 1887, 
Paris O. Means was united in marriage with 
Miss Luttie L. Single, and two children 
have been born to them, Thomas Owen and 
Jennie Zelder. The parents of Mrs. Means, 
Thomas and Harriet (Dexter) Single, were 
among the earliest settlers of Marathon 
county. Mr. Means is a member of Ever- 
green Lodge, F. & A. M. ;of Forest Chapter, 
Stevens Point; and of Wausau Lodge, I. O. 
O. F. In politics he is a Republican. The 
family attend the Methodist Church. 



EVEN JOHNSON, a successful farmer 
of Amherst township. Portage coun- 
ty, was a Union soldier in the war 
of the Rebellion. He was born 
October 25, 1825, in Stavanger, Norway, 
and is a son of Johan and Elizabeth (Even- 
sen) Larsen, both also born in Stavanger. 
Johan Larsen was employed in building 
ships in the shipyards in his native town. 
His wife died when his son Even was a 
small boy. He married again, and, with 
his wife and family, came to this country, 
living in Milwaukee, Wis., about one year, 
and then locating in Muskego, Waukesha 
county, where he soon afterward died. Johan 
Larsen had two children: Even, the sub- 
ject of these lines, and Martha C, who was 
married in Milwaukee in 1854 to Goodman 
Martinsen, and later settled on a farm in 
Amherst, and is now deceased; her children 
are Gustave M. , Laura, Elizabeth and Mar- 
tin M. 

Even Johnson attended school in his 
native town until fourteen years of age, 
when he was engaged as cook on board a 
merchantman which plied between Norway 
and all the principal ports in Europe, and 
made numerous voyages between Europe 
and Africa, some of which were very stormy. 
On a return voyage from Africa they once 
encountered a severe storm, and their vessel, 
a large three-master, lost one of her masts. 
A sailor in the rigging was washed overboad 
with it, but was rescued. Mr. Johnson was 
cook on this craft for about four years, after- 
ward worked with his father in the shipyard 



-678 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



for six months, and was then emplo\'ed as 
ship carpenter on a merchantman, receiving 
much better wages than while coolc. In his 
twenty-second year he was for six months on 
board a man-of-war in Norwaj". 

In 1848 Even Johnson was married at 
home to Miss Bertha Mahna, daughter of 
Even Calvina, both parents being natives of 
Norway, where the father was a well-to-do 
farmer. Mr. Johnson, with his wife and his 
father's family, sailed from Stavanger, Nor- 
way, in 1853, and after a voyage of about 
eight weeks landed in Quebec, Canada, and 
came direct to Milwaukee, Wis. For one 
year he was a sailor on the lakes, then joined 
the family at Muskego, Waukesha county, 
and there bought forty acres of farm land, 
which he worked for about two years. Then 
he removed to Amherst, Portage county, 
with an ox-team and drag, on which he car- 
ried his wife and little ones and household 
effects. Here he bought eighty acres of 
wild land from the government, and while 
making preparations for locating on the farm 
he left his wife and children with a friend in 
Scandinavia, ^^'aupaca county. He went 
to lola for a load of lumber, with which, 
after making a clearing, he put up a shanty, 
which was without door, floor or windows 
for some time after moving into it. Here 
they lived for a number of years, until he 
made a more pretentious home, mostly of 
logs, which he occupied until he built his 
present large and substantial house, in 1887. 
During the first few years he was obliged to 
work at anything he could find to do in order 
to get along. 

In February, 1864, Mr. Johnson enlisted, 
at Amherst, in Company C, Forty-fourth 
Wis. V. I., went at once to Madison, re- 
mained a few days, and then went to Nash- 
ville, Tenn., arriving there just before the 
battle ended. At Nashville Mr. Johnson 
was sick with fever for two weeks. They 
were there employed guarding prisoners for 
some time, then were stationed at Paducah 
until the war closed, when Mr. Johnson came 
back to Madison, received his discharge, re- 
turned home and resumed work on his farm, 
on which he has made extensive improve- 
ments. Most of it is cleared, and his barns 
are large and well stocked. In 1871 Mr. 



Johnson very nearlj- lost his life by an acci- 
dent. He was engaged in fixing his well, 
and while at the bottom the windlass fell, 
striking him on the head and knocking him 
senseless. It was nearly an hour before he 
was brought up, and he remained uncon- 
scious for nearly two weeks; but under the 
care of Dr. A. H. Guernsey and the kind 
attentions of his neighbors, who watched 
with him day and night, he finally recovered.- 
The following named are the children of 
Mr. and Mrs. Even Johnson: Elizabeth, 
now deceased, was the wife of William Har- 
gois; Johanna married Ole O. Johnson, a 
fanner of Stearns county, Minn. ; Andrew, 
a farmer of Amherst, married Lena Swen- 
sen, by whom he had one child named Ed- 
mund, who makes his home for the present 
with Mr. Johnson, his grandfather; Johan 
and Louis both died in childhood; Louis (2) 
is at home; Martha C. died in infancy; and 
two others died when young. Mr. John- 
son is a stanch Republican, and was road- 
master for a number of years, but has never 
taken an active interest in politics. He is 
a Lutheran in religion, is well-known through- 
out this section of the country, and is an 
honest, upright and respected citizen. 



WILLIAM GALLON (deceased) was 
one of the pioneer lumbermen of 
Marathon county, to whom much 
credit is due for their invaluable 
efforts in developing the great resources of 
northern Wisconsin. He was born in County 
Armagh, Ireland, in 1833, son of John and 
Marj' Gallon, was left motherless at the age 
of two years, and when eighteen years old 
he emigrated to America. His brothers also 
came to the United States, and to Wiscon- 
sin, John T. becoming a resident of Merrill, 
Lincoln county, and Mather of Maine town- 
ship, Marathon county; the only sister, Eliza, 
the wife of ^^'illiam Brands, remains in Ire- 
land. 

After his arrival in America, Mr. Gallon 
lived for five years in Pennsylvania, then, in 
1854, came west and located at Stevens 
Point, Wis. Three years later he removed 
to Wausau, and for considerably more than 
a quarter of a century he was actively and 




y'':^aMAr^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



679 



extensively enf^aged in lumbering at that 
city. In 1884 he retired from active life, 
and remained a resident of W'ausau until his 
death which occurred March 4, 1894. Dur- 
ing the administration of President Hayes, 
Mr. Gallon was appointed receiver of the 
Unitecl States Land Ot^ce at Wausau, but 
the lumbering business at that time was ab- 
sorbing all his energies, and he felt con- 
strained to resign the office. He was a 
member of the F. & A. M., and few. if any, 
men at Wausau were better known or more 
widely respected than he — a man of inde- 
fatigable industry, strict integrity and deep 
devotion, a noble type of citizenship. 

On March i, 1854, he was married, at 
Lumberville, Clearfield Co., Penn., to Miss 
Nancy Atchison, daughter of George and 
Margaret Atchison, the former a native of 
County Armagh, Ireland, the latter of Penn- 
sylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Callon had a family 
of three children, two of whom are yet liv- 
ing, Jennie M., wife of Leonard E. Spencer, 
who for fourteen \'ears was connected with 
the Wausau post office, but is now attending 
medical lectures at Philadelphia, and Will- 
iam A., a prominent business man of 
Wausau. 



CHARLES DIXON CLARKE was 
born in Chatham, England, Novem- 
ber 20, 1858, and is a son of Will- 
iam Di.xon Clarke, who was born in 
Northampton about 1825, and whose father, 
James Dixon Clarke, married A. Burwell. 
To their union were born five children, 
namely: William D. ; John C, of W'ausau, 
Marathon Co., Wis.; Charles Burwell, of 
Mt. Vernon, Baker township, Douglas Co. , 
S. Dak. ; and Mary A. and Elizabeth, re- 
siding in England. The parents died in 
England. 

\\'illiam Dixon Clarke had a common- 
school education, and when about sixteen 
shipped before the mast in the American 
navy, in the ship "Summers," served four 
years, rose to the rank of able seaman, and 
visited all parts of the world. When about 
twenty he enlisted in the English army, in 
the Thirty-second Cornwall Light Infantry, 
commencing as a private and rising to the 



rank of color-sergeant of the Grenadier com- 
pany. He was through the Indian mutiny, 
and received a medal for meritorious serv- 
ices on the field. He was wounded thirteen 
times, sent home to Dover on account of his 
wounds, and died there in 1859. He mar- 
ried Mary Sullivan, who was born in Fer- 
moy, Ireland, about 1825, and they had 
three children: Harriet A., now living in 
England; John D., in W^ausau, Marathon 
Co., Wis.; and Charles D., the subject of 
this sketch. But little can be learned of the 
family of the mother, only that it was a 
large family and scattered in America. She 
married again and lives in England, having 
for her husband Thomas Callow, who was a 
soldiers master baker of the Thirty-second 
Cornwall Regiment, and they had three chil- 
dren: Elizabeth fnow living in England;, 
Thomas and William. 

Charles Dixon Clarke was educated in 
the military school of the Thirty-second 
Cornwall Regiment up to the age of twelve 
years, and then attended the Catholic Broth- 
ers' school on the Island of Mauritius. Up 
to the age of fourteen he was with his father's 
regiment, drew rations and was educated as 
all soldiers' children in England are entitled 
to be. ^^'hen fourteen they can enlist if 
the}' desire; otherwise they have to make 
their own living and cannot depend upon 
the regiment. From the age of fourteen he 
was assistant care-taker of the military bar- 
racks, and third assistant lighthouse-keeper 
at Canonniers Point, on the Island of Mau- 
ritius, for a year and a half. During this 
time the assistant commissary general, R. H. 
Dundee, took a liking to him, brought him 
to England for six months, and furnished 
him money to visit his friends. On January 
4, 1875, he enlisted as a private in the First 
Battalion, Sixteenth Regiment of Infantry, 
stationed at Plymouth, England, in which 
he served six years, and was promoted to 
the rank of color-sergeant. His regiment 
was stationed part of the time in Ireland. 
He was gymnastic instructor and fencing 
master of the regiment for one year, and 
passed his examination for a commission as 
sub-lieutenant. 

On December ist, 1880, Charles Dixon 
Clarke was united in marriage at Belfast, 



6So 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Ireland, with Martha Creton, and they have 
become the parents of six children, of whom 
four are living: James C, William C. , 
Margaret C. and Percy W. ; John C. and 
Jane E. died when young. Mrs. Clarke's 
parents, James and Mary Ann (Scarlet) 
Creton, had si.x children: George, James, 
Jane E., Lizzie, Mary Ann and Martha. 
Mrs. Clarke's father was governor of the 
military prison at Belfast, Ireland. The 
death of her mother occurred in 1891. 

Wishing to come to America, Mr. Clarke 
bought his discharge in 1881, but he regrets 
to-day that he did not remain a soldier. 
Arriving in the United States, he came to 
Wausau, Marathon Co., Wis., to his uncle, 
J. C. Clarke, who was a mill owner, re- 
mained there two years, and learned the 
lumber trade. In the spring of 1883 he 
came to Merrill, Lincoln Co., Wis., took 
the position of shipping clerk of the Lincoln 
Lumber Co., and in eighteen months be- 
came bookkeeper. He next ran a skating- 
rink one year, hired out to D. F. Comstock 
as shipper for six months, then worked for 
the H. W. Wright Lumber Co., the first 
year sorting and piling, and for two years 
running a mill daytimes and scaling logs and 
buying lumber in the winter, remaining with 
this firm till 1894. At the time he left he 
was superintendent in full charge. In April, 
1894, he engaged with the Illinois & Wis- 
consin Lumber Co"., the largest on the 
river, and is superintendent. In 1892 he 
visited England with his family for three 
months. Mr. Clarke was the first man to 
invent and patent anything to assist in the 
piling of lumber, and is the patentee of 
Clarke's devices for piling and loading lum- 
ber: First, Patent Lumber Piler or Roller; 
second. The Extension Lumber Jack; third, 
his Adjustable Roller for loading cars. 

In politics Mr. Clarke is a Republican, 
in religion a Presbyterian, and socially he 
is a Mason, a member of the A. O. U. W. , 
and was a charter member in the organiza- 
tion of Company G, of Wausau, of the 
Wisconsin National Guard. During his 
boyhood he was with his regiment in South 
Africa, could talk the Zulu language well, 
and was in the diamond and gold fields of 
Africa. 



Since the above notes were written, Mr. 
Clarke has experienced the greatest sorrow 
of his life in the death of his beloved wife, 
which took place after a brief illness, June 
29, 1895. Mrs. Clarke was still a young 
woman, having been born in Belfast, Ire- 
land, March 13, 1862. She was a beautiful 
woman, and the possessor of a disposition 
that was charming in its affectionate loveli- 
ness. Bright and sunny in her nature, she 
was a constant source of comfort and happi- 
ness to all who came in contact with her. 
A devout Christian, she gave much of her 
time to active work in the Church, and in 
the Ladies Aid Society connected therewith. 
In all the relations of life, and particularly 
in those of wife and mother, she was faith- 
ful and loving, and her memory is embalmed 
in the hearts of those to whom her loss 
seems irreparable. The 'funeral was largely 
attended, giving evidence of the esteem in 
which she was held by the community. 



JAMES C. JOHNSON, a well-known resi- 
dent of Bakerville, Wood count)-, was 
born in Denmark, near the city of 
Nakskov, on the island of Lolland, on 
the 26th of April, 1854, and is a son of 
Henry and Christine (Nelson) Johnson. The 
family numbered four children, namely: 
Christine, James, Peter and Sine. The sis- 
ters still reside in Denmark, and Peter is en- 
gaged in farming in Minnesota. Both the 
parents have passed away, the mother hav- 
ing departed this life in 1891. 

In the common schools of his native land 
James C. Johnson acquired his education, 
but his privileges in that direction were 
somewhat limited, for from the age of ten 
years he was largely dependent upon his 
own resources for a livelihood, and was hired 
out and worked upon a farm for his board 
and clothing. He was a young man of 
eighteen years when he resolved to seek a 
home beyond the Atlantic. He had heard 
of the privileges and opportunities afforded 
young men in the New World, and resolved 
to test the truth of these reports; so borrow- 
ing money in order to pay his passage, in 
the spring of 1872, on March 6th, he em- 
barked for the United States. On the 2nd 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



681 



of April he reached New Lisbon, Wis., with 
funds exhausted, a stranger in a strange land, 
but with resolute heart he started out to seek 
employment, and during the summer months 
worked in the sawmills, while in the winter 
season he went into the lumber woods. 
There he learned to cook, and for four years 
was employed as a cook on the Wisconsin 
and Mississippi rivers in the summer months, 
and in lumber camps in winter. By frugal- 
ity and industry he was enabled to acquire 
a small capital, and in 1875 he made his first 
purchase of land, becoming owner of a 
heavily-timbered tract in Wood county, 
which he at once began to improve. He 
built a log house and worked from early 
morning until late at night, so that within 
three years he had cleared twenty-eight 
acres. He then sold that property and pur- 
chased forty acres of his present farm, which 
he has since trebled in extent, and now one 
hundred acres are under a high state of cul- 
tivation and yield to him a golden tribute. 
The farm is one of the best-improved in the 
neighborhood. In 1883 he erected a fine 
country residence; in 1887 built a large barn 
and a second one in 1893. In addition he 
also owns eighty acres of land in Rock town- 
ship. Wood county. 

Mr. Johnson was united in marriage Sep- 
tember 20, 1876, with Miss Catherine Han- 
son, who was born in Denmark in 1850. 
Her father, Hans Hanson, was a land owner 
and died in Denmark in 1869, leaving a 
widow and two children. Bertha and Cath- 
erine. In 1873 the family came to America 
and Bertha has since married Hans Paulson 
and resides in Rock township. Wood county. 
The mother's death occurred in January, 
1886. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson now have two 
children, Alexander and Lillie, who are still 
under the parental roof. 

In politics Mr. Johnson has ever been a 
Republican, and for two years served as a 
member of the town board of Rock town- 
ship, and for one year in Lincoln township. 
He has also been clerk of the school board 
for the past six years, and filled other offices 
of trust in public affairs, and in all these posi- 
tions has ever been faithful to his duties and 
to the trust reposed in him. Socially he is 
connected with the Masonic fraternity. 



Little more than twenty years have passed 
since he came to this country a penniless 
young man, and to-day he is one of the sub- 
stantial farmers of his adopted county, a 
position he has attained through his own en- 
terprise, industry and capable management. 
His property stands as a monument to his 
thrift and business ability, and his success is 
well-deserved. 



NT. LARSON, a prosperous farmer 
of lola township, Waupaca county, 
was born in Norway, April 2, 1852, 
and is a son of Lars Johnson, who 
was a common laborer in his native land, 
and who, hoping to better his financial con- 
dition, resolved to try his fortune in Amer- 
ica. His wife died in Norway, and in 1862, 
with his little son and daughter, Carrie, he 
boarded the sailing vessel "Amelia," which, 
after a voyage of six weeks, reached Que- 
bec. There were four hundred passengers 
on board, and typhus fever breaking out 
among them, forty-nine were buried at sea. 
During the time the vessel was quarantined, 
the daughter, Carrie, who was then seven- 
teen years of age, was stricken and died, 
being buried at the hospital at Quebec. 
There was also another child in the fam- 
ily, Johan, who was then in the army, 
and did not come to this country until five 
years later. He is now a farmer of Alban, 
Portage Co., Wis. The father and son 
traveled by boat from Quebec to Montreal, 
where they were put into a common box car 
and brought to Hartford, Wis., such im- 
position being imposed upon unsuspecting 
foreigners in those days, whose tickets really 
entitled them to better accommodations. 

Their destination was Dodge county. 
Wis., where an uncle of our subject, Nels 
Loberg, then lived, and with him they made 
a temporary home, while the father worked 
at anything he could find to do to earn a 
living. A year later they went to Amherst, 
Wis., where our subject remained, while his 
father went to New Hope township. Portage 
Co. , Wis. The former, then a boy of eleven 
years, began work for Johan Loberg, a 
farmer, receiving only his board for his serv- 
ices. He was first paid wages in 1864, $2 



«t^ 



682 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPEICAL RECORD. 



per month, and followed farm work for some 
years, being in the employ of Isaac Olson 
for three years. After eighteen years he be- 
^an working in the lumber woods in the 
winter time, but continued farm work in the 
summer months. In Marathon county he 
purchased his first land, an "old pine slash- 
ing'" tract, which he never operated. He 
ran on the Wisconsin river for several sea- 
sons, and made twelve trips to St. Louis, 
often making two or three trips in a season. 
Those were days of hardship, and frecjuently 
he suffered much from sickness. 

In August, 1 88 1, in Merrill, Wis., Mr. 
Larson married Gena Johnson, who was 
born in Norway, May 12, 1859, a daughter 
of John Johnson, who in the spring of 1869 
came to the United States, being for six 
weeks on the ocean. He located in lola, 
W^is., where he is yet living. His wife died 
in the spring of 1870, and was buried in 
Scandinax'ia. In their family were two sons 
and si.x daughters: Cornelia, wife of Peter 
Hermanson, of lola township; Annie, wife 
of Ambrose Gregorson, of the same town- 
ship; Albert, of Wausau, Wis.; Mrs. Lar- 
son; Tillie, wife of Erick Erickson, of Dodge 
county. Wis. ; John, who is living on the 
homestead farm; Nellie, wife of John John- 
son, of lola; and Lollie, wife of A. E. Hag- 
na, of lola. 

Mr. and Mrs. Larson began housekeep- 
ing in Trapp, Marathon Co. , Wis. , where he 
served as foreman in a sawmill owned by 
John T. Gallon. In the summer of 1886 he 
came to lola township, Waupaca county, 
and in Section 32 purchased 120 acres of 
land from his father, who had bought the 
farm some years before. He had not the 
ready money to pay for it, but soon was able 
to discharge his indebtedness through his 
dealings in lumber. One-half this tract is 
now improved, and jields to the owner a 
golden tribute in return for the care and la- 
bor he bestows upon it. Mr. and Mrs. Lar- 
son have one son, who was born in Texas 
township, Marathon county, April 30, 1882, 
named J. Leroy. W^ith them also lives the 
aged grandfather, who was born in January, 
1807. 

Mr. Larson has been a stanch Republi- 
can since casting his first Presidential vote 



for R. B. Hayes, and since 1892 has served 
as chairman of the board of supervisors of 
lola township. He was elected to that of- 
fice after a shorter residence in the town- 
ship than any other who has served in that 
capacity, but has discharged his duties with 
credit to himself and satisfaction to his con- 
stituents. In 1893 the sum of $10,000 was 
subscribed for the building of the lola & 
Northern railroad, from Scandinavia to lola. 
This subscription was collected by Mr. Lar- 
son, and paid by him to the company on the 
completion of the road, July 20, 1893. His 
life has been well spent. He came to this 
country a poor boy, and though he had no 
educational advantages, b\' reading and ob- 
servation he has made himself a well- 
informed man, while the industry, enterprise 
and good management which have character- 
ized his business life have brought to him a 
handsome competence, and numbered him 
among the substantial citizens of the count}'. 



JOHN F. RUPNO, who was a Union 
soldier during the greater part of the 
war of the Rebellion, is engaged in 
agriculture on his farm in Section i, 
Weyauwega township, W'aupaca county. 
He came to the county from Chicago, 111., 
in 1867, locating in Fremont township, 
where he remained si.x years. In 1 874 he 
came to Weyauwega township and located, 
where he now resides, buying a timber tract 
of eighty acres, which he has cleared and 
improved. He was born August 15, 1831, 
in Putzig, Prussia, and is a son of John F. 
Rupno, who was born and married in Prus- 
sia, and remained in his native land, where 
his death occurred in i860. His vvidow died 
in 1864. They had a family of four children: 
John F., whose history is the subject of this 
sketch ; Julius, who came to Fremont in 1 866, 
and died at Fremont village in 1876; Nina, 
who is married and resides near Berlin, 
Wis. ; and Julius, who resides in Germany. 
John F. Rupno, subject proper of these 
lines, was reared in Prussia and educated in 
the schools of Germany. He set sail from 
Hamburg for Liverpool, and thence for New 
York, on a sailing vessel. Reaching port 
after a voyage of seven weeks, he came on 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



683 



to Chicago, 111., arriving in 1857, where he 
worked as a laborer at anything he could get 
to do. On August 19, 1861, he enlisted at 
Chicago in Company F, Thirty-seventh 111. 
V. I., for three years or during the war. He 
was mustered in at Chicago, joining the 
army of the West, was in the Missouri cam- 
paign against Gen. Price, and at Fayette- 
ville, Ark. ; Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove, 
Ark. Then returning to St. Louis, and go- 
ing thence to Vicksburg, he was all through 
that famous siege, going afterward to New 
Orleans, and then to Brownsville, Te.xas. 
He received an honorable discharge at Chi- 
cago, III., October 4, 1864. 

In 1864, in Chicago, 111., John F. Rupno 
was united in marriage with Ernestein Wil- 
helmina Roch, who was born in Germany, 
and they became the parents of the follow- 
ing children: Gustaf Frederick, who died 
at the age of six years; Augusta Adelaide, 
who died at the age of eight years; Teresa, 
who was married Dec. 26, 1894, to John 
Purchayke, and lives in Weyauwega; Clara, 
who was the wife of Fred Polaska, of Royal- 
ton township, Waupaca county, and died in 
1892; Otto, Bertha and Freddie. Mrs. 
Rupno died in 1890. She was the daugh- 
ter of Christopher and Wilhelmina (Schem- 
ellen Fenich) Roch, who were born in Ger- 
many, and came to Weyauwega township, 
Waupaca county, in 1867. Mr. Roch re- 
sides in Waupaca county; Mrs. Roch is de- 
ceased. 

Mr. Rupno is a Republican, and takes 
an interest in politics; is a member of Will- 
iam Chambers Post No. 180, G. A. R., and 
officer of the guard. In religious affiliation he 
is a member of the Lutheran Church. He has 
always taken an active interest in whatever 
he deemed for the welfare of the county, and 
has seen its changes and many improve- 
ments during the years of his residence here. 



JOHN NIVEN. Foreign countries have 
furnished to Waupaca county many 
of its citizens, but none are more de- 
serving of representation in this volume 
than the worthy son of Scotland whose name 
begins this review. He was born in Pais- 
ley, Scotland, February 25, 1829, and his 



parents, John and Mary (Kirkwood) Niven, 
were both natives of the same place. The 
father was a weaver by trade, who earned his 
living by hard labor. When he was si.xty- 
four 3'ears of age he was emploj'ed in a ship- 
yard on the Clyde, and was with a party of 
men who were working around a crane which 
gave a sudden lurch. The others ran for 
their lives, but he remained at his post, and 
thereby sustained internal injuries which re- 
sulted in his death. This was in 1868. The 
savings of a life-time left his family in com- 
fortable circumstances. His children, eight 
in number, were: Janet, now the widow of 
Duncan Cameron, of Lind township, Wau- 
paca county; John; Mary, widow of Thomas 
Messer, of Portage county, W'is. ; James, a 
joiner, of Glasgow, Scotland; William, also 
of Portage county; Walter, who died in 
Glasgow, Scotland, when a young man; 
Andrew, of Portage county; Jane, wife of 
John Shearer, of Glasgow, Scotland. At 
the time of the father's death, W^illiam, An- 
drew, Jane and Walter were all at home. 

John Niven was the oldest son and sec- 
ond child of the family. The only educa- 
tional privileges he received were those 
afforded by the night schools, for at the 
early age of eight years he began to earn his 
living, and when a lad of twelve worked in 
the weaving shops where Paisley, shawls 
were made. He was thus emplojed until 
sixteen years of age, when he went to Glas- 
gow, whither he was afterward followed by 
his parents, and in that city he w'as em- 
ployed in a grocery store as errand boy and 
clerk for about four years. This proved an 
excellent training school, and the practical 
knowledge of business he there obtained has 
been of much benefit to him. On leaving 
the store he embarked in business for him- 
self, for, although he had a small capital, his 
credit was good, and he manifested those 
careful and attentive business qualities which 
are important factors in success in any line 
of trade. For twenty years he carried on a 
store and met with prosperity in his under- 
takings, but at length close confinement 
began to tell upon his health, and his physi- 
cian advised him to embark in some pursuit 
that would afford him more outdoor exercise. 
His mother, nephews and others of the 



6S4 



COMMEMOUATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL HECORD. 



family, had previously emigrated to the 
United States, and he determined to do lii;e- 
wise. 

Mr. Niven was married in Glasgow, Sep- 
tember 8, 1 85 1, to Jane McKean, who was 
born in Paisley, Scotland, in November, 
1824, a daughter of John and Jane (Lambie) 
Mclvean. They became the parents of nine 
children, all born in Scotland: John, who 
died in his native land at the age of six years; 
Robert, who died in Scotland at the age of 
two; James K., a practicing physician of 
Ironwood, Mich. ; Jane, wife of George 
Shaw, of Hoquiam, ^^'ash. ; William, who 
died in Scotland at the age of one j^ear and 
ten months; Mary, wife of Frank Dean, of 
Royalton township, Waupaca county; Mar- 
garet, wife of H. E. Shipman, of Manawa, 
Wis. ; Jessie, wife of P. M. Olfson, of Wau- 
paca; and John T. McKean, who died in 
infanc}-. 

In the spring of 1871, accompanied by 
his wife and five children, Mr. Niven sailed 
from Glasgow on the steamer "North Amer- 
ica," which reached Quebec, Canada, after 
fourteen days. From Quebec they went to 
Gouverneur, N. Y. , and visited for a week 
with Mr. Robert McKean, an uncle of Mrs. 
Niven. who was at the time eight\-si.\ years 
of age, having been in America for upward of 
forty years; then they took rail and steamer 
to Chicago, where they remained a few days 
with some old friends; thence to Oshkosh 
and Giirs Landing, and thence by team to 
Sheridan, passing on the way what is their 
present fine farm, although it was then in 
quite a primitive condition, and the dwelling 
was but a rude log cabin. The family spent 
their first summer in America in a house rented 
of William Morey, and Mr. Niven, after twenty 
years experience as a Glasgow merchant, here 
began work as a farm hand, earning in that 
way $ I per day. Early in November, 1871, 
he purchased of Peter Olson an eighty-acre 
tract of land in Sections 16 and 17, Farm- 
ington township, improved with log build- 
ings, while twenty acres of the land had 
been cleared. The work of developing this 
tract was no small task, but with character- 
istic energy, Mr. Niven took up the burden, 
and now has sixty acres under a \ery high 
state of cultivation. The quality he pos- 



sesses of adapting himself to any kind of 
labor soon made him a good farmer, and his 
valuable property is a monument to his en- 
terprise. 

Mr. Niven now supports the Prohibition 
party, but for some years was identified with 
the Republican party, and was frequently 
called upon to serve in positions of public 
trust, having filled the offices of chairman of 
the town board and justice of the peace 
with credit to himself and satisfaction to 
his constituents. He and his wife aided in 
the organization and are prominent members 
of the Presbyterian Church of Sheridan, in 
which he is now serving as elder and Sunday- 
school Superintendent. He was one of the 
charter members of Sheridan Grange, No. 
348, for three years served as its master, and 
for twenty-four years has been connected 
with the Masonic fraternity. The cause of 
education finds in him a warm friend, and 
the family has produced five school teachers. 
In 1889 he and his estimable wife returned 
to their native land, and spent four months 
in visiting the scenes of their youth and 
many other points of interest, spending nine 
davs in London. 



ROBERT MAINE, for nearly forty 
years a prominent and highly re- 
spected citizen of the Upper Wis- 
consin Valley, is a native of Eng- 
land, born October 31, 1836, at Cheddar, 
Somersetshire, near the city of Bristol. 

His father, William Maine, who was a 
stonemason by trade, accompanied bj' his 
wife, Harriet (Brooks), and their four chil- 
dren, Ellen, Robert. George and Thomas, 
set out in 1844 from the shores of Old Eng- 
land for the New World, making a settle- 
ment in Jordan, Onondaga Co., N. Y. Here 
the father followed his trade for some years, 
rearing and educating his children well, and 
winning the respect and esteem of the entire 
communit}-. He was a very quiet, unob- 
trusive man, unostentatious and peaceable, 
which latter virtue unfortunately cost him 
his life, for one da}', during the drunken 
quarreling of some neighbors, he undertook 
the part of peacemaker to prevent a fight, 
and was so severelj' stabbed for his pains by 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



68:; 



one or the other of the ruffians that he al- 
most immediately expired, at which time, 
1S52, our subject was sixteen years old. 
The lad received a good education, partly 
in England, but chiefly at the public schools 
of Jordan, N. Y. He learned the trade of 
a mason, which he followed a few years, 
after which he came west to Wisconsin, lo- 
cating, in 1856, in Portage county, where 
for several 5-ears he was employed at lum- 
bering, logging, rafting, etc., for a longtime 
in the capacity of superintendent for Millard, 
McGavic & Co., of Burlington and Keokuk, 
Iowa, who at that time had large timber- 
land interests in ^^'isconsin. Mr. Maine 
looked after the cutting, logging, rafting and 
sawing, his duties taking him as far as Point 
Bass, at the foot of the Rapids, now called 
Nekoosa. He continued in the buying, sell- 
ing and manufacturing of lumber until 1893, 
when he removed into the city of Stevens 
Point, Portage county, in order to give his 
children the advantages of a good education, 
and the family are there yet making their 
home. 

On June i, 1863, Robert Maine and Miss 
Josephine L. Parker, daughter of David 
Parker, were united in marriage, and five 
children were born to them, a brief sketch 
of them being as follows: William married 
Ella Crocker, and lives at McDill, where 
he is engaged in lumbering; Frank D. mar- 
ried Kate Wylie, and makes his home at 
Jordan, working at lumbering and sawmill- 
ing; Parker H. married RosaMase, and they 
live at Stevens Point, where he follows his 
trade of a carpenter; Seelye H. is a drug- 
gist at Gifford, 111. ; Robert died at the age 
of five months. The mother of these chil- 
dren died March 4, 1873, and October 20, 
the same year, Mr. Maine married Miss 
Lucia M. Harris, daughter of A. L. and 
Mary E. (Brown) Harris, of Cottage Grove, 
Dane Co., Wis., and four children, as fol- 
lows, have blessed their union: Josephine 
L. , married to Henry Ferich; Grace E., 
now a student at the high school, as is also 
Mattie H. ; and Hattie, deceased at the age 
of three years. Both the Parker and Har- 
ris families were old settlers in the Eastern 
States, the Harrises being of Scotch descent, 
and intermarried with the Medburys and 



other prominent families of New York State 
and Ohio. Mr. Maine has been a member 
of the Methodist Church thirty-two years, 
and at the present time is steward in the 
same. Politicall)" he is a Democrat, and 
while a resident of Hull township. Portage 
county, he served as supervisor some twelve 
years, ten years as chairman of the town- 
ship board; also served as township clerk 
two years, and as treasurer and clerk of the 
school board at various times. Mr. Maine 
is a thoroughly loyal and useful citizen, well 
meriting the high respect in which he is held. 



CALVIN PARKER. This hardy pio- 
neer and successful farmer of Wau- 
paca county is one whose health was 
enfeebled and constitution shattered 
by hardship and exposure when nobly bear- 
ing arms in defense of the Union. He was 
born May 5, 1828, in Erie county, Penn. 
His parents were Daniel and Jane (Mills) 
Parker. 

Daniel Parker was born in Massa- 
chusetts, was a farmer by occupation, was 
three times married, and in later years came 
to Iowa, where his death occurred. There 
were two children by his second marriage, 
Margaret, who married Abner Munger, and 
died in Iowa, and Calvin, of whom this 
sketch is written. Their mother was born 
in Ireland, and died when our subject was 
not yet two years old. He attended such 
schools as the locality afforded, and, at the 
age of fourteen, left his home in the town- 
ship of Harbor Creek, Erie Co., Penn., and 
went to the lumber regions in New York, 
where he drove teams for two years. Then 
returning to Pennsylvania, he went to Free- 
port, where he worked for a brother-in-law, 
who was building a vessel. In the spring of 
1850 he left Pennsylvania for Wisconsin, 
then the Far West, came to Waupaca 
county by water from Erie, Penn., to She- 
boygan, Wis., drove to Fond da Lac, and 
then came, via Berlin, to Waupaca county. 
At this time his capital was small. He 
hunted some at first, as deer and prairie 
chickens were plenty, and he was fond of 
hunting. He took a claim on a quarter sec- 
tion in Section 36, Lind township, being the 



686 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



southwest quarter, comprising 160 acres, 
all wild land, in a state of nature, and with 
no improvements. At that time there were 
the Caldwells in Lind township, and Messrs. 
Potter. Taggart and Pope. Here Mr. Parker 
erected a log house 16 x 20 feet, and kept 
"bachelor's hall" therein. 

In the fall of 1S51 Calvin Parker re- 
turned to Pennsjlvania, and in April, 1852, 
in Erie county, that State, he married Har- 
riet Hazen, who was born in that county. 
On the 1 5th of the following September 
they came to Gill's Landing, Wis., and then 
to Lind township, Waupaca county, where 
they went to housekeeping in the log house 
on his farm. There was one child by their 
marriage, Mary E., now the wife of Frank 
Logan, of Iron Belt, Wis. In January, 
1854, Mr. Parker lost his wife by death, 
and her infant child was cared for by neigh- 
bors. On December 27, 1855, in Waupaca 
county, Mr. Parker married, for his second 
wife, Miss Martha Baker. The children by 
this marriage are as follows: Hattie, now 
the wife of Louis West, a liveryman of Mer- 
rill, Wis.; Lucy G., now Mrs. J. N. Pope, 
of Webster county, Neb.; Chester B., at 
home; Arthur D., a farmer on the home 
place; and Linnie, at home. Mrs. Parker 
was born October 19, 1833, in Lafayette 
township, Onondaga Co., N. Y. She had 
a good common-school education, taught 
nine terms of school, and has taught school 
in New York for a dollar a week and 
" boarded round. " Her parents, Timothy 
M. and Lucy (Bardwellj Baker, came to 
Wisconsin in the spring of 1S52, going by 
the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence by the 
lakes to Sheboygan, Wis., driving then to 
Fond du Lac, and going thence by water to 
Gill's Landing. They had four sons and 
three daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Baker both 
died in Waupaca county. 

Mr. Parker lived in Section 56, in Lind 
township, Waupaca county, until the fall of 
1857, when he came to Section 20, where 
only a garden patch had been cleared. 
There he started a new farm, and built a 
house I2.\I2 feet, in which at one time 
thirty people were entertained at a Christ- 
mas dinner, all in one room, where they 
cooked, ate and slept. A new house was 



built later, and is now a comfortable home. 
In March, 1864, in Lind township, Wau- 
paca county, our subject enlisted in Com- 
pany A, Fourth Wis. V. C. , went to Madi- 
son, then to St. Louis, and then to Baton 
Rouge, La., and was doing guard duty and 
skirmishing. At Baton Rouge he went into 
the hospital February 16, 1865, and re- 
mained till the war closed. In June, 1865, 
he was discharged from the hospital. He was 
paid off at New Orleans and then returned 
home. He was not wounded, but his consti- 
tution was broken down by privation and ex- 
posure, and his condition was quite feeble on 
his return; for two years he was scarcely 
able to climb into a wagon box, and he has 
never been the same man since the war 
that he was before. 

Since he was thirteen years of age Mr. 
Parker has "paddled his own canoe," and 
his capital at the start was largely his cour- 
age and ambition, added to a naturally ro- 
bust constitution. He worked for eight or 
nine winters in the woods, and saw and ex- 
perienced the trials incident to that laborious 
life so common in the earlier days in Wis- 
consin and among the young men of that 
pioneer time. He never had a home, to be 
considered as such, from the time he left 
his boyhood's home, at the age of thirteen 
years, until he had one of his own, and he 
ate but few, if any meals, after he left his 
father's table, that were not paid for in 
work or money, until he sat down to his own 
table. He has been a robust man in his 
time. His farm was stony, and it required 
much labor to get it into good condition. 
He now owns 140 acres, eighty of which are 
broken. He is a member of Garfield Post, 
No. 21, G. A. R. Mrs. Parker is a Prohi- 
bitionist, and a member of the Wesleyan 
Methodist Church at Lind Center. Mr. 
Parker is no office-seeker; he was once a 
Democrat, but is now a stanch Republican. 



ROBERT MILLER, the owner and 
manager of the Symco sawmill, is 
recognized as a leader in business 
circles in his section of Waupaca 
county, and his prominence well entitles 
him to representation in this volume devoted 



VOMMEMOIiATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



6S7- 



to the life record of the pioneers and lead- 
ing citizens of the county- 

A native of Canada, our subject was born 
in the Province of Ouebec, November 19, 
1846, and is a son of John and Ann (\'art) 
Miller, the former a farmer and lumberman 
by occupation. The paternal grandparents 
were John and Elizabeth (Cowan) Miller, 
and were of Scotch descent. The maternal 
grandparents, of Scotch and English line- 
age, were William and Mary (McDonald) 
Vart. In the family of our subject's parents 
were the following children: William, John, 
Robert, Andrew, John, Charles, Mary, James, 
David, Elizabeth and Thomas. 

The educational privileges which Robert 
Miller received were confined to those af- 
forded by the common schools, and often 
his attendance thereon was prevented by 
various circumstances. On going to school 
a broad river had to be crossed, and as there 
was no bridge the children reached the oppo- 
site bank by means of a little rowboat. The 
parents owned a farm of 365 acres of land, 
and were quite successful. They spent their 
entire lives in Canada, and occupied the 
same old homestead until the father died at 
the age of sixty-two 3'ears in August, 1879, 
and the mother passed away August 17, 1894. 
The children left home at early ages, and 
Robert, when a youth of seventeen, started 
out in life for himself. He promised to re- 
turn in six months, but twenty-four years 
elapsed ere he again visited the homestead 
in company with wife and children. He 
went to Oswego county, New York, where 
he engaged in lumbering, and thence, in 
1863, he made his way to Green Bay, Wis., 
where he carried on the same pursuit. Not 
long after he removed to Oconto, this State, 
his place of residence during the succeeding 
five years. There he continued in the same 
pursuit, and after his removal to Ashford, 
Fond du Lac Co., Wis., he embarked in the 
lumber business on his own account. 

Mr. Miller was married January 25, i86g, 
to Charlotte, daughter of Ezra J. and Arte- 
micia (Hare) Varney, the former a millwright 
and lumberman by occupation. Mrs. Miller 
is the eldest in their family of four children, 
and was born in Peru, N. Y., August 17, 
1846. The others of the family are Janet; 



Lillie, wife of Spencer Palmer, a job printer 
of Fond du Lac, Wis. ; and David, who died 
in infancy. The parents of this family re- 
moved to Vermont, thence to Illinois, and 
in 1863 became residents of Fond du Lac, 
Wis. , where the}' were living at the time of 
the marriage of Mr. and Airs. Miller. In 
Ashford, Wis., Mr. Miller established a 
small sawmill for the manufacture of lum- 
ber and broom-handles, and there conducted 
business for eight years, when he went to 
Fond du Lac, his place of residence during 
the succeeding two years. He was there 
engaged in shipping live stock to the Chi- 
cago markets, and also purchased a half in- 
terest in a drug store, but through unfor- 
tunate circumstances lost $1,300. He then 
came to Symco and purchased a sawmill, 
which he operated until 1882, when it was 
replaced by his present modern mill, which 
is supplied with the latest improved machin- 
ery, and fitted for turning out an excellent 
grade of work. This has become one of the 
leading industries of the community, and Mr. 
Miller is now doing a very extensive busi- 
ness and winning most excellent success. 
He has met with many reverses, at one 
time losing $3,600 through the failure of 
the Ostrander Furniture Company of Os- 
trander, Wis., but by persistence and dili- 
gence has overcome these, and they have 
seemed to serve him as an impetus to re- 
newed effort. 

Mr. and Mrs. Miller have a family of four 
children: Mary, who is engaged in teaching 
school; Harvey is right-hand man about the 
mill; Cora and Chester make themselves 
useful outside of school terms. Mrs. Miller, 
an estimable lady, holds membership with 
the Methodist Church. In his political faith 
Mr. Miller is a Republican. 



JOHN FREDERICK was born in Cale- 
donia, Racine Co., Wis., September 
16, i860, and is a son of Frank and 
Anna (Freywald) Frederick. Frank 
Frederick was born in Bohemia, was a 
farmer by occupation, and was twice mar- 
ried. By his first marriage there were three 
children, Frank, who is living in Oasis, 
Waushara Co. , Wis. , and two others, now 



6S8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



deceased. Mr. Frederick's first wife died 
about 1845. For his second wife he mar- 
ried Anna Freywald, who was born in Bo- 
hemia, and they have become the parents 
of ten children, as follows: Joseph, who 
died at the age of twenty-one, and whose re- 
mains were cremated; Anna, now Mrs. John 
Miller, of Palouse City, Wash. ; Josephine, 
now Mrs. John Fisher, of Phillips, Price 
Co., Wis.; Mary, now Mrs. John R. Boyles, 
of Spokane, ^^'ash. ; Catherine, now Mrs. 
John E. McCormick, of Spokane, \\'ash. ; 
John, the subject of this sketch; Charles, 
residing in Palouse City, Wash., and three 
that died in infancy. 

In 1854 Frank Frederick and his wife 
embarked for America, landing at New York 
after a voyage of forty-four days, and came 
direct to Racine county. Wis. He engaged 
in day labor, and began by cutting four-foot 
wood for fifty cents per cord. In 1867 the 
family came to Almond, Portage county, 
where Mr. Frederick bought seventy-five 
acres of land, which now forms a portion of 
the farm of his son John F"rederick. Two 
of the children received a business education, 
all the others a common-school education in 
Almond. For the most part they remained 
at home until of age, but finally only the 
present owner of the farm was left, the oth- 
ers having separated, one bj- one, and gone 
away. Frank Frederick died May 22, 1886, 
at the age of sixty-five years, and his widow 
March 31, 1890, also at the age of sixty- 
five. 

John Frederick obtained his knowledge 
of farming here on the homestead under his 
■father's direction, and, after his death, came 
into possession of the farm, which was in a 
state of cultivation, and then contained 245 
acres of land. In 1886 John Frederick was 
united in marriage with Mary Cizinsky, and 
two children have been born to their union, 
namely: Edna, born November 4, 1887, 
and Gertrude, July 8, 1891. The father of 
Mrs. Frederick, Frank Cizinsky, was born 
in Bohemia, where he was twice married. 
By his first wife (whose maiden name was 
Anna Martin) there were three children: 
Mary, now Mrs. John Frederick; Anthony, 
now living in Oasis, \\'aushara Co.. Wis.; 
and one who died in infanc}'. Previous to 



sailing for America, Mr. Cizinsky married, 
for his second wife. Miss Josephine Hinek, 
and they have become the parents of four 
children: Anna, now Mrs. Fred Collins, 
residing in Oasis; and Wenzel, Joseph and 
Catharine at home. Mr. and Mrs. Cizinsky 
came to America in 1871, and first settled in 
Almond township. Portage Co., Wis., but 
now own a farm in Oasis, Waushara county, 
on which they 'are living. 

Mr. Frederick has continued to reside 
on the homestead since his marriage. The 
log house, which was one of the buildings 
on the farm when he came into possession, 
stood until 1894, when he put in its stead a 
dwelling 18x28 in the main part, two 
stories in height, and with two Ls 16 x 28 
and 14 X 18 respectively. He now raises 
some thirty acres of potatoes yearly. Po- 
litically Mr. Frederick has heretofore been 
associated with the Democratic party. In 
1890 he was elected town clerk of Almond, 
which position he has since held. The 
family are members of the Methodist 
Church. 



GEORGE H. REAS. Among the in- 
fiuential and prominent citizens of 
Marathon who are indebted for 
their present prosperous condition 
to their own industry and energy, and who 
have raised themselves in the world from a 
state of comparative penury to that of ease 
and comfort, is the gentleman of whom this 
sketch is written. 

Mr. Reas now makes his home in 
Spencer, Marathon county, but is a native 
of the Empire State, his birth occurring on 
the 26th of April, 1828, in Fulton, Mont- 
gomery Co., N. Y. His father, James Reas, 
was born in the same place, and was a son 
of Henry Reas. The family is of Dutch 
descent, the great-grandparents having come 
from Holland and located in New York at 
an earl}' day, where they engaged in farming. 
James Reas was one of a family of six 
children, the others being John, Frederick, 
Peter, Lucinda and Nancy. He wedded 
Elizabeth Scholtz, who was also born in 
New York, in which State her parents car- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ried on agricultural pursuits, and reared a 
famil}' of five children, James, Levi, Theop- 
olis, David and Elizabeth. They were of 
German descent, thouj^h little is known con- 
cerning the family. Unto James and Eliza- 
beth Reas were born six children, namely: 
George, William, Edwin, Dewitt C., Web- 
ster and Mary. The family came to Wis- 
consin in 1842, making the journey mostly 
by boat, and landed at Kenosha, when there 
were but three dwellings in that now flourish- 
ing city. The father rented a farm near that 
place, where he located, there remaining 
only a year, when he purchased land which 
continued to be his home for many years. 
In 1845 the mother of our subject there died. 
The father was again married, Hannah Tyler 
becoming his wife, and to them were born 
two children, Denison and Delia. His death 
occurred in 1885 at the home of his son 
William, in Oregon. 

George Reas received a good education 
for those early days, being allowed to attend 
school two years in Kenosha after the death 
of his mother. When a young man of nine- 
teen he started out to fight life's battle for 
himself. With a team of three yoke of o.xen 
he went to Berlin, Green Lake Co., Wis.,, 
where he cleared and broke land for a Mr. 
Marsh, and remained in that vicinity for 
about twenty years. In 1S66 he came to 
Marathon county, locating near Knowlton, 
where he engaged in lumbering, but in the 
fall of 1875 he brought his family to Spencer. 
His present farm was purchased in 1879, 
though he had already lived in town where 
he had erected a dwelling. In 1883 he sold 
his property there and built on his farm near 
the village. 

In December, 1849, Mr. Reas married 
Elizabeth A. Van Horn, a native of Ohio, 
and a daughter of Thomas and Mary (New- 
kirk) Van Horn, who were of German de- 
scent, and became the parents of two chil- 
■dren, Elizabeth and Jerome. Her family 
removed to Whitewater, Wis. , at an early 
date, where the father owned and operated 
a sawmill and carding machine. His death 
occurred in 1886, but his wife had died 
many years previous, passing away in 1861. 
Mr. and Mrs. Reas have eight Hving chil- 
dren: Adaline, Burton, Edwin, 'Frank, 



Fred, Henry, Perley and Jennie; and have 
lost three, Hattie and two boys. 

Politically our subject is a Republican, 
always supporting that party with his ballot. 
He served as assessor of Berlin, Wis., for 
three years, but with that exception he has 
never filled office, though often urged to ac- 
cept the same. Mr. Reas is an intelligent, 
wide-awake citizen of liberal views, and 
heartily sympathizes with every movement 
that will in any way aid in the prosperity 
and development of the countrv. 



M 



RS. HARRIET J. VEYSEY was 
born February 3, 1834, near 
Oneida, N. Y. , and was the sixth 
child and fourth daughter in a 
family which numbered three sons and eight 
daughters. The parents, Nicholas and Mary 
(Packard) Poetsinger, were also natives of 
New York. She acquired a good education, 
and for eight terms engaged in teaching 
school in the Empire State and Wisconsin, 
coming to the latter in the fall of 1855 with 
a married sister. Her father died in Wis- 
consin, and her mother in New York. 

Our subject was married October 11, 
1857, in East Milton, Rock Co., Wis., to 
Thomas F. Veysey, who was borp August 
4, 1834, in Niles, Mich., a son of John Vey- 
sey, who originally lived in New York, and 
in 1 84 1 became a resident of Wisconsin. 
Thomas Veysey came to Waupaca in 1855, 
and worked in a sawmill for his father, who, 
after selling his mill, built the first large ho- 
tel in Waupaca. The son also worked for 
some time in a sash and door factory in that 
place. In the fall of 1857 he and his wife 
took up their residence in Waupaca county, 
and in the spring of 1858 located in St. 
Lawrence township. 

Their children are as follows: John N., 
who was born September 7, 1859, died Sep- 
tember 18 of the same year; Charles B., 
born September 14, i860, attended college 
in Valparaiso, Ind., was there graduated, 
and later was admitted to the bar and prac- 
ticed law in Waupaca (he is now engaged 
in merchandising in Montesano, Wash.); 
Marion E., born September 11, 1862, com- 



690 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



pleted his education in Valparaiso, Ind., 
and is now a merchant of Aberdeen, Wash. ; 
Wallis G., born June 5, 1868, resides in 
Ocosta. Wash.; Leon M., born November 
17, 1872, operates the home farm, and is a 
highly respected young man of St. Lawrence 
township; Hattie J., born October 17, 1874, 
is engaged in school teaching. 

When Mr. Veysey located in St. Law- 
rence township, Waupaca county, he rented 
land, and afterward removed to an eighty- 
acre farm in the northern part of the coun- 
ty, which he intended to improve, but when 
one winter had passed he took up his resi- 
dence in the city of Waupaca, working at 
the carpenter's trade. Again, however, he 
returned to farming, and rented land in 
Waupaca township until the fall of 1861, 
when he purchased eighty acres of wild land 
in Section 36, St. Lawrence township. 
There were no buildings upon the place, and 
a log cabin was their first home. The fam- 
ily made the first improvements upon the 
place, transforming the raw prairie into rich 
and fertile fields. Mr. Veysey added more 
land from time to time, and once owned 
nearly one thousand acres, of which two 
hundred acres were improved, but much of 
this was afterward sold. Mrs. Veysey and 
her children now reside upon a good farm 
of 280 acres, which is under a high state of 
cultivation, and improved with good build- 
ings, and all the accessories of a model 
farm. 

Mr. Veysey started out in life for him- 
self penniless, but by industry and good 
management became one of the wealthiest 
farmers of St. Lawrence township. He 
took an active interest in politics, support- 
ing the Republican party, and several times 
was chairman of the town board of super- 
visors. Here his good business ability was 
shown by his reducing the bonded indebted- 
ness of the township. He took quite an act- 
ive part in public affairs, and was always 
foremost in promoting public enterprises. 
Mrs. Veysey is a lady of excellent business 
and executive ability, who capably manages 
the interests of the farm, which is now a 
paying investment. It is one of the best 
farms in the neighborhood, and is character- 
ized by neatness in every particular. The 



famil)" is one of prominence in the com- 
munity, and their friends are man}-, and by 
them they are held in high esteem. 



JOHN W. BRUCE, one of the honored 
veterans of the Civil war, who during 
that important epoch in our country's 
history wore the blue and aided in the 
defense of the Union, is now one of the 
highly-esteemed citizens of Merrill, Lincoln 
county. On the 15th of August, 1841, he 
was born in Troy, N. Y. , and is a son of 
William Bruce, a native of England. The 
father was born in 18 16, and was of Scotch 
descent. But little is known of his family 
save that his parents were in limited cir- 
cumstances, and the father had several 
brothers and sisters. One brother, John, is 
still residing in England, where he is an inn 
keeper, and another, James, who has retired 
from business, now makes his home in New 
York City. He also has a sister who lives 
in Massachusetts. 

When a young man the father of our 
subject crossed the Atlantic to America. By 
his marriage with Sarah Masters he became 
the father of nine children, namely: Mary, 
the eldest, who died at the age of one year; 
and the others are Mary, John W. , Sarah 
F. , Amelia W. , Wallace, James H., Charles, 
A. and Carrie. The father was a shoemaker 
by trade, and brought his family to Wiscon- 
sin in 1850, where he located at Racine. 
There he established a shoe store, and re- 
mained in that city until 1857, when he re- 
moved to Allen Grove, Wis. Opening a 
shoe shop at that place, he continued busi- 
ness for some ten j'ears, on the expiration 
of which time he went to Clinton, ^^'is. , 
where he purchased a stock of goods and 
opened a shoe store which he conducted 
only a short time. His death occurred at 
that place in 1894. 

John W. Bruce pursued the elementary 
branches of study in the common schools of 
this State, but afterward attended the high 
school at Racine, Wis., being in the same 
class with Governor Upham. He remained 
in school most of the time until his enlist- 
ment on the 27tn of August, 1861, when he 
became a member of Company K, Seventh 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



691 



Wis. V. I. At that time he was but twenty 
years old. The conipanj' of which he was 
a member was formed at Beloit, Wis., and 
the regiment was attached to the famous 
Iron Brigade. The\' participated in the bat- 
tle of Gainesville, the second battle of Bull 
Run, and the engagements at South Moun- 
tain, Antietam and Fredericksburg, after 
which they went into winter quarters at 
Belle Plaine. At the battle of Gettysburg 
he was wounded, a bullet having pierced his 
left breast, and he lay on the battlefield for 
twenty-six hours, during which time he suf- 
fered terribly for want of water. The ball 
still remains in his body. This was on the 
ist of July, 1S63, and after the retreat of 
the Confederates, in whose lines he was left, 
he was taken to the field hospital at the old 
court house. He was later removed to Bal- 
timore, where he was under the charge of 
Dr. Bliss, who afterward became President 
Garfield's physician. After twenty days he 
was given a furlough and returned to Wiscon- 
sin, but sixty days later went to the officers' 
hospital at Annapolis, where he received an 
honorable discharge as his wound was pro- 
nounced incurable, and two years and three 
months elapsed before it healed. After his 
discharge he became clerk in Fairfax Hos- 
pital, and later entered the office of Quarter- 
master-General Meigs at Washington, where 
he remained two years. During his service 
he had been promoted on the 1st of May, 
1863, for bravery in action, from corporal 
to orderly-sergeant, and later on the ist of 
June was commissioned second-lieutenant. 

On his return home, Mr. Bruce worked 
for his father until he embarked in the same 
business, as a shoe dealer in Clinton, Wis. 
In 1 88 1 he came to Merrill, where he opened 
an insurance office, but sold out to Mr. Coon 
in 1890, and, accompanied by his family, 
removed to Minneapolis, Minn., where he 
also engaged in the insurance business for 
one year. He then returned to Merrill, and 
as Mr. Coon was going South on account of 
ill health, he resumed control of the busi- 
ness. Since Mr. Coon's death he has had 
entire charge. 

In Clinton, Wis., on the 20th of June, 
1869, Mr. Bruce was married to Sarah E. 
Wright, a native of that city and a daugh- 



ter of Randall and Henrietta (King) Wright. 
She is one of a family of seven children, the 
others being Frank, who is now deceased; 
Electa, Nancy, Adelbert, Albert and Elmer, 
who are yet living. Her parents, farming 
people, were natives of the Empire State, 
her mother now residing on a farm near 
Clinton, Wis., and her father being de- 
ceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Bruce have been 
born the following children: Ina, Harry R., 
Charles W., Roy J., Leonard J., Sadie 
Emma and Nellie H. Harry is married and 
resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Our subject and his wife are earnest 
Christian people, having held membership 
for a number of years with the Presbyterian 
Church. He is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, has been commander 
of Lincoln Post and aide-de-camp on staff 
of National Commander. As a Republican 
in politics, Mr. Bruce takes great interest in 
all political questions, although not an as- 
pirant for political preferment. He once 
allowed his name to appear for register of 
deeds, but was defeated, as the county was 
strongly Democratic. He has been alder- 
man from the Seventh ward of Merrill, but 
prefers to devote his time and attention to 
his business interests rather than to public 
affairs. During the days of our country's 
peril he valiantly aided in her defense, and 
in times of peace has also been a loyal 
citizen. 



HARLAN P. MAYNARD, manager of 
the Jackson Milling Company, at 
Wausau, Marathon county, was born 
in Solon, Maine, December 23, 
1837. Silas and Lucy (Jewett) Maynard, 
the parents of the subject of this sketch, 
were both born in Maine, and are now 
deceased. They have a family of five 
children, three of whom are living: Lucy, 
wife of Clark E. Smith, residing in Cornville. 
Maine; Calvin J., in Newport, Ky. , and 
Harlan P. 

Harlan P. Maynard was reared in Solon, 
Maine, until he was eighteen years of age, 
and received his education in the public and 
high schools of Solon and Bingham, Maine. 
In 1856 he left home, went to California, 



692 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and was engaged in mining in that country 
and in Nevada until 1867, when he returned 
to his native town and remained about a 
year. In 1868, at Upper Stillwater, Maine, 
Harlan P. Maynard was united in marriage 
with Miss Eunice Appleby, who was born in 
the same State. There have been no chil- 
dren by this union. Mr. Maynard went to 
Pendleton county, Ky. , the same year, 
was there for three years in the millwright 
business, returned home in 1871, and went 
to Peshtigo, Marinette Co., Wis., in the fall 
of the year, where he resided four years en- 
gaged as a millright. He removed to Wau- 
sau, Marathon county, in 1875, was in the 
grocery business there nearly eight years, 
and in 1883 became manager of the Wausau 
branch of the Jackson Milling Company, 
which in 1892 moved into the old Kickbusch 
mill. Mr. Maynard is a member of the 
Knights of Honor, is a Republican in poli- 
tics, and his religious affiliation is with the 
Presbyterian Church. He is a gentleman 
of high character, and is much esteemed as 
a citizen. 



EMANUEL DUTRUIT, who came to 
this country from the beautiful land 
of the Alps, is now one of the in- 
dustrious and progressive citizens of 
Merrill. His birth occurred in Switzerland 
on the 13th of December, 1827. His 
mother was called to her final home in i 845, 
leaving him an orphan. 

The education of our subject was re- 
ceived in the common schools of his native 
land, and at the age of sixteen he entered a 
banking house as an apprentice, remaining 
there two years. He then entered the mili- 
tary service of Switzerland during the war of 
1847, and became secretary of a brigade of 
artillery. After the close of the war he 
joined the artillery as a cadet, being made 
lieutenant in 1848, and thus served until his 
removal to America in April, 1850. 

On landing in New York City on the ist 
day of May, Mr. Dutruit proceeded at once 
to Illinois, making his first location in the 
town of Highland, Madison county, where 
he carried on a general store until 1855. In 
that year he sold out and came to Wiscon- 



sin, making his home in Centralia when that 
place had only about one hundred inhabit- 
ants. There he conducted a boarding house, 
and also engaged in the manufacture of 
shingles, but later opened a store in part- 
nership with his brother-in-law, E. B. Ros- 
sier, which business they continued until 
1862. In the fall of that year he met with 
an accident while out hunting with a party, 
receiving a gunshot which caused the loss of 
his left arm. He then gave up the mercan- 
tile business, and in November of the same 
year was elected county treasurer of Wood 
count}', which office he held fourteen con- 
secutive years, or until 1876. It is needless 
to say that his duties were always discharged 
faithfully, as his long retention in that posi- 
tion indicates that fact. During this period 
he also spent much time and money in the 
cultivation of cranberries, doing more to 
promote that enterprise than almost any 
other man in the State, but his labor did not 
meet with success, and on his failure he gave 
up his entire property, including his home- 
stead, to his creditors. On the ist of July, 
1880, he removed to Merrill, entering the 
employ of the T. B. Scott Lumber Com- 
pany, where he remained for seven years, 
giving entire satisfaction. He was elected 
county treasurer of Lincoln county in 
November, 1886, and at each successive 
election was again chosen to fill that office, 
serving in all eight years, his last term ex- 
piring on Januar}' i, 1895. 

On the iith of June, 1851, Mr. Dutruit 
married Sophia Mennet, also a native of 
Switzerland, born in October, 1829. She 
is one of a large family which came to 
America the same year as our subject. Her 
father, Emanuel Mennet, who was a land 
owner in Switzerland, and receiver-general 
of his district, died in France. His widow 
came with her children to America, and now 
makes her home in Centralia, Wis., an 
honored and respected old lady. Mr. and 
Mrs. Dutruit have no children of their own 
but adopted three, one of whom died when 
young, while the others are now married 
and have families of their own. 

Mr. Dutruit is a stalwart Democrat, hav- 
ing ever been an active worker in support of 
the principles of his jiarty. He always 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



693; 



proved a popular and efficient officer, giving 
close attention to the duties of the office, 
and wins the respect of all with whom he 
comes in contact, either in a business or so- 
cial way. He is a Master Mason, being a 
charter member of the lodge at Merrill, and 
has belonged to that order since 1S5S, when 
he joined at Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. 



WILLIAM C. SLOSSON, engineer 
of the Wausau Waterworks, was 
born in Wausau, Marathon county, 
June 4, 1852, and is a son of Lor- 
enzo W'. and Georgiana (McLaughlin; Slos- 
son, who were both born in New York State, 
of Scotch and Irish ancestry. They came 
west in 1848, lived in the State of Illinois 
one year, and in 1849 removed to Wausau, 
Marathon county, being among the pioneer 
settlers of that city. There were born to the 
parents of Lorenzo W. Slosson a family of 
five children, of whom four are living, 
namely: Lucy, wife of Theodore Appleton; 
Mary, wife of John Tuttle; Melinda, wife of 
John Verbeck, all residing in Wausau; and 
Heeman, living in Chicago, Illinois. 

Lorenzo W. Slosson was engaged in the 
manufacture of shingles in W^ausau, and 
worked at lumbering in the woods and on 
the W^isconsin river up to the time of his 
death, which occurred October 28, 1863. 
His widow died May 3, 1866. The}' were 
the parents of six children, all living, name- 
ly: Helen, wife of Joseph McEwen, resid- 
ing in Wausau; William C., the subject of 
this sketch; Florence, wife of Samuel Davis, 
residing at Port Townsend, Wash. ; Charles, 
in Wausau, Wis. ; Henry, in Arizona, and 
Elbert, in Rhinelander, Oneida Co. , Wis- 
consin. 

William C. Slosson was reared to man- 
hood in Wausau, educated in the public 
schools of the city, and has been a resident 
there since his birth. After leaving school 
he worked at shingle-manufacturing for about 
ten years, and, while thus employed, also 
learned the work of a stationary engineer. 
This occupation he followed until February, 
1886, when he was appointed to his present 
position in the water-works department of 



the city of Wausau. Mr. Slosson has never 
been married. He and the other members- 
of the family attend the Universalist Church. 



JAMES SMITH was born in the county 
of Norfolk, England, October i, 1826,. 
and is a son of John Smith, who was a 
mason and bricklayer by trade, and 
became a man of means. 

The mother of our subject bore the maiden 
name of Annie Walker, and was the daugh- 
ter of an army officer, under whom her hus- 
band had served in the East Indies, prior to 
their marriage. Her father was a wealthy 
man, and from him she inherited quite a 
legacy. In June, 1836, John Smith, ac- 
companied by his wife and five children, 
James, John, David, Ann and Hannah, 
started from London for America, crossing 
the Atlantic in the sailing vessel "Two 
Brothers," which, after a voyage of nine 
weeks, reached New York. They had an 
acquaintance living at Brockport, N. Y., 
and in consequence made that their destina- 
tion. Near there Mr. Smith secured a farm, 
but after a si.x-years' residence thereon he 
found that a perfect title could not be se- 
cured, and concluded to come to the West, 
reaching Wisconsin in June, 1841. The 
State was yet a Territory, and was thought 
to be on the very borders of civilization. 
Their route west was by way of the Erie 
canal to Buffalo, and on the old lake steamer 
"Chesapeake" to Milwaukee, near where 
lived an acquaintance, Andrew Edkin, a 
Scotchman, who was a tanner and currier 
by trade. He had followed that business in. 
Brockport, N. Y., where Mr. Smith had 
engaged in hauling tan-bark. 

Twelve miles west of Milwaukee, in what 
is now Brookfield township, Waukesha 
county, Mr. Smith purchased from the gov- 
ernment eighty acres of heavily-timbered 
land, the forests being uncut and the soil 
unimproved. After building a good log 
house he began to clear a farm, and made 
it his home until 1858, when he removed to 
Marquette county, Wis. After selling his 
land in Milwaukee county he located on 
another farm in Marquette county, where a 



694 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



few years later his death occurred. He was 
born July 8, 1800, and passed away in Feb- 
ruary, 1S60, while his wife died on the same 
farm in Marquette county, in February, 1893, 
at the advanced age of eighty-six years, and 
was laid by his side in the cemetery, three 
miles west of Westfield. Of the children 
we give brief mention, as follows: James is 
our subject; John is a farmer of Marquette 
county; Ann became the wife of Charles 
Hurd, and died in Winnebago county, Wis. ; 
David is an agriculturist of Marquette county; 
Hannah died in childhood; and George, the 
only one born in the United States, is now 
living in Michigan. 

James Smith began his education in his 
native land, but was only ten years of age 
at the time of the emigration of the family 
to America, so that his school life was com- 
pleted in this country. He came to Wis- 
consin during its Territorial days when the 
work upon the farms was plenty and ardu- 
ous, and when there were many hardships 
to be met and difficulties to be overcome. 
When about eighteen years of age he had 
the misfortune to break his right leg be- 
tween the knee -and ankle, and when par- 
tially reco\ered he concluded to give up 
farming and began learning the carpenter's 
trade under John O'Brien, of Brookfield 
township, Milwaukee county. 

In that township a few years later, Mr. 
Smith wedded Miss Nancy Hughes, the 
marriage taking place May 5, 1849. The 
lady was born in County Derry, Ireland, 
November 26, 1830, a daughter of Charles 
and Jane (Stewart) Hughes. The father 
was a weaver, and came with his family to 
this country about 1840, crossing the ocean in 
the vessel "Lancashire," which after sailing 
si.x weeks and four days reached the harbor 
of New York. They then went to Crown 
Point, N. Y., and later to Glens Falls, that 
State, where the father died. The family 
subsequently removed to Milwaukee county. 
Wis., during its Territorial days. 

After his marriage, Mr. Smith worked 
at his trade in Brookfield, this State, until 
the fall of 1850, when he went to Appleton, 
then a small place with only a few houses 
and stores. There he manufactured sash, 
doors and blinds until failing health caused 



him to abandon work, when, selling out the 
business, he began working as a day laborer 
with the Fox River Improvement Company, 
being thus employed until January, 1857. 
He then came to Belmont township. Port- 
age county, and built a home on some land 
in Section 5, which he had purchased in 
September, 1855. hauling the lumber from 
Spurr's Mills, in Lanark township. A few 
weeks later he returned to Appleton and 
brought his wife and three children to the 
new home, household goods and family be- 
ing loaded into one sled. The roads had 
not yet been made, and the route was a very 
circuitous one. The farm, comprising ninety- 
two and a half acres, Mr. Smith first planted 
in potatoes and corn, and as fast as possible 
placed it all under the plow, until now only 
ten acres are unbroken, the remainder being 
a rich and valuable tract, which yields 
bounteous harvests that result in a good in- 
come. 

The children of the family were Charles 
J., a farmer of Plover township, Portage 
county; Hannah J., wife of F. E. Morgan, 
of Almond township. Portage county; Sarah 
A., wife of James H. Flagg, of Waupaca, 
Wis. ; Maggie E. . wife of \\'illiam Ward, of 
Belmont township; Eliza, who died in in- 
fanc)'; W^illiam H., of Lanark township; 
Irvin F., who operates the old homestead; 
and Robert S., who died in infancy. 

On December 14, 1861, in Belmont, Mr. 
Smith joined the boys in blue of Company 
E, Eighteenth Wis. V. I., and with the 
regiment went to Milwaukee, and thence to 
Shiloh, where their first battle occurred. 
In the following June he was taken ill and 
assigned to the sixth division hospital near 
Pittsburg Landing. On the 9th of Octo- 
ber, 1S62, he was transferred to a govern- 
ment hospital in Keokuk, Iowa, and soon 
came home on thirty days' furlough. 
Within that time he was promised a dis- 
charge, but never received it, owing to the 
negligence of an officer. During his absence 
Mrs. Smith had the sole care of their five 
children, the youngest only six months old, 
and her resources were taxed to the utmost 
to provide for them, and care for the house- 
hold and the farm, but her task was nobly 
performed. She is a most estimable lad)', 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



695 



and a member of the Methodist Church. 
With one exception, Mr. Smith has always 
supiported the Repubhcan nominees for 
President, and is deeply interested in the 
growth and success of his part}', but has 
never sought or desired official preferment 
for himself, although he has served in school 
offices. He was a loyal citizen in the days 
of war, and is as faithful in times of peace, 
and in all of the relations of life his course 
has been such as to command universal es- 
teem and confidence. 



M 



OXTRAMLLE D. COREY (de- 
ceased) was born in Farmersville, 
X. Y. , August II, 1822. His par- 
ents, Benjamin and Ruth Corey, 
were residents of New York State, were 
of English ancestry, and are both now de- 
ceased. 

In early life M. D. Corey accompanied 
his parents on their removal to Belvidere, 
111., where he learned the trade of a wheel- 
wright. His uncle, George Stevens, from 
whom Stevens Point derives its name, was 
the first white settler in Wausau, Marathon 
county, and built the first sawmill in this 
locality. Mr. Corey came to Wausau with 
him in 1845, and engaged with him in the 
sawmill. He also worked at his trade for a 
few years. At Wausau, on April 30, 1851, 
M. D. Corey was united in marriage with 
Britannia McLaughlin, who was born in 
Chazy, Clinton Co., N. Y. , November i, 
1825, and they have become the parents of 
two children, as follows: Ida, who was born 
June 8, 1854, is the wife of V. A. Alderson, 
and resides in Wausau; and Jessie A., born 
September 17, 1857, died July 14, 1881. 

The parents of Mrs. M. D. Corey. Elijah 
and Diana McLaughlin, were born in Ver- 
mont, and were both early settlers of Wau- 
sau, having located here in 1848. After 
living here about. four years, they removed 
to Plainfield, Waushara Co., Wis., where 
the}' resided until death. Nine children 
were born to them, of whom only four, at 
last accounts, are known by the family here 
to be living: Alphonso, residing in Plain- 
field; one living in Dakota; one whose resi- 
dence is unknown, and Mrs. Corey. Mr. 



Corey was engaged in gristmilling at the 
time of his death, which occurred on De- 
cember 24, 1 87 1. 



AMBROSE GRAGER owns and oper- 
ates a good farm of 240 acres in 
lola township, Waupaca county, 
where he is engaged in general farm- 
ing and lumbering. In 1857 he was born 
in that township, in Section 13, and is a 
son of Gregor Gregorson, a native of Nor- 
way. He attended the district schools of 
the neighborhood, but most of his educa- 
tion was obtained after he had reached the 
age of twenty years. His early life was 
passed in the usual manner of farmer lads 
in a new, undeveloped country, and, be- 
sides aiding in labors of the home farm, he 
also worked in the lumber woods, his earn- 
ings going toward the support of the family. 
When he had attained his majority he be- 
gan life for himself, being employed by the 
lumber-men " on drive " and in the woods. 

Mr. Grager at the age of twenty-four was 
united in marriage with Miss Annie L. John- 
son, the ceremony being performed in the 
Scandinavia Church. The lady is a native 
of Norway, and came with her parents to 
the United States. To this worthy couple 
have been born six children, all of whom 
are at home: Nora G., Florence G., Julia 
A., William E., Ellen L. and Lillie V. 

After his marriage Mr. Grager removed 
to North Dakota, locating en a claim of 
prairie land, which he had previously pre- 
empted, and there resided for four years, 
when he returned to lola township. Here 
he purchased 240 acres of fine land in Sec- 
tions 13, 14 and 24, which he has since cul- 
tivated and improved, and has built a good 
barn. He has what can be called the best 
farm in lola township, i 10 acres of which 
he has placed under the plow, and it now 
yields to him a ready return for his labor. 
Although he started out for himself with no 
capital, his sound judgment and good man- 
agement soon brought him success, and he 
is now numbered among the foremost agri- 
culturists of the communit}'. 

The original name of our subject was 
Ambrose Greggerson Halla, but preferring 



696 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the name of Ambrose Grager, he now goes 
by that title. He is a strong temperance 
man, being an enemj' to the saloon and its 
evil influence, and believes in the extermi- 
nation of the traffic as now conducted. 
^^'hile not radical on the question, his ideas 
are consistent, and such as any Christian 
man should advocate. He and his family 
belong to Hitterdall Lutheran Church, of 
which at present he is foreman and has 
served as trustee. He helped build the 
house of worship, and has always taken an 
active part in church matters, being a 
teacher in the Sunday-school. Educational 
affairs have always received his support, and 
he served as a member of the board that 
erected the academy at Scandinavia, which 
accommodates i 50 students, and was built 
by volunteer subscriptions from people of 
all sects and parties, and of which he is 
now a director and trustee. Mr. Grager 
takes an active interest in local political af- 
fairs, but has never been an offensive par- 
tisan. 



KNUTE B. KNUTSON, a citizen of 
Waupaca county, and a representa- 
tive farmer of St. Lawrence town- 
ship, was born in Xorway, Decem- 
ber 23, 1845, and when a child of eight 
years crossed the water with his parents. 
Bent and Kisten (Johnson ) Knutson. 

During the latter part of his residence in 
Norway the father was a lumberman. Hop- 
ing to better his financial condition, for he 
was by no means a wealthy man, he sailed 
for America with his wife and four children. 
They left Tvedestrand for Quebec, May i, 
1853, on the sailing vessel " Condor," which 
reached its destination after a voyage of nine 
weeks and five days. This vessel had been 
built in Norway, and a part of the timbers 
was supplied by the father. The destination 
of the family was Scandinavia township, 
\\'aupaca county, where a number of their 
countrymen had previously located, and they 
made their wa}' by lake to Milwaukee and 
across the country by team, reaching their 
new home July 30, 1853. The father had 
a brother, Peter, living in that locality, and 
with him they made a temporary home. 



There were probably not more than twelve 
settlers in the township. Mr. Knutson pur- 
chased eighty acres of land of his brother 
Peter in Section 26, Scandinavia township, 
a wild tract upon which not a furrow had 
been turned, and there erected the first build- 
ing on the place, a log cabin i6.\26 feet. 
He afterward purchased land elsewhere and 
converted the tract into good farms. At 
one time he owned one hundred and twenty 
acres of land in Section 26, Scandinavia 
township, but in 1866 he removed to St. 
Lawrence township, purchasing a farm in 
Section 30, which adjoined the land of Sec- 
tion 25, Scandinavia township. During his 
residence there the dam on the south branch 
of Little Wolf river was built, and the mill 
utilizing the waterpower erected. Mr. 
Knutson received for this improvement a 
third interest in the mill, and an undivided 
third of the southwest quarter of Section 
30, St. Lawrence township, whither he re- 
moved. Only four acres of the land was 
broken. He retained his interest in the 
mill, in connection with E. L. Brown. O. E. 
Druetzer and Herman H. Tobias for a time, 
and subsequently purchased his partners' in- 
terests, carrying on the milling business until 
about 1869, when he sold out. He then 
engaged exclusively in farming until about 
1 87 1, when his son, Knute, assumed the 
management of the home place. 

Bent Knutson was a stanch supporter of 
the Republican party, one of the first six 
Republican voters in Scandinavia township, 
but never sought or desired political prefer- 
ment. He was born in November, 1 8 1 i , 
and died in February, 1872, his remains be- 
ing interred in the Lutheran Cemetery at 
Scandinavia. He had long been a faithful 
member of the Lutheran Church. His fam- 
ily number the following children: Tora, 
wife of Stephen Jacobson, of Scandinavia 
township, Waupaca county; Inger, who be- 
came the wife of H. O. Lee, and died on 
the Knutson homestead, in Scandinavia 
township; Hannah M., wife of Thor Thor- 
son, a merchant of the city of Scandinavia; 
and Knute B. At the time of the father's 
death the two younger children were still at 
home, and our subject at once assumed the 
care and responsibility of the farm, supply- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



697 



ing a home for his aged mother in her later 
years. She was born February 19, 1812, 
and has now passed the eightieth milestone 
on life's journey, yet is still well-preserved, 
displaying remarkable \itality. For many 
years she has been a faithful member of the 
Lutheran Church. 

Knute B. Knutson began his education in 
the schools of his native land, and attended 
the first school in Scandinavia township, it 
being situated on the north bank of the lit- 
tle lake, in Section 10. The building was a 
rude structure of tamarack poles, tweve feet 
square, and the teacher was an aged Yankee, 
and a very kind old gentleman, whom Mr. 
Knutson remembers distinctly on account 
of the pains which he took to make the lit- 
tle boy distinguish the difference between the 
two letters F and T. He has seen great 
impro\ement in the schools, and is a warm 
friend of education. During his youth he 
worked upon the farm, and also sailed upon 
the lakes in the hope of benefiting his health, 
making trips to Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, 
Oswego, Kingston, Detroit and Chicago. 

On the 3d of November, 1875, in the 
Scandinavian Lutheran Church, was cele- 
brated the marriage of Mr. Knutson and Miss 
Inger M. Paulson, who was born in Rock 
River, Jefferson Co., Wis., January 4, 1851, 
a daughter of John Paulson, a native of 
Norway, who became a resident of Scandina- 
via township, \\'aupaca county, in the latter 
part of the "fifties." The young couple 
began their domestic life upon the farm, 
which has since been their home, and to 
them have been born the following chil- 
dren: Ida A., Josephine B., Cora A.. Carl 
T., James A., Hannah C, Clara E. and 
Edna O., all yet living. 

Mr. Knutson now owns 182 acres of land, 
a finely-improved farm, supplied with all 
modern conveniences and good buildings. 
He has transformed it from an uncultivated 
tract into one of rich fertility, and it is now 
one of the best properties in the locality. 
In politics he is a Republican, and is recog- 
nized as one of the party leaders in St. Law- 
rence township. He has been honored with 
several local offices, has served for two 
years as chairman of his township, and in 
1895 was elected to a third term as town 



treasurer. He has also been treasurer of 
the joint district for a number of years, and 
has filled other positions, discharging all 
duties with a promptness and fidelity that 
have won him high connnendation. He and 
his wife are members of the Lutheran Church 
of Scandinavia, and Mr. Knutson is one of 
the highly-respected citizens of the com- 
munity where he makes his home, enjoying 
the confidence and goodwill of all who know 
him. 



WILLIAM LOZIER was born in 
Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in 1834, 
and is a son of William B. and 
Anna (Marble) Lozier. The father 
was a farmer by occupation, and reared a 
family of seven children, of whom \\'illiam 
is the eldest. Levi, now of Meadville, 
Penn., enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment 
for the Civil war, and after three months 
was wounded. Subsequently he joined the 
cavalry, and served throughout the struggle. 
Isaac, also one of the boys in blue, enlisted 
at Oshkosh, in 1861, in the Third Wiscon- 
sin Infantry, and after serving eighteen 
months in that regiment, was for a similar 
period with the Pioneer Corps. He is now 
living in Waupaca township, \\'aupaca 
county. Jane is the wife of Lewis C- Dille, 
of Symco. Alice is the widow of William 
^^'ood, also an old soldier. 

The gentleman whose name begins this 
sketch spent his boyhood days in a manner 
not unlike that of other farmer lads of that 
day. He was raised in the county of his 
nativity, and its common schools afforded 
him his educational privileges. In 1858, 
he took up his residence in Bloomington. 
111., and eight years later came to Waupaca 
county. On the 14th of September, 1861, 
he, too, became a Union soldier, enlisting 
at Bloomington, Xo\ember 14, 1864, in 
Company C, Fifth Wisconsin Infantrv. He 
was mustered into service at Springfield, 
111., in Company C, Fifth Illinois Cavalry, 
thence went to St. Louis and Pilot Knob, 
Mo., and took part in the raid through Ar- 
kansas. His regiment was first to reach 
Helena, Ark., at the time of the battle 
there. Mr. Lozier was also in the siege of 



698 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Vicksburg, the battle of Meredith and nu- 
merous other engagements, and continued : 
in the service until the expiration of his ; 
term, when, in 1864, he was honorably dis- 
charged at Springfield, and returned at once 
±0 his home. 

In November of the same year Mr. Lo- 
zier came to Waupaca county, locating in 
the midst of the forests of Union township, 
where he cleared a tract of land and opened 
up a farm. This he afterward traded for 
the forty-acre tract which constitutes his 
present farm, and which is now a highly cul- 
tivated region. 

On January 23, 1S66, Mr. Lozier was 
united in marriage with Martha Weatherly, 
a native of Lake county. 111., and a daugh- 
ter of George Weatherly, who removed to 
Wisconsin, and spent his remaining days 
in Union township, Waupaca county. Mr. 
and Mrs. Lozier are now the parents of four 
children, two sons and two daughters, 
Charles, Cornelia, Grace F. and John. 

Mr. Lozier takes a deep interest in po- 
litical affairs, is a stanch advocate of Repub- 
lican principles, and never fails to cast his 
ballot in support of his views. Socially, he 
is connected with J. B. Steadman Post, G. 
A. R. In the various relations of life he 
manifests the same loyal and trustworthy 
spirit that he displayed when, at the coun- 
try's call for aid, he donned the blue and 
went to the defense of the old flag and the 
cause it represented. He has the best in- 
terests of the communit}^ at heart, and well 
deserves mention among the valued and in- 
fluential citizens of Waupaca county. He 
is also one of the early settlers of the coun- 
ty, has witnessed its growth from the days 
■when it was on the frontier, and has watched 
its progress and development until it has 
taken a place among the leading counties of 
the Badger State. 



JOHN HAZEN is one of the self-made 
men of Waupaca count}', whose suc- 
cess in life is due entirely to his own 
efforts. He is also one of the honored 
pioneers of his localitj", his residence there 
dating from 1851, covering a period of more 
than a third of a century. He is, therefore. 



familiar with the history of his locality, and 
in the work of progress and development he 
has been an important factor. 

A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Hazen was 
born in Erie county, November 4, 1830. and 
is a son of Silas and Einih' (Mattocks) 
Hazen. In the familj- were four children, 
John being the only son. He lost his mother 
when he was a bo\- of about eight years, and 
the famih' was then separated. Our subject 
lived with different farmers in the neighbor- 
hood of his early home until about si.xteen 
years of age, when he began working in his 
own interest, laboring as a farm hand 
through the summer months, while in the 
winter season he would work for his board 
and the privilege of attending school. His 
educational advantages were somewhat lim- 
ited, but he made good use of his oppor- 
tunities. 

In the fall of 1851, accompanied by his 
cousin, George Pope, he started for Waupaca 
county. Wis., traveling from Erie, Penn., to 
Sheboygan, this State, thence to Fond du 
Lac, then by stage to Berlin, and on to what 
is now Lind township, then a wild section, 
which had not yet been surveyed. He pre- 
empted land and began the development of 
a farm. As a companion and helpmeet on 
life's journey he married Mrs. Saline Pope, 
widow of Pline Pope. Her maiden name 
was Wilson, and she was born in New York, 
May 7, 1823. They were married in Wey- 
auwega, Wis., July 19, 1857, and began 
their domestic life upon a farm in Section 9, 
Lind township, his present home. When 
this property came into his possession, only 
about thirty acres of the land was cleared, 
but with characteristic energy he began its 
development, and soon the once wild tract 
was made to bloom and blossom as the rose. 
He now has 120 acres of valuable land, and 
his possessions are a lasting monument to 
his thrift, enterprise and well-spent life. 

In 1873, Mr. Hazen was called upon to 
mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away 
on the 9th of October, and was laid to rest 
in Lind Cemetery. Their daughter, Hattie, 
was married September 21, 1878, to E. C. 
Prink, in Weyauwega. Mr. Prink is a native 
of Oshkosh, '\Vis. , and a son of Collins M. 
and Maria (Connie) Prink, the former a na- 



COJ^MEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



699 



tive of New York, and the latter of New 
Brunswick. He was only three years of age 
when he came with his parents to Waupaca 
county, and in Lind township he was reared 
and educated. His father died when he was 
a youth of fourteen, and since that time he 
has been dependent upon his own resources. 
During the past five years he has been en- 
gaged in dehorning cattle, and as he is an 
expert in this line, his services are always in 
demand, and he is frequently called into 
neighboring counties. He now conducts the 
farm of his father-in-law, and in April, 1894, 
in addition to his agricultural pursuits, he 
established the Oak Grove Dairy, building 
up a prosperous business. He is a man of 
great diligence and perseverance, and his 
prosperity is the reward of his own labors. 
During the past eight years he has also en- 
gaged successfully in stock raising. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Prink have been born four children: 
Alice Mae, \\'ilbert J., and Elmer C, at 
home, and one child, R. B., now deceased. 
In his political views, Mr. Prink is a Repub- 
lican, while Mr. Hazen is a stalwart Demo- 
crat. 



TOI^GER GILBERTSON. Among the 
many worthy citizens that Norway 
has furnished to Wisconsin, is this 
gentleman who was born in the 
" Land of the Midnight Sun," April 7, 1829. 
His father was a farmer of limited means, 
and died when his son was only si.\ years of 
age. The latter received very meagre 
school privileges, and followed farming in 
his native land until twentj'-seven years of 
age. He lived frugally, worked industrious- 
ly, and in that time saved a small sum of 
nionej-, which he determined to use in pay- 
ing his passage to America. 

In the spring of 1857, Mr. Gilbertson 
sailed from Christiania on the first trip made 
by the " Three Brothers," a Norwegian sail- 
ing vessel, which had on board three hun- 
dred passengers, and was four weeks and 
four days in making the voyage to Quebec. 
Mr. Gilbertson resolved to go to the Indian 
lands in Northern Wisconsin, and from 
Oshkosh, this State, went up Wolf river to 
Northport, then walked to Hcl\-etia town- 



ship, Waupaca county, where his brother 
Christian was living. He earned his first 
money in America by chopping wood at 
twenty-five cents per cord for Mr. Strick- 
land, a carpenter of lola. He then worked 
for different farmers, and was employed at 
lumbering for about si.x years. He ran on 
the Wisconsin river to Galena, 111., and on 
down the Mississippi to St. Louis, follow- 
ing that business for several seasons. The 
first land he ever owned was a forty-acre 
tract in Farmington township, \\'aupaca 
county, buthe never lived upon it. In 1867, he 
purchased 160 acres of land in Section 36, 
lola township, whereon he built a log house, 
and began the development of the land, which 
was then all wild. He paid $182 for an 
o.\-team, which he used in cultivating his 
farm. 

On November 18, 1S71, in Helvetia. 
Wis., Mr. Gilbertson was united in marriage 
with Miss Elizabeth Isler, a native of Switz- 
erland, and a daughter of Henry Isler, who 
came to the United States in August, 1855, 
settling in Scandinavia township, Waupaca 
county. They have two children: Gustax'e, 
who was born April 13, 1872, and aids in 
the operation of the home farm; and .Adolph, 
born January 29, 1876. 

On November 16, 1861, Mr. Gilbertson 
manifested his loyalty to his adopted coun- 
try by enlisting in Company I, Fifteenth 
Wis. V. I., and was discharged at Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn. , February 10, 1865. Al- 
though slightly wounded in the right arm by 
a shell at Missionary Ridge, he did not leave 
the scene of action, but his health was 
greatly impaired by his service, and since his 
return he has never been the same man 
physically that he was before he entered the 
army. In politics he takes no active in- 
terest, and in religious belief he is a Lu- 
theran, while socially he is a charter mem- 
ber of lola Post, No. 99, G. A.. R. 

Mr. Gilbertson is a self-made man, who 
started out a poor boy, but through his own 
efforts has become one of the substantial 
citizens of lola township. He passed 
through pioneer experiences such as will 
never be borne again in that locality, and his 
arduous labors have transformed the wild 
tract of land which he bought in those early 



700 



COMMEMOEA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



days into one of the finest farms in this sec- 
tion of the State. His manner of dealing 
with his fellow men has won for him a good 
name, and the respect of all with whom he 
has been brought into contact. In all his 
labors he has been ably assisted by his estim- 
able wife, who has indeed been to him a true 
helpmeet, and now that his health does not 
permit him to carry on general farm work 
this is looked after by his sons, 
excellent }oung men of good 
ability. 



who are 
business 



GEORGE H. HOPKINS, a prominent 
business man of Weyauwega, is a 
representative of one of the early 
pioneer families of Waupaca count}-. 
He was born in New York State in 1848, a 
son of Thomas and Eliza Jane (Van Ornum) 
Hopkins, who in 1852, when George H., the 
third child of the family, was four years old, 
migrated from New York to Wisconsin. The 
journey was made by boat to Milwaukee, 
thence up the Wolf river to Fremont, thence 
by skiff up Little ri\'er to Weyauwega town- 
ship. 

Thomas Hopkins homesteaded in Section 
18, Weyauwega township, and improved the 
farm, making it his home for many years, 
but in later life residing in the village of 
Weyauwega, where his death occurred in 
1893. His excellent helpmeet, who uncom- 
plainingly had shared the privations of the 
pioneer home, was a native of Canada, and 
died in \\'eyauwega in 1889. Mr. Hopkins 
was a well and widely known citizen of the 
county, and a Republican in politics. His 
children were John, who died of quick con- 
sumption in 1862, and who had tried to en- 
list, but had been rejected on account of ill 
health; Marietta, who resides in Weyauwega 
township; Alvira, wife of John A. Baxter, of 
Waupaca, and George H. 

George H. Hopkins was reared in \\'ey- 
auwega township, and in his early childhood 
here the woods abounded in Indians and 
wild game. He attended the district schools, 
and aided in clearing and opening up the 
home farm. He then purchased eighty acres, 
which he impro\ed to a high state of culti- 
\'ati')n. In 1871 he erected a good two- 



story residence, 16x25, with two one-story 
additions, 16x28 and 16x18, respective!)-. 
In 1870 he had erected a substantial barn, 
36x49 feet. Mr. Hopkins remained here, en- 
gaged in general farming until the spring of 
1895, when he traded the land for property 
in Weyauwega and engaged in the saloon 
business, in which he still continues. 

Mr. Hopkins was married, in Weyauwe- 
ga township, in 1 869, to Emma Smith, 
daughter of John and Jane Smith, who in 
1855 migrated from New York to \\'eyau- 
wega township, Waupaca county, and en- 
gaged in farming. Mr. Smith enlisted in the 
Fourteenth Wis. V. I., was taken prisoner, 
confined in Andersonville prison, and there 
died of starvation. His wife died in 1889. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins two children were 
born, John Wesley, now a resident of Lind 
township, and Nettie, who resides at home 
and is now a college student at Delavan, 
Wis. Mrs. Hopkins died in 1879, and in 
1 88 1 Mr. Hopkins married, for his second 
wife, Emily La Geer, a native of Ireland. 
Two children have been born to them, Cora 
and Harry. Mr. Hopkins is a Republican. 
He is a member of Weyauwega Lodge No. 
82, F. & A. M., and enjoys a wide circle of 
friends and acquaintances, among whom he 
is deservedly popular and most highl\- es- 
teemed. 



WILLIAM B. PHILBRICK, a promi- 
nent grocer of Wausau, Marathon 
county, was born in Jefferson coun- 
ty, N. Y., October 7, 1844, and is 
a son of Closen and Jeannette (Brisbin) 
Philbrick. 

Members of the Philbrick family, which 
is of ancient English ancestry, settled in the 
State of Maine as early as 1630, and Will- 
iam B. Philbrick is a descendant of this 
branch. His parents removed to De Kalb 
county. 111., about 1848, and, in 185 1, to 
\\'ausau, Marathon Co., Wis., when the 
city was but an Indian village. They had a 
famil\- of eight children, of whom six are 
living, as follows: Benson, who resides at 
Hoquiam, Gra\-'s Harbor, Wash., and who 
served in the Twenty-seventh Mich. \'. I., 
was in thirty-one engagements, and was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOaRAPUICAL RECORD. 



701 



promoted to the rank of lieutenant for 
bravery; Ellen, residing in Wausaii; Will- 
iam B., subject of this sketch; Melissa, wife 
of John Albright, residing in Hoquiam, 
Wash. ; and John and Betsy, in Wausau. 
Mrs. Closen Philbrick resides with her son 
\\'illiam, and is still hale and hearty at the 
advanced age of eighty-three. Two of the 
male members of the Brisbin family, a very- 
old and noted Scottish family, settled in the 
United States at an early date, and of their 
branch Mrs. Philbrick is a descendant, and 
is of pure, unadulterated Scotch blood, the 
issue of the Brisbins and McMullens. She 
is a cousin of Gen. Brisbin, who fought in 
the late Civil war. The city of Brisbane, 
in Queensland, was named after the Bris- 
bins, one branch of the family having set- 
tled in Australia at an early day. 

William B. Philbrick accompanied his 
parents to DeKalb county. 111., when he 
was four years of age, and in 1851 to Wau- 
sau, Marathon county. Wis., of which 
place he has since been a continuous resi- 
dent, with the exception of about four years 
in the army. He received a limited educa- 
tion in the public schools of Wausau, and, 
when only seventeen years of age, enlisted 
in the Eighth Battery, Wisconsin Light 
Artillery. He was present at the battles of 
Corinth, luka Springs, Crab Orchard, Perry- 
ville. Stone River, Chickamauga, Tulla- 
homa, Mission Ridge, Lookout Mountain, 
Franksville, and at numerous other minor 
battles and skirmishes. He was mustered 
out and discharged at Milwaukee August 10, 
1865, after four years of active service, and 
then returned to Wausau and engaged in 
lumbering. 

On September 24, 1865, William B. 
Philbrick was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary E. Enos, and five children have been 
born to them, of whom only two are now 
living: Fleta S., born November 27, 1870, 
and \\'illiam B., Jr., September 11, 1877. 
The parents of Mrs. Philbrick, Solomon and 
Sylvia (Edwards) Enos, were both born in 
Jefferson county, N. Y., settled in Milwau- 
kee county. Wis., in 1836, are both still 
living, and have been residents of Milwaukee 
county for fifty-seven years. 

In the spring of 1867 Mr. Philbrick was 



obliged to abandon the lumbering business, 
in which he had been engaged since his 
return from the army, on account of the 
loss of his right leg, which was taken off by 
a cable rope while he was on a raft of 
lumber in April, 1867. He removed to 
Milwaukee after becoming convalescent, re- 
mained there until 1881, then returned to 
Wausau, and has been engaged in mercan- 
tile pursuits in that city since that date. 
Mr. Philbrick is commander of Cutler Post, 
No. 55, G. A. R., and, in political views, he 
affiliates with the People's party, but stands 
by the Republican party in national contests, 
only choosing the least of two evils, as he 
sees it, until the People's party develops 
strength enough in municipal, county and 
State elections to have a reasonable show 
for success. The family attend the Univer- 
salist and Episcopal Churches. 



DEN SLOW A. DAY is a progressive 
young farmer and carpenter of Bel- 
mont township, Portage county, who 
enjoys the respect of the entire com- 
munity, his well-spent life, his honesty of 
purpose and straightforward dealing winning 
him the esteem of all with whom he has been 
brought in contact. 

Mr. Day claims New York as the State 
of his nativity, the place of his birth being 
in Erie county, the date June 15, 1862. His 
father, William Day, was a pump maker by 
trade, and was three times married. The 
children of the first union were Jennie, now 
the wife of John Van Benthusen, a merchant 
of Buffalo, N. Y. ; Allen, an agriculturist of 
Wyoming county, N. Y. ; Charles, a farmer 
of Amherst, Wis. ; and Attie, wife of \\'es- 
le}' Strong, a veterinary surgeon of New 
York City. For his second wife Mr. Day 
wedded Elizabeth Davis, and their children 
were Hyman, of Wyoming county, N. Y. ; 
Clara, now Mrs. Emerald McGhee, of Mich- 
igan; Denslow A. ; and Warren, of Hancock, 
Wisconsin. 

In 1 866 William Day went to Monroe coun- 
ty. Wis. , where he purchased a tract of land 
and made preparations for a home for his 
family, but ere they left the Empire State 
the mother's death occurred. About 1 867 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the father removed to Waukau, Winnebaf:;o 
Co. , Wis. , where he engaged in pump mak- 
ing for some time, making many thousand 
wooden pumps. He was married in that 
county to Lucia Strong, a widow lady, and 
afterward came to Portage county, locating 
on a small farm, where his death occurred 
in July, 1888. His wife passed away two 
years previous, and he then made his home 
with the subject of this sketch until called 
to his final rest. In early days he was a 
stanch ^^'hig, and afterward a Republican, 
and in religious belief was a Methodist, act- 
ive and prominent in church work, and for 
a long time was superintendent of the Sun- 
day-school. His remains were interred in 
Belmont Cemeter}-. 

Denslow A. Day was only four years of 
age when he became a resident of the 
Badger State. When he was a child of five 
his mother died, and he lived with his father 
until fifteen years of age, when he was given 
his time and went to work b}- the month, 
being employed in the fields through the 
summer, while in the winter season he at- 
ended school. In 1881, he went to Wyom- 
ing county, where his time was passed in 
the same manner. He learned readily, and 
in his lessons won high marks. To his 
father he gave considerable of his wages, and 
from his early life he has labored hard to 
secure a competency, indolence and idleness 
being utterly foreign to his nature. For 
eighteen months he lived in New York, then 
returned to Portage county. Wis., where 
subsequently he suffered a severe attack of 
typhoid fever. In 1882, he made his first 
purchase of land, becoming owner of a tract 
of forty acres in Section 17, Belmont town- 
ship, which was entirely in a wild state. 
This he improved for three years, then sold 
out. 

Mr. Day was married January 20, 1885, 
in Sparta, Monroe Co., \\'is. , the lady of 
his choice being \'ernila E. Cohin, who was 
born in Sparta, November 19, 1866, and is 
a daughter of Irwin S. and Eliza (Mahana) 
Colvin. The father was a farmer, and re- 
moved from Cattaraugus county, N. Y. , to 
this State. The three children of the 
family are Savila, wife of Samuel Bacon, of 
Cataract, Wis. ; Eavis, now Mrs. M. J. 



Curtis, of Belmont township; and Vernila. 
The young couple began their domestic life 
in Belmont township, on the farm belong- 
ing to Mr. Day's father, but some dissatis- 
faction being manifested, he afterward sur- 
rendered the deed to the farm which his 
own money had paid for. and upon which he 
had made many good improvements. On 
the I ith of April, 1887, he removed to Sec- 
tion 16, Belmont township, purchasing 
forty acres, on which he incurred an in- 
debtedness of $300. He has not only paid 
this off, but has increased the tract to sixty 
acres, and has one-half of that amount under 
a high state of cultivation. The home has 
been blessed by the presence of three inter- 
esting children: Minnie S., born May 19, 
1886; Anna E., August 23, 1888; and Mary 
J., January ig, 1892. 

The political views of Mr. Day are in 
harmony with the principles of the Republi- 
can party. In 1894, he was elected town- 
ship treasurer, the youngest incumbent ever 
in that position, and to those who recognize 
his sterling worth and fidelity to dutj', it is 
needless to say that he is proving a com- 
petent and trustworthy' official. He has 
met with many difficulties in life, and has 
had to overcome many obstacles, but is now 
comfortably situated in a pleasant home, 
surrounded by many friends. 



LOUIS YERKE, who was for several 
years a prominent business man of 
Lincoln county, is now holding the 
office of county clerk, the duties of 
which he discharges in a prompt and able 
manner. He was born on the 19th of June, 
1858, in Green Lake county, Wis., and is a 
son of Michael Yerke, a native of Northern 
Prussia, where his birth occurred in Octo- 
ber, 1819. In Germany the father was 
married, Caroline Missahl becoming his wife, 
and there two children were born, Frederick 
and Pauline. After coming to this country 
the family circle was increased by the birth 
of four others, Caroline, Louis, Charles and 
Minnie. In 1855 they left the Fatherland, 
and after their arrival in the New \\'orld 
made their first location in Green Lake 
countN'. ^^'is., where the father still resides. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGHAPHICAL RECORD. 



705. 



being one of the leading farmers of that 
community. His first land was a wild, un- 
cultivated tract, but he began its improve- 
ment, making it one of the best farms of the 
county. During the Civil war he enlisted 
among the boys in blue, aiding in the de 
fense of his adopted country, and in time of 
peace has also been a loyal citizen. 

In the common schools of ^^'isconsin 
Louis Yerke received his school training, 
and in the work of the home farm he assisted 
until he had reached the age of twenty-five, 
when he decided to give up agriculture. He 
then began merchandising in connection 
with William Bohn, starting a general store 
at Manchester, Green Lake county, which 
they conducted some five 3'ears, when our 
subject removed to Tomahawk, Wis. , where, 
under the same firm name, he also carried 
on the mercantile business until 188S, when 
the partnership was dissolved. In that year 
he began carpenter work, aiding in the erec- 
tion of some of the best buildings in the 
county, and followed that trade until his 
election to the office of county clerk in the 
fall of 1894, when he removed to Merrill. 

An important event in the life of Mr. 
Yerke occurred in September, 1885, when 
he was united in marriage with Augusta 
Weinkauf, a native of Green Lake county. 
Wis., and a daughter of Krist and Rose 
Berger) Weinkauf. Her parents were both 
born in Prussia, removing to this country 
when young, where their wedding was cele- 
brated. They had a family of ten children. 
By the union of our subject and his wife 
have been born four children: Clara, Ella, 
Carl and Fred. 

In politics Mr. Yerke is prominently 
identified with the Democrats of 'Lincoln 
county, firmly supporting the principles of 
the party by voice and vote whenever time 
and occasion offer. His popularity is shown 
by his election to office in a count}- that is 
strongly Republican, and his course in pub- 
lic life has always been above reproach, re- 
flecting honor not only upon himself, but also 
upon his fellow citizens who elected him to 
office. For three years he served as post- 
master of Manchester. Religiously he holds 
membership with the German Lutheran 
Church. 



NEHEMIAH PARKER, one of the 
honored residents of Merrill, Lin- 
coln county, was born in Canada, 
April 10, 1821. His father, Na- 
thaniel Parker, who was a native of Brattle- 
boro, Vt., was married in Sudbury, Mass., 
to Persis Stone, but soon afterward they lo- 
cated in Canada, where all of their children 
were born, with the exception of the oldest, 
whose birth occurred in Massachusetts. 
They are as follows: Sewell, Lucia, Louis 
(deceased), Nehemiah, Stephen, Fannie, Hes- 
ter, Louis, George R., Marshall and Percy. 
While living in Canada the father engaged 
in agricultural pursuits, and also carried on a 
hotel until his death in i8(j8. The mother 
was called to her final rest at the age of 
seventy-four. The paternal grandfather of 
our subject was a Revolutionary soldier, and 
his wife, though a resident of Canada, drew 
a pension for many years. They were of 
English descent, their forefathers having 
come to America from England about 1700. 

Most of the education of Nehemiah Par- 
ker was received after he had attained his 
seventeenth year. He remained at home, 
assisting his father in the labors of the farm 
until he was twenty-one, at which time he 
learned the carpenter's and millwright's 
trades, not serving a regular apprenticeship, 
as he seemed to be a natural mechanic. He 
became very proficient in those lines, and also 
worked for a time at the mason's trade and 
at wagon making. During the Canadian Re- 
bellion in 1837 and 183S he served as a 
soldier for the government, he and his 
brother Sewell belonging to an independent 
company of Shefford county, Canada East. 

In 1 844, at the age of twenty-three 
years, Mr. Parker went to Medina county, 
Ohio, where he worked at wagon making, 
there remaining until 1846, when he came to 
W^isconsin, locating at Milwaukee. That fall 
he proceeded to Hartford. Washington coun- 
to, where he worked at his trade and was 
married, after which he engaged in the hotel 
business, making that place his home for 
seventeen years. There he enlisted in 1 864. 
becoming a member of Company C, Forty- 
first Wis. V. I., in which he served for one 
hundred days, being stationed at Memphis, 
Tenn. He was made sergeant of the com- 



704 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPHICAL RECORD. 



pany, and received his discharg'e on the 3d of 
-September, 1864, but during his service his 
wife had died. 

After returning home, Mr. Parker re- 
moved to Fond du Lac, Wis., becoming filer 
in a shingle mill, but the following fall he 
w'ent to Adams county, where he purchased 
an interest in a gristmill, which he con- 
tinued to operate for six years, when he sold 
out and returned to Fond du Lac, there 
working at his trade. In 1873 we find him 
in Clark county. Wis., where he followed the 
same line of work, and also improved a cran- 
berry marsh, but in the latter occupation did 
tnot meet with the success which he antici- 
pated. After remaining in that county for 
■eight years, he in 1880 came to Meriill, 
■where he erected the building which is now 
used as the sash, door and blind factory 
owned by A. H. Stange & Co. He followed 
the millwright business until 1888, helping 
to build man}- of the largest mills in this \al- 
ley. He purchased land on his arrival in 
Merrill, on which he now makes his home, 
and since discontinuing his trade has carried 
on a hotel, of which his wife had charge dur- 
ing his absence at work. 

Mr. Parker was first married in 1849 to 
Caroline M. Knapp, by whom he had three 
sons, all of whom are now deceased, and his 
wife passed away in June, 1864, shortly after 
his enlistment for service in the Civil war. 
His second marriage took place in Januar}', 
1866, when Cornelia A. Willis became his 
wife. She was born in New York in Decem- 
ber, 1840, a daughter of Wilmot O. and 
Mary A. (\\'oodj Willis, who were the par- 
ents of nine children: William H., Joseph 
W., Nelson L., Lewis W. , James R., Mary 
E., David B., Cornelia A. and Theodore F. 
The father was born in the City of New York 
on the I ith of December, 1798, and his wife 
in Goshen, the same State, June 12, 1802. 
In 1822 they were married, and removed to 
Wisconsin in May, 1846, where the father 
carried on farming until his death, which oc- 
curred June 5, 1857. The mother passed 
away on the 30th of August, 1879. He was 
the only child of William and Elizabeth Wil- 
lis, who were of English descent. Unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Parker have been born three chil- 
-dren, namely: Carrie A., now the wife of A. 



T. Henry, residing near Lake Geneva; Myra 
E. , at home; and Mary Frances, wife of 
James H. Hatch, residing in Merrill. 

Politically Mr. Parker affiliates with the 
Republican party, to which he gives his earn- 
est support; and socially he is an honored 
member of the Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic. He has won for himself a high place in 
the regard and esteem of his fellow-citizens, 
and is a valued member of the communitj". 



M 



ARSHALL BALDWIN, an enter- 
prising farmer and the owner of 
eighty acres of valuable land in 
Union township, Waupaca count)', 
is numbered among the native sons of \\'is- 
consin, his birth having occurred in Plym- 
outh, Sheboygan county, January 9, 1847, 
he being the second white child there 
born. His parents, Zebulin and Samantha 
Jane (Coonj Baldwin, were honored pio- 
neers of that localit}', and the father was a 
farmer by occupation. Their children were 
Marshall; Abigail, now of Michigan; James, 
who is living on the old homestead with his 
mother, who has reached the advanced age 
of seventy-three; Justin, a farmer, of Illi- 
nois; Edward, a resident of Symco, and 
Eva Jane, now Mrs. McBride, of La Porte, 
Iowa. The parents came to the West from 
Oswego count}', N. Y., about 1845, and lo- 
cated in Sheboygan count}', where the father 
purchased government land and opened up 
a farm of eighty acres. \\'ild game of all 
kinds abounded in the forest, and Indians 
still hunted in those regions. In 1864, 
Mr. Baldwin removed with his family to 
Union township, Waupaca county, locating 
on eight}' acres of land in Section 36, the 
present home of his wife. He was an hon- 
ored pioneer, devoted to the best interests 
of the comnnmit}' in which he made his 
home, and his life was well spent. 

Marshall Baldwin remained at home un- 
til his marriage, and to his father gave the 
benefit of his services. On the 8th of May, 
1872, he was joined in wedlock with Miss 
Harriet Van Patten, daughter of Frederick 
P. and Laura (Roberts) Van Patten. He 
had previously purchased eighty acres of 
land in Section 36, Union township. Wau- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



705 



paca county, and had cleared ten acres. A 
log cabin, 12x16 feet, had also been erected. 
For two years he engaged in the cultivation 
of that farm, and then purchased an adjoin- 
ing forty acres, on which he is now living. 
He has since disposed of a part of his place, 
but still retains possession of eighty acres, 
and has about half of this cleared and under 
a high state of cultivation. All the im- 
provements upon the place are as monu- 
ments to his thrift and enterprise, and the 
work of development has been accomplished 
entirely through his own efforts. 

For the past ten years, Mr. Baldwin has 
been a stalwart supporter of the Prohibition 
party, for he believes the question of tem- 
perance to be the most important issue be- 
fore the people to-day. He is a man true 
to his convictions, and upholds his principles 
without fear or favor. He belongs to the 
Good Templars Lodge, of Symco, and is a 
member of the Mutual Benefit Association. 



JAMES WETMORE, a prosperous farm- 
er of Matteson township, Waupaca 
county, was a Union soldier through 
nearly the entire time of the war of the 
Rebellion, and has a noble record. He was 
born in Warren county, N. Y. , in 1 846, and is 
a son of Barnes B. and Sally (Cables) Wet- 
more, who were born in New York. 

Barnes B. Wetmore was reared and mar- 
ried in New York, and in 1854 went to Wis- 
consin, and located on a farm in Sheboy- 
gan county. He moved to Manitowoc coun- 
ty in 1856, in (858 to Green Lake, then to 
Outagamie county, and to Vinland town- 
ship, Winnebago county, in 1863. He 
next moved to Maple Creek, Waupaca 
county, and then to Matteson township. 
His wife died in Matteson township in 1879, 
where he also died March 2, 1894. They 
were the parents of seven children, as fol- 
lows: James is the subject of this sketch; 
George, at the age of thirteen, enlisted in 
the same company and regiment with his 
brother James, also re-enlisted with him, 
and served till the close of the war, and 
now resides in Nebraska; Jane is the wife of 
Oliver Roscoe, of Marshfield, Wis., who 
was a member of the Third Wis. V. I. ; 



Nelson is married, and resides in Matteson 
township; John and Frank also reside in 
Matteson, and Alice died in the same town- 
ship at the age of sixteen. The father of 
Barnes B. Wetmore went to the Mexican 
war from New York, and was an officer. 
The great-grandfather was a soldier in the 
war of 181 2. 

James Wetmore was reared in New 
York to the age of nine, came to Shebo}'- 
gan county, Wis., in 1854, was educated in 
the schools of Sheboygan and Green Lake 
counties, and aided in clearing up the home 
farms in different counties in this State. On 
August 18, 1 86 1, in Bovina township, Outa- 
gamie Co., Wis., James Wetmore enlisted in 
Company K, Eleventh Wis. V. I., for three 
years, unless sooner discharged, and was 
mustered in at Madison, October 18, 1861. 
They were known as the " Neenah Rifles," 
and were attached to the Thirteenth Army 
Corps, First Brigade, Second Division. 
They were at Bayou Cache, Arl<., and in 
many skirmishes; then at Grand Gulf, Miss., 
Magnolia Church, Port Gibson, Bayou 
Pierre, Jackson, Anderson's Hill, Champion 
Hill, Black River Bridge, siege of Vicks- 
burg, second battle of Jackson, Fort Esper- 
anza, Spanish Fort and Blakely and Mobile, 
Ala. Mr. Wetmore re-enlisted on February 
13, 1864, in the same company and regi- 
ment, and was thereafter in the Sixteenth 
Army Corps till the close of the war, serv- 
ing in the South. He went out as a private, 
and returned a brevet-lieutenant. He was 
honorably discharged at Madison, Wis., 
November 27, 1865, and then went to Vin- 
land township, Winnebago county. 

In 1866, in New London, Waupaca 
Co., Wis., James Wetmore was united in 
marriage with Miss Naomi Mericle, who 
was born in Canada. They adopted one 
child, Clara, now the wife of Elef Elefson, 
of Matteson township, who has four chil- 
dren, namely: James Edward, Edna, Maud 
and Adaline. Mrs. Wetmore is the daugh- 
ter of George and Margaret (Elliott) Meri- 
cle. George Mericle moved from New York 
to Canada, and in 1859 to Maple Creek,. 
Outagamie county, and always made that 
his home. His death occurred in 1865. 
His widow still resides in Maple Creek. 



7o6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The\' were the parents of seven children, 
namely: Ann, the wife of David Rogers, 
of Oshkosh (who was a member of the Third 
Wis. V. I., his wife being with him, and 
who died in the service), died in Maple 
Creek in 1864; Lafayette died in 18 So; 
George resides in Maple Creek; Naomi is 
Mrs. Wetmore; Hiram resides in Lewis and 
Clark counties, Mont. ; William at Toma- 
hawk, Lincoln Co., Wis.; and Margaret is 
the wife of Alfred Mericle, of Maple Creek. 
In 1868 James Wetmore bought eighty 
acres in the woods, built a house the same 
year, and improved the land. Having lost 
this house bj- fire, he built his present good 
frame residence. He has forty acres cleared, 
and in 1894 he put up a good barn, 35 x 50 
feet. In politics he is a Republican, and 
was school director for three \'ears. He is a 
member of J. B. Wyman Post, No. 32, G. 
A. R. and was commander of the Post; is a 
member of Clinton ville Lodge, No. 314, I. 
O. O. F. , and has been senior vice. Mrs. 
W'etmore is a member of the Woman's Re- 
lief Corps. They have both seen many 
changes and impro\ements in this section of 
\\isconsin. 



NATHAN HEBBLEWHITE. Among 
the hardy race of men who entered 
the Northern Wisconsin \'alley 
practically without means, and who 
by dint of hard knocks and persistent effort 
carved out for themselves a comfortable 
home and competence, the name of Nathan 
Hebblewhite deserves prominent mention. 
He did more than clear one farm, for he was 
robust in health and shrewd at trading. 
Clearing up one farm, he sold it and pur- 
chased a larger but unimproved tract, and 
upon the second farm renewed his willing 
efforts to win independence. He thus at 
last came into possession of a place of 160 
acres, which represent.s almost in its total- 
ity of value the toil of his busy life. 

He was born in Lincolnshire, England, 
March 20, 1833, and was a son of John and 
Maria (Kitchen) Hebblewhite, and grandson 
of William Hebblewhite, a merchant of 
Cambridgeshire, whose children were Mary, 
Alice, John and \\illiam. John was the 



owner of a small farm, and from his daily 
toil comfortably supported his familv of 
seven children, consisting of Esther, John, 
Mary, David, Nathan, Jane and William. 
He gave to each the opportunities of a good 
education, but Nathan, while of quick per- 
ceptions and broad understanding, preferred 
active out-door life to a schoolroom, and to 
some extent neglected his opportunities. He 
was, however, well grounded in the com- 
mon branches. He worked as a farm hand, 
and for two \-ears was in the service of a 
wealthy landowner as gardener at sixteen 
shillings, or four dollars, per week. John 
Hebblewhite died when Nathan was eighteen 
years old, and the young man awoke to the 
realities of life. He knew there was little 
from the home farm to expect, and he at 
once began to save money from his scanty 
wages. On March i, 1857, he was married 
at Stixwold, near Horncastle, to Miss Sarah 
Bucknell, who was born in Lincolnshire, 
September 28, 1834, a daughter of Joseph 
and Mary (Wilson) Bucknell. The young 
couple resolved to migrate to America, where 
homes were cheaper and wages better. There 
were farewell greetings, and May 28, 1857, 
the)- set sail from Liverpool on the " City 
of Washmgton," landing at New York five 
weeks and two days later. A sister of Mrs. 
Hebblewhite lived at Oshkosh, Wis., and 
that was their destination. After visiting 
there a few days they proceeded to Farming- 
ton township, Waupaca county. First rent- 
ing land from Francis Beardmore, Mr. Heb- 
blewhite soon after bought eighty acres of 
partially-improved land in Section 20 of that 
township. A log cabin on the premises was 
their only shelter. The purchaser made an 
advance payment from his meager savings, 
but went into debt for about half the price. 
Here was a field for his energies, and Mr. 
Hebblewhite began making improvements 
with a will. He had broken the greater 
part of it, when he sold the property, and 
purchased 160 acres in Section 11, the 
same township, of which only about twenty- 
five acres had been cleared. Again the slow 
and arduous work of breaking up the virgin 
land was undertaken, amidst great and try- 
ing discouragements. Prices of farm pro- 
ducts were low. and Mr. Hebblewhite was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



707 



unable to trade potatoes at Waupaca for 
lime, which he needed to make improve- 
ments at home. In 1882 he sold his home 
in Farmington, and bought 160 acres in Sec- 
tions 27 and 28, in Lind township. This 
farm was in a bad condition, and the build- 
ings were poor, but Mr. Hebblewhite knew 
how, by application, to remedy those de- 
fects. He has since then erected e.xcellent 
buildings, and made other notable improve- 
ments upon the place. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hebble- 
white are as follows: John, a merchant of 
Waupaca; Edley, who died at the age of 
two years; Frederick, of Lanark township, 
Portage county; Wilson, who died, aged four 
years; Arthur, a bookkeeper at Waupaca; 
and Olive M., a milliner, at Oshkosh. He 
and his wife are members of the Episcopal 
Church. In politics he is a Republican, and, 
while not an ofifice-seeker, he has served his 
township as pathmaster. Mr. Hebblewhite 
is the only representative of his father's 
family in America. Coming here with the 
scant possessions of a poor laboring man, he 
has become one of the most prosperous 
farmers of Lind township, and has reared a 
family, all of whom are successful in life, 
and proving a credit to their parentage. The 
good wife has shared in the toil, and shares, 
too, in the prosperity and the blessings which 
have come to them in the afternoon of their 
lives. 



THEODORE BEHLING, proprietor 
of the "Ward House," Clintonville, 
is a genial, pleasant, landlord and is 
now conducting a profitable business. 
He was born in the Province of Pomcrania, 
Prussia, in 1847, and his parents, Christoph 
and Charlotte Behling, were natives of same 
locality. The father died in 1871, and the 
mother in 1869, while our subject was in the 
army. In their familj' were seven children: 
Charlie, who came to Waupaca county in 
1 88 1, and now follows farming in Larrabee 
township; Augusta, who died in German}' 
in 1874; Henrietta, wife of William West- 
fall, of Pella, Shawano Co., Wis. In 1862 
she became a resident of Mayville, Dodge 
county, where she was married, and they 



are now living on a fine farm in Pella town- 
ship; Edward came to Waupaca county in 
1 88 1 and carries on agricultural pursuits in 
Larrabee township; Amelia, wife of Gustoph 
Gutknecht, is living in Larrabee township; 
Theodore is the ne.xt younger; Hannah 
came to this country in 1872, and is now 
the wife of William Brown. 

In the place of his nativity om- subject 
was reared and educated, and in accordance 
with the laws of his native land he became 
a soldier of the Germany army in 1867, 
serving for three years. He participated in 
the entire Franco-Prussian war, taking part 
in several important battles, including Grav- 
elotte, Sedan, siege of Paris, etc., etc., and 
also a number of skirmishes. On the con- 
clusion of the war he returned to Berlin, 
Germany, where he was honorably dis- 
charged and mustered out of the service 
July 16, 1 87 I. When fifteen years of age 
he began to learn the tailor's trade, working 
at it for three years, and upon his return 
from the army he again took up that pur- 
suit, which he followed in the Fatherland 
until 1872. On August 27, that year, he 
sailed from Bremen on a westward-bound 
steamer, which reached New York Septem- 
ber 12. On the 1 8th of the same month he 
arrived in Pella, \Ms., going by stage from 
.Appleton to Shawano county. There he 
was employed at farm labor for a time, and 
in June, 1873, went to the city of Shawano, 
where he was engaged at the tailoring busi- 
ness until 1874. He then removed to Ap- 
pleton, W'is. , where he followed the same 
pursuit, building up quite a good busmess. 
From that city he came to Clintonville in 
1885, and purchased the " Ward House," the 
leading hotel in the city. It is a two-story 
frame building with 100 feet frontage on 
Main street, and 200 feet on Mendota street. 
There is also a large barn in connection 
with the property. The hotel is one of the 
best that can be found in any town of a sim- 
ilar size, and in fact would do credit to a 
much larger place, being well fitted up with 
modern conveniences, while the proprietor 
puts forth every effort in his power to please 
his patrons and make their stay with him 
pleasant. 

While living in Appleton, Mr. Behling 



70S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was married September 12, 1876, to Miss 
Elvina Machmiller, who was born in May- 
ville, Wis., a daughter of Gottfried Mach- 
miller, who was born in Germany, and be- 
came one of the pioneer settlers of Dodge 
county, Wis. He is now living in his pleas- 
ant home, a mile from Mayville. The mar 
riage of our subject and his wife has been 
blessed with three children — Adeline, .Arthur 
O. and ^'iola. 

Mr. Behling is a charter member of Ger- 
mania Order, No. 30, and also belongs to 
Clintonville Lodge, No. 314, I. O. O. F. 
He became identified with the Odd Fellows 
in Ryan Lodge, No. 163, of Appleton, and 
has since taken an active interest in the fra- 
ternity. In the New \^'orld he has found a 
pleasant home, gained many friends and se- 
cured a good business, which yields to him 
a substantial income, and throughout his 
adopted county he is regarded as a valued 
citizen and highly-esteemed man. 



CE. B.\KER is numbered among the 
prosperous farmers of \\'aupaca 
county, yet he started out in life for 
himself in very limited circumstances, 
and the success that has crowned his efforts 
has come to him as the reward of diligence, 
perseverance and capable management. 
Being widely and favorably known in his 
locality, we feel assured that the record of 
his life will prove of interest to many of our 
readers. 

Charles E. Baker was born October 7, 
1835, in the town of Lafayette, Onondaga 
Co., N. Y. , and is the son of King and 
Catherine (Cramer) Baker, the former a 
native of Massachusetts, the latter of Sche- 
nectad}- county, N. Y. Their family num- 
bered eleven children, si.\ sons and five 
daughters, and C. E. was the ninth child 
and fifth son. His parents both died in 
New York. The father died when our sub- 
ject was only si.x years of age, leaving the 
mother with a large family of children to 
support, and, as she was in very limited cir- 
cumstances, they were early forced to begin 
life's battle for themselves. Charles re- 
ceived but meagre educational privileges, 



and at the age of si.xteen he started out to 
work for his brother Norman as a farm 
hand. He had previously been employed 
by neighboring farmers, but still continued 
to make his home with his mother. After 
two j'ears his brother went to Erie county, 
N. Y. , and embarked in the hotel busi- 
ness at Falkirk, and Charles was employed 
bj" him for some time as a bartender. At 
the age of twenty, with his hard-earned 
savings, he bought thirt)- acres of improved 
land and turned his attention again to agri- 
cultural pursuits, his mother acting as his 
housekeeper until his marriage. 

On June 30, 1857, Mr. Baker wedded 
Helen L. Tracy, who was born July 5, 1839, 
in the town of Ale.xandria, Genessee Co., 
N. Y. , a daughter of Josiah and Emma 
(Wright) Tracy, the former a native of the 
Empire State, the latter of Pennsylvania. 
The}' had both been previously married be- 
fore their union with one another, and the 
mother died when Mrs. Baker was only 
twenty months old. The young couple 
began their domestic life in Erie count}', 
N. Y. , and in i860 removed to Jackson 
county, Mich., where they remained for 
three years and three months. They after- 
ward lived in Wyoming county and Onon- 
daga county, N. Y. , spending four years in 
the latter place, where Mr. Baker worked 
as a farm hand one summer until he could 
purchase a farm. In the spring of 1869 he 
came to Waupaca county by way of the 
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad 
to Chicago and Berlin, Wis., and by stage 
to their destination. His brother Norman 
was an extensive landholder in that locality. 

C. E. Baker, with capital he had ac- 
quired through his own efforts, paid cash for 
one hundred acres of land in Section 11. 
Dayton township, and began raising hops. 
For awhile he had a hard time to get along, 
but as times grew better he prospered, and 
at length became the owner of 220 acres of 
land, of which he has now given i 20 acres 
to his sons, leaving one hundred acres in the 
old homestead. His place is under a high 
state of cultivation and well improved, and 
he is regarded as one of the substantial 
farmers of his adopted county. He is a 
conservative, safe business man, who has 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



709. 



always avoided speculation, and his success 
has come through honest toil. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Baker have been born 
the following children: Lawrence T., who 
was born in Newstead, Erie Co., N. Y., 
September 16, 1858, and died in Dayton 
township at the age of twenty-four years, 
eight months and two days; Edmund K., 
who was born in Newstead, Erie county, 
December 2. 1859, and died on the home 
farm at the age of twenty-one years, eleven 
months and four days (he was married 
March 23, 1879, to Frances S. Gotham, and 
they had one child, Leonard A., born Jan- 
uary 19, 1 88 1); Norman L. , who was born 
in LaFayette, Onondaga county, N. Y. , 
August 28, 1 866, and is now a farmer of 
Dayton township, Waupaca county, was 
married December 25, 1887, to Nellie F. 
Ermst, and they have one child, Charles H., 
born March 20, 1889; and Otis C, who was 
born on the homestead October 31, 1871, 
and also follows farming in Dayton town- 
ship, Waupaca county, was married January 
I, 1893, to Livonia A. Waid, and they have 
one child, Mary E. , born November i i , 1 893 ; 
Bessie A. Anderson, their adopted daughter, 
was born December 15, 1883, and taken in 
the household as one of the family May 6, 
1 89 1, and from Mr. and Mrs. Baker receives 
the treatment of fond parents. This worthy 
couple are consistent and faithful members 
of the Methodist Church. They are chari- 
table, benevolent people, whose many ex- 
cellencies of character have gained them the 
high regard of all. Mr. Baker votes with 
the Republican party. 



ALBERT L. FONTAINE. In trac- 
ing the history of civilization we 
find no influence has been more 
potent for the promotion of public 
welfare than that of the Press, and especi - 
ally is this true in the present century when 
every important fact that occurs on the 
face of the globe is brought to our very 
doors. Few, if any, of us ever pause to 
think of the vast amount of brain power and 
energy required to keep this wonderful ma- 
chinery of the press in motion. We twine 
fair laurel wreaths to crown the brows of 



our heroes who fought on bloody battle 
fields, but give scarcely a thought to those 
who are waging a war with ignorance; they, 
too, are conquerors in the strife. We would' 
not lessen the honor given to those who- 
risk life and liberty on the fields of carnage,, 
but we would also honor those who bring be- 
fore the world the facts of importance, and 
the truths of history and of the modern, 
world. Mr. Fontaine bears his part in the 
latter endeavor, and it is of him personally 
that we would now speak. 

Albert L. Fontaine was born in Cen- 
tralia. Wis., on the 9th of August, 1859, 
and is a son of Henry Louis and Ernestine 
(Melber) Fontaine, the former a native of 
Lausanne, Switzerland, and the latter of 
Wurtemberg, Germany. They were mar- 
ried in Germany and emigrated to the United 
States in 1850, and after about two years 
passed in Highland, 111., they removed, 
to Grand Rapids, Wis., and are numbered 
among its most honored pioneer settlers. 
Here the father, though an architect by 
profession, embarked in mercantile pur- 
suits, which he carried on up to the time of 
the war of the Rebellion, when, true to the 
cause of the Union, he enlisted in Company 
G (The Evergreens) Twelfth Wisconsin V. 
I. , and, while going with General Sherman 
on his famous March to the Sea, he died at 
Newbern, N. C, in April, 1865, from the 
effects of malaria and chronic diarrhea, con- 
tracted through the hardships and rigors of 
army life. He thus laid down his life on 
the altar of his country, one of the heroes to 
whom is due the salvation of the nation. 
His wife still survives him, and is now living 
on the homestead in Centralia. 

Henry L. Fontaine also left six children 
to mourn his loss, namely: Sophie, wife of 
W. E. Coats, a resident of Minneapolis, 
Minn.; Ernest H., who is residing in Central 
City. Colo. ; Paul, who also makes his 
home in Minneapolis; Marie, wife of N. 
Higbee, who is living in Minneapolis; Albert 
L. , the subject of this sketch; and Angele, 
wife of C. C. Herbot, who is now living in 
Faribault, Minnesota. 

Mr. Fontaine, whose name introduces 
this review, is a graduate of the Howe High 
School, of Grand Rapids, and for two years 



7IO 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



attended the State University in Madison, 
Wis. In April, 1880, he and his brother, 
Paul, purchased the ]]\>od County Reporter 
from H. B. Philleo & Son, and continued 
the publication of that paper under the firm 
name of Fontaine Bros., until April, 1886, 
when A. L. bought out his brother's inter- 
est in the business, and has since been sole 
proprietor. The Wood County Reporter is 
a bright and interesting journal, devoted to 
the best interests of the community, and it 
has a large and constantly increasing cir- 
culation. 

On the 29th of May, 1895, Mr. Fontaine 
was united in marriage with Lillian Rintel- 
man, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Rintel- 
man, of Mukwonago, Wis. Mr. Fontaine 
is a stanch ad\ocate of the principles of 
the Republican party, and one of the ardent 
defenders of the organization. His name is 
inseparably connected with the official his- 
tory of the community, he being called to 
public office on various occasions by his fel- 
low townsmen, who recognized his worth 
and ability. For five years he was city 
clerk of Grand Rapids, for two terms a mem- 
ber of the county board of supervisors, for 
four years a member of the school board, 
and was also State timber agent during the 
entire administration of Gov. W. D. Hoard, 
as the chief executive of Wisconsin. He 
has been a delegate to several State and 
Congressional Conventions, and is recog- 
nized as one of the leaders of his party in 
the community. He is also widely known in 
editorial circles, and in 1S92 was a delegate 
to the National Editorial Association con- 
vention, which was held in San Francisco, 
Cal., and in 1894, was a delegate to the 
same association, which was held at Asbury 
Park, N. J., both of which meetings he at- 
tended. 



WILLIAM J. SCHUMACHER, mem- 
ber of the firm of Schumacher & 
Co., leading merchants of Tiger- 
ton, Shawano county, where he is 
regarded as an active, hustling \oung busi- 
ness man. is a native of Wisconsin, born 
April I, 1S72, in Calvary, Fond du Lac 
count\-. 



He is a son of Mathias Schumacher, who 
was of German nativity, coming to the 
United States in i84( with his parents, who 
settled in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, 
on a piece of wild land covered with 
primeval forest. The journey from Shebo}- 
gan was made in a wagon, which Grand- 
father Schumacher (also named Mathiasj, 
who was a wagon-maker by trade, made out 
of large logs hewn into proper shape, and 
this decidedly primitive vehicle was drawn 
by oxen over ground that but few white men 
had yet traveled, for there were as yet no 
roads, and wild animals still roamed the 
woods in undisturbed freedom. Nothing 
daunted, however, these courageous pioneers 
set to work to make a clearing, and in 
course of time had a comfortable home re- 
deemed from the stubborn wilderness. From 
time to time Grandfather Schumacher added 
to his first land purchase until at the time 
of his death he had accumulated 120 acres. 
He had four children, a brief sketch of whom 
is as follows: Ann bought out the heirs of 
the old home farm in Fond du Lac, lives 
thereon and personally conducts it; Susan is 
the wife of H. Molitor, a baker by trade, 
now retired, and living in Milwaukee (they 
have three children); Mathias will have spe- 
cial mention farther on; Mary is the wife of 
H. Hubbard, of Fond du Lac (they have 
eight children). 

Mathias Schumacher, the father of our 
subject, had his home in Fond du Lac 
county from the time he located there in 
1 84 1 until 1880, during which long period of 
time he had in part worked on the home 
farm, in part on the railroad, having been 
baggagemaster some ten years. He mar- 
ried Nliss Margaret Riordon, a native of Ire- 
land, and by her had three children: Lillie, 
William J. and Mathias, all yet living at 
home. In 1S81 the family came to Tiger- 
ton, Shawano county, where there were at 
that time but few settlers, their first house 
here being a log house, which is still stand- 
ing, and here they boarded men employed 
on the railroad, ilrs. Schumacher (her hus- 
band having died in 1882 at the age of 
fort)-two years) having since continued keep- 
ing boarders, the son William J. assisting 
her in her affairs. In 1894 the mother and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



son embarked in mercantile business in Tig- 
erton, under the firm name of Schumacher 
& Co., the son managing the store. They 
are members of the CathoHc Church. They 
enjo}- the esteem and regard of a wide circle 
of friends, and in their mercantile pursuits 
they do a thriving business. 



FRIEDRICH WILHELM SALLET 
was born December iG, 1859, in 
Oestpreussen, Germany, and up to 
his fifteenth year attended school at 
Koenigsberg, after which he went into the 
printing business and studied the black art 
thoroughl_v at the institute of A. Kiewning, 
in said city. But, possessed, like most Ger- 
mans, with a passion for wandering, he left 
his home at the age of twenty, and, in the 
summer of 18S0, went to Russia, traveled 
through the Baltic provinces, and found 
employment in the Hcrold at St. Petersburg, 
the Russian metropolis on the Neva. After 
having, during the 3ear spent there, acquired 
considerable insight into the customs of the 
Russian people, and also quite a competency 
in their language, he went o\'er to Finland. 
In Helsingfors, the capital of that country, 
he found remunerative employment as com- 
positor in a printing office, remaining there 
but seven months, }et long enough to make 
himself master of the Swedish language. 

Driven by a thirst for adventure and in- 
formation, Mr. Sallet then crossed the Baltic 
sea to Sweden, and in Stockholm worked 
about a year in a large printing establish- 
ment, the Central Tryckcrict, taking a prom- 
inent part in that concern's work in foreign 
languages, thus earning good monej'. There- 
after, in the summer of 1882, he left for 
Germany in order to fulfill his duties to 
Kaiser and Reich, traveling across the en- 
tire kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark, and 
entering Germany at the old Hanseatic city 
of Luebeck; he then made a journey through 
Northern Germany, visiting parents and 
friends, soon, however, leaving home again 
to see other sections of Germany. After 
many happenings and adventures, he, in the 
autumn of 1882, found himself in Leipsic, 
where he found employment for some time 
•in a printing establishment, and then went 



to the capital of the empire, working there 
for some time in the Reichstag Printing De- 
partment, about Christmas of the same year 
proceeding to Hamburg, following his trade 
in that great seaport. 

Once more, however, the Fates taking 
him to Finland, that romantic "land of the 
thousand lakes," Mr. Sallet readily took ad- 
vantage of an offer from the Finnish Liter- 
ary Society in Helsingfors. Accordingly, 
leaving Hamburg in March, 1883, after a 
long ride by rail through Germany, Russia 
and Finland, he arrived six days later at his 
destination. Here, in 1886, he married, 
became first foreman over the greatest print- 
ing establishment in that country, and was 
foreman on daily papers, etc. Some seven 
years were thus passed, during which times 
became harder and harder in a pecuniary as 
well as a political aspect. The liberties of 
the press became more and more restricted 
and ignored, and Finland's free and time- 
sacred constitution was trampled upon by 
Russia. So his ardent longing for the free- 
dom of speech impelled him to cast his lot 
with America. Nor did he tarry long, for 
on May 31, 1890, he left his working place 
in Helsingfors, moved with his family up to 
the extreme northern part of the Bothnic 
Gulf, where, in latitude 70, he saw in mid- 
summer the sun rise at i o'clock in the 
morning and set at 1 1 o'clock in the even- 
ing. Fishing and sailing was always his 
passion, and, finding there the best oppor- 
tunities for gratifying it, he thoroughly did 
so. After thus spending a most pleasant 
summer, he took his family to Germany in 
order to see his relatives and make them 
acquainted with his wife and child before 
his departure to this country. 

On September 10, 1890, the family got 
aboard the "Normannia," at Hamburg, and 
after eight days set foot upon American soil, 
remaining a while in the metropolis on the 
Hudson, when our subject came westward 
to Chicago, to make that marvelous city his 
home during the time of the World's Fair. 
His interesting reports regarding the great 
Exposition were duly appreciated by several 
German and Swedish newspapers in Europe, 
which ga\e them a foremost place in their 
issues. While in Chicago Mr. Sallet also 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



amply utilized the opportunit\' of making 
observations about capital and labor, about 
Hbert}', anarchism and partisanship. Be- 
coming tired at last of the humming and 
buzzing life of the "Windy City, " he looked 
around for some place more suited to his 
tastes and instincts, and soon found one in 
the woods of Northern Wisconsin. On July 
2, 1894, he bought the Lincoln County An- 
zcigci\ a weekly German paper published at 
Merrill, and started seven \ears ago by C. 
W. Honigmann. During the short time he 
has been in charge of this paper he has suc- 
ceeded in doubling its circulation, making 
full headwa)' toward securing to the Anzrii^cr 
the place of a leading German paper in that 
pert of the State. 



ADOLPH G. PANKOW, although 
young in years, is one of the most 
enterprising and energetic citizens 
of Wood county. Wis. He is a na- 
tive of the Badger State, his birth having 
occurred in Lebanon township, Dodge 
county. February 12, 1864, and is a son of 
Rev. Erdmann Pankow. 

His primary education was obtained in 
the common schools of Dodge count)', 
where he remained until he had reached the 
age of thirteen years, when he entered the 
Northwestern University at Watertown. 
Wis., which he attended for five j-ears. On 
the completion of his literary course, Mr. Pan- 
kow came at once to Marshfield. where he 
began clerking in a genera! store, being thus 
employed for eight months. r>elieving that 
a German paper was of some value in this 
communit}-, he then established the Marsh- 
field Dcvwkrat. the first German paper pub- 
lished in Wood county. After conducting 
it successfully for si.x months, he sold out to 
his brother. Herman, but remained with 
him, still acting as manager, until the ist of 
October. 1893. He was one of the leading 
journalists of this part of State, and the paper 
under his able management gained a de- 
served prominence. On his withdrawal 
from the newspaper business, he was ap- 
pointed as deputy revenue collector for the 
Second District of Wisconsin, and is now dis- 



charging the duties of that office to the sat- 
isfaction of all concerned. 

On May 28. 1890. Mr. Pankow was 
united in marriage with Ida Radloff. who 
was also born in Dodge count)'. Wis., and 
is a daughter of Albert and Bertha (Leh- 
mann) Radloff. Her parents were both na- 
tives of German)', but were married in the 
United States, and had a family of si.x chil- 
dren: Ida, Ella and Emil, who are still liv- 
ing; Paul, who was drowned in the Wiscon- 
sin river, in 1893. while bathing, and two 
who died in infancy. By the union of our 
subject and his wife have been born three 
children: Herbert and Ruth died in in- 
fancy, while Reynold is the light of the 
household and the joy of his parents' hearts. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pankow hold membership 
with the Emanuel Lutheran Church, of 
Marshfield. and in politics he is a Demo- 
crat, having affiliated with that party since 
attaining his majority. He takes an active 
interest in public affairs, and has been a 
delegate both to County and Congressional 
Convsntions, always working for his friends 
and for the best interest of his party. For 
two \'ears he was supervisor, and has held 
other minor offices, being deputy oil in- 
spector for Wood, Clark and Taylor coun- 
ties for the same length of time, but re- 
signed on receiving his present appointment, 
that of deputy revenue collector. He is true 
to e\'ery trust reposed in him. whether pub- 
lic or private, and occupies a high social 
position among the residents of the com- 
munity. 



PETER SAMPHIER, justice of the 
peace of Tomahawk, Lincoln county, 
is a prominent and highly-respected 
citizen of that place. He was born 
in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., April 5, 
1835, and is son a of Peter Samphier. who 
was born in France in 1800. The father 
came to America when a boy and was mar- 
ried in the Empire State. In his family were 
nine children, three of whom died in infancy, 
and the others are Catherine, Frances. Julia, 
Peter, Maria and James. The mother of this 
family died about 1847. after which her hus- 
band was again married, and b\' that union 



COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



713 



had several children. Throughout life he 
followed farming, and his death occurred in 
the fall of 1887. 

The subject of this notice left home at 
the age of ten years, working as a farm hand 
and attending the common schools. .\t the 
age of seventeen he went to Boston, Mass., 
where he began learning the trade of a shoe- 
maker. In 1852 he embarked as a common 
sailor on a whaling vessel, and after a year's 
absence returned to become second mate on 
a merchant vessel. On going to Charleston, 
S. C, he there left that service and returned 
to New York City, where he embarked as a 
sailor on board a ship bound for London, 
England, thence proceeding to Sidney, Aus- 
tralia. There he entered the service of an 
English vessel going to New Zealand, after 
which he returned to Sidney, where he took 
a steamer for Melbourne. Australia. He 
then went to the gold mines in the interior, 
but soon returned to Melbourne, and from 
there started to California, stopping at the 
Sandwich Islands on the way. From Cali- 
fornia he then sailed for South America, 
coming round the Horn to New York, where 
he arrived in June, 1 856. For a year he was 
then engaged in work at his trade in Bos- 
ton. During the summer of 1857 he sailed 
on the Lakes as master of a vessel, but in 
the fall came to Wisconsin, locating in Om- 
ro, where he resumed work at his trade. 
During the first few years of his residence 
there he worked for others, and also engaged 
in farming to some extent. 

In December, 1863, Mr. Samphier be- 
came a member of Company C, Third Wis- 
consin Cavalry, which was under the com- 
mand of Major Pond, and participated in 
the engagement at Ivansas City, Mo. He 
saw much active scr\ice, being with his 
regiment in all of its battles and skirmishes, 
after which he received an honorable dis- 
charge in October, 1865. At the close of the 
war Mr. Samphier returned to Omro, Wis. , 
where in connection with his brother he 
opened a boot and shoe store, and also en- 
gaged in general merchandising. On the 23d 
of August, 1887, he arrived in Tomahawk, 
where he has since made his home. Here 
he purchased property and erected a hotel, 
which is known as the "Tomahawk House." 



It is one of the leading hotels of this por- 
tion of the State, and Mr. Samphier con- 
ducted it most of the time since its comple- 
tion. He has secured a liberal patronage, 
as he has attended carefully to the needs of 
his guests, and serves them with appetizing 
and well-cooked food. 

At Appleton, Wis., February 14. 1858, 
Mr. Samphier wedded Mary L. Curtis, who 
was an adopted child, her original name 
being McMurphy. She was born in St. 
Lawrence count}', N. Y. , on the 4th of 
Januar}-, 1837, and is of English and Scotch 
descent. By her marriage she became the 
mother of one child, who died in infancy. 

In political affairs Mr. Samphier votes 
with the Republican party, and on that 
ticket was once the candidate for sheriff of 
Winnebago county. Wis. He served one 
term as chairman of the county board, and 
for four years was a member of that body. 
He was the first chairman of the village of 
Tomahawk, and si.x years ago was elected 
justice of the peace, which office he still 
continues to fill. His decisions are marked 
by fairness and impartiality, being well cal- 
culated to serve the ends of justice. In the 
fall of 1894 he was elected coroner for Lin- 
coln county. He takes quite an active in- 
terest in civic societies, being for many jears 
a member of the Masonic fraternity. in Om- 
ro, and helped to organize the lodge at 
Tomahawk. With Commandery No. 11, at 
Oshkosh, Wis., he holds membership, and 
has served as a delegate to the Grand Lodge. 
He also belongs to the Grand Army of the 
Republic, and was commander of the Post 
at Omro. He has traveled extensively, visit- 
ing nearly every State of the Union, besides 
many foreign countries, and in this way has 
become a cultured and well-informed man. 



JOSliPH DUGAS, who is classed among 
the earliest settlers of Grand Rapids, 
and among its most prosperous and 
highh- esteemed citizens, was born in 
St. Francis, Province of Ouebec, Canada, 
and is a son of Louis and (ieiievie\e Clair 
(Cartier) Dugas, both of whom were natives 
of the Province of Ouebec. Of their four- 
teen children, only two survive — Joseph and 



7H 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Marie, the latter now the wife of John Ber- 
nier. who resides on the old homestead in 
St. Francis. 

Joseph Dugas lost his parents in very 
early life, and his privileges were therefore 
somewhat meager. He received onh' a 
limited education in the district schools, his 
time being devoted to work upon his uncle's 
farm until he was about seventeen years of 
age, when he went to Burlington, Vt., where 
he engaged in farming for nearly a year. 
He next went to the copper mines of Can- 
ada, about twelve miles below Sault Ste. 
Marie, where he worked a year building 
miners' shanties, and from that place he came 
to Grand Rapids, arriving July ii, 1848. 
During the succeeding year he was employed 
in a sawmill, and then engaged in manufac- 
turing shingles on his own account, turning 
out as many as three thousand per day by 
hand. Subsequently he erected a sawmill 
on Moccasin creek. Wis., in connection with 
Joseph Gill, who died within the first year 
of their partnership, after which the mill 
was rented, and Mr. Dugas accepted the 
position as foreman in Beron's sawmill, and 
also acted as pilot in lumber-rafting on the 
Wisconsin river. For two years he was en- 
gaged in the same business and since leaving 
the river has carried on carpentering, and 
also served as salesman in the store owned 
by G. A. Corriveau in Centralia. 

Mr. Dugas was married in Grand Rapids, 
July 12, 1 86 1, to Lucinda Coty, a native of 
St. Francis, Province of Quebec, Canada, 
and they became the parents of five children, 
four yet living, namely: Olive, wife of John 
G. Love, commercial agent Chicago, Milwau- 
kee & St. Paul Railway Company, at St. 
Louis, Mo. ; she was born November i , 1 862 ; 
ithey have two children; Joseph E. Love 
aged five years, and Maurine sixteen months 
old. Joseph is general agent for the Ameri- 
can E.xpress Company at Menominee, Mich. 
Moses was born December 12, 1866; since 
the age of sixteen he has been traveling all 
over the United States and Canada, and 
made one trip to the British Isles; is at pres- 
ent stationed at Bluefields, Nicaragua, 
Central America, as overseer of the building of 
wharves along the coast. Emma, who was 
born September 14, 1S68, is now teach- 



ing in the high school. Eagle River, \\'is. 
Mr. Dugas served as marshal of Grand 
Rapids for one year, but has never sought 
or desired political preferment. He votes 
with the Democratic party, and attends the 
Catholic Church. 

The famih' of which Mrs. Dugas is a 
member numbers the following living repre- 
sentatives; Joseph Coty, of Grand Rapids; 
Leonora, wife of Peter Smith, who is living 
in Drummondsville, Canada; Emma, wife 
of ZoelTurotte, a I'esident of Massachusetts; 
Clarissa, widow of the late John Arpin, of 
Grand Rapids; and Delia, wife of George 
Corriveau. a prominent merchant of Centra- 
lia, Wisconsin. 

Joseph L. Dugas, a son of our subject, 
was born in Grand Rapids, January 30, 
1865, and was educated in the common 
schools and in the Howe High School of his 
native town. When his literary education 
was completed he became the station agent 
and telegraph operator for the Wisconsin 
Central Railroad Company, serving in that 
wa)' for several years, while for six years 
he was employed in the same capacity 
for other railroad companies, being located 
at various points throughout the State. In 
1888, he was appointed agent for the Amer- 
ican Express Company, and the same year 
opened, and was appointed manager of. the 
first Western Union Telegraph office in 
Grand Rapids. In March, 1895, he was 
promoted to be general agent of the Amer- 
ican Express Company, at Menominee. Mich. 
On September 7, i8gi, was celebrated 
the marriage of Joseph L. Dugas and Miss 
Nettie Smith, daughter of G. M. and Laura 
A. (Abernethe) Smith, who resides at Sun 
Prairie, near Madison, Wis. They had a 
daughter, Mabel, who died November 3, 1893, 
and have a son, born April 15, 1895, who 
has been named Joseph, after his grandfather 
and father. Mrs. Dugas is an active mem- 
ber of the Episcopal Church, and is now 
holding the position of president of St. Cath- 
erine's Guild, one of the Church societies. 
Mr. Dugas served as a member of the board 
of education for several years. The mem- 
bers of the family of this name are well 
known in Grand Rapids and vicinity, and 
their friends are manv. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



7'5 



GEORGE F. FAULKS has the honor 
of being one of Wisconsin's native 
sons, for he was born in Waupaca 
township, Waupaca county, Novem- 
ber 9, 1S62. His father, Francis Faulks, 
was born in Rutlandshire, England, and 
when a young man he crossed the Atlantic 
to America, locating in Waupaca county, 
where he followed fanning. He here mar- 
ried Charlotte Minton, who was born on 
Oxford street, in London, England, and 
they became the parents of the following 
children: George F. ; Herbert, a farmer of 
Waupaca township; Eliza, wife of Lucas 
Palmer of the same township; Rufus, who is 
living in Waupaca township; Isabella, Arthur 
and Flora, all at home. The father is still liv- 
ing in Waupaca township, at about the age 
of sixty years, but since the spring of 1884 
has been in poor health and is not now act- 
ively engaged in farming. By his ballot 
he supports the men and measures of the 
Republican part}'. His estimable wife has 
reached the age of fifty-two years. 

In the common schools of the neighbor- 
hood George F. Faulks obtained his educa- 
tion, and like a dutiful son he remained upon 
the farm, giving his father the benefit of his 
services until he had attained his majority. 
During the winter season when the work 
upf)n the farm was over he frequently added 
to the family income by his labors in the 
lumber woods. At the age of twenty-one 
he went to Michigan, and for a time was 
employed on a boat between Saginaw and 
Bay City. He next went to Albion, Mich., 
and in that vicinity worked as a farm hand 
for a time, after which he went to Rock 
Island, 111., on a visit. Returning to Wis- 
consin, he spent the winter at home, and 
then rented a farm in Section 5, Lind town- 
ship, which he operated with good success 
for two seasons. He then worked a farm 
in Section 36, Farmington township, for a 
Mr. Cormican, operating it on shares, and 
on leaving that place he took up his resi- 
dence at his pleasant home in Section 5, 
Lind township. 

Mr. Faulks was married December 9, 
1886, in Waupaca, Wis., to Miss Mary H. 
Marchant, a native of Lind township, born 
September 20, 1863, a daughter of George 



and Ann (Harrison) Marchant. She is an 
estimable and cultured lady, and after at- 
tending the common schools spent three 
terms in the Waupaca high school. The 
young couple begun their domestic life in 
Lind township, afterward removed to Farm- 
ington township, and on the ist of March, 
1 888, located in Section 5, their present 
place of abode. 

Here Mr. Faulks purchased eighty acres 
of land from Charles Hawley for $2,800, of 
which he paid $500, but he has now cleared 
it of indebtedness, has greatly improved 
and enriched the land, has erected several 
new buildings, and in 1894 built his excellent 
frame residence, one of the substantial and 
comfortable homes of the community. In 
former years he engaged to some extent in 
horse dealing, and is an excellent judge of 
horses. A young man of excellent business 
ability, his success in life is due to his own 
well-directed efforts, and is the outcome of a 
laudable ambition, guided by a clear judg- 
ment and strict integrity of purpose. In his 
political views he is a Democrat, but has 
had neither time nor inclination for public 
office. He has always lived in Waupaca 
county, and his well-spent life has gained 
him many warm friends. 



EW. BENNETT. While some men's 
lives quietly and peacefully are spent 
within the influences of a home, oth- 
ers meet with adventures in the 
course of their career which read almost 
like a romance. Bold and adventurous, 
they penetrate into unknown lands and meet 
unknown dangers. Among the latter class 
is the subject of this sketch, whose name is 
given at the opening of this article. He is one 
of the early pioneers of Waupaca county, 
arriving here in 1854 and settling near the 
present site of the town of Clintonville. 

Mr. Bennett is a native of the Empire 
State, being born in Allegany county in 
1822, and is a son of Andie and Rachel 
(Alcott) Bennett. The father was a farmer 
by occupation, and served in the war of 
1812. His death occurred in New York, 
and his wife died in the same State at a 
very advanced age. The paternal grand- 



7i6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



father, Cromwell Bennett, was born in Con- 
necticut, and became a soldier of the Revo- 
lutionary war. He was of English descent. 
In the family of which our subject is a mem- 
ber were six children, as follows: Sophronia, 
who died in New York in 1886, was the wife 
of Amasa Clark; Bushnell died at the age of 
si.xty-three years; Sophia is the widow of 
Nelson Hammond, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; 
Hardin died in New York at the age of 
twent\-one; Charles is a farmer of Crawford 
count}-, Wis. ; E. \V. is next in order of 
birth; and Jeannette died when sevent_\-two 
years of age. 

In the schools of Allegany county, N. Y., 
Mr. Bennett received his education, and 
there he also engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits. In 1854, in that county, he led to 
the marriage altar Eleanor Enieline Knowl- 
ton, who was a native of Rhode Island, and 
was descended from an old New England 
family. After his marriage Mr. Bennett 
came to Waupaca county, Wis., settling in 
the woods when there were only five or six 
families in the county, and having to go on 
foot to New London, Wis., for supplies. 
He came to his present farm in a canoe, 
and has there passed through all the hard- 
ships and privations incident to life on the 
frontier. His wife passed away in 1880, 
leaving a family of eight children: George 
Victor, the first child born in Clintonville, 
Wis., still makes his home at that place, 
and is engaged in the lumber business; 
Andie, also a resident of the same place, is 
exploring for the Chicago & North Western 
railroad; Charley resides in Clintonville; 
Rachel is the wife of Stephen Gifford, of 
Crandon, Wis. ; Emmett also lives in Clin- 
tonville; Frank is at home; and Alice Abbie 
Magnolia completes the family. Our sub- 
ject was again married in Clintonville, in 
1890, to Mrs. Martha Collins. 

After his arrival in Wisconsin, Mr. Ben- 
nett engaged in exploring pine lands, travel- 
ing all through Northern Wisconsin and 
Michigan, journeying on foot through the 
entire Lake Superior country, carrying his 
provisions and pack. He aided in survey- 
ing a large amount of land in this State, and 
prospected and found homes for many of the 
early settlers. For a time he was empiloyed 



by the Lake Shore railroad, prospecting 
from Clintonville to Gogebic Range and to 
Ashland, Wis., and is thoroughly familiar 
with every section of that line of what is 
now the Chicago & North Western railroad, 
being in their employ for eight years. He 
severed his connection with the railroads in 
1887, and has since carried on farming, in 
which he is meeting with excellent success. 

In politics Mr. Bennett is a Democrat, 
and has served as. justice of the peace and 
town treasurer of Larrabee township, and 
was also assessor. In his social relations 
he is a member of Clintonville Lodge, No. 
197, F. & A. M., and was a charter mem- 
ber of that order at New London and at 
Shawano, Wis., and also at Clintonville. In 
New York he held membership with the 
Masonic fraternit\'. 

Mr. Bennett enlisted in Clintonville, in 
1863, for the Civil war, becoming a member 
of Company K, Third Wisconsin Infantry, 
and was mustered into service at Madison, 
Wis., ser\ing until the close of the war with 
the Twentieth Army Corps. He was with 
Sherman on the march to the sea from 
Savannah, participated in the battles of 
Murfreesboro and Jonesboro, and engaged 
in the Carolina campaigns. He took part 
in the review at Richmond, \'a., and also in 
the grand review at Washington, D. C. On 
July i8, 1865, he received his discharge and 
returned home, having served as a faithful 
and valiant soldier. He is one of the well- 
known men of this section of Wisconsin, 
and is now engaged in agricultural pursuits 
on a fine farm of eight}- acres near the city 
of Clintonville. He has seen the entire de- 
velopment of this region, and has been 
largely instrumental in promoting its welfare 
and advancement, and his name deserves an 
honored place in the records of Waupaca 
countv. 



CHRISTIAN THOMPSON, a repre- 
sentative and progressive farmer of 
lola township, Waupaca county, 
making his residence in Section 14, 
is a native of Norway, born in Februarj-, 
1825, and is the third in a famil}- of six chil- 
dren, five sons and one daughter. He had 



i 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



717 



poor chances for securing an education, as 
his father was in limited circumstances, 
being employed b}' large land owners, and 
had a difficult time to get along. When 
but fourteen years of age our subject hired 
out to a farmer, with whom he remained 
for six years. Being large and robust he 
made a good farm hand, as he was always 
industrious and faithful to his duties. Later 
he began buying stock, which he would sell 
in the cities, and in this way secured a start 
in life, which would otherwise have been 
impossible from a farm lal)orer's pay in that 
country. 

In Norway, in 1856, Mr. Thompson led 
to the marriage altar Cornelia Olson, whose 
birth occurred in June, 1834, and before 
leaving their native land one son was born, 
Thorn, now a farmer of Helvetia town- 
ship, Waupaca count)'. In the spring of 
1858 the little family crossed the Atlantic 
on the sailing vessel, "Amelia," after which, 
a voyage of five weeks and four days, landed 
them at (Juebec. Mr. Thompson had been 
thinking of coming to the United States for 
some time previous, but lack of funds com- 
pelled postponement, and as soon as he had 
seciu'ed enough he started. 

lola township, Waupaca county, was 
the destination of our subject, as there Jacob 
Toe and Halvor Tubaas, two acquaintances, 
lived. He came by way of Milwaukee and 
Oshkosh, Wis., and by boat up Wolf river 
to Gill's Landing, where he sent to Scandi- 
navia for a conveyance to take them farther, 
and Ole O. Omit was the person to send 
the team for them. On their arrival in lola 
township they made their temporary home 
with the mother of Hans Johnson, of New- 
Hope township. Portage Co. , Wis. Mr. 
Thompson secured work with a farmer, his 
wages being " $9 per month and a pound of 
plug tobacco," and during the winter of 
1858-59 he was employed in the lumber 
woods. In 1859 he purchased 120 acres in 
the northeast part of lola township, on 
which he made a partial payment. A log 
house had been built, but none of the land 
was broken, and he made the first improve- 
ments on the place, which was his home 
until his enlistment in the service of his 
adopted countr}'. 



At Waupaca November 12, 1864, Mr. 
Thompson joined Company E, Fortj'-fourth 
Wis. V. I., as a private under Capt. J. W. 
Moore. From Madison, Wis., he went with 
the troops to Nashville, Tenn. , where he was 
on picket duty during the winter of 1864-5, 
and in the following spring was sent to Padu- 
cah, Ky. , where he received his discharge 
on the 28th of August, 1865, and returned 
to lola. During his absence his wife and 
child made their home with her brother, Al- 
fred Olson, of Tola. In the spring of 1866 
Mr. Thompson bo'ught another farm in lola 
township, in Section 14, which is now his 
home, and later sold his first tract, giving 
his time and attention to the cultivation and 
improvement of his present farm, of which 
at that time only fifteen acres had been 
cleared. He now has 225 acres, though on 
landing in the United States he had but fifty 
dollars in his pockets, so that his entire 
possessions have since been acquired by his 
indomitable perseverance and industrj'. He 
has ever been a hard worker, and in his 
younger days was a giant in strength. He 
has made eighteen trips down the Wiscon- 
sin river on lumber rafts, going to various 
points along the Mississippi, and has worked 
in the pineries many winters, being thus em- 
ployed every winter, and with the exception 
of the time he was in the army, since coming 
to America until his age compelled him to 
give up that line of work. He is a genial, 
jovial man, and makes friends of all with 
whom he comes in contact. Although rich, 
he is liberal with his means, giving liberall)' 
to charities and all worth}' enterprises. 

In the New World the family circle has 
been increased by the births of the following 
children: Ole, at home; Thurene, now Mrs. 
Thomas Anderson, of Ramsey county, N. 
Dak.; Annie, wife of Otto Beck, of lola; 
Charles E., a farmer of Harrison township, 
Waupaca county; Christian T. , of Ramsey 
county, N. Dak. ; John G., a school teacher 
of lola; Anton T., who is engaged in the 
same occupation; Julius G., at home; Oscar, 
who is attending the academy at Scandi- 
navia, Waupaca count)'; and John, twin 
brother of Annie, who died at the age of 
four years. 

The Republican party has no more 



7iS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



stanch member in its ranks than Mr. Thomp- 
son. He does not care for poHtical prefer- 
ment, but has been treasurer of School Dis- 
trict No. 3, of lola township. With lola 
Post, Ko. 99, G. A. R., he holds member- 
ship, and of the Hitterdall Lutheran Church 
he and his family are faithful members, and 
on building the house of worship he was one 
of the liberal contributors. 



April 
baum. 



APPOLINAIRE J. NUSBAUM is a 
wide-awake and progressive business 
man of Merrill. He was born in 
the little village of Lann, France, 
13, 1842, and is a son of A. J. Nus- 
Sr. , also a native of the same coun- 
try, who was a French soldier and served 
for eight years under Napoleon. His death 
occurred in 1848. The mother of our sub- 
ject bore the maiden name of Adelle Gunde 
Hilbert, and by her first marriage had four 
children: Bernard, who died at the age of 
twenty years; Appolinaire J. ; Eliza, who died 
in infancy; and Martin, who is still in France. 
After the death of Mr. Nusbaum, the widow 
was married again, becoming the wife of 
John Meyer. His death occurred in 1871, 
and Mrs. Meyer, who was of German de- 
scent, passed away in 1877. They had 
three children: Eliza, John and Edward. 

When fifteen years of age Mr. Nusbaum, 
whose name introduces this review, began 
to learn the trade of cabinet making, which 
he followed for man\' years in France, being 
emplo_\ed in Paris and other cities. He 
became an e.xpert workman, and took the 
first premium for fine work in the city of 
Toulon, in 1866. He was married in France, 
in 1868, to Miss Valeri, but the following 
year was called upon to mourn the death of 
his wife. 

In 1874 Mr. Nusbaum bade adieu to the 
land of his birth, and crossing the Atlantic to 
America, took up his residence in La Crosse, 
Wis. , where for three years he was employ- 
ed by Tillmann Brothers. In April, 1880, 
he came to Merrill, and opened the first 
cabinet shop in the city. He has since 
built up an excellent trade, and now has a 
large furniture store in which he carries a 
good stock, but his finest furniture is of his 



own manufacture. He learned his trade 
when all fine furniture was manufactured by 
hand, and some of his work far e.xcells that 
manufactured by machinery. He has the 
qualities of a successful merchant, being 
wide-awake, enterprising and progressive, 
and has the tact of pleasing the varied 
tastes of the varied people with whom a 
business man is always sure to come in con- 
tact. 

While in La Crosse, Mr. Nusbaum was 
united in marriage August 15, 1876, with 
Mrs, Anna Everknitz, who was born in Ger- 
many, and by her first marriage had three 
daughters, only one of whom is now living. 
There were two sons by the second mar- 
riage, John N. and Albert A. The mother 
died October 25, 1889, and on the 6th of 
April, 1890, Mr. Nusbaum was joined in 
wedlock with Mrs. Agnes (Tulant) Wizmiew- 
ski, who was born near Berlin, Germany, 
and who died on flie 5th of September, 
1890. Mr. Nusbaum came to America with 
the hope of benefiting his financial condi- 
tion, and this hope has been realized, for, as 
the result of his industry and good manage- 
ment, he is now the possessor of a comfort- 
able competence. 



FC. ANDREWS, the well-known and 
popular tonsorial artist of lola, is a 
native of St. Lawrence township, 
Waupaca county, born March 22, 
1858, and is the eldest son and second child 
of Benjamin F. and Maria (Quimby) An- 
drews. His father was born in Painesville, 
Lake Co., Ohio, January 18, 1833, and 
was there reared until thirteen years of age, 
when he came west with his mother and 
Alva Woodward, his stepfather. They trav- 
eled by team to Cleveland, then by boat to 
Milwaukee, and made their first location on 
a new farm in Oak Grove, Dodge county, 
this State. 

Benjamin Andrews worked as a farm 
hand for $5 and $6 per month in those 
early days, and on the 5th of October, 1 854, 
in that township he married Maria Onimby, 
who was born in Augusta, Me., May 29, 
1837. Her parents, Moses and Melinda 
(Clough) Ouimby, were natives of Vermont 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



719 



and the father was a carpenter, joiner and 
millwright, who in 1852 took up his resi- 
dence in Oak Grove township. Dodge coun- 
ty. In his family were ten children: Newell, 
who is in the West; John, of Little River, 
Waupaca county; George, who served in 
the Eighth Wis. V. I. (the Eagle Regiment) 
during the Civil war; Moses, who was a 
member of the Fourteenth Wis. V. I., and 
resides at Little River; Charles, who was a 
member of the same regiment, and was killed j 
at Atlanta; Airs. Andrews; Mary, who was i 
the wife of Dr. Annis, of Ogdensburg, Wis. , | 
and since his death has married again, and 
resides in Kansas; Alfred, who was a mem- 
ber of Company G, Twenty-first Wis. V. L, \ 
and is living in Waupaca. The father of i 
this family died at Little. River, Wis., at the ' 
age of eighty-nine, and his wife died in Min- 
nesota at the age of seventy-three. He was 
a Republican in politics, and both were mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church. Their family 
was represented in the Civil war by six sons 
who "wore the blue." 

B. F. Andrews, upon his marriage, re- 
moved by team to Appleton, Wis., and found 
work in a paper-mill. He was at that time 
a poor young man, dependent entirely upon 
his own resources. His next home was at 
Little River, Wis., where he followed farm- 
ing, and operated a threshing machine, the 
latter being a profitable source of income, 
for in those days grain was extensively raised. 
In the fall of 1857 he removed with his fam- 
ily to St. Lawrence township, Waupaca 
county, where he purchased forty acres of 
timber land, and built a log cabin. When 
he had greath' improved that place he sold 
and removed to Ogdensburg, where he was 
employed in the sawmill owned by Axtell & 
Livermore until enlisting at Waupaca, Au- 
gust 15, 1862, for three years' service in the 
Union army, as a member of Company G, 
Twenty-first Wisconsin Infantry. He was 
made corporal, and was discharged in Wash- 
ington after the Grand Review, June 8, 1865. 
This celebrated regiment had many hard 
battles, in all of which Mr. Andrews par- 
ticipated, until that of Atlanta, when a sun- 
stroke incapacitated him for duty, and for a 
short time he was in the hospital at Chatta- 
nooga. He took part in the engagements 



at Perryville, Stone River, Hoover's Gap, 
Dug Gap, Chickamauga, Resaca, Dallas, 
Kenesaw, Peach Tree Creek, and the march 
through Georgia, South Carolina and North 
Carolina to Bentonville, and on to \\'ash- 
ington to participate in the grandest mili- 
tary pageant ever seen in the New \\'orld. 

Mrs. Andrews had at this time a husband 
and six brothers in the army, and the hero- 
ism which she displaced was of that harder 
kind of watching and waiting. At the same 
time she had her little children to care for, 
and the money which her husband should 
have received for his services often went 
astray in those days of uncertain mails. 
Upon his discharge he returned to Ogdens- 
burg, and after following threshing for a 
time, removed to a farm in Union township, 
Waupaca county. Later, he again lived in 
Ogdensburg. and worked for some time as a 
section hand on the Green Bay & St. Paul 
railroad. From Union township he re- 
moved to Merrill, Wis. , where he clerked in 
a store until the fall of 1884, after which he 
spent four years as a salesman in Hoyard's. 
store, in lola. He has since lived retired. 

Mr. Andrews is a charter member of lola 
Post, No. 99, G. A. R., and has held several 
offices therein. His wife is a member of the- 
Methodist Church. In politics he has al- 
ways been a stanch Republican, and for two 
terms was chairman of Union township,. 
Waupaca county, and has also held several 
school offices. In addition he was elected* 
justice of the peace, but refused to qualify. 
The family numbered four children: Janet, 
who was born in Little River, Wis., Sep- 
tember II, 1855, and is now the wife of> 
Silas Labar, of Tola; Frank C. ; Louis M., 
who was born in St. Lawrence township, 
Waupaca county, May 25, i860, and diedi 
in infancy; and Luman C. , who also died in 
infancy. 

Frank C. Andrews began his school life 
under the teaching of Miss Mary Sherry, of 
Ogdensburg, and his educational privileges^ 
were those afforded Ijy the common schools^ 
He remained at home until a young man, 
leaving the parental roof only on going to- 
the lumber woods, where he worked for 
three winters. He then engaged in running 
the river, but being taken ill abandoned that 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



employment. At the age of twenty-two he 
began learning the barber's trade in Norrie, 
Wis. , and after working for others for some 
time opened a shop of his own in Merrill, 
Wis., where he remained for two years. In 
1884 he came to Tola, and began business 
over the general store owned by Oscar 
Hoyard. For a time he also engaged in the 
sale of fruits and confectioner}', but now 
gives his attention wholly to his trade. He 
■has a line shop, with e.xcellent equipments, 
and his thorough understanding of his busi- 
ness secures him a large and lucrative trade. 
He is well known in the community, and is 
now a prosperous and popularcitizen, having 
many warm friends. 

In lola, June 28, 1885, was celebrated 
the marriage of Mr. Andrews and Miss Edith 
Seely, a native of Outagamie county, Wis. , 
.and a daughter of Daniel Seely. They have 
four children: Lyle C, born March 28, 1886; 
Benjamin D,born December 7, 1888; Claude, 
who died at the age of eleven months; and 
Avis M., born September 9, 1893. Mr. An- 
vdrews is a supporter of the Republican party, 
and socially is connected with the Knights 
of Honor. 



ISAAC C. HUUN, a worthy andhighly re- 
spected citizen of lola, Waupaca county, 
was born in Leirdalsoren, Norway, Oc- 
tober 20, 1842, and is a son of Isaac G. 
.'S. Huun and Johanna C. Huun, born in Hce- 
stencts. His father, who was a tinsmith and 
dealer in that trade in Leirdal, Norway, was 
a son of Christopher Huun, a native of Ger- 
many, but the maternal ancestors of our sub- 
ject were all born in Norwa}'. He is one of 
a family of three children, his twin brother, 
John O., being also a resident of Tola; their 
sister, Tomena, died at the age of three 
years. When our subject was but nine 
years old the father died, leaving the mother 
in very limited circumstances, and the sons 
were thrown upon their own resources. 

Our subject's school days were then 
over, and he at once left home, going to 
Hergen, a distance of ninety miles, carrying 
his clothes, where for si.x years he served an 
apprenticeship to the tinner's trade. He 
•worked in the evenings and at odd hours in 



order to secure enough to purchase his cloth- 
ing, and was willing to labor at anything by 
which he could earn an honest penny. After 
thoroughly mastering his trade he passed 
the rigid examination before becoming a 
mechanic, after which he was appointed 
foreman over from eight to twelve men. 
During the time he was thus engaged his 
wages were onlj' $1. 50 per week and board, 
and after holding the position for six years, 
he opened a tin store in Sogndal, making all 
kinds of tinware, and was thus engaged for 
three years. 

On August 26. 1869, Mr. Huun led to 
the marriage altar Miss Rachel Nelson, who 
was born in the mountainous region of Nor- 
way, and on April 22, 1870, they left their 
native land for the New World. Our sub- 
ject had labored under the impression that 
this country was filled with thieves and mur- 
derers, but Rev. A. Mikleson, a Lutheran 
minister, who was on a visit to Norway, 
convinced him that it was not, and on his 
return to the United States Mr. and Mrs. 
Huun accompanied him. They took pass- 
age at Bergen on board an Anchor Line boat 
bound for Ouebec, where they arrived after 
a voyage of thirteen days. From there they 
proceeded to Chicago, thence to Berlin, 
Wis., where they arrived May 16, 1870, and 
as Mrs. Huun had an aunt, Mrs. John Erick- 
son, living near the town of Marion, Wau- 
shara Co., Wis., they went to that place. 
Our subject was unable to speak a word of 
English, and the first dollar he earned in 
this country was at digging a cellar. Later 
he worked in a sawmill on Mill creek, near 
Stevens Point, W'is., where he was to have 
received $25 per month; but at the end of 
three months his employer gave him $90, 
thinking that he had earned it. Both he and 
his wife then picked cranberries for Charles 
Davis, about five miles north of Berlin, Wis. 
Mr. Huun was then employed at his trade 
for the first time since his arrival in this 
countr}', working for Charles Storm, of 
Wautonui, Wis., but as the wages were very 
poor he began business for himself. Early 
in January, 1871, he came through Wau- 
paca county, carrying his tools in a satchel 
and doing odd jobs of mending, walking 
from place to place. Later, February 2, 



COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAFUICAL RECORD. 



721 



1 87 1, he located in the village of lola, where 
he has since made his home. He here 
began dealing in tinware, making most of 
his goods, and at the end of three years 
added hardware to his stock. In 1872 he 
built his first place of business, borrowing 
money for which he paid ten per cent in- 
terest; but as his business increased he 
needed more commodious quarters, and in 
1884 he erected a good frame building 
where he continued in business until Janu- 
ary, 1892, when he sold out. To give some 
idea of the extent of his trade it is enough 
to state that the celebrated Michigan Stove 
Co., of Detroit, gave him $50 in gold as a 
prize for having sold more of their stoves 
from September i, 1889, to January i, 
1890, than any other dealer in the United 
States, in proportion to the population of 
the town which, for a small town like lola, 
in competition with larger cities, reflects 
much credit on the proprietor. In 1879 our 
subject paid a visit to his aged mother in 
Norway, visited old boyhood scenes and re- 
newed the acquaintances of his youth. 

In 1886 Mr. Hunn's first wife died, and 
on August 14, 1887, he married Selina 
Schwarzenbach, who was born in Zurich, 
Switzerland, May 22, 1859, and came to 
America with her father, Jacob Schwarzen- 
bach, on May 11, 1868. Their union has 
been blessed with two interesting children: 
Isaac J., born December 7, 1888; and Ve- 
rena S., born February 10, 1890. In 1892 
Mr. Hunn purchased four acres of land in 
Section 2, Scandinavia township, and erect- 
ed one of the most substantial homes in the 
vicinity of lola, where he now lives retired. 
He has greatly improved his place, adding 
small fruits and beautiful shrubbery, until it 
has become one of the most pleasant homes 
in the neighborhood. He is essentially a 
self-made man, having accumulated his 
property by sticking to his work with a re- 
solute will, patiently enduring the hardships 
that he might in the end profit thereby, and 
the result has amply justified the shrewd and 
intelligent foresight of this clear-headed, 
energetic man. He is a member of the 
Masonic Order, one of the oldest Masons in 
the village, and also belongs to the I. O. 
O. F. Lodge No. 282, of lola, of which he 



became a member soon after its organiza- 
tion. From early childhood he has been 
connected with the Lutheran Church, to 
which he always contributes liberally, and 
he has several times been a delegate from 
the Scandinavia Lutheran Church and to 
the Church Synod, going as such to De- 
corah, Iowa, in 1876, to Minneapolis, Minn., 
in 1885, and again to Minneapolis in [888. 
He applied for citizenship the first year of 
his arrival in this country, and received his 
final papers in 1871, since when he has been 
a faithful adherent of the Republican party 
and its principles; he was a delegate to the 
State Republican Convention at Madison, 
that nominated Gov. Rusk for bis first term 
as governor of Wisconsin, and he has served 
his neighbors as town treasurer for one 
term. 

At the age of twenty-two Mr. Huun was 
drafted into the regular army of his native 
country for five years, and was in active 
service sixteen months of that time, though 
he was unable to attend to any other busi- 
ness during the period of his service, as he 
had to hold himself in readiness for duty at 
all times. The first year he served three 
months, receiving one shilling per da}', and 
every fifth day a portion of bread was given 
the soldiers, which was supposed to last 
them five days. Later he was appointed 
nurse in the hospital at Christiania, where 
he received fifteen cents per day. On the 
completion of his five-years' military service 
I he received permission from his government 
to leave that country if he so desired; but 
previous to this time the government would 
not have allowed him to leave the country, 
as, according to the laws there, every male 
citizen was obliged to serve five years in the 
army — from the age of twenty-two to 
twenty-seven years. 



WILLIAM H. SANDERS. The East- 
ern States have given to their 
younger sisters — the Western and 
Northwestern States — some of 
their most progressive and prosperous citi- 
zens, among whom it is a pleasurable duty 
to include the gentleman whose name here 
appears. 



723 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Sanders is a native of the State of 
Massachusetts, born April 28, 1820, in the 
then village of Heath, Franklin county, a 
son of William and Fannie (Bell) Sanders, 
the former of whom, a carpenter and joiner 
by trade, was of Halifax, \'t., nativity, 
whence he moved to Massachusetts, where 
he married, and had a family of four chil- 
dren, namely: ^\■illiam H. ; Caroline, de- 
ceased wife of Julius Sevens, of Omro, who 
left six children — Charles, Frank, William, 
Julia, Gusta, and Mary, wife of Jul Arm- 
strong, of Fort Howard; Emerson, a farmer 
in Missouri, and Almyra, married to Ezra 
Canada, and living in Lynn, Mass. they 
have four or five children). 

Our subject received very limited edu- 
cational advantages, the school being a long 
way from his home, and, moreover, being 
the eldest in the family, he had to assist in 
the support of the others, at the early age 
of ten years commencing to help clear the 
forest. As he grew in years, his duties in- 
creased in proportion, and he had to work 
all the harder, at the same time learning his 
father's trade. He remained at home until 
he was twenty-one years old, at which time 
he was working at his trade, and took unto 
himself a wife, which event will be fully 
mentioned farther on. Buying some land 
in Massachusetts, he followed farming and 
carpentry for about five years, as well as 
sawmilling, owning a mill at Stamford, Vt. 
In 1850, accompanied by his wife and four 
children, Mr. Sanders came west toW'iscon- 
sin, their starting point being North Adams, 
Mass., the journey to Milwaukee being made 
by rail and water. They remained in the 
latter city some nine weeks, during which 
time our subject worked on the first railroad 
depot built there. From Milwaukee they 
came by team to Fond du Lac, thence by 
steamboat to Oshkosh, where Mr. Sanders 
purchased a row boat in which the family 
rowed on the river to Belle Plaine township, 
taking their goods and chattels along with 
them. This trip occupied nine days, the 
family sleeping on the river bank nights, 
and, once arrived, our subject took up one 
hundred acres of land, but until it was sur- 
veyed they camped on the river bank. 
This property is in Section i, and comprised 



1 60 acres of wild land, at which time there 
were but two white families in Shawano — 
those of James Grimmer and Charles Wes- 
cart. Mr. Sanders built, somewhere down 
the river, a comfortable log house, orshant\', 
24X 16 feet, covered with boards, and polled 
it up the stream to its destination; he had 
no team for a whole year, but he had his 
capenter tools (and has some of them yet), 
and for a time made shingles, which he took 
to Oshkosh and traded for provisions. He 
also made a churn for his wife, the first she 
had ever used, and, as a fact, the only one, 
for she never had any other; and also the 
first table for the dining-room, besides 
buckets for the maple-sap run. To-day 
they have eighty acres cleared, making as 
nice a farm as is to be found in this section 
of the county. 

In 1 841 Mr. Sanders was married to 
Miss Sarah Maria Burrington, also a native 
of Massachusetts, born December 28. 1822, 
in Colerain, Franklin county, daughter of 
William and Sarah M. Wells, respectable 
farming people of Colerain, who were the 
parents of four children, as follows: Ade- 
line, w'lie of George \\'arner, a landlord in 
Massachusetts, who has reared one child; 
Sarah Maria, Mrs. Sanders; Eliza, who mar- 
ried Dwight Newell, a farmer, and died leav- 
ing four children; and Lewis, deceased in 
Pennsylvania. After the death of the father 
of these, in 1839, the widowed mother 
moved to Pennsylvania, where she married 
Levi Maynard, and died in that State. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Sanders were born four chil- 
dren, a brief record of whom is as follows: 
Almyra, who married Henry T. Garfield (a 
cousin of President Garfield), and now de- 
ceased, leaving one son, Byron, of Shawano 
(her husband now lives in Milwaukee); 
Elizabeth A., now Mrs. William Parker, 
who has had five children — Jennie M. (de- 
ceased), Alfred W. , Lettie R., Dora J. and 
Warren R. ; Sarah Jane, who married Burns 
McAllister, and died leaving three children 
— George, Wallie and William, all li\ing: 
and William, a farmer in Belle Plaine, mar- 
ried and has five children. In his political 
predilections, our subject is a Republican, 
and he was the second postmaster at Belle 
Plaine, serving in that incumbencv six \ears. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



733 



Such is an outline sketch of WilHam H. 
Sanders, which presents a striking example 
of enterprise, industry and integrity, con- 
ducting to eminent success, and a comfort- 
able competence for his declining years. 



EDWARD PATZER. the first native- 
born German to settle permanently 
in what is now the city of Merrill, 
Lincoln county, and who has in his 
many years' residence there proven himself 
a useful and active citizen, emigrated to 
\\'ausau. Wis., in 1866, while he was only 
fifteen years old, where he learned the trade 
of shoemaker, and in the year 1871 he 
moved to Merrill (then known as Jenny), 
where he worked at his trade for four years, 
after which time he engaged in the hotel 
business in what was then known as the 
" Pat/er House " for several years. 

The subject of our sketch is a prominent 
Odd Fellow, likewise an honored member 
of the Sons of Hermann, and is recognized 
as a public-spirited, enterprising, self-made 
man. well respected and popular. A Demo- 
crat in politics, he has always taken an 
active part in the workings of his party, 
having served as town treasurer when the 
town exceeded the size of what is now Lin- 
coln county. He served as poor commis- 
sioner lor si.\ years, as a member of the 
county board, and as sheriff for two terms. 
During the last term he arrested the noted 
train wreckers, Williams and Hazelton, who 
are now serving twenty-five-year terms in 
the penitentiary. 



REV. PETER L. GASPER, pastor 
of the Church of the Immaculate 
Conception, of Wausau, Marathon 
county, is a native of Prussia, born 
May 16, 1850, in Schonecken, Kreis-Pruem, 
Reg. Bez. Treves, a son of Peter and Cath- 
erina (Lochen) Gasper, also natives of 
Prussia. They were the parents of si.\ chil- 
dren, namely: Henry, still living in Prussia; 
Margaret, wife of Michael Linden, of Chi- 
cago; Peter L. , and three deceased. The 
father, who was a locksmith by trade, died 
in 1 85 I, the mother in 1859, 



The subject of this biographical sketch 
received his elementary education at the 
parochial schools of his native land, after- 
ward learning the trade of locksmith with 
his elder brothers. In 1869 he came to the 
United States, and for about a year worked 
at his trade at Pittsburg, Penn., at the end 
of which time he entered St. Vincent's Col- 
lege, Westmoreland county, Penn., where 
he commenced studying for the priesthood. 
In that institution he remained until 1878, 
at which time he went to St. Francis Seni- 
inar\-, near Milwaukee, Wis., where he 
completed his studies and was ordained 
priest, in 1880, by the late Rt. Rev. Bishop 
Heiss. Our subject's first charge was as 
assistant priest in the cathedral at Green 
Bay, Wis., where he remained seven 
months, then for a time was assistant priest 
to Rev. Father Gaellweiler, at Chilton, 
Calumet county, after which he was trans- 
ferred to West Brothertown, same county, 
remaining there two years, during which 
time he erected a new church building and 
pastoral residence. In 1883 he was again 
transferred, this time to Lebanon township, 
Waupaca county, his stay there covering 
si.x years, during which time he attended, 
as well, to the spiritual welfare of the Cath- 
olic people of Northport, Manawa and 
Weyauwega, also making numerous im- 
provements in the church edifices in those 
localities. In 1889 he was transferred to 
New London where he erected the hand- 
some and commodious church of the Most 
Precious Blood, the corner-stone of which 
was laid June 24, 1890, by Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Katzer, of Green Bay, and conse- 
crated to the worship of God, February 12, 
1 89 1. It is a large and imposing edifice of 
solid brick, 126x52 feet, with a bell tower 
140 feet high, and having a seating capacity 
for 600 people. During his administration 
in New London Father Gasper also erected 
a fine church at Hortonville, the building 
of which was commenced in 1893 and dedi- 
cated with imposing ceremonies by Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Messmer, June 18, 1893. The 
Parish of New London includes about 160 
families, and the school has an attendance 
of some 140 pupils; the Parish of Horton- 
ville comprises in the neighborhood of ninety 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



families. Rev. F"ather Gasper is beloved by 
his parishioners, and was very highly es- 
teemed by the citizens of New London gen- 
erally. In August, 1894, the Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Messmer, of Green Bay, transferred 
him to the city of Wausau, Marathon Co., 
Wis. , and appointed him as rector of St. 
Mary's congregation in that city, a congre- 
gation consisting of about 400 families, and 
having a large parochial school of over 300 
children, conducted by si.\ Sisters of the 
Order of Notre Dame, of Milwaukee, which 
give the best possible satisfaction. In Jan- 
uary, 1895, Father Gasper was also ap- 
pointed by Rt. Re\-. Bishop Messmer, of 
Green Bay, dean for the counties of Lin- 
coln, Marathon, Portage and Wood, as far 
as they are situated within the limits of the 
Diocese of Green Bay. As rector of St. 
Mary's congregation he has a very large 
held of work, which, however, will prosper 
if the Lord will favor him in the future as 
He has in the past. 



RE\'. PROSPER GOEPFERT, C. S. 
Sp. Emerson, the great American 
writer, has said that " society is a 
troop of thinkers, and the best heads 
among them take the best places," an epi- 
gram peculiarly applicable to the reverend 
gentleman whose name is here recorded. 

The subject of this sketch was born a 
little over fiftj* }ears ago, in a suburban 
parish of Colmar, in the fthen) French prov- 
ince of Alsace. At an early age he began 
his classical studies in the flourishing college 
of that town, where year after 3ear he dis- 
tinguished himself in all his classes, and won 
the esteem and affection of his masters and 
fellow-students. At the age of eighteen he 
felt himself called to enter the arena of for- 
eign missions, and with that purpose in view 
entered the Society of the Holy Ghost, 
whose members, though laboring in everj" 
part of the earth, are chiefly devoted to the 
conversion of the iieathen in Africa, where 
they have established numerous Christian 
settlements. After spending three years at 
the College of Langonnet, in Brittany, where 
he finished his literary studies, he took a 



five-years' philosophical and theological 
course at the seminary of the society in 
Paris. Here, alwaj's crowned with marked 
success, he eagerly a\ailed himself of everj' 
opportunity to "drink deep of the Pierian 
spring." 

In 1866 he was raised to the priesthood 
by Prince Cardinal Chigi, then papal nuncio 
at the court of Napoleon III. In the follow- 
ing year his superiors, instead of complying 
with his desires to devote his life to the con- 
version of the unenlightened natives of the 
dark continent, sent him to Rockwell Col- 
lege, Cashel, Ireland, where he remained 
for twentj'-two years as master of novices, 
and professor of almost ever}' branch of 
education. During the last ten years of 
Father Goepfert's stay in Erin he filled with 
distinction the position of president of Rock- 
well College, which has alwa\s ranked 
among the foremost educational institutions 
of the country. 

In 1890 our subject came to Michigan, 
and at Dearborn, Wa\ne county, he was for 
three years the beloved pastor of a parish 
under the direction of the Congregation of 
the Holy Ghost, and although but a limited 
field for so eminent a scholar and prominent 
a priest of the Congregation, he was the 
same hard worker in his Master's vineyard, 
and when he was sent to his present charge 
in Green Bay, Wis., he left a record of 
Christian charity, genial characteristics, hos- 
pitality, and last, not least, hard work in the 
comforting of the unfortunate and the salva- 
tion of souls. Early in the year 1 893 he 
came to Green Bay tn take charge of the 
thriving parish of St. John. 

Besides his many other accomplishments, 
P"ather Goepfert has attained no little dis- 
tinction as an author, having written and 
published, during his sojourn in Ireland, a 
work of much celebrity entitled "Life of 
the Venerable Libermann, P"ounder of the 
Congregation of the Holy Ghost;" he also 
founded and edited till his departure from 
Ireland the popular monthl\' magazine, ' ' The 
Messenger of St. josejih." In spite of his 
hard studies and harder teaching, as well as 
the great responsibility confided to him. 
Father Goepfert is still active, hale and vig- 
orous, and his healthy appearance predicts 



COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



735 



for him a long period yet of energetic use- 
fulness and success as a minister in his new 
field of labor. 



ALFRED R. HILLS, a typical wide- 
awake young American "hustler" is 
proprietor of a flourishing cheese 
factory located on the town line of 
Maple Creek township (Outagamie county) 
and Lebanon township (Waupaca county). 
He was born in Dale, Outagamie Co. , 
Wis., August 27, 1S69, a son of Hubbard 
fa farmer by occupation) and Hannah (Aiken) 
Hills, natives of Ohio, who forty years ago 
came to Outagamie county, where t'tiey have 
since resided. They are the parents of nine 
children, all living, to wit: Ired, Charles, 
Howard, Ida (wife of Melvin Gallea, of Me- 
dina, Wis.), Arthur, Ernest, Alfred R. , 
Myron and Rose. Our subject received a 
liberal education at the public schools of 
Outagamie county, and at the age of twenty 
years commenced the business of cheese 
making. He has followed it successfully 
five years — at Medina, Winneconne, and 
Bear Creek, Wisconsin — prior to establish- 
ing his present factory. He is an active, 
enterprising young business man, one who 
thoroughly understands every branch of the 
business he is engaged in. 



M 



OSES PUARIEA. Among the 
leading and representative agri- 
culturists of Plover township, Port- 
age county, stalwart and sturdy 
tillers of the soil, there is none who stands 
more prominent than the gentleman of whom 
this notice is written. He is a native of 
Upper Canada, born Februarj 14,1839. 

His parents, Clemens and Margaret L. 
(Laxque) Puariea, were both born in Lower 
Canada. Tusah Puariea, the paternalgrand- 
father, was born in France and removed to 
Canada at an early da)', as did also the ma- 
teral grandfather, Battiese Laxque. The 
father of our subject was a day laborer, and 
in his family were fourteen children, of whom 
we have a record of the following: Julia, 
who died in infancy; Alfred, who died in the 
State of Washington, February 19, 1X95, 



leaving a family of six children — Julia (de- 
ceased), Clemens, Anna (deceased), Ida,. 
Moses and Lymar; Margaret, the deceased 
wife of Baptiste Clemens, of Stevens Point, 
Wis., was the mother of the following chil- 
dren — Mary (wife of John Laudenbach, a 
farmer of Iowa), John (a carpenter of Stevens 
Point), Velina (married to a farmer of Iowa), 
Louisa (wife of F. Beckwith, a contractor, 
of Rockford, 111.), Susie (wife of Edward 
Dorin, a miller of Stevens Point); Anna (now 
Mrs. John Dickinson, of Iowa), and Agnes 
(who resides at Stevens Point); Moses is next 
in order of birth: Joseph and Gilbert (who- 
live in Buena \'ista, Wis.); Loisa, the wife 
of George Campbell, a merchant of Logans- 
port, Ind. (they have three children — Sam- 
uel, Etta (deceasedj, and Mattie); Antoine, 
who was a resident of Plover, Wis., but 
died in 1890, leaving one daughter — Maude. 

Moses Puariea was unable to attend 
school in Canada, but in 1856 he came tc 
W^isconsin, and for three winters he studied 
in the schools of this State — nine months ini 
all. Though his school privileges were very 
meagre, yet by subsequent reading and obser- 
vation he has become a well-informed man.. 
He located in Stockton, Wis., and there 
engaged in farming during the summer 
months, while in the winter season he work- 
ed in the woods. After remaining there for 
two years he came to Plover, in 1858, andi 
for three years was in the employ of others. 

In July, 1861, he enlisted in Company 
G, Seventh Wis. V. I., being mustered intO' 
service at Madison, Wis., and the regiment 
was then sent t(j Washington, D. C. They 
had participated in several minor engage- 
ments, the first battle of importance being 
at Kettle Run, \'a., in 1862, which was fol- 
lowed by Cedar Mountain, Culpeper, Rap- 
pahannock Station, Sulphur Springs and 
Manassas Junction. At the battle of Gaines- 
ville, Va., August 28, 1862, Mr. Puariea 
was wounded in the head, the bullet striking 
the right side a little above the ear. and, 
passing clear through, was extracted on the 
opposite side of the skull. He la\- senseless 
for se\en days, during which time he was a 
prisoner, and was then taken to a hospital 
in Washington, D. C, where on the ninth 
day the ball was extracted. He remained 



•jzG 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPUICAL RECORD. 



,in the hospital until February. 1863. when 
he ran away to his regiment, but was sent 
.back to the Lincoln General Hospital, which 
he did not leave until September of the same 
year. He was then placed in the \'eteran 
Reserve Corps, and sent to Philadelphia, 
Penn., to enforce the draft, which- was 
f^reatly resented in the Eastern States. He 
remained in the East until August 28, 1864, 
when he was honorably discharged. His 
wound was about eighteen months in heal- 
ing, and he has in his possession seven pieces 
of skull bone, which were taken out. On 
receiving his discharge he returned home, 
arri\ing in Plover September 2, 1864. He 
then purchased 120 acres of partially-im- 
proved land, on which buildings had pre- 
viously been erected. Here he began its 
further development, and has since contin- 
ued its cultivation, in connection with lum- 
bering. He now owns 720 acres of good 
land, a part of which is timber. He has 
dealt quite extensively in real estate, and at 
different times has owned considerable land. 
He new operates about 160 acres, and has 
about three million feet of timber standing 
on his lands. Besides the business already 
mentioned, our subject has also bought and 
shipped large quantities of potatoes. 

On March 22, 1865, Mr. Puariea was 
joined in wedlock with Mary E. Clark, who 
was born March 27, 1839, in Cattaraugus 
county, N. Y , a daughter of Loren and 
Maryann (Pretchardj Clark. She came west 
with her parents in 1855, locating in Plover 
township, Portage county. Wis., where the 
father opened up a farm, and there died in 
the summer of 1871; his wife died in Sep- 
tember, 1864. While our subject was in 
the army, his parents also came to this 
State, passing their remaining days at his 
home, where the father died February 10, 
1865, the mother exactly ten years later. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Puariea have been born 
five children: (i) Ellsworth, born April 22, 
J 866, has, with the exception of five years 
passed in the West, remained upon the 
home farm; he married Blanche M. Smith, 
daughter of Edward and Mary (Langton) 
Smith, of Illinois, the former of whom is 
now deceased; (2) Mameis a school teacher, 
and resides at home; (3j Ida is the wife of 



Guy Morrill, a farmer of Stockton, Portage 
county; (4) Fred and (5) Mitchell are both 
with their parents. 

In politics Mr. Puariea is a steadfast ad- 
herent of the principles formulated by the 
Republican part}', and cast his first Presi- 
dential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has 
been a member of the board of supervisors 
and chairman of the same in Plover town- 
ship, and for two j-ears served as under 
sheriff. He belongs to the Grand Army 
Post of Plover, and also to the Concatenated 
Order of Hoo Hoo, of St. Louis, Mo., a 
lumbermen's order. His wife is a faithful 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Mr. Puariea has been very successful in his 
life work, becoming one of Portage county's 
most prosperous citizens, and, being en- 
dowed with many virtues and a genial, hos- 
pitable manner, he receives the respect and 
conhdence of the entire community. 



REV. SIGMOND WOZNY, a worthy 
representative of the niinistr}' at 
Menasha, Winnebago county, claims 
.Austria as the land of his birth, 
which event occurred in August, 1861. His 
father, Joseph Wozny, who was a whole- 
sale cattle dealer, was born in 1832, and in 
1856 was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary 
Faferko. Their union was blessed with three 
children — two sons and a daughter — yet 
living, and three that died. The mother 
was called to the home beyond in 1868, and 
in 1870 the father was again married, his 
second union being with Mary Kowalczew- 
ski, by whom he had four children. Mr. 
Wozn\' was a man of good business educa- 
tion, was very wealthy, and lived in a style 
befitting his princely income. 

The gentleman whose name introduces 
this biography began his education in the 
common schools of his native land, and at 
the age of twenty years was graduated with 
honors from the gymnasium. He then re- 
ceived private instruction in painting, for 
his father being a man of wealth could pro- 
vide him with excellent advantages in the 
way of studies. In 18S1 he went to Ital}-, 
where he pursued the study of painting some 
six months, and at the expiration of that 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



727 



period he traveled to Belgium, afterward 
over almost all of Europe, excepting Eng- 
land and Russia, during which time he was 
engaged in teaching Louvain languages and 
painting. In Belgium he pursued a theo- 
logical course, studying in both the Ameri- 
can and Jesuit Colleges and in the Catholic 
University, from which institution he was 
graduated in 1885. On the 38th of June, 
same year, he was ordained a minister, and 
then spent a month visiting among friends, 
after which he sailed for America, his future 
field of labor. On August 12 he landed in 
Pittsburg, Penn., and was sent to Kansas, 
where he was placed in charge of four mis- 
sions; but owing to failing health the follow- 
ing April he was obliged to give up the 
charge of this diocese, and take a vacation 
in order to recuperate. In July, 1886, he 
was received by Bishop Spalding into the 
diocese of Peoria, 111., and given charge of 
the congregation at La Salle, 111., where 
he remained about five years, or until Jan- 
uary, 1 89 1. At that time he was trans- 
ferred to Stevens Point, Wis , where he con- 
tinued three years, and then in April, 1894, 
came to Menasha, to accept the charge of 
St. John's Parish. At the end of August, 
same year, he was called to Cleveland, Ohio, 
to take charge of a newly-organized congre- 
gation, besides being engaged in forming 
other churches or congregations outside of 
the City of Cleveland. 

At various intervals during all these 
years Rev. Wozny has traveled quite exten- 
sively in the United States and Canada, 
visiting all the principal cities and points of 
interest. He has three times gone to the 
Pacific coast, where each time he has spent 
six months. He is a man of liberal mind 
and broad culture, whose studies along the 
various lines of art and science have the 
more ably fitted him for his pastoral work. 



came in an early day to Little Chute, Wis- 
consin. 

Peter Maes was postmaster, and kept 
store for the Fox River Improvement Co., 
always lived in Little Chute, and died in 
1873; his widow resides at Little Chute. 
The}" were the parents of six children, as 
follows: Arnold is in partnership with 
Henry; Peter was killed at Kaukauna in 
1893; Henry is the subject of this sketch; 
Anna is the wife of Bernard Schlude, resid- 
ing in Kaukauna; Albert lives in Marion; 
Herman works in the factory. For twenty 
years the family lived in Kaukauna town- 
ship. 

Henry Maes was reared in Kaukauna, 
educated in the schools there, and learned 
the trade of millwright, following same until 
he engaged in his present business. In 1892, 
in Mattoon, Shawano county, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Christina Joosten, 
who was born in Outagamie county, daugh- 
ter of Walter Joosten, an early pioneer of 
Kaukauna township, who settled there in 
the woods and opened up a farm. From 
Mattoon Mr. Maes came, in 1892, to Marion, 
Waupaca county. In 1894 the firm of 
Maes Brothers began the manufacture of 
furniture at that place, and bought of the 
Marion Furniture Mfg. Co. a good two- 
story frame building, wherein they manu- 
facture all kinds of furniture and store fit- 
tings; also church fittings, and bank outfits, 
and woodwork in general, giving enployment 
to about ten men. Mr. Maes is a member 
of the Modern Woodmen of America, and is 
an Independent in politics, in which he takes 
considerable interest. 



HENRY MAES, member of the firm 
o{ Maes Brothers, furniture manu- 
facturers, Marion, \\^aupaca coun- 
t)', was born in Kaukauna township, 
Outagamie county. Wis., in 1866. He is a 
son of Peter and Johanna (Hendricks) Maes, 
who were born and reared in Holland, and 

46 



RUDOLPH J. LEUTSKER, the well- 
known druggist of Antigo, Langlade 
county, was born in Holland, Feb- 
ruary 14, 1858. His father, John 
Leutsker, was born in the same countrj' in 
1834, and was a boot and shoe dealer. He 
married Alstje Scholtens, and became the 
father of eight children, of whom only three 
are li\ing, name)}': Rudolph J., Maggie 
and Trientje. 

The family came to .America in 1S67, 
sojourning for a sluirt time in P.-iterson, N. 



72S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



J., and then coming to Sheboygan county, 
Wis. Here, the same year, the mother 
died, at Gibbsville, and the following June 
the father was married to Mrs. Wiersema, 
by whom he had one child, named Martha. 
After his second marriage Mr. Leutsker be- 
gan farming, which he carried on until 1883, 
when he removed to Sheboygan Falls, where 
he now resides. Rudolph Leutsker, grand- 
father of our subject, was a merchant in 
Holland; his family consisted of four chil- 
dren, of whom John, above mentioned, was 
the only one to come to America. 

Rudolph J. Leutsker was educated in 
the district schools of Sheboygan county, 
and assisted his father upon the farm until 
he was twenty-two years old. He then 
took the position of clerk in a drug store at 
Sheboygan, where he remained some three 
years. Subsequently he attended the Col- 
lege of Pharmacy at Chicago for one year, 
and then clerked for Clark Brothers of that 
city. Having passed his examination before 
the State Board of Pharmacy, at Spring- 
field, 111., and received his diploma, he re- 
turned to Chicago and worked for the same 
lirm for another year. In April, 1883, he 
came to Antigo, and, in company with Mr. 
\\'ildering, started the first drug store in 
Langlade county. They began in a small 
way, and in limited quarters, but their busi- 
ness growing rapidly, they built a store and 
carried on a successful trade for some years. 
On first establishing his business, Mr. Leuts- 
ker had some trouble with the State author- 
ities, they refusing to recognize his diploma 
from the Illinois State Board, and he was 
obliged to go before the Wisconsin Board, 
which granted him a diploma. He contin- 
ued in partnership with Mr. Wildering for 
some four years, then bought out his part- 
ner, and removed to another building; in 
1 890 he sold out the business, and for two 
. years was engaged in photography. He 
then bought a half interest in a general 
store, in which he was interested until the 
fall of 1892, when he again went into the 
drug business, and now has the leading drug 
business in the cit\-, the firm being Leutsker 
& Wall. 

In 1893 Mr. Leutsker was married to 
Miss Hannah Dumiewold, who was born at 



Elmira, N. Y. , a daughter of John W. and 
Theodora Dunnewold. By this marriage 
four children have been born, two of whom 
died in infancy, and John R., when two 
years old; Alice Theodora being the only 
child living. The mother of these died 
.April 14, 1888, and Mr. Leutsker, in the 
fall of 1S90, married Miss Ida Scheatzel, 
who was born at Tuscdmb, Wis., and is a 
daughter of George C. Scheat.zel, a farmer 
residing at Antigo. Two children are the 
result of this union, John LeRoy and Lydia 
May. Mr. Leutsker is a member of the Re- 
publican party, but takes no active part in 
politics. He belongs to the Methodist 
Church, of which he is a liberal supporter, 
and is a Royal Arch Mason; is also a mem- 
ber of the State Militia at Sheboygan. Mr. 
Leutsker is a self-made man in every sense 
of the term, and commenced life for him- 
self at the age of twenty-two, by hiring out 
for eight dollars a month. His success is 
entirely owing to his own efforts, and he 
has just cause to be proud of the position 
he holds in the community as a man of in- 
fluence, highly esteemed by his fellow citi- 
zens. 



Gi:ORGE N. JEFFERS was born 
September 6, 1866, in the township 
of .\mherst. Portage Co. . Wis., and 
is the son of Albert A. and Jessie 
( Le Prevostj Jeffers. He received his edu- 
cation in the schools of Amherst, and at the 
age of twenty-one, with a little pecuniary 
assistance from his cousin, T. L. JefTers. he 
located on a homestead of forty acres of 
pine land in Ontonagon county, Mich. He 
secured a homestead title in one year, 
cleared and put under cultivation three 
acres, sold the claim in 1889, and, with the 
money received, bought his present farm of 
' 120 acres, eighty of which are cleared. 

On .\pril 5, 1894, in Lanark. Portage 
county, ^Ir. Jeffers was united in marriage 
with Miss Margaret A. Messcr, at the home 
of Mrs. William E. Pipe, her sister, with 
' whom she had made her home before her 
marriage. Mrs. Jeffers is a daughter of 
Thomas and Sarah (Hutchinson; Messer, 
i who were married at Centralia, 111. Thomas 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



739 



Messer was a native of Berwickshire, Scot- 
land, and came to this country when a young 
man. He was a blacksmith, and worked at 
this trade the greater part of his life. 
Shortly after his marriage he moved to Chi- 
cago, 111., where he worked at his trade for 
the Chicago & North Western Railroad Co., 
continuing in their employ after moving to 
Fond du Lac, where his wife died March 7, 
1871. Their children were as follows: 
Mary A., now Mrs. William E. Pipe, of 
Lanark; Margaret .\. (Mrs. George N. Jef- 
fers}, born March 7, 1868, in Fond dii Lac, 
W'is. ; and William, who died in infancy. 
.After the death of her mother Margaret A. 
Messer (Mrs. Jeffers) went with her baby 
brother to the home of her grandmother, in 
Centralia, 111., and lived there two years, dur- 
ing which time her brother died. Returning 
to Fond du Lac, she lived there till the 
spring of 1879, when she went to Sabula. 
Jackson Co., Iowa, where she remained 
nearly a Near. She next lived at O.xford 
[unction, Jones Co., Iowa, till 1888, then 
made her home with her sister in Lanark 
until her marriage. She is an educated 
lady, a great lover of art, and has a beauti- 
ful collection of art works. She taught 
school in Lanark for one and a half years, 
and was teaching in the high school at Am- 
herst up to the time of her marriage. Mr. 
and Mrs. Jeffers have one child, .\gnes 
Elizabeth, born February 20, 1895. 

Mr. Jeffers is one of the most prosper- 
ous young farmers in Portage county, and 
since buying his farm he has built a beauti- 
ful home.. He is a Republican in politics, 
and a prominent member of Waupaca Lodge 
No. 29, K. of P. Both he and liis wife arc 
Protestants in religious belief. 



WILLIAM C. ZACHOW is one of 
the most thorough-going and suc- 
cessful business men of Washing- 
ton township, .''ihawano county, 
and possesses large and varied interests. He 
was born in Greenville township, Outa- 
gamie Co., Wis., April 2, 1837, a son of 
Jacob C. and Johanna iPingle) Zachow, 
both natives of Mecklenburg-Schvverin, (ier- 
nianv, the father born at Damsuhl, Cri\it/, 



February 10. 1827, the mother born at Ber- 
grade, Parchim, August 15, 1836. 

Jacob C. Zachow was employed in a 
broadcloth mill in German)', and in 1850 
came to the United States, locating near 
Buffalo, N. v., where he worked as a farm 
hand. While in Germany he was engaged 
to Miss Pingle, who came to America not 
long after his arrival, and they were united 
in marriage near Buffalo, X. Y. Their 
children were as follows: John, who died 
at the age of thirtj'-seven, first married 
Hattie Schuster, by whom he had one child, 
a son, and for his second wife married Mary 
Koeppen, bv whom he had no children: she 
survives him. William C. is the subject of 
this sketch. Mar) is Mrs. Paul H. Mejer, 
of Cecil, Washington township. Ida is Mrs. 
Frank Isstas, of Cecil, .\nnie is the wife of 
Joseph Grab, of Cecil. About i8;(), Jacob 
C. Zachow came west with his wile and 
family, and located on a lanii in Greenx ille, 
Outagamie Co., Wis., where he resided un- 
til 1 87 1. He then moved to Seymour, same 
county, conducted a boarding house there 
for several years, and then purchased a farm 
whereon he engaged in agricultural pursuits 
until coming to Cecil, where he and two of 
his sons-in-law took an interest in the store 
of his son, William C, and where, with his 
wife, he lived retired from active business, 
for past ten years, but is now president of 
the Cecil Milling Compaii}-. 

William C. Zachow received a somewhat 
limited education in the district schools of 
his nati\e town. After leaving school, he 
worked at home on the farm with his father 
until he was fourteen, then went to Seymour 
and hired out in a sawmill, packing and also 
culling staves. He was thus emjiloyed for 
two years and half, and during that time 
acquired considerable knowledge of the dif- 
ferent machines used in the mill. .Aftt'r- 
ward, and until he K.'ft the employ of the 
company six months later, he was general 
utility man, taking the places of men who 
were alisent from sickness or other cause. 
He first received a dollar a day in the mill, 
and when he left got a dollar and a half a 
day. He next engaged as clerk in a general 
store in Seymour, getting. $150 and board 
the first year. When he left the linn, two 



730 



COMMEMOaATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



3"ears and a half later, he was receiving $25 \ 
a month and board. Going next to Cen- 
tralia, Wood county, Mr. Zachow hired out 
as a general hand to McKennon & Griffith, 
who were erecting a hub and spoke factory 
in that town; but after si.\ months the fac- 
tory, having just started, caught fire and 
was burned to the ground, throwing him out 
■of employment. Not wishing to return home, 
he intended to tr\" his fortune in the West, 
and was about to set out when he received 
a letter from one Adolph Kann advising him 
to go to Bonduel, Shawano countj', as 
Adolph Spangler, a merchant there, was in 
need of a clerk. Following the directions, 
he secured the position in Mr. Spangler's 
store; at the end of two and a half years he 
proposed to make a change, but Mr. Spang- 
ler offered him greater inducements if he 
would remain. At this time Adolph Kann 
offered to purchase the business if Mr. Za- 
chow would remain, which he agreed to do, 
and remained with Mr. Kann for two years 
and a half, during that time starting a har- 
ness store in Bonduel with one E. J. Dean, 
by whom the business was conducted, Mr. 
Zachow continuing in Mr. Kann's emplo}'. 
When the Milwaukee & Lake Shore rail- 
way was started, Mr. Zachow saw great op- 
portunities for a store in a good location 
along the line, where his present place of 
business is situated, and kept his eye upon 
it. His next venture was in the agricultural 
implement business with E. J. and F. H. 
Dean, in Seymour, in 1884. The firm was 
known as the Seymour Agricultural Com- 
pany of Seymour. In the spring of 1884 he 
purchased his present location, and in the 
following fall disposed of his interest in the 
machinery company, erecting a part of his 
present store on the site purchased in the 
spring. Since then, on account of increas- 
ing business, he has built a large addition to 
the original structure. His father and two 
of his brothers-in-law owned a small interest 
in the business at first, but he afterward 
bought them out. In 1S87, in company 
with others, Mr. Zachow built a sawmill in 
Cecil, which he has disposed of. Soon after 
he purchased an interest in a gristmill, which 
was known as belonging to the Cecil Milling 
Co. , and he has also disposed of his share 



in this enterprise. He had become interest- 
ed in manj- large real-estate deals during 
this time, is still doing much in that line, 
and has also loaned a considerable amount 
of money. 

On September 28, 1887, in Shawano, 
Shawano Co., Wis., William C. Zachow 
was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. 
Naber, who was born in Shawano Septem- 
ber 12, 1867, and they have had two chil- 
dren: Margaret and Jacob. In 1892 Mr. 
Zachow built his present home, which is a 
large modern structure. The same year he 
purchased a half interest in the C. C. Naber 
Companj", of Shawano, but C. C. Naber 
died a year and a half later, and the firm 
was changed to Naber Drug Co., of which 
Mr. Zachow has since been president. Since 
1892 he has become interested in the Wolf 
River Paper and Fibre Co., Shawano, and 
is vice-president of that compan}-. He is a 
Republican in politics, has never, however, 
sought political office, and has given his un- 
divided attention to business. For twelve 
years he has been a notar}- public. Both 
Mr. Zachow and his wife are members of 
the German Lutheran Church at Cecil, and 
he has contributed largely to its support. 
He began life as a poor boy, and is a self- 
made man, displaying great business sagacity 
in his varied enterprises, and he is the owner 
of large tracts of farming and timber lands 
in Shawano and Oconto counties. He is a 
good conversationalist, pleasant and affable. 



WH. WALL, junior mem.ber of the 
firm of Leutsker & Wall, proprie- 
tors of the leading drug store in 
Antigo, Langlade county, is a na- 
tive of \\'isconsin, born May 18, i860, at 
Plymouth, Sheboygan county. 

William Wall, father of our subject, was 
born in 1816 in Ireland, married Miss Bell 
O'Rourk, also born in Ireland, in the jear 
1830, and they had a family of seven chil- 
dren, four daughters and three sons; names 
of daughters: Mar\\ Anna, Eliza and Agnes, 
the latter the onl\sur\iving daughter;, names 
of sons: John, James and William H., the 
former two now holding positions as passen- 
ger conductors on the Chicago & North 



UOMMEMORATTVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



11 



Western railroad. The parents came to 
America shortly after marriage, settling in 
Wisconsin on a farm, and the father died 
May 15, 1870, at CTreen Bush, Sheboygan 
county. He was an industrious, hard-work- 
ing man, and accunnilated a nice property. 
He had two brothers and one sister settled 
in the State of Indiana. His two brothers 
were soldiers in the war of the Rebellion, 
serving in Wisconsin regiments. 

The subject proper of these lines re- 
ceived a fairly liberal education at the com- 
mon schools of his native place, and as soon 
as he was old enough he commenced work- 
ing in sawmills in Oshkosh, passing seven 
summers at same. When nineteen years 
old, in the year of 1879, he commenced rail- 
roading in the capacity of brakeman, filling 
that position in all three years, after which 
he was promoted to conductor. He served 
in all about fifteen j-ears, si.\ years as passen- 
ger conductor. His first experience as con- 
ductor was on the Milwaukee, Lake Shore 
& Western railway, now the Ashland divi- 
sion of the Chicago & North Western railway. 
On January 11, 1895, he gave up railroad- 
ing, and in the following .\pril embarked in 
the drug business in Antigo, in partnership 
with R. j. Leutsker, under the firm name 
of Leutsker & Wall. 

On June 2, 1887, W. H. Wall was mar- 
ried to Miss Elizabeth Hayes, who was born 
November 12, 1861, in Meeme, Manitowoc 
Co., \\'is., daughter of D. W. and Julia 
(Daly) Hayes, the former born in Ireland in 
1832 (he had five brothers and five sisters, 
all settled in the State of Wisconsin), the 
latter born in New York State in the year 
1840, and died in Meeme, Manitowoc Co., 
"Wis., in the year 1862, leaving a family of 
two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, the 
former now living in Chicago, 111. Mrs.W. 
H. Wall's mother had two sisters and two 
brothers: Ellen, Mary, Thomas and Jerry 
Daly. Both brothers served in the Wiscon- 
sin Regiment in the Civil war. Mrs.W. H. 
Wall's father died in Meeme, Manitowoc 
Co., Wis., February 22, 1884, leaving a 
widow and five children, two sons and three 
daughters. 

To Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Wall were born 
four children, Blanche, Julia, W. H., Jr., 



and John E. ; Julia died April 19, 1890, at 
the age of three months. In his political 
leaning our subject is a Democrat; socially, 
he is a member of the Brotherhood of Rail- 
way Conductors, and C. K. W. and C. O. F. 



HENRY C. ZUEHLKE, who is suc- 
cessfully engaged in the hotel busi- 
ness in Bonduel, Shawano county, 
was born on the 26th of January, 
1 864, in the town of Theresa, Dodge Co. , 
Wis., and is a son of William and Fred- 
ericka Zuehlke. In that county he was 
reared to manhood upon the old home farm, 
and attended the public schools until four- 
teen years of age, after which his time was 
entirely taken up by work in the fields or 
along other lines of business. He was em- 
ployed for some time as a laborer along the 
Wisconsin Central railroad, working on the 
gravel train, and as a section hand. He 
has led an industrious, useful life, following 
any honest pursuit that would yield him a 
living. 

In November, 1888, in his native town- 
ship, Mr. Zuehlke was united in marriage 
with Miss Carrie Morenzien, a native of 
Germany, and a daughter of Frank Moren- 
zien, a farmer. They began their domestic 
life upon the old home farm in Dodge coun- 
ty, where they resided until the spring of 
1 89 1, when they came to Bonduel. In the 
old building which stood on the site of his 
present hotel, Mr. Zuehlke began the hotel 
business, which he has since conducted with 
most satisfactory success. In 1893 he re- 
modeled and improved his hotel in every 
way, and to-day it would do credit to a town 
much larger than the one in which it is lo- 
cated. The rooms are neatly and taste- 
fully furnished, every con\'cnience is provided 
for the guests, and he sets a good table, 
thus winning favor with the traveling public. 
In his political views Mr. Zuehlke is inde- 
pendent, supporting the man rather than 
the party. Continuing upon the home farm, 
in compliance with his father's wishes, he 
afterward received eighty acres of valuable 
Dodge-county land, whereon, in 1887, were 
erected good buildings. His success in the 
hotel business has attended him from the 



732 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Start, and he is a genial and pleasant land- 
lord, who always has a cheery greeting for 
his guests, and endeavors to make them feel 
at home. In this he is ably assisted by his 
estimable wife, and both Mr. and Mrs. 
Zuehlke have the warm regard of many 
friends. 



M 



ARCUS DOYLE, who has been a 
resident of Minocqua, \'ilas coun- 
ty. Wis., since 1888, has had an 
e\entful life, and can tell many 
stories of both sea and land full of adven- 
ture and interest. He is a native of Monroe 
count\', X. Y., and was born October 17. 
1836.' 

The father of our subject, Henrv Doyle, 
was born in Ireland in 1 799. He was an 
only child, and sailed to America with his 
parents when only nine years old. His 
mother died during the voyage, and was 
buried at sea. His father settled in Monroe 
county. X. Y. . where Henry grew to man- 
hood and married Mary Dean, who was born 
in Scotland in 1821. in which county her 
father died. The mother with her little 
family came to America about 1834. and 
made her home in Monroe county. X. Y.. 
where she passed away leaving seven chil- 
dren, namely. Robert. .Andrew. \\'illiam. 
Richard. James. .Mary and Alice. To Henry 
Doyle and his wife se\en children were born. 
Marcus. Elizabeth. Mary. Margaret. James. 
Katherine and Henry. The father died in 
Monroe countv about 1871, and the mother 
is still living in the old homestead. 

Marcus Doyle left home when thirteen 
years old. and worked on the Erie canal, 
driving horses for one season. He then 
shipped on a merchant vessel as cabin boy, 
his first trip being to Liverpool and return. 
During his life on shipbodrd he learned the 
trade of a ship carpenter. He then went to 
San Francisco, where he was a porter in a 
hotel for two 3ears, during the great excite- 
ment over the finding of gold in California 
in 1849. In the spring of 1851, in partner- 
ship with two other men, Mr. Doyle built a 
small sailing vessel of i 50 tons, and operated 
this on the lakes until the fall of 1854, when 
it \\ as wrecked. He then went to Buffalo, 



X. Y. , where he shipped as a common sailor 
to Chicago, going from there to New Or- 
leans, where he worked on the levee during 
the winter. In the spring of 185 5 Mr. Doyle 
shipped as second mate on a vessel running 
between Chicago and Buffalo, and during 
the winter worked in the ship yard in Cleve- 
land, Ohio. The ne.\t spring, 1856, he 
again shipped as mate on a vessel in the iron 
trade from Cleveland to Marquette, Mich., 
spending the winter in Chicago. The fol- 
lowing season he shipped as master of a 
vessel carrying lumber from Ludington. 
Mich., to Chicago, and again wintered in 
that city. In 1858 he made a trip to the 
Black Hills, Mont., returning to Chicago for 
the winter. The following spring Mr. D<jyle 
went back to a seafaring life, shipping as 
master of a vessel carrying grain from Chi- 
cago to Oswego, X. Y., and returning to the 
former place. 

In the spring of 1 860, our subject was 
second mate on a vessel loaded with corn 
from Chicago to Boston, again wintering in 
Chicago, and going from there to New Or- 
leans at the breaking out of the war, where 
he was impressed into the Confederate serv- 
ice and placed in the Second Louisiana Cav- 
alry. He served three months and nine 
days, when he deserted, and returned to 
Chicago, where he again shipped before the 
mast. In August, 1862, our subject was in 
Rochester, N. Y. . and enlisted in Company 
L. Eighth N. Y. Cavalry, in which he was 
promoted to be corporal, and served until 
June. 1865. He was with the army of the 
Potomac, and was wounded in a battle on 
the Weldon railroad in i 864, and was taken 
prisoner with a number of others. He was 
at first sent to the Petersburg hospital, and 
afterward suffered all the horrors of the 
soldier prisoners in Libb}', Belle Isle, Dan- 
ville, and Andersonville. He was paroled 
from the latter place, and sent to Indianapo- 
lis in the fall of 1864. After his discharge 
from the army in 1865, Mr. Doyle went 
back to his calling as a sailor, and followed 
it until the Chicago fire, after which he went 
to Michigan as a bridge builder for the rail- 
road. In 1 867 he went to Cheyenne and 
Omaha, and then removed to Wisconsin in 
1888, and settled in Minocqua. Here he 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



733 



Still works at his trade, and is owner of con- 
siderable propert}', among other buildings 
being a store and bank building. In 1884 
Mr. Doyle was married to Miss Emma 
Reed, who was born in Newaygo county, 
Mich., in 1851, a daughter of Sylvanus and 
Harriet iBarnhartj Reed, and one of thir- 
teen children, whose names are as follows: 
David, Emma, Frank, Lucinda, Louisa, 
Olive, Ellen, Ida, Oliver, Corrie, Stephen, 
one who died in infancj', and Susan. Mr. 
and Mrs. Doyle have one child: Edith L. 
In politics, Mr. Doyle is a Republican, 
and while living in Michigan held some 
minor offices. Socially, he has been a 
member of the I. O. O. F., since 1853. 
His life has been a busy one, full of changes 
and vicissitudes, but he has always had a 
brave heart, and in every station has done 
his dut\' well and faithfullw 



FERDINAND HANKWITZ, proprie- 
tor of the leading furniture and un- 
dertaking establishment in Merrill, 
Lincoln county, is a native of Prus- 
sia, German}-, born July 23, 1847, a grand- 
son of Ferdinand Hankwit;;, a nobleman in 
the Fatherland, who lost all his property 
during the revolutionary struggle of that 
period. This Ferdinand had a numerous 
family of children, the names, however, of 
only three — Ferdinand, Edward and Carl — 
being recorded. 

Ferdinand Hankwitz, father nf our sub- 
ject, was born in Germany in 1808, and was 
there married to Dorothy Boscowitz, daugh- 
ter of well-to-do farming people, and by her 
he had nine children, all sons, of whom 
Carl, Ferdinand, Herman, Emil and Theo- 
dore were born in German}', and are yet 
living. In 1866 the family, including the 
parents, came to the United States, set- 
tling on a farm in Fond du Lac county, 
Wis., where the mother died in 1885, the 
father in 1888; in his native land he was a 
soldier for some years, but his regular busi- 
ness was that of carpenter and dealer in 
furniture. 

The subject proper of this sketch re- 
ceived his education at the schools of his 
native place, and then entered upon a three- 



years' apprenticeship to the trade of cabinet 
maker. As will be seen, he was nineteen 
years old when the family came to the 
United States, and on his arrival in Wiscon- 
sin he at once went to work in C. L. Myer"s 
sash factory at Fond du Lac, of which, at 
the end of a year, he was made foreman, 
and here he worked fourteen years; then 
was foreman in C. Mihill's factory one year, 
and later, until 1883, served in the same ca- 
pacity in various other factories. In that 
year he came to Merrill, Lincoln county, to 
accept the position of foreman in the Mer- 
rill Manfg. Co.'s sash factory, but this busi- 
ness closed up in the fall of that year, and 
he was again thrown on his resources, but 
found employment through the winter build- 
ing the Comstock sawmill. In the spring of 
1884 he commenced work in Wright's fac- 
tory as foreman, but at the end of a year, 
in partnership with C. W. Mihill, he rented 
what is now the Stange sash, door and blind 
factory, conducting same one year, during 
which time he gave employment to thirty- 
five hands. In the spring of 1887 he opened 
out his present furniture store and under- 
taking establishment, at the same time 
manufacturing a good deal of his stock in 
trade, and he has since met with well-merit- 
ed success. He has just completed one of 
the largest and best brick blocks in the city. 
In 1872 Mr. Hankwitz was married to 
Miss Mary Dusell, who was born February 
27, 1849, '" Oswego, N. Y., daughter of 
Carl and Elizabeth (Fehrer) Dusell, who, 
when young, came from their native land. 
Germany, to America with their parents, 
both locating in the State of New York, 
where they were married in 1841. From 
there they came to Wisconsin, settling on a 
farm at Beaver Dam, in Dodge county, and 
prospered well, and where the mother died 
in 1892; in October, 1891, they visited 
Merrill and celebrated their "golden wed- 
ding. " Seven children were born to this hon- 
ored couple, named, respectively: Adam, 
John, Charles, William, Anna, George and 
Mary. To Mr. and Mrs. Hankwitz were 
born four children — Carl, Clara. Mary and 
Ida — of whom Carl is in the store assisting 
his father. In politics our subject is a 
Democrat, and was twice elected to the of- 



734 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fice of supervisor by the county board. In 
the spring of 1895 he was nominated for 
mayor of Merrill, but was defeated by a 
small majority. Socially, he is a member 
of the I. O. O. F. and the Encampment, 
Sons of Hermann, and Ancient Order of the 
Maccabees; in religious faith he and his wife 
and the family are identified with the Ger- 
man Lutheran Church. 



JOHN B. GRIGNON can claim a dis- 
tinction of which he may well be proud. 
He is not only a highly-esteemed citi- 
zen of Grand Rapids, Wood count}', 
but has the honor of being the first white 
male child born in Adams county, which at 
that time had no distinct organization, but 
was a part of Portage county. The date of 
his birth was March 23, 1837, and he is a 
son of Amable and Mary J. (Bourapa) Grig- 
non, the former born in Green Bay, Wis. , 
in 1795, and the latter born in St. Ignace, 
Mich., on the lothof October, 1796. They 
became the parents of six children, of whom 
three are yet living at the time of this writ- 
ing, namely: Ignace, who is a resident of 
Necedah, Wis. ; Angeline, wife of Louis 
Joyal, a resident of Port Edwards, Wis. ; 
and John B., of this sketch. 

The father of this family was the first 
white settler above Portage City on the Wis- 
consin river, there locating in the year 1S29, 
when the entire country was an undeveloped 
wilderness. There he cleared a tract of 
land and built for himself a home, which 
later was swept away by the floods. Not 
discouraged by this, he removed to the other 
side of the river, and again went earnestly 
to work, securing in a short time another 
home for himself and family, which con- 
tinued his place of abode up to the time of 
his death, in 1845. He was a true pioneer, 
and this locality owes much to him for 
opening up the region to civilization. He 
was engaged in the lumbering business, and 
built a tavern at Russia Creek, Wis., which 
he conducted in connection with his trading 
and stock raising. 

Born on the frontier, almost beyond the 
pale of civilization, and reared amid the wild 



scenes of pioneer life, Mr. Grignon became 
imbued with a spirit of freedom and self- 
reliance which has characterized his entire 
life. The labor of opening up a new farm 
gave him all the physical training needed, 
but his educational privileges were very 
meager, for there was no school within si.xty 
miles of his home. His knowledge has been 
obtained in the school of e.xperience, and is 
of a practical kind that comes through labor. 
His father engaged in stock raising, and after 
his death our subject and his brothers con- 
tinued to carry on that business for some 
time. When he was nineteen years of age 
he engaged in lumbering, which occupied 
his energies until 1864. In that year he 
responded to the call of the President for 
aid in crushing out the Rebellion, and enlist- 
ed at Grand Rapids with the boys in blue of 
Company E, Forty-second Wisconsin In- 
fantry, serving for one year, when, on the 
9th of June, 1865, he was mustered out, 
receiving his final discharge in Madison, 
Wisconsin. 

Mr. Grignon at once returned to his home 
in Wood county, and embarked in the hotel 
business on Moccasin creek, where he con- 
tinued for si.x years. On the expiration of 
that period he removed to Winneconne, 
Winnebago Co., Wis., where he opened a 
saloon, conducting it for seventeen \ears. 
In the spring of 1891 he returned to Grand 
Rapids, where he has since lived retired. 
His home has never been outside the bounds 
of his native State, and with the interests of 
this community he has always been promi- 
nently identified. 

On September 16, 1866, in (irand Rap- 
ids, Mr. Grignon married Miss Julia La- 
bonte, a daughter of Dolphisse and Archange 
(Sanville) Labonte, natives of Canada. 
They have a family of nine living children: 
Amable Dolphisse, who is located in Gold 
City, Mich.; George G., Emil B., John B., 
Edwidgc Clara, Louis Phillip, Has D., Fran- 
cis H. and Ida P., all at home. Mr. Grig- 
non and his family are communicants of the 
Roman Catholic Church, and socially he is 
connected with the Grand Army Post of 
Wood county, while in his political faith he 
is a Democrat. An honored early settler, 
and a worth}' representative of one of the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



735- 



pioneer families of the Badger State, this 
work would be incomplete without the rec- 
ord of his life. 



JACOB KLUMB. member of the " Soo " 
Planing Mill Co., Rhinelander, Oneida 
county, of which business he is general 
manager and treasurer, is a native of 
Wisconsin, born January 24, 1865, in Rock- 
held, Washington county. His father, also 
named Jacob, was born in the Rhenish 
Province of Germany, in 1825, one of a 
family of seven sons, the names of the 
others being Philip, Paul, Nicholas, David, 
William and Peter. In 1843 the parents of 
these came to the United States, settling on 
a farm in Washington county. Wis., where 
the father died some time in the "fifties, 
the mother in 1880. 

Jacob Klumb, Sr., was a farmer up to 
1872, in which year he commenced oper- 
ating a flouring-mill at Plymouth, Wis. ; 
later he moved to Appleton, where he is yet 
living. In 1849 he married Miss Maria Bast, 
who was born in the Rhenish Prox'ince of 
Germany, in 1825, a daughter of Jacob 
Bast, who had a family of eight children: 
Four sons, Herimos, Peter, Jacob and Paul, 
and four daughters, three of whom are now 
living in America and one in Germany. The 
family came to America in 1848. settling in 
Washington county, being, like the Klumbs, 
pioneers of that section of the country. To 
Jacob and Maria (Bast) Klumb were born 
eight children, to wit: Two that died in 
infancy, Christina, Margaret, Paul, Peter, 
Emma and Jacob. The mother of this 
family died at Appleton, Wis., December 
10, 1891. 

Jacob Klumb, the subject proper of 
these lines, received his education at the 
common schools of Plymouth, Sheboygan 
Co., Wis., and at the age of eighteen years 
left home and commenced working in a 
planing-mill, serving an apprenticeship of 
two years, after which he took charge of the 
planing-mill department of Briggs, Whor- 
ton cS; Beveridge, at Appleton. .\i the end 
of something over a year, however, the mill 
burned down, and Mr. Klumb then moved 
to Eagle River, Vilas county, entering the 



employ of the Gerry Lumber Mnfg. Co., as 
superintendent of their planing-mill. This 
was in 1886, and si.\ years later the " Soo" 
Planing Mill Co. being organized at Rhine- 
lander, he became general manager and 
treasurer thereof, with an interest in the 
business, moving with his family to that city. 
In 1888 Mr. Klumb was married at Ap- 
pleton, Wis., to Miss Katie Proescher, who 
was born at Beloit, Wis., a daughter of 
John Proescher, a farmer, now a resident 
of Appleton; he and his wife, Katherine 
Reuschling, were both natives of Darmstadt, 
Germany, and they had si.x children: John, 
Tenna, Katie, Charles, and two that died in^ 
infancy. To our subject and wife have been 
born two children, both boys: Elroy C. 
and Harvey J. In politics Mr. Klumb is a 
Republican, and he has served as alderman 
of the First ward of Rhinelander, two 
terms. He is a typical self-made man, one 
who has made his way upward, step by 
step, by his own individual efforts. 



WILLIAM PARKER, is one of the 
solid and prosperous pioneer set- 
tlers of Belle Plaine township, 
Shawano county, whose advent 
there preceded the e.xodus of the wild ani- 
mals of the forest, bears, wolves, panthers, 
deer and numberless others, whom he found 
more reluctant than even the Red man to 
surrender their time-honored prerogatives- 
and rights to the advance-guard of civili- 
zation. 

Mr. Parker is a native of Maine, born 
November 8, 1838, in Burnham, Waldo 
county, a son of Samuel and Mary Jane 
(Cole) Parker, both also natives of the 
"Pine Tree State," born, the father on 
April 10, 1805, the mother in 1815. Grand- 
father Samuel Parker first saw the light in 
1770, and lived to the great age of ninety- 
five years. He reared a family of seven 
children, named, respectively: Samuel, 
Harriet, William, Rachel, Sophia, Constant 
and Welcomotis. Of these, Samuel, father 
of our subject, married Jane Cole, and by 
her had seven children: Abigail A. is the 
wife of John W. Spencer, a miner of Yankee 
Hill, Cal., and has a family of three chil- 



736 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



dren, Dora. Samuel and Charles Franklin; 
William; Harriet, Mrs. Sodwa L. Rouse, of 
Belle Plaine: Louis F., a farmer of Iowa; 
Alfred W. , a lumberman, of Chippewa Falls, 
Wis.; George M., a farmer in Chippewa 
Falls, with whom the father lives; and Ever- 
ett S., a farmer and lumberman, of Chippewa 
Falls. In 1856 the family moved west to 
Ohio, locating first at Norwalk, the father 
working some twelve months for a farmer 
named John Bezley, of that city, but whose 
farm was at Monroeville, a few miles west 
from there. They then, in 1857, came to 
W'isconsin, settling in Belle Plaine town- 
ship, Shawano count}-, where the father 
bought 160 acres of wild land in Section 20, 
from which, assisted by his sons, he lum- 
bered the pine, and made a clearing for a 
homestead. They brought five horses with 
them from Ohio, the journey, which was 
made entirely with wagons, occupying nine- 
teen days, and the mother walked all the 
way from New London, in Waupaca coun- 
ty. There was no road of any kind any- 
where near their destination, and everything 
was in a most primitive state, but, by assid- 
uous toil and characteristic perseverance, 
the family succeeded, in course of time, in 
hewing out a comfortable home. Here the 
mother died May 21, 1881. at the age of 
sixt\-six years; the father, now aged ninety 
years, is passing his declining days at the 
home of his son George, in Chippewa Falls, 
Wis. He is a lifelong, stanch Democrat. 

William Parker, the eldest son, and the 
subject proper of this sketch, received a 
fairly liberal common-school education in 
the East, and. as will be seen, was nineteen 
years old when he accompanied his parents 
to Wisconsin. With them he remained un- 
til his marriage, when he bought one hun- 
dred acres of land, his present fine farm in 
Section 17, Belle Plaine township, whereon 
he erected a comfortable log house, 14x16 
feet in size, covered with boards. Here he 
at once commenced clearing the land of the 
timber and underbrush, and converting the 
primeval forest into fertile fields of grain and 
pasture, all the assistance he and his equal- 
ly industrious wife had being an ox-team. 
To-day they still own the original hundred 
acres, one-half of which is cleared, and, in 



addition to agriculture, Mr. Parker also en- 
gages in lumbering. 

On June i, 1861, our subject was united 
in marriage with Miss Elizabeth A. N. San- 
ders, who was born at Halifax, Mass., a 
daughter of William H. and Sarah Maria 
(Burrington Sanders, prominent and well- 
to-do farming people of Belle Plaine town- 
ship. Shawano county. To this union have 
been born five children, as follows: Marv 
Jane, who became the wife of Augustus 
Perrj- and died leaving one child, Bessie; 
Alfred W., in Belle Plaine, who is married; 
Lettie R.. wife of Fred Brodhagen, a farmer 
of Belle Plaine; Inez Dora, wife of Charles 
Seidletz, a farmer and day laborer of 
Shawano, Wis.; and Warren P., at home. 
In his political preferences Mr. Parker is, 
like his father before him, a stanch Demo- 
crat. He and Mrs. Parker have been hard 
workers in their pioneer lives, and well merit 
their present enviable condition of quiet 
comfort and comparative ease. 



HF. GRALAPP is the owner of an ex- 
tensive sawmill, and is recognized 
as one of the most prominent citi- 
zens of Shawano county. He is 
numbered among the native sons of Wiscon- 
sin, his birth having occurred in Fond du 
Lac county October 16, in 1855. His par- 
ents, Charles and Julia (Holtzj Gralapp. are 
both natives of Germany, and in early life 
came to America, where the\' were married. 
They then located in Friendship township. 
Fond du Lac count}, and the father pur- 
chased eighty acres of timber land, which 
he began to clear and transform into a fine 
farm. He has made it a valuable and desir 
alile property, and it to-da}' comprises i 20 
acres of rich land. It is improved with ex- 
cellent buildings, and the place is worth 
$12,000. Mr. Gralapp still makes his home 
thereon, and is one of the prosperous and 
honored gentlemen of the locality. In the 
family were nine children: Fred, now on 
the farm; H. F. ; William A.; Mary, de- 
ceased; Amelia; Robert; Henr\-; and Lydia 
and Louise, twins, both deceased. 

The family was in limited circumstances 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 



737 



during the childhood of our subject, and he 
was early thrown upon his own resources. 
His educational privilefijes were limited, for 
his ser\ices were needed to aid in the ini- 
provement of the home farm. He continued 
to give his father the benefit of his labor until 
twent\'-four years of age, when he went to 
Stillwater, Minn., where he had charge of 
some prison convicts for three months. He 
then engaged in railroading and building 
bridges, after which he returned to Still- 
water, where he operated a sawmill. His 
next place of residence was Duluth, Minn., 
where he remained seven months, when he 
went to Fargo, N. Dak., and worked at the 
carpenter's trade. He also remained in that 
place for seven months, and then returned 
to Wisconsin, spending a half year on his 
father's farm. He began the manufacture 
of smallpox virus, but after two months 
abandoned that pursuit to follow the car- 
penter's trade, which he carried on for four 
months in Marion, Wisconsin. 

In the fall of 1881, in connection with 
his brother William, Mr. Gralapp came to 
Wittenberg, purchased land about two miles 
and a half south of the town, and erected a 
sawmill at the cost of $3,000. He has since 
been engaged in its operation. He also built 
a planing mill at a cost of $1,500, and since 
1893 he has been sole proprietor of the busi- 
ness, which has grown to extensive propor- 
tions, having a capacity of 33,000 feet of 
hard and soft wood lumber per da)'. He 
thoroughly understands his business in all its 
. details, and is recognized as one of the lead- 
ing lumber dealers in this section of the State. 
Mr. Gralapp was married October 14, 
1885, to Mary Rakow, who was born in 
Marathon county, Wis., and is of German 
descent. They have two children, Ella and 
Walter, both at home. The parents are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
of Wittenberg, and are most highly respected 
people, having the warm regard of all with 
whom they have been brought in contact. 
In politics, Mr. Gralapp is a stanch Repub- 
lican, and is one of the leading and influen- 
tial citizens of the community, whose suc- 
cess in life is due to his own efforts, and whose 
prosperity is the just reward of honorable 
dealing. 



WILLIAM J. PIEHL is officially con- 
nected with the history of Dupont 
township, Waupaca county, being 
at this writing a member of the 
board of commissioners. As a citizen he is 
public-spirited and progressive, taking a com- 
mendable interest in everything pertaining 
to the general welfare. He has many friends 
who esteem him highly, and we, therefoVe, 
feel assured that this record of his life will 
prove of interest to many of our readers. 

Mr. Piehl was born in Prussia, Germany, 
in 1848, and is a son of John and Dorothea 
(Mielke) Piehl, who were also nati\es of the 
same province. In 1856 the father sailed 
with his father for America, landing in New 
York after a voyage of six weeks. He made 
his way at once to Fond du Lac county, 
Wis., and, purchasing 132 acresof wild land, 
began at once to clear the farm upon which 
he spent his remaining days. The mother 
of our subject is now a resident of Dupont. 
Their family numbered six children — Fred- 
erick, who is living in Minnesota; Charlotte, 
wife of John Rufner, a resident of Missouri; 
W'illiam J. ; Gottlieb, who makes his home 
in Ashford, Wis. ; Dorothea, wife of A. J. 
Meyer, of Marion, Wis.; Lizzie E., wife of 
J. J. Hangartner; and John, who is located 
in Dupont. 

In the usual manner of farmer lads, Will- 
iam J. Piehl was reared. He was a child of 
eight, when, with his parents, he crossed the 
briny deep, and in Fond du Lac county he 
obtained his education, his privileges being 
those afforded by the common schools. He 
continued his residence in that county until 
1882, when he removed to Dupont town- 
ship, Waupaca county, and purchased eighty 
acres of land in Section 8. He cleared forty 
acres of that tract, and made his home 
thereon for ten years, when, in 1892, he re- 
moved to his present farm of i 20 acres. He 
is rapidly placing his land under cultivation, 
and the farm is neat and thrifty in appear- 
ance, indicating the careful supervision of 
one who is numbered among the leading 
farmers of Dupont township. In i 869 was 
celebrated the marriage that united the des- 
tinies of Mr. Piehl and Miss Florence Hem- 
enway, who was born in the city of F(Mui du 
Lac, Wis., and is a daughter of Ransom and 



73S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL BE CORD. 



Harriet rHull) Hemenway, who were natives 
of New York, and in an early day went to 
Fond du Lac county, where they still re- 
side. Six children have been born to Mr. 
andMrs.Piehl: Elbert; Eniily,wi{e of Schuy- 
ler Sawyer, of Rhinelander, Wis. ; Edna, 
Elmer, Lester and Evren. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Piehl 
has supported the men and measures of the 
Republican party, and, as every true Amer- 
ican citizen should do, takes an active interest 
in political affairs. He was elected a member 
of the town board of supervisors in 1881, 
and has also been school treasurer, and in 
these various positions discharges his duties 
with promptness and fidelity. Socially, he 
is connected with Marion Lodge, No. 256, 
LO.O.F., and with the Modern Woodmen. 
His life has been quietly passed, yet has 
been well spent, and, while securing for him- 
self a comfortable competence, he has also 
gained the esteem and good will of those 
with whom business or social relations have 
brouijht him in contact. 



CHRISTIAN JOHNSON. Of the men 
of Waupaca county who have risen 
to affluence and position by their 
own efforts, there is perhaps no in- 
stance more worthy or more signally suc- 
cessful than the subject of this brief bio- 
graphical notice. 

Mr. Johnson was born in Denmark Oc- 
tober 20, 1853. When twelve years of age 
he emigrated with his father, Peter Johnson, 
and family to America, settling near Stead- 
man's Mills, in Portage county, Wis. Here 
Christian was reared on the farm of his 
parents. In Denmark he had received a 
fair education in the native language, but in 
the new country there was more work than 
leisure, for the home selected was unim- 
proved land, and there were many broad 
acres to be cleared and cultivated. After 
years of toil and thrift, Peter Johnson, in his 
later life, attained to quite comfortable cir- 
cumstances, the result mainly of the industry 
of himself and family. Christian, at the 
age of si.xteen, began working for adjoining 
farmers. He also found employment as a 



laborer on the W^isconsin Central railroad 
when it was under construction. 

On Christmas Day, 1875, Mr. John.son 
was united in marriage at Rural, \Vaupaca 
county, to Miss Isabella Buchanan, who was 
born in Argyleshire, Scotland, in 1S42. a 
daughter of Archibald Buchanan, who in 
1858 emigrated, located in Waupaca county, 
and was among the early settlers on "Ses- 
sion's Prairie," Farmington township. Mrs. 
Johnson had been well educated, and at the 
age of sixteen years she began teaching 
school in Waupaca and Portage counties. 
She taught ten terms at Sheridan Postoffice. 
After his marriage Mr. Johnson began farm- 
ing on the property near Sheridan, which he 
still owns. In the fall of 1882 he purchased 
from W. Shaw the general store at Sheridan, 
which he has since conducted in an exceed- 
ingly popular and profitable manner. He 
also purchases potatoes, produce, etc., and 
owns 240 acres of land, known as the old 
"Buchanan homestead." Mr. Johnson is 
perhaps the wealthiest resident of Farming- 
ton township, and he gives to his worthy 
helpmeet full credit for the valuable assist- 
ance she has given him in his business 
career. Mrs. Johnson is an unusually in- 
telligent woman, and is gifted with business 
qualities of a high order, without lessening 
her womanly graces. The family of this 
successful couple consists of six children: 
Buchanan and Myron R. , students at the 
Waupaca High School; Catherine C, Mar- 
garet I., Anna J. and Hugh C 

In politics Mr. Johnson has been a Re- 
publican, but he now affiliates, through 
sympathy and principle, with the Prohibi- 
tion cause. He is self-made, and no man 
in the township is held in higher esteem, or 
to a greater degree enjoys the full confidence 
of the community in which he lives. He 
and his wife are members of the Presbyter- 
ian Church and of the Christian Endeavor 
Societv. 



SQUIRES P. THORN is an excellent 
farmer, and with his family he resides 
in an elegant house in Buena \'ista 
township. Portage county, where he 
is known as a man of position and infiuence. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



739 



He is thoroiighlj- educated in the school of 
experience, is uniisally well informed, and 
possesses native force and intellect. In 
scanning the history of his ancestors, for 
generations back, as outlined below, it can 
readilv be seen that he has inherited a char- 
acter of energy, fidelity and integrity. His 
great-grandfather was Joseph Thorn, an 
English officer, captain of a company in 
in the 46th Regiment of his Majesty's troops, 
sent to America during the Revolutionary 
war; with him came his wife Phttbe, and 
at the close of the war, they remained in 
America, settling at New Brunswick. Capt. 
Thorn remained here in the military service 
until his death. 

Squires P. Thorn still has in his posses- 
sion a medal presented during the Revolu- 
tion to his great-grandfather, Captain Joseph 
Thorn, by a Masonic Lodge of New York, 
of which Order he was a member. William 
Thorn, the son of Captain Thorn, was, 
probably at the latter's request, appointed 
second lieutenant in the 46th Regiment of 
the British troops. The commission bears 
date New York, August 27, 1783, and is sign- 
ed by ■• His Excellenc\-, Sir Guy Carlton, 
Knight of the Most Honorable Order of the 
Bath, General and Conmiander-in-chief of 
all His Majesty's forces within the Colonies 
lying on the Atlantic Ocean from Nova 
Scotia to West Florida." The young lieu- 
tenant, thus commissioned near the close of 
the war, apparently did little service. He 
had married Susan Mitchell, of Dutchess 
county, N. Y. , and at the close of the Revolu- 
tionary war he removed with his famil)- to 
Plattsburg, N. Y., where he bought a farm 
and kept a public tavern, During the war 
of 1812, he supplied provisions to the United 
States troops. By trade he was a cabinet 
maker. He died near Plattsburg in 1829, 
and his widow also passed away on the old 
homestead. The six children of William 
and Susan Thorn were as follows: Thomas, 
the father of Squires P., subject of this 
sketch; Sally, Piatt, Henry, Smith and 
Mitchell. Sally married Satvaus F. Marsh, 
of Simonsville, Vt., and raised a large family; 
Piatt was a tanner, and died at Ottawa, 111., 
leaving three children; Henry was a farmer 
of Plattsburg; Smith farmed near Platts- 



burg, N. Y. , married Elizabeth Hilliard 
and left three children, .Amherst, Mary Eliz- 
abeth and Susan; Mitchell was a farmer 
nearOdell, 111. fhe had one child, a girl). 

Thomas Thorn was born at Plattsburg, 
N. Y. , in 1797. He learned the trade of a 
carpenter and millwright. At Plattsbiirg 
he married Mary Fordham, who was born 
in that city in May, 1806, and he remained 
a life-long citizen of his native place, where 
he followed his trade. His death occurred 
in 1878, and his wife survived him until 
February, 1892. To Thomas and Mary 
Thorn seven children were born: Elias D., 
the oldest, married Betse}' Gurley at Par- 
ishville, N. Y. , and in 1858 migrated with 
his family to Oregon; he now lives at 
Hillsboro, that State, anti has one child' 
William, now living. Squires P., the sec- 
ond child, and the subject of this sketch, 
was born July 31, 1829. Charles Seth is a 
millwright at Wausau; he married Harriet 
Huntley, and has one son, Mantford. Hulda 
married William Spaulding, a farmer, by 
whom she had six children; in 1856 the 
Spauldings came to Buena \'ista town- 
ship, but six years later returned to Platts- 
burg, N. Y., where Mr. Spaulding died; 
the widow moved to Massachusetts, married 
again, and is a second time a widow. Henr}' 
is a farmer near Plattsburg. Eliza married 
Nathaniel Comstock, a farmer near Platts- 
burg. Mary, the youngest, is a dressmaker 
at Wausau. Squires P. received a common- 
school education, but at an early age he was 
obliged to quit school and support himself. 
From fifteen to seventeen years of age he 
worked at home, and there, from his father, 
he learned the carpenter and millwright 
trades. When twenty years old he worked 
during the summer on the Herkimer river, 
but usually followed his trade. In 1850 he 
built for his parents a home in Plattsburg, 
which they occupied through life. Catch- 
ing the western fever, he in 1856 journeyed 
to Wisconsin, by wagon, rail and water, 
reaching Buena Vista October 22. For a 
year he worked at his trade. He then 
bought 1 20 acres of wild land in Almond 
township. Portage county, and was breaking 
it when the Ci\il war began. 

Mr. Thorn enlisted at Stexens Point, 



740 



COMMEMOIiATirK. BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



October 28. 1861, in ihe Eighth Wis. Bat- 
tery, Light Artillery. In March, 1862, the 
battery left Kacine for St. Louis. Occupy- 
ing Benton Barracks for several weeks, it 
proceeded by gunboat up the river to Leaven- 
worth, Kans. ; thence it was dispatched to 
Ft. Riley. Kans., but soon after was ordered 
back, and sent to Columbus, Ky. Its first 
active service was at the deadly struggle of 
Perry ville, Ky., in October, 1862. It was 
next engaged for eleven da\-s at Stone River. 
Remaining there until June, 1863, it took 
part in the battle at Chickamauga. then fell 
back to Nashville, and did good work at 
Lookout Mountain and Missionar\- Ridge. 
At Lookout Mountain the Eighth Wis. Bat- 
ter\ was so close to the Rebels that Mr. 
Thorn heard the Confederate officers curse 
their men for running away. Falling back 
to Nashville for winter quarters, Mr. Thorn 
re-enlisted for three years, and went home 
on a thirty-days' furlough. His last en- 
gagement was at the second battle of Stone 
River. The Eighth Battery participated in 
ten engagements. While at Corinth Mr. 
Thorn was run over by a gun carriage, which 
passed over his right foot up along his right 
hip. His Colt's navy revolver, which was 
.strapped to him, turned the heavy wheel 
from his body, and saved his life. He was 
sent to the hospital at Corinth, but a week 
later insisted on rejoining his battery, though 
he was lame for si.\ months afterward. He 
missed none of the- engagements in which 
his battery was engaged, receiving his hon- 
orable discharge October 18, 1865. Here- 
turned to Wisconsin, and for some time was 
under a physician's care, having during his 
service contracted rheumatism, which never 
left him. 

Mr. Thorn returned to his farm work, 
and was married December 22, 1868, in 
Buena \'ista, by Rev. A. J. Ellis, to Fannie 
Maria Crofoot, who was born in Friendship, 
N. v., July 2, 1S40, a daughter of Erastus 
and Ophelia (Moss) Crofoot. He remained 
on his farm in Almond township until 1 874, 
when he removed to his present farm in 
Buena \'ista. Mr. and Mrs. Thorn have 
four children: Luella, Milton, Mary and 
Edna May. Luella is the wife of Warren 
Ncwbv, and lives at Stevens Point; Milton 



is unmarried, and at home; Mary married 
Edwin Myres, a farmer of Buena \'ista. and 
has two children, Mina Mary and Fannie 
Melissa; Edna May married W. L. Rich- 
ardson, a paper hanger and painter, and re- 
sides at home. 

In 1882 Mr. Thorn erected his present 
large and commodious home. His farm of 
eighty acres, in Section 8, contains good 
outbuildings, and is all cleared and under 
cultivation. In 1866 he was unanimously 
elected trustee of the township, but. because 
of its interference with his private business. 
Mr. Thorn has since ignored politics. He 
has been, since 1840, a Whig and stanch 
Republican. His father was a Democrat, 
but Squires and his brothers persuaded him 
in 1840 to vote for General Harrison. Mr. 
and Mrs. Thorn are active and consistent 
members of the M. E. Church, at Liberty 
Corners. They have traveled extensively, 
and once visited their daughter in Dakota, 
during the winter of 1S86. In March. 1882, 
he re\isited his mother in the old home in 
Plattsburg. Starting in life with no capi- 
tal, save his own energy and character, the 
success attained by Mr. Thorn is highly 
creditable to himself and pleasing to his 
inan\' friends. 



JONAS SWENHOLT is one of the 
native sons of Wisconsin, his birth 
having occurred in Merton township. 
\\'aukesha county, December 20, 1855. 
His father. John Swenholt. came from Nor- 
waj- to the United States in 1844. He was 
a poor man, and his brother paid his fare to 
this country. He located in Waukesha 
county, which was then an undeveloped re- 
gion, and in 1S63 removed to Scandinavia, 
Waupaca county, where his death occurred. 
In his political views he was a Democrat 
until the organization of the Republican 
party, in 1856. He died July i, 1880, at 
the age of seventy years, and was buried in 
the cemetery near his home. His widow is 
now living with our subject. In the family 
were but two children, the sister being Inge- 
borg, wife of the Rev. Mr. Homme, a Lu- 
theran minister of Wittenbersr, Wisconsin. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



74 1 



Jonas Swenholt received but common- 
school privileges, but has always been a 
warm friend of the cause of education. 
W'hen he was onl\- eight years of age his 
parents went to Waupaca county, where he 
pursued his studies in the district schools, 
and spent his youth in the usual manner of 
farmer lads, continuing under the parental 
roof until his marriage. He was engaged 
in hunting timber land when a young man, 
and traveled over Shawano county and 
northern Waupaca county. In March, 1880, 
he began the construction of the first build- 
ing m Wittenberg, then called Carbonero, 
and began merchandising at that place, his 
trade coming inosth' from the Indians, for 
few white settlers lived in the neighborhood. 

In New Hope Church, in Portage count}'. 
Wis., Mr. Swenholt was married, in 1882, 
to Miss Anna Lysne, a native of Amherst 
township, that county. They resided in 
Wittenberg until January, 1895, but in 1893 
Mr. Swenholt disposed of his business there. 
Their home is blessed with four children — 
John, Helmer, Edna and Casper. 

In 1890 Mr. Swenholt bought a sawmill, 
which was burned by the forest fire of 1893, 
causing a loss of $13,000. He also engaged 
in dealing in lumber, and conducted a branch 
mercantile store near Wakefield, Mich. His 
business interests have always been honora- 
bly conducted, and he has the confidence 
and regard of all. Mr. Swenholt has always 
been a Republican, and has held various 
offices, haN'ing served as township clerk in 
\^'ittenberg for one year, as treasurer for 
about ten years, also as supervisor, \\hile in 
1880 he was appointed postmaster of that 
place by President Hayes. He was again 
appointed by President Harrison, serving in 
all for eight years. This office is the only 
one in Shawano county, which was spoken 
of in the I'nited States Postal Guide as 
••excellent." In the fall of [894 he was 
also elected register of deeds of Shawano, 
and on the 7th of January following entered 
upon the duties of the office. He and his 
wife are members of the Lutheran Church 
of Wittenberg, and assisted in building the 
first house of worship there. He was one 
of the most important factors in the estab- 
lishment and promotion of that town, and 



has been prominently identified with the 
development of Shawano county for man}' 
years. 



DUNCAN MiGRHC.OR (deceased;, a 
former resident (jf Stevens Point, 
Portage county, and who during his 
lifetime was a worthy representative 
of one of the oldest and noblest classes of 
Scotland, whose deeds of bravery have oft 
been told in song and story, was born in 
Perthshire. Scotland, Noxember 3, 1820, 
and was a son of Donald and Margaret 
Elizabeth (Patrae) McGregor. 

Duncan McGregor was educated in his 
native land, and at the age of fourteen went 
to Dundee, where he served an apprentice- 
ship to the mercantile business. When he 
was about twenty years of age he left Scot- 
land with his mother and other members of 
the famil}-, and came to Canada. At Strat- 
ford, Canada West, where his father, who 
had preceded them about a year, had made 
a home for them, Mr. McGregor again fol- 
lowed mercantile pursuits, and later en- 
gaged in like business on his own account. 
Some years later he left Stratford, intend- 
ing to try his fortune in California, but on 
his way up the lakes the steamer caught fire 
and burned to the water's edge. Many of 
the passengers and crew were either burned 
to death or drowned, and he and a few 
others barely escaped with their lives, losing 
what effects they had on the boat. With a 
companion he drifted helplessly about on 
two cabin hatches, which they managed to 
fasten together for a raft, .\fter nearly 
twentj'-four hours, they were rescued from 
their perilous position, and finally taken to 
Milwaukee, which city he reached minus a 
coat, and having lost nearly all his worldly 
possessions in the lake. 

Nothing daunted, Mr. McGregor set out, 
with willing heart and hands, to make a 
new start in life. After a year in Milwaukee, 
he removed to Grand Rapids, Wood Co., 
Wis., and in 1850 to Stevens Point, Port- 
age county, where he for some years hacf 
sole charge of a fiatboat, owned by C'oi. 
Ellis and Dr. Morrison, and used to- convey 



742 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



merchandise between Stevens Point and 
Wausau, in Marathon county. Later in 
hfe he enp^aged in the kimber business, but, 
owing to sickness, trusted his affairs to an 
employe, who proved dishonest, and left 
him once more where he had begun life. 
His courage never forsook him through all 
his trials and reverses of fortune, and his 
indomitable pluck and perseverance finally 
brought him a high degree of prosperity. 

On September 5, 1865, in the Church of 
the Immaculate Conception, Chicago, 111., 
the Rev. Dr. Butler officiating, Duncan 
McGregor was married to Miss Margaret 
Elizabeth Ennis, who was born in County 
Wexford, Ireland, December 11, 1847, and 
they became the parents of six children, 
namely: James A., born July 4, 1868, died 
August 22, 1881; John D., born January 
28, 1870, graduated from Rush Medical Col- 
lege, Chicago, 111., with the class of 1891, 
: and is now a prominent physician and 
surgeon, and member of the firm of Green- 
field & McGregor, physicians and sur- 
geons, Chicago, 111. ; Duncan, born April 18, 
1 871; Lawrence is now the proprietor of 
the "Commercial Hotel," the leading hotel 
of Stevens Point; Margaret Elizabeth; Anas- 
tatia was born December 17, 1874, and E\a 
born November 17, 1876, died in infancy. 
Mrs. Duncan McGregor was a daughter of 
Lawrence and Susan (Lancaster) Ennis, of 
English, Irish and French ancestry. Mr. 
McGregor continued in the lumber business 
imtil 1886, and from that time until No- 
vember 20, 1893, when he passed from 
earth, lived a comparatively retired life. 

Mr. McGregor was very public-spirited, 
but never an aspirant for office or notoriety; 
yet. at the solicitations of his friends, he 
served for six 3'ears as city assessor. He 
was a man of unusual intelligence, an in- 
satiable searcher for information, modest in 
demeanor, had a kind disposition and a 
pleasant word for all; and his life was an 
example of the success which may be won 
by frugality and industry, coupled with bus- 
iness sagacity. Diffident and retiring, his 
many excellencies were more appreciated in 
the home circle, and by intimate acquaint- 
ances, than by the noisy world around. The 
life of this uell-known and valued citi/en is 



comprised in this sentence: "He was a 
good man and just, " and such lives, we can- 
not doubt, reap their merited reward. 



WILLIAM HENRY BUDGE, M. D. 
Perhaps in none of the professions 
has there been during the past dec- 
ade an advance so rapid and so 
wonderful as in medicine. Surgical opera- 
tions are now successfully performed which, 
a score of years ago, would have been pro- 
nounced by eminent physicians impossible. 
The bacterial origin of many dread diseases 
has been discovered, and the remedy wholly 
or partially provided. In all branches of 
pathology, original investigations are being 
pushed with a vigor and success hitherto 
unknown. And, as may be readily surmised, 
there is much for the practicing physician 
yet to learn; if he is progressive, he will keep 
fully abreast with the current literature and 
research. It is a pleasure to note that in 
Marshfield, Wood county. Dr. W. H. Budge 
is an enthusiastic devotee to his profession. 
His extensive library is replenished with the 
latest medical works, of which he is a close 
reader and student, while his office is sup- 
plied with the latest improved appliances, 
including approved electric devices. 

Dr. Budge first saw the light in Corn- 
wall, England. November 18. 1841. and is 
a son of John B. Budge, a blacksmith by 
trade, who was born in Devonshire, Eng- 
land, in 1 809. The parents of John B. Budge 
were John B. and Elizabeth (Berden) 
Budge, landowners, who had four children 
namely: Ann, JohnB., Grace and Henry; the 
parents both died in England. John B. 
Budge, the father of Dr. Budge, married 
Jane Prout, born in Devonshire. England, 
in 1 8 10, daughter of John (a blacksmith by 
trade) and Elizabeth Prout, who were the 
parents of four children — William, Eliza- 
beth, Jane and John. The father died in 
England at the age of eighty-three years; 
the mother passed away at the compara- 
tively early age of fifty. In 1845 John B. 
and Jane Budge, with their family, emi- 
grated to America, and, after sojourning two 
months in Milwaukee, Wis., they located in 
the town of Eagle, Waukesha countv, where 





'4n 



/x i^xLu^/^^^ 




COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



743 



fur some eight years the father worked at 
his trade. Then in 1854 he purchased and 
moved to a farm in Lindina township, 
Juneau county, which he occupied fourteen 
years, in 1868 removing to Mauston, in the 
same county, where for a time he kept a 
restaurant. In 1861 his wife Jane (Prout) 
was called from earth, and in 1863 he mar- 
ried Miss Emily K. George, who was born in 
1 82 1, in New Hampshire, at Goffstown, 
Hillsboro county, daughter of David and 
Mary (Page) George, the former born at 
Goffstown, in 1796, the latter in London- 
derry, N. H., in 1797. The father died in 
Mauston, Wis., at the age of eight\-three 
years, the mother in Manchester, N. H., 
when fifty-six },ears old. They were the 
parents of eight children — five sons and 
three daughters — Franklin, Daniel, Aaron, 
Henr}' and Aionzo, and Emily K. , Sarah 
and Mary E. In 1853 David George (then a 
widoweri, accompanied b}' his sons Frank- 
lin and Henr}-, migrated to Illinois, where 
they resided some eighteen months, and 
then removed to Germantown, Juneau Co., 
Wis. John B. Budge died in Mauston, 
\\'is., in May, 1889, the father (by his first 
wife; of children as follows, all born in Eng- 
land: Elizabeth Ann, who died aged eight- 
een months; William Henr}', and Mary, 
now Mrs. William R. Pierce, of Wyocena, 
Wis. By his second marriage there is no 
issue. Since his death his widow has re- 
sided in Mauston, Wis., her brother Aaron 
making his home with her. 

The subject proper of these lines, whose 
name introduces this sketch, received the 
ordinary educational advantages of a farmer's 
son. When he was fifteen years old his 
father lost his right hand by an accident in 
a sawmill, and our subject had to take the 
lead on the farm in all the work. At the 
age of ninteen he taught school one term, 
and his intention was to qualify him.self for 
that profession, but the death of his mother 
caused him to alter his plans and he re- 
mained at home with his father, instead, 
until his marriage, January 11, 1863, to 
Marie P. Cole. She was born in West Tro^, 
N. Y., in 1841, daughter of Elias and Marie 
(Deming) Cole, natives of New York, who, 
in 1846, came west and settled in Burling- 



ton, Wis. Here Mrs. Cole died, and her 
daughter Marie, who is now sole survivor of 
si.x children, returned to the New York home 
of her grandfather, Edd}' Cole, who was at 
one time sheriff of Albany count}-, N. Y. , 
and one of its most prominent citizens. Her 
brother, Eddy, served through the war of 
the Rebellion, and was with Sherman on his 
march to the sea. To Dr. and Mrs. Budge 
six children have been born: ."Xdelaide, 
Carlotta and Mabel, and three sons, each 
of whom died at about the age of two }'ears. 

After his marriage Dr. Budge settled on 
the farm of 120 acres, which his father gave 
him, this being one-half of the old home- 
stead. In 1873 he purchased a half-interest 
in the drug business at Mauston, known as 
the Edwards Drug Co., continuing it three 
years, when he sold out and removed to 
Rock Rapids, Lyon Co., Iowa, building the 
first drug store in that town. Here he be- 
gan the practice of medicine, having pre- 
viously studied for some years. He attended 
the physicians and surgeons' college, at Keo- 
kuk, Iowa, taking the regular course, and 
graduating in the spring of 1882. In 1883 
he sold his interests in Rock Rapids, and re- 
turning to Wisconsin settled at Marshfield, 
where he purchased the drug store of W\ A. 
Sexton, and conducted it in connection with 
his practice, going before the State board at 
La Crosse in 1883, and passing an examina- 
tion in pharmacy. The drug store was de- 
stroyed by the fire of 1887, and Dr. Budge 
rebuilt, erecting a handsome block. He 
now devotes his entire attention to his med- ' 
ical practice. He is now fully prepared to 
treat patients by the aid of electricty when, 
in his judgment, it is the best method, while 
he does not claim that electricity is a " cure- 
all," although, no doubt, in many instances 
it is a great help to the afflicted. His office 
is equipped with a sixty-cell gahanic and 
Faradic battery, together with all modern 
improvements. He has also one of the finest 
microscopes in the State, as well as a labora- 
tory, and is making a study of Bacteriolog}-, 
cultivating microbes and making diagnoses 
of diseases by microscopial investigations. 

In politics Dr. Budge is a Republican. 
He was the second mayor of Marshfield, and 
for five years was its health officer. For 



744 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



twenty years he has been a prominent Ma- 
son, and he is a member of the United 
Workmen and the Modern Woodmen. The 
Doctor is also connected with \arious medi- 
cal bodies. He is a prominent member of 
the Northwestern Medical Association, of 
the American Medical Association, and of 
the National Association of Railroad Sur- 
geons, representing the Chicago & North 
Western Railway Co., in that capacity at 
Marshfield. He is medical examiner for a 
number of the best insurance companies of 
the United States, and is considered a very 
thorough and reliable examiner. He de- 
servedly enjoys a wide and lucrative practice, 
and has many warm friends both inside and 
outside the Faculty. 



ALBERT H. DAKINS, one of the 
progressive and popular young farm- 
ers of Buena Vista township. Port- 
age county, was born in Fremont, 
Waupaca county September 19, 1861, a son 
of Amos and Phcebe (Riley) Dakins. Both 
parents were natives of Canada, where the 
father was born Maj- 15, 1812, and the 
mother February to, 1821. The paternal 
grandfather, Amos Dakins, also a native of 
Canada, of German and Scotch parentage, 
was a soldier in the British army during the 
war of 181 2. He was a farmer, and died in 
Hamilton, Out., during the '• fifties. " His 
children were William, Amos, Nancy, and 
Phcebe. 

.\mos Dakins was reared a farmer boy, 
in Canada. In 1839 he married Miss 
Phcebe Riley, daughter of Marlow and Ellen 
(McKenny) Riley. Marlow Riley was a 
native of Belfast, Ireland. When a 3'oung 
man he enlisted in the British army, rose to 
the rank of sergeant, and served in the war 
of 181 2. He settled in Canada, and there 
married Ellen McKenny, in 1822. Years 
after he started for Belfast, Ireland, to settle 
up some property to which he had fallen 
heir. Two years elapsed and his family re- 
ceived no word from him. Making inquiries, 
they learned he had not reached Ireland. 
Writing to friends in New York, they learn- 
ed he had been taken sick and died there on 
his way to Ireland. He was delirious, and 



could not make known to his acquaintances 
his place of residence. His grandchildren 
are no"w looking up the propertj' in Ireland. 
Marlow Riley had children as follows: Amos, 
who married Susan Eaton, and now lives in 
Milwaukee; James, who died in infancy; 
John, who married Diana Leslie, and set- 
tled on a farm in Illinois; Sarah, who died an 
infant; Alexander, a farmer in Canada, mar- 
ried to Louvina Halley; Eleanor, deceased, 
who was the wife of Lewis Johnson, a Can- 
adian farmer, and the mother of five chil- 
dren: Edwin, Brice, Naomi (Mrs. Jos. 
Garusey, of Chicago), Amanda, and John; 
Jemima, who was the wife of James Stewart; 
James, 2nd, who married Nancy Eaton, and 
migrated to Fifield, Wis., where he died; 
E2ra, who married Sarah Harrington, both 
now deceased; David, who died, aged thirty 
years; and Phcebe C. 

After marriage Amos and Phcebe Dakins 
lived in Canada for nearly twelve years. In 
June, 1850, the family started for Wiscon- 
sin. By wagon they traveled sixty miles 
to Port Huron, where they took passage on 
a boat and reached Sheboygan. Journey- 
ing by wagon to Fond du Lac, Wis., Mr. 
Dakins, with the aid of his brother-in-law, 
built a sail-boat, on which they sailed up the 
\\'olf river, as far as Fremont. Here he 
bought 160 acres of government land, and 
after cutting timber on the same, he sold 
eighty acres, and for five years the\' resided 
in a log cabin. Then Mr. Dakins bought 
forty acres, upon which stood a comfortable 
dwelling. Amos Dakins enlisted at Fremont 
March 23. 1864, in Co. B, Thirty-seventh 
Wis. \'. 1.. which was sent to \'irginia. and 
participated in the battle of Petersburg. Mr. 
Dakins was taken sick in Virginia, and came 
home on a two-months' furlough. Rejoin- 
ing his regiment, he remained till the close 
of the war; meanwhile the mother sold the 
Fremont property, and purchased eighty 
acres of partially-improved land in Lind 
township. Here they lived until 1S73, when 
they came to Buena \'ista township. Port- 
age county. Mr. Dakins bought fort}' acres 
of wild land, and built the home in which his 
son, Albert H., now lives. In 1890 he re- 
moved to McDill, where he died May 16, 
1892, aged eighty years and one day. His 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



745 



wife now resides with her son, Albert H. 
The seven children of Amos and Phoebe 
Dakins are: Amos R. , born in Canada, 
October 12, 1842, resides in Stevens Point; 
he married Julia Persons, and had eleven 
children; as follows: Ida, Mrs. Charles Ells; 
Etta, Mrs. Irving Dakins; Arthur, who died 
in infancy; Louis, Nellie, Lottie, Kittie, 
Agnes, Cora, Nina and Hazel. E^zra, born 
March i, 1845, served with his father in Co. 
B, Thirty-seventh Wis. V. I., married Rachel 
Brooks, and had six children: Lemuel and 
Harold (deceased), Irving, Myrtle (deceased), 
Clarence and Victor. William, of Plover 
township, born March 29, 1847, married 
Helen Warner, and had eight children, as 
follows: Jessie (deceased), Hattie (de- 
ceased), Mary, Winnie, Charles (deceased), 
Elmer Minnie and MjtI. Jerusha (de- 
ceased), born April 28, 1849, married first 
George Bennett, by whom she had three 
children, Ellen, Annie and Ina, and, after- 
ward, Hugh Brooks, by whom she had one 
child, .'\my. Amy Ellen, born July 19, 
1853, wife of Henry Brooks, of Lind town- 
ship, Waupaca county, and mother of three 
children: Ezra, Gertrude and Myrtie. 
Edgar, born July 4, 1856, married Amelda 
Thurston, and has three children: Nettie, 
Alonzo and Albert. Albert H., subject of 
this sketch. 

The last named received in his boyhood 
a good common -school education. When 
fifteen years old he began work on the farm, 
and lived out as a farm hand much of the 
time prior to his marriage, December 26, 
1886, to Miss Clara Brooks. She was born 
in Lind township, Waupaca county, Novem- 
ber 5, 1862, a daughter of James and Mary 
(Alderman) Brooks. James Brooks was 
born in Ohio, August 27, 1824, and when 
seven years old moved with his parents to 
Indiana. Here he married Mary Alderman, 
who was born in Pennsylvania June 9, 1829, 
and moved with her parents, first to Ohio 
and then to Indiana. James and Mary 
Brooks mo\ed by wagon from Indiana to 
Lind township, Waupaca county, where he 
bought 120 acres of government land, and 
lived for many years. He died at the home 
of his daughter, in McDill, Plover township, 
October 24, 1894. His wife passed away 



April I, 1878. The family of Mr. and Mrs. 
Brooks consisted of seven children : Rachel, 
born July 23, 1848; Henry, July 8, 1850: 
Hugh, March 31, 1853; Francis, born June 
22, 1856, died November 21, 1859; Warren, 
born December 8, i860; Clara; Gilbert, 
born January 24, 1865. Mr. Dakins had, 
in the spring of 1885, purchased from his 
father forty acres of land in Section 2 i , in 
Buena Vista township, upon which he re- 
sided at the time of his marriage, in the fol- 
lowing year. He has since greatl}' improved 
the place, and added forty acres to the farm. 
During the summer of 1 895 he erected a 
beautiful home upon the farm, which he 
now occupies. He is a strong advocate of 
temperance, and has usually voted the Pro- 
hibition ticket, but at present ranks himself 
a member of the Republican party. In re- 
ligious belief he is a Protestant, though not 
affiliating with any Church organization. 

REV. BERNARD HUGENROTH, 
pastor of the St. Rose Catholic 
Church, Clintonxille, Wis , has been 
instrumental, during the brief period 
that he has ministered to the Catholic peo- 
ple in that vicinity, in building up a strong 
congregation. His work here has been sup- 
plementary to labors equally successful in 
the northern peninsula of Wisconsin, north 
of Sturgeon Bay. 

Father Hugenroth is still a compara- 
tively young man. He was born near Mun- 
-ster, Westphalia, Germany, September 23, 
1856, son of Joseph and Anna (P(jhlkamp; 
Hugenroth, both of \\honi still survive. 
Bernard was one of a family of nine chil- 
dren. He attended the German schools for 
seven years, and in 1880 emigrated to Amer- 
ica and entered St. \'incent College, at La- 
trobe, Westmoreland Co., Penn., where he 
remained two years and three months, and 
then attended school one year at St. Law- 
rence College, Mt. Calvary, Fond du Lac 
Co., Wis. The young man was then adopt- 
ed for the Green Bay Diocese by the Right 
Rev. F. X. Krautbauer, and by him sent to 
Lou vain, Belgium, where he attended the 
American College for three years. Then, 
by permission of Bishop Katzer, he went to 



746 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the University of Innsbruck, and was there 
ordained, in 1887, in his thirt\-first year. 
Father Hugenroth at once was sent to the 
missions of the northern peninsula of Wis- 
consin. He was stationed at Sevastopol, 
Door county, and had charge of the work 
north of Sturgeon Ba\'. Here he labored 
efficiently for the Church for five years and 
three months, remaining until transferred to 
Clintonville, at the close of 1892. The first 
service at that city he conducted January i, 
1893. There were then six charges in con- 
nection with Clintonville — Bear Creek, Ma- 
rion, Tigerton, Norrie, Aniwa and Leopolis. 
While looking after the spiritual needs 
of these seven charges. Father Hugenroth 
began at once the erection of the present 
substantial Roman Catholic edifice at Clin- 
tonville, superintending the work. The 
■first building occupied by St. Rose Congre- 
gation was erected in 1870. St. Rose was 
then a mission, and was supplied from time 
to time, the congregation consisting of only 
a few families. This building was 27x40 
feet, and is now used as a schoolhouse. On 
June 7, 1893, Bishop Messmer laid the cor- 
ner-stone of the new church, and the first 
services were held December 25, 1S93. It 
is a handsome, solid brick structure, with 
Ohio sandstone trimmings, 107x45 feet in 
size, with walls twenty-six feet high, and 
erected at a cost of $12,000. The capacity 
is 500. The church owns four buildings, 
including the Sisters' house, a good frame 
structure, formerly the school building, and 
five acres of land, the total valuation being 
$20,000. The church also owns four acres 
of land adjoining the city cemetery. The 
•congregation numbers ninety-two families, 
and the school, which was organized in 
1887, has a present average of sixty-five 
children. Besides St. Rose Church, Father 
Hugenroth now has charge of Bear Creek, 
■with some 1 50 families, and Marion, with 
eighteen families. 



FR.\NK ISSTAS, a prominent citizen 
and successful business man of Wash- 
ington township, Shawano county, 
was born in Belgium November 15, 
1855, and is a son of Mr. and Mrs. John Iss- 



tas. John Isstas was a farmer in Belgium, 
of limited education. With his wife and fam- 
ily he embarked at Antwerp for America in 
the spring of 1856, landed at Boston, Mass., 
and came direct to Green Bay, Brown Co., 
Wis. He afterward bought a tract of land 
in Wrightstown, Brown county, located 
upon it, and remained there about six years. 
He then removed to Neenah, Winnebago 
Co., Wis., and soon afterward his wife died. 
Their children were as follows: Louis, now 
deceased; Frank, the subject of these lines; 
Sophia and Peter, both now deceased; and 
two others who died in infancy. In Xeenah 
John Isstas again married, taking to wife 
Mary Byer, and later they removed with the 
famih^ to Calumet county. Wis., where he 
bought a farm. His wife died, and he later 
removed to Little Chute, Outagamie coun- 
ty, and there married again. He died in Lit- 
tle Chute April 22, 1895. His last wife sur- 
vives him. 

Frank Isstas recei\ed a limited educa- 
tion, but has acquired much general knowl- 
edge from experience and from good books. 
He learned the trade of a cooper in Neenah, 
Wis., and up to that time had done almost 
anything he could get to do. In his eight- 
eenth year he left home and went to Minne- 
sota, where he was employed for fifteen 
months as a farm hand near Minneapolis. 
He then returned to Wisconsin, and for six 
months worked at his trade in Appleton, 
Outagamie county, next going to Oshkosh, 
Winnebago county, where he found employ- 
ment as a deck hand on a lake steamer. 
From there he went to Seymour, Outagamie 
count}', procured work in the hub and spoke 
factory of the Northern Manufacturing Co., 
and continued in their employ for five years. 

On January 4, 1881, Frank Isstas was 
united in marriage, in Sejmour, Outagamie 
count), with Miss Ida Zachow, who was born 
in Greenville, Outagamie county, January 4, 
1863, and they ha\e had two children, Will- 
iam, born November 19, 1881; and Edwin, 
born March 11, 1884. Shortly after their 
marriage they removed to Centralia, Wood 
Co., Wis., and Mr. Isstas was there engaged 
as a filer and assistant foreman in the hub 
and spoke factor\^ of McKinnon & Griffith. 
At the end of the three years he left their 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



747 



employ, removed to Cecil, Washington town- 
ship, Shawano county, and purchased an in- 
terest in the firm of W. C. Zachow & Co., 
of Cecil. They erected a general store, and a 
sawmill and gristmill. Later Mr. Isstas dis- 
posed of his share in the store. In Novem- 
ber, 1892, he bought out the interest of his 
partners in the sawmill, and he also has a 
share in the gristmill. 

Mr. Isstas is a strong Democrat, and 
works for the success of his party. He has 
been township clerk for five years, justice of 
the peace for five years, and district school 
clerk for nine years. He was reared a Catho- 
lic, but at present is a member of no Church. 
His wife is a Lutheran. Mr. Isstas built his 
home in 1888. It is a modern dwelling and 
is nicely furnished. He is a man of intelli- 
gence, fond of reading good books, and is 
well-known and respected. 



FREDERICK C. SCHEWE, a prom- 
inent, influential agriculturist of Sha- 
wano county. Wis. , is a native of 
Prussia, German}', born July 6, 1846, 
a son of Charles and Charlotte (Ewald) 
Schewe, who were the parents of five chil- 
dren, as follows: Henrietta, now the wife 
of Robert Schilt;?. of New London, Wau- 
paca Co. , Wis. ; Frederick C. , the subject of 
this memoir: Pauline, deceased: Ulrike, de- 
ceased: and Carl, a leading agriculturist and 
blacksmith of Grant township. Shawano 
county. 

In 1854 the family crossed the ocean to 
the New World, the vessel in which they 
took passage dropping anchor in an Ameri- 
can port on July 6. On their arrival in this 
country the family settled in Milwaukee, 
Wis., where they remained six months; 
while living in Milwaukee the father was 
stricken with that dire disease, cholera. On 
his recovery, the family moved to Sheboy- 
gan county, Wis. , where Mr. Schewe found 
emplojment as a day laborer, remaining 
there four )ears, at the expiration of which 
time they removed to Belle Plaine. at that 
time an unbroken wilderness. Here Mr. 
Schewe purchased a forty-acre tract of tim- 
berland in Section 22, on which was erected 
a log house 18 x 24, and the arduous task of 



clearing the land immediately commenced, 
and four acres of rye were sown. Shortly 
afterward forty acres more were added to 
the farm, and, as the reward of many hours 
of hard, honest labor, Mr. Schewe had the 
satisfaction of seeing the many noble giants 
of the forests give place to beautiful fields of 
golden grain, and where once stood the old, 
primitive log house, around which, to the 
old pioneer, hover many pleasant recollec- 
tions of days gone by, is now to be seen a 
home of comfort and architectural beauty. 
The mother's death occurred May 3, 1889. 
The father remained on the old homestead 
until 1894, when he went to live with his 
daughter, Mrs. Robert Schiltz. of New- 
London. 

Frederick C. Schewe, the gentleman 
whose name introduces this sketch, received 
but a very meager education, his vast fund 
of useful knowledge, which he non' possess- 
es, having been acquired by many years of 
hard study in the "school of experience." 
Our subject remained at home until nineteen 
years of age, working on different farms in 
the neighborhood, always giving his small 
earnings to his father to help in the support 
of the family. In 1867 Mr. Schewe was 
united in marriage with Caroline Raasch, a 
daughter of Gottlieb and Fredrica (Wocken- 
fusz) Raasch, who came to America in 1866. 
To this union were born children as follows: 
Albert, born November 20, 1871: Emma, 
born January 20, 1874, now the wife of Abe 
Hedge, of Belle Plaine: Ulrike, born March 
20, 1876: Paulina, December 4, 1878: Clara, 
February 13, 1880; Linda, born May 21, 
1882, died in 18S6; Mary, born November 
20, 1885; Laura, May 12, 1888; Alma, 
January 11, 1893, and Frederick, who died 
in infancy. At the time of his marriage our 
subject owned eighty acres of land in Sec- 
tion 24, Belle Plaine township, on which he 
resided, and cultivated the same until 1869. 
in which year he moved to Shawano, Sha- 
wano Co., Wis., and opened a furniture 
store, which he carried on until 1872, when 
he removed to New London, Waupaca 
county, and engaged in the same business. 
At the end of two years he removed to Howe 
township, Oconto county, and again em- 
barked in agricultural pursuits, piirchasing 



74S 



COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1 60 acres of timberland, which he cleared 
and afterward cultivated, soon possessing a 
most excellent farm. At the end of ten 
years he disposed of his farm and removed 
to Belle Plaine, Shawano county, where he 
built a store and engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits for four years, but met with a serious 
loss, his store being burned to the ground on 
December 26, 1890. Mr. Schewe then de- 
cided to abandon a mercantile career, and 
to devote his whole time to agricultural pur- 
suits. Accordingly he purchased Ihe old 
homestead farm in Shawano county, con- 
sisting of 120 acres of good land, seventy 
acres of which are under a high state of cul- 
tivation, upon which he still resides, his 
farm being one of the best in the county. 

Politically Mr. Schewe is affiliated with 
the Democratic party, and takes an active 
interest in all the affairs of his State. His 
many friends, recognizing in him a man of 
more than ordinary ability, have frequently 
persuaded him to accept positions of honor 
and trust, he having been town clerk for 
many years, and justice of the peace for the 
past twenty years. In Howe township he 
has filled the positions of chairman, clerk 
and treasurer, and has always done every- 
thing in his power, financially and other- 
wise, to further the interests of his town- 
ship. Socially our subject is a member of 
the Mason's Lodge and Shawano Lodge No. 
46, I. O. O. F. The family are faithful 
members of the Lutheran Church, and en- 
joy the respect of a large circle of friends. 



GGARBRECHT, the pioneer tailor 
of Shawano, like man}- of her best 
citizens, is a native of Germany. 
He was born in Pomerin, June i, 
1837, and is the youngest of four children. 
His father, Gotlieb Garbrecht, was a tailor 
by trade, and died when our subject was 
only four years of age. The mother after- 
ward married Fred Assmann, and died in 
Germany. 

The subject of this rex'iew received but 
meager school privileges, and at the age of 
fourteen began learning the tailor's trade, 
serxing a three-years' apprenticeship. He 
then worked as a journeyman in the leading 



I cities of his native land, and spent some 
time in Berlin. At the age of twentj-seven 
he married Miss Otille Netzel, who was born 
in the same locality as her husband, and 
while living in the Fatherland three chil- 
dren were born to them, one of whom died 
there; the others are Paul, now in the 
United States railwa}' mail service, running 
on the Chicago & North Western railroad, 
between Milwaukee and Chicago, and Mar- 
j tha, wife of Gustav May, of Lancaster 
county, Nebraska. 

Mr. Garbrecht worked at his trade in 
German}-, but little could be made there, as 
wages were very low, and in consequence 
he determined to try his fortune in America. 
In the spring of 1869, with his wife and two 
children, he sailed from Bremen, on the 
steamer "Baltimore," and after reaching 
j New York, came direct to Shawano, Wis., 
I where an acquaintance had previously lo- 
] cated. He went by rail to Oshkosh, by 
I boat to New London, and by team to Sha- 
] wano. There was no tailor shop in the 
town, and he first worked at tailoring in 
private families. This source of revenue 
was soon exhausted, and, as he must have 
employment of some kind to provide for his 
family, he began cutting hay for Mr. H. C. 
Naber with a scythe. He had never done 
i such 'work before, but he was indus- 
trious, and always put forth every effort to 
please. In the fall he began making over 
men's clothes, and also making cheap shirts. 
About this time Mr. Shaffer, a Swiss tailor 
and an ex-soldier, came to Shawano, and 
with him Mr. Garbrecht formed a partner- 
ship, and purchased a sewing-machine, for 
which Mr. Naber paid, they working for 
! him in return. Thus the first regular tailor 
shop in Shawano was established. After a 
year Mr. Shaffer retired, and our subject 
continued the business alone, adding to it a 
stock of ready-made clothing, in 1884. 
Soon after he started the busine.ss, he bought 
of Mr. Naber the store-room, which he at 
first rented, and in 1890 he erected the sub- 
stantial brick business block which he now 
occupies. 

Since coming to Shawano the following 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Garbrecht; Enuna. Clara and Frank, the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



749 



last named now engaged in clerking in Sha- 
wano. In politics, Mr. Garbrecht is a stal- 
wart Democrat, and served as alderman of 
Shawano for four 3'ears, yet has never been 
an office seeker. He attends the Lutheran 
Church, and contributes liberally to its sup- 
port, also giving his aid to other interests 
and enterprises calculated to prove of public 
benefit. In 1S93 he took a trip to the West, 
\-isiting Nebraska, and also the World's 
Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He has 
worked his way upward from humble sur- 
roundings to a position of affluence, and to 
a leading place among Shawano's business 
men, and his fair and honorable dealing, and 
good management and close attention to 
business, have been the important factors 
in his success. He now has his excellent 
store filled with a fine stock of ready-made 
clothing, and in addition owns a comforta- 
ble home. He may truly be called a self- 
made man, for he is deserving of all credit. 



DAVID PORTER. In the array of 
progressive agriculturists who have 
risen to prominence, and who have 
contributed substantially to the ma- 
terial prosperity of Portage county, stands 
the gentleman who forms the subject of 
this sketch. He was born in Dane county. 
Wis., April 6, 1848, a son of Lyman and 
Sarah lAldrich) Porter, born respectively in 
New York State and Rhode Island. 

Ljnian Porter was among the early pio- 
neer settlers of Portage county, having 
brought his family here from Dane county 
in 1850; and here he was engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits until within a short time 
of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Porter were the 
parents of ten children, of whom eight are 
living, namely: Isaac; Jane, wife of Sewell 
Witt; Eunice, wife of Volney Topping; 
David, the subject of this sketch; John; 
Mary, wife of Lester Giles; Betsy, wife of 
Norman Danforth, and Aaron, all residing 
in Plover, Portage county, with the ex- 
ception of Mrs. Giles, who resides in the 
State of Washington. Lyman Porter died 
April 2, 1 891, and his faithful and loving 
wife April 4, 1891. 

David Porter was reared a farmer's bov. 



educated in the district schools of Portage 
county, and has been engaged in lumbering 
and agricultural pursuits all his lifetime. 
He was united in marriage February 17, 
1878, in Plover, Portage county, with Miss 
Abbie Imogene Warner, by whom he has 
had five children, only two of whom are liv- 
ing, Mira and Nellie. The parents of Mrs. 
Porter, Alvin and Lazzette (Goodale) War- 
ner, were born in New York State, were 
early settlers of Portage county, and now 
reside in the town of Plover, in the same 
county. Mr. Porter is a worker in the 
ranks of the Republican party. He is a 
man of advanced ideas, and gifted with a 
good mind, coupled with sound judgment; 
on a foundation laid with industry, care and 
endurance, he has built a record that places 
him among the most successful agricultu- 
rists in Portage county; and, through perse- 
verance and the practice of strict economy, 
is HOW the possessor of one of the finest and 
most productive farms in Plover township. 
He is highly respected as a citizen, and the 
famil}' are members of the United Bretheren 
Church. 



AM. PERRY, of Embarrass, Matte- 
son township, Waupaca count)-, was 
born in Algoma, W^innebago Co., 
Wis., and is a son of John and Cath- 
erine (Riche) Perry, who came, in a very 
early day, from Rome, N. Y., to Algoma, 
Wis. , and were among the oldest settlers of 
that part of Winnebago county. They were 
the parents of seven children: Guilford, 
Sarah, A. M. (the subject of this sketch), 
Helen, Winfield, Ida and Effie. 

John Perry took land in Algoma at the 
government price, and began to hew out of 
the wilderness what is now a lovely home. 
He owned 160 acres, taken when the land 
was "in a most primitive condition, and it 
was cleared by himself and his sons. On 
this farm he spent the remainder of his life, 
and died in 1890. His widow resides here, 
to-day with her daughter Sarah, and has 
one of the finest farms in that locality. All 
but three of the children remained at home 
until of adult age, and only three are now 
living. Sarah resides on the homestead. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



where she always remained. Ida is now 
Mrs. Bert Avery, and resides in Colorado. 

A. M. Perry, as well as the other chil- 
dren in his father's family, had but poor op- 
portunities for an education, having to work 
on the farm, as the family was large and 
the country new. When twenty years of 
age he went west, and traveled through 
Iowa and Utah. He was gone about a year 
and a half, returned home and remained 
there about tvvo years, then came, in 1870, 
to Embarrass, and engaged in a general 
merchandise business. He started in with 
a small capital, but, as his trade increased, 
gradually accumulated a stock worth ten or 
twelve thousand dollars. He was in com- 
pany with A. C. Palmer. In 1874, Mr. 
Perry was united in marriage with Harriet 
Palmer, daughter of J. W. and S. M. Palmer, 
He continued in the mercantle business at 
Embarrass until 1887, when he sold out, 
went to the old home, and remained t-wo 
years, caring for his father who lay suffering 
from a cancer which caused his death. 
After this he returned to Embarrass and en- 
gaged in the hardware and drug business. 
Mr. Perry and his wife are both members of 
the Congregational Church, of which he has 
been treasurer or trustee ever since he has 
been here. In political affiliation he is a 
Republican. 



JOEL L. STEWART is a representa- 
tive of one of the honored pioneer 
families of Wisconsin, his parents hav- 
ing located in Sheboygan count}' dur- 
ing Territorial days. He is now a member 
of the firm of C. Roemer & Co., dealers in 
general hardware, of Clintonville, Waupaca 
county. Wis., where he has made his home 
since 1892, and does an e.xtensive business. 
In March, 1842, occurred the birth of 
Joel L. Stewart, at Amboy, N. Y., he being 
a son of Phineas and Lola (Castle) Stewart, 
the former a successful farmer, and who by 
_his marriage became the father of ten chil- 
dren: Mary Jane, Charles P., Lucy, Silas, 
Minerva, Thomas J., Joel L. , Clara B., 
Matilda and Lottie. The parents with their 
family came to Sheboygan county. Wis., in 
1847, settling on a farm of forty acres. 



which was in its primitive condition, and 
there began the development of the land. 
Phineas Stewart was a sawyer by trade, and 
was also employed in sawmills of this State. 
He had purchased land in Lima township, 
near Sheboygan Falls, adding to his original 
tract until he became the owner of 160 
acres, and as the land had not been laid off 
he was obliged to make the road to his 
farm. For four 3'ears he there engaged in 
agricultural pursuits before he was able to 
purchase a team, and the farm labor was 
mainly carried on by the use of an axe and 
grub-hoe. A small log cabin was erected, 
having no doors and windows, in which the 
family lived during the first summer, when 
in the fall the doors and windows were 
added, and it continued to be their place of 
residence for seven years. On the expira- 
tion of that time a good frame house was 
built, but was sold in 1868, when Mr. Stew- 
art purchased a farm near Sheboygan Falls, 
which he made his home until 1870, when 
his wife died and he went to live with our 
subject, where he remained until his mar- 
riage with Miss M. Hogan, who passed away 
in Shebo\gan Falls in 1879. In 1S80 he 
went to live with his daughter Minerva, 
where his death occurred in 1886, he being 
mourned bj' a large circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances. 

The meager educational privileges which 
Joel L. Stewart received were obtained in a 
log school-house, 12x14 feet, and at the 
age of twenty-one, in October, 1863, he en- 
listed in Company C, Fourth Wisconsin 
Cavalry, and for two years was numbered 
among the boys in blue. He went to Baton 
Rouge, remaining there until June. 18G5, 
when he was honorably discharged, having 
taken part in the siege of Mobile, and also 
being engaged in nnich skirmish and scout- 
ing duty. His brother Thomas was also in 
the same company, while Charles and Silas 
served for three years in the Eighth \^"iscon- 
sin. .\fter his discharge our subject re- 
turned to Sheboygan county. Wis., where 
he resumed farming, remaining there until 
1 884, when he sold out and engaged in 
merchandising in the city of Sheboygan 
Falls for two years, on the expiration of 
which time he went to Antigo, Wis., follow- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



75 » 



ing railroading for six years. He came to 
Clintonvilie in 1892, where he has since car- 
ried on the hardware business in connection 
with his son-in-law. 

Mr. Stewart was married in October, 
1 867. to Mary Neal, daughter of James Neal, 
and by this union was born one child, Lola, 
wife of Charles Roemer. The mother was 
born and reared in Pennsylvania, but died 
in this State in 1883 with the measles. In 
1892 Mr. Stewart was again united in mar- 
riage, Miss Nettie Corey, who was born in 
Little Wolf township, Waupaca county, be- 
coming his wife. 

In politics Mr. Stewart affiliates with the 
Republicans, and is a stanch supporter of 
that party, while his religious views coincide 
with those of the Methodist Church, of 
which he and his estimable wife are mem- 
bers, and take an active interest in Church 
work. He holds membership with the In- 
dependent Order of Odd-Fellows, and also 
belongs to the G. A. R. Post of Clintonvilie. 
He has witnessed the wonderful changes 
which have taken place in ^^'isconsin in the 
last half century, and has assisted mate- 
rially in its prosperity, being always ready 
to aid in everything that will advance the 
interests of the community, and is numbered 
among the progressive citizens. 



JC. F. FLETCHER. In a perusal of 
the life record of a successful man we 
may learn much that will prove not 
only of interest but of benefit if we put 
into practice the lessons therein contained. 
The sketch of Mr. Fletcher should prove 
such a history, and we gladh" give it a place 
in this volume. He was born in Belmont 
township. Portage county, April 15, 1856, 
and is a son of John and Mary (Batton) 
Fletcher. 

John Fletcher was a farmer by occupa- 
tion, but in his later 3-ears followed lumber- 
ing to a considerable extent. He emigrated 
from the East to Farmington township, Wau- 
paca county, and spent much of his time in 
the woods in charge of lumber camps. When 
the South attempted to overthrow the Union 
he went to the aid of the government, en- 
listing in Waupaca, September 16, 1861, as 



a member of the Third Battalion Light Ar- 
tillery and, after three years of faithful serv- 
ice, was mustered out on the loth of Octo- 
ber, 1864. He continued in the South, en- 
gaging in the lumber business, and in the 
building of steamboats until his death, his 
home being in Tennessee. ■ He was a na- 
tural mechanical genius and inventor, and. 
invented many mechanical improvements of 
great value. He was killed in Chattanooga 
in 1882 by John Taylor, a noted desperado, 
who afterward paid the penalty of his crime 
by death, when hiding in an Arkansas- 
swamp, a fugitive from justice. The chil- 
dren of the Fletcher family were: Andrew 
G., who died in Tennessee after having at- 
tained to mature years; George, who died 
in childhood; J. C. F. ; and a daughter, who 
died in early life. 

Mr. Fletcher, of this sketch, was edu- 
cated in the schools of the neighborhood in 
which he made his home, and was reared in 
the usual manner of farmer lads, remaining 
at home until he had reached man's estate. 
He went to a home of his own in 1 88 1 , being 
married on the i8th of April, in Belmont 
township, to Miss Carrie E. Roberts, a na- 
tive of Cattaraugus county, N. Y. , born 
August 19, 1863. Her parents, John H. 
and Mary A. (Griiflth) Roberts, removed to 
Wisconsin when their daughter was only 
about three years of age, and settled in Wau- 
shara county, where they resided until 1878, 
which year witnessed their removal to Bel- 
mont township. Portage county. 

Upon his marriage, Mr. Fletcher rented 
his present farm, comprising the northeast 
quarter of Section 17, Belmont township, 
and as soon as he had acquired sufficient 
capital purchased not only this, but forty 
acres additional. Subsequently, however, he 
sold forty acres of the property. He could 
not pay for the farm at the time of his pur- 
chase, but has since cleared it of all indebted- 
ness, and has made it one of the most valu- 
able and attractive places in the community. 
It is supplied with all modern conveniences 
and accessories, and is improved with excel- 
lent buildings, including a very fine barn, 
which was erected in 1888, one of the best 
in the township. He is recognized as a 
practical and progressive farmer, and deserves 



75= 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



mention among the leading agriculturists of 
Portage county. In addition to farming he 
also works at the the mason's trade to a 
limited extent. 

The Fletcher family numbers our subject, 
his wife and three children: Lura \'., born 
February 12, 1882; Eke |., born August 6, 
J 88 5; and Mary P.. born November 8, 1888. 
Their home is noted for its hospitality, and 
they hold an enviable position in social 
•circles. In politics, Mr. Fletcher is a Repub- 
lican, has served as side supervisor for two 
years, and, since 1890, has served most ac- 
ceptabl}' as town clerk, discharging his duties 
with a promptness and fidelity that have won 
him high praise. 



, Sarah, Al- 
died in in- 



DELOS W. KRAKE, one of the hon- 
ored pioneers of Shawano county, 
was born in Montgomery county, 
X. Y. , December 10, 1828, and is a 
son of Jacob and Eve (Dillenbach) Krake. 
The family is of Holland extraction, and 
both parents were natives of New York. 
The father followed farming as a means of 
livelihood, and though he never attained 
wealth, he supplied his familj- with the com- 
forts of life. Mr. and Mrs. Krake were the 
parents of fourteen children, ten sons and 
four daughters, namely: Josiah, David, Nel- 
son, John, Charles, Walstein, Delos W., 
Jonas, Ira, \\'illiam H., Eve A. 
mira, and one daughter who 
fancy. 

Upon the old home farm our subject 
spent his early boyhood, and attended the 
district schools of the neighborhood. Since 
the age of fifteen he has been dependent 
upon his own resources, at which time he 
began to earn his living as a farm hand. 
When a young man of twenty-three years, 
he resolved to seek his fortime in the West, 
hoping that upon its broad fields he might 
find better opportunities. His first location 
was in Fond du Lac count}', W'is., where he 
worked in a shingle-mill. On leaving that 
place he came to Shawano, which at that 
time contained onlj' a few buildings, and 
here secured employment in the woods and 
•on the river. Being pleased with his west- 
ern home, he returned to New York and 



brought his parents to Wisconsin, the father 
renting a farm in Fond du Lac county, where 
he resided until his death, in 186 1. During 
the greater part of the time afterward Mrs. 
Krake made her home with our subject, and 
died in Hartland township, Shawano county, 
in 1876. 

W^hen his parents arrived in this State, 
Mr. Krake was employed in the lumber 
woods along the Wolf river and its tribu- 
taries. About 1859, in connection with 
others, he took up land in Section 16, Hart- 
land township, and began the improvement 
of a farm, not a furrow having been turned 
or an improvement made upon the place. 
He built a shanty, 8x12 feet, the roof being 
made of basswood logs hollowed out. He 
then cleared five acres of the land, and re- 
mained in the vicinity of Hartland township 
until 1 86 1, when he rented a farm near 
Oshkosh, and immediately began its culti- 
vation; but in October of that year he laid 
aside all civil pursuits to engage in his coun- 
try's service, enlisting at Oshkosh as a mem- 
ber of Company A, First Wis. V. I., under 
Captain Goodrich. The troops were sent 
to Camp Randall, at Milwaukee, thence to 
Louisville and West Point, Ky., where they 
remained until December. At. Green river, 
while cii route for Nashville, they took part 
in their first skirmish. The following year 
they participated in the battles of Murfrees- 
boro, Perr\ville and Chattanooga, and Mr. 
Krake was then chosen from his company to 
return home and secure recruits. This work 
being efficiently done, he joined his com- 
mand at Chattanooga, was in the Atlanta 
campaign, and continued in the engagements 
until Jonesboro, whence his regiment was 
sent to Nashville. While there his term of 
service expired, and he was mustered out at 
Milwaukee in October, 1864. 

Mr. Krake then returned to his mother's 
home in Fond du Lac county, and in the 
spring of 1865 rented a farm in Winnebago 
county. On October 22, of that year, he 
married Miss Polly Jane Strate, who was 
born in Steuben county, N. Y., July 20, 
1829, a daughter of L. B. Strate, who was 
born in Troopsburg. N. Y., in 18 13. With 
her parents she came to Wisconsin in 1856, 
the family locating in Oshkosh township. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



753 



Winnebago county. Her brothers and sis- 
ters were Levi, a farmer of Snell's Station, 
Winnebago county; Helen, who became the 
wife of Hiram James, and died in Port 
Washington, Wis.; Squire L., who enlisted 
in the Union army, and was taken sick at 
Madison, Wis. , where he died a few months 
later, being only seventeen years of age at 
the time. The father of this family died 
March 8, 1889, and was buried at Oak Hill 
Cemetery in Neenah, Wis. His widow is 
living at Snell Station with her son Levi. 
In the spring of 1866 Mr. Krake located 
upon his farm in Section 16, Hartland town- 
ship, making the journey from Winnebago 
county in a sleigh. His home was a build- 
ing 14 .\ 22 feet, that had served as the first 
school house of Hartland township. He 
has since been engaged in the cultivation of 
his farm, and now has eighty acres of land, 
of which fifty acres are under a high state 
of cultivation, yielding to him a rich return 
for the care and labor he bestows upon it. 

Mr. and Mrs. Krake have had live chil- 
<lren: Waldo, who died at the age of two 
years; Ella, wife of William Shier, of An- 
gelica, Wis. ; Louis, Effie and Adelaide, at 
home. The mother is a member of the 
Methodist Church, and is a most estimable 
lady. Mr. Krake is a supporter of the Re- 
publican party, and served as postmaster of 
Bonduel for three years. He was also town- 
ship treasurer and assessor, was census enu- 
merator in 1890, and has held various school 
-ofiices, discharging all public duties with 
promptness and fidelity, and being equally 
true in all the relations of business and pri- 
vate life. 



ISAAC H. ISAACSON. Amongthemost 
prominent and successful business men 
of Pulcifer, Green Valley township, 
Shawano county, is Mr. Isaacson. He 
is a son of Halvor and Mary (Oleson) Isaac- 
son, and was born in Waukesha county. 
Wis., near Ashippun, March 23, 1858. 

Halvor Isaacson was a farmer and 
woodsman in Norway, and in poor circum- 
stances there. With his wife and eldest 
child he sailed from Christiania in 1856, 
and in June of that year landed in Quebec, 



Canada. They came direct to Wisconsin, 
locating first in W'aukesha county, near 
.\shippun, where he worked out as a laborer. 
Later they removed to Dodge county, and 
remained there for one year. About 1 86 1 
they went to Oakfield, Fond du Lac Co., 
Wis., where Mr. Isaacson rented a farm for 
about four years, then removed to Waupun, 
Fond du Lac county, and lived there for 
si.\ years. In 1873 they came to Green 
Valley. Here he purchased eighty acres of 
wild land, cleared it, and built a log house 
for a home. He has since dealt consider- 
ably in land, buying and selling. Mr. Isaac- 
son and his wife were both born in Norwa}-. 
They reside at present on the homestead in 
Green \'alley. Their children were as fol- 
lows: Annie, deceased wife of John Johnson; 
Isaac H., the subject of this sketch; Ole, 
deceased; Josephine, who married Chris 
Henriingson, and now resides in Oakfield, 
Fond du Lac county; Mary, now Mrs. John 
Lystul, of Wausau, Marathon county; and 
Hattie, Mrs. Howard Locke, of Cecil, Sha- ' 
wano county. 

Isaac H. Isaacson received a common- 
school education, and left school at the age 
of fourteen. After that time until he was 
twenty-one he helped at home on the farm, 
worked out as a farm hand, ran logs on the 
river, and worked in the woods. He started 
out for himself at twenty-one, investing in 
eighty acres of wild land in Green Valley 
township, which he still retains, cleared 
twenty acres, and has been speculating in 
land ever since. 

In Green Vallej', on May 2, 1S87, Isaac 
H. Isaacson was united in matrimony with 
Miss Jennie Anderson, who was born in Nor- 
way, Oct. 9, 1867. Four children have been 
born to this marriage. When Jennie And- 
erson was three years of age she came to the 
United States with her parents, Martin and 
Mina (Christianson) Anderson, who located 
first in Sheboygan, Sheboygan Co. , Wis. , and 
later in Milwaukee. About 1881 or 1882 they 
settled in Underbill, Oconto county, and they 
now reside there on a farm. After his mar- 
riage Mr. Isaacson and his wife located on 
his first purchase of eight}' acres. He lum- 
bered and farmed for the ne.\t four j'ears, 
then removed to Pulcifer, started an agency 



?54 



COMMSMORATJl'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORB. 



for farm implements and machinery, and 
traveled on the road for one season selling 
his own goods. In the fall of 1881 he 
joined with Herman Druckrey in putting up 
their present place of business, and in the 
spring of i 892 they opened with a stock of 
hardware, and a full line of farm implements 
and machinery. 

Mr. Isaacson has 160 acres of land, 
which lie in Sections i 5 and 22, in Green 
Valley township. He is a Republican in pol- 
itics, and takes an active interest in the suc- 
cess of his party. Both Mr. Isaacson and 
his wife are members of the Norwegian 
Lutheran Church. He is honored and re- 
spected, is strictly an American, and pro- 
fesses no allegiance to any foreign hierarchy. 



ALEXANDER BUCHOLTZ, a re- 
tired merchant of Clintonville, Wau- 
paca county, Wis., and one of its 
leading citizens, has for nearly forty 
years been connected with the commercial 
activities of this region. He became a resi- 
dent of Northern Wisconsin at a period 
when only the hardy and courageous were 
tempted into the depths of its forests, and 
the pulse of the people's growing prosperity 
he has felt, as the years flew by, through the 
mercantile purchases which they have made. 
Mr. Bucholtz is of German nativity, and 
he descends from a prominent family of 
that nationality. He was born in the city 
of Vechta, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, 
Germany, November 25. 1831, and is a son 
of Frank and Angeline (Veltmann) Bucholtz. 
Each parent had children by a previous 
marriage. Frank Bucholtz was a govern- 
ment official, holding the appointment of 
judge of the court. By his first marriage 
he had nine children, as follows: Charles, 
who attained to the dignity of a member of 
the Duke of Oldenburg's cabinet; August, an 
auctioneer, which was an office of the gov- 
ernment; Frank; Clement, a merchant; Jen- 
nie, Emily, Fredericka, Lena and Mary. 
By her first marriage to a Mr, Driver, 
.Angeline Veltmann had four children: 
Marzel, a merchant in Germany; Ida, Fred- 
ericka and Matilda. Two children were 



born to Frank and Angeline Bucholtz. of 
whom Alexander, subject of this sketch, 
was one, and Mary, now the wife of Gus- 
tavus Mayrish, of San Francisco, Cal., is the 
other. 

Alexander Bucholtz was twenty- three 
years old when, in 1855, he left his native 
land, resolving to cast his fortunes in a new 
and unknown countrj'. He came directly 
to Milwaukee, and there found employment 
in a store. Remaining eighteen months in 
that city, he then came to Belle Plaine 
township, Shawano county, and here oper- 
ated a store for one year for E. De- 
dolph, a resident of New London. Mr. 
Bucholtz then purchased the stock of goods 
from Mr. Dedolph, and operated the store 
for himself. It was a small store, situated 
in the midst of an undeveloped region. 
There were then no roads, and the goods 
had to be shipped up the Embarrass river, 
a week being required to make the trip. 
Mr. Bucholtz himself was accustomed to 
make these primitive and perilous trips, 
steering the boat, while hired men slowly 
poled it up the stream. The store was a 
small structure, about 10x15 ^^^t in size. 
Mr. Bucholtz was the first German in this 
locality, but he had acquired an English 
tongue, and he built up for himself by slow 
degrees a profitable trade. He was ap- 
pointed postmaster at Belle Plaine in 1864, 
holding the office until his removal in 1871 
to Clintonville, Waupaca county. The 
probable growth of the latter village was 
foreseen by Mr. Bucholtz, and he deter- 
mined to share in its advancement. Accord- 
ingly, in 1 87 1, he erected a small building, 
and put into it a $4,000 stock. Clintonville 
at that time contained only one store, that 
of Guernsey & Doty, and Mr. Bucholtz be- 
came the second merchant of the place. 
The store remained in the old building un- 
til 1890, when he erected a brick edifice 
which now contains a stock of goods valued 
at $15,000. In 1S88 Mr. Bucholtz retired 
from business, turning over the prosperous 
trade to his two sons, one of whom, Charles, 
now conducts the store. 

Mr. Bucholtz was married in Keshena, 
Wis., in the Missionary Church at the In- 
dian reservation, to Miss Paulina Stroinskv, 



COMMEifORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of German birth, by whom he has three 
children: Mary, now Mrs. F. D. Naber, 
of Shawano; Frank and Charles. Politically 
he is a Democrat, and all the family are 
members of the Catholic Church. By his 
strict application to business he has accum- 
ulated a competence, and his name, for 
personal integrity and sterling qualities, is 
unsurpassed in Waupaca county. 



El). ROMAN, a substantial farmer of 
Royalton township, Waupaca coun- 
t}-, was born in i 864 on his present 
farm, in Section 4. His parents, 
Frank and Madeline (Voyland) Roman, were 
both born in France, and the former passed 
his younger dajs in that sunny land. 

Crossing the Atlantic, Frank Roman 
came to Wisconsin in an earl)" day, and in 
Royalton township, Waupaca count}-, bought 
a farm of fort)- acres, which he improved and 
made his home. Here he reared a famil)- of 
three children: E. D., whose name intro- 
duces the present sketch; Albert, who was 
married and resided in Royalton township, 
moved to Chippewa Falls in 1892, and died 
in 1893; and Frances, the wife J. L. Con- 
roy, of Oshkosh, Wis. The father, Frank 
Roman, died in 1867, and his widow after- 
ward married B. F. Winegarden, and resides 
in Royalton township. 

E. D. Roman was educated in the public 
schools of his native township. He aided in 
opening up and clearing the homestead, now 
owns sixty acres here, and conducts general 
farming operations. On November 8, 1887, 
he was united in marriage with Katie Carew, 
who was also born in Royalton township, 
and they have one child, Paul. Mrs. Roman's 
father, James Carew, was an early pioneer 
of Royalton township, and now resides in 
North Royalton. In his political views Mr. 
Roman is a Democrat. He has been one of 
the supervisors of his township, serving till 
the fall of 1893, and has been a member of 
the county board of Waupaca county. Both 
he and his wife belong to the Catholic 
Church of Manawa. Mr. Roman has always 
taken an active interest in public affairs, and 
has sought to promote the welfare of the 
county and its people. 



ANNO VON HEIMBURG, who has 
a large creamery business in Sha- 
wano county, was born in Germany, 
October ii, 1867, and is a son of 
Ernst and Theresa (Olmstead) \'on Heim- 
burg, who were born in Germany. Anno 
Von Heimburg, Sr. , is finely educated, and 
holds a high government position in Ger- 
many. His wife, Theresa, died in 1880. 
They had the following named children: 
Ida, Anna, Helen, Anno (the subject of this 
sketch), Mary, Ernst, Amalie and Paul. 
Mr. Heimburg again married, and has also 
had children by this union. 

Anno Von Heimburg, of whom we espec- 
ially write, received an excellent education, 
left school at the age of seventeen, and 
started at once for America. He sailed from 
Bremen on the ill-fated steamer "Elbe," 
landed in New York, and went direct to 
Mayviile, Dodge Co , Wis., where he pro- 
cured work in the creamery there and on 
the farm of Charles Gashon. Leaving this 
situation at the end of one year, he hired 
out in Washington township, Shawano 
county, to H. C. Naber, as a farm hand, 
continuing in his employ eleven months. 
He then went to Fond du Lac county. Wis., 
where he was engaged as a farm hand for 
two summers. During the winter he went 
to Shawano, and worked in a drug store for 
F. D. Naber. At the end of two years he 
set out for the State of Washington, whither 
he journeyed by rail, and procured emplo)-- 
ment in the creamery of a Mr. Davis. He 
received good wages while there, and at the 
end of six months left Puget Sound and pro- 
ceeded to Walla Walla, where he w-orked in 
a creamery for one \-ear. Being then thrown 
out of employment, he worked for three 
months at almost anything he could get to 
do, then went to San Francisco, Cal., and 
took a train for New York City, where, on 
October 1 1, 1890, he took passage for Ger- 
many on the steamer "Saala. " He landed 
in Bremen, went direct home, and six 
months later returned to the United States 
on the same steamer. From New York he 
came direct to Cecil, Washington township, 
Shawano Co. , \\'is. , where he imniediatel)- 
afterward built a creamer)-. He now also 
runs a creamery at Shawano, and has a 



756 



COMMEMOBATIVM BIOORAPEIGAL RECORD. 



separating station at Bonduel, in the same 
county. Mr. Heimburg is unmarried. He 
is a Democrat in politics, but has never 
sought office, and is a member of the Ger- 
man Lutheran Church in Cecil. He is a 
young man of fine appearance, and of a 
pleasant, genial disposition. 



LROTHMAN, M. D., the leading 
practitioner of Wittenberg, Shawano 
county, is a native of Calumet, Fond 
du Lac Co. , Wis. , where he was 
born of German parentage, September 21, 
1861. 

His father, Philip Rothman, was born 
in Germany, and was a pioneer black- 
smith of Fond du Lac county, people 
coming to him for fort}- miles to have their 
work done, and often remaining over night 
in order to await their turns. His capital 
was exhausted when he reached this coun- 
try, but he was industrious and energetic, 
and work could be secured by willing ones, 
so he prospered in his undertakings. In 
Germany he married Miss Barbara Lauder, 
and they had a daughter, Margaret, when in 
the earl}- " fifties'" they came to the United 
States. Here the following children were 
born: J. Philip, now one of the leading 
general merchants of Stevens Point, Wis., 
owner of the C. O. D. store; Catherine, 
wife of Henry Schneidler, St. Paul, Minn. ; 
Cristine, wife of Michael Burg, of Calumet, 
Fond du Lac county; Elizabeth, wife of 
Rev. D. Rifenbark, of Canton, S. Dak. ; 
Mary, wife of Edgar Rifenbark, of Glen- 
dale, Md. ; our subject; John, a clerk in 
Stevens Point, Wis. ; and Emily, of Glen- 
dale, Md. The father died in Calumet in 
his thirty-eighth year, and the mother still 
makes her home in that place. She courage- 
ously and energeticall}' worked to keep her 
family together, and provided for them until 
they had reached an age sufficient to care 
for themselves. 

The Doctor was only five years old 
when his father died. He began his educa- 
tion in Calumet Harbor, Wis., and in 1882 
entered the Oshkosh Normal School, where 
he pursued his studies for a year and a half, 
not attending continuously, however. He 



taught school for three years in his native 
county, and in the fall of 1884 entered Rush 
Medical College, of Chicago, from which he 
was graduated in February, 1887, receiving 
his diploma and the degree of M. D. In 
April following he came to Wittenberg, and 
began the practice of his profession, which 
he successfully continued until Jul}-, 1892. 

In August, of the same year. Dr. Roth- 
man was married in Omro, Wis., to Miss 
Lottie Lake, a native of Oshkosh, this State, 
and a daughter of Benjamin Lake. In 
March, 1893, he returned to Wittenberg, 
where he has since successfully engaged in 
the prosecution of his chosen profession, and 
by the members of the medical fraternity, 
as well as the general public, his skill and 
ability are acknowledged. He undoubtedly 
has a bright future before him. He deserves 
much credit for the success he has achieved, 
which is due to his ambition, his enterprise 
and progressive spirit. 

In politics. Dr. Rothman is a stanch 
Democrat, and is regarded as one of the 
leaders of his party in the county. He is 
now assistant postmaster of Wittenberg, 
and is a member of the board of pension ex- 
aminers. While not an office seeker, he 
takes a deep interest in the success and wel- 
fare of his party. On two occasions he de- 
clined a nomination for State Representa- 
tive, as he does not wish to allow politics to 
interfere with professional duties. All 
measures calculated to promote the welfare 
of town and county receive his support, and 
he is truly a public-spirited citizen whom 
the community could ill afford to lose. 



BARNEY S. PETERSON, one of the 
representative farmers of Scandi- 
navia township, Waupaca county, 
was last November (1894') elected 
sheriff of Waupaca county by the over- 
whelming niajorit}' of 1,800 votes, the larg- 
est majority which any candidate for that 
office has ever received in the history of the 
county. This unequalled mark of confi- 
dence may rightfully be accepted as the 
measure of esteem in which he is held by 
his fellow citizens. 

Mr. Peterson was born in Scandinavia 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 



757 



township. \\'aiipaca county, May 29, 1853, 
a son of Simon and Thorena (Hansen) 
Peterson, natives of Norway, wiio in 1S50 
emigrated to America and settled in Scan- 
dinavia township, thereby enrolHng them- 
selves among the first comers to the new 
country. Simon Peterson had in his nature 
the enduring and invincible qualities which 
go to make up the successful pioneer. He 
was a farmer by occupation, came to the 
United States in almost destitute circum- 
stances, and became one of the successful 
and influential settlers. In politics he was 
Republican, and in religious faith a Luther- 
an. Barney S. Peterson was educated in 
the common schools of Scandinavia town- 
ship, and aside from the foundation of an 
education, which he there received, he has 
been an extensive reader, thereby acquiring 
a valuable fund of information. He has also, 
by mingling among men. become a man of 
affairs. Until the newly-assumed duties of 
sheriff called him to the county seat, he has 
always led an agricultural life. He owns 
and operates the home farm of 160 acres, 
which is said to be one of the best farms in 
the township, not only in the natural fer- 
tility of the soil, but also in the high state of 
cultivation under which, by an intelligent 
mode of tillage, it has been brought. Mr. 
Peterson has lately engaged quite e.xtensively 
in the cultivation of potatoes, and at inter- 
vals he has also been a considerable buyer 
of that product for shipment. 

On October 25, 1882, Mr. Peterson was 
married, in Scandinavia townsiiip, to Amelia 
Larson, who is the daughter of Elling and 
Christina (Thorsonj Larson, Norwegians by 
birth, who in pioneer times emigrated to 
America and settled on unimproved land in 
Scandinavia township, where their daughter 
Amelia was born September 22, 1864. Mr. 
and Mrs. Peterson have three children: El- 
mer Sylvester, born January i, 1885; Thur- 
man Leroy, born October 17, 1888; and 
Lester Melford, born April 22, 1894. In 
politics Mr. Peterson is a strong adherent of 
the Republican faith, and in the township of 
his nativity he has been honored with a 
number of offices. He has been a member 
of the board of education in his district, 
and has served on the township board ot 



supervisors. He is an honored member of 
the I. O. O. F. Lodge, of which he is a past 
Grand. He and his wife are members of 
the Scandinavian Lutheran Church. Mr. 
Peterson is one of the progressive and repre- 
sentative men of Waupaca county, alive to 
its every 'interest, and ready to assist in 
any cause which may promote the general 
welfare. 



ARTHUR D. RICE, a prominent and 
' progressive citizen of Antigo, Lang- 
lade county, is a native of Massa- 
chusetts, born in September, 1 847, a 
grandson of Mikajah H. Rice, Sr. , who had 
a family of seven children, named respect- 
ively: Mikajah H., Jr., John, Sidney, Ed- 
ward, Priscilla, Mary and Sarah. The par- 
ents of these both died in Massachusetts, 
where the father served as a soldier in the 
war of the Revolution. 

Mikajah H. Rice, Jr., father of our sub- 
ject, was born in Massachusetts in i82r, 
and was reared to farming pursuits, which 
he made his life vocation. He married Miss 
Olive M. Lillie, who was born, in 1823, at 
Sandy Creek, N. Y., of English descent, and 
to this union were born five children, as fol- 
lows: Arthur D., Adelbert W., Walter C. 
(who died in 1863), Levi S. and Byron O. 
In 1852, the family came to Wisconsin, 
settling on a tract of wild land at Dayton, 
Waupaca county, where the parents contin- 
ued to live, clearing and cultivating a farm, 
until 1893, in which year the mother died, 
the father then selling out and removing to 
the city of Waupaca, where he passed from 
earth in 1895. During the Civil war he was 
a soldier in Company B, Thirty-eighth Wis. 
V. I., participated in one engagement, and 
was then transferred to the Invalid Corps, in 
which he remained until August, 1865, when 
he was honorably discharged. He was a 
stanch Republican, originally a Whig, a 
Good Templar, a member of the I. O. O. P., 
and a man respected by all. 

Arthur D. Rice, to whom this sketch 
more particularly relates, received a sound 
common-school training in Waupaca county. 
Wis. , being five years old when the family 
came from the East. He worked on the 



75S 



COMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ihome farm until his enlistment March 17, 
1864, in Company B, Thirty-eighth Wis. \. 
I., he being a mere boy at the time, but a 
few months over sixteen years of age. His 
regiment was attached to the Ninth Army 
Corps, and he was in the charge that was 
ordered after the firing of the mine at Peters- 
burg. In October following the Thirty- 
eighth was again in a hot fight on the W'eldon 
railroad, later in the reconnoitering force at 
Hatcher's Run, and then returned to the 
trenches in front of Petersburg, being almost 
continually under fire during the winter. 
On April 2, 1865, in an assault on Peters- 
burg, Mr. Rice received a gunshot wound in 
the left leg, about six inches above the knee, 
which necessitated amputation at the Divi- 
sion Hospital on the field. He was then 
taken to Lincoln Hospital, Washington, D. 
C, where he remained until discharged 
August 12, 1865. In all his severe exper- 
ience in the service he was once absent 
from his regiment on account of sickness, 
but was a faithful and courageous soldier 
up to the last. On his return home he at- 
tended the Spencerian Business College at 
Milwaukee, on leaving which institution he 
learned the cigar-making trade in that city. 
In the summer of 1868. he worked on a 
farm in Illinois, in that in and the following 
fall operating a threshing machine. In 
1869, he proceeded by team to Iowa, where, 
at Mason City, he was engaged in the man- 
ufacture of cigars, some four years, or until 
1873. when he returned to Waupaca, mar- 
ried and located on part of che old home- 
stead for a couple of years, at the end of 
which time he moved into the city of Wau- 
paca. Here he resided nine years, during 
two of which he served as city treasurer, and 
in November, 1882, he came to Antigo and 
clerked in a hardware store one year, after 
which he was elected clerk of the circuit 
court, filling the office some five years. In 
April, 1889, he was elected a justice of the 
peace, an incumbency he at present holds, 
and in January, 1891, he established his 
present prosperous and widely-patronised 
harness business. 

On April 26, 1873, Mr. Rice was united 
in marriage with Miss Mary C. Bailey, who 
was born in Waupaca county, in 1855, a 



daughter of John D. and Martha (Noyes) 
Bailey, respectable farming people, natives 
of Ohio, where they married, coming from 
there to Waupaca in an early day; they had 
a family of four children: Edward H., Mary 
C, Fred H., and Gertrude J. (now Mrs. 
John Magor, of Corinth, Iowa;. The moth- 
er of these died, and the father remained, 
but had no children by his second wife; he 
is a prominent Republican in political circles, 
holding various town offices. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Rice have come five children, namely: 
Erwin L. , Claude H., Ethel Gertrude, Fred 
M., and Hazel; of whom Erwin L., is a har- 
ness maker in his father's shop. Our sub- 
ject in politics is a Republican; socially, he 
has been a member of the I. O. O. '¥. 
twent\-five years, and has filled all the 
chairs, and is a member of the Grand Lodge 
of Wisconsin. He is a typically self-made 
man, and a hard worker in the interests of 
the city and county of his adoption. 



EUGENE B. THAYER, editor and 
proprietor of the Pi/ot-Rcz-ic-w, of 
Wausau, Marathon county, is a na- 
tive of Wisconsin, born at Princeton, 
Green Lake county, April 30, 1853. 

Lyman W. Thayer, father of our subject, 
was born in New York State, and became an 
attornev at law of prominence. When a 
young man he came to Wisconsin, and lived 
in Green Lake county. After being admitted 
to the bar, he practiced his profession about 
a year at Waupaca, Wis., thence moving, in 
1854, to Wausau, where he conducted a law 
office up to the time of his death. In 1855 
he was elected register of deeds for Mara- 
thon county on the Democratic ticket, serv- 
ing with characteristic fidelity and abilitj". 
In Marquette, Green Lake county, he was 
married to Miss Catherine Davis, a native of 
Wales, by whom he had a familj- of five chil- 
dren, two sons and three daughters, the sub- 
ject of these lines being the second eldest. 
The father died March 7, i860, at Wausau, 
and his widow followed May 17, 1891. 

At the early age of ten years Eugene B. 
Thayer entered the arena of journalism in 
the role of " devil " in the office of the Ct/i- 
tral Wisconsin, Wausau (at that time owned 



UOMMEMORATTVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 



759 



b}' Michael Stafford), remaining there three 
years, during which time he was solemnly 
inducted into the mysteries of the craft, com- 
ing out a full-fledged "jour." Mr. Thayer 
was then given a case in the office of the ]\'is- 
foiisiii River Pilot, with which publication 
he was identified in the capacities of compos- 
itor, job printer, etc., until the fall of 1872, 
when he moved to Menasha, to accept the 
position of foreman on the Menasha Press. 
At the end of six months, however, he re- 
turned to Wausau, and became foreman of 
the Central Wisconsin office, remaining in 
that incumbency three years, at the end of 
which time he purchased the job department 
of that office, and conducted the same until 
March, 1882. It was then that, as editor 
and proprietor, he established the Rcviei^' at 
W'ausau, and two years later, in 1884, he 
purchased the plant of the Wisconsin River 
Pilot, consolidating the two papers under 
the title of Pilot-Reviei^', which bright and 
newsy journal he has since conducted with 
eminent success, for a time in 1884 publish- 
ing a daily. The J'ilot-Revieiv is now an 
eight-column, eight-page paper, supporting 
the principles and interests of the Demo- 
cratic party, its circulation at present time 
being upward of 1,500, thereby ranking as, 
probably, the most widely-circulated paper 
in Marathon county, with a corresponding 
influence. Its proprietor and editor has the 
reputation of being a wide-awake, hustling 
newspaper man, one who knows how to keep 
his paper up to date and abreast of the times. 
On May 20, 1879, Mr. Thayer v\'as united 
in marriage with Miss Delia F. Gooding, and 
two children blessed their union : Robert G. , 
who died at the age of one year, and Delia 
E., now (1895) twelve years old. Politically, 
Mr. Thayer is both prominent and influen- 
tial, and on June 28, 1 893, his services in the 
cause, of wh^ich the Pilot-Reviei^' is an 
avowed chamj^on, were recognized by Presi- 
dent Cleveland, he receiving the appoint- 
ment of receiver of public moneys of the 
United States Land ,Office at Wausau, as 
well as United States Disbursing Agent. So- 
cially, Mr. Thayer is a member of Forest 
Lodge No. 1 30, F. & A. M. ; Wausau Chap- 
ter No. 51, R. A. M., and St. Omer Com- 
mandery K T. No. 19; member of the I. O. 



O. F. , Wausau Lodge No. 215, and Mara- 
thon Encampment No. 79. He is also a 
member of the Order of Elks, all of W'au- 
sau, Wisconsin. 



ASA D. BARNES, a prominent farm- 
er and horticulturist of Waupaca 
county, and proprietor of the Wau- 
paca Arctic Nursery and Fruit 
Farms, has an e.xtended acquaintance in 
Waupaca county. He was born in Le Roy 
township, Dodge Co., Wis., September 5, 
1852, a son of Horace Barnes, who was 
born in Onondaga county, N. Y., in 1822. 
Alanson Barnes, the grandfather of our 
subject, was a native of Connecticut, and 
the ancestry of the family can be traced 
back some two hundred and fifty years to 
what was known as the Scotch-English Re- 
bellion, when three brothers of the name of 
Barnes, leaders in the Rebellion, were cap- 
tured by the English and condemned to 
death. Two of them escaped, however, 
and came to America, and were the found- 
ers of the family to which our subject be- 
longs. Alanson Barnes married a Miss 
Hannah Sutherland, June 22, 1820, and 
they had two sons and two daughters in or- 
der named: Horace, Julia Ann, Henry and 
Mar_vette (all deceased). 

Horace Barnes, the oldest son of Alan- 
son Barnes, was married in Onondaga coun- 
ty, N. Y., about 1846, to Phoebe L. Higgins, 
daughter of William D. and Hannah Hig- 
gins. Samuel W. Soule. a nephew of Mrs. 
Barnes, was the original inventor of the type 
machine, the plans of which, and the first 
model, were made on Horace Barnes' farm 
in the town of Le Roy, Wis. Horace 
Barnes came with his bride to Dodge coun- 
ty. Wis., being one of the first settlers in 
Le Roy township, and he was the last man 
in the township to leave his original govern- 
ment entry. He lived on the land which 
he pre-empted for forty-five years, during 
which time he transformed it from a wilder- 
ness into a fine farm. He began his busi- 
ness career with a capital of $100, but as 
the years passed this was increased until he 
possessed a handsome competence. His 
late home was in the village of Oakfield, 



760 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Wis., where he lived retired until his death, 
March 18, 1895, at the age of nearly seventy- 
two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Horace 
Barnes were born eleven children: William 
D., who was the first white boy born in the 
town; Asa D., Horace, Henry B., Julius A., 
Flora A., Blanche D., Duane P., Phiebe I., 
and two who died in infancy. 

Asa D. Barnes was reared on the old 
home farm where he remained until he had 
attained his majority, assisting in the ard- 
uous task of clearing the land, and on his 
twenty-first birthday digging stone on the 
home farm all day. He pursued his studies 
until after he was si.xteen years of age, at- 
tending school through the winter seasons. 
On reaching his majority he started out in 
life for himself, and made his waj- to Nebras- 
ka, where he arrived November 10, 1873, 
with a capital of $28.40. On the ist of 
January follo\\'ing he filed a homestead en- 
try, and during the next fourj-ears devoted 
his time and attention to the development 
of a farm. Selling out on the expiration of 
that period he made other investments, pur- 
chasing while in Nebraska three farms. His 
first house was a dugout in the bank, and he 
planted the first orchard in Fillmore county, 
and also started the first nursery, but the 
latter was destroyed by the wind and 
drought. In 1880 he traded his land there 
for a farm in I^'ond du Lac county. Wis. , 
upon which he spent the two succeeding 
years, and then, on selling out, removed to 
the city of Fond du Lac. He was after- 
ward engaged in the nursery business in 
Waupun, Wis., and in 1883 went to South 
Dakota, and entering land on his two re- 
maining rights secured a timber claim and a 
pre-emption claim, to which he gave his per- 
sonal attention and supervision for two 
years. He still, however, had interests in 
Fond du Lac, and in 1885 returned to that 
city. While in South Dakota he acted as 
head foreman for a nursery firm of Atlantic, 
Iowa, with headquarters at Huron, S. Dak., 
and often had as many as from fifty to one 
hundred men in his charge. 

In 1887 Mr. Barnes disposed of his in- 
terests in Fond du Lac and came to Wau- 
paca county, purchasing his present farm, 
then a \\'ild tract of land which he has since 



greatly improved. The place adjoins the 
city limits of Waupaca, and establishing 
thereon a nursery, to which he gave the 
name of the ^^■ aupaca Arctic Nursery, he is 
now the owner of a fine fruit farm. There are 
excellent buildings and improvements upon 
the place, which add to its value and attract- 
ive appearance, and Mr. Barnes is recognized 
as authority on matters pertaining to horti- 
culture. He has 6,000 grape vines sold in 
the country on contract, and over 10,000 ap- 
ple trees in the State, from which he re- 
ceives a certain per cent of the fruit. In 
the grapes the planters guarantee him twelve 
pounds of grapes from every vine. He 
planted the tree from which he picked 
the apples that gave him the sweepstake 
premium at the World's Columbian Exposi- 
tion in 1893 for the best bushel of apples of 
any variety grown in Wisconsin. Throughout 
the year he has eight traveling men upon the 
road selling his nursery goods, and about 
twenty men upon his farm. For a number • 
of vears he has lectured at various places in 
Wisconsin for the Farmers' Institutes, and 
for the past twelve years he has been a 
member of the State Horticultural Society, 
and at present is a member of the National 
Association of Nurserymen. Mr. Barnes 
was the originator of the plan for placing 
small fruit and fruit trees, grape vines, etc., 
on contract with farmers, receiving for his 
pay produce from the trees and vines fur- 
nished. 

On September 30, 1S77, in Fillmore 
county. Neb., Mr. Barnes was united in 
marriage in his own home, to Miss Lucie J. 
Wheeler, daughter of Thomas J. and Polly 
S. (Cummingsj Wheeler. Her father was 
born in Genesee, N. Y. , and is an own 
cousin of ex- Vice-President Wheeler; her 
mother was also born in the Empire State, 
and they had a family of three children — 
Charles S. , Osro T. and Lucie J. Mr. and 
Mrs. Barnes have had three children, two 
now living — Roy Wheeler, a lad of eight 
years, and Ray Vernon, aged six years; Dee 
Vernon, the eldest, was drowned at the age 
of six years. 

Mr. Barnes was reared in the political 
faith of the Republican party, and for some 
time was one of its stalwart supporters, but 



COMMEMORATIVE BI06RAPEICAL RECORD. 



761 



for the past ten years has been a Prohibi- 
tionist, and is recognized as one of the most 
prominent men in his party in the State. 
In 1892 he declined the nomination for 
State treasurer, but in 1894 he was the Pro- 
hibition candidate for county treasurer, and 
has frequently served as delegate to the 
State conventions. He has been secretary 
and treasurer of the Waupaca County Farm- 
ers' Fire Insurance Company, and for three 
years served as one of its directors. So- 
cially, he is connected with the Masonic 
fraternity. His business career has been 
one of prosperity, and, though he started out 
in life with no capital save a young man's 
bright hope of the future and a determina- 
tion to succeed, he has steadily worked his 
way upward to a position of affluence. He 
is the senior executor of his father's estate. 



M 



ICHAEL GORMAN. Among the 
pioneer settlers of Lebanon town- 
ship, Waupaca county, this gen- 
tleman is especially worthy of no- 
tice in a work of this kind. He was one of 
the first men to locate within its borders, 
arriving in 1856, and, being possessed of a 
rare amount of energy, proved a most valued 
member of the young and rapidly-growing 
community. He is also one of the pioneers 
of the State, for he was farming near Mil- 
waukee as early as the year 1840. He was 
born in 18 16 in the parish of Broadford, 
town of Garisky, County Kildare, Ireland, 
to Simon and Bridget (Kenna) Gorman, the 
latter of whom died in the Emerald Isle. 
In 1836, in company with his father and 
sister, Elizabeth, Michael Gorman sailed for 
America, reaching New York after a voyage 
\. of seven weeks and four days. His father 
died in Albany, N.Y. , and his sister passed 
away in Cedarburg, \\'isconsin. 

For two years our subject remaincil in 
New York State, most of that time being a 
resident of Albany, then a city of very small 
proportions. In 1838 he arrived in Chi- 
cago, at that time a mere hamlet, contain- 
ing a few small stores and one small Cath- 
olic Ctiurch, and here he remained two 
years, engaged most of that time as super- 
intendent of work on the Illinois canal, also 



acting in various other ways for the con- 
tractor on that work. While there he vis- 
ited the old "Block House," which has be- 
come of historic interest. In 1 840 Mr. Gor- 
man removed to Milwaukee, Wis., being 
conveyed thither on the steamer "James- 
Madison," which \\'as the first steamer used 
between Chicago and Milwaukee. At the 
latter place there were then no docks, and 
a small steamer, the "Trowbridge," was- 
used to convey the passengers and freight 
from the "James Madison" to the shore,, 
the passengers walking to the land on a 
plank from the "Trowbridge." While our 
subject was passing down the plank he fell 
into the water, and thus his first introduc- 
tion into Wisconsin was somewhat damp. 
At once making inquiries of a settler for a 
stopping place, he was directed by him to 
an oak tree, some sixty rods awaj', near 
which he was told he would find a hotel, the 
"Milwaukee House." He followed the 
directions, finding only a small path leading 
to it, and finally came to a man milking a 
cow on the steps leading to the house, while 
the cow was eating grass between the steps; 
he proved to be the landlord. Here Mr. 
Gorman remained all night, and the next 
morning started out to locate land, about 
two days afterward entering eight)' acres of 
land seven miles from Milwaukee,- in the 
town of Granville. He remained in Mil- 
waukee, however, the four following seasons, 
most of the time engaged in making brick 
during the summer time, and at other em- 
ployment in the winter time. 

Mr. Gorman took up his residence on 
the above-mentioned land in 1844, the year 
of his marriage, which event occurred in 
the town of Granville, the bride being Miss 
Catherine Smith, a native of County Meath, 
Ireland, born in 18 16, and who came with 
her parents to the United States in 1836. 
To this \\orthy couple nine children were 
born, a brief record of whom is as follows: 
Simon, married and has five children, and 
lives in Thorp, Clark Co., Wis., though for 
a time he was engaged in merchandising, 
having the only store in Ironwood, Wis. : 
Mathew is married, and operates a portion 
of the home farm; Bridget is the wife of 
John Boyle, a farmer and lumber-dealer of 



763 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Prentice, Wis., and they have five children; 
Catherine, who died leaving five children, 
was the wife of Garret Sullivan, a merchant 
of New London, Wis. ; Mary is the wife of 
John Monagan, a lumberman of Oshkosh, 
Wis., and they have five children; Rosey is 
the wife of William Ouigle}', a horseman, 
of Boston, Mass., and they have four chil- 
dren; Margaret, who died leaving four chil- 
dren, was the wife of \\'i]liam Locheron, a 
farmer of Lebanon township, Waupaca 
county; Michael died at the age of twelve 
3"ears; Elizabeth, the wife of Charles <.}uig- 
ley, a farmer of Lebanon township, Wau- 
paca county; Mrs. Gorman was called to 
her final rest Januar}- 22, 1890, at the age 
of seventy-four years, her death being caused 
by La Grippe. 

In 1846 Mr. Gorman sold his farm near 
MiKvaukee and removed to Cedarburg, Wis., 
where he purchased 320 acres of land, still 
in its primitive condition. There he began 
speculating in land to a great extent, a busi- 
ness in which he still continues with excel- 
lent success. On selling out in Cedarburg, 
in 1856, he had one hundred acres of his 
farm cleared and well improved. At that 
time he came to Lebanon township, Wau- 
paca county, where he had previously bought 
280 acres, to which he added until at one 
time he owned 1,680 acres, besides which 
he had other propert\- in the State. He has 
since developed 200 acres of his farm, and 
it has become one of the most productive 
and best improved farms of the county, 
equipped with commodious and substantial 
buildings, and supplied with modern ma- 
chinery, and all the other accessories which 
go to make up a model Nineteenth-centurji.^. 
farm. Owing to his sound judgment and 
good business ability, his dealings in real 
■estate have been very successful, placing 
him among the well-to-do citizens of the 
county. 

Politically Mr. Gorman is a stanch sup- 
porter of the Democratic party, and his 
worth and ability received due acknowledg- 
ment from the hands of his fellow citizens, 
who in 1872 elected him to the General As- 
sembly of Wisconsin, where he served in a 
manner creditable to himself and satisfactory 
to his constituents and all concerned. He 



has held various local offices of honor and 
trust, including that of chairman of the 
town board and clerk of his township, and 
since his arrival has continuously held the 
position of justice of the peace. Although 
his own educational privileges were very 
meager, he has ever taken an active interest 
in the schools of the county, and he erected 
the first school house in his neighborhood, a 
log building 6x8 feet, with a birch roof, 
and as clerk of the district hired the teacher. 
In religious faith Mr. Gorman and family 
are members of the Catholic Church. 



ALPHONZO CROFOOT, one of the 
intelligent and substantial citizens of 
Buena \'ista township. Portage coun- 
ty, is a native of Michigan. He was 
born at the village of Burr Oak October 3, 
1845, a son of Erastus \\'. and Lophelia 
(Moss) Crofoot, both of whom were natives 
of New York. 

Erastus Crofoot was by trade a cooper. 
After li\ing for a few years in Michigan, he 
in October, 1855, migrated to Wisconsin, 
consuming eighteen days on the trip. First 
locating on a farm in Buena Vista township, 
he worked out as a farm hand for a j-ear or 
two. He bought ten acres of land which he 
afterward sold, and for a time was engaged in 
farming on shares. Then he bought forty 
acres of wild land in Almond township, upon 
which stood a small frame building, 16 x 24, 
and here he lived— for three years, after 
which he became a tenant again in 'Btf?!^'''" " 
Vista township for two years. About this 
time, in 1864, his son, Alphonzo, bought 
eighty acres of wild land in Buena Vista, and 
on this land the father died May i, 1893. 
He was buried in Liberty Corners Cemetery, 
and the mother erected a large monument 
to his memorj'. Erastus W. Crofoot was a 
devout Christian, and an earnest worker in 
the Baptist Church. In politics he was a 
Republican, and, as a citizen, he was highly 
esteemed. His children were as follows: 
Fannie Maria married Squires P. Thorn, of 
Buena Vista township, and they have four 
children, namely: Luella Agnes, wife of 
Warren New.by, a wood dealer, of Stevens 
Point, and mother of two children — Osmer 



Ik.^^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



763 



P. and Merle Mildred; Milton, at home; 
Mary, wife of Edwin Myers, a farmer, of 
Buena Vista township, and mother of two 
children — Mina May and Fannie Melissa; 
and Edna May, wife of W. L. Richardson, 
of Buena Vista. Alphonzo, the second child, 
is the subject proper of this sketch. Sarah 
Ann, the third child, became the wife of 
Joseph Pueriea, of Buena Vista township, 
and they have had three children, namely: 
Ulysses J., who is married and has two chil- 
dren — George and Raymond Joseph; Rose 
Amelia, wife of of Charles Newby, of Wau- 
toma, and mother of one child — Cecil Bur- 
della; and Moses Bertrand, a farmer, at ' 
home. Modestus Mirancy, the fourth child, | 
who is a farmer of Buena \'ista, married 
Amarilla Wachter, and has two children — 
Lillie Blanche and Lucy Eleanor. 

Alphonzo Crofoot received his education 
principall}' before he was fifteen, for at that 
age he began to work out by the month. 
Three years later, in 1864, he enlisted in 
Company A, of the Forty-second Wis. V. I. , 
which did garrison duty at Cairo, 111. WJiile 
there he was seized with typhoid fever, and 
did not recover from its effects until long 
after his discharge, June 20, 1865. He at- 
tended school one winter, worked in a saw- 
mill ten months, and then went into the 
woods winters and worked on the farm 
summers until his marriage, December 11, 
1870, to Miss Emma Jane Ward. She was 
born in Nauvoo, 111., December 10, 1851, 
and is the only child of Joseph and Mary 
Ann (Brown) Ward. 

Joseph Ward was one of the most promi- 
nent citizens of Buena Vista township. He 
was born in Badby, Northamptonshire, 
England, July 16, 1831, a son of Michael 
Ward, a farm laborer, who was born March 
4, 1783. Michael Ward started for Amer- 
ica in the spring of 1851, with his wife and 
three of his eight children, Elizabeth, Will- 
iam and Joseph, in a sailing vessel bound 
from Liverpool to Baltimore. The vessel, 
being overburdened, sprang a leak and was 
obliged to return to Liverpool. Michael 
Ward was so seriously affected by seasick- 
ness that he died soon after the vessel 
touched at Liverpool, and was buried in 
that city, the three children afterward mak- 



ing the ocean voyage successfully. A brief 
record of the eight children is as follows: 
John, born April 13, 181 i, married in Eng- 
land and remained there; Elizabeth, born 
January 21, 181 3, was married in England 
to a Mr. Wotts, and in 1851 came to Amer- 
ica along with her brother Joseph; at Nau- 
voo, 111., she married, for her second hus- 
band, Thomas Brown, a farmer, with whom 
she came, in 1856, to Buena Vista township, 
and here she died January 20, 1866, and is 
buried in Lone Pine Cemetery; Mary Ann, 
born August 20, 18 i 5, married and remained 
in England; Sarah, born February 17, t8i8, 
reared a family, and died in her native land; 
Charlotte, born December 5, 1822, is mar- 
ried and living in England; Emma, born 
January 11, 1826, married in England; 
William, born January 11, 1829, who in 
185 I came to America with his wife Isabelle, 
is a local minister of the Free Methodist 
Church at Nauvoo, 111. (he has seven chil- 
dren: John Wesley, Mary Eliza, William 
Henry, Charles Betson, Fannie Maria, Ann 
Isabelle and David Thomas); Joseph is the 
father of Mrs. Crofoot. 

Joseph Ward was married February 9, 
1 85 I, at St. Nicholas Church, Liverpool, to 
Miss Mary Ann Brown, who was born in 
Stokeline, O.xfordshire, England, February 
22, 1 8 18. Rev. J. F. Ames, the officiating 
clergyman, at this one ceremony united 
nineteen couples. The voyage to America 
was a stormy one, and was si.\ weeks in 
duration. From Baltimore Joseph Ward 
came with his wife directly to Nauvoo, 111., 
where he purchased and for five years con- 
ducted a farm, at the same time also follow- 
ing the trade of a shoemaker, which he had 
learned in England. In October, 1856, he 
sold his farm and made a nine-days' journey 
by wagon northward to Plover township, 
Portage county. Wis. Renting a house, he 
teamed supplies during the ensuing winter 
from Gill's Landing to Plover. For a year 
he was a farm tenant in Plover township, 
and for two years in Buena V'ista township. 
He then purchased forty acres of wild land 
in Buena Vista township, building a sub- 
stantial log cabin thereon, which stands to- 
day, and in which he lived for twenty years, 
until he built the present home of Mr. and 



764 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mrs. Alphonzo Crofoot. Mr. Ward died 
August 17, 1883, and was buried in Liberty 
Corners Cemetery. While living in Plover 
township he joined the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and until his death continued an 
active and devout member, serving as dea- 
con in the church, superintendent and 
teacher of the Sunday-school, and, in fact, 
holding nearly every office in the church. 
He was dearly beloved, honored and es- 
teemed by all who knew him; an especial 
friend to the young, he had a cheerful greet- 
ing for all. He held nearly every office in 
the gift of his neighbors, being for many 
years township chairman, township treas- 
urer, supervisor and assessor. For eight or 
ten years he served as justice of the peace. 
His loss to the church and the community 
was great, and one that could not readily be 
repaired. 

After his marriage Mr. Crofoot lived for 
a year with his father-in-law, and then moved 
to his own farm, but after the death of his 
father-in-law he returned to the Ward home- 
stead, where he has since resided. Mrs. 
Ward died February 12, 1 891, after an eight- 
days' illness with typhoid-pneumonia, ' and 
was buried beside her husband. She was a 
kind mother and a Christian woman. Mr. 
Crofoot is, in politics, a Republican, and 
has served as side supervisor. He is a 
strong advocate of temperance, and in re- 
ligious belief is a Protestant; he is highly 
esteemed by all who know him for his many 
excellent qualities of mind and heart. 

WILLIAM CAREW, overseer of the 
Poor House at Little Wolf, Wau- 
paca county, is a native of Royal- 
ton, born February 25, i860, a 
son of James and Mary .\nn (Doran) Carew, 
a sketch of whom immediately follows this. 
Our subject was reared on the home 
farm, receiving but few educational advant- 
ages as he had early in life to " get into har- 
ness," at the age of seventeen years com- 
mencing for himself; but being unable to 
earn more than $26 per month, he made his 
home with his parents until October 20, 
1887, the date of his marriage with Miss 
Lyda Hanna, who was born December 8, 



1864, daughter of Henry and Bridget (Duni- 
gau) Hanna. At the time of his marriage 
he was " driving logs " on the river, but he 
then bought 113 acres of land in Royalton 
township, Waupaca county, sixty of which 
had been improved. Here he was engaged 
in farming until January i, 1894, at which 
time he took possession of the office he now 
holds, having been elected thereto in the 
preceding November, and re-elected in the 
fall of 1894. To Mr. and Mrs. William 
Carew have been born four children, their 
names and dates of birth being as follows: 
Henry, born July 3, 1889; James, August 
13, 1891; Frank, February 23, 1893, and 
Helen, April 16, 1895. Politically, our 
subject is a Democrat; socially, he is a 
member of the Modern Woodmen, and he 
and his wife are identified with the Roman 
Catholic Church. 

Jamks C.\rew, father of William Carew, 
the subject of the above sketch, was born in 
1833, in Canada West (now Province of 
Ontario), a son of Michael and Ann (Hogan) 
Carew, the former of whom was born in 
County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1874, a son 
of Jeremiah Carew, whose wife's name was 
Devine. Michael and Ann Carew were the 
parents of children as follows: Bridget, 
Patrick, Michael, John, William, Lewis 
Fortitude (who was born at sea while the 
family were on their way from Ireland to 
America; the ship captain's name being 
Lewis, and that of the vessel " Fortitude, " 
this ocean-born child was given the two 
names), James and Ann. The family lo- 
cated in Canada, where, in what is now On- 
tario, the father purchased land and followed 
agricultural pursuits till in 1852, accom- 
panied by his wife, son James and daughter, 
he came to Wisconsin, settling in Waupaca 
county, where, in Mukwa township, he 
bought 160 acres of wild land, on which not 
a stick had been cut, the woods still teem- 
ing with wild animals, such as bears, deer, 
panthers and wolves, while the Indian jeal- 
ously watched the encroachment of the 
whites on his aboriginal hunting grounds. 
But the work of clearing the forest for a 
new home was at once commenced, and in 
course of time, where once was a howling 
wilderness, were to be seen fruitful fields. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1^5 



with substantial and commodious farm 
houses. Here Michael Carew died in 1869, 
and his wife in 1873, at the age of eighty- 
four years. 

James Carew remained on the home 
farm in Mukwa township, Waupaca count}', 
until his marriage, in 1852, to Miss Mary 
Ann Doran, also a native of Canada West, 
born within two miles of where he himself 
first saw the light. Mr. Carew and his 
young wife then moved into Royalton town- 
ship, Waupaca county, where he located 
105 acres of land on the banks of the Bear 
Lake, a well-known summer resort, which 
fact enhances the value of his property. 
This land Mr. Carew improved and lived on 
until 1 888^ when he moved into New Lon- 
don, in which city he lived retired about a 
couple of years, at the end of that time tak- 
ing up his residence in Oshkosh, but in 1892 
moved to Royalton village, where he had 
purchased a home. Here he is now spend- 
ing the declining years of his life, being 
cared for by his daughters, Lizzie E. and 
Fannie C, who are engaged in dress mak- 
ing. Mrs. Carew died in 1868, and was 
buried at Lebanon, Waupaca county. They 
had a family of children as follows: Frank, 
a farmer in Little Wolf township, Waupaca 
county, is married, and has five children, 
Mary. Thomas, Agnes, Catherine and Lillie; 
John, also a farmer in Little Wolf town- 
ship, is also married and has five children, 
Nellie, Ernest, Grace, Alice and Alvin; 
Mary (deceased several years ago); Lizzie 
E., born in 1858, is living with her father; 
William, a sketch of whom appears above; 
Fannie C, born in 1862, is living with her 
father; and Catherine, born in 1864, now 
Mrs. Edward Roman, of Royalton. 

On September i, 1864, James Carew, 
father of this family, enlisted in Company 
F, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, and 
was mustered in at Madison, Wis., from 
which point the regiment was ordered to 
Alexandria, Va. and Fort Lyons, where it 
was stationed till July, 1865; Mr. Carew 
was then honorably discharged and sent 
home. During his service he suffered from 
a sickness that he has never yet recovered 
from, but he receives a pension from the 
government. Politically, he is a life-long 



Democrat; socially, he is affiliated with the 
G. A. R., Royalton Post No. 265, of which 
he is chaplain, and he is a member of the 
Roman Catholic Church. 



CP. E. LUTZ, superintendent of the 
M. L. O. H. at Wittenberg, Sha- 
wano count}', was born in Germany, 
June 14, 1849, and came of a promi- 
nent family there. His father. Judge Ferdi- 
nand Lutz, was a man of good education 
and fine position. He died in Germany, in 
185 I, and his wife survived until 1894. In 
the family were twelve children, five sons 
and seven daughters. One son, Ferdinand, 
was first mate on the vessel "Veritas," 
which went down on the Chinese coast with 
all on board. Two other brothers, Herman 
and Bernard, were officers in the Austrian 
army, and the fourth brother, Adolph, was 
a physician. 

Mr. Lutz was the eleventh child of the 
family. At the age of four he entered the 
kindergarten, and at ten entered college at 
Goettingen, the University of Hanover, and 
began studying languages. When ho was 
fifteen years of age his sailor brother re- 
turned home and stimulated our subject's 
desire to see the world, so he shipped from 
Hamburg on a brig as a cabin boy, and for 
four years followed the sea. He visited 
Cape Town, Madras, Rio Janeiro, Porto 
Rico, and most of the large seaports of Eu- 
rope, and has therefore seen much of the 
world. He had intended going to a naviga- 
tion school, but the political difficult}' in 
1866 in Hanover led to the alteration of his 
plans. Owing to his father's merits, his 
widowed mother and her family were sup- 
ported by the King of Hanover, George I. 
Instead of entering the Prussian navy, Mr. 
Lutz came to the United States, sailing 
from Bremen in November, 1868, on the 
"Columbus," which reached New York 
after one hundred and si.xteen days. He 
paid the expenses of the voyage with money 
which he had himself earned. His destina- 
tion was White Hall Station, near Allen- 
town, Penn., where a friend had told him 
he could secure work. He was employed in 
a stone quarry for a month, and also worked 



766 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 



on a gravel train, after which he went to 
New York and clerked in a grocery and 
baker\'. He was employed in the same 
capacity in Newark, N. J., and in June, 
1 869, went to Lyons, Iowa, where two of his 
former shipmates were then living. He first 
found employment in a sawmill and lumber 
jard, but after a short time became an in- 
structor in a Lutheran school. In the fall 
of 1 8/ I he entered a normal school of Addi- 
son, 111., where he was graduated in June, 
1873, and was thereby fitted for teaching in 
the Lutheran Church Congregation School, 
near ^^'est Point, Neb. He remained in 
charge of that school from September, 1873, 
until Easter, 1875. 

During his residence there Professor 
Lutz was married March 30, 1875, at Stan- 
ton, Neb., to Augusta Schultze, a native of 
Prussia, born November 17, 1855. She 
came to the United States with her parents 
in 1870. Her father, Carl L. Schultze, was 
a carriage and wagon manufacturer in his 
native land, but in this country followed 
farming. Eight children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Lutz: Paulina and Theresa, 
at home; Edmund, who died at the age of 
two years; Adolph; Ferdinand, Carl, Doro- 
thea and Alphonso, still under the parental 
roof. 

In April, 1875, Professor Lutz accepted 
a position as teacher of a parochial school 
in Cleveland, Ohio, at that time a branch of 
Zion Congregation, where he remained for 
thirteen years, after which he spent two 
jears at the head of a school in Bedford, 
Ohio. In 1884 he revisited Germany, spend- 
ing three months amidst the scenes and 
friends of his youth. On the 5th of August, 
1889, he accepted a call to Sheboygan, 
^^'is. , and there continued until February 
24, 1892, when he came to Wittenberg, 
having accepted a call as Superintendent of 
the Martin Luther Orphans' Home. This 
was built in 1885 by the Lutheran Church, 
and is supported by it. Here one hundred 
and twelve orphans are cared for until the 
age of eighteen. It is an excellent institu- 
tion, well worthy the support and com- 
mendation of all good people, and the 
scholars are making rapid progress under 
the able management of Mr. Lutz. He and 



his wife are faithful members of the Luther- 
an Church. He is a highly educated man, 
and in his chosen work is meeting with e.x- 
cellent success. 



OLE H. I\"ERSON, who is success- 
fullj' engaged in farming, was born 
in the township which is still his 
home, Scandinavia, Waupaca coun- 
ty, on the 28th of January, 1859, and is de- 
scended from Norwegian and Swedish an- 
cestry. His father, Hans Iverson, was a 
native of Norway, and after he had attained 
to years of maturity, he married Miss Marj- 
Anderson, who was born in Sweden. He 
learned the blacksmith's trade, and during 
the winter season followed that occupation, 
while in the summer months he devoted his 
time and energies to agricultural pursuits. 
He was one of the first settlers of Scandi- 
navia township, and was accounted one of 
its most successful farmers: but of late years 
he has laid aside business cares, and is now 
living retired, enjoying the fruit of his former 
toil. He holds membership in the Luther- 
an Church. In his political views he is a 
Republican, and bj' that party has been 
elected to several local offices, the duties of 
which he has discharged with promptness 
and fidelity. 

Ole H. Iverson conned his lessons in 
the public schools, and throughout his life 
has followed the occupation to which he 
was reared, that of farming. Within the 
last two years, however, he has had other 
business enterprises, although he still owns 
and operates the old home farm of eighty 
acres, which yields to him a good income in 
return for the labor he bestows upon it. In 
1 89 1 he embarked in mercantile business, 
but after a short time disposed of his store. 
In the spring of 1892 he purchased a hotel 
in Scandinavia, which he has since success- 
fully conducted, making it one of the popu- 
lar hostelries in this section of the State. 
He is a genial, pleasant host, who makes 
his guests feel at ease, and the hotel is man- 
aged as a first-class establishment. 

Another important event in the life of 
Mr. Iverson took place on the 29th of 
August, 1S94, when was celebrated his mar- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



767 



riage with Miss Clara Moe, the wedding 
ceremony being performed in Milwaukee, 
Wis. The lad}' was born in Amherst town- 
ship, Portage Co., Wis., on the 12th of 
July, I 864, and in her new home has made 
many friends. Both Mr. and Mrs. Iverson 
belong to the Lutheran Church, and in so- 
cial circles they hold an enviable position. 
He also affiliates with the Independent Or- 
der of Odd Fellows, and his political views 
are in harmony with the principles of the 
Republican party, by which he was elected 
to the office of assessor of his township, a 
position which he filled with credit to him- 
self and satisfaction to his constituents. 

Mr. Iverson has inherited some of the 
best characteristics of his ancestors, being 
of an industrious and frugal disposition, and 
possessed of an enterprise and determina- 
tion that make him carry forward to suc- 
cessful completion whatever he undertakes. 



FF. GREEN is the popular and effi- 
cient postmaster of Shawano, Sha- 
wano county. He was born in 
Brownville, Jefferson Co., N. Y. , 
August 24, 1835, and is a son of Asaph and 
Lydia (Kilsaurn) Green, who were natives 
of New Hampshire and New York respect- 
ively. The grandfather was Benjamin Green, 
and the great-grandfather was killed by the 
Indians while working in his cornfield. 

Asaph Green was a cooper by trade. He 
and his wife traveled life's journey together 
for fifty-seven years, and their golden wed- 
ding was celebrated July 4, 1881, in Chil- 
ton, W'is., by a large circle of friends. 
Among the presents given them on that oc- 
casion was a $45 cane, which is now in pos- 
session of our subject. Their four children 
were all born during the first five years and 
three months of their married life, and no 
death occurred in the family until the father 
passed away in Chilton, July 8, 1881, at the 
age of eighty-one years. His wife died at 
the home of our subject August 30, 1890. 
Their children are Maria, who became the 
wife of James Hall, the former dying in Mil- 
waukee, W'is., the latter in Ogdensburg, 
N. Y. ; Amelia, wife of Daniel Sloper, died in 
Waupun, Wis.; F. F. is the next younger; 



Ellen became the wife of Dr. Lacount, and 
died in Chilton. Wis. The father of this 
family was a man of great vitalit}', and posy 
sessed of strong natural intellect, and though 
his educational privileges were limited, in the 
school of experience he gained much prac- 
tical knowledge. In politics he was a Demo- 
crat, and a leader of his party, manifesting 
deep interest in its success, and keeping well 
informed on the issues of the day. In 1855 
he was elected to the New York Legislature, 
in i860 represented Calumet county, A\'is., 
in the General Assembly of this State, was 
the first police justice of Chilton, Wis., and 
was deputy clerk of Calumet county for 
thirty-two years. He was almost continuous- 
ly in office, was a prominent and influential 
man, and his name is inseparably connected 
with the history of this State. When past 
the age of eight}' years he attended a dance, 
in which he participated with as much \'igor 
as many young men of twenty-five. He con- 
ducted the " Chilton House " at a very early 
day, and with political, business and social 
life was prominently identified. 

When F. F. Green was eight years of age 
his parents removed to St. Lawrence coun- 
ty, N. Y. , and on the 19th of April, 1856, 
he came to Wisconsin, locating first at Wau- 
pun, and removing thence to Chilton. There 
he joined his father in the hotel business as 
a partner in August, 1858. He was married 
August 26, i860, in Stockbridge, Calumet 
Co., Wis., to Mary A. Jones, who was born 
in Oswego county, N. Y. , June 19, 1842, a 
daughter of Samuel and Laura (Potter) 
Jones, who were early settlers of Ripon, 
Wis., also of Fond du Lac county, and of 
Graysville, Calumet county. 

Mr. Green continued in the hotel busi- 
ness until 1865, then for a year ran a stage 
between Chilton and Fond du Lac, Wis. On 
the 3d of July, 1869, he removed to Rock- 
land township. Brown Co., Wis., and began 
dealing in lumber, for the location in which 
he settled contained much pine timber. He 
built a sawmill, and for two years engaged 
in its operation, in partnership with Henry 
Green, a half-uncle, and, by good manage- 
ment and well-directed efforts, accumulated 
some capital. At the end of two years he 
bought out his uncle, and three months after 



768 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



misfortune overtook him, his mill being de- 
stroyed by fire, with a loss of $5,000. He 
at once rebuilt, and later sold out, and in the 
winter of 187 1-2 lived at Chilton and at 
Brillion, Wis. In the latter place, on the 
1 9th of May, 1872, he began business as pro- 
prietor of the "Brillion House," and suc- 
cessfully conducted the. hotel business until 
July 12, 1880, when he sold out, and on the 
13th of July removed to Hunting, Shawano 
county. There for five years he was engaged 
in merchandising, and also conducted a 
boarding house. In 1885 he was appointed 
post trader as a silent partner of W. H. 
Stacy, at Keshena, Wis., where he remained 
four years, trading with the Menominee In- 
dians. On the 19th of October, 1889, he 
came to Shawano, Wis., where he has since 
resided, and on the 12th of January, 1894, 
was appointed postmaster. 

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Green num- 
bers the following members: Frances, wife of 
W. D. Ellsworth, of Marenisco, Mich. ; 
Asaph, a bookkeeper, of Shawano; F. F. , 
also of Shawano: and Jennie, at home. 
Laura and George B. died in childhood. In 
his political views Mr. Green is a stanch 
Democrat, who takes a deep interest in the 
growth and success of his party. Socially, 
he is connected with the Masonic Lodge and 
with the Knights of Pythias fraternity. Dur- 
ing much of his life he has been engaged in 
the hotel business, which he is now follow- 
ing in Shawano, and has made it a profitable 
undertaking, with the assistance of his es- 
timable wife. They do all in their power to 
promote the comfort of their guests, and have 
made many warm friends among their pat- 
rons. Mr. Green is a man of genuine worth, 
of honorable business dealing, and his public 
and private life are alike above reproach. 



AMUND O. HOLE. The name of 
this gentleman is well and favorably 
known throughout New Hope town- 
ship, Portage county, where he is 
prosperously engaged in farming. He is a 
native of Norway, born in Svastom, Gaus- 
dal, June 8, 1839, and is a son of Ole Tor- 
gerson and Anna E. (Langset) Hole, also 
natives of Gausdal, Norway, the father born 



in 1795, and the mother May 31, 1809. 
The grandfather, Torger Hole, who was a 
farmer of Gausdal, died on the old home- 
stead about 1850, and his wife had preceded 
him to the home beyond. The father, who 
was a highly-educated man, was engaged in 
teaching for man\' years, and was also very 
prominent in Church matters. He died in 
1 84 1 in the old home in Norway. 

Our subject is the fourth in the family of 
six children. Even O., born November 22, 
1 83 I, enlisted in the Twenty-eighth Wis. V. 
I., and served throughout the Civil war; he 
was twice married, his first union being with 
Ann Oleson, who died just after his return 
from the armj'; his second wife. Bertha, 
now makes her home in Oconomowoc, Wis., 
where he was clerking in a mercantile store 
at the time of his death. Christian, born 
April 18, 1834, died in Gausdal, in Septem- 
ber of the same year. Karelious, born in 
June, 1836, also died in Gausdal in infancy. 
Ole O., born February 8, 1841, was mar- 
ried in New Hope, October 8, 1865, to 
Eliza Gunderson, and after her death wed- 
ded Maria, widow of Nels Anderson; they 
now make their home in Waupaca, Wis. 
Bernt, born September 10, 1845, died in 
lola March 9, 1867. 

After the death of the father of our sub- 
ject, his mother was married in Gausdal, in 
1846, to Johan O. Hole, and later sold her 
life's interest in the old homestead to an 
uncle of our subject, Johannes Hole, for 
$800. The family decided to emigrate to 
America, and in 1848 they left Gausdal with 
the intention of going to Hamburg, Ger- 
many, where they were to take passage for 
the United States, but learned after reach- 
ing Drammon, Norway, that that port was 
blockaded, owing to the war which was then 
in progress. After waiting six weeks in 
Drammon for a vessel, they embarked on 
the " Erek Boreson," under Captain Hazel- 
burg, which reached New York after a long 
voyage of about nine weeks. They went bj' 
steamer to Albany, and from there by the 
canal to Buffalo, being towed by horses, and 
were two weeks in reaching that city, where 
they took a lake steamer to Milwaukee. At 
the end of three days they first set foot on 
Wisconsin soil, and in Milwaukee hired a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



769 



team to convey them to Ixonia, Jefferson 
Co., Wisconsin. 

In Ixonia the step-father pnrchased forty 
acres of land, on which was a small log" 
cabin, paying $205 for the same, and soon 
after locating there most of the family were 
taken ill with fever and ague. They were 
in very straightened circumstances, being 
without flour for three weeks, with nothing 
to live on but onions and milk. For nearly 
seven years they continued to reside on that 
place, when, on selling out to William Seg- 
ner for $400, the}' came to New Hope town- 
ship, where they purchased 120 acres. The 
journey was made in two covered wagons 
drawn by ox-teams, driving their stock, and 
they were nine days in reaching New Hope 
township, where the}' located on their land 
in Section 16, but were compelled to live in 
the wagons until a log house could be built. 
In 1S64, in connection with his step-son 
Ole, Johan O. Hole began merchandising 
in lola. Wis., and later disposed of his farm, 
which then consisted of 200 acres. He is at 
present a land speculator in Tower, Minn. 
The mother of our subject died in New Hope, 
May 4, 1 8S4. 

Aniund O. Hole had but little oppor- 
tunity for securing an education, most of 
which was obtained in Norway, as he was 
only able to attend school two weeks after 
coming to Amer'ica, so that he is practically 
self-educated, most of his knowledge being 
gained from experience and observation in 
later xears. He was nine years old when 
his parents located in Ixonia, where, later, 
he was employed as a farm hand, and after 
the removal of the family to New Hope 
township, remained with them lor two 
years, when he went to work for C. Y. 
Reed, a saleratus manufacturer of Ocono- 
mowoc. Wis., with whom he remained for 
two years. He was then employed in a 
general store for ten months, receiving only 
$8 per month, and on leaving that position 
there was $2 still due him. While with 
Mr. Reed he had received $14 per month. 

In October, i860, in company with 
three companions, Mr. Hole started for the 
plantation of Horace B. Tibbitts in Coral 
Parish, La. At Oconomowoc, Wis., they 
boarded a train for St. Louis, where they 



embarked on a boat for Lake Providence, 
La. , but on reaching that place were 
obliged to go to Vicksburg to see the head 
agent. On the plantation he was engaged 
most of the time in driving a six-mule team, 
for which he received $1 per day and board 
until January, 1861, when his wages were 
reduced to seventy-five cents per day. In 
the following February a law was passed in 
the South prohibiting the hiring of any 
Northern help, after which our subject was 
offered $30 per month to go to New Orleans 
and join the Southern army, but, being loyal 
to his adopted country, he refused. 

^^'ith his companions Mr. Hole then re- 
turned to the home of his brother in Ocon- 
omowoc, with whom he remained a short 
time. Prior to going South he had pur- 
chased eighty acres of government land 
with $100, which was left him from his 
father's estate, and now began clearing and 
cultivating his land, to which he added un- 
til, at the time of his marriage, he had 120 
acres. 

The old home of his stepfather was used 
as a meeting-house in New Hope township, 
and there Mr. Hole was married January 
23, 1863, Miss Bertha I. Kankoud becom- 
ing his wife. She was born in Gausdal, 
Norway, May 19, 1844, and five years later 
came to America with her parents," who died 
shortly after their arrival. She was then 
reared by her uncle, Hans P. Kankoud, 
with whom she remained until her marriage. 
By this union four children have been 
born: Oluf, born April 2, 1865, is a 
farmer of New Hope township; John, 
born April i, 1868, is a merchant of New 
Hope; Carel A., born August 4, 1871, and 
Edwin H., born September 22, 1880, com- 
plete the family. 

Besides his tine farm of 160 acres in 
New Hope township, most of which is 
cleared, Mr. Hole also owns 1 20 acres in 
Alban township, Portage count}'. He has 
been very successful in his farming opera- 
tions, and is one of the reliable and most 
esteemed citizens of the county. He does 
not take a very active part in political af- 
fairs, but always casts his ballot in support 
of the principles of the Republican part}', 
while religiously he and his wife are both 



77° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



members of the United Lutheran Church of 
New Hope. In 1888, in company with 
Isaac Nelson, Even Kolden and Anton 
Olstad, Mr. Hole took a pleasure trip to 
Norway, leaving home May 7, and em- 
barked at New York on the ' ' State of Ne- 
vada, " which reached Glasgow, Scotland, 
at the end of eleven days, where they re- 
mained about four days. At Hull, England, 
they engaged passage on a Wilson Line 
steamer, which took them to Norway, 
where our subject visited the scenes and 
friends of his boyhood, having a very en- 
joyable time and gaining much in health. 
He returned home on the "City of Berlin. " 



THOMAS MATHISON (Sl.\ttena). 
The fine farm of this gentleman, in 
Section 7. lola township, invariably 
attracts the eye of the passing trav- 
eler as being under the supervision of a 
thorough and skillful agriculturist, and a 
man otherwise of good business qualifica- 
tions. He is one of the worthy citizens that 
Norway has furnished to Waupaca county, 
his birth there occurring June i, 1844, and 
is one of a family of tour children, compris- 
ing three sons and one daughter. His 
parents, who were farming people, both 
died in Norway, the mother when our sub- 
ject was very young. 

The education that Mr. Mathison ac- 
quired was in the common schools of his 
native land, which were much inferior to 
those of the present day in America. At the 
age of seventeen he began learning the ship 
carpenter's trade. His father opposed his 
coming to the New World, so he bought a 
half interest in the home farm, but as he had 
to go in debt for the same, he determined 
to come to America and make enough to pay 
off that obligation, after which he would 
return. After his arrival here, his wages as 
a millwright were good, and he concluded to 
remain, so he sold his portion of the farm 
to his brother, Louis. 

In the spring of 1869 Mr. Mathison left 
Skien on the sailing vessel " Rukon, " which 
arrived in Quebec at the end of seven weeks. 
From that city he went to Chicago, where 
he earned his first money in America at un- 



loading vessels. He had landed at Quebec 
about the 1st of June, 1869, and spent the 
4th of July in Chicago, but the last of that 
month found him m Aspen, Wis., near Mil- 
waukee, where he was employed bj- a Nor- 
wegian farmer. Later he went by boat to 
Duluth, Minn., but as work was scarce, he 
returned to Oshkosh, whence he proceeded to 
^^'ausau, Wis. , where for three winters he 
was in the lumber woods, being cook, asthat 
was the only work he could do, as he could 
not speak a word of English. He then ob- 
tained employment in a new sawmill on 
Plover river. 

In the fall of 1S76 Mr. Mathison was 
married in New Hope Church, Portage Co. , 
Wis., Miss Amelia Paulson becoming his 
wife. She was born in lola township, Wau- 
paca county, and by her marriage has be- 
come the mother of five children: Ida. 
Laura, Hattie, Mabel and Alvin, all living 
with the exception of Mabel, who was a 
bright little child, and died at the age of five 
years, her death proving a great loss to the 
parents. In W'ausau, Wis., Mr. Mathison 
and his bride began housekeeping, and there 
resided for four years, when he engaged in 
farming in Section 7, lola township, \\'au- 
paca county, where he still resides. He 
purchased :?oo acres of partially-improved 
land, which he has since de\eloped until it 
is now one of the best farms of the county. 
In 1884 he returned to his native land on a 
visit in order to benefit his health, as he had 
been suffering greatly from asthma. He 
left in June, and on his return, at the end 
of four months, was not much better. 

Mr. Mathison is what may be termed a 
self-made man, as his possessions consisted 
of a pair of cow-hide boots, $5 in cash, and 
the poor clothes he was wearing when he 
crossed the stormy Atlantic and landed on 
American shores. His knowledge of cook- 
ing he obtained when a boy on an ocean 
vessel, and that occupation he followed for 
some time in the New World. He has often 
seen the need of a good education, which he 
was not able to secure, and intends that his 
children shall have better chances than were 
afforded him. His excellent business tacts, 
coupled with his industry, frugality, and 
other noble traits common to his people. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



771 



are the only architects of his substantial in- 
come of to-day, and he is now numbered 
among the representative farmers and citi- 
zens of lola township. Politically he is a 
Republican, and has held office in School 
District No. 5, while in religion he is a 
member of the New Hope Lutheran Church, 
to which he gives liberallv. 



H.\RVEY SELLECK, who is a prom- 
inent business man and one of the 
proprietors of the leading hotel in 
Minocqua, was born in Ray, Ma- 
comb Co., Mich., February 15, 1855. A 
brief sketch of his parental family is here 
given. 

John N. Selleck, the father of our sub- 
ject, was born in Middleburg, Vermont, 
about 1824, removing to New York when 
quite young and marrying in that State, no 
children by that marriage being now living. 
His second marriage took place about 1848 
in Armada, Macomb Co., Mich., Miss Delia 
Perry becoming his wife. She was born in 
Macomb County, Mich., about 1824, and 
was a descendant of Commodore Perry of 
Lake Erie fame, her father being Norman 
Perry, who was a native of New York and a 
farmer by occupation. Her mother's name 
was Scott, and she was of Scotch descent. 
To this couple were born seven children, 
Ellen, Delia, Oren, Manly, Norman M., 
Norton and Marshall, all living except Delia. 
Jolm M. Selleck was the father of six chil- 
dtuj^iilliybi^ secdlTd marriage, as follows: 
Auston B., who died at the age of twenty- 
six years; Susan C. , Harvey, Rhoda Bell, 
Charles S., and Harriet E. He himself was 
one of five children, Milo, Lyman, Cynthia, 
Lucinda and John. He was a carpenter by 
trade and also kept a hotel, was a man of 
much intelligence, well-read and always in- 
terested in the progress of his town and 
community. In politics he was a Republi- 
can. He died about 1882, his wife passing 
away in 1886. 

Harvey Selleck was given such advan- 
tages in his boyhood as could be obtained at 
the district school, and at the age of seven- 
teen left home to try his fortune, leading for 



many years a roving life, being engaged in a 
variety of occupations. He was at first a 
fireman on a railroad for eight months, then 
a chore-boy in a hotel for a }'ear. He then 
went to Cleveland, Ohio, and worked for a 
florist for four months. After this he was 
employed in a hotel in Cleveland and also 
Romeo, Mich., and subsequently sold farm 
implements for one and a half years. The 
summer of 1880 he spent at Marquette, 
Mich. , going from there to Detroit where he 
spent two years in a flouring-mill. From 
there he came to Merrill, this State, in Au- 
gust, 1 88 1. The town was then called Jen- 
nie, and here he remained for eight years 
looking up land, and also estimating on pine 
timber, traveling all over Northern Wiscon- 
sin. In April, 1891, Mr. Selleck came to 
Minocqua, and, in partnership with Mr. F. 
W. Rogers rented a hotel for one year, at 
the expiration of which time they bought the 
property. They have added to and greatly 
improved the establishment, and to-day have 
the leading hotel in the place. Mr. Selleck 
is admirably adapted to the calling, being a 
man of a genial disposition, undoubted in- 
tegrity and one who attends strictly to his 
business. Mr. Selleck was married April 
12, 1890, to Mary E. Burt, daughter of 
Wesley and Elizabeth J. (Finches; Burt, 
who was born in i860 in Michigan,- of which 
State both her parents are natives; she was 
one of four children, Sarah E., Flora A., 
Mary E., and James. The parents are still 
living, and make their home with their chil- 
dren. The father was a locomotive engin- 
eer, and also carried on a hotel. 

Politically, Mr. Selleck is a Republican, 
but while always loyal to his party and 
ready to assist the furtherance of its views, 
he has never degenerated into a mere poli- 
tician or become an office-seeker; at the 
present time he is chairman of the town 
board ai^ also of the county board, and 
chief of \e fire department, which facts go 
to show that he is popular with his fellow 
townsmen. He is deeply interested in any- 
thing which has for its object the up-build- 
ing of his community, and can be relied on 

for practical ^ \\\[\ il h'j ^*'WllJj. I causes. 

Socially he belongs to the ordoi" of Modern 
Woodmen. 



'«5k 



772 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



KNUD K. TRESNES. Prominent 
mong the old soldiers of the Civil 
war, and the earlj' settlers of lola 
township, Waupaca county, mention- 
ed in this work, is the gentleman of whom 
this sketch is written. He is one of the lead- 
ing and influential farmers of this portion of 
the county, and is now engaged in the oper- 
ation of his land. His birth occurred in 
Norway, November 21, 1829, and he is one 
of a family of seven children, four sons and 
three daughters, who lived to adult age, 
and of whom three sons and one daughter 
came to the United States. The parents, 
who were farming people, lived to be quite 
old, the father dying at the age of eighty 
years, and the mother passed away in 1865. 

After securing a good education in his 
native tongue, Knud K. Tresnes remained 
at home until 1847, when he shipped on 
board of a Norwegian brig as cook, receiving 
$3 per month. The vessel plyed between 
Sweden and France, carrjing lumber to the 
latter countr\ . He was cook for one year, 
at the end of which time he shipped on a 
bark as "young man" at $7 per month, 
and was on that boat two years, going to the 
Mediterranean ports, including Alexandria; 
Limerick, Ireland; Marseilles, France; Cork, 
Ireland; St. Johns, New Brunswick; and 
London, from which place he returned home. 

In the following February. 1853, Mr. 
Tresnes, with his small earnings, concluded 
to come to America, where better chances 
were afforded a young man. In a company 
of twenty he and his sister embarked on the 
"Victoria" bound for New Orleans, where 
they landed after si.\ weeks of good weather. 
Most of the company went to Texas, but he 
and his sister took a boat to St. Louis, thence 
up the Illinois river to LaSalle, 111., and 
then by rail to Chicago, where he secured a 
position as sailor the very evening he arrived. 
He sailed on the schooner " St. Lawrence," 
receiving $25 per month, this seeming great 
pay to him, and he pictured sudden wealth. 
He remained on Lake Michigan until April, 
1855, when himself, sister and brother, Ole, 
who had come to the New World in 1 849, 
and was engaged in fishing at Two Rivers, 
Wis., started for lola township, Waupaca 
county. By the lakes they went to Sheboy- 



gan, then drove to Fond du Lac over the 
plank road, b\' boat to Oshkosh, thence, up 
the Wolf river to Gill's Landing, and from 
there drove to Scandinavia township, W'au- 
paca county, where the}' temporarily located 
with an old acquaintance from Norway. 

The two brothers then came to lola 
township, where they took up eighty acres 
each, and visited Stevens Point, Wis., to 
perfect their titles. The land v\'as all new 
and densely wooded with pine, and the first 
season they were unable to make a living off 
their farm, but went to Stevens Point and 
worked in a sawmill. In the fall of 1855 
they returned to lola township, where they 
erected a shanty on their claim ■ in order to 
comply with the law, and there spent the 
following winter, when the snow was four 
feet on a level, and deer could be easily 
killed. In the spring thej' began the im- 
provement of the land, where one of the 
brothers always remained, the first summer 
our subject being there, while his brother 
worked in a sawmill, and the following sum- 
mer he sailed on the lakes from Chicago. 

On the 26th of July, 1863, Mr. Tresnes, 
of this sketch, wedded Miss Annie Halver- 
son, who was born in Norway June 9, 1845. 
The marriage ceremony was performed in 
lola by a justice of the peace. After the 
death of her father, Mrs. Tresnes and her 
mother came to America in 1861 and located 
in lola. After their marriage our subject 
and his wife began housekeeping on the 
same farm where he and his brother had 
lived. Later he removed to his eighty-acre 
tract west of "Bachelor Hall," where he 
still continues to reside, and his first home 
was a log structure, 12x16 feet. At Wau- 
paca, in October, 1 864, Mr. Tresnes became 
a member of Company C, Forty-fourth 
Wis. V. I. , under Capt. Omar D. Vaughn. 
For three weeks the troops remained at 
Madison, Wis., after which they were sent 
to Nashville, Tenn., and were there during 
the engagement with Hood, though they did 
not participate in the fight. In March of 
the following year Mr. Tresnes was sent to 
Paducah, Ky. , where he was discharged in 
August, 1865. Since his return home our 
subject has continuously lived on his farm, 
which now contains 160 acres, of which 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



773- 



seventy are improved, and forms one of the 
best places of lola township. Where at 
first was nothing but forest, now wa\ing 
fields of grain meet the eye on every side, 
and the farm bears evidence of a painstaking 
and enterprising owner. 

Mr. Tresnes is a man of more than ordi- 
nary ability, possessing a retentive memory, 
is kind-hearted and benevolent, and has 
gained the esteem and friendship of a wide 
circle of acquaintances. He takes a deep 
interest in political affairs, always voting 
the straight Republican ticket, and fully en- 
dorses the principles of that party. He has 
been called upon to fill various official posi- 
tions in his township, in all of which he has 
served creditably and well. For two years 
each he held the offices of assessor, super- 
visor and constable, and refused to become 
justice of the peace. With the Hitterdall 
Lutheran Church he and his wife hold mem- 
bership, and besides helping to erect the 
house of worship, he has always been a lib- 
eral contributer. Since the organization of 
the Church he has ever been one of its lead- 
ing members, and has served as secretary of 
the same. 



E 



VAN R. VAUGHAN, one of the 
prosperous and most highly respect- 
ed farmers of Little Wolf township, 
Waupaca county, is a native of 
born in Llansyllin, December 7, 



Wales, 

1833- 

Our subject is a son of Richard \'aughan, 
a whipsawyer by trade, who married Ann 
Davis, and had a family of ten children, a 
brief record of whom is as follows: David 
Nvas a sawyer, and when last heard from 
was in Liverpool, England: he had a wife, 
but no children. Richard was also a sawyer, 
and passed his entire life in Wales, where 
he died, leaving no famil\'. Edward came to 
America in 1844, and locating in Utica, N. 
Y. , was a day laborer for over twenty years 
there, in 1867 coming to Wisconsin, and 
settling on land in Columbia county, where 
he yet resides; he has been very successful, 
and has an eighty-acre farm, which he may 
well be proud of: he has a family of ten 
children, namely: Mary Ann, Nell, Edward 



G., Kittie, Elizabeth, Emma, Palmer, Ar- 
thur, Eva and Jennie. Ann died in Wales. 
William died in Little Falls, N. Y. , leaving 
a wife and four children: Mar}', Emma, 
Frank and Fred (deceased); he was a saw- 
yer by trade. John, who was a mason, 
died in Ohio. Thomas, who came from Cal- 
ifornia to Wisconsin in 1863, died in Little 
W^olf August 5, 1888, leaving a wife and 
three sons: Edward (deceased), William (de- 
ceased), and Edgar; he was a miner and 
farmer. Evan R. is the subject of this sketch. 
Eleanor married David Jones, of Gwern y 
Penant Penybont, Llanyminech, Denbigh- 
shire, North Wales, and they have had 
three children. Elizabeth is in Monmouth- 
shire, England. The parents each lived to 
a great age, dying, the father when one 
hundred years old, the mother when ninety- 
eight. 

Evan R. Vaughan, of whom we write, 
received, in his native land, but a limited 
education, never having attended school 
after he was thirteen years of age, as he 
then commenced working at day labor. In 
1852 he emigrated to the United States, 
landing at New York on the 5th day of May, 
after a voyage of four weeks, thence at once 
proceeding to Utica, N. Y., where was liv- 
ing his brother Edward. From there he 
went to Remsen, Oneida Co. , N. Y. , and 
engaged at farm work, also sawmilling, till 
1856, the year of his coming to Wisconsin, 
and locating, in the fall of the year, at Roy- 
alton, Waupaca county, which was then 
nothing but a wilderness. Here he em- 
barked in the lumber and sawmilling busi- 
nesses, and followed the same till 1862, 
when he bought fortj- acres of land in Sec- 
tion 23, Little Wolf township, the same 
still forming part of his possessions. There- 
on he built a log house, which is yet stand- 
ing, and at once commenced the process of 
converting the primeval forest into a civi- 
lized farmstead. Having succeeded in clear- 
ing and reducing to cultivation some eight 
acres, our subject took unto himself a help- 
meet, and then bought eighty acres more 
wild land, making, in all, 120 acres, to 
which he, from time to time, added until 
he had 240 acres, all, or most of which, he 
opened up, and to-day he has si.xty acres- 



774 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 



cleared and well-improved, having thereon 
a commodious and comfortable dwelling and 
outhouses. He owned the fourth horse- 
tcam ever owned in Little Wolf township, 
and has beheld the " howling wilderness " 
transformed into fertile fields, and made to 
•'blossom as the rose," all brought about, 
as far as his own farm is concerned, bj^ the 
hard work and honest toil of himself and 
faithful wife. 

On July 1 8, 1861, Mr. Vaughan was 
married to Miss Ellen L. Whitman, who 
was born near Rutland, \'t., August 16, 
1840, a daughter of Alvin and Hannah 
(Garfield) Whitman, the mother a distant 
relative of the martyr, President Garfield. 
They were the parents of eight children: 
Urania, Byron L. , Marcia, RoUin, Orator, 
Jennie, Ellen L. and Mittie. The parents 
\\ere of the old Eastern stock, dating their 
ancestry a long way back. Mrs. Vaughan 
came to Wisconsin with her brother-in-law, 
Harvey Brown, locating in Royalton, Wis., 
Avhither had also come her mother (who 
died there in 1874, at about the age of si.xty- 
five years) and brother Byron L. , who is 
still living there. Three children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. \'aughan: Nora, born 
(October 21, 1862, wife of Leonard F. Lo- 
/icr, of Manawa, who is engaged in the lum- 
ber woods as a day laborer; Walter G., 
born November 23, iSffj., who lives on "the 
farm and works it for his father; he married 
Anna Behnke, and has one child, William, 
born May 3, 1893; and Luther A., born 
February 17, 1872, who married Anna 
Raasch, and has one child, Meqai E., l^rn 
April 24, 1894. The mothei^'of these cM|- 
dren was called from earth October 1 3', 
1888, deeply mourned by all who knew her. 

In 1864 Mr. Vaughan enlisted in Com- 
jiany D, Fifty-first Wis. V. I., which was 
sent to St. Louis, Mo., was there drilled, and 
thence ordered to Kingsville, same State, 
where the regiment was stationed some two 
months, doing guard duty, during which 
time our subject was promoted to be cor- 
poral. The Jesse James gang had visited 
that locality about two weeks previous, and 
had burned the town. F^rom Kings\ille the 
Fifty-first proceeded to Pleasant Hill, Mo., 
where, in August, 1865, Mr. \'aughan re- 



ceived an honorable discharge, and returned 
to his home, and to the pursuits of peace. 
He is a member of J. B. Steadman Post, 
No. 120, G. A. K. Politically, he is a Re- 
publican, and has served his township in 
various offices of trust, such as chairman, 
side supervisor, and as member of the school 
board. 



DA\ ID WALTERBACH, owner of a 
well-cultivated farm in Lincoln town- 
ship, Wood county, and of valuable 
real estate at Marshfield, is one of 
the most progressive farmers in the northern 
part of Wood county. He was born at 
Bingen-on-the-Rhine, Germany, Jul\- 27. 
1838, )oungest son of Wendlen and Maria 
M. (Conrad) Walterbach, the former born 
in 1789, the latter in 1795. They had sev- 
en children: Margaret, Peter, Anton, Rebec- 
ca, Jacob, Christine and David. 

Wendlen \\'alterbach owned and culti- 
vated a small vineyard until his death in 
1844. He had served in the German army 
during the war with France early in the 
century. He was the last survivor of his 
father's family, the other members having 
fallen victims to one of the deadly conta- 
gions which from time to time have swept 
over Germany. The mother in 1846 mar- 
ried Paul Walterbach, a distant relative of 
her first husband, and in the spring of that 
year emigrated to America with her entire 
family, including Peter, who was then in 
military service. The latter started in his 
regimentals for the new land, and reached 
Milwaukee with the rest of the family in 
safety in June. They .settled on a small 
tract of wild land in Washington count\-. 
Wis., eighteen miles from Milwaukee, 
but eu(h>-y«*rs hi»ter they sold out and pur- 
chased a larger farm in Manitowoc county. 
Here the mother died in 1876, and the step- 
father then returned to Germany, where he 
remained until his death. 

David Walterbach was a lad of seven 
years when his people came to America. 
He began life for himself at the age of six- 
teen \-ears, and worked for three years at 
ten dollars per month. From his wages he 
sa\ed enough money to buy forty acres 



-^■: 




^O/iyz^ .^^^3^^^^^eA^c;ic(^<^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



775 



of land in Manitowoc county. At the 
■A'f^c of twenty he went to Mississippi with 
his brother Jacob, who was a pilot on 
the river, but not lil<ingthe South he return- 
ed to Wisconsin the following spring, and 
for two years managed his brother's farm. 
He enlisted August 21, 1862, in Company 
C, Twenty-seventh Wis. \'. I., under Capt. 
Smith. The Twenty-seventh participated in 
the siege of Vicksburg, in the battle at Sabine 
Cross Roads, and in many minor engage- 
ments; it was also in the Red River expedi- 
tion, and at Mobile. Mr. Walterbach re- 
mained in active service until his discharge, 
August 29, 1865. He was absent from his 
regiment only for six weeks, the time he was 
King in the hospital sufleringfrom the effects 
of asunstroke. After his discharge he open- 
ed a store, but within four weeks he traded it 
for his father's farm. On August 20, 1868, 
he was married to Amelia Schneider, who 
was born in Germany in 1851, and at the 
age of six years emigrated to America with 
her parents, Henry and Wilhelmina (Wag- 
nerj Schneider. The latter had five children: 
Julius, Albert, Amelia, Hulda and Henry. 
The father died on his farm in Manitowoc 
county, Wis., in 1889. To David and 
Amelia Walterbach twelve children have 
been born: Margaret H., Peter, Minnie M., 
Rosa W., Anton, Christine, Henry D., 
Anna E., Ida A., Lizzie I-i.,JohnA. and 
Edwin H. 

In 1874 Mr. Walterbach sold his farm 
and went with his family to the Pacific 
coast, intending to settle there. He visited 
Portland, Olympia, and many points in Cal- 
ifornia, but within six months returned to 
Wisconsin. In August, 1874, he purchased 
his present farm in Section 13, Lincoln 
township, \\'ood county, then wholly in tim- 
ber, and began to impro\'e it. The farm is 
now well improved and cultivated, and 
contains five buildings. Mr. Walter- 
bach has dealt largely and profitably in cattle, 
and keeps on his farm fine stock. He is a 
thorough business man, one who values his 
word as highly as he would his bond, and 
his tine sense of honor and integrity have 
won for him the highest esteem of his neigh- 
bors and acquaintances. After Marshfield's 
great fire of 1887, he built in that citv a brick 
49 



block of two stories, now occupied by the 
Masonic Lodge, and he also owns a ware- 
house in that city. In politics he is a Lincoln 
Republican, and, while not an office-seeker 
himself is ever ready to lend his influence to 
help a friend. He has been supervisor and 
held other minerofficcs, at present being clerk 
of the school board. Socially he is a promi- 
nent member of the Masonic Fraternity. 
Plain and unassuming in manner, Mr. Wal- 
terbach is one of the substantial and influen- 
tial citizens of Wood county, who have, by 
their individual efforts, developed the large 
and growing interests of the county. 



JACOB JEWELL, one of the mosthighly- 
esteemed citizens of this portion of 
Northern Wisconsin, and for the -past 
thirteen or fourteen years a resident of 
Rhinelander, Oneida county, is a native of 
Vermont, born September 14, 181 8, in or 
near the village of St. Albans. 

Ephraim Jewell, grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was a merchant in Boston, Mass., 
while that city was ccupied by Gen. Howe, 
and at the close of the war, being reduced in 
circumstances, he went to \'ermont, buying 
there a small tract of land, and later remov- 
ing to Ohio, where he died. He had seven 
children: Samuel, Ephraim, Hollig, Pattie, 
Urata and Ira being the only ones whose 
names are now known. Of these, Hollis 
Jewell was born in Boston, and learned 
there the trade of a carriage maker, at which 
he worked several years in that city. He was 
twice married, the name of his first wife not 
being remembered; his second wife was 
Betsy Goddard, who was born in Connecti- 
cut, a daughter of a Revolutionary soldier of 
seven years' service, and who died after the 
war closed. He had six children: Alfred, 
John, Benjamin, Caleb, Betsy and Polly. 
After the death of the father of these, the 
mother married a Mr. Shaw (by whom she 
had no children), and died at Freeport, 111. 
Hollis [ewell had seven children: William, 
Hollis, Jacob, John, Uavis, Perthenia and 
Thaddeus. In the earlier years of his life, 
Hollis Jewell worked at his trade, but on 
moving to Vermont he followed agricultural 
pursuits, and died on his farm in 1844. He 



776 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOaRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was a soldier in the war of 1 8 1 2. His widow 
then came west to Wisconsin with her chil- 
dren, and died in Berlin, Green Lake 
county. 

Jacob Jewell, the subject of this memoir, 
ne\-er attended school after he was seven 
years of age, as he had then to go to work 
to earn his living, his parents being in lim- 
ited circumstances. For two years he ran 
errands and did chores for an old Revolu- 
tionary soldier; then worked for other peo- 
ple, by way of compensation receiving his 
board and clothing up to the age of sixteen, 
at which time, his elder brother having re- 
moved from the old home, Jacob returned 
thither in order to aid his mother. At the 
end of two years he went to New York 
State, and there for nearly two years worked 
on a farm, after which he moved to Ohio, 
joining his brother at Columbus, and work- 
ing at his trade, that of a carpenter. In 
November, 1840, he left Columbus for Free- 
port, 111., where he had two brothers and 
some uncles living, and here continued at 
his trade some two years, at the end of 
which time he came to Wisconsin, and until 
1849 was employed in the mining district; 
then moved to Berlin, in the same State, 
where he followed his trade twelve years. 
Here he bought a farm, and lived thereon 
until the spring of 1883, when he sold out, 
and, coming to Rhinelander, engaged in the 
drug business, opening the first store of that 
description in the place, keeping also a stock 
of groceries. After three years he sold out, 
and commenced buying lot«^ and erecting 
buildings, several of which now stand as 
monuments to his cnter]irise. 

In 1850, at Berlin, Wis., Mr. Jewell was 
married to Miss Susan Austin, who was born 
in Milton, Chittenden Co., \'t.. a daughter 
of Newman and Susanna Austin, well-to-do 
farming people, who were the parents of 
live children: John, Moroni, Simeon. Susan 
and Samantha. This family came west 
about the year 1854. To Jacob and Susan 
Jewell were born eight children: Hollis, 
Frank, Harry, Stanley, Albert, Walter, 
Willis and George, of whom I'rank, Harr\ 
and Stanley are deceased, while Willis and 
George live at Rhinelander. both being mar- 
ried. The mother of these cliildriMi dicil at 



Berlin in 1874. In his political affiliations 
our subject is a stanch Republican, originally 
a Whig, and has served as a justice of the 
jieace since 1886; when the county of Onei- 
da was organized he was appointed coroner 
by Go\'. Rusk, in which capacity he ser\ed 
till January, 1893. Socially, he is a mem- 
ber in good standing of the Temple of Honor 
and Good Templars; he is prominently 
identified with the Baptist Church, and is 
respected by all. His brother John was a 
soldier in an Illinois regiment, and died in 
the line of duty, at \'icksburg, under Grant; 
Simeon Austin, his wife's brother, who was 
a soldier from Wisconsin, also died in the 
service. 



FRED RIEMER, an honored and re- 
spected citizen of Washington town- 
ship, Shawano county, was born in 
Germany April 30, 1 84 1 , and is a son 
of Gottlieb and Charlotta (Kammrad) Rie- 
mer. Gottlieb Riemer was a farmer in Ger- 
many. He married Charlotta Kannnrad, 
and they had three children: Wilhclmiua, 
Caroline, and Fred, whose name introduces 
this sketch, all born in Germanw Mr. Rie- 
mer died in Germany when his son Fred 
was only eighteen weeks old. His widow 
again married, had three children by her 
second tmion, and died in Germany. 

Fred Riemer received a common-sch(jol 
education, left school at the age of fourteen, 
and worked at home on the farm until he 
was twenty years of age. He then enlisted 
in the German army for three years. He 
was in the war with Austria in 1866, with 
Denmark in 1864, and took part in many , 
noted engagements. After his time expired 
he returned home and hired out as a farm 
hand, and received fift}- dollars a year and 
his board. In the fall of 1867 he sailed 
from Bremen for the United States in the 
steamer "America,'" and landed in New 
York after a voyage of ten days, coming 
thence directly to Dodge county. Wis., 
where he engaged as a farm hand. 

On March 17, 1872, in Grant, Wis., Mr. 
Riemer was united in marriage with Miss 
Augusta Pocket, who was born in German}-, 
and thev have had three children, ir.imely: 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



777 



Clara, at home; Robert, a pupil at the 
Shawano High School, and Emma, at home. 
Mr. Riemer purchased his present place, 
consisting of 120 acres of land in Section 
28, from the Fox River Company, where 
he built a house of logs, and, after his mar- 
riage, took up his residence on the home- 
stead here with his wife. Mr. Rieiner has 
never sought political office. In religious 
sentiment he and Mrs. Riemer are members 
of St. Paul's (ierman Lutheran Church, in 
Washington township, and he takes an act- 
ive interest in Church matters. He is fond 
of reading, and is much interested in educa- 
tion. 



ABNER CONRO, proprietor of the 
saw and planing mill, in Rhine- 
lander, Oneida Co., Wis., is a 
native of Vermont, born September 
10, 1.S29, and is of Irish and Scotch ances- 
try. His father, also named Abner, a farmer 
by occupation, was of the same nativity, 
and had two brothers, Silas and James. He 
married Miss Lydia Thomas, a lady of 
Scotch descent, and by her had five chil- 
dren: Frederick, James, Albert, Miles and 
Abner. The father died in the \ear 1S31, 
and the mother subsecpiently wedded Mr. L. 
W. Bordwell, after which the family settled 
in Clinton county, N. Y. State. By this last 
marriage there were three children: Walcott, 
Wallace and Walworth. The mother died 
in Champlain, N. Y. , in the year 1846, and, 
of her five sons by her first marriage, .\lbert 
and Abner are the only survivors. Abner's 
grandmother, Mrs. Thomas, was twice mar- 
ried, and by her first marriage had five chil- 
dren, three sons, Jackson, Miles andZerah, 
and two daughters, fane and Eliza. 

The subject of this sketch was a \ery 
small boy when the family moved to W'w 
York State. He remained there until he 
was ten years of age, then returneii to \'er- 
mont, and lived with a farmer until he was 
seventeen, receiving for his services his 
board, clothing and education. The latter 
was confined to the winter schools. He 
then once more came to New York State, 
and worked on the farm until the death of 
his mother, when he began to learn the mill- 



wright's trade. In 1850 he went to Pilot 
Knob, Mo., where he erected a large forge 
for the manufacture of iron. He was there 
eight months, after which he went into Geor- 
gia, and built a sawmill. \\'hen this was 
completed he bought an interest in a grist- 
mill, which he operated for eighteen months, 
then sold out, and returned to New York. 

His brother Albert at this time having 
secured a contract to build a large forge at 
Dannemora, N. Y. , Abner was given full 
chargeof the work. In the spring of 1855 Ab- 
ner came to Wisconsin locating in the city of 
Oshkosh, where, in partnership with three 
others, he built a fiouring-mill, which they 
operated successfully for four years. In 
i860 he sold out his interest in the tlour- 
mill, and entered into the manufacture of 
lumber on the Fox river. This was con- 
tinued for two years, when he bought a 
quarter interest in a tug boat on the Illinois 
and Mississippi rivers. Until 1866 he towed 
canal-boats from La Salle, 111., to St. Louis, 
Mo., and logs on the Mississippi river. In 
the third year of his boating experience he 
bought out his partners and continued the 
business alone. In 1867 he took a contract 
from the government to build a dam at De- 
Pere, and after that was finished he re- 
turned to his mill in Oshkosh, where he 
again entered the lumber business: Later 
he rented a mill across the river from where 
he was located, and began the manufacture 
of shingles. This was operated for three 
years, when, in company with G. C. Grif- 
fith, he bought the mill. The}' ran the mill 
successfully until it was burned in 1 SSo. 
In 1882 Mr. Conro sold out his mill proji- 
erty in Oshkosh, and came to Rhinelander 
with a portable sawmill. In company with 
Mr. |. B. Tolman he cut the first lumber 
that was cut in Rhinelander. The firm 
name in this business was Tolman, Conro cS: 
Co. In 1883 the firm erected a large saw 
and planing mill. In 1889 Mr. Conro 
Ixnight out his i)artners' interests, and in 
companj' with his sons he has since con- 
tinued the business. 

In October, 1854, Mr. Conro was united 
in marriage to Miss Eli/a C. Mann, who was 
born in Franklin county. N. \' . State, in 
1829. She was the eldest daughter of 



77S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



Judge and Cynthia CHadley) Mann, and 
had three sisters: Cornelia, Obera and 
Emma. Mr. Mann was a large land owner, 
and operated a gristmill in N. Y. State. His 
father held a general's commission in the 
war of 1 8 12, and saw considerable service. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Conro have been born 
three sons: James Mann, Samuel Abner and 
Charles Albert. In his political associations 
our subject is a Republican, and formerly 
was a Whig. Sociall}-, he has been af- 
filiated with the Episcopal Church, and since 
his settlement in Oshkosh in 1855. he has 
made that city his home. His wife is at 
present residing there. 



JAMES A. CHESLEY, now a retired 
merchant at Waupaca, after an active 
business life of many years, was born 
in Cornwall, Canada, in 1827, a son of 
Peter and Elizabeth (Deuslar) Chesley. 

Peter Chesley was born near Kinder- 
hook, N. Y., in 1795, a son of Allsaint 
Chesley, a tailor, who reared a famih' of 
twelve children. Peter married Elizabeth 
Deuslar, who was of Canadian liirth, and 
had a family of nine children, as follows: 
Louisa, Charles, Henry, James, Norman, 
Sophia, Augustus, David and Andrew. He 
was a general merchant and lumberman, 
and in 1842 emigrated from Cornwall, Can- 
ada, to Milwaukee, where he conducted a 
general mercantile trade. He also had a 
store at Prairie\ille, now Waukesha, and 
later left Milwaukee and took up his resi- 
dence at Waukesha, where he died in 1847. 
The mother survi\ed until 1879. 

James A. Chesley received a good com- 
mon-school education in Canada, where he 
studied, among other branches, the lan- 
guages. After coming to Wisconsin he was 
a salesman in his father's store until the lat- 
ter's death, which occurred when James was 
twent}' years of age. A year later the young 
man opened a general store at Qshkosh, 
which he conducted for four years. Return- 
ing to \\'aukesha, he remained there two 
years, and in 1854 he came to Waupaca and 
opened a drug store. He remained in Inisi- 
ness about twenty years. He was subse- 
quentlv justice ot the peace for fourteen 



jears, and for ten years he had served as 
assessor. For two years he conducted a 
hardware store, but sold the business in 
1886. 

In 1853 Mr. Chesley was married, in 
Nashotah Chapel, Waukesha county, to Isa- 
bel Crawford, who was born in Leith, Scot- 
land, a daughter of Robert and Margaret 
(Glass; Crawford, the former a native of 
Stirling, Scotland, and the latter of Perth, 
Scotland. Robert Crawford was the son of 
a farmer and one of a family of six chil- 
dren; he was a baker by trade, and carried 
on an extensive business. He had seven 
daughters: Mary, Margaret, Robina and Isa- 
bel, and three who died in infancy. In 1842 
he emigrated with his family to America, 
coming directl}' to Milwaukee, and a little 
later entering a claim near Waukesha, where 
his wife died in 1853. Robert Crawford 
then returned to Scotland, intending to re- 
main there through life, but a little later he 
recrossed the Atlantic, remaining at Wau- 
kesha until his death in 1888. 

Mr. Cheslex' was one of the founders of 
the Waupaca Episcopal Church, and is one 
of its most active supporters. In politics he 
is an earnest Republican. He has erected 
and now lives in a handsome house. The 
property he has accumulated was earned by 
his business sagacity at Waupaca, for when 
he came to the county he was a poor young 
man. Mr. Chesley is a liberal and enter- 
I prising citizen of Waupaca, and enjoys to a 
high degree the esteem and respect of his 
fellow men. 



NEIL McARTHUR (deceased). Be- 
sides the men who by unremittmg 
toil level forests and till the soil, 
there is need in every community of 
men of a different type, men of wide finan- 
cial grasp, natural-born traders, capable of 
undertaking great enterprises, willing to as- 
sume risk, if intuition and judgment promise 
remunerati\e rewards. The combination of 
mental qualities for this more hazardous 
field of labor is rare, and he who wins is 
rightfully entitled to the homage of his fel- 
low men. 

Such a man was Xeil Mc. Arthur, the sub- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



779 



ject of this sketch, who was born October 
29, 1835, in Argyleshire, Scotland, a son of 
John and Anna (Buchanan) McArthur, and 
one of a family of eight children, as follows: 
John, Neil, Mary, Hugh, Archibald, Anna, 
Robert and Isabel. Neil inherited from his 
father his business traits, for John McArthur 
was a born trader. He emigrated with his 
family to Canada in 1843, and a year or 
two later removed to Oshkosh, Wis. In 
1854 he settled on a farm in Farmington 
township, ^^'aupaca county. Here he re- 
mained until 1868, when he moved to Cali- 
fornia, and there died in 1879. Though 
always residing on a farm, Mr. McArthur 
was rather a speculator than a farmer. 

Neil McArthur, the second son, was 
eight years old when his father crossed the 
ocean and settled in Canada. Unlike his 
father, he was not given to travel, but was 
fond of quiet, domestic life. Until his mar- 
riage he remained at home, receiving only a 
common-school education. After attaining 
his majority he launched into business for 
himself with what money he could com- 
mand, and to his credit it may be said that 
his investments were usually safe, for he 
possessed a judgment ripe beyond his years. 
Mr. McArthur was married in 1866 to Caro- 
line B. Kenyon, daughter of Gardner and 
Mary (Sampson) Kenyon. Mr. Kenyon was 
born in Connecticut in 1801, and his wife in 
Massachusetts in 1805. Caroline B. was a 
native of Louisville, St. Lawrence county, 
N. Y. , and was one of eleven children, as 
follows: Clarissa E., Sylvester M., Mary 
E., Charlotte S., James R., Bradford E., 
Henry S., Julia A., Caroline B., Henrietta 
and William, who yielded up his life on a 
Southern battlefield during the war of the 
Rebellion. Mr. Kenyon was a contractor 
and mason, and for ten or fifteen years a 
resident of Kalamazoo county, Mich., where 
he died in 1871, his wife surviving until 
1888. The family of Mr. and Mrs. McAr- 
thur consists of seven childre"n — Charlotte 
A., Neil, Archibald, William B. , Isabel, 
Mary H. and Pearl. 

After his marriage Mr. McArthur pur- 
chased a farm in Farmington township, ad- 
joining Waupaca city, where he remained 
until his death, in 1883. He superintended 



the work here, but devoted his attention 
mainly to his financial affairs, and it was his 
means largely that were employed in devel- 
oping the resources of Waupaca county. 
^ir. McArthur was a Republican, and filled 
many of the town offices in his township. 
He took great interest in his part}', and his 
advice and counsel were frequently sought 
by the local leaders. Mr. McArthur was 
conspicuous in advocating the educational 
advancement of Waupaca, and in all public 
enterprises and improvements he was ranked 
one of the foremost and most influential 
men of the county. His wife, Mrs. 'Caro- 
line B. McArthur, still lives with her family 
in ^^'aupaca, on Fulton street, whither she 
moved shortly after the death of her hus- 
band, in order to give her children better 
educational facilities. 



WILLIAM WOLF. Among those who 
fought in defense of the Union in 
the war of the Rebellion, who have 
had a part in the work of 'trans- 
forming the forests of Wisconsin into smiling 
fields and fertile farms, and whose industry 
and integrity help make the aggregate of 
solid worth by which this great State is 
known and honored, stands William ^^'olf. 

Mr. Wolf was born in Prussia, Germany, 
March 27, 1839. His father. Christian 
Wolf, who was a tlay laborer, married 
Dorothy Beske, and they reared a family of 
five children, namely: Charles, who was 
married, but lost his wife and all his chil- 
dren in Germany, came to this country to 
live with his brother William, and now re- 
sides with him in Pella, Shawano Co.,Wis. ; 
Fred, now in German}', who has a wife and 
large family, and is engaged as foreman in a 
distillery there; William, the subject of this 
sketch; Louise, who married Fred Wich- 
mann, of Pella, and they both died, leaving 
a family of children, the homestead going to 
their son Charles, who died recently, leav- 
ing a widow; and Wilhelmine, who was the 
wife of Ferdinand Ulker, who lived in Pella, 
and died in i 893, leaving four children. Mrs. 
Christian Wolf died when her son William 
was nineteen years of age. 

William Wolf had only limited oppor- 



7So 



COMMEMORATH'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tunities for an education, and onl\- attended 
school from the time he was six till he was 
fourteen years of age. In 1858 he sailed 
for America, and landed in Quebec after a 
voyage of forty-two days, coming on to 
Mayville. Dodge Co., Wis., where he went 
to work by the daj-, remaining there about 
a year. He then went to Illinois and Mis- 
souri to look at the countr\-, and was gone 
until the fall of i860, when he returned to 
Mayville. and remained until May 8, 1861, 
when he enlisted in Company E, Third Wis. 
\. I., and was mustered into the United 
States service at Fond du Lac. They were 
sent to Harper's Ferry, had small skir- 
mishes, and from there went to Charlestown, 
near the Potomac, where the\' engaged in 
more skirmishing; then went on to \\'in- 
chester, Va. , and remained there until the 
spring of 1863. They then went to Stras- 
burg, and on through the valley, and then 
to Fredericksburg, \'a. Mr. Wolf partici- 
pated in the battles of Antietam, Cedar 
Mountain, W^inchester and Chancellorsville, 
and at" the Rappahannock river. In 1863 
they joined Sherman's army in Tennessee, 
fought at Chattanooga, then at Dallas, and 
near Atlanta, where Mr. Wolf was wounded 
in the forefinger of the right hand. He went 
into the hospital at Jeffersonville, Ind., was 
there some five months, and at the expira- 
tion of that time joined his regiment at 
Goldsboro, X. C. They were in several 
heavy skirmishes, one at Raleigh. N. C, 
and, the war closing about this time, they 
were sent back to Washington, I). C. He 
was discharged July 39, 1865, after about 
four years of hard ser\-ice, and returned to 
Mayville, W'isconsin. 

On October 12, 1865, William Wolf was 
united in marriage with Mary Stargard, who 
was born in Prussia, Germany. August 1 1 , 
1847, and they have had eight children, 
namely: Augusta, now the wife of Ferdi- 
nand Toepke, a saloon-keeper, of Clinton- 
ville, Waupaca Co. , Wis. ; Herman, a farmer, 
in Belle Plaine, Shawano county; Hulda, 
now the wife of William Winter, a hard- 
ware merchant of Clintonville; William, at 
home; Emma, wife of Herman Spearbraker, 
a butcher, of Clintonville; and Amanda, 
Albert and Emiel, at home. The parents 



of Mrs. Wolf, Charles and Augusta (Furgo) 
Stargard, came to America in 1857, and 
located in Mayville, Wis. Mr. Stargard 
was a farmer in Germany, and in the United 
States as well. He bought a farm near 
Mayville, on which he and Mrs. Stargard 
lived for the remainder of their lives, and 
on which they died. They had four chil- 
dren, as follows: Mary, now Mrs. W'olf; 
Minnie, wife of Charles Kube, a farmer, of 
W'atertow'n, Jefferson Co., Wis.; Augusta, 
now deceased; and Finne, wife of Conrad 
Hoffmann, a farmer, of Lewiston. Minne- 
sota. 

In 1865 William Wolf and wife came 
with a team from New London, Waupaca 
county, to Pella, Wis., which at that time 
was surrounded b\' dense woods, and noth- 
ing but Indian trails marked their paths. 
They bought 160 acres of land in Section 
20, which still constitutes a part of their 
farm. A log house, 18x24 feet, was built 
and covered with shakes. He had no team, 
and only an axe for the work of clearing, 
which began at once. There were no doors 
or windows for their house, and in lieu of 
them they hung up bedclothes. Thus they 
made their humble beginning for a home. 
The work of clearing went gradually on, and 
his noble wife was of no small assistance, 
for it was only by their united efforts that 
they succeeded. They traded with Alexan- 
der Bucholz at Belle Plaine. To-day Mr. 
Wolf has 200 acres of land, of which some 
eighty are cleared, and in farming condi- 
tion. Politically he has always been a Re- 
publican, and he has served as township 
chairman twelve years, and chairman of 
county board three years, township clerk 
two years, and assessor one year. He and 
Mrs. \\'olf are members of the Lutheran 
Church. 



JOEL W. AND JOHN F. HOLMAN 
are two well-known brothers who are 
numbered among the best citizens and 
leading farmers of Waupaca county. 
The former was born in Springville, N. Y. , 
Februarv 10, 1850, and the latter in Lake 
Mills, Jefferson Co., Wis., March 13, 1852, 
their parents being Reuben and Cynthia 



GOMMEMURATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



781 



(Stiles) Holman. The father was born July 
4, iSii, in \'ennont, and was the \oungest 
of a large family. His mother died when 
he was five years old, and he went to live 
with his brother Abel, then of Cattaraugus 
county, N. Y., there learning the black- 
smith's trade at an early age. He was mar- 
ried January 7, 1836, in Erie county, X. Y. , 
to Cynthia Stiles, who was born in Wen- 
dell, Mass., March 28, 18 15, a daughter of 
Ezekiel and Polly (King) Stiles. The father 
was a Baptist minister, and in pioneer days 
he came on horseback to Wisconsin, where 
his death occurred. His horse was after- 
ward returned to the East by friends. Mrs. 
Holman was a maiden of si.xteen when her 
parents went to New York. She became 
the mother of the following children : Henry, 
who died in Dayton township, Waupaca 
county; Harriet, wife of Lucius Hibbard, of 
that township; Clark E., a farmer of Day- 
ton township; Mary R., deceased, who was 
the wife of Edwin Heath; Elbert M., of 
Denver, Colo.; Julius D., who was born in 
Jefferson county, Wis., and was once a 
partner of Holman Brothers, but died in 
Denver, Colo. ; Joel and John, who complete 
the famil}'. 

The father carried on blacksmithing in 
Springville, X. Y., until the fall of 1 84O, 
when, with his wife and five children, he 
started in a covered wagon for Wisconsin. 
In Ohio they visited friends, and then con- 
tinued on their way, being five weeks on 
the road and passing through Chicago, then 
a small town. They located in the town of 
Lake Mills, Jefferson Co., Wis., where Reu- 
ben Holman carried on blacksmithing for 
two years. He then returned to Spring- 
ville, X. Y., where he carried on business 
with his brother for two years, and in May, 
1850. again came to the Badger State by 
way of the lakes. He resumed business in 
his old shop, and continued at Lake Mills 
until the fall of 1854, the time of his ar- 
rival in Waupaca county. Purchasing a 
small amount of land in Section i i , Dayton 
township, he built a shop in what is now 
the village of Parfreyville, being its pioneer 
blacksmith. He was joined by his family 
January 7, 1855, and the families of Mr. 
Parfrey, the miller, and Mr. Poll lived at 



this place. Mr. Holman carried on his trade 
and farming until his death, February 6, 
I 870, and was then laid to rest in Parfrey- 
ville Cemetery. His first wife had died No- 
vember 4, 1864, and was there buried. He 
had later married Elizabeth (Stilesj Duncan 
(widow of Silas Duncan), who survived him • 
until December, 1892, and spent her last 
days in Dayton township. The mother of 
our subjects held membership with the Bap- 
tist Church. Reuben Holman was a stanch 
Republican, and was a law-abiding and highly 
respected citizen, possessed of man}- excel- 
lent traits of character. 

Joel W. Holm.w was a child of five sum- 
mers when his parents removed to Daj-ton 
township, and upon the old homestead he 
still resides. He was reared in the district 
schools of the neighborhood, but since his 
boyhood days great improvement has been 
made in those institutions. He was reared 
amid the wild scenes of the frontier, and at 
an earl}' age began to aid in the labors of 
the farm. He was married in Waupaca, 
March 27, 1873. to Ellen Palmer, who was 
born in Livingston county, N. Y., July 5, 
1850, a daughter of Roderick and Martha 
(Tousey) Palmer, natives of the Empire State, 
who came to Wisconsin in 1853, locating 
in Waupun township. Fond du Lac county, 
whence they removed, in 1861, to Waupun 
city, later to Amherst, Portage county, and 
in 1867 to Parfreyville. Mr. and Mrs. Joel 
Holman began their domestic life upon the 
home farm, which has since been their place 
of abode, and their union has been blessed 
with three children: Roland J., born June 5, 
1875, a member of the Good Templars So- 
ciety; Clair R., born October 14, 1878; and 
Jessamine E., who was born May 23, 1881, 
and died at the age of one year. Mrs. Hol- 
man is a highly educated lady, and has taught 
five terms of school. She belongs to the 
Baptist Church and to the Epworth League. 
In politics, Mr. Holman is a Republican 
with prohibition sympathies, and has served 
in school offices and was elected assessor, 
but refused to qualif}'. 

John F. Holm.\n was reared in the usual 
manner of farmer lads and his marriage was 
celebrated November 30, 1876, in .Almond 
township. Portage count}', the lad}- of his 



tS: 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



choice being Elizabeth Palmer, who was 
born in Livingston county. N. Y. , March i, 
1853, and is a sister of his brother's wife. 
The}- too located on the home farm, and 
three children grace their union: Ross E. , 
born December 19, 1882; Bessie G., born 
August 3, 1885; and Reuben P., born Au- 
gust 17, 1888. In politics John F. Holman 
has always been a Republican. His wife 
holds membership with the Methodist 
Church, and both are highly esteemed people. 
Since 1S70, the brothers have engaged 
in business together, their interests being as 
one, and they own 240 acres of land. Their 
home is together, they are living as one 
family, and all is harmonious and satisfac- 
tory. The land is highly cultivated and 
improved, and the brothers are men of good 
business ability, whose careful management, 
diligence and enterprise have made them 
substantial agriculturists of the county which 
has so long been their place of abode. 



ANDREW G. ERICKSON is one of 
the enterprising and progressive 
young farmers of Farmington town- 
ship, Waupaca county. His father 
was a pioneer, an emigrant from Sweden, 
who crossed the ocean poor in purse but 
rich in character and strength, and who 
helped to dig the broad foundation for the 
prosperity of the Northern \^'isconsin 
Valley. 

Andrew Erickson, the father, was born 
in Sweden, June 25, 1830. His parents 
were poor, and he received only a meager 
education. In his native land he married 
and had one child, Christine, when in 1852 
he joined with his little family a party of 
countrymen, numbering thirty-seven souls 
in all, who had resolved to migrate to a 
new land where freedom reigned, and where 
homes might be acquired by the strong and 
willing ones. It was in the fall of the year 
that the courageous little band started on 
its newly-determined destiny. The passage 
across the Atlantic was long and stormy, 
occupying eleven weeks and three daj-s. 
Landing at New York the emigrants pro- 
ceeded by rail to Buffalo, and there took 
boat for Green Bay. Wis., their destination 



being Waupaca county. Through the kind- 
ness of the ship's officers they were permit- 
ted to visit Chicago and Milwaukee en route. 
At Green Bay they transferred their small 
effects to a ilatboat, and proceeded up the 
Fox river to Appleton. Thence teams con- 
veyed them to Neenah. Another transfer 
found them aboard a little steamboat which 
ploughed through the waters to Gill's Land- 
ing. Then came the final section of this 
long and tedious trip, which it seemed was 
conveying the emigrants to the uttermost 
parts of the earth, a journey through the 
woods to Waupaca. The destination proved 
to be a small cluster of houses, while all 
about rose the dense and seemingly limit- 
less forest. 

The new-comers prospected a little, and 
were soon settled in the surrounding woods. 
Andrew Erickson purchased a piece of land 
in Section 16, Farmington township. It 
was situated in the unbroken forest, with- 
out improvements of any kind. But An- 
drew Erickson was young and strong, and 
the hearty swing of his axe soon broke in 
upon the silence about him. A little home 
was built, and the clearing about it grew 
larger and larger. Here the owner lived 
and prospered. He lived to see his pos- 
sessions extend until they included over 500 
acres. He gave to each of his children 
substantial assistance, and upon his death, 
January 22, 1889, he left his widow com- 
fortabl}- situated. His children were Chris- 
tine, born in Sweden, now Mrs. Ole John- 
son, of Farmington township; Ellen, now 
widow of Peter Olson, of Farmington town- 
ship; Hans, of Farmington; Bertha, who 
was married to Fred Modeen. and dietl in 
Portage county. Wis. ; Anna, now Mrs. 
George Madison, of Farmington township. 
Mrs. Erickson died, and for his second wife 
Mr. Erickson married Christine Dahlbriuk. 
who emigrated from Sweden in the same 
vessel as her husband, in the fall of 1852. 
Their children are Carrie, now widow of 
Peter Anderson, of Farmington; Hannah, 
John and Andrew G. Andrew Erickson 
was a hard-working man. Though without 
education, save in his native tongue, he 
possessed marked business ability, and to 
each of his children he gave a good com- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



7S3 



mon-school education. He never aspired 
to political preferment, but gave his entire 
attention to his extensive agricultural inter- 
ests, for during the latter years of his life- 
time he was the most extensive farmer in 
Farmington township, and the family to-day 
operates more land than any other in the 
township. In politics Mr. Erickson was a 
stanch Republican. He was one of the 
founders of the Lutheran Church, and 
among its main supporters and contributors. 
Andrew G. Erickson, his youngest child, 
was born March 10, 1872. on the farm 
which his father first cleared, and since the 
latter's deatli .Andrew G. has been in charge 
of the home place, which now includes 255 
acres. Here, too, his mother now makes 
her home. She is in the sixty-fourth year 
of her age, a highly respected and esteemed 
old lady, .\ndrew G. is an earnest Repub- 
lican and a prominent member of the Luth- 
eran Church. He has received a good com- 
mon-school education, and is devoting his 
attention to the intelligent cultivation of the 
home farm, made memorable and sacred by 
the labors of the father in years when toil 
and want were almost the only portion of 
the pioneer. 



OLOF JOHNSON. The agricultural 
interests of Waupaca county are well 
represented by the gentleman of 
whom we write, who devotes his time 
and energies to farming, and is noted for the 
practical and progressive spirit which char- 
acterizes his undertakings. .\ native of 
Sweden, he was born March 2S, 1840, and 
is a son of John Anderson, a shoemaker by 
trade, who supported his family by work 
along that line, and by the income he derived 
from a small farm, and by his labors as a 
fisherman. 

Mr. Johnson is one of the younger of 
eleven children, and in his youth received no 
special privileges, in fact his opportunities, 
educational and otherwise, were somewhat 
limited. His mental capacity, however, was 
above the average, and had opportunity af- 
forded, he would no doubt have attained dis- 
tinction in professional circles; as it is he has 
made himself a well-informed man. .At the 



age of seventeen he began working for farm- 
ers in the neighborhood of his home, and 
was thus employed for eight years, but re- 
ceived only from $4 to $10 per year, such 
was the low rate of wages paid in Sweden. 
When twenty-eight years of age he sailed 
for America, having saved enough to pay his 
passage, and on the 17th of July, 1868, the 
vessel in which he embarked weighed anchor. 
The vo\age consumed eleven days, and in the 
latter part of July he reached Waupaca coun- 
ty, having traveled by rail to Oshkosh, Wis., 
and by steamer to Gill's Landing. He ar- 
rived at that place after night, and, over the 
unknown country, walked to the center of 
Farmington township in search of his 
brother, Eric Johnson, who had located here 
three 3'ears previous, and whom he found the 
following day. 

Our subject's first employment in the 
New World was as a " hand " upon the farm of 
Andrew Erickson, with whom he remained 
some time. His winters were passed in the 
pineries in the northern part of the State, 
and, saving all of his earnings that were not 
required for daily expenses, he at length pos- 
sessed sufficient capital to purchase eighty 
acres of land in Section 22, Farmington 
township. This transfer of property was 
made in 1871, and the improvements upon 
the place were an old farm house and sixteen 
acres cleared. 

Mr. Johnson was married June 16, 1872, 
in Scandinavia township, to Christine Erick- 
son, who was born in Sweden, and when a 
year old was brought b\' her father, Andrew 
Erickson, to the United States, he becoming 
one of the early settlers of Farmington town- 
ship, Waupaca county. Mr. and Mrs. John- 
son located upon their present farm, and 
have since made it their home. He now has 
200 acres of valuable land, of which 100 
acres are cleared and improved, and he is re- 
garded as one of the leading farmers of his 
township, while both he and his wife hold 
an enviable position in social circles. -Since 
obtaining the right of franchise, he has been 
a stalwart Republican, has for two years 
served as supervisor, and has been school 
treasurer and school director of District No. 
7. The county finds in him a good citi;:en, 
loyal to her Ix'st interests, and his many 



.7% 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



friends know him to be an honorable, up- 
right man, who by a well-spent life and suc- 
cessful business dealings has won for him- 
self well-merited prosperity. 



FJ. NfARTIX, who is engaged in the 
livery and insurance business in Sha- 
wano, was born in West Winfield, 
N. Y. , June 29, 1857, and is a son 
of James and Catherine (Kennaj Martin. 
Both parents were natives of Ireland, and 
when a child the father came to the United 
States with his parents, who were poor people. 
In consequence he was early forced to earn 
his own living, and learned and followed the 
trade of cheese making in New York for 
some years. 

At an early day Mr. Martin came to Wis- 
consin with his brothers, but afterward re- 
turned to the Empire State. He married 
Miss Kenna, a native of County Kilkenny, 
Ireland, and in 1866 he brought his family 
to this State, locating in Rockland township, 
Brown county, where his brothers had located 
in the earliest days of its settlement. He 
operated a rented farm for two years, and 
then purchased a partially-improved tract of 
land, becoming owner of 120 acres, which 
he at once began to cultivate, making it a 
valuable and fertile tract, and securing a 
good home. On the 17th of July, 1892, 
while at work in a hay field he was accidental- 
ly thrown from his load of hay, and was tram- 
pled by his horses. The accident occurred at 
four o'clock in the afternoon, and he died 
the next morning. Twice before in his life 
he had met with accidents while handling 
hay, and had been temporarily disabled. 
His remains were laid to rest in De Pere 
Cemetery, and many friends mourned his 
loss. He had been an energetic, enterpris- 
ing man, and had accumulated a comfort- 
able competence. He was a member of the 
Catholic Church, and in politics usuall}' sup- 
ported-the Democracy, but was not bound by 
party ties. Since her husband's death, Mrs. 
Martin has resided in Shawano, where she 
is yet living, at the age of si.xty-eight. The 
surviving children of the family are: James, 
a skilled mechanic of Minneapolis, who ac- 
•t[uired a college education, and formerly en- 



gaged in school teaching; F. J., of this 
sketch; Justin, of Green Bay, Wis.; and 
Catherine, who, for five 3ears, has been en- 
gaged in teaching in the high school of 
Shawano. 

Our subject attended the common schools 
of West Winfield, Herkimer Co., N. Y. , 
and when about nine years of age accom- 
panied his parents on their emigration west- 
ward. He was reared on the farm, and at- 
tended the district schools of his home and 
also the De Pere high school. At the age 
of eighteen he left the parental roof to make 
his own way in the world, and for ten win- 
ters thereafter engaged in teaching school in 
Brown, Shawano, Oconto and Marinette 
counties; during the summer being engaged 
in the nursery business. He first entered 
mercantile life in Marquette, Mich., where 
for two years he engaged in the imple- 
ment business. On the lOth of January, 
1887, he bought a livery stable in Shawano, 
which he still conducts, receiving a liberal 
support from the public. In 1 890 he went 
into the insurance business, and now repre- 
sents many of the most important companies 
in this and other countries. He also loans 
money and deals in real estate. 

On the 28th of September, 1886, in Sha- 
wano. Mr. Martin married Miss Cora M. 
Porter, a native of Oshkosh, \\'is. , and a 
daughter of e.\-Sheriff A. K. Porter. They 
have two interesting children: Leo A., born 
November 3, 1888, and Leslie K., born 
December 25, 1894. 

In politics, Mr. Martin has alwavs been 
a stanch Republican, and is recognized as 
one of the leaders of his party in his local- 
it}'. For two years he served as assessor of 
Shawano; for two years was alderman, and 
for one year was president of the city coun- 
cil, and was a member of the county board 
of supervisors the same length of time. His 
wife, a most estimable lady, holds member- 
ship with the Presbvterian Church. Mr. 
Martin is a self-made man and the success 
that he has already achieved argues well for 
his future prosperity. He is conservative 
and careful in his business dealings, at the 
same time is progressive and enterprising, 
and has the reputation for honorable trans- 
actions tiiat might well be envied. Alone 



COMMEMORATIVB DIOGHAPUICAL RECORD. 



785 



and unaided he has worked his way steadily 
upward, and well deserves the high regard 
in which he is held and the prosperity that 
crowns his undertakings. 



JOHN AINSWORTH, a prosperous farm- 
er of Waukechon township, Shawano 
county, was born January 26, 1829, 
near Poole, England, a son of Henry 
and Susan (Hoor) Ainsworth. Henry Ains- 
worth was a farmer, and a successful man. 
He reared the following named children: 
Martha, now deceased; Amelia, in England; 
Henry, in Richmond township, Shawano 
county; John, whose name introduces this 
sketch; Mary, Sarah and Elizabeth, in Eng- 
land; Thomas, a lumberman in Shawano, 
Shawano county; and Sophia, now de- 
ceased. 

John Ainsworth was reared a farmer boy, 
and had ver\' limited opportunities for book 
learning, receiving what education he ob- 
tained at home. He remained with his par- 
ents until he was twenty-one years of age, 
then, in 1850, sailed for America with his 
brother Henry, landing in New York after a 
voyage of forty days. Going to Ohio, he 
stopped at Ashtabula, where he engaged in 
day labor on a farm, and remained some 
five years. Having saved some money, he 
came by rail to Wisconsin as far as Janesville, 
and from there by team to Oshkosh, hiring 
out in a lumber camp, and thus beginning a 
career in lumbering which he followed some 
thirteen years. On September 2, 1864, 
John Ainsworth was united in marriage with 
Elizabeth Jones, who was born in Lower 
Canada April 21, 1837, and the)' have had the 
following named children: Maggie, in Cali- 
fornia; Georgie. now Mrs. Edward Zamp, 
of California, with whom Maggie lives; 
Charles, now deceased; John W. , at home; 
Anna Maj-, who is teaching school; and 
Virginia, at Antigo, Langlade Co., Wis., 
teaching school. 

Mrs. Ainsworth is a daughter of Charles 
and Elizabeth (Sedorej Jones, the former of 
whom was born in Wales and came to Can- 
ada in an early day. He was a carpenter 
by trade, and followed this occupation dur- 
ing the greater part of his life. Mrs. Jones 



was from Albany, N. Y. She had very lim- 
ited opportunities for an education, and re- 
mained at home until her marriage, at which 
time her parents were in Richmond town- 
ship, Shawano county, where her father fol- 
owed lumbering. He died in Shawano in 
1893, at the age of eighty-eight, and the 
mother is now living in Shawano at the age 
of seventy-nine. Mr. and Mrs. Charles 
Jones had nine children, namely: Anna B., 
now the wife of Thomas Ainsworth, brother 
of John Ainsworth; Elizabeth, Mrs. John 
Ainsworth; Jane, now Mrs. James Brown, 
of Embarrass, W'aupaca county; David 
G., a farmer in Shawano, Shawano coun- 
ty; Charles E., deceased; Sebastian Gor- 
don, deceased; William Henry and Ar- 
thur W., in Antigo, Langlade county; and 
Georgie, now Mrs. Charles McMekel, of 
Belle Plaine, Shawano county. 

When Mr. Ainsworth was married he 
had 200 acres of land. He came to Wau- 
kechon by team from Oshkosh, located on 
land here, and began to open up and clear a 
farm, building a log house 24 x 30 feet, 
opening roads through the trackless forests, 
and in other ways doing pioneer work. He 
now has 160 acres of land, of which he has 
cleared si.xty, and he has also dealt in land. 
Politically Mr. Ainsworth is a Republican, 
and he has been a member of the side board. 
In religious affiliation he is a member of the 
English Episcopal Church. 



IRA SPENCER, one of the substantial 
and well-to-do farmers of Lind town- 
ship, Waupaca county, is also one of its 

earliest settlers. Thomas Spencer, his 
father, was one of the most influential and 
public-spirited pioneers of the county. He 
was born at Hartford, Conn., March 19, 
1789, son of Epiphas Spencer, and married 
Hannah Aikens, who was born at Potsdam, 
N. Y., November 19, 1799. Their children 
were Rodney, who died at the age of four- 
teen years; Laura, who is now widow of 
Charles Chesley, and resides at Waupaca; 
Myra, now Mrs. Ezra Thompson, of Green- 
wood, Clark Co., Wis., and Ira, the subject 
of this sketch. 

Thomas Spencer was reared on the farm 



7 86 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in Connecticut, and when a young man mi- 
grated to New York State. He was a cap- 
tain during the war of 1812, and partici- 
pated in the battle of Lundy's Lane, serv- 
ing with distinction throughout the war. 
He was sheriff of Frankhn county, N. Y. , 
and also held a custom-house office while 
living in New York. His wife died in 1846, 
and in the spring of 1850 he migrated with 
his three children to Section 18, Lind town- 
ship, \\'aupaca Co., Wis. Here he married 
again, but had no children by his second 
marriage. He was a public-spirited man, 
and in later life built a large house, near 
the present residence of our subject, and 
which was known far and wide as "Spencer's 
Hotel. " Ho donated the land for a grist- 
mill at the village of Parfreyville. An old 
Jacksonian Democrat, he was thoroughly 
versed in the controversial art. and greatly 
enjoyed political discussion. Living to the 
ripe old age of ninety-two years, retaining to 
the last his faculties and vitality apparently 
unimpaired, he died July 26, 1881, greatly 
esteemed by all who knew him, and was 
buried at the adjoining village of Parfrey- 
ville. 

Ira Spencer was born August 22, 1842. 
He was only seven years old when the 
journey to what was then the " Far ^^'est " 
was made. By boat they came to Milwau- 
kee. The father brought with him five 
horses, and they hauled the family as far as 
Berlin, where the children remained while 
the father prospected for a site. He had 
been to Jefferson before, but concluding to 
settle farther north proceeded to what was 
afterward Section 18 of Lind township, for 
at that time no surveys had yet been made. 
Thomas Spencer was the first white man on 
the farm. He first built a shanty of lumber 
hauled from Weyauwega. Poles were 
stretched from tree to tree, and the boards 
leaned up against them. Game was then 
plentiful in the surrounding forests, and 
from his home Ira once counted twenty- 
seven deer. Indians lingered in the neigh- 
borhood, and the young boy once saw si.xty- 
three of the Menominees in one band. He 
had for a short time attended school in the 
old New York home, but the schools in 
Wisconsin wen; of the primitive type. There 



were no schools in the township when he 
came, and the first that he attended in the 
region was at Rural, three miles away in 
Dayton township, a Miss Dayton being the 
teacher. He was reared on the farm which 
he still occupies, and there received his first 
knowledge of farming. Three winters he 
spent in the woods, but farming has been 
his lifework. He has witnessed the full and 
complete development of the country about 
him, from the time it was an unbroken 
wilderness to the present efficient state of 
cultivation He has seen the game of the 
forests gradually disappear, noted the decay 
of the short-lived shanties, the reign of the 
log cabins, their displacement by frame 
houses, and the inauguration of the fourth 
stage of development, handsome and com- 
modious structures with manv modern im- 
provements. 

During the Civil war Mr. Spencer served 
in the ranks of the Union army, enlisting 
August 24, 1864, at Waupaca, Wis., in 
Compan}' A, Forty-second Wis. \. I., 
shortly afterward joining his command at 
Madison. The regiment was ordered to the 
front and placed on duty at Cairo, 111., " 
where the\' remained until the end of the 
war, doing guard duty, guarding prisoners, 
etc. On March 16, 1865, Mr. Spencer \\as 
promoted to the rank of corporal, serving as 
such until the close of the war, and was 
mustered out of the U. S. service with the 
rest of the regiment at Madison, Wis., May 
29, 1865. He is now a member of the 
G. A. R., Garfield Post No. 21. at Wau- 
paca. 

On December _^o, 1874, Mr. Spencer 
was married, in Berlin, to Miss Hattie F. 
Thomas, who was born in Steuben county, 
N. Y. , March 19, 1850, and who when an 
infant was brought to W'isconsin by her par- 
ents, James and Elizabeth Thomas, earlj- 
and prominent pioneers of Waupaca county. 
Mrs. Spencer received a common-school 
education in the primitive wilderness, her 
first teacher being Cordelia Fo.x, now Mrs. 
James Potter, of Liiid township. Mr. 
Spencer now has a well-improved farm of 
224 acres, upon which he has a good home, 
a substantial barn 30 x 80, and has made 
other impro\-ements. He is a Democrat. 



COMMEMORATIVE lilOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 



7^/ 



but not a seeker for office. The man}- ex- 
cellent traits of himself and wife are 
thoroughl}' appreciated by their hosts of ac- 
(juaintances, and they live in the enjoyment 
of a wide friendship, and in the prosperity 
which comes after years well spent, and 
work well done. 



ASA W. HOLLENBECK, one of 
Waupaca's most prosperous business 
men, was born June 20, 1857, at 
Pine River, Waushara Co., \\'is. , 
the son of Abraham and Malinda (Boying- 
tou) Hollenbeck, and grandson of Nathaniel 
Hollenbeck, one of the earl}' pioneers of 
Jefferson county, Wisconsin. 

When a mere boy Abraham came with 
his parents from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin. 
He was a cabinet-maker early in life, but in 
later years followed farming. He died at 
Fort Atkinson, Jefferson county, leaving a 
competence to his wife, who still resides 
there. Their family consisted of three chil- 
dren, Asa and two daughters. Asa's parents 
removed from Pine River to Rome, Jeffer- 
son county, when he was a babe of si.\ 
months. Receiving a common-school edu- 
cation, he began life for himself at the early 
age of fourteen years. He had spent some 
ti;nc in his father's shop, but was not at- 
tracted to it, nor did he take kindly to his 
parent's offer to place him in a machine 
shop, preferring instead to work on a farm 
at eight dollars per month. Later, how- 
ever, he learned the molder's trade at Fort 
Atkinson, and altogether he followed that 
vocation for about fourteen years. He went 
to Marinette in 1S78, and while there found 
employment in the Marinette Iron Works. 
Mr. Hollenbeck was married in 1876 at 
Hebron, Jefferson county, to Miss Belle 
Harrison, a native of Waukesha county, 
^^'is. Their five children are Jessie, Leo, 
Warren, Fred and Linda. In 1887 Mr. 
Hollenbeck moved to Waupaca, and there 
began his prosperous bottling business. Sit- 
uated upon his property is a sparkling min- 
eral spring, and its waters are in so great 
demand that Mr. Hollenbeck not only sup- 
plies local dealers, but ships his product to 
many outside points. He has erected works. 



and bottles all kinds of carbonated bever- 
ages ^ In managing his trade he has ex- 
hibited marked business ability, and can 
creditably be referred to as one of the most 
successful young business men of the com- 
munity. The Crystal Springs Bottling 
Works of Waupaca were founded by him, 
and he remains their sole proprietor, having 
by his own unaided efforts and e.xecutixe 
skill won for the products that wide and 
favorable reputation which they enjo\-. 

Mr. Hollenbeck is a great lo\er of sport. 
He was a member of Chandler's rink, which, 
in January, 1895, at the National Curling 
Bonspiel, held in Milwaukee, captured the 
prize from competitors, who included in 
their number the leading curlers of the 
United States and Canada. He is a mem- 
ber of the A. O. U. W. , and politically has 
been a lifelong Republican Distinctively a 
self-made man, Mr. Hollenbeck has the 
esteem and confidence of his fellow towns- 
men, and he enjoys a valuable business rep- 
utation, extending far beyond the borders of 
the count\- which claims him as a citizen. 



JAMES S. THOMPSON follows farm- 
ing in Lind township, Waupaca coun- 
t}-, and is a leading citizen of that 
communit} , and an honored veteran of 
the late war. He was born on the 20th of 
May, 1 841, in Champlain, Clinton Co.. N. 
Y., and is a son of Robert and Hannah 
(Alger) Thompson. The father was a miller 
by trade, and was employed in a gristmill 
for many years. Both parents spent their 
last days in the town of Mooers, New York. 
The gentleman whose name introduces 
this sketch received a common-school edu- 
cation, becoming familiar with the most es- 
sential English branches, and he was reared 
in the usual manner of lads of that day 
whose parents were in limited circumstances. 
When the war broke out, aroused by a spirit 
of patriotism, he responded to the call of 
the President for troops to aid in crushing 
out the Rebellion, and on August 13, 1862, 
enlisted at Mooers, N. Y., becoming a mem- 
ber of Company G, One Hundred and Fifty- 
third N. Y. V. I. The regiment spent the 
winter of 1862 ^ in Alexandria, \'a., and at 



7SS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Washington; then went to Pleasant Hill, 
where occurred the first engagement in 
which our subject participated. There, 
on the 19th of June, 1863, he was taken 
prisoner, and after being in a Rebel prison 
for two months and a half, he was sent to a 
parole camp at Lake Ponchatrain, La. On 
being exchanged he started to rejoin his 
regiment, but was sunstruck, and lay pros- 
trated and delirious from the time he left 
New Orleans until reaching Fortress Mon- 
roe. The physicians attending him said 
that his chances for recover)' were very 
slight, but he finall\- recovered sufficiently 
to rejoin his regiment, which he did at Win- 
chester, immediately after the battle at that 
place. His old company served as guard at 
the headquarters of Gen. Emery, of the 
Nineteenth Army Corps, and after the sur- 
render of Gen. Lee, his regiment was sent 
to Savannah, Ga. , to do guard dut}-. It 
was at that place that many of the poor 
soldiers died, and it was there that Mr. 
Thompson received an honorable discharge, 
October 2, 1865. He then went with his 
old comrades by boat to Albany, N. Y. , 
where he was mustered out. He had been 
wounded by a spent ball at Pleasant Hill, 
and for some time his right arm was help- 
less. 

Upon his return to the county of his na- 
tivity, Mr. Thompson began working for 
his father upon the old home farm, and was 
thus employed for more than two years, 
when, on the 14th of March, 1868, occurred 
a very important event in his life. On that 
day was celebrated his marriage with Miss 
Margaret Thompson, a native of Champlain, 
N. Y. , and a daughter of James and Mary 
A. (Bell) Thompson. Her father was a mill- 
wright by trade, and also owned and oper- 
ated a small farm. Both he and his wife 
died in the Empire State. Upon his mar- 
riage Mr. Thompson located in Mooers, 
Clinton Co., N. Y., where he made his home 
until the autumn of 1880, at which time he 
came to Waupaca countx', accompanied by 
his wife and son, their only child, Elmer, 
who was born December 16, 1S72, and is 
still with his parents. 

On his arrival in Wisconsin, Mr. Thomp- 
son located in Royalton township, Wau- 



paca count}', but after a short time removed 
to New London, Wis., where he secured 
employment in the E.xcelsior mill, spending 
some time in labor along that line. In the 
spring of 1888, he came to Lind township, 
and purchased in Section 10 the 100 acres 
of land which he now cultivates. He has 
built upon it a new residence, and has a 
comfortable home, which is supplemented 
by good barns and other outbuildings, and 
these are surrounded by well-tilled fields. 

In his political views, the subject of this 
sketch has been a stanch Republican since 
casting his first Presidential vote for Abra- 
ham Lincoln in 1864, but though he has 
been unwavering in the support of the 
party, he has never been an office-seeker. 
He keeps well informed on the issues 
of the day, and is a good citizen, who, 
in times of peace, faithfully performs his 
duty with the same loyalty which char- 
acterized his career, when on Southern bat- 
tle fields he followed the stars and stripes 
to victory. He and his wife are consistent 
Christian people, holding membership with 
the Methodist Episcopal Church of Wau- 
paca, and while living in New London he 
served as church trustee. 



REINHART J. MATTHIAS. Of the 
names that are permanentlj- associat- 
ed with the development of the in- 
terests of Waupaca countj', there is 
none more deserving of prominent place in 
this volume, than the one here recorded. 

Mr. Matthias was born in Green Lake 
county, \\'is. , on Christmas Day, 1857, the 
eldest of eight children born to John and 
Pauline (Moranj Matthias, natives of Ger- 
many, the father born in Pommern, whence 
in 1854 he came to the United States with 
his father's family, settling in Wisconsin. 
He was a farmer by occupation, and follow- 
ed the pursuit first in the town of Rat Kiver, 
Winnebago county. Wis., whence in about 
a year he moved to Bloomfield township. 
Waushara county, and from there to Little 
Wolf township, Waupaca count)', where he 
still resides, in the enjoyment of the respect 
of a wide circle of acquaintances. In 1855, 
he was married to Miss Pauline Moran, and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEICAL RECORD. 



789 



to them have been born eight children, all 
living, namel}': Reinhart J., our subject; 
Caroline, wife of Henry Brammer; Emil, a 
(leaf mute; Julius; Charles; Minnie, wife of 
William Flotcr, of Waupaca county; August; 
and Ida, wife of J. D. Menton, a jeweler, 
of \\'aupaca county. 

The subject proper of these lines received 
a limited education; but being a diligent 
student, a close reader and a keen observer 
of men and things, he succeeded in after life 
in making ample amends for the briefness of 
his school attendance. Since 1885, up to 
which time he had followed farming, Mr. 
Matthias has been e.xtensively engaged in 
real-estate business, in which he has made 
a success. On February 11, 1880, he was 
married to Mrs. Hannah Hageman, widow 
of Frederick Hageman, and one daughter 
has been born them, named Amanda. The 
family attend the services of the Lutheran 
Church, and socially Mr. Matthias is a 
member of the I. O. O. F. In political 
preferences he is a stanch Republican, has 
always taken an acti\-e interest in public 
affairs, and is a warm advocate of all meas- 
ures tending to the advancement of the wel- 
fare of his township and county in general. 
For the past twelve years he has served as 
justice of the peace, and has also been the 
township assessor five years. His many 
sterling qualities, keen intelligence and un- 
swerving integrity have won for him the 
esteem of a multitude of social and business 
friends. 



HENRY A. SAMPSON, a most popu- 
lar and highly-esteemed citizen of 
Grand Rapids, represents one of the 
oldest pioneer families of Wood 
county; in fact, he was the first white male 
child born in the count}'. He is the only child 
ol Ahira Beach and Jane (Teel) Sampson, the 
date of his birth being March i, 1843, and 
the place the town of Nekoosa. His father 
was a native of Keeseville, N. \'. , and emi- 
grating westward in 1835, made his way to 
the Territory of Wisconsin, locating first at 
Green Bay, but after a short time passed 
there, he removed to Wood county, which 
at that time was called Whitney Rapids. 



By trade he was a carpenter, and for some 
time was in the employ of I). M. Whitnev, 
now deceased, for whom he built a sawmill, 
and afterward managed it for several \cars.. 
Subsequenth' he removed to Grand Rapids, 
and, erecting a hotel at that place, engaged; 
in the hotel business for fi\e or six years. 
On discontinuing operations along that line, 
he formed a partnership with Reuben L}ons, 
erecting a sawmill at what is now called 
South Centralia, and carrying on that busi- 
ness for a considerable period. On selling 
out the establishment, he returned to Grand 
Rapids and retired from active life, enjoying 
a rest of which he was well worth}-. 

Ahira Sampson was one of the earliest 
settlers of Wood county, and took an active 
part in its upbuilding, and in all matters 
pertaining to the public welfare. He several 
times served as chairman of the board of 
county commissioners, and was highly es- 
teemed for his sterling qualities and upright 
business principles. He passed peacefulh- 
away October 17, 1890, and his death was 
deeply regretted by all who knew him. His 
wife still sur\ives him, and is \'et a resident 
of Grand Rapids. 

Amid the wild scenes of frontier life our 
subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
youth. He lived in Wisconsin for five years 
during its Territorial days, and has therefore 
seen its entire growth and development as a 
State. The educational privileges which he 
received were limited by those afforded in 
his nati\e county, and from an early age he 
has been engaged in the cutting and manu- 
facture of lumber of all descriptions. His 
time and energies are still devoted to the 
lumber industry, and his operations along 
that line haNe made him numbered among 
the leading business men of his native 
county. 

On December 23, 1879, Mr. Sampson 
was united in marriage with Miss Omeda, 
daughter of Samuel and Martha Moore, and 
one son graces their union, Henry A., who 
was born on the 25th of April, 1882. The 
political views of our subject are in harmony 
with the principles of the Republican party, 
and on that ticket he has se\eral times been 
elected chairman of the town board of super- 
visc:)rs, and the fact of his being chosen his 



19° 



COMMEMOaATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



own successor indicates his fidelit)' to duty 
and his personal popularit}'. In religious 
belief he and his family are Methodists. 



WILLIAM WEDGWOOD. Among 
the successful farmers of \\'auke- 
chon township, Shawano county, 
who by diligence and patient in- 
dustry have made homes for themselves and 
their families, is Mr. Wedgwood. He was 
born in Haldimand county, Canada, in 1851, 
and is a son of David and Henrietta fWeir) 
\\'edgwood, from the State of Maine and 
Haldimand county, Canada, respectively. 

William Wedgwood received a common- 
school education in Canada, and never went 
to school after he was fourteen years of age. 
In 1863 became with his parents to Wis- 
consin, lived at home until he was seven- 
teen years of age, then went out to work, 
and has since earned his own living. He 
was first employed in the sawmill of A. C. 
Conn & Co., of Little Suamico,* Oconto 
■county, and remained with them ten years. 
He then went to Marinette, Marinette 
county, worked there in a sawmill for one 
year, and then came to Waukechon. On 
December 19, 1872, Mr. Wedgwood was 
united in marriage with Mary J. McCourt, 
who was born in Pittsburg, Penn., and they 
have had five children, namely: Mary, 
Catherine, Elizabeth and Henrietta, who are 
all at home; and William, who died at the 
age of si.\ years. The parents of Mrs. 
Wedgw'ood, John and Catherine (Woods) 
MrCourt, were from Ireland, and located in 
Ohio manj- years ago, but finall}' came to 
Wisconsin, being among the early settlers of 
Cato, Manitowoc county. Mr. McCourt 
took up a homestead, and his occupation 
was farming. When the Civil war broke out 
he went as a Union soldier, served nearly 
three years, and was wounded in a way that 
eventually caused his death. He returned, 
d\ing about 18S3. He reared seven chil- 
dren, as follows: One who died; Mar\-; 
Margaret, deceased, who was the wife of 
Peter Webber, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; John 
C. . who died at the age of twenty-five 
years; Henry, who is engaged in farming in 
"Cato, Manitowoc count\'; Anna, now the 



wife of Joseph Wrenz, a carpenter, of Iron 
Mountain, Menominee Co., Mich., and 
James, residing in Cato. Mrs. Catherine 
McCourt still lives on the homestead with 
her two sons. She is now seventy-four 
Nears old. 

In 1873 Mr. Wedgwood came to Wau- 
kechon township, and bought eighty acres 
of land in Section i, which still forms a part 
of his farm. The land was in a primitive 
condition, inhabited only bj- the beasts of 
the forest. A few roads had been cut at 
that time, but he had no team. There was 
a log house i6.\20, covered with boards, in 
which he lived for seven years. He com- 
menced clearing, and did much of his log- 
ging by hand, or hired it done, for two or 
three years. His first crop was oats, sowed 
among the stumps, harvested with a cradle, 
and threshed with a machine. He pressed 
on with the clearing as rapidly as he was 
able, and it was chiefly by his own hard 
labor that this work was done. He has 
thus succeeded in clearing some seventy 
acres, now having 120 acres of good land, 
with good improvements, and what he has 
has been procured through his own efforts. 

Mr. Wedgwood is a Republican in poli- 
tics, has taken much interest in the success 
of liis part}', and is an ardent supporter of 
the schools. He has held the office of town- 
ship chairman one year, and fias been super- 
visor for two years. Sociall)' he is a mem- 
ber of Shawano Lodge, I. O. O. F., and 
Mrs. \\'edgwood and the children are mem- 
bers of the Catholic Church. 



WILLIAM KUEHL, a prosperous 
farmer of Washington township, 
Shawano coimt}', was born in 
Prussia, thirteen miles from Ber- 
lin, Germany, June 16, 1S34, son of 
Joachim and Mar}' (Schieber) Kuehl, who 
were both born in Prussia. Joachim Kuehl 
was a farmer in comfortable circumstances. 
He died in 1S35, and his wife survived him 
about a year, dying in 1836. The\- hail 
the following named children: Fredericka, 
now deceased; Christian, who succeeded 
his father on the farm, ;ind died in Prussia; 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Joachim and Charles, now deceased; and 
W'iHiam, the subject of this sketch. 

William Kuehl received a good com- 
mon-school education, left school at the age 
of fourteen, and worked at home on the 
farm, which was managed by his uncle, Gott- 
fried, until his eldest brother became of age. 
He remained at home until he was about 
twenty-one, then went to his uncle's, twenty- 
one miles away, was with him for two 
vears, and returned home in the fall. In 
the following spring, 1857, he came to 
America. Leaving Bremen in the sailing 
vessel " Hansa, " which was formerly a 
Prussian warship, he was twenty-three days 
in crossing the ocean to New York, during 
which time lire broke out in the hold of the 
vessel, and was e.xtinguished only with much 
danger and trouble, and they had to put 
into Boston for a supply of coal. He went 
direct to Mayville, Dodge Co., Wis., re- 
maining there a short time with his brother, 
Joachim, who had come to America one 
year previously. Going then to Beaver 
Dam, Dodge Co., Wis., he worked on a 
prairie near there unt'l the spring of 1859; 
then came to Shawano and hired out to H. 
C. Naber, clearing land, and continuing 
with him about two years. He then bought 
eight)- acres of land which was partially im- 
proved. 

On November 11, i860, in Shawano, 
Shawano Co., Wis., William Kuehl was 
united in marriage with Miss Sophia Fink, 
who was born in Germany May 28, 1842, 
and their children are as follows; Charles 
and Hattie, at home; Mary, now Mrs. 
Gustav Tiemer, of Cecil, Washington town- 
ship; William, John and Alice, at home; 
Emma, at Shawano, and \lbert, at home. 
When eighteen years of age Miss Sophia 
Fink, now Mrs. Kuehl, came to America 
with her mother in the sailing vessel 
"Donah," landing in New York. Her 
father had previously died in Germany. 
They first settled in Mayville, Dodge Co., 
Wis., and later went to Shawano, Shawano 
county. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kuehl 
settled on their eighty acres in Shawano, 
where the\' remained ten years, in the fall 
of 1 870 removing to Washington township. 



He traded the eighty acres in Shawano for 
a house and lot and 400 acres of wild land 
in Washington township, with Cornelius 
Crowley, and after clearing built a small log 
house. He obtained an excellent start by 
selling his pine land. Of the 400 acres he 
still has retained 180, which are in Section 
23. In 1875 he built his present home, 
which is a good, substantial house, com- 
fortably furnished. Mr. Kuehl has held the 
office of township clerk for one year, has 
been chairman one term, and district school 
clerk for three years. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Kuehl are members of the German Lutheran 
Church, and he takes an active part in 
Church matters. He is a worthy gentle- 
man, well-to-do, and highly honored and 
respected. 



WILLIAM WEGNER, a substantial 
farmer of Waukechon township, 
Shawano county, was born in Poll- 
now, Prussia, Germany, August 
5, 1832. He is the son of Henry and Fred- 
ericka (Norse) Wegner. 

Henry Wegner was a shepherd by occu- 
pation. Both he and his wife died in Ger- 
many before their son William came to 
America in 1866. They left four children, 
namely: Amelia, who married in- Germany 
John Gise. a day laborer, and they went to 
South America, since which time William 
has heard nothing from them; William, sub- 
ject of this sketch; Albertine, wife of Will- 
iam Grunwoldt, a farmer of Waukechon, 
where they located in 1868, and have reared 
a family of children; and Charles, who is a 
railroad man, and has always followed this 
business, living in Germany. 

William Wegner was early reared to 
habits of industry, and has done hard work 
ever since he was a boy. His educational 
advantages were very poor, as he only at- 
tended school about two years, and was in 
the army from 1855 to 1858 in Germany. 
He was a hostler and teamsteKt and worked 
hard all the time until he came to America. 
In 1859 he married, and by his wife, Caro- 
line Beilke, had six children, as follows: 
Wilhelmine, deceased; Charles, now a dray- 
man in Wausau, Marathon county, who has 



792 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPEICAL RECORD. 



a wife and family; Otto, who is in Oshkosh, 
and has been employed for twelve years by 
the street railway company, has a wife and 
three children; Bertha, deceased in infancy, 
and two who were twins, also deceased in in- 
fancy. William Wegner's wife died in 1S65, 
and he again married, this time taking for his 
wife Fredericka Rannow,and thus obtained a 
mother for his children. By his economical 
living he had saved enough money to come 
to America, and with his wife embarked at 
Bremen on a sailing vessel, arriving at Que- 
bec after a voyage of forty-nine days. Com- 
ing to Waukechon, Wis., a stranger in a 
strange land, he had just fifty cents left. He 
engaged in day labor, and the ne.xt year 
bought eighty acres of land in I^elle Plaine 
township (then Oak Springs), Shawano coun- 
ty. He had no team. In one day a log 
house, 12 X 16 feet, was built, covered with 
slabs, and with split basswood for floor, and 
this made their home. He had to work two 
days to buy an axe, and with it commenced 
to clear his land. He worked for Mr. 
Schewe, then a new settler, and on his own 
land when unemployed elsewhere. He also 
worked in the woods. Wheat was his first 
crop. He raised 146 bushels, valued at $2 
a bushel, and thus had a start. He then 
bought an ox-team, and the work of clear- 
ing went briskly on. He bought forty-seven 
acres more, lived there a year and a half, 
and then, selling the farm, bought a hun- 
dred acres in Section 5, which still forms a 
part of the land where he now lives. He 
then had to begin over again, working in the 
woods to help out, and in the summer cleared 
his own land, and he has succeeded by dint 
of hard work and economical habits, to-day 
owning 460 acres of land, of which one hun- 
dred are cleared, the work done mainly by 
himself and team. In 1883 Mrs. Wegner 
died, leaving seven children, as follows: 
Julius, in Oshkosh, Winnebago county; Al- 
bert, inWausau, Marathon county ; Rudolph; 
Joseph; Otilie, in California; Martha, wife of 
Herman Bloomky, a farmer in Waukesha, 
Wis., and Ennna, who lived at home, died 
of cancer. 

In 1.SS3 Mr. Wegner married Bertha 
Maas, and they have had nine children, 
namely: Amelia, William (deceased), Han- 



na. Clara (deceased), Herman, Dora, Paul- 
ina, Laura, Margaret and Conradina. The 
parents of Mrs. Wegner, Fred and Minnie 
Maas, of Nebraska, had a family of six chil- 
dren, born in German}-. Mr. Maas was a 
farmer. Politically, Mr. \^'egner is a Re- 
publican; he is chairman of Shawano Agri- 
cultural Society, is school clerk, and has- 
been chairman of his township six years. 
The family are members of the Lutheran 
Church. 



TRUMAN EWER, who is a prosper- 
ous farmer and a member of the first 
family to settle in Matteson t<n\n- 
ship, Waupaca county, was born in 
Matteson in 1861, on the farm where he 
now resides. He is a son of Esben and 
Lucy (Matteson) Ewer, who are both living, 
and reside in Clintonville, Waupaca count}'. 
Esben Ewer was the second man to set- 
tle in Matteson township, and lived on the 
farm now owned by his son, Truman Ewer, 
till he moved to Clintonville. Mr. and Mrs. 
Esben Ewer are the parents of the follow- 
ing named children: Mrs. J. W. Morgan; 
Charles, who resides in Kansas; Mrs. J. H. 
Olmsted; Roswell, who resides in Matteson 
township; Truman, of whom we write; and 
Freeman, who resides at Embarrass, Wau- 
paca county. Truman Ewer was reared on 
his present farm, educated in the schools of 
the district, and aided in opening up and 
clearing the home farm. He owns 160 
acres in a good state of cultivation. In 1880, 
in Matteson township, Truman Ewer and 
Miss Lillie F. Wait were united in marriage, 
and two children have been born to them, 
Esben and Mamie. Mrs. Ewer grew to 
womanhood in Matteson township. She is 
a daughter of George and Parthenia (Mar- 
tin) \Vait, who came to Wisconsin from 
Ohio, and were early settlers in Matteson 
township. 

Mr. Ewer was elected supervisor of the 
town of Matteson in 1892, and has served on 
the school board for six \'ears. He votes 
with the Republican party. He is a prac- 
tical man, and gives attention to general 
farming, including dairy farming, and makes 
a specialty of Jersey cattle. He has seen 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



793 



much of the development and growth in his 
locality, and takes an interest in the pro- 
gress of education and general improve- 
ments. 



PH. PARKS (deceased) was for many 
years one of the prominent farmers 
of St. Lawrence township, Waupaca 
county, and an honored early settler. 
He was born in Marion township, Catter- 
augus Co., N. Y., June g, 1820, and was 
a son of Reuben and Mehitable (Barton) 
Parks. As his father was a farmer by occu- 
pation, he was reared to agricultural pursuits. 
On September 11, 1843, in Allegany count)-, 
N. Y. , he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza- 
beth Grady, whose birth occurred in New 
York City September 11, 1828, she being a 
daughter of William and Elizabeth (McBeth) 
Grad}'. 

Her father was born on the Atlantic 
ocean, while his parents were on their waj- 
to the New World. His father, Andrew 
Grady, was a native of Ireland, but during 
the Orange troubles went to England, where 
he was married, and there lived until his 
emigration to the United States. William 
Grady and his wife left New York City in 
1835, removing to Cuba, Allegany Co., N. 
Y. , where Mrs. Parks spent her girlhood and 
received an e.Ncellent education, being able 
to attend a select school of high merit. 
Her father was a merchant of the Empire 
State, and at one time quite well-to-do, but 
later lost most of his property. Along with 
a partner, he purchased dry goods and 
trinkets with which to stock a store, and 
they took passage with their goods on the 
first steamer that went to Green Ba}', Wis. 
There they erected and stocked the first 
store that was built there, trading with the 
Indians and half-breeds, taking furs in ex- 
change. William Grady, howe\er, becom- 
ing dissatisfied at the end of one year, sold 
out to his partner, returned to New York 
City and continued his business until his 
failure, as just stated. Having learned the 
trade of a carpenter when a youth of nine- 
teen, after his failure he again resumed that 
occupation. He died June 9, 1881, his wife 
in December, 1865, and theynowlie buried 



in Cuba, N. Y. She was a consistent Chris- 
tian woman and a member of the Presby- 
terian Church. In politics Mr. Grady was 
for many years a stanch supporter of the 
Democratic party, but _ later in life became 
disgusted with the party and ceased to 
e.xercise his right of franchise. 

In May, 1844, P. H. Parks and his wife 
came to Wisconsin, making the journey by 
water from Buffalo, N. Y., on the vessel 
" Hendrickson," which landed them at Ken- 
osha on the 5th of that month. They 
located near the Illinois State line, in Ken- 
osha county, where they pre-empted land, 
removing to that farm Jul}- 4, 1844, They 
made their home in that county until Ma}-, 
1 85 I, when they removed to Baraboo town- 
ship, Winnebago Co., Wis., and remained 
there until they went to W'aupun, \\'is., 
where Mr. Parks opened a hotel, which re- 
ceived much patronage from the people 
going to the wheat fields and lumber regions 
of the north, as they would stop there and 
stay over night. In 1854 he removed to 
Winneconne, Wis., where he obtained em- 
ployment in a sawmill. In April of the fol- 
lowing year he came to Waupaca county by 
land, and located in Section 22, St. Law- 
rence township. When his wife and two 
children came, however, they made the 
journey by boat to Northport, where he met 
them with an ox-team. He had previously 
erected a shant\' for their reception, but on 
nearing the place they saw their home in a 
blaze, and it was entirely destroyed. Until 
another house could be built they made 
their temporary home at the "Hopkins- 
Hotel " in Ogdensburg. The last house was 
erected a little west of where the present 
home now stands. The land was all in its 
primitive condition, not a furrow having 
been turned or an improvement made, but 
with characteristic energy Mr. Parks began 
its development, which he continued until 
his death, at which time he had one of the 
best farms in the neighborhood. 

At Waupaca, Wis., in September, 1864, 
our subject became a member of the Pioneer 
Corps, as he was at thai time nearly forty-five 
years of age. He joined Company G, Fifth 
Wis. V. I., and remained in the service un- 
til the close oi the war, receiving his dis- 



794 



COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



charge at M'ashington, D. C. in the early 
part of June. 1865. 

In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Parks 
•were the following children: Sellina, who 
was born in Kenosha county, Wis., is now 
the wife of James Ratcliffe, one of the well- 
to-do farmers of \'erdi, Lincoln Co., Minn. ; 
George, who was born in the same county 
as his sister, is one of the leading farmers 
■of St. Lawrence township, ^^'aupaca county; 
William, who was born in St. Lawrence 
township, is a photographer at lola, W'is. ; 
Grant died September 25, 1882, while in 
Dakota, at the age of eighteen years and one 
month, and was buried in Ogdensburg, Wis. ; 
Ella, born in St. Lawrence township, is the 
wife of Wallace \'eysey, of Ocosta, Wash. ; 
Fked a., whose birth occurred August 19, 
1872, still remains upon the home farm; he 
now owns the same, and under his able 
management it is being well cultivated; he 
is an intelligent young man, and bids fair to 
become one of the most enterprising farmers 
■of the township. 

On July 8, 1891, Mr. P. H. Parks was 
called to his final rest, and now lies buried 
in the cemetery at Ogdensburg. He was 
one of the highly-respected citizens of Wau- 
paca county, and was recognized as one of 
the most honest and reliable men of the 
vicinity. His death occurred at the home 
of his son in lola. He was a Republican in 
politics, and for two terms held the office of 
justice of the peace. With C. A. Arthur 
Post, G. A. R., of Ogdensburg, beheld mem- 
bership. He had become quite prosperous, 
and when he died owned 240 acres of fine 
land. His widow makes her home there, 
beloved and esteemed by all. In April, 1890, 
with her son, Fred, she visited Washington, 
•where he spent the summer. 



GULBRAND J. KETOX is the own- 
er of one of the best-equipped farms 
of New Hope township, Portage 
county, of which locality his par- 
ents were early settlers. 

He was born November 30, 1 S4S. in 
Gusdal, Norway, a son of John O. Reton 
and Marthe Reton, also natives of Gusdal, 
the father born September 3, 1819, the 



mother July 2, 1818. John Reton acquired 
a good common-school education, and in 
earl}' manhood learned the trades of a miller 
and carpenter. He assisted in the construc- 
tion of the first railroad between Christiania 
and Eidsvold, and while employed on the 
railroad met with a severe accident, three of 
his ribs being broken. He removed to Eids- 
vold shortly after his marriage, and in the 
spring of 1854 emigrated to America, land- 
ing at Quebec, whence he came to Wiscon- 
sin, living for one year in the vicinity of 
Rock River, where he was employed at 
various kinds of labor. .\t that time the)' 
came to New Hope township. Portage coun- 
ty, making the journey, which lasted three 
weeks, with an o.\-team, and driving what 
stock they had. The father first bought 
eighty acres of wild land from the govern- 
ment (which is now included in the farm of 
our subject), and their first home was a 
small log cabin, which the father replaced, 
in 1856, with a more substantial dwelling, 
also of logs, their other home being then 
used for a stable. He increased his original 
purchase by the addition of another eighty 
acres, twenty of which lie in Alban town- 
ship, and here on the home he had taken 
from the wilderness he passed the remainder 
of his days, djing August 10, 1890; his wife 
followed him to the grave April 23, 1895, 
and they are buried side by side in New 
Hope cemetery. Our subject was their onlv 
child. 

Gulbrand J. Reton was but six years of 
age when he came with his parents to 
America. He was reared to farming on the 
home place, and also learned the carpenter's 
trade under his father, at which he has 
worked to some extent, but farming has 
i been his life vocation. He has alwas's lived 
: on the farm, and since his father's death has 
further increased its area by eighty acres, 
now having a beautiful farm, well improved 
and laid out, with a snug residence, first- 
class barns and other outbuildings, and a 
full stock of fine farming implements. On 
July 29, 1885, he had a fine barn destroyed 
by fire. Mr. Reton conducts a prosperous 
agricultural business, and is highly esteemed 
in his township as a substantial, progressive 
citizen, one whose influence mav always be 



COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



795 



relied upon for any project which has for its 
object the welfare of his township and 
countj-. 

On July 5, 1884, Mr. Keton was united 
in marriage, in \ew Hope township, with 
Miss Christina Fonstad, who was born in 
Norway, April 11, 1 849, and came to 
America in the spring of 1882, sailing from 
Christiania on the " Los Angeles " to Liver- 
pool, England, where she took passsage on 
the "City of Rome." Landing in New 
York City she came direct to Stevens Point, 
Wis., living there until her marriage. Her 
parents, Gulbrand and Karen TTollersrud) 
Fonstad, were born in Gusdal, Norwa}', and 
there passed their entire lives, dying some 
years ago. They reared a family of ten 
children, a brief record of whom is as fol- 
lows: Helena and Peter live in Norway; 
Matia is the wife of Ole Gilbertson, of 
Stevens Point; Cecelia came to this country, 
and for some years resided in Minneapolis, 
Minn., in 1891 returning to Norway, where 
she has since remained; Christina is the wife 
of our subject; Simon is employed in a mill 
at Stevens Point, Wis. ; Gulbrand, Marie 
and Ingebor are in Norway; and Christopher 
is li\in" with Mr. and Mrs Reton. 



HERMAN LINDOW. Many of the 
enterprising and prosperous farmers 
of Waupaca county have come 
from the land beyond the sea, and 
especially is this true of the many who have 
left their homes in the German Empire and 
sougiit this land of freedom, .\mong these 
quite a prominent hgure is the gentleman 
whose name stands at the beginning of this 
sketch, and who makes his home on his fine 
farm in Little Wolf township. 

On the 9th of March, 1849, Herman 
Lindow was born in Prussia, Germany, near 
Wittenberg, to Edward and Christine (Blowe) 
Lindow. The father was a farmer by occu- 
pation, and served for three years in the Ger- 
man army. The mother was born in Deam, 
near Wittenberg, Germany, September 16, 
1 82 1, and is a daughter of Christian and 
Mar)- (Hupuin) Blowe, who sjjcnt their en- 
tire lives in the Fatherland. Her father, 
who was a laborer, and was in the army for 



seven years, died in .\ugust, 1828. Her 
mother departed this life in February, 1849, 
at the age of forty-five years, leaving four 
children: Edward, who was drowned at the 
age of four years; Mrs. Lindow; Frederick, 
who now lives in America; and Gotlieb, who 
is engaged in the railroad business in Sa.xony^ 
Germany. 

To Edward and Christine Lindow were 
born fourteen children, of whom four died 
in infancy. The others are Charles, who is 
married and is a laborer of Herkimer county, 
N. Y. ; Herman, subject of this sketch; 
Mary, wife of John Shepherd, a laborer of 
Tigerton, Wis. ; August, a farmer of Little 
Wolf township, Waupaca county; William, 
who is also there engaged in the same pur- 
suit; Amelia, wife of Barney Nellis, a lum- 
berman and mason of West Duluth, Minn. ; 
Anna, wife of Henry Vilett, a laborer of 
Cumberland, Wis. ; Louise, now Mrs. Charles 
Miller, a hotel-keeper, of Manawa, Wau- 
paca county; John, a lumberman of Warner, 
Wis. ; and Edward, a farmer of Gordon, 
Neb. In 1853, the parents with their family 
sailed for America, and after a voyage of 
twenty-nine days landed in New York City, 
whence they went to I^ome, of the Empire 
State, where the father secured work as a 
laborer. In that city and vicinity they con- 
tinued to reside fornine years, when in 1862, 
they emigrated to Wisconsin, making their 
first location in Oshkosh, Winnebago coun- 
ty, where the father worked in a sawmill 
for five years. On coming to Little Wolf 
township. Waupaca county, in 1867, he 
purchased one hundred and twenty acres of 
unimproved land, inhabited only by Indians, 
deer and bears. 

As our subject was one of the older ones 
in the large family, he was early inured to 
the arduous labors of clearing and develop- 
ing new land, consequently his educational 
privileges were very meagre, he only be- 
ing able to attend school nine months in 
all his life, so that the knowledge that he 
has acquired has mostly been obtained 
through reading and observation in later 
years. At the age of eighteen he had almost 
the entire management of the home place. 
On the 26th of April, 1868, his father died 
from what was claimed to be a cancer of the 



796 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Stomach, after an illness of three months. 
Herman then became head of the famih', 
there being nine children still at home. 

The farm was located on Section i8, 
Little Wolf township, to which no roads had 
been made at the time of their arrival, the 
nearest being half a mile distant, and the 
only paths were the Indian trails. They 
made the journey from Weyauwega, Wis., 
in a wagon. They owned one horse, and an 
old musket was traded for a plow, but they 
were enterprising and industrious, and im- 
mediately began clearing and cultivating the 
land. After cutting the trees from a space 
large enough to erect a house, one was built 
of logs only 19 x 30 feet. Corn and pota- 
toes were planted with a grub-hoe, and the 
first crops were cut with a cradle. As the 
children grew up, at the age of eighteen 
they generally left the parental roof, and 
began life for themselves, but Herman still 
remained upon the home farm, of which he 
cleared about thirty-five acres. 

On the 20th of October, 1875, was cele- 
brated the marriage of Herman Lindow and 
Sarah Stevens, the latter being born in On- 
ondaga county, \. v., April 17, 1854, and 
is a daughter of Isaac and Catherine (Ber- 
nard) Ste\ens. Si.\ children have come to 
bless their union: Francis, born July 2, 
1877; Elmer I., born November 29, 1878; 
John, born January 29, 1883; Mable G., 
born October 17, 1884; Emma Blanche, 
born September 5, 1886; and Harry E., 
born May 10, 1894. 

The father of Mrs. Lindow, Isaac Ste- 
vens, was born in Norfolk, England, Au- 
gust 27, 1830, and is a son of Jacob and 
Ruth {Culle\') Stevens, who were farming 
people and raised eight children: Isaac, Ja- 
cob (deceased), Phcebe, George, |ohn, Ruth, 
Ben and Jack. John was killed in war. In 
1850 Isaac Stevens wedded Catherine Ber- 
nard, whose birth occurred in Lynn, Eng- 
land, July 1 1, 1827. She is one of the fam- 
ily of four children born to James and Sarah 
(Hammondj Bernard — Thomas, Catherine, 
James and Mar\-. The year of his marriage 
Mr. Stevens brought his bride to America, 
and engaged as a day laborer in Onondaga 
county, N. Y., where he remained for si.\ 
years. The year 1856 witnessed his arrival 



in Waupaca county, where he bought land 
in St. Lawrence township, which he oper- 
ated for many years, and now lives in Man- 
awa. Wis. He is a stalwart supporter of 
the Republican party. Mr. and Mrs. Ste- 
vens have six children: Mary wedded John 
Bruyett, of Little Wolf township, and they 
have five children: Wallace, Ida, a school 
teacher; Ada, a school teacher; Albert and 
Robert. Sarah is the wife of our subject. 
Isaac is a farmer of Little Wolf township. 
Ruth is the wife of Henry Smith, of Man- 
awa. Jacob lives on the old homestead. 
John is also on the home farm. 

At the time of his marriage Mr. Lindow 
owned ninety acres of land in Section 29, 
Little Wolf township, which forms a por- 
tion of his present fine farm of 185 acres. 
His possessions have all been acquired 
through his own industrious efforts, and 
ninety acres of his land have been placed 
under a high state of cultivation, on which 
is standing his comfortable and commodious 
frame residence. As a friend Mr. Lindow 
is an ardent and constant one, and a friend- 
ship once formed by him can onlj' be broken 
by the basest ingratitude or treachery on 
the part of one in whom he has reposed 
confidence. In politics he is a strong ad- 
herent to the doctrines of the Democratic 
party, and has served his township in sev- 
eral official positions, being chairman of the 
town board for three years, assessor one 
year, and school officer twenty-five years. 
Socially, he holds membership with Manawa 
Lodge, No. 271, I. O. O. F. 



CHARLES J. DOTY was born May 
14, 1830, in Oneida county, N. Y. , 
and is a son of Henry and Lucretia 
(Holdridge) Doty. Henry Doty was 
a mechanic by trade, was also occupied in 
farming, and was a successful man. He 
bought a farm of fifty acres, partly improved, 
and cleared it, besides working at his trade. 
His father was Edward Doty, a cousin of 
ex-Gov. Doty, of Wisconsin. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Henry Doty were born ten children: 
Chauncey, May 7, 1822; Henry, September 
14, 1824; Giles S.. February 3, 1826; Har- 
riet \.. February 13, 1828: Charles J., the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



797 



subject of this sketch, May 14, 1830; Lu- 
•cretia, March 14, 1832; Lydia, February 3, 
1837; Marcus, July 22, 1841; Fannie E., 
July 2, 1843; and Sarah E., May 8, 1846. 
Henry Doty (Sr.) died in 1857. His wife's 
parents were David and Lydia (Baxter) 
Holdridge, descendants of very wealthy 
people of German ancestr}'. 

In common with his brothers and sisters, 
Charles J. Doty was educated only in the 
common schools, which were rude in those 
days. He remained at home on the farm 
until he was twenty years of age, and then 
began to learn the mason's trade, at which 
he worked industriously for three years, 
completing it in all its branches, and he has 
followed it ever since. Having returned to 
New York, and remained but a short time, 
he came to Wisconsin in 1852, bought a 
farm in Weyauwega, Waupaca county, 
traded it for a hotel, which he conducted 
until 1856, and then went to Iowa, remain- 
ing one year engaged in a mercantile busi- 
ness. In 1857 he married Eunice J. (Cole) 
Doty, with whom he lived till 1867. By 
this marriage he has one child, Julia, now 
Mrs. G. W. Stone, of Pennsylvania. In 
1S58 Mr. Doty returned to \\'eyausvega, and 
again bought the same hotel. In 1859 he 
sold out and went to Pike's Peak during the 
mining excitement of that year. From there 
he went to California, and remained until 
1865, when he came back to Essex county, 
X. Y. , and took a contract to put in a stone 
bridge. In 1865 he went to Washington, 
D. C, and remained two years, taking con- 
tracts, the second year building thirty-two 
three-story buildings. Afterward he had 
charge of the basement work on the Masonic 
Temple of Philadelphia, went to Chicago 
and remained a year and a half, then came 
to Clinton ville, Larrabee township, \\'aupaca 
Co., Wis., where his mother was living. 

In 1878 Mr. Doty was again married, 
taking for his second wife Mary Davis, and 
to this union two children have been born, 
Ella and Ha^el. Mrs. Doty is the daughter 
of Philo M. and Rebecca (Nichols) Davis. 
Mr. Doty has followed contracting, and has 
continued the manufacture of brick on his 
place of twenty acres, which he bought in 
1884. He, with F. M. Guernsey, has fine 



trout ponds on this property, that may ex- 
cel all others in Wisconsin in a short time. 
In politics he is a Republican, but at times 
delivers lectures for the benefit of the peo- 
ple, in which he gives his views on the poli- 
tics of the present da\', which he thinks can 
be decidedly improved. 



DANIEL NOBLE, nurseryman at 
Clintonville, ^^'aupaca county, has 
in recent years built up a new and 
thriving industry on the confines of 
the city, one which is of incalculable service 
to the fruit growers of that locality. He 
has had an eventful histor)'. A native of 
England, he served as a lad in the English 
navy, participating in two notable engage- 
ments, afterward traveled extensively, and 
in America saw active service during the 
Civil war; but he has also followed the pur- 
suits of peace, and has engaged in farming, 
and kindred industries in a highlj- successful 
and profitable manner. 

Mr. Noble was born July 16, 1826, in 
the town of Deal, County of Kent, England, 
a son of William and Mary (Burvvell) Noble, 
and in 1830, when he was four years old, 
his mother died in Kent county, England. 
Daniel attended school only six months, but 
his father, who was well educated, ha\ing 
been a college student, gave him private 
lessons. At fourteen the boy entered the 
navy and served in two line-of-battle ships. 
He was aboard the battle ship "St. Vin- 
cent," one of the ships sent by England to 
Jean D' Acre, Asia Minor, to protect Eng- 
lish interests, and there took part in the re- 
deeming and capturing of the Fort from the 
Turks. He was in the same capacity on 
the man-of-war "Formidable" at the bat- 
tle of Tangiers, Africa, where they witnessed 
the engagement between the Prince dejoin- 
ville and Abdel Kader, also at Barcelona, 
Spain, during the insurrection of Queen Isa- 
bella. Leaving the English service the 
young English sailor traveled extensively 
through Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Rome, 
Italy, through the Ionia Islands, to Corfu. 
Greece, then to Zante, Smyrna, Constanti- 
nople, through the Holy Land, to Egypt, 
thence to old Carthage, and along the coast 



798 



COMMEMORATIVE BWGRAPniCAL RECORD. 



of Barbary to Tunis, Algiers, Tangiers, Mo- 
rocco, Apes Hill, and Gibraltar. He was in 
America in 1854, when the Crimean war 
broke out. From Buffalo, N. Y. . he came 
to Janesville, Wis., in 1854. Two years 
later he moved to Menasha, Winnebago 
county, and was engaged in lumbering and 
logging. In 1861 he located at Belle Plaine, 
Shawano county, here purchasing a timber 
tract of 1 40 acres, which he improved, clear- 
ing and fencing ninety acres. On this farm 
he engaged in sheep raising and vegetable 
farming, remaining until 1882, when he re- 
moved to his present residence in Clinton- 
ville, ^^'aupaca county. 

Purchasing thirty-seven acres in the 
woods adjoining the village, Mr. Noble 
platted Noble's addition, selling enough lots 
to pay for the farm. He laid out Logan 
street, which runs through what was for- 
merly his garden. Mr. Noble is devoted to 
the nursery business and to market garden- 
ing. He has raised as man\- as seven hun- 
dred bushels of potatoes to the acre, and on 
the twenty acres which he now cultivates he 
succeeds each year in raising a double crop. 
In the apple orchards he raises small fruit, 
and in the plum orchard grape vines yield an 
abundant crop of luscious fruit. 

In 1 864 Mr. Noble enlisted in Compan\' H, 
Third Wis. Veteran Infantrj, which was part 
of the Twentieth .^rmy Corps, for one j'earor 
during the war, and placed on detached service 
at Resaca. He participated in the battles 
of Franklin and Nashville, receiving a baj-- 
onet wound in the latter decisive engage- 
inent. Marching thence to Goldsboro, he 
was in the Carolina campaigns, was taken 
sick at Alexandria, and was removed to the 
hospital at Louisville. Ky., where he lay 
unconscious for three months. He was dis- 
charged from the hospital in August, 1865, 
and returned to Belle Plaine. During his 
service at Dalton, Ga. , he was one of si.xteen 
men who captured Capt. John Morgan. 

Mr. Noble was married October I 5, 1848, 
in the county of Kent, England, to Miss Eliza 
Whitnall, a native of that county, and a 
daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Dean) 
Whitnall. To Mr. and Mrs. Noble seven 
children have been born, as follows: Eliza- 
beth, wife of Julius Beal, of Wittenberg, 



Shawano Co., Wis.; George H., of Clinton- 
ville; Ellen, who was the wife of Lemuel 
Stearns, and died in Tigerton January 22, 
1892; William, of Clintonville; Mar\- Jane, 
who was the wife of Seymour Glass, and 
who died in Arkansas City, Ark., in 1S90; 
Edwin Herbert and Lillian, at home. In 
politics Mr. Noble has been an ardent Re- 
publican. At Belle Plaine he served as town 
clerk, and in various other official relations. 
At Clintonville he has been justice eight 
years, and during that period he has never 
had a decision reversed. For two years he 
has been elected supervisor from the F"ourth 
ward, and is still filling that office. Mr. 
Noble is a member of J. B. Wj'man Post, 
No. 32, and for five years has been its quar- 
termaster. He and his wife are members 
of the M. E. Church, of which he is now a 
steward. They are among the early and 
honored pioneers of Wisconsin, who have 
by their arduous labor effected a radical 
transformation in the surface of the land, 
converting dense forests into fruitful fields, 
and thus paving the way for the empire of 
civilization. Mr. Noble is greatly respected 
for his high sense of honor and other excel- 
lent personal qualities; although thrown on 
the world among strangers when a mere 
youth, and associating for years with sailors 
and soldiers, he never acquired any of the 
bad liabits unfortunately so common among 
those classes, and has never formed the liquor 
habit or used tobacco in any form. 



JOHN P. KRAEMER. Perhaps no one 
man has done as much to build up the 
interests of the thriving little village of 
Baker\ille, which is situated four and 
one-half miles southwest of the cit\" of 
Marshfield, Wood county, as has Mr. Krae- 
mer. He is an enterprising merchant and a 
popular landlord, and he has improved near 
the village alovel}' summer resort, now wide- 
ly and favorably known as Lincoln Park. 

Mr. Kraemerwas born in Calumet town- 
ship. Fond du Lac Co., Wis., October 18, 
1855, a son of Philip and Mary Ann (Seurer) 
Kraemer, who emigrated from German}- to 
America in September, 1846. Their eKlest 
child, Mathias, born in Germany, died dur- 



COMMEMURATIVE BWGEAPHWAL REVORD. 



199 



ing the voyage. The other children were 
Anna G. , Anton. Nicholas, Michael, John 
P., Mathew, Mary Ann, John N. and Cathe- 
rine. Philip Kraemer was a fanner and set- 
tled on a new tract of land in Fond du Lac 
count}', where he lived until his death, in 
1S62. The mother still survives. 

John P. Kraemer was reared on the farm, 
remaining at home until after he had reached 
his majority. He went to Iowa and worked 
there one year, but returned to Wisconsin 
in the spring of 1880. He purchased a 
corner lot of one acre in Bakerville, where 
he still does business, and here he erected a 
building, in February, 1882, in partnership 
with his cousin, Nick. Muellenbach, opening 
a general store. The partnership was dis- 
solved in October, 1883. and Mr. Kraemer 
continued the business alone for three years. 
In October, 1SS6, he added a saloon and a 
hotel to his flourishing mercantile establish- 
ment. A country post office had been previ- 
(Hisly located in this vicinity with a Mr. 
Baker as postmaster. In 1882 Mr. Muellen- 
bach was appointed postmaster, but the fol- 
lowing year Mr. Kraemer received the ap- 
pointment, and has ever since retained the 
office. It was in the spring of 1891 that he 
established what has since been widely 
known throughout Wisconsin as Lincoln 
Park. It is a beautiful summer resort, situ- 
ated one-fourth mile from his place of busi- 
ness. He has erected suitable buildings, 
and during the summer it attracts many of 
the pleasure seekers who annually visit the 
more charming spots of Wisconsin scenery. 
Mr. Kraemer has the qualifications of an 
ideal landlord, and is exceedingly popular 
among the wide circle of Wisconsin people 
who ha\e cause to know him. As a social 
factor his equal is difficult to find. He is 
affable and entertaining, ever solicitous for 
the comfort and enjoyment of his guests. 
He has thorough business habits, and pos- 
sesses great energy in carrying his plans into 
successful e.xecution. 

Mr. Kraemer was married, in November, 
1882, at Marjtown, F"ond du Lac county, 
to Gertie Michels, born at St. Joseph, Fond 
du Lac county, and the eldest daughter of 
Casper and Gertrude (Casper) Michels. The 
parents were both born in Germany, but 



were married in America. Their children 
were: Gertrude, Anna, Peter, Joseph, Mich- 
ael and Leonard. By a previous marriage 
to John J. Konz, Mrs. Michels had five 
children: John, Mar\', Catherine, Fred and 
Matt. The mother died June 13, 1889, and 
Mr. Michels still survives; he is a farmer in 
Fond du Lac county. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Kraemer six children ha\e been born: Albert 
J., Caroline A., Agatha, Lucia A., Edward 
C. and John, of whom the last named died 
in infancy. In politics Mr. Kraemer is a 
Democrat. He is a member of the Catholic 
Church and of the Catholic Knights of ^^"is- 



ALEXANDEK PETERSON, one of 
the most progressive and prosperous 
agriculturists and merchants of Belle 
Plaine, Shawano county, is a nati\e 
of the State of Maine, born October 2, 1842. 
Abraham Peterson, his father, came to 
the United States from Sweden in 1812, 
just about the commencement of the war 
with Great Britain, and on his landing at 
Boston was taken prisoner, and detained in 
custody a few months, although at the time 
he was only a poor twelve-year-old orphan 
boy. In the woods of Maine he worked 
several years, or until his marriage with Miss 
Clarissa Davis, when he commenced farm- 
ing, a vocation he followed in the same 
State until 1847, the year of his coming and 
bringing his family to Wisconsin. Here in 
Dane county they remained three months, 
at the end of that time mo\'ing to Oinro, 
\\'innebago county, where the father car- 
ried on milling, the mother keeping a board- 
ing house. For some six years, or until 
1855, they remained there, and then came 
to Belle Plaine township, where the son 
Elias bought land, and with him the parents 
made their home for a tin)f. Elias here 
built a mill, engaged in lumbering some four 
years, then sold out and purchased eighty 
acres of land for his father, a portion of 
which he, the latter, cleared and cultivated 
year by year until his death, which occurred 
in 1876; his wife was called from earth in 
1879. They were the parents of twehc 
children, as follows: Jane, Mrs. Stevens, of 



COMMEMORA TIVE BIOGRA PHICA L HE CORD. 



Standish, Maine; Matilda, who married a 
Mr. Edmonds, and died, leaving a family; 
James, in Dodge county; William, a car- 
penter in Everett, Wash. ; Elias, a farmer 
in the State of ^^'ashington; Hannah, Mrs. 
Frank Adams, of the State of Washington; 
.\manda, deceased; Henry, a farmer in Cali- 
fornia; Alexander; Charles, a machinist of 
Omro, Wis. ; and two who died in infancy. 
In 1866 our subject was married to Mary 
Bonette, daughter of Joseph and Harriet 
'Parker) Bonette, who moved from ^'ermont 
to New York State, where their family of 
■ eight children were born, to wit: Rosa- 
mond, Mrs. Wellington Burch, of Bowling 
Green, Wood Co., Ohio; Marcia, widow of 
David Gay, now living in the State of New 
York; Hannah, Mrs. John Pool, also of New 
York; Lucia, wife of Herman Webster, a 
wagon-maker of North Monroeville, Ohio; 
Joseph, a wagon-maker in North Amherst, 
Ohio; Parker, who was killed in the engage- 
ment at Petersburg during the Civil war; 
Mar\-, Mrs. Peterson; and Charles, who 
died in Kansas. About the year 1852 Mr. 
and Mrs. Bonette moved to Ohio, settling 
at .\mherst, Lorain county, where they 
died, the father in 1862, the mother in 
1870. At the time of Mrs. Peterson's mar- 
riage she was teaching school in Shawano 
City, where she was and still is very popu- 
lar amongst old and young alike. To this 
union were born seven children, the follow- 
ing five of whom are yet living: Nellie, 
Ward, Russell, Royal and Mary. The lat- 
ter is teaching school, and all are at home ex- 
cept Russell, who lives at Strasburg, \\'is. ; 
the two eldest born (twins) died in infanc\'. 
In August, 1862, Mr. Peterson enlisted in 
Company B, Twenty-first Wis. \'. I., was 
mustered in at Oshkosh, and served till the 
close of the war. participating in the battles 
of Perryville, Chickamauga and Atlanta, was 
with Sherman at Savannah, and continued 
under him till the Cirand Review at Wash- 
ington. He was at the very front of the 
fighting all the time, but luckily never was 
wounded, although he did not escape sick- 
ness, and received an honorable discharge 
June 8, 1865, as second lieutenant, to which 
rank he had been promoted for gallantry 
and heroism. 



Mr. Peterson has during the past few 
years been engaged in mercantile business 
and lumbering, as well as farming, and has 
met with well-merited success, to-day own- 
ing 240 acres of prime land, 100 of which 
he has under excellent cultivation. Polit- 
ically' he has been a Republican since the 
organization of that party, and has served 
as count}- treasurer one term (1883-84), 
town treasurer eighteen years, and school 
treasurer twenty-five years; for twenty-three 
3'ears he has been postmaster at Belle 
Plaine. In fraternal affiliations Mr. Peter- 
son is a member and master of Shawano 
Lodge, F. cS: A. M., and of the G. A. R., 
and no man enjoys more fully the unqual- 
ified esteem of a wide circle of friends and 
acquaintances. 



CHARLES F. SCHROEDER. Among 
the sturdy and stalwart citizens of 
\\'aupaca county, whose place of 
birth was the far-away German 
Fatherland, and who, with the industry and 
thrift so natural to the people of their native 
land, are rapidl\' progressing toward the 
financial condition so much coveted by all, 
is the subject of this personal historj-. He 
is now one of the leading hardware mer- 
chants of Clintonville, Wis., where he has 
carried on business since 1888. 

In 1849, in Prussia, occurred the birth 
of Charles F. Schroeder, who is a son of 
Gottlieb and Elizabeth (Schoepke) Schroe- 
der, both natives of Germany. The father 
was a farmer by occupation, and on emi- 
grating to America, in 1855, first settled in 
Dodge county, \\'is. , where he worked for 
one year, then removing to Bear Creek 
township, Waupaca county, Wis. There 
he bought eight}' acr.es of land in Section 
20, being the first settler in that portion 
of the township. He erected a small log 
cabin on the wild land, where for four years 
he lived before he was able to purchase a 
team. Wild game of all kinds abounded in 
the forest, and deer was very plentiful, and 
furnished many a nieal for the famil}'. 
Twelve acres were cleared without the help 
of a team, and an axe was the only tool 
used. A drag was made with wooden teeth, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUWAL RECORD. 



So I 



and the logs were hauled by hand, while 
the threshing was done with a tlail in an 
open field. Many were the hardships en- 
dured b}- the family, among which was the 
obtaining of provisions, which had to be car- 
ried from New London, Wis., a distance of 
eighteen miles, until the arrival of Lewis 
Schoepke, who owned an ox-team and hauled ! 
the goods for them. The grandparents of i 
our subject, August and Dorothea (Treplen i 
Schoepke, also made their home with them. 
At times they would be without flour for ; 
three weeks, but the clearing and improving 
went steadily on, most of the farm being 
placed under culti\'ation before the death 
of the father, in 1877. The mother still 
resides upon the old home place, which is 
carried on by the youngest son, Julius, and 
has now attained the age of seventy-four 
years. There were seven children: Louise, 
Augusta, Charles F., Ernestine, Amelia, 
Albert and Julius. 

Like all farmer lads who are reared on 
the frontier, Charles F. Schroeder was com- 
pelled to assist in the hard labor of develop- | 
ing the land at an early age. He obtained 
his education in the common schools of Bear 
Creek township, Waupaca county, and at 
the age of fifteen went to work by the month i 
on a farm and in the lumber woods. He j 
was also employed as a railroad hand for a j 
time. In 1873 he married Ernestina 
Schmeidke, a native of Germany, and to 
them have been born seven children, who, j 
in order of birth, are as follows: Louis, 
Telia, Laura, Hattie, William, Louise and ; 
Matie. 

Mr. Schroeder purchased land in Bear 
Creek township, Waupaca county, where he 1 
-continued to reside until 1888, during which ! 
time he dealt in farm lands to some extent, 
but has now sold all but eighty acres. On 
his removal to Clintonville, he opened his 
present business, and carries a full and com- 
plete stock of goods. ■ He built the brick 
store building which he now occupies, and 
there he conducts an extensive trade. He 
is also connected with the insurance business, 
representing the Herman Farmers' Insurance 
Compan}' for twenty-one years, besides other 
companies. In politics he is a supporter of 
the Democratic part}', and held offices of 



honor and trust in Bear Creek township, 
while he is now city treasurer of Clinton- 
ville. He and his wife are earnest members 
of the Lutheran Church, and he belongs to 
the Order of Germania, of Clintonville. 



CHARLES S. DkVOIN, "mine host " 
of the newest and most completely 
appointed house in \\'aupaca, is one 
of the sons of Maine. He was born 
in Glenman, Penobscot Co., Maine, Sep- 
tember 9, I 846, a son of John C. and Abi- 
gail (Sawyer) DeVoin, both natives of 
Maine, the former born in November, 1 806, 
and the latter in 181 1. John C. DeVoin 
had been the keeper of a livery stable prior 
to the panic of 1837, but that financial con- 
vulsion swept away his propert}', leaving 
only a farm, and, perforce, Mr. DeVoin be- 
came a farmer. 

It was in the fall of 1854 that John C. 
DeVoin started with his wife and children 
for Waupaca, Wis. The journey was made 
via Boston, Buffalo, the lakes to Milwau- 
kee, thence to Sheboygan, by team to Fond 
du Lac, thence by water through Lake Win- 
nebago and Wolf river to Gill's Landing. 
The trip to Weyauwega was made on foot 
from Gill's Landing in the night, and by team 
to the town of Belmont, and temporary 
shelter was obtained in the house of George 
Robinson while a house was being built on 
the 120 acres of government land bought at 
$1.25 per acre. Lumber had to be hauled 
some distance, and the winter was consumed 
in building the house. During this time the 
entire family lived in one room of the Rob- 
inson home. A sister of Mrs. DeVoin, Al- 
mira, wife of H. R. Robinson, had pre- 
viously moved into Belmont township, where 
the family settled. Mr. DeVoin had pur- 
chased 120 acres in Section 13, then in a 
primitive condition. He remained here 
through life. Mrs. DeVoin died December 
19, i860, and was buried in Pleasant Valley 
cemetery, Dayton township, Waupaca coun- 
ty. Mr. De\'oin survived until April, 1892, 
when he died at the residence of his daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Elias Rogers, in Dayton township, 
and was buried beside his wife. He was a 
Democrat in politics, and voted for everj' 



802 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Democratic candidate for President from 
Jackson to Cleveland, except Horace Gree- 
ley. He served his township as constable 
and supervisor, filling the latter office at a 
time when its duties were to lay out and 
construct roads north and east through the 
township. He was small in stature, and 
never weighed more than 125 pounds. Late 
in life he added forty acres to the old home- 
stead. Both he and his wife were members 
of the M. E. Church. Their children were 
as follows: James, who died in infancy; 
Ann E., widow of Elias Rogers, in Dayton 
township, Waupaca county; Asa S., who 
was a member of Company A, Eighth \Ms. 
V. I., and who died in 1862, one year after 
enlistment, at his father's home, of quick 
consumption and disease contracted in the 
army; Stillman F. , a druggist of Azusa, 
near Los Angeles, Cal. ; Octavia, afterward 
Mrs. Hosea Rogers, and now deceased; 
Charles S. ; Helen, who died in Maine; and 
John L. , who is in the real-estate business 
at Tacoma, Washington. 

Charles S. DeVoin was but eight years 
old when he came with his father's family a 
pioneer boy to the new land of ^^'isconsin. 
Six years later his mother died, and from 
that time forward he was at home only at 
intervals. He worked for a time on the 
farm of George Robinson at $10 per month, 
and on other farms, until he was eighteen. 
Then, August 24, 1864, he enlisted at .Al- 
mond, Portage county, in Company .\, 
Forty-second Wis. V. I., doing guard duty 
for a time at Cairo, 111., and was afterward 
transferred for a time to St. Louis and to 
Memphis. He was honorably discharged 
June 24, 1865, and returned to the pursuits 
of peace. During the ensuing year Mr. 
DeVoin followed farming at Belmont, in 
summer, the woods in winter, river-running 
in spring and threshing in the fall. For 
several winters he hauled supplies for James 
McCrossen from Rural to Merrill and Wau- 
sau, in the lumber regions, often requiring 
seven days to make the trip with 3,500 or 
4,000 pounds weight. He ran the \Mscon- 
sin and Mississippi rivers on rafted lumber 
to Alexandria, Mo., and other points for a 
period of five years. 

On No\ ember 28, 1S72, he was married. 



at Belmont, to Miss Emma J. Grant, who 
was bcrn September 12, 1853, at Greece, 
near Rochester, N. Y., the oldest child of 
William and Jane (Vickerj') Grant. The 
children of Mr. and Mrs. De\'oin are Irving 
L. , who died at the age of eight years: 
Ernest, who died in infancy; Manford L. , 
born April 5, 1879; Ray A., born Novem- 
ber 12, 1882; \'ernon, who died in in- 
fancy; Lizzie, who died in infancy; and 
Hazel J., born April 9, 1888. On Sec- 
tion 1 3, the old homestead, in Belmont 
township, Portage county, Mr. and Mrs. 
De\'oin began their married life as farmers. 
Remaining there three years he purchased 
400 acres of land in Section 3, and lived 
there until March, 1887, when he moved to 
Waupaca and built the " Waupaca House." 
For four years Mr. DeVoin conducted this 
popular hostelry, and during that time more 
people were accommodated at that house 
and more teams cared for than at any other 
hotel in ^^'aupaca, before or since. He sold 
out on account of failing health in .April, 
1891. 

In 1892 Mr. De\'oin completed one of 
the best hotel buildings in Waupaca, the 
" Hotel DeVoin." It is equipped with all 
modern conveniences and the proprietor is 
a most popular landlord. He is courteous 
and obliging to his guests, a generous and 
indulgent father to his children, and emi- 
nentl}' successful in business. He is a mem- 
ber of Garfield Post No. 21, G. .\. R., and 
his wife is a member of the Relief Corps 
Auxiliary to that Post. In politics he is a 
tie\ oted Republican. 



JENS P. HANSEN, a leading, infiuen- 
tial farmer-citizen of Alban township. 
Portage county, proprietor of a general 
store, and postmaster at Rosholt, is a 
native of Denmark, born in the island of 
Laaland, June 24, 1850. 

Jens P. Hansen Blak and Maren Catrine 
(Petersen), parents of our subject, were also 
of Danish birth, both born in 1818. The 
father was reared a farmer boy in Denmark, 
received a good education, was married, and 
served as a soldier in one of the wars be- 
tween that country and Germany, receiving 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



803 



a wound in the left leg, after which he re- 
turned home. Desirinj; to tr}- his fortune 
in the New World, of which he had read 
and heard so much, he, accompanied b)' his 
wife and family, set sail from Hamburg, Ger- 
man}', April 9, 1857, and after a seven-weeks' 
run across the Atlantic, during which the 
passengers suffered terrible hardships and 
privations, landed at New York. They were 
nearly starved to death on the voyage; in 
fact, some of the passengers actually died of 
hunger, and, but for a bottle of wine Mr. 
I^lak managed to secure in some way, the 
contents of which he divided sparingly 
among his fellow-passengers, many more 
would have perished. On the arrival of the 
vessel at New York, and while yet lying at 
anchor, word was sent ashore by some 
means, and the captain and mate were ar- 
rested. Many people of the city, hearing 
of the condition of affairs, brought provisions 
to the ship in boats for the relief of the poor 
famishing immigrants. From New York 
the Blak family at once proceeded to Wis- 
consin, Gill's Landing, Waupaca county, 
being their first destination, and here the 
father left the family while he went on foot 
alone to Scandinavia, in the same county, 
buying there forty acres of land, for which 
he paid $300, then returned to Gill's Land- 
ing, and removed his wife and children to 
their new home. Here he built him a log 
cabin (the famil\- making their home in the 
meantime with a friend), and here they lived 
till the spring of 1863, when Mr. Blak sold 
out for $600, removing with his family to 
Alban township, Portage county, where he 
had purchased 1 20 acres of wild land in 
Section 21. Until a residence was com- 
pleted, they lived in an old log shanty be- 
longing to a German, so they in \erity ex- 
perienced many of the hardships and trials 
incident to the life of pioneers. In Octo- 
ber, 1864, the father enlisted, as a substi- 
tute for one Ole A. Moe, in Company \, 
Seventh Wis. \'. I., was sent to the front 
imder Grant, and participated in the con- 
cluding battles of the war that resulted in 
Lee's surrender at Appomatto.x Court House, 
receiving his discharge in July, 1865. Dur- 
ing his absence in the army his wife and 
children made their home in Lind township, 



Waupaca county. He died at the home of 
his son, Jens P., February 17, 1S90, his 
wife having preceded him to the grave in 
1S84. They were the parents of children 
as follows: Annie D., Mrs. Hans J. Fred- 
erickson, of Alban; Hans Peter, deceased; 
Jens P., whose name opens this sketch; 
Hans J., a farmer of Alban township; Ellen 
Christina, Mrs. Lars P. Christiansen, of 
Ogdensburg, Wis. ; Simon Lena Nels Sine, 
now Mrs. Rasmus Jorgenson, of Alban, and 
Carl Christian, deceased. 

The subject proper of these lines, whose 
name introduces this sketch, attended school 
in his native land about twelve months, and 
was some seven years old when he accom- 
panied his parents to America, where he 
recei\ed a thorough English education at 
the common schools. Brought up a pioneer 
farmer boy, he was necessarily further 
schooled in the practical lessons of a life of 
toil and industry. In the neighborhood of his 
Alban township home there dwelt none but 
Indians at that time, and the lad became 
quite intimate with them, making compan- 
ions of the boys of the tribe, and would often 
trade such things as melons, slices of bread 
and pork, etc., for l)ows and arrows, beads, 
ear-rings, finger-rings, etc. When nineteen 
years old he moved to Ball Prairie, Wis., 
near Oshkosh, Wis. , and there worked as a 
farm hand one season; and after their mar- 
riage, in 1871, he and his wife settled on 
their present homestead of 240 acres, in 
Section 2 1 , Alban township, Portage county, 
of which eighty acres had been pre-empted 
bj- Mrs. Hansen's first husband, who, how- 
ever, died before proving his claim. Mr. 
Hansen also owns 120 acres in Section 21, 
town of Alban, ^^'is. , eighty of which were 
willed to him by his father. 

On August 9, 1 87 I, our subject was mar- 
ried, by 'Squire James R. Lawton, to Mrs. 
Ellen Katrina Peterson, widow of Rasmus 
Peterson, and born in Denmark July 22, 
1838, a daughter of Jens Rasmussen and 
Annie Mary (Petersen), also natives of Den- 
mark. She came, in 1869, to the United 
States, with her parents, who had four chil- 
dren, namely: Stina, Ellen Katrina, Carrie 
and Peter. To Mr. and Mrs. Hansen have 
been born children as follows: Rasminnie 



So4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Marie, Mrs. Holver Benson; Jens Christian; 
Ada Matilda; Anna Louisa, Mrs. Elef Lar- 
sen; Emma Paulina, at home; Ella Patrina, 
at iiome; and Louie Wilhelm. By her first 
husband Mrs. Hansen has three children: 
Nels Peter, Charles C, and Carrie Margaret, 
wife of Rev. A. C. Weisman, 1). D., of 
Harlan, Iowa. 

In his political preferences Mr. Hansen 
is a strong Republican, and, with the excep- 
tion of one year, has continuously held office 
in his township: has been a justice of the 
peace since 1878; township treasurer, two 
years; township assessor, one year, and is 
now township clerk, which incumbency he 
has tilled some fourteen years. He has 
been school district clerk for fifteen years, 
and has held (jther offices, such as overseer 
of highways, insurance director, etc. He 
has been secretary of the church he belongs 
to, for ten years; in addition to these he is 
now postmaster at Rosholt, where, as al- 
ready stated, he owns a general store, which 
is conducted by his brother. In religious 
faith he and his wife are members of the 
Danske Lutheran Church of Alban, and they 
enjoy the well-merited respect and esteem 
of the community. Mr. Hansen is a fine 
specimen of physical manhood, standing 
over six feet, and broad in proportion. He 
is a great lover of music, and, being a violin- 
ist and organist of some ability, plays at 
public entertainments for the amusement 
and pleasure of his friends, as well as him- 
self. He and his wife have a comfortable 
home, including an elegant modern resi- 
dence and commodious outbuildings. 



JOHN PINKIlRTON was born in the 
town of Ballymoney, County Antrim, 
Ireland, April 4, 1845. His grand- 
father, Robert Pinkerton, was one of 
three brothers who emigrated from Scot- 
land to Ireland, and was a farmer in that 
country. He married Jane Lockridge, by 
whom he had six children, fue sous and one 
daughter. 

Samuel Pinkerton, the father of our sub- 
ject, was the youngest in the family, and 
was born in Count}' .\ntrini Januarj- i, 1803. 
He was reared upon the hmne farm, edu- 



cated in the common schools, and about 
1840 wedded Mary Warnock. They had 
seven children: Robert, Eliza and John, 
who were born in Ireland; James, Jane and 
Samuel, who were born in Hartford, Wash- 
ington Co., N. Y., and \Mlliam, who was 
born at Waupaca, Wis. Of these Jane died 
at the age of sixteen years, and Samuel at 
the age of twenty-one; William was a grad- 
uate of Monmouth College, Monmouth, 111., 
and at the age of twenty-two, while fording 
a river in Texas, was drowned. The father 
of this family was a tenant farmer in Ire- 
land, and hoping to better his financial con- 
dition came to America about 1847. He 
was also a weaver, having learned that trade 
in his youth. For a time he worked as a 
farm hand in New York, and in 1848 he sent 
for his family, who joined him in the Em- 
pire State, where he was emplo)ed on farms 
in Washington county for six years. Sav- 
ing his means, he at length decided to in- 
vest his earnings in Wisconsin lands, which 
his nephew, living in Waupaca county, 
wrote to him were very cheap. In 1858 he 
pre-empted forty acres in Section 2 i , Wau- 
paca township, and the family worked and 
labored together to improve the farm, to 
which he kept adding from time to time un- 
til it contained 240 acres, now the property 
of his son John. The father built a log 
house and cleared the land, making a good 
home for his children, and at one time his 
possessions aggregated some 400 acres. In 
his political views he was a Republican, and 
served as town supverisor, and in other 
minor offices. From his childhood he was 
a faithful member of the Reformed Presby- 
terian Church, and educated two of his 
sons, James and William, for the ministry. 
He died in 1891, his wife passing away in 
I 890. Her people were of Scotch descent, 
and were weavers and farmers in Ireland. 
The parents of Mrs. Pinkerton, the War- 
nocks, had a family of seven children, and 
the mother died when they were joung. 
The father, however, reached a ripe old age. 
The members of the family, Robert, James, 
John, William, Ellen, Mary and Sarah, all 
came to .Xmerica and located in New York, 
Mary and Sarah (now Mrs. Anderson; after- 
ward removing to Waupaca, Wisconsin. 



COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



So; 



The subject of this sketch was reared at 
home, and as soon as old enough to handle 
the plow began work in the fields, being 
employed at farm labor through the summer 
months, while in the winter season he .at- 
tended the connnon schools of the neighbor- 
hood. Even after he attained his majority 
he remained upon the home farm, and at f 
length assumed its management. In 1884 , 
he was married to Mary Pinkerton, a native 1 
of New York, and daughter of Robert and 
Rachel (McAllister) Pinkerton, natives of 
Ireland, who came to America during child- 
hood, and were married at Salem, Washing- 
ton Co., N. v., in which county the father, 
who was a farmer, still resides. They had 
a family of seven children: John, Sarah, 
Mar\', Rachel, Belle, Emma and Carrie. 
The grandfather, James Pinkerttjn, who spent 
his entire life in the Emerald Isle, married 
Rachel Warrick, by whom he had seven j 
children: Robert, Samuej, William, John, [ 
James, Andrew and Sarah. James McAllis- j 
ter, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Pink- i 
erton, also made farming his life work; he 
was joined in wedlock with Mary Henry, 
and Samuel, Rachel, Jane, Sarah, Mary, 
James, John and Solomon were the children 
born to their union. 

Since coming to Wisconsin John Pinker- 
ton, the subject of this article, has always 
lived upon the old homestead, save for four j 
years when he rented his place and resided I 
in Waupaca City. There he engaged in j 
dealing in potatoes, and later purchased an 
iriterest in a general mechandise store, with 
which he was connected for three years. 
He has had a tendency toward speculation, ! 
beginning when a boy, when, in connection | 
with his brother Robert, he ran a threshing j 
machine and breaking team. He has also 
bought and sold a number of farms and 
much city real estate, and is a sagacious, ' 
far-sighted business man, the success that 
has come to him being' the natural C(jnse- 
quence of his able management of affairs. 
He erected a brick block and other buildings 
in Waupaca, which have materially increased 
his income. 

Sc\'cn children were born to the union 
of our subject and his estimable wife: Eiah, 
(Carrie, Alta, Fred, Effa, Samuel and John. '. 



In his political views Mr. Pinkerton is a Re- 
publican, and for seven years has served as 
chairman of the town board of supervisors; 
was also town clerk, and for one year was 
supervisor of Waupaca city. He has been 
a delegate to the county conventions, and 
takes an active interest in the growth and 
success of his party. His public and private 
life are alike above reproach, and in all the 
relations of life he is found true and faithful 
to the trust reposed in him. In religious 
connection he belongs to the Reformed 
Presbyterian Church, but attends the Bap- 
tist Church. 

Mr. Pinkerton has spent some time in 
traveling, x'isiting various points of interest, 
and in 1876 returned to his old home in Ire- 
land, and visited the beautiful lakes of 
Killarney and other places of interest. The 
visit was principally made for the benefit of 
his brother James, who was an invalid, the 
latter remaining in Ireland about a year and 
a half, after which he returned greatly im- 
proved, and is now living with our subject. 
Mr. Pinkerton remained some three months 
with his brother at Port Stewart, a coast 
town in the north of Ireland, and then re- 
turned home by steamer from Londonderry. 
He left the Emerald Isle with no desire to 
make it his home, for while the country was 
a beautiful one and well-deserving of its 
name, he could not reconcile himself to the 
difference in the mode of farming, every- 
thing there being on a much smaller scale 
than in America. 



HENRY J. BLOECHER, president of 
the village of Wittenberg, has been 
a resident of Shawano county since 
1880. Wisconsin would have rea- 
son to be very proud of her native sons if 
all were like this gentleman. 

Mr. Bloecher was born in Forest town- 
ship. Fond dn Lac county, June 26, 1857, 
and is a son of Jacob and Eli-za (Weil) 
Bloecher, both natives of Germany. On 
coming to this country the father located in 
Fond du Lac, Wis., where he worked at 
day's labor for a time, and after a few years 
removed to Forest township, where he pur- 
chased forty acres of land. He afterward 



:So6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



bought another forty-acre tract, and trans- 
iormed it from its primitive condition into a 
fine farm. Subsequently he sold, and re- 
nio\ed to Friendship township, in the same 
■county, where he bought an improved farm 
•ot eighty acres, on which he has since re- 
sided. His wife died on that place. He is 
a practical and enterprising agriculturist, 
and has achieved a well-merited success. 
In the family were eight children: Mar}-, 
wife of Charles Racow, a farmer of Dakota; 
Henry J.; Amelia, wife of Louis Gan/er, of 
Oshkosh, Wis. ; Ellen, wife of Frank Minske, 
a farmer of South Dakota; Louis, marshal of 
the village of Wittenberg; Lydia, wife of 
Henry Yaeger, an agriculturist of Witten- 
berg township, Shawano county; Emma, 
■wife of Henry Heilman, of Oshkosh; and 
William F. , who is living with his father. 

Henr}' J. Bloecher acquired a common- 
.school education, and obtained his first 
knowledge of farming under his father's di- 
rection, in Forest township, Fond du Lac 
county. He remained at home until seven- 
teen years of age, when he began working 
in the lumber woods, and since that time 
has earned his own living. He remained 
in the vicinity of his native home until 1880, 
when he came to Shawano county, at which 
time Tigerton was the terminus of the rail- 
road. Here he first engaged in railroading, 
and in 1881 purchased forty acres of land, 
upon which not a furrow had been turned, 
■or an improvement made. He at once be- 
gan to clear the place, and acre after acre 
was placed under the plow, and transformed 
into fertile fields. He has dealt, to some 
e.Ktent, in land, and to-day is the owner of 
I 20 acres, of which twenty acres are under 
■cultivation. Besides his land speculations, 
he has also been employed in the Gralapp 
sawmill. Mr. Bloecher erected a residence 
in Wittenberg, and in 1883 was united in 
marriage with Miss Amelia Gralapp, daugh- 
ter of Charles Gralapp. Si.\ children grace 
.their union: George Henry, Tina A., Ches- 
ter W., Esther, Tilda and Oscar L. 

Mr. Bloecher is a warm advocate of Re- 
publican principles, and has served his town 
.and township in various positions of trust 
■with credit to himself and satisfaction to 
Jiis constituents. He was town treasurer 



for three years, was elected a trustee on the 
incorporation of Wittenberg, in 1883, and 
the following year he served as assessor. 
He is now the ef^cient president of the vil- 
lage, and does all in his power to promote 
its educational, moral, social and material 
welfare. Both he and his wife are members 
of the Methodist Church, and have many 
warm friends. 



JOHN SCHLEH. The region in the 
State of Wisconsin, of which Lincoln 
county forms an interesting portion, 
has been the scene of many a man's 
contact with all kinds of difficulties, and his 
final triumph over all. Among these there 
have been persons of various nativities, all 
alike struggling to acquire a competence, 
and all developing into e.xcellent citizens, 
public-spirited and alive to the best interests 
of the community. In this connection it is a 
pleasure to here present a brief outline of 
the life of Mr. John Schleh. 

He is a native of Southern German}', 
born, at Wurttemberg October 16, 1851, a 
son of Benhart and Elizabeth (Finkbeiner) 
Schleh, who had a famih' of ele\en chil- 
dren, named, respectively: Elizabeth M., 
Catherine, Eva, Benhart, Johann F., Chris- 
tian, Carl, Rosine, Johannes, Caroline, and 
Gottlieb; of whom, Johannes, Caroline and 
Elizabeth were the only ones to come to 
America. One of the sons, Johann F. , 
served in the Franco-German war of 1871. 
The father, who was a dealer in lumber in 
Germany, was a well-educated man and one 
of prominence, holding various offices of 
trust, and he served as a soldier during the 
revolutionary movement in Europe of 1848; 
he died in April. 1880. The mother was 
called from earth in 1887. 

John Schleh, the subject proper of this 
sketch, received his education at the public 
schools of his native land up to the age of 
seventeen years (1868). when he came to 
the United States, whither he had been pre- 
ceded by his sister, Elizabeth, in 1857. 
John resided in Canada one year, working 
on a farm, then moved to Grand Rapids, 
Mich., where he was laid up on account of 
an affection of the eyes until April, 1870, 





ir;;^ ^-^oA u/l 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



807 



when he came to Wisconsin, locating first 
at Fond du Lac. Here for a short time he 
worked in a sash and door factory, then on a 
farm near that city for about a year, and 
later in the Wolf river pineries two seasons. 
In 1874 he was employed in the locating 
and estimating of pine lands, making arrange- 
ments for their purchase, etc., and here it 
was that he laid the foundation for his pro- 
fession as surveyor, which, by close study 
and with the aid of a few books, he succeed- 
ed in making himself a thorough master of. 
Since then he has followed it continuouslj- 
with the exception of two summers — 1876, 
1877 — when he was working on a farm, and 
has been so frequently employed by lumber 
companies, locating lines and estimating 
timber, that he has become a pronounced 
expert in the profession; but the weakness 
of his eyes compels him to restrict his work, 
and frequently to reluctantly decline lucra- 
tive offers. He has invested quite e.xten- 
sivel}' in pine lands, has always done his 
own logging, and during the winter of 1894- 
95 he was running two camps. In Lincoln 
county he owns 5,000 acres of pine lands. 
In 1871 he came to Merrill (at that time 
called Jennie), Lincoln county, where he has 
built himself a comfortable and commodious 
home. 

In 1876 Mr. Schleh was married at F"ond 
du Lac to Miss Elizabeth Beaupre}', who 
was born at Omro, Wis., and si.x children 
■were the result of this union, to wit: John 
B. (bookkeeper for a lumber firm at Wausau, 
Wis.), Rosa Lee D., Elizabeth C, Carl 
W., and two that died in infancy. The 
mother of these died in Januar)-, 1891, and 
Mr. Schleh's sister, Caroline, who came 
from Germany in 1880, has since kept house 
for him. Politically our subject is a Demo- 
crat, and has declined serving in minor offi- 
ces to which his friends would often have 
■elected him, but he has filled such positions 
of trust as county surveyor (from 1882 to 
1892, a ten-years' service), city engineer one 
term, and city treasurer two terms. Socially 
he is a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Modern 
Woodmen and Sons of Hermann ;he is district 
deputy. No one in the county stands higher 
in the esteem and respect of the communit}' 



than Mr. Schleh, and no one is more de- 
serving of the exalted social position in 
which he and his family stand. 



JOHN BUHR, who came to Marion, 
Dupont township, Waupaca county, in 
1891, where he is engaged in the livery 
business, and also in the creamery 
business, was born in Calumet county. Wis., 
July 20, 1866. 

The parents of John Buhr, Anton and 
Mary (Steffens) Buhr, were both from Ger- 
many. Five children were born to them: 
Joseph, who is a butcher in Iowa; Mat- 
thias, in Theresa, Dodge Co., Wis., where 
he owns a creamery and a gristmill; Nicho- 
las, in Theresa, Wis. ; John, subject of this 
sketch; and Anna, who died at the age of 
four years. Anton Buhr, a carpenter and 
joiner, of Germany, came to Wisconsin in 
1856, and settled in Calumet county. When 
his son John, of whom we write, was an in- 
fant only six months old, Anton Buhr fell 
from a church and received injuries which 
prevented him from working at his trade. 
He then went to Mitchell county, Iowa, and 
engaged in teaching, a profession which he 
followed during the remainder of his life. 
Later he bought 160 acres of land, which 
his sons worked, he being occupied in teach- 
ing. The children received but a meager 
education, as their father died when John 
was only ten years of age, and their mother 
when he was thirteen. A farm was given to 
Joseph, and, after the death of the parents, 
the other three sons held the homestead till 
1893, when John bought Nicholas' interest; 
and in 1894 John sold to Matthias, who now 
owns the farm. The children remained at 
home about six years, and about 1886 be- 
gan to separate, John going to Dodge county. 
Wis., where he and Matthias built a cream- 

j ery and operated it, Nicholas working for 
them. They were there two years, when 
John sold out, went to Milwaukee, took a 

j four-months' business course, and engaged 
in the " Plankinton House," where he re- 

1 mained eleven months. He then went to 

I Allenton, Washington Co., Wis., was there 
two years in the creamery business, working 
for J. Bertschy, and, coming to Marion, Du- 



SoS 



COMMEMORATIVE BTOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



pont township, Waupaca county, built a 
creamery, which he now conducts. In 1892 
he and his brother Nicholas commenced in 
the livery business, continuing in partner- 
ship until Nicholas sold mit. Later John 
Buhr took William Whitney as partner, and 
he is now associated with him. Nicholas 
returned to Dodoe county, Wisconsin. 

In 1892 John Buhr was united in niar- 
riafje with Miss Addie Marsh, only daughter 
of John D. (a miller) and Nellie (Ramsdell) 
Marsh, Eastern people. They have one 
child, a son, born July 3, 1895. Mr. and 
Mrs. John Buhr are members of the Catholic 
Church. In politics he is a stanch Demo- 
crat. 



JOHN W. EASTMAN is one of the 
representative and progressive young 
farmers of We\'auwega township, Wau- 
paca county. He is a nati\e of the 
count}', and was born in 1856, when inprove- 
ments were few, when Indians .still encamp- 
ed occasionally in the dense forest, and 
when the shrill notes of wild animal life or 
the tempest of the elements were about the 
only disturbances in the almost boundless 
solitudes. 

Mr. Eastman comes from old New Eng- 
land stock. His paternal grandparents, 
Aquilla D. and Dorothea (Peasleyj Eastman, 
were natives of New Hampshire, and early 
in the centtiry made a long, slow journej' 
westward to a fertile homestead in DeKalb 
county. 111. Here he died many years later, 
his widow removing with her son Thomas to 
Weyauwega township, Waupaca Co., Wis., 
where she died in 1882. Of their family of 
si.x children, Thomas, the father of John W., 
is the only survi\-or. Thomas Eastman was 
born in Stafford county, N. H., in 1820, 
and was married to Elmira Harris, in 1838, 
at Campton, Stafford county. He at first 
located in Illinois, and removed thence to 
Weyauwega township, Waupaca county, be- 
coming one of the earliest settlers in north- 
ern Wisconsin. He reared a family of sev- 
en children, as follows: Julia, (deceased), 
who was the wife of Hiram Morris; Erances, 
wife of John Williams, of Stevens Point; 
A<|uilla, a resident of Carson, Wis.; T. J., a 



resident of Portage county; Rufus, who died 
in Little River, in 1892; John W., subject 
of this sketch; and Alice, wife of Thomas 
Fielding, of Dale, Wis. Thomas Eastman 
has always been a Democrat, and now resides 
in \\'aupaca county, with his son John W. 

The latter who is the subject of this 
sketch, aided in opening up the home farm, 
and was there reared to manhood. Dur- 
ing his boyhood he attended the district 
schools, and when the work at home per- 
mitted he spent some time in the lumber 
woods near Marshfield, Wis. He was mar- 
ried in Waushara county, in 1889, to Miss 
Alice Chase, daughter of Daniel and Abbie 
(Hill) Chase, who were early pioneers of 
Green Lake county. Wis. Daniel Chase 
died in 1892, and his widow still survives. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Eastman two children have 
been born, Bert and Fred. Mr. Eastman 
is in politics a stanch Democrat. He owns 
a well-cultivated farm of eighty acres, forty 
acres of which are in Fremont township, his 
residence being located in Section 30, Wey- 
auwega township. Mr. Eastman is an in- 
dustrious and enterprising young farmer, who 
is highly esteemed by his wide circle of friends 
and accpuiintances. 



Ri:V. PliTER HENRY DICKE, of 
Washington township, Shawano coun- 
ty, was born in Werther, Province of 
Westphalia, Prussia, .-Xpril. 3, 1822, 
and is a son of John and Margaret (Bloten- 
berg) Dicke. John Dicke was born in 1795, 
and his wife, Margaret, about the same time. 
Mr. Dicke was a farmer all his life, and died 
in his native place about 1845, his wife, who 
survived him, passing away about two years 
later. Their children were as follows: Peter 
Henry, the subject of these lines; John Her- 
man, who died in St. Louis, Mo. ; Frederick 
William, a farmer in Coodhue county, 
Minn. ; Herman Henry, who died in St. 
Louis, Mo. ; Katrina, now Mrs. Henry 
Meyer, of Goodhue county, Minn. ; and John 
Henry, who resides in St. Louis, Missouri. 
Peter Henry Dicke left the schools of 
his native place at the age of fourteen. He 
then entered the Institute in Dresden, Ger- 
manv, and remained there for live vears. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S09 



after which he attended a missionary acad- 
emy in Nuremberg, Germany, and there 
commenced to study for the ministry. At 
the end of two years he left Nuremberg, 
and on October 23, 1851, embarked from 
Havre, France, for the United States on the 
sailing vessel "William Tell." After a voy- 
age of thirty-five days he landed in New 
York, came direct to Fort Wayne, Ind. , and 
immediately afterward entered the German 
Lutheran Seminary in that place. Finish- 
ing his studies there one year later, he was 
assigned to Frankenlust, Saginaw Co., 
Mich., and was ordained October 16, 1852. 
Mr. Dicke's next charge was in Fran ken - 
trost, Mich., where he remained for nearly 
four years. He then removed to Theresa, 
Dodge Co. , \\is. , and was pastor there for 
six years and four months, having charge of 
six congregations in and around that town. 
His next pastorate was in Belle Plaine, Sha- 
wano county, where he located June 23, 
1863. 

At Fort Wayne, Ind., on October 9, 
1853, the Re\-. Peter Henry Dicke was united 
in marriage with Miss Katrina Bet/;ler, who 
was born in Eschenbach, Kingdom of Wurt- 
emberg, Germany, October 27, 1832, and 
they have had the following-named children: 
Caroline, deceased, who was the wife of 
Rev. Mr. Stute; Henry, who married Mary 
Hartwig, and is an industrial teacher on the 
Keshena Indian Reservation, in Shawano 
county; Mary, now Mrs. John Kricger, of 
Sioux City, Iowa; Paulina, who married 
Rev. Mr. Runge, of Charter Oak, Iowa; 
Frederick, now deceased; Herman, who died 
in infancy; Hermina, who married Rev. H. 
Daib, of Merrill, Lincoln Co., Wis.; .Anna, 
at home; William, in Merrill, Wis. ; Charles 
and John, at home; Julia, who resides at 
Sioux City, and Clara, at home. 

The parents of Mrs. Dicke, John George 
and Margaret (Straubi Het/L-l, were born 
in 1800 and 1805, respectively. Their 
daughter, Katrina (Mrs. Dicke), came with 
them to the United States in the spring of 
1 849, the family embarking at Havre, France, 
on the sailing vessel " Switzerland," and 
landing in New York after a voyage of thirty 
days, thence coming directly to Indiana, and 
settling in Fort Wayne. Mr. Betzler fol- 



lowed the occupation of a gardener. He 
died in Fort Wayne in 1872, his wife, who 
preceded him to the grave, dying in 1851. 
They had the following named children: 
Anna Maria, now Mrs. George Schust, of 
Fort Wayne; Margaret, now deceased, who 
was the wife of George Stoll; Katrina, now 
Mrs. Dicke; and John George, who died at 
the age of eighteen. 

After locating in Belle Plaine, Rev. Mr. 
Dicke built a church, and he was the first 
and only preacher in this part of the country. 
Later he assumed charge of congregations 
in the following-named places: Pella, Grant. 
Shawano, Hartland, Richmond. Herman. 
Seneca, Almon, Washington, and Howe town- 
ships, all in Shawano count}'; Bear Creek 
and Larrabee townships, in Waupaca coun- 
ty; and Gillett, in Oconto county. He also 
preached in New London, Waupaca county, 
for a year and a half, and had two congrega- 
tions in several of the places enumerated. 
He traveled during the week and on Sunday 
to the different localities, holding services 
in each; journeyed a great deal on horse- 
back at times, the roads not being in a suit- 
able condition for vehicles, and was out in 
about all kinds of weather. In this way he 
traveled for years, and but for his strong 
and robust constitution could hardh' have 
withstood such hardships. In 1.874 Rev. 
Mr. Dicke became establisiied upon the 
property where he now li\es, having pur- 
chased it from the government while he was 
in Belle Plaine. He has 131 acres. His 
first house, built of logs, he occupieil but a 
short time, then moved into his present 
home. In politics he is a stanch Democrat. 
He is venerable in appearance, with white 
hair and beard, and is a kind-hearted and 
genial man. 



FG. SCHOHNIKi;. town clerk of Lar- 
rabee township, Waupaca count}', is 
a substantial farmer and a well-known 
and popular man. He was born in 
1854, in Dodge county. Wis., and is a son 
of Carl and \\'ilhelmina I'l-'ellwock) Schoen- 
ike, natives of Prussia. 

Carl Schoenike 'was born in 1817, came 
to Dodge county. Wis., about 1842, and 



bio 



COAtMEMOIiATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



located in the woods. He was married in 
Dodge county, where he bought a farm from 
the government, on which he and his wife 
are still living. It has fallen to their lot to 
see the progress of improvement and many 
changes in this part of the country, as the 
years have come and gone since the early 
days when their home was hewed from the 
wilderness. They reared a family of eleven 
children, all born in Dodge county. Wis., 
namely: ^^'ilhelmi^a, married and residing 
in California; Karl, residing in Oconomowoc, 
Wis. ; Maria, wife of August Zweig. of the 
town of Emmett, Dodge county. Wis. ; 
Ernestine, wife of I^udvvig Zweig, of the 
town of Lebanon, Dodge Co., Wis.; F. G., 
subject of this sketch; Gustaf, who resides 
in Watertown, Wis. ; Sophia, wife of Capt. 
William Krodke, of Lansing, Iowa; Louisa, 
wife of Rev. E. F. Dornfeld, of Kenosha, 
Wis. ; Paul, residing on the old homestead 
in Dodge county. Wis. ; Edward, a druggist, 
residing in Kenosha, Wis. ; and Julius, re- 
siding m Clintonville, Wisconsin. 

F. G. Schoenike was reared to manhood 
in Dodge county, educated in the schools of 
Lebanon township, in the same county, and 
aided in clearing the home farm. In Dodge 
county, in 1876, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Augusta Voight, who was born in 
Lebanon township, in the aforenamed coun- 
ty, and they have become the parents of 
five children, nameh": Adela, Martha, Ed- 
die, Arthur and Adolph. Mrs. F. G. Schoen- 
ike is the daughter of John and Augustina 
(Dewitz) \'oight. John Voight was born in 
Prussia, married in Dodge county, \\'is. , and, 
with his wife, now resides in Monterey, 
Waukesha Co., Wis. They reared a fam- 
il\- of six children, namely: Wilhelmina, 
wife of Louis Krobsack, of Larrabee town- 
ship; Augusta (Mrs. Schoenikej; Louisa, wife 
of Henry Nehls, of Monterey, Wis. ; Lisetta, 
wife of Benjamin Kadtke, of Chicago, 111. ; 
Albert, of Dodge county. Wis. ; and John, a 
druggist, in Chicago, Ilhnois. 

Mr. Schoenike came from Dodge county, 
\Vis., to Larrabee township, W'aupaca coun- 
ty, in 1878, and located in the woods on a 
tract of 1 20 acres, which he bought from 
the government, and wliere he now resides, 
erected a log house, commenced improving 



the land, and now has ninety acres cleared. 
In 1885 he built a good barn, 34x90 feet, 
and added to it in 188S. In 1894 he erected 
a good two-story house, 18 x 28 feet, in the 
main portion, with two one-story-and-a-half 
wings, each 18x28 feet. In his political 
principles Mr. Schoenike is independent, 
and he takes an interest in political matters. 
He was elected town clerk in 1886, over 
eight years ago, and has served in that 
capacit}' continuously since. Before he was 
elected clerk he was one of the commission- 
ers of the township. He assisted in organ- 
izing the school district, is now school clerk, 
and has been for years. Both Mr. Schoen- 
ike and his wife are members of the Lu- 
theran Church, and he is one of the trus- 
tees. As a public man he has had occasion 
to note the progress of improvement in his 
section, and takes an interest in what he 
believes conducive to the general welfare. 



ROBERT R. PINKERTON, the eld- 
est son of Samuel Pinkerton, was 
born in Ireland, January 17, 1842, 
and was only five years of age when 
his parents came to America, and was a lad 
of ten summers on their removal to Wis- 
consin. The family traveled bj' team from 
Milwaukee to Waupaca. His school priv- 
ileges were quite meagre, for, as he was the 
oldest in the family, and his parents were in 
limited circumstances, he early began to 
earn his own living. However, he and his 
brother John studied at home, and thus ad- 
ded greatly to their store of knowledge. 
Their father's health failed, and the two boys 
took charge of the home farm in Waupaca, 
doing all the work connected with its de- 
velopment and improvement. They also 
owned a breaking team and threshing ma- 
chine, and worked for neighbors, thus se- 
curing the capital with which the father got 
a start in his western home. 

Robert Pinkerton was married in 1872, 
to Zelia Jewett, a native of Wisconsin, 
whose parents were farming people in the 
southern part of the State. Of this union 
was born a son, Walter, who is now attend- 
ing college in Monmouth, 111. The mother 
died in 1 874, and for his second wife, Mr. 



COMMKMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Sll 



Pinkerton chose Maggie Cochran, who was 
born in New York, and with her parents 
came to \\'isconsin, they traveling with the 
Pinkerton family. Their names were James 
and Jane fCampbell) Cochran, and they too 
lived upon a farm which the father operated 
in pursuit of fortune. Their family was 
composed of five girls: Mary Jane, Nancy, 
Katie, Maggie and Mattie. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Pinkerton were born three children: 
Rosa, who died at the age of seven years; 
Jennie and Arthur. In 1889, he was again 
called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, 
who died in the spring of that year. 

Though our subject has devoted his time 
and attention principally to farming, he has 
also other business interests, and engages in 
loaning money and buying and selling real 
estate, which ha\e proved to him profitable 
enterprises. In addition to his other prop- 
erty he has a fine business block in Wau- 
paca. In his business dealing he is strictly 
honorable, a man whose word is as good as 
his bond, and he has gained and merited the 
confidence of a large circle of friends and 
acquaintances. In his political views he is 
a Republican, and, though he has never been 
an office-seeker, he has been honored with 
some local positions of trust. 



R.WMOND AYRES. Among the pro- 
gressive and enterprising farmers of 
Little \N^olf township, Waupaca coun- 
ty, there are very few who are the 
peer of the subject of this biographical 
sketch. He is a native of the Pine Tree 
State, born in Washington count)-, March 
14, 1835, "ind is a son of Simeon and Char- 
lotte (Scott) Ayres, the father a farmer by oc- 
cupation. In the family were eight children: 
Jesse, James, Susan, John and Kbenezer, all 
deceased ; Ray mond, of this sketch ; Theodore, 
who has also passed away; and Mary, who 
is now a resident of Cooper, Washington 
Co., Me. When our subject was but five 
years of age his mother died, after which 
his father was again married, this union 
being with Elizabeth Munson, by whom he 
had two children — Lorenzo and Helen, who 
are still living. 

After the death of his mother, Raymond 



Ayres went to live with Simeon Foster, a 
farmer, with whom he remained until he had 
reached the age of seventeen, when he start- 
ed out to earn his own livelihood. After 
being employed in the lumber woods for 
three years in Maine, he came West by way 
of Buffalo, N. Y., and the lakes to Sheboy- 
gan, Wis., thence by stage to Fond du Lac, 
and then by steamer to Oshkosh, \\'is., 
where he arrived in September, 1855. He 
then hired out to Philetus Sawyer to work 
in a sawmill, and remained with him two 
years, at the end of which time he purchased 
160 acres of pine land of Mr. Sawyer, in 
the town of Little Wolf, Waupaca Co., Wis. 
His first payment was but $5, and by the 
sale of the timber, which he at once began 
to cut, he finished paying for his place, and 
at the end of five years time had cleared 
$6,000. He then bought 120 acres in Win- 
nebago county, Wis., contemplating engag- 
ing in farming, but soon disposed of that 
tract, and in connection with Hugh Steven- 
son purchased a sawmill in Oshkosh. For 
five years he engaged in its operation, also 
being interested in lumbering at the same 
time. They were very successful, being 
rated at $75,000, and at one time our sub- 
ject owned seventeen tenant houses in the 
city of Oshkosh. They continued in busi- 
ness until 1876, when the hard times came 
on, causing them to lose heavily,- their loss 
amounting to $35,000, or over. The fol- 
lowing year Mr. Ayres took up his residence 
on his land in Little Wolf, and again started 
in the lumber business; but the times had 
changed, and he was not so successful. In 
Little Wolf township he bought 400 acres 
of land, which he still owns, and from which 
he removed the timber. At this time he 
still made his home in Oshkosh, where his 
first wife died in 1882. In her maidenhood 
she was Miss Caroline Cook, and on the 9th 
of November, i860, became the wife of Mr. 
Ayres. She was born in Shrewsbury, Vt., 
in 1828, and by her marriage became the 
mother of one son, Fred, who was born in 
1862, and by his marriage with Mina Bell, 
has five children, namel}': Vernon, Orval F., 
Walter, Claud, and Raymond. 

In 1883 Mr. Ayres virtually left Oshkosii, 
coming to Little Wolf township, Waujiaca 



8l2 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



count)-, to live. He was at that time still 
extensively engaged in lumbering, but lost 
considerable through indorsements. On lo- 
cating here he turned his attention to agri- 
cultural pursuits, and has since engaged in 
general farming and lumbering, having now 
been connected with the latter business on 
the Little Wolf river for forty years. Al- 
though Mr. Ayres has met with reverses, he 
deserves great credit for the success he has 
achieved, as he has had to make his own 
way in the world from an early age, receiv- 
ing no pecuniary assistance, but by perse- 
verance and enterprise has steadily worked 
his way upward. 

In 1884 Mr. Ayres was again married, 
this union being with Miss Ellen A. El- 
dridge, whose birth occurred in the West, 
and she is a daughter of Henry and Alvina 
(Lambkins) Eldridge. To them have been 
b(jrn two children — Myra and Opal. Polit- 
ically our subject was a supporter of the 
Republican party until 1869, since which 
time he has cast his ballot with the Demo- 
crac}'. He has been elected to offices in his 
town against his will, and would never 
qualify, preferring to give his time and atten- 
tion to his business and home interests. He 
has many warm friends in Waupaca count}', 
and few men are more popular among their 
fellow citizens than he, who justly deserves 
their confidence and esteem. 



SAMUEL RILEV. The Riley family 
has long been identified with the his- 
tory of \\aupaca county, and was 
established in Dayton township by 
Elijah Riley, who was born in Mount Bethel, 
Penn., December 20, 181 2, a son of John 
and Sarah Riley, who had four children, the 
sons being Elijah and John. The parents 
both died in Mount Bethel. 

Elijah Riley secured only common- 
school privileges, and in his \outh learned 
the cooper's trade, which he profitably fol- 
lowed for a time. While following farming 
in Susquehanna county, Penn., he was mar- 
ried at Friendsville, Februarj- 24, 1S37, to 
Mary Horton, who was born in that town, 
March 19, 18 19. Her father died when she 
was quite young, and as her mother, Mrs. 



Polly Horton, was in limited circumstances, 
she worked as a domestic for a time. 

Upon their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. 
Riley located in Luzerne county, and to 
them were born the following children: 
Elizabeth J., who was born January 21, 
1839. and is now the widow of John Clark, 
of Dayton township, Waupaca county; Lu- 
cina, who was born August 28, 1841, and 
was first the wife of George W. Coolidge, 
but is now Mrs. William Hall, of Medina, 
W'is. ; Lucinda, twin sister of Lucina, and 
the wife of William Herning, of Shawano 
county. Wis.; Mary, born January 4, 1845, 
was the wife of John Packer, of Amherst, 
Wis. ; Sarah, twin sister of Mary, is the 
wife of C. Merritt Jones, of \\'aupaca; 
George W., born March 3, 1847, is a farmer 
of Dajlon township; Samuel is the next 
younger; Margaret, born March 3, 1851, is 
the wife of Samuel Rasmus, of Crystal 
river. Wis.; Catherine, born February 22, 
1854, is the wife of Jerry Spurgeon, of 
Weyauwega. Three children were born 
after the arrival of the family in Wisconsin: 
Rebecca, born September 24, 1856, is the 
wife of Charles Shanrock of Weyauwega, 
Wis.; Annie, born January 19. 1863, is the 
wife of Howard Mason, of Weyauwega; 
and Elnora, born August 24, 1866, is the 
wife of Frank Gray, of Belmont township. 
Portage county, Wisconsin. 

Sanniel Riley was born in Luzerne coun- 
ty, Julv 27. 1849, and with his parents came 
to this State in the spring of 1855, reaching 
their destination on the 15th of May. They 
made their home in a small shanty near Par- 
freyville, and the father pre-empted forty 
acres of wild land in Section i 5, Dayton town- 
ship, from which he had to clear the trees in 
order to have room enough to build a house. 
He carried much of his lumber for his home 
from Little Hope. Wis., on his back. He 
was noted for his great strength, and has car- 
ried a barrel of flour from Parfreyville. a 
distance of two miles. On the old home- 
stead he resided until his death, which re- 
sulted from pneumonia January 16, 1881. 
In politics he was a stanch Republican, and 
was a public-spirited and progressive citizen. 
He came to Wisconsin with very limited 
means, and passed through man\- hardships 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



813 



and difficulties, but through perseverance and 
well-directed efforts gained a competence. 
He was very fond of hunting, and at an earlj' 
day had ample opportunity to indulge this 
taste, ior wild game was very plentiful. 

The gentleman whose name opens this 
memoir acquired his education in the dis- 
trict schools, and as soon as old enough be- 
gan work upon the farm, aiding in the ard- 
uous task of developing the new land. To j 
his father he ga\e the benefit of his services ' 
until his marriage, which was celebrated in } 
Parfreyville, Wis., October 27, 1872, the ', 
lad\' being Miss Julia Smith, who was born 
in Waukesha county. Wis., October 2'. 
1854, daughter of Edward Y. and Elizabeth 
(^Moyes) Smith. Her father was born at 
Martha's Vine\ard, and his wife was born 
in Scotland, coming to the United States 
when seven years old, her birthday anniver- 
sary occurring while rii route. Mrs. Riley 
was only ten months old when her parents 
removed to Belmont township. Portage Co., 
Wis., where she was reared. At the age of 
seventeen she taught in the school house 
where her children now attend. By this 
union have been born nine children: Edna 
A., who was born December 15, 1873, 
taught school for a time, and is now the wife 
of Will Smith of Dayton township; Amanda 
J. was born September 8, 1875; Jessie M., 
born September 18, 1877, also has a teach- 
er's certificate; Lottie B., born July 28, 
1881, and Elmer E., born July 2, 1883, are 
at home; Maud died in infancy; Gladys E., 
born July 18, 1887. and Edith M., born 
January 12, 1889, are with their parents; 
and Eunice J. died at the age of three 
years. 

Upon his marriage, Mr. Riley located 
upon a rented farm in Dayton township, and 
started out $400 in debt, but he was strong 
and willing to work and, making the best of 
his opportunities, soon was able to secure a 
farm of his own. Upon his father's death, 
he purchased the old homestead, and has 
since resided thereon, having 130 acres of 
rich land, which yields to him a good in- 
come. In 1894, he built a very pleasant 
and comfortable home, and has a well-im- 
proved place. He is truly a self-made man, 
who, bv his own efforts and as the result of 



a resolute purpose and indefatigable energy, 
has achieved a comfortable competence. In 
politics he is a Republican, and has served 
as director of the school district. He and 
his wife attend the Methodist Church. 



PAUL A. MICHAELIS, Sr., was born 
on the 30th of May, 1846, in Do- 
briluck. Kingdom of Saxony, Ger- 
many, and in early life learned the 
trade of cigar making, but on account of his 
health was later obliged to abandon that 
pursuit, and took up the mason's trade. 

Our subject was married in Berlin, Ger- 
many, April 12, 1872, to Marie Siewert, 
and the following year sailed with his bride 
for America, landing at New York. They 
made their way direct to Waupaca county. 
Wis., where Mr. Michaelis worked at the 
mason's trade. As soon as possible he pur- 
chased eight)- acres of land, a wild tract, 
which he at once began to improve, placing 
fifteen acres under cultivation, in addition 
to doing his masonry work. There he lived 
for eight years, when he sold the homestead 
and removed to Tigerton, Wis., where he 
bought a lot, built a house, and as a measn 
of livelihood worked at his old occupation. 
Subsequently he purchased seventy acres of 
land about three-quarters of a mile from the 
town, and this tract was also in it.s primitive 
condition, not a furrow having been turned 
or an improvement made thereon. He still 
continued his mason work, but also placed 
twenty acres under the plow. Again the 
farm was sold, in 1887, and he took up his 
residence in the town, where he rented a 
house for six months, then erected a com- 
fortable home, and embarked in the saloon 
business, which he continued until 1889. 
He then sold out, and in the spring of 1890 
came to Marion, where he has since been 
engaged in the manufacture of cigars, under 
the firm name of P. A. Michaelis & Son. 

To our subject and his estimable wife 
were born four children: Paul A., Jr., who 
is associated in business with his father, was 
born in Berlin, Germany; Anna, who died 
j at the age of six years; Julius, who died at 
I the age of three years; and Mary, who is 
still at home. The three latter were born 



8i4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in America. The parents both hold mem- 
bership with the Lutheran Church, and are 
highlv-esteemed people. Mr. Michaelis be- 
long^s to the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and both members of the well- 
known firm are connected with the Modern 
^^'oodmen of America. 

Paul A. Michaelis, Jk., was born on the 
23rd of February-, 1873, in the common 
schools of Bear Creek and Tigerton acquired 
his education, and also pursued a six-months' 
business course in order to further fit him- 
self for any life work which he might pursue. 
On January i, 1894. he entered into part- 
nership with his father, and the younger 
man's enterprise, combined with the father's 
experience, makes a successful business com- 
bination. The well-known firm is now do- 
ing a good business, receiving a patronage 
which is well deserved. 



FRED E. JENNEY, a successful farmer 
and an intelligent and enterprising 
citizen of Lind township, \\^aupaca 
county. Wis., was born January 31, 
1862. He is a son of Thomas Jenney, who 
was born February 20. 1817, in Fairhaven, 
Bristol Co., Mass., and the family genealogy, 
as traced back from Thomas Jenney, is as 
follows: Thomas Jenney is a son of David 
Jennev, who was the son of Jabez Jenney, 
who was the son of Cornelius Jenney, who 
was the son of Lettus Jenney, who was the 
son of Samuel Jenney, who was the son of 
Pilgrim John jenney, who, with his family, 
came to Plymouth in the year 1623. 

David Jenney was a sailor, and in later 
years owned a vessel in the coasting trade. 
His first wife, who was Mary Jenney, bore 
him twelve children, as follows: Rhoda was 
twice married, and died, the wife of James 
Marvell; Smith, a ship carpenter, died in 
Massachusetts; Franklin, a house carpenter, 
died in New Bedford, Mass. ; Jabez, a farmer 
at the time of his death, previously a ship 
carpenter, died at Fairhaven, Mass. ; Ste- 
phen, who was a sailor, started for California 
during the gold fever, but was either lost or 
killed while crossing the plains; Nancy, who 
married Mr. Delano, died in Fairhaven, 
Mass. ; Hannah married Porterfield Hutch- 



ins, a ship carpenter, and later a sparmaker, 
and died in ^Iassachusetts: Thankful, who 
married Nathan Allen, a whaleman, is de- 
ceased; Esther was twice married, first to a 
Mr. Stetson, and her second husband lived 
in Georgia, where she died; and three chil- 
dren died young. David Jenney again mar- 
ried, taking to wife Hannah, a sister of his 
first wife, and she bore him the following- 
named children: Thomas, the eldest, father 
of the subject of this sketch; Reuben, of 
Indiana; Daniel, who died in Massachusetts 
at the age of sixty-two; William, of Barron 
county, W'is. ; Nancy, who married Abra- 
ham Skiff, and died in Massachusetts; Mary, 
who married Luther Paul, and lives in Mas- 
sachusetts; James, of Weyauwega township, 
Waupaca county. Wis. ; and Abraham and 
David, who died young. David Jenney 
(Sr. ) was a sailor and a vessel owner, was 
engaged in the coasting trade, lived to be 
over eighty years of age, and died in Massa- 
chusetts, in which State his wife also died. 

Thomas Jenney passed his earlier years 
in Fairhaven, Mass., and received but little 
education when young, as it was his lot to 
work instead of going to school. He went 
"coasting" with his father on the Atlantic 
when but a boy of nine, was apprenticed to 
a house carpenter, and also worked to some 
extent at rivet and bolt making when that 
industrv was comparatively in its infancy. 
On Februar\- 20, 1 840, in Fairha\en, Thomas 
Jenney was united in marriage with Susan 
A. Thomas, who was born m Middleboro, 
Mass., in 1821. and he had by her the fol- 
lowing-named children: Susan A., born in 
Massachusetts, is now the widow of Francis 
Conrad, of Royalton, \\'aupaca Co., Wis.; 
Horace, born in Massachusetts, was a soldier, 
and died with the measles at the hospital at 
Fort Randall; and David E., born in We\ - 
auwega, \\'aupaca count}', died in infancy. 
The parents of Mrs. Jenne\' were Ichabod 
and Betsy Thomas. 

At the time of his marriage Thomas Jen- 
ney went to housekeeping in Fairhaven, and 
plied his trades of carpenter and shipbuilder. 
He lived for awhile in New Bedford. Mass.. 
and also worked at his trade in Charleston, 
S. C being there at work during the his- 
toric fire in that city. In June, 1849, he 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Sic 



came to Wisconsin, going from New Bed- 
ford, Mass., to Albany, N. Y., by water, 
by rail to Buffalo, by lake to Sheboygan, 
Wis., and by stage to Fond du Lac, where 
he spent the winter of 1849-50 working at 
his trade. In 1849 his family joined him, 
and they kept house in Fond du Lac. In 
the fall of 1849 he went up the lake to Osh- 
kosh in a row-boat, and up Wolf river to 
Little River sawmill, as an emploj'e in the 
machine shop m Fond du Lac, to repair 
some machinery. In 1850 he went to Wey- 
auwega, Waupaca county, and worked on a 
mill then being built, and that same sum- 
mer his family joined him. In \\'eyauwega 
his wife died. 

In August, i853,in Weyauwega, Thomas 
Jenney again married, taking to wife Ruth 
E. Lilley, who was born August i, 1834, in 
East Rupert, Bennington Co., Vt., and chil- 
dren have been born to their union as fol- 
lows: Mary E. E., who married, first, Fred 
Smith, and second, Charles Eaton, and died 
April 25, 1894; she had five children, two 
by the first marriage, and three by the sec- 
ond: Jonas F., who died in infancy; Hannah 
E., who was married to Daniel Buck, and 
died in 1876; Franklin R., of lola, Waupaca 
county, an engineer and sawmill man; Fred 
E. is the subject of this sketch; Beulah K., 
is now Mrs. Grant Sherwin, of Waupaca; 
Robert T. is a student at Valparaiso, Ind. ; 
and William B. resides in lola. The par- 
ents of Mrs. Thomas Jenney, Aaron and 
Mary (Batchelder) Lilley, who were born re- 
spectively in New England and New York, 
came to Wisconsin, in 1852, from Dorset, 
Vt. On April 30, 1857, Thomas Jenney 
came to Lind township, Waupaca county, 
and bought I20 acres of land then in a primi- 
tive condition, and the first buildings upon 
it were put up by the Jenney family. Here 
he began farming in connection with his 
trade, at which he always worked until his 
health became poor. Politically he is a 
stanch Republican, but no office-seeker. 
Both Mr. Jenney and his wife are members 
of the Methodist Church, and are highly 
respected. He was formerly a member of 
the Presbyterian Church in the East. He 
was an active man until seventy years of 
age. when his health failed, and he is now 



suffering from a paralytic stroke. He is- 
well known in connection with his trade, and 
also as a pioneer. 

Fred E. Jenney was reared on his father's 
farm, and attended the common schools of 
District No. 5, Lind township, Waupaca 
county. He worked in the woods for 
seven or eight winters, gathered ideas of 
agriculture, and always considered it home 
on the farm where he yet lives. On May 8, 
1892, in Waupaca, Waupaca county, he- 
was united in marriage with Mary Mawhiney, 
who was born October 31, 1863, in Hart- 
ford, Washington Co., Wis., and they have 
had one child by their union,- Irma Irene, 
born August 17, 1893. Mr. Jenney is a Re- 
publican, was a member of the township 
board in 1892, and has been treasurer of 
School District No. 5, in Lind township. 
He is a member of the Good Templars. Both 
he and his wife are members of the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church, of Lind, and he has 
held offices in the Sunday-school. Mr. 
Jenney is a steady-going farmer, and con- 
ducts the farm where he lives. He mani- 
fests no little interest in progressive move- 
ments in his township, bears an excellent 
reputation, and is highly respected. 



A\'. BALCH, insurance agent and 
surveyor, has for forty-four years 
been an active and prominent citi- 
zen of Weyauwega. He came to 
Waupaca county as a go\ernment surve\or 
in 1 85 1, and was engaged in subdividing 
and sectionizing much of the land in north- 
western Wisconsin. Since 1859 he has 
written insurance at the village of his resi- 
dence, and during his eventful life has fre- 
quently been called to other and responsible 
duties. 

The Balch family traces its ancestry ta 
John Balch, who, in 1623, came from Eng- 
land to Salem, Mass., as one of the Puritan 
forefathers, and in the succeeding genera- 
tions manv members of the family have 
lived lives of special prominence and useful- 
ness. Both Ebenezer Balch, the grand- 
father of A. v., and his brother took u\> 
arms in their country's defense during the 
Revohitionarv war. Ebenezcr, who was. 



■Si 6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



born in Connecticut, was a farmer, blacksmith 
and wagon maker. He married Sarah Bicii- 
ard, and settled in Massachusetts, afterward, 
in 1 800, removing to Plattsburg, N. Y. , 
where he was engaged at his trade and farm- 
ing and rafting lumber to Canada. He 
]i\ed to a good old age, and died at Platts- 
burg in 1846, his wife surviving until 1S52. 

Alvah B. Balch, son of Ebenezer, was 
born in Massachusetts in 1797, and married 
Mary McArthur, who was born in 1801 at 
St. Andrews, Canada, the daughter of New 
England parents, Charles and Lucy (Jones) 
McArthur. Mr. McArthur was a lumber- 
,man in Canada, and during the war of 1812 
was asked to take the oath of allegiance to 
King George of England. He refused, and 
was, in consecjiience, driven from the coun- 
try. Returning to New York he died in that 
State many years ago. Alvah B. Balch was 
a \\'hig in politics, and a farmer by occupa- 
tion. He li\ed through life on his one farm 
near Plattsburg, N. Y., where he died in 
1871, his wife surviving him two years. 
Their three children were A. V., the subject 
of this sketch; Clarissa, and Galusha B. 
Clarissa was the \\ ife of Loren Larken, of 
Dayton township, \\'aupaca county. She 
died in 1882, leaving four children: Alvah, 
•of Minnesota; Hiram, of Waukesha, Wis.; 
Arthur, a resident of Arkansas; Albert, of 
Waukesha, Wis. ; and Marv, wife of Robert 
McFetridge, of Oshkosh. Galusha B. Balch 
is a phj'sician of \'onkers, N. Y. He served 
as a surgeon during the Civil war, from 
1861 to 1865, first in the Ninety-eighth N. 
Y. V. I., and afterward in the Second \'et- 
eran Cavalry. 

A. \'. Balch, subject of this sketch, was 
born in 1828, and spent his boyhood on his 
father's farm near Plattsburg, N. Y. He was 
educated in the schools oi Plattsburg, and in 
the academy at Kejesville, N. Y. After 
leaving school he taught two terms, for $10 
and $16 per month respecti\ely. Then for 
three years he was teacher, guard and keep- 
er at Clinton prison, at Dannemora, N. Y. 
Severing his connection here, Mr. Balch 
•came west. At first he worked in the govern- 
ment employ for his board, but he speedily 
became an expert surveyor, and has since 
.been fre(iuenti\' in the goxernment service in 



that capacity. His last work of this nature 
was in 1873, when he surveyed a portion of 
Northern Minnesota. He was tfie second 
surveyor elected in Waupaca count}, serv- 
ing a number of \'ears. He was also a mem- 
ber of the Assembly in 1870. Mr. Balch has 
taken a strong interest in politics, and holds 
allegiance to the Republican party. He has 
been engaged in the insurance business since 
1859, writing all lines, hre, life and accident, 
and is thus one of the oldest insurance men 
in the State in the duration of active and 
actual business. 

In December, 1853, Mr. Balch was mar- 
ried, at Malone, N. Y., to Miss Sarah T. 
Parmelee, a native of that town, and daugh- 
ter of Rev. Ashabel and Fannie (Brush; 
Parmelee. Her father, a native of Vermont, 
was pastor of the Presbyterian Congregation 
at Malone for forty years, and was after- 
ward, for three years, chaplain at Clinton 
prison. He died at Malone in 1862. To 
Mr. and Mrs. A. V. Balch three children 
were born: Mary J., wife of F. W. Hough- 
ton, an attorney at Oshkosh; Sarah M., wife 
of Dr. C. D. Fenelon, of Phillijis, Wis. ; 
and Laura B., wife of Rev. Thomas E. 
Barr, Congregational minister at Ivalama- 
zoo, Mich. Mrs. Balch died at Weyauwega 
in 1887, and four years later Mr. Balch was 
married, at Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss Made- 
line Blind, a native of Alsace-I^orraine, Ger- 
manv. Miss Blind was educated in the uni- 
versities of Germany, and came to America 
to till the position of professor of languages at 
Millersburg, Ky. She remained there eight 
years. F'or three years she was private 
teacher of languages in the family of Mr. 
H. Howell, New York. Her English edu- 
cation was completed at Brattleboro, \'er- 
mont. 

When Mr. I^alch came to Weyauwega 
the village contained but one store, which 
carried a very meager stock, and a sawmill 
was also in operation. Indians still lingered 
in the county, and, in fact, everything was 
in an undeveloped state. In all the suc- 
cessive stages of advance from that primi- 
tive condition to the present highly-culti- 
vated district Mr. Balch has always been an 
interested spectator, and often an active 
participator. He is a member of Weyau- 



COMMEMOUATIVE BIOaitAPUICAL BE CORD. 



S17 



Avega Lodge No. 82, F. & A. M., and of 
Waupaca Chapter No. 39, K. A. M. He 
has since boyhood been a professor of re- 
lii-ioii and active in Church work. 



Rj. WOOLSEY. In the Hfe of this 
hard}' pioneer and gallant soldier we 
have the example of one who has 
persevered in the face of hardships 
and ditficnlties, and wrought out substantial 
sucre.-^s. 

Mr. W'oolsey was born October 25, 
1.S34, in Harbor Creek, Erie Co.. Penn., 
and is a son of Joseph Woolse}', who was 
born Ma}- 16. 1784, in New York. The 
grandfather of Joseph came from England, 
and was the progenitor of the family here. 
In New York, in 18 19, Joseph Woolsey, 
who was of the third generation of the 
family in the United States married Mehit- 
abel Brown, who was born in New York 
May 30. 1799, and was the daughter of 
Judah Brown, a shoe maker by trade. 
Joseph Woolsey, who was a blacksmith by 
trade, removed to Lorain county, Ohio, 
about 1820, lived there in a pioneer period, 
and about 1838 removed to Erie county, 
Penn., where he died in the fall of 1859. 
He was originally a Whig and Abolitionist, 
and later a Republican; he owned his home, 
and was a hard worker, and a respected citi- 
zen. His wife died in 1874; in religious 
faith she was a Freewill Baptist. They are 
both buried in the township of I'airview, 
Erie Co., Pennsylvania. 

The children of Joseph and Mehita- 
bel Woolsey wera as follows: Harriet M. 
was born July 13, 1820, in Lorain county, 
Ohin, married Charles Wright in Pennsylva- 
nia, and died in Erie county, Penn., in the 
fall of 1883; Maria, who was born in Lorain 
county, Ohio, May 29, 1822, first married 
Martin Dinsmore, and is now the widow of 
James Randall, of Ashland, Wis. ; Lina A. 
was born April 25. 1824. in Lorain count}-, 
Ohio, married Sylvester J. Nash, and lives 
in Erie county, Penn. ; Mira was born Sep- 
tember I, 1825, in Lorain county, Ohio, 
and is the wife of Dr. Clark A. Wright, a 
l)hysician of Pasadena, in southern Califor- 



nia; (German was born July 8, 1827. in 
Lorian count}-, Ohio, and was a soldier; 
Alfred J., who was born July 29, 1829. in 
Lorian county, Ohio, was a blacksmith by 
trade, was in the One Hundred and Eleventh 
Penn. V. I., and died in Meeker county, 
Minn., November 8, 1893; Caroline was 
born in Lorain county, Ohio, September 20, 
1 83 1, and died young; Richard J. is he of 
whom we write; Eli^a A., who was born in 
Erie county, Penn., October 2. 1836, is the 
wife of Fletcher Ingelson. who resides near 
Lake Minnetonka, Minn. ; he was a Yale 
student, and was a government surveyor in 
Minnesota in early days; Mary was born 
October 26, 1838, in Erie county, Penn., 
married George Clark in Pennsylvania, and 
died in Erie county, Penn., the year of the 
battle of Fredericksburg; Henriette. who 
was born March 4, 1841, in Erie county, 
Penn., is the wife of Dr. A. M. Evans, a 
physician of Chilton. Wis. ; William, who 
is a farmer in Gage county. Neb. , and a 
man of means, was born March 8. r843. 
in Erie county, Penn., and was a soldier 
from Pennsylvania in the Civil war. This 
family contributed four soldiers, every son, 
to the Union cause in the war of the Rebel- 
lion. 

R. J. Woolsey attended the common 
district schools of his time, and when he was 
eleven years of age he started out for him- 
self, working for farmers, and received much 
of his education in Erie county. Penn., go- 
ing to school in winter, and working for his 
board. He remained around Erie county, 
Penn., until February 26, 1855, when he 
left Pennsylvania for Wisconsin, where, in 
Waupaca county, lived his maternal uncle, 
John Brown. From Girard, Erie Co., 
Penn. , he came to Cleveland. Ohio, on a 
freight train, as there was no passenger train 
in the morning. From Cleveland he went 
to Toledo, Ohio, then on to Chicago. 111., 
and by rail and stage, via Madison, to Wau- 
pun; thence to a railroad two and a half 
miles distant, which brought him to Fond 
du Lac. I'^rom that point he journeyed by 
stage, and then through the woods by oxen 
to Omro, Winnebago county, arriving in 
Lind township. Waupaca county, March 3, 
1855. His money at this time, being all 



8iS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



scrip and from Pennsylvania, was worthless 
here. He made his home with his uncle, 
and the first work he did in the State was 
the making- of shingles, which were hauled 
to Berlin, a distance of twenty-six miles, 
and traded for provisions. He worked at 
lumbering in the woods, and ran on the 
Wisconsin river the next season, then en- 
gaged in such labor in clearing and in farm 
work as those days required. In the spring 
of 1857 he bought land in Section 27, Town 
27 North, Range 12 East, in Marathon 
county. He had saved money to pay for 
this, but never lived on it, and afterward 
traded it for a yoke of steers and a wagon. 
On November 18, 1856, in Lind town- 
ship. Waupaca county, R. J. Woolsey was 
united in marriage with Miss Laura Lamp- 
hear, who was born in the township of Can- 
ton, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. , April i, 
1838, and two children have been born to 
them, viz.: Fred Z., now a farmer of Lind 
township, who was born September 11, 
1859, and married March 9, 1884; and 
Eunice M., who was born in Lind township, 
Waupaca county, June 24, 1862, and mar- 
ried to William Bartlett, of Saxeville, Wau- 
shara county, June 24, 1881. The parents 
of Mrs. R. J. Woolsey were Zebulah and 
Betsy (Hier) Lamphear, who came to Wis- 
consin in 1854, locating on a farm in Sec- 
tion 26, in Lind township, where the father 
thereafter lived. He died in March, 1893, 
but his widow is still living. They had four 
daughters and seven sons. Z. Lamphear 
was a well-to-do farmer, and at one time 
owned large tracts of land. After his mar- 
riage Mr. \N'oolsey rented a farm in Section 
27, Lind township, Waupaca county, and 
lived there till May 27, 1858, when he, with 
his wife, hauled by the yoke of steers men- 
tioned in a preceding paragraph, went to 
Wright county, Minn., a pioneer section. 
Leaving Wright count}- he went to Blue 
Earth county, same State, before the days 
of the homestead laws, and pre-empted 160 
acres of government land, which was then 
in a state of nature. His cabin, like that 
of all the others, was made of timber taken 
from speculators' land. In Blue Earth 
county he remained till the spring of i860, 
when, his wife's health being poor, he simply 



abandoned the place, selling all his posses- 
sions, and leaving all the improvements he 
had made, and had barely enough left to 
bring the family back to Lind township. 
Here he was penniless, and, commencing 
again, he worked land on shares, and in 
the winter was employed in the woods. 
.\bout 1862, at the time of the "Indian 
scare, " he cleared the right of way for three 
miles for the Chicago & North Western 
railway between Apple Creek and De Pere, 
being gang foreman at the time. He was 
thus variously engaged until November 23, 
I S63, when he enlisted in Weyauwega,\\"an- 
paca county, in Company M, First Wis. V. 
C, recruited by Lieut. Caldwell. Mr. Wool- 
sey 's company went to Appleton, then to 
Madison, where they were mustered in, 
afterward going to Nashxille, Tenn. Their 
first engagement was May 9. i S64, at Ual- 
ton, Ga. Then followed the principal en- 
gagements in the Atlanta campaign till that 
city fell. Mr. Woolsey was in a detach- 
ment which returned to Nashville, and cii 
route the battle of Altoona was fought. 
Later he went to Louisville, Ky. , and was 
remounted in the fall of 1864; then going in 
pursuit of the Rebel Gen. Lyon, they had 
an encounter with the enemy at Green 
River. Returning by wav of Nashville, 
they came to Eastport. Tenn., and went 
into winter quarters, remaining there seven 
weeks. On their march to Selma, Ala., 
they had a battle with the Confederate Gens. 
Chalmers and Forrest. During this tight 
Mr. Woolsey came upon a lieutenant of the 
Eighth Mississippi Confederate Cavair\- who 
was dying, took from him four buttons, 
some Masonic emblems, and a white stone 
set in gold, which articles are preserved by 
the famil}'; he also secured his portfolio, 
containing letters addressed to parties in 
Tip Top, Jasper Co., Miss. Mr. Woolse\- 
is a -Mason, and woidd have returned all 
these mementos to his dying brother's friends, 
but no reply was ever received to the many 
letters sent). Their last fight was at West 
Point, Ga.. on Sunday. April 16. 1865. 
They went to Macon, Ga., and back to- 
Edgefield, Tenn., and he was dischargeil 
July 19, 1865, mustered out July 22, 1865, 
and paid off there. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 



8u 



THE OLD CANTEEN. 



(WkITTEX by R. J. WOOI.SEV'S DAUGHTEK EU- 
NICE, Mks. William Bartlett, of Bloom- 
FiELii, Wau.shaka Co., Wis.) 



I'll treasure the old canteen, 

So battered and worn. 
For it was father's companion 

Through sunshine and storm. 
OhI what tales it could tell 

Of the battles that were fought 
And the comrades who fell. 

While now it is rusty, battered and old, 

But more precious to me 
Than diamonds or gold ; 

It is dear to me. 
And I'll guard it with care. 

For it went with father 
All through the war. 

It was away down in Dixie, 

At a place called Burnt Hickory, 
That a Reb's rifle bullet 

Brought it to the ground : 
But father, undaunted. 

From his horse sprang down 
To save his canteen. 

While bullets whistled around. 

All through the ranks 

This sent a great cheer. 
Which routed the Rebs, 

From the front to the rear. 
Oh, I thank God 

That the hardships of war are o'er, 
And the North and the South 

Are at peace once more. 

Our mother bravely waited 

With us little ones at home. 
None can tell the fears she had 

For the beloved one that was gone. 
He went at his countrj-'s call. 

Perhaps never to return, 
But oh! what joy when the struggle was o'er, 

Our father returned, 
We hoped, to leave us no more. 

He brought home to mother 

His old haversack. 
And the old canteen, too. 

Which was saved at risk of his life : 
For 'twas shot from his side 

In the midst of the strife. 

Ofttimes I've heard father tell 

Of the hunger and thirst, 
When for want of food 

Shared corn with his horse. 
Often at night 

The damp ground for a bed, 
His saddle for a pillow. 

And the stars overhead. 

The following account of an exciting 
■episode in Mr. Woolsey's career while in 
the army is copied from the Waupaca Post : 



"DICK WOOLSEV S DARING DASH. 

Stories of army life are all the rage now-a- 
davs, and are read with interest by all classes. 
Talking with an old soldier a few days ago, the 
Pes/ heard of a little incident in the life of Dick 
Woolsey, of the town of Lind. which ought to go 
on record with other feats of daring. 

" Dick " is a large-framed, two-hundred pound 
bundle of good nature, rather decided in his opin- 
ions and ways of doing things. He was a private 
in Co. M, First Wisconsin Cavalry, in the spring 
of '64, and was out on patrol duty with thirteen 
more inembers of his company with Sherman's 
army in Georgia. The limit of their patrol was a 
large white farm house, about fourteen miles from 
the main body, and a lot of Southern women came 
out and treated the patrol to drinks of water, and 
seemed to be in an unusually talkative mood. 
Dick noticed this, and suggested to the otficer in 
command that they meant mischief, and wanted 
to move on. The officer asked him if he was 
afraid. Dick replied that he "didn't know but 
that was what ailed hinil " Orders were soon 
given to return tt) camp, and before going far it 
was discovered that a body of rebel cavalry 
(Wheeler's) was after them. Very soon they came 
in sight of another body of the same horsemen, 
drawn up in line across the road between them- 
selves and camp. The patrol couldn't ride through 
the dense woods to the right or left, and it began 
to look as if the conversation of those women had 
got the patrol into a box I The officer called a 
halt to consider matters, but the cavalry behind 
kept coming right along. Dick then made up his 
mind that he was sure enough badly "scared." 
looked ahead and saw the line of troopers, behind 
at the rebs coming gaily along, took his revolver 
in his left, sabre in his right hand, yelled to the 
boys to follow him, stuck his spurs into his horse 
and started at a dead run for that line of rebs 
across the road, bridle in his teeth, and emptying 
his revolver right and left as he struck the line. 
Dick's horse was as large in proportion as himself, 
and as the rest of the patrol followed in the same 
style, the rebs got out of the way and let it go 
through, following and firing. When the patrol 
struck the union picket lines its number was re- 
duced to six, and it is supposed the missing eight 
were captured, as no bodies were found on the 
road the next day, but none of them were ever 
heard of afterward. Woolsey was made corporal 
the next day for gallantry. 

Leaving scenes of strife and carnage for 
a peaceful rural life, Mr. Woolsey proceeded 
to the city of Waupaca, whither his wife had 
moved during his absence, and at once 
brought his family to Lind township, where 
he bought a timber tract of forty acres in 
Section 35, and paid for it. It was primi- 
tive land, and he had no house but a log 
cabin, built in winter, with the roof slanting 
one way. He passed the winters in the 
woods in different capacities, varying from 
"swamper" to driver of o.xen and to fore- 
man. In 1870 he worked on the Green Bay, 



S30 



COMMEMORATH'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Winona & St. Paul railroad, as overseer 
over fifty Oneida Indians, clearing the right- 
of-way between Shiocton and Seymour; and 
in 1 87 1 began as a gang foreman for the 
Wisconsin Central railway in the gravel pit 
at Neenah. He was in the employ of this 
company for seven years, and, when their 
road was being built to Ashland, was gang 
foreman, ran a train, and engaged in log- 
ging, and all such work as was necessary in 
putting through the road. At different times, 
and in longer or shorter sections, he has 
worked the entire distance from Neenah to 
Ashland. His family removed from Section 
35, in Lind township, \\'aupaca county, to 
Section 33, where his home has been since 
the spring of 1879, and he has 141 acres, of 
which 120 are broken. In the winter of 
1879-80 he was on the Elk river with thiity- 
five men, all new except one, began and 
built new works, new roads, and everything 
needed for carrying on logging operations 
through the winter, and in that one season put 
out three million, five hundred and six thous- 
and feet of logs, a big winter's work for the 
number of men employed, even if they had 
all been experienced loggers. A great part 
of his life he has been engaged in rugged 
out-of-door occupations, in the heat of sum- 
mer and the bracing air of winter, accus- 
tomed to rude and substantial fare, and he 
has been addicted to the chewing of tobacco 
every since he can remember, perhaps with- 
out perceptible harm, such as might over- 
take some, especially those cast in a mold 
less robust and unaccustomed to arduous 
toil in the open air. 

During 1892 and 1893 ^I''. Woolsey was 
superintendent of the count}' infirmary and 
lived there. With this exception he has 
lived in Lind township ever since the war. 
His occupation has been that of farming, 
except in such instances as those herein 
narrated. Politically he is a Republican, 
and is among the stanchest in the township. 
He has been supervisor and health officer, 
for over twenty years a justice of the peace, 
conducting many marriage ceremonies dur- 
ing this time, and for ten years treasurer of 
School District No. 7. The family are Pro- 
testants, and he is a Universalist in belief, 
but not a member of the Church. "Dick," 



as he is quite generally called, is very popu- 
lar, and is known far and wide and by e\ ery 
child in the township. 

Mr. Woolsey is a member of Garfield 
Post No. 21, G. A. R. , also a member of 
Chapter No. 39, Lodge No. 123, F. & A. M.. 
at Waupaca, having joined in 1863. In his 
day he was renowned as a wood chopper, 
stood six feet one inch in his stocking feet, 
and weighed two hundred pounds. He was 
perfect in phjsitpie, and has been a powerful 
man, though ne\er the same physically since 
his arduous service in the war for the Union. 
He is a friend of the needy, and has alwa\s 
been generous and kind-hearted — a fact 
which has lessened his accumulations of this 
world's goods — is a kind and indulgent 
father, and deservedly has many friends. 



N\ . JOHNSON, one of the leading 
farmers of Union township, Wau- 
paca count}', was born in Grafton, N. 
H., in 1850, a son of Nathan and 
Mary (W'ebsterj Johnson, nativesof the same 
State. The father, who was a carpenter by 
trade, lived in various places until he was 
fifty years of age, when he located on the 
farm in Waupaca county. Wis., on which 
his widow still resides. He purchased 1 60 
acres of government land whereon not a fur- 
row had been turned or any improvement 
made, and with an ox-team removed from 
\\'ashington county to his new home, clear- 
ing awa}' the timber in order to erect a log 
cabin. The work of development went 
slowly but steadily on, accomplished with 
crude implements and willing hands. Mr. 
Johnson served as surpervisor of his town- 
ship for some time, and in politics was a 
WHiig until the organi;?ation of the Repub- 
lican part}', when he became one of its 
stanch supporters, and was numbered in 
its ranks until his death, which occurred July 
9, 1889; his widow still lives on the old 
homestead. Their family numbered seven 
children: Sarepta, who became the wife of 
Benjamin Dean, and was accidentally burned 
to death in 1879 at Royalton, Wis.: .A. W. 
lives in Union township (he was county 
surveyor of Waupaca county fourteen years, 
his term of office having expired Januar\' i. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUWAL RECORD. 



S2» 



1895. In company with Benjamin Dean 
he made the first clearing in the forest in the 
northern part of Union township in 1857, 
their nearest neighbors being five miles dis- 
tant, while there was merely a path from 
one settlement to another. In those days 
the country was thickly inhabited by Indians, 
while wolves and other wild animals roamed 
the primeval forest); Melissa was married 
to John Shaw, who migrated from New 
Hampshire to Waupaca county in 1S59 and 
located on a tract of timber land which he 
transformed into a beautiful and productive 
farm (he served in the Mexican war and 
died in 1887, while his wife passed away in 
1892, leaving seven children — George, mar- 
ried, and living in ^\'ashington; Addie, wife 
of William Roberts, of Rural, Wis. ; Archie; 
Mary, wife of Seth Danley, of lola. Wis. ; 
Aiden; Carrie, wife of Theo Christianson, of 
this State, and Nellie, wife of Sam Brush, of 
Royalton, Wis.); Sophia, the next child of 
Nathan and Mary Johnson, became the wife 
of George Hammond, of Northport, Wis., 
and died in 1885, her husband in 1880; 
Mary Jane, wife of Joel Taylor, died in Roy- 
alton, Wis., in 1882; Orra, who died in 
Union township in 1882, and N. \'., the 
subject proper of these lives. The last 
named was five years old when the parents 
removed to this State, settling in Washing- 
ton county, and here he began his education 
in the common schools. His sister Sophia 
taught the first school held in the northern 
part of Union township, Waupaca county, 
in a small log schoolhouse, 12x12 feet. Mr. 
Johnson has made farming his life work, and 
now owns and operates 190 acres of good 
land, improved with all modern accessories 
and conveniences, and constituting one of 
the fine farms in the township. 

In 1885 N. \'. Johnson was married to 
Miss Addie Chapin, a native of Fond du 
Lac, Wis., and a daughter of James and 
Esther fWheeler) Chapin, natives of New 
York. The father went to Fond du Lac 
county with his father, one of the pioneers 
of that region, and there was married. In 
the fall of 1 87 1 he brought his family to 
Union township, Waupaca county, pur- 
chased land, opened up a farm, and is still 
liviuij amontr the lea<lintr aijrirulturists. 



Mr. and Mrs. Chapin had seven children: 
George, of Waupun, Wis. ; Emma, wife of 
Warren \Miitaker, of Waupaca, Wis. ; .Ad- 
die, wife of our subject; Henry J., who is 
living on the old homestead; Nettie A., wife 
of Frank Stoney, of Clinton. Rock Co., 
Wis. ; Byron, who also ]i\cs on the old home- 
stead, and Chester, attending school in 
Waupaca county. Botli Nettie and Byron 
have successfully followed teaching in A\'au- 
paca county. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have 
one child, u bright and interesting daughter 
of six summers, whom they are carefully 
rearing. 

In politics Mr. Johnson is a stanch Re- 
publican, and takes an active interest in the 
success of the party. His father was the 
first postmastei; of the j^ost office at Marble, 
which was established in 1863, and served 
during his lifetime, when he was succeeded 
by his son, N. V., who continued in that 
position for some time. The latter takes a 
deep and abiding interest in everything per- 
taining to the welfare of the community, and 
has been a conspicuous figure in promoting 
those enterprises which are calculated tO' 
prove of public benefit. His labors have 
done much toward opening up the county 
to civili/iation, and placing it on a p:>ar with 
the older counties, and among its founders- 
he well deserves mention. He and his wife 
hold membership with the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church of Symco, and their earnest 
Christian lives and many excellencies of 
character have won them the respect of all 
with whom they have been brought in con- 
tact, while in the circle of their ;ic<iuaint- 
ances they find hosts of friends. 



NICHOLAS E. PRESTON, who is- 
cine of the representati\^e business 
men of Antigo, Langlade county, 
was born at Boonton, N. J., April 
27, 1 861. His father, Joel Preston, was 
born in the same State in 181 3. But little 
is known of the latter's family except that 
his father was killed in the Mexican war, 
that his mother died when he was eighteen 
years old, and that he had one brother 
named Amasa. Joel Preston married Kath- 
erine \'an Riper, who was also a native of 



COJUMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPHICAL RECORD. 



Newjersej', born of German descent. They 
had six children; Samuel, Sarah, Nicholas 
E., Jemima, Thomas and Amasa, the two 
latter dying in early youth. The mother 
passed away in 1865, and in 1882 Joel Pres- 
ton joined his children in Wisconsin, where 
he died in the fall of 1892. 

The subject of this sketch came west 
when he was fifteen years old, and made his 
home in Plymouth, Wis., where he worked 
on a farm in summer, and attended school 
in the winter for some three years. He 
then returned to New Jersey and worked in 
the Hibernia mines for three years. In De- 
cember, 1882, he again came west, and 
worked in a lumber camp at Spencer that 
winter, but in the spring of 1883 he came 
to Antigo and took up a homestead in the 
township of I^anglade, about sixteen miles 
from the city. The place was covered with 
heavy timber, and his nearest neighbor was 
four miles distant. With the energy which 
has always characterized him, Mr. Preston 
went to work with a will, and as he was 
very poor, he was obliged to work for others 
<luring the winters, devoting his time in the 
summer months to clearing off and improv- 
ing his own land. He was a single man at 
this time and lived alone, doing his own 
cooking and other household duties. Late 
in November, 1887, Mr. Preston came to 
the city of Antigo and began draying, a 
business he carried on about four years. In 
the fall of 1890 he bought a small stock of 
furniture and opened a store, his business 
proving so successful that at present he car- 
ries the largest stock in this line in the city. 
His methods of dealing are straightforward, 
and his industry and enterprise have brought 
him an extensive trade from all over the 
-country. 

On December 30, 1888, at Antigo, Mr. 
Preston was united in marriage with Miss 
Luella Thorne, who was born in Illinois 
in 1866, a daughter of Jacob and Melvina 
Thorne, natives of New York, who migrated 
in an early day to Illinois, and later to 
Wisconsin, where they are living on a farm 
near Antigo; they had four children, namel)'; 
Thomas, Frank, Luella, and one that died 
in infancy. Mr. Preston is a Republican, 
but no politician, his time being occupied in 



attending to his business; he is a member of 
the I. O. O. F. and Modern Woodmen. 
He is a self-made man, one who has worked 
his way up through many obstacles, and at 
present is well-to-do in the world, owning a 
fine farm in addition to his store, and is a 
leading citizen of Antigo, where he has 
many warm friends. 

EDWIN BRIDGMAN, who by energy 
and perseverance, coupled with his 
thorough mastery of his trade, has 
built up a thriving and profitable 
blacksmith business at Waupaca, is a strik- 
ing example of the success which has come 
during recent years to people of the North- 
ern Wisconsin Valley. He has been in 
America but a few years, but during that 
brief interval he has placed himself securely 
upon the highway which leads to honor and 
a competence in life. 

Mr. Bridgman was born June 15, i860, 
in Devonshire, England, son of John and 
Grace (Larkworthy) Bridgman, who had 
eight children — William, George, John, 
Hiram, Bessie, Edwin, Fred, and one who 
died in infancy. John Bridgman had three 
brothers — George, William and Haskett — 
and each inherted a small farm, their father 
having been the owner of considerable land. 
John Bridgman died in 1886. Edwin was 
reared on his father's farm, and was educat- 
ed in the common schools. At the age of 
fourteen years he was apprenticed to the 
blacksmith business, which was the trade of 
his maternal grandfather, and for five years 
he received only board and clothes for his 
services. Then, at the expiration of his ap- 
prenticeship, the young blacksmith continu- 
ed to work for his master for wages, remain- 
ing three years. Meanwhile his older brother, 
George, who had emigrated to America, re- 
turned to England on a visit, and Edwin re- 
solved to accompany him on the voyage to 
the United States. This was in 1882. Land- 
ing at New York, our subject continued 
westward via Milwaukee to Northern Wiscon- 
sin, where he at once found emplojment at 
his trade, and remained in the shop for two 
years. In the fall of 1884, Mr. Bridgman 
came to ^^'aupaca, and renting a shop. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



823 



started in business for himself. It grew 
rapidly until he was unable to take care of 
it alone, and he hired an assistant, and later 
another, until now he employs three men. 
In 1892, his present brick shop was erected, 
and he does a general blacksmithing business, 
enjoying an e.xtensive and lucrative trade. 
Besides his business property Mr. Bridgman 
owns two houses and lots in Waupaca. In 
1882, he was married, in Weyauwega, to 
Miss Fannie Stoner, a daughter of John 
Stoner, and they have two children — Alma 
L. and Eveline G. In politics Mr. Bridg- 
man is a Republican. 



ALFRED T. CURTIS, editor and 
publisher of 'f/ii- Merrill N'fzus, Mer- 
rill, Lincoln county, is a native of 
Wisconsin, born September 7, 1872, 
near Mauston, Juneau county. 

Henry Hale Curtis, his father, was born 
in Ohio, near Cleveland, and when about 
si.x years of age came to Wisconsin with his 
parents, who settled in the country, near 
Mauston, Juneau county. The father was a 
farmer until after the birth of two of his 
children (of whom our subject is the eldest), 
and then attended Wisconsin University Law 
school, where he graduated. At Portage, 
Wis., he practiced law, and was district at- 
torney of Columbia county some time. In 
the spring of 1885 he moved to Merrill, 
Lincoln county, and associated in the prac- 
tice of law with his brother, George Curtis, 
Jr., the firm being known as Curtis & Cur- 
tis until 1890, when A. H. Reid entered the 
firm, which became Curtis, Curtis & Reid. 
H. H. Curtis died May 30, 1893, of typhoid 
fever, which he contracted in Pensacola, 
Fla. For about two years before his death 
he did little law work, spending his winters 
in the South on business and pleasure, in 
the summers engaging in various lines of 
work in the North. He was a successful 
lawyer, and excellent judge of good litera- 
ture, of which he was very fond, and was 
well known by most prominent lawyers in 
the State. His widow and three of her sons, 
two of whom are Freshmen in the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin, are at present residing 

52 



at Madison, Wis. George Curtis, Jr., came 
to Merrill in 1881, and has remained there 
ever since. The law firm is now Curtis & 
Reid. 

Alfred T. Curtis, the subject proper of 
these lines, came, in 1885, from Portage 
(where he had resided some eight years) to 
Merrill, at the high school of which city he 
graduated in 1891. For two years he was 
a student at the University of Wisconsin, at 
Madison, in the Civic-Historical course, and 
during vacations and other times worked at 
the printer's trade, becoming a journeyman 
printer in June, 1893. On December 8, 
1894, he bought the Merrill A'czcs of Dunn 
& Christenson, and has since been its editor 
and proprietor, doing a successful business, 
and conducting one of the brightest, newsiest 
and most readable papers in the county. 
He has not yet taken a " header" into the 
fathomless Sea of Matrimony, whatever his 
intentions may be. 



ORIN HALL (deceased) was during 
his lifetime one of Waupaca's most 
enterprising and public-spirited mer- 
chants. He was without the oppor- 
tunities in boyhood and youth which so 
many enjoy, for he was reared, among 
strangers, and at majority found himself 
without means or friends, and obliged to 
depend solely upon his own efforts in fight- 
ing the battle of life. 

He was born in Parishville, N. Y. , Au- 
gust 23, 1839, son of Ezra and Jane Hall, 
both also natives of New York, the former 
of whom, a farmer, died in about 1846, 
leaving a widow and two children — Orin 
and Moses, the former only seven years old 
at the time. Mrs. Hall afterward married 
a Mr. Congdon, her children by that union 
being Henry, Charles and Nancy. In 1851, 
when Orin was twelve years old, he came 
west with Rev. Upton, a M. E. minister, 
and lived with him in Portage county. Wis. , 
until he attained his majority. Mr. Hall 
then came to Waupaca, and after retnain- 
ing about two years, engaging in whatever 
employment he could find to do, he joined 
his brother Moses, who had gone to Ct)lo- 



824 



CUMMKMORATIVE niOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



rado, then an unimportant Territorj', and 
there for about eighteen months was en- 
gaged in mining. 

Returning to Waupaca in 1864, he com- 
nienced to clerk in a grocery store. In 
January, 1865, he was married to Miss Chir- 
inda Gerley, who was born in Oswego coun- 
ty, N. Y. , daughter of Percy W. and Ma- 
tilda (Stowell) Gerlej', who had eight chil- 
dren, five of whom — Jason, Frank, Mary, 
I.illie and Clarinda — are now living. Mr. 
(ierley was a farmer and lumberman. In 
1868 Mr. Hall began life for himself as a 
merchant, opening a grocery and jewelry 
store, which he siiccessfullx' conducted un- 
til his untimely death, which occurred May 
19, 1S92, when he was in his fifty-third 
year. Mr. Hall possessed unusual business 
ability, and was enjoying a thriving trade, 
built up by his own wise management, when 
his career was cut short by the angel of 
death. He had been an esteemed and hon- 
ored citizen, and was popular with all 
classes. In politics he was Republican, and 
he had served his city as an alderman. He 
was a member of the Episcopal C^hurch, 
and was also identified with the Masonic 
Order and with the United Workmen. He 
left a wido\v and two children, Charles M. 
and Mattic Y. Kertie M., a third child, 
was drowned when three \cars of age. 



WILLIAM B. JOHNS, proprietor of 
the onl}' furnace and machine shop 
combined in Langlade county, and 
which is located in the thriving 
city of Antigo, is a native of Monmouthshire. 
Lngland, born in October, 1846, in the city 
of Newport. 

Daniel Johns, father of our subject, also 
a native of Monmouthshire, married Miss 
Ann Davis, an Iinglish lady, whose father 
was a machinist and millwright, as were 
also her brothers, Thomas and Henry. To 
Samuel Johns and his wife were born thir- 
teen children, seven of whom grew to ma- 
turity — Thomas D., Mary A., Catherine, 
Ruth, Sarah, Lli/abeth and William B. — 
the others dying in infancy. The father of 
these was a li\ery-stable keeper and baker 
in the Motlurland, ami he had but one 



brother, Thomas, who was gamekeeper for 
a wealthy landed proprietcir in England. In 
1852 Daniel emigrated to .America with his 
famil}', for a time making his home in Tro\', 
N. Y., later coming to Wisconsin, and after 
a brief sojourn in Milwaukee settled, in 
1856, on a farm in Meeme township, Mani- 
towoc county, in his advanced years moving 
into the city of Manitowoc, where he passed 
the rest of his days, dying in 1892; his wife 
had passed from earth in 1 888. He had the 
reputation of being a hard-working man, 
honorable and liberal to a fault, a good 
farmer, one who, by industry, perseverance 
and sound judgment, converted a wild tract 
of land into one of the finest farms in his 
locality. 

The subject proper of thisniemoir. whose 
name introduces this sketch, was ten years 
old when the family moved into Manitowoc 
county, and at the common schools of Meeme 
township he received but a limited educa- 
tion. Learning the trade of machinist at 
the early age of twelve years, he was in- 
trusted with the charge of an engine in 
George Dwyer's gristmill at Manitowoc. 
When fifteen years old he entered a news- 
paper office, where he remained something 
over twelve months, which gave him an op- 
portunity of improving his education. In 
1864 he enlisted in Company G, Thirty- 
ninth Wis. \. I., but on account ol his 
stature was rejected; again he enlisted, how- 
ever, with the same result, but finally the 
captain of the company took him into the 
ranks on his own responsibility. For some 
four months he and the rest of his rompanx 
served at Memphis, Tenn., after which, in 
the fall of I 864, their term of service having 
expired, they returned home, and were mus- 
tered out September 22,- same year. On 
his return home Mr. Johns resumetl the 
trade of machinist, which, with the e.\cep- 
tion of the seven summers he was serving as 
engineer on the lakes, has been his regular 
occupation. .\t the same time he has oper- 
ated mills to some extent, having been fore- 
man of one particular mill four years. In 
1878 Mr. Johns came for the first time to 
.Antigo, before there was any railroad, mak- 
ing the journey on foot from W'ausau, at 
which time it was his intention to build a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S25 



inill, but, not being able to make satisfac- 
tory arrangements, he returned home. Later, 
in 1S83, the railroad having by that time 
been constructed to Antigo, he again came, 
this time to sta}', moving his family to the 
place, cleared a field of hea\ily-tinibered 
ground, and built his present machine shop 
and furnace, the only one in the county, as 
already stated. From month to month and 
year to year his business has kept on in- 
creasing in magnitude until to-day the indus- 
try gives employment to some thirteen hands, 
and has proved most remunerative. 

In 1871 Mr. Johns was married to Aman- 
da C. Nellis, who was born in 1844, in New 
York State, daughter of William and Mar- 
garet Nellis, people of English descent, who 
had a family of four children, named respect- 
ively: Seward, Mar\in, Amanda C. and Mar- 
tha. Of these, Seward and Marvin served with 
distinction in the Civil war, both being wound- 
ed. Seward first enlisted October 8, i86i,in 
Company H, First Wis. V. I., and was with 
the regiment at the capture of Nashville 
and Pulaski, Tenn., also at Huntsville, 
Ala., and Perryville, Ky., at which latter 
engagement he was shot through the neck, 
and left for dead on the held. In Decem- 
ber, 1862, he was discharged, and Januar_\- 
I, 1863, he returned home. On October 
3, 1864, he again enlisted, this time in Com- 
pany K, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, 
and was discharged from the service in June, 
1865. at the close of the war. Marvin en- 
listed at Fond du Lac, in the Twenty-first 
Wis. V. I., and was mustered into the 
United States service September 5, 1862. 
He was wounded at the battle of Kenesaw 
Mountain, being shot through the left arm, 
the ball striking his side and breaking a rib. 
After recovering he returned to iiis regi- 
ment. On November 12, 1864, the l"()ur- 
teenth Army Corps, under command of Maj.- 
den. Jeff C. Davis, commenced the famous 
march to the sea, iMider Sherman, the 
Twenty-first Wisconsin, being the only reg- 
iment from that State in the corps. In the 
Grand Review (jf the armies at Washington, 
in 1865, the Twenty-first was the last regi- 
ment but one in the column of Sherman's 
army, no regiment in the Ff>urteenth corps 
commandin'j more attention for soldierh' 



bearing and fine appearance. On June 10, 
the regiment left Washington, by rail, for 
Milwaukee, and on June 17 was honorably 
discharged, Mar\in returning to his home at 
Meeme next day. 

The parents, who are well-to-do farming 
people, moved, in 1852, from Montgomery 
county, N. Y. , to Shebo)'gan, and after a 

i residence there of six years removed to 
Meeme, Manitowoc county, where Mr. Nellis 
commenced opening up a farm in the wil- 
derness. He spent over thirt)' years in mak- 
ing and improving the beautiful home which 

, he left at his death, July 22, 1891. He was 
a man of unblemished character, stern in- 
tegrity, and unswerving fidelity to truth and 
duty. He was a soldier in the Florida-In- 
dian war, enlisting August 7, 1835, in Com- 
pany F, First Regt., U. S. I., which was 

j stationed at Fort Snelling, Minn., until 

[ July, 1837, when it was ordered to Florida, 
where they participated in the battle of 

! Okeechobee, with the Seminole Indians. 

I Mr. Nellis, losing an eye tl\rough blood- 
poisoning, was discharged August 7, 183S. 
The great-great-grandniother ot Mar- 
garet Nellis during the Revolutionary war 
was taken prisoner bj' the Indians and held 
in captivity several months. During that 
time the Indians went on their annual hunt. 
leaving her alone in canii) while they were 
absent. She busied herself in making their 
quarters as neat and comfortable as possible, 
also scouring their cooking utensils, which 
on their return pleased them very nnich. 
Their hunting expedition j)roved unsuccess- 
ful, and the mess of ])ottage which they left 
for her the\' ate greedily, she subsisting in 
the meantime on roots and berries. The 
Indians lu'ld a council, and decided she 
might return to her peojile, as she left a 
babe of a few riioutlis; so they detailed one 
of their tribe for guide, who said to her when 
reaching the settlement: "Pale face liud 
hon)e; good bye." 

To our subject and will.' lia\'e been born 
two children, William Henry, who died in 
infancy, and Florence II.. bookkeeper for 
her father's business. In politics Mr. Johns 
is a Republican, and has served in the city 
coinicil of Antigo two years, the county 
board one }ear, while at the present time he 



826 



COldMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is enjoying his fourth term as school com- 
missioner. He has been also chief of the 
Antigo Fire Department five years, and is 
the only Republican elected to any office 
from his ward. Socially, he has been a 
prominent member of the I. O. O. F. twenty- 
two years. Broad-minded and liberal, he 
gives freely of his means to both Church and 
school, and has done his share, perhaps 
more than his share, toward the building up 
iind advancement of the city of his adoption. 



JAMES H. BROOKS. Among the in- 
dustrious and successful farmers of Lind 
township, Waupaca county, is Mr. 
Brooks, who is a good citizen and a 
kind-hearted man. He was born in Indiana 
July 8, 1 850, and is a son of James and Mary 
Melissa (Alderman) Brooks, who were born, 
respectively, August 7, 1824, and June 9, 
1829, the former in Pennsylvania, and were 
united in marriage August 17, 1847, tit De- 
Kalb, Ind. Three children, as follows, were 
born to them while living in Indiana: Rachel, 
now Mrs. Ezra Dakins, of McDill, Portage 
Co., Wis., July 23, 1848; J. H., subject of 
this sketch; and Hugh, now residing in 
Minnesota, March 31, 1853. 

In June, 1855, James Brooks came with 
his family to Waupaca county. Wis., and 
located in Section 36, in Lind township. 
With two other families he drove the entire 
distance, and brought his cows and horses. 
They came by wa>' of Berlin, Green Lake 
county, and Pine River, Waushara county. 
No roads then led to the part of Lind town- 
-ship to which they came, and their wagon 
afforded them shelter at first. He had been 
a farmer in Indiana, but soon after coming 
to Lind he and his brother John engaged in 
building the sawmill at Hatton, Waupaca 
county, begun by Francis Strong, and on its 
completion Mr. Brooks was the first man to 
put it in operation. He conducted it till 
after the war, then sold it, and afterward fol- 
lowed farming. The mill was remodeled by 
others, and to-day is a gristmill, good water- 
power making the site desirable. 

The following-named children were born 
to Mr. and Mrs. James Brooks in W'iscon- 
sin: Francis M., born January 22, 1856, 



died Nov. 21, 1859, in Lind township; War- 
ren, of Stevens Point, born Dec. 8, i86o; 
Clara E., Mrs. Albert Dakins, of Buena 
Vista, Portage county, born November 5, 
1862; and Gilbert R., of Nebraska, born 
January 24, 1865. Mrs. James Brooks died 
April I, 1878, and Mr. Brooks again mar- 
ried, taking as his wife Sarah (Sweetj, widosv 
of Jerr}' Wright. There were no children 
by this union. Mr. Brooks died from can- 
cer October 24, 1894, while on a visit in 
Plover, Portage Co. , Wis. , and was buried 
there. He was a Republican, but for the 
last eight or ten 3'ears of his life a Prohibi- 
tionist. He was strongly in favor of tem- 
perance, was temperate himself, and was 
never addicted to the use of whiskej' or to- 
bacco. Both he and his wife were members 
of the United Brethren Church. 

John H. Brooks had a common-school 
education in District No. 7, Lind township, 
Waupaca county. His father sold out the 
mill before he was old enough to be of much 
assistance, and he was reared on the farm, 
and always remained at home until his mar- 
riage. Being the eldest boy, he had much 
to do, as the timberland his father began to 
improve had to be cleared, and furnished 
him work. On November 9, 1872, James 
H. Brooks was united in marriage with Miss 
Amy E. Dakins, who was born July 18, 
1853, in Fremont township, Waupaca 
county, Wis. The following-named chil- 
dren have been born to them, and are all 
now at home: Ezra H., August 10, 1875; 
Gertrude M., August 6, 1878; and Myrtie 
M., October 25, 1880. Mrs. Brooks is a 
daughter of Amos and Phcebe (Rileyj Dakins, 
and was reared in Fremont township. Her 
parents were from Canada, and her father 
was a farmer. After their marriage Mr. 
and Mrs. Brooks went to housekeepmg in 
Springwater, Waushara county, lived there 
two years, and then came to Lind township, 
W^aupaca county. When Mr. Brooks came 
to his present farm, in April, 1877, there 
was not a building upon it, and only a small 
clearing. All the buildings upon the place 
have been put up by him, and he now has 
1 16 acres in Lind. ^^'hen game was plenty 
he used to hunt considerably, and he has 
seen many changes in the township. He is 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



827 



a Republican in politics, but no office-seeker; 
is de\oted to his family, for whom he tries 
to make life pleasant, is a good neighbor, 
has many friends, and no man was ever 
turned away hungrj' from his door. 



ELI P. SCRIBNER is a typical 
American farmer, one possessed of a 
physi(]ue of which an athlete might 
be proud. He is a stanch advocate 
of temperance and good morals; believes 
thoroughly in education, and is giving his 
children the benefit of his ideas upon the 
subject. He is a prosperous agriculturist, 
and progressive m his methods. 

Mr. Scribner comes of old New England 
stock, but Ohio claims his birth, having been 
born in Pierpont, Ashtabula county, No- 
vember 23, 1S45, son of David and Hannah 
(Prince) Scribner, the former a' native of 
New Hampshire, the latter of Massachu- 
setts. Each of the parents had been pre- 
viously married. By his first wife, who was 
a Miss Burge, David Scribner had ten chil- 
dren, as follows: John and Thomas, farm- 
ers in Monroe county, Ohio; and Welcome 
(hotel-keeper), Samuel (farmer), David, Jr. 
(farmer), Lorenzo (farmer), Betsey, Simeon 
(farmer), Noah (farmer), and Jacob (farmer), 
all in Ashtabula county, Ohio. B}' her first 
marriage — to Leonard Curtis — Hannah 
Prince had one child, Leonard, Jr., who 
died, aged twenty-four years. Mrs. Scrib- 
ner was a descendant of the celebrated Prince 
family, which is supposed to have descended 
from a pilgrim of the " Mayflower," or of a 
somewhat later year, and which for genera- 
tions have been represented in Boston, 
Mass., by wealthy merchants. David and 
Hannah Scribner were married at Pierpont, 
Ohio, where they lived for many j'ears. The 
father died on January i 3th, i 860, and the 
mother on February 27, 1889. Their chil- 
dren were as follows: Rhoda, who was 
married to Elias Durfee, and after his 
death wedded William Roth, a farmer 
at Monroe, Ohio, and has two children, 
Hannah and Eli; Celestia, who married 
Michael Frick, and with her husband and 
four children, Joseph, Myrtle, Nellie and 
David, lives on the old homestead at Pier- 



pont; Eli, who at the age of four years fell 
into a kettle of boiling lye and was fatally 
scalded; Eli P., subject of this sketch. The 
latter received a good common-school edu- 
cation, and from the age of si.xteen he 
worked steadily on the farm until his mar- 
riage at Jefferson, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, 
July 19, 1867, to Miss Eliza Parmerlee. 

He remained after marriage on his fath- 
er's farm until the following January, when 
he came to Buena Vista township, Portage 
county. Wis. Here he bought eighty acres 
of wild land, and for a month lived in an 
old log cabin until his present home could 
be erected. His wife died April 16, 1873, 
leaving two children, Charles P., born April 
29, 1868, who married Hattie Hoaglin, Oc- 
tober 21. 1893, and lives in Almond town- 
ship, and Leonard C, born January 13, 
1 870, a dry-goods salesman at Stevens 
Point, married to Eliza Kettelhon June 7, 
1893, and the parent of one child, Ruth, 
born June 14, 1894. For his second wife 
Mr. Scribner married Miss Isabelle Russell 
at Plover, July 5, 1875. She was born in 
New Castle county, Del., January 19, 1853, 
daughter of John and .\nn (McCullum) Rus- 
sell, both natives of Ireland. John Russell 
emigrated from County Donegal, Ireland, in 
1845. He was employed in the Dupont 
Powder Works near Wilmington,- Del., and 
was married in. that cit\'. In the spring of 
1855 he emigrated to Wisconsin, purchas- 
ing 120 acres of land in Almond township. 
Portage county, where he built a home and 
still resides. Mrs. Russell died here in 1862, 
and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery in 
Almond township. The children of Mr. 
and Mrs. Russell are as follows: William, 
a farmer at Buena \'i.sta, who by his first 
wife, Amanda Phelps, had three children, 
Edna, Florence and Cora, and by his second 
wife, Hattie Bacon, had two children, \\\\\- 
iam and Irving; Isabel, wife of Mr. Scribner; 
Gordon, now deceased, who was a farmer 
of Almond township, married Ida Brooks, 
and had three children, Mabel, John and 
Earl (deceased); Annie, who married James 
Webster, a farmer of Seymour, Richland 
Co., North Dakota, and had four children, 
Jessie (deceased), Elra, Irving and Cecily; 
Mary Jane, widow of John Walker, a farmer 



SzS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEWAL RECORD. 



of Almond township, and mother of two 
children, Martha Bell and John (deceased); 
Alicia, wife of Fred Palmer, an Almond 
township farmer, parent of two children, 
Edith May, and one deceased: Jerome, a 
farmer of Almond township, who married 
Ethel Post and has one child, (iolden Nila; 
Dabriella, wife of Addison Buck, a farmer of 
Waupaca count)*, and mother of one child, 
Gladys May. By his second marriage, Eli 
P. Scribner has three children. William M., 
born May 6, 1877, a pupil in the Stevens 
Point High School, preparing to enter some 
Eastern university; Ida Belle, born Maj" 6, 
1S77, a teacher in the Keene school; Anna 
Maud, born January 5, 1885. 

In politics Mr. Scribner is a stanch Re- 
publican. Himself and wife are active and 
prominent members of the M. E. Church at 
Keene. 



ABEL MAUILL, one of the leading 
and representative agriculturists of 
Waupaca county, has for almost 
thirty \ears made his home in Sec- 
tion 36, Little Wolf township, where he 
owns a good farm of 1 20 acres. He is a 
native of Ireland, born in County Monaghan, 
on the 13th of May, I 8 10, and is a son of 
David and Isabella (Munhallan) Madill, who 
were the parents of three chjldren, the two 
sisters of our subject being Charlotte, who 
was married, and died in St. Lawrence coun- 
ty, X. Y., in 1894, leaving a son, Adam 
Uuffey; and Mar)-, who was the wife of 
Abram Rowan, and died in Canada. The 
father, who was a son of Benjamin Madill, 
first came to America in 18 12, where he re- 
mained three years, after which he went 
back to Ireland. In 1832, he brought his 
family to the New World, locatingin the town 
of Lisbon, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. , where he 
jiurrhased land and followed farming until 
his death in April, 1862, at the age of seven- 
ty-seven years. The mother also spent her 
last days in the Empire State, dying in 1869, 
at the age of ninet\' years. 

In the common schools of the Emerald 
Isle, Mr. Madill, of this sketch, acquired his 
education, and remained with his parents 
initil after the faniilv came to America. He 



i was married September 25, 1835, the lady 
I of his choice being Catherine Scott, who 
was born July 9, 181 7, in Schoharie county, 
N. Y., near Albany, and was a daughter of 
Elizabeth (Holmes) Scott.- Both her par- 
ents were of German descent, and she was 
one of a family of four children; Eli, a farm- 
er of Spencer, Wis., has a family of grown 
children ; Catherine was next in order of birth ; 
Lory is the wife of Henry Barnett, a farmer 
of Sauk Center, Minn., and the\' have a 
family of grown children; and Betsy is mar- 
ried and resides in West Bend, Wis. The 
father of this family died in New York, after 
which the mother came to Fond du Lac 
county, W'is. . where she departed this life in 
1883. 

In 1867 .Mr. Madill came West to Wis- 
consin, locating in Little Wolf township, 
Waupaca count}', where he bought 120 
acres of land in Section 36, where he still 
makes his home. The land had been de- 
j prived of its timber, and nothing but stumps 
{ and logs remained, though a frame house 
i and barn had been erected on the place. 
Everything seemed to be in an undeveloped 
j state, and the roads of the neighborhood 
I were very rough. He had a team of horses, 
i and at once began clearing and improving 
his tract, his first crop being spring wheat 
i and potatoes, which were planted among 
[ the stumps, wherever he could find room. 
The grain was cut with a cradle, and thus 
he made a start in this new country. He 
still carries on agricultural pursuits, now 
having eighty-five acres of rich and arable 
land, the neat appearance of which shows 
the thrift and enterprise of the owner. He 
has the reputation of being a straightforward 
and reliable business man, and his entire 
possessions are the result of his indomitable 
enterprise and perseverance. 

Mr. and Mrs. Madill became the parents 
of children, named as follows: David, born 
September 14, 1836, and is now a farmer 
of New London, Wis. ; Elizabeth, born Sep- 
tember 8, 1838, is the wife of Robert John- 
son, a farmer of Waterloo, Jefferson Co., 
Wis.; Ella \., born April i, 1852, was the 
wife of David Dumbleton, and died, leaving 
children, who now live in Little Wolf town- 
ship: Jane, born November 3, 1840, mar- 



COMyrEsVORATIVE DIOGUAPUICAL RECORD. 



S29 



ried George T. McEntire, a farmer of Ar- 
cadia, Wis. ; Alexander, born January 29, 
1843, is a miner and stock raiser of Her- 
mosa, S. Dak.; Mary, born April 4, 1845, 
is the widow of Milo Sheldon, a farmer of 
Little Wolf township, who died Februarj' 
21, 1889; Charlotte, born October i, 1847, 
is the wife of George W. Barker; and Alfred, 
born July 31, 1863, is at home. They were 
all born in Lisbon, St. Lawrence Co., N. 
Y. , and with the exception of the two eldest, 
all were born in the same house, while all 
but David were baptized in the same Episco- 
pal Church. The parents lived to celebrate 
their golden w^edding, but Mrs. Madill has 
now been called to the home beyond, dying 
on the 28th of December, 1888, at the age 
of seventy-two years. Our subject is a stal- 
wart Republican in political sentiment, and 
for two terms served as supervisor of his 
township. He is widely 'known through- 
out the community, and is held in the high- 
est esteem and confidence. 

George W. Barker and his wife, who 
was Miss Charlotte Madill, now reside with 
our subject on the home place. Mr. Bar- 
ker was born in St. Lawrence county, N. 
Y. , July 21, 1842, and is a son of Benjamin 
and Margaret (Kendley) Barker, both na- 
tives of the Empire State, where the father 
worked at his trade of millwright. There 
were three children, of whom George is the 
eldest; Sarah L. is the wife of James H. 
Jerome, a farmer of Adams county, Wis. ; 
S. x\llen is a resident of Ellington. Outa- 
gamie Co., W'is., with whom the mother is 
now living at the age of seventy-five years. 

At the age of nine years Mr. Barker re- 
moved with his parents to Kalamazoo, 
Mich. , where the}- remained for one year, 
when they came to Wisconsin, making their 
homes in different places, where the father 
followed his trade of a millwright. In 1859 
they located in Bovina township, Outagamie 
Co. , Wis. , where he engaged in the same 
pursuit until 1862, when he there purchased 
land, which he operated until his death, 
passing away in September, 1883. 

On the 6th of June, 1861, (leorge Bar- 
ker enlisted in Company B, Third Wis. V. 
I., being mustered in at Fond du Lac, Wis., 
on the 27th of the same month, after which 



the regiment was sent to Sandy Hook, 
Md. Their first engagement was at Win- 
chester, Va., in April, 1862, and on the 25th 
of May they participated in a battle at the 
same place. This was followed by the en- 
gagement at Cedar Mountain in September, 
the second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, 
Chancellorsville and Beverley Ford. In the 
latter he was wounded in the foot, being 
then confined in the hospital for six weeks, 
after which he served on detached duty 
until Ma}' 6, 1864, when he rejoined his 
regiment at Chattanooga, Tenn. On the 
26th of May, 1864; he participated in the 
battle of Resaca, and on the i 5th of June 
took part in the battle of Dallas. He was 
mustered out July i, 1864, near Altoona 
Mountain, and returned home. 

For several years Mr. Barker was en- 
gaged in the sawmill business, but is now 
living on the farm with his father-in-law. 
His marriage to Miss Madill was celebrated 
on the 30th of November, 1873, and they 
have one son, Charles A., who was born Oc- 
tober 21, 1874, and is now attending the 
Normal at Oshkosh, Wis. Politically, Mr. 
Barker supports the Prohibition party; so- 
cially, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen 
of America, and the Grand Army Post, No. 
170, of Birnamwood, Wis.; and religiously, 
both he and his wife are members of the 
Congregational Church of Rovalton, \\'is- 
consin. 



JAMES CANNING, one of the oldest 
residents of Grand Rapids, Wood coun- 
ty, and an intelligent and successful 
business man, was born at Hope River, 
Prince Edward Island, Canada, May 5, 
1832, and is a son of Patrick and Elizabeth 
(Middleton) Canning, both of whom were 
natives of Ireland. Leaving that country 
they crossed the Atlantic, and took up their 
residence within the English domain on the 
Western Continent. The father died in 
1884, at the ripe old age of ninety years; 
the mother is still li\ing, hale and hearty, 
at the advanced age of ninety-four, and is 
yet making her home in Prince Edward Isl- 
and. In the family of this worthy couple 
were fourteen children, seven of whom are 



S-?o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



yet living, namely: Jane, wife of James 
Reddy, residing in Prince Edward Island; 
Isaac, living on Hope river, in that island; 
Catherine, who makes her home with her 
sister, Mrs. Reddy: John, who resides on the 
old homestead on the bank of Hope river; 
Elizabeth, wife of John Flemming, a resi- 
dent of Boston, Mass.; .\nn, wife of Robert 
Reed, also living in Prince Edward Island; 
and James, subject of this sketch. 

Patrick Canning was a prosperous and 
progressive farmer, and our subject was 
reared on the old homestead in the usual 
manner of farmer lads. He acquired his 
education in the neighborhood where he 
made his home, and after leaving school 
followed agricultural pursuits until twent) - 
two \ears of age. He then removed to St. 
John, New Brunswick, where he continued 
for six months, at the expiration of which 
time he sought a home in the United States, 
locating first in Iowa county. Wis. There 
he remained one year, being emploved as 
clerk in a hotel at Porter Grove. In 1854 
he came to Grand Rapids, where he has 
since made his home, a period of forty-one 
consecutive years. Upon his arrival here 
he began work in the lumber business, in the 
employ of the firm of Howe & Rablin, which 
at that time conducted a general lumbering 
business on a large scale. Upon the death 
of Mr. Rablin he continued to work for John 
Rablin, and his connection with that gentle- 
man lasted until 1874. his entire connection 
with the firm covering twenty years. Mr. 
Canning then embarked in business with 
John Parish, with whom he remained about 
a year; then was in partnership with James 
Ingram until 1890. From that \ear until 
April, 1894, he carried on a general lumber- 
ing business in Emmondsville. Wis., in con- 
nection with Emmons Burr. 

On October 6, 1853, Mr. Canning was 
united in marriage with Miss Cassie Parish, 
daughter of William and Catherine Parish, 
and a native of Richibucto, New Brunswick, 
born December 5, 1845. They became the 
parents of a family of five children, viz. : 
John James, who was born August 18, 1865, 
and was married October 30, 1888, to Miss 
Addie Brauzan; William Edward, born June 
24, 1867, is residing in Ennnondsville, ^iara- 



thon Co., Wis.: Alfred Thomas, born July 
12, 1869; Walter P.. born June 27, 1872; 
and Laura Elizabeth, born June 12, 1874. 
The family attend the services of the Con- 
gregational Church, and in the community 
where they reside they have a wide circle of 
friends and acquaintances. Mr. Canning 
votes with the Democracy, but has had 
neither time nor inclination for public office, 
his energies being devoted to the lumber 
business. His long connection with one 
firm indicates his faithfulness to their in- 
terests, his fidelity to duty, and after he em- 
barked in business for himself his course 
was one of straightforward and honorable 
dealing. 



WH. CLINTON is one of the native 
sons of Clintonville, Waupaca coun- 
ty, and is a man of whom the town 
has reason to be proud, for he takes 
great interest in her welfare and upbuild- 
ing. He was born June 11, 1857, son of 
U. P. Clinton, whose sketch we give below. 
Mr. Clinton was reared and educated in 
the schools of his native town, and com- 
menced his business career in the lumber 
woods. He was also employed on the river, 
and in hauling goods from New London to 
Clintonville and Shawano. Por a time he 
was employed by the Torrey Cedar Co , 
scaling lumber, forming this connection in 
1884, and continuing with that firm for two 
years. On the expiration of that period, in 
connection with Mr. Wall, he built a saw- 
mill, and, under the firm name of Wall & 
Clinton, was engaged in that line of business 
for five years. He extended his enterprise 
and erected a mill at Barclay, Mich., which 
was conducted under the name of the Bar- 
clay Lumber Company for one year, when 
Mr. Clinton retired. In September, 1892. 
he became an agent for the American Ex- 
press Company, at Clintonville, and has 
since creditably filled the position. He also 
does a commission business, handling pro- 
duce, butter and eggs, and is proprietor of a 
well-stocked grocery and crockery store, en- 
joying a good trade along that line. On 
March 9, 1893, his frame store building was 
destroyed by fire, but he at once set to work 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S3E 



to replace it, and, Phcenix-like, from the 
ashes arose his two-story veneered brick 
building, 24 x 70 feet, the store occupying 
the lower floor, while the large rooms above 
are the place of meeting for the Odd Fellows 
Society. 

In 1883, Mr. Clinton was married, in the 
city of his birth, to Emma C. Torrey, who 
was born in Mankato, Minn., daughter of 
L. Z. Torrey, who is interested in the Tor- 
rey Cedar Company, and came to Clinton- 
ville in 1880. Five children have been born 
of their union, of whom two are now living — 
George T. and Walter H. The parents are 
both members of the Congregational Church. 

In politics Mr. Clinton was formerly a 
Republican, but is now a supporter of the 
Prohibition party. His straightforward busi- 
ness deahngs have won him the confidence 
of the community and secured for him a 
liberal patronage, which is constantly in- 
creasing. As a citizen he is true and loyal 
to the best interests of his native county, 
and is a worthy representative of one of the 
honored pioneer families. 

It will not be inappropriate in this con- 
nection to speak of hi.s father, U. P. Clinton, 
who was one of the earliest settlers of this 
community, locating here in 1855, 

He was born January 14, 1823, in Pots- 
dam, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., a son of 
Norman and Lydia (Higbee) Clinton, the 
the former of whom was a native of St. 
Lawrence county, N. Y. , the latter of Ver- 
mont. In 1840 the parents migrated to 
Waukesha, Wis. and afterward settled in 
what was then Bear Creek township, Wau- 
paca county, the father founding the town of 
Clintonville, where he carried on the milling 
business until his death. He was a Whig 
in politics, and served as one of the county 
supervisors when the county seat was Mukwa. 
His wife also died in Clintonville, and in 
their taking away the community lost two of 
its most highly-respected citizens. The 
grandparents of U. P. Clinton were Henry 
and Eleanor Clinton, the former of whom 
was a soldier in the war of 1812. In 1840 
they became residents of Waukesha, Wis., 
where the\' spent their remaining days. U. 
P. Clinton was the eldest of four children. 
His sister Amanda is the wife of Spencer 



Day, of Iowa. Luman came to Clintonville 
with his father and opened up the farm on 
which his elder brother now lives, while in 
the winter season he engaged in lumbering; 
during the Civil war he enlisted in the 
Twenty-first Wisconsin Infantry, for three- 
years' service, and was killed at Perryville, 
his remains being interred on the battlefield. 
Boardman, the youngest of the family, came 
v.nth his father to Clintonville, and is now 
engaged in contracting and building in Cen- 
tralia, Wisconsin. 

In the county of his nativity U. P. Clin- 
ton was reared and began his education, 
also attending the first academy at Wau- 
kesha, Wis., walking five miles to that 
school. The first work he did for himself 
was at carpentering in Menasha, where he 
located ere the site of that town was marked 
by a single building. He erected the first 
frame house there, and carried on milling and 
mercantile business until his removal to- 
Clintonville. He was engaged in the man- 
ufacture of flour forsome time with ex-Gov. 
Barstow. On coming to Clintonville, in 
1855, he built a sawmill, which he at once put 
into operation, this being the first business 
conducted within the corporation limits of 
Clintonville. The mill was burned in 1858;. 
but he at once rebuilt and carried on opera- 
tions along that line until about 1880. in 
company with W. H. Stacy, establishing 
the first gristmill in 1869. He is now, how- 
ever, engaged in farming. 

Mr. Clinton was married in Waukesha,, 
in 1845, to Mary Bowman, a native of New 
York and a daughter of Thaddeus Bowman, 
a pioneer of Waukesha, now deceased. 
Mrs. Clinton died in Clintonville, in 1857,. 
leaving four children — Martha, wife of D. 
D. Hewett, of Vermont; Charles, of Clinton- 
ville; Mary, of Vermont; and W. H., who- 
is mentioned above. In 1864 Mr. Clinton 
wedded Anna Finch, also a native of New 
York, whose father was an early settler of 
Milwaukee, where his death occurred. By 
this union there is one son, Philip. Socially 
Mr. Clinton is connected with Clintonville 
Lodge No. 197, F. & A. M., in which he 
has passed all the Chairs. Politically he is 
a stalwart Republican, has se\'eral times 
served as count}' supervisor, has been chair- 



.832 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 



man of the board, justice of the peace and 
postmaster of CHntonville. He came to 
Wisconsin in its Territorial days, and has 
therefore witnessed its entire development 
as a State. Much of its history is familiar 
to him, and especially in this region he has 
been a prominent factor in its upbuilding. 



WILLIAM M. ZILLMER. The bus- 
iness interests of Symco, Waupaca 
county, are well-represented by this 
gentleman, a [progressive and enter- 
prising general merchant, who conducts one 
of the leading establishments of the kind in 
the town. He has a well-appointed store, 
supplied with everything found in his line, 
and the liberal patronage he receives is ac- 
corded him as the result of courteous treat- 
ment, fair and honest dealing and an earnest 
desire to please his customers. 

Mr. Zillmer was born in Pru.ssia, ("ut- 
many, June 6, 1855, and is a son of Michael 
and Minnie (Riske) Zillmer, the father a 
farmer by occupation. The children of the 
family are Augusta, Minnie, Fredericka, 
Fred, William, August, Herman and Albert. 
In 1 868 the parents bade adieu to the Father- 
land and sailed for America, lamling at Bal- 
timore, whence they came to Fremont, Wau- 
paca Co., Wis. Here the father engaged in 
farming for five years, and then jjurchased 
eighty acres of land in Caledonia township, 
Waupaca county, about five miles south of 
New London, upon which some slight im- 
provements had been made. He at once 
began to clear his huui and for five years con- 
tinued its cultivation, after which he sold 
out, and spent the succeeding year in Fre- 
mont. He then jjurchased forty acres of 
timber land in Dupont township, and subse- 
quently added to it another tract of forty 
acres, so that to-day he has a tine farm of 
eighty acres, all of which is under a high 
state of cultivation and improved with mod- 
ern accessories and conveniences. In 1876 
he was called upon to mourn the death of 
his wife, wIkj passed away in \o\ember and 
was buried in Caledonia cemetery. 

When William M. Zillmer was twenty 
years of age he started out in life for him- 
self. He had been reared on the home farm. 



and had become familiar with all the duties 
that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, so 
he now took up carpenter work, which he 
followed until twenty-three years of age. At 
that time he purchased eighty acres of wild 
land in Dupont township, Waupaca county, 
and began farming on his own account. Mr. 
Zillmer was married, in 1876, to Mary, 
daughter of Charlie and Augusta Fahrman, 
and they began their domestic life on the 
farm. Four children have been given them 
— Albert, Anna, Martha and Marj'. The 
first home of this worthy couple was a log 
cabin i 2 .\ 20 feet, and in it they lived for a 
3'ear, when a more commodious structure was 
erected. Five years after they came to Sym- 
co and Mr. Zillmer embarked in general mer- 
chandising in connection with William Mar- 
(juardt. They purchased the lot which is now 
owned by our subject, erected a small frame 
building, and each invested $400 in stock. 
The partnership continued for five years, and 
from time to time they increased their stock 
to meet the growing demand until, at the 
time Mr. Zillmer bought out his partner, the 
stock was valued at $2,600. He continued 
in the first building until the fall of 1894, 
when he erected a fine large building at a cost 
of $2, 500, and now carries goods to the value 
of $3,000. 

Mr. Zillmer is a man of good business 
ability, of discrimination and persistence. 
His well-directed efforts and honesty of pur- 
pose have been the means of bringing to him 
a comfortable competence, and making him 
one of the leading business men of Symco. 
In his political affiliations he has always been 
associated with the Democratic party, and in 
religious faith both he and his wife are Lu- 
therans. Their friends are many, and in so- 
cial circles thej^ occupy an enviable position. 

G UNDER SODRESTEN is one of the 
wealthy citizens and self-made men 
of I'^armington township, Waupaca 
county, and his life furnishes an ex- 
ample of industry and enterprise well wor- 
thy of emulation. 

A native of Sweden, he was born in 
1837. ^'i<J spent the first twenty-nine j'ears 
of his life in the land of his l)irth. There 



COMMEMOUATIVE BWOUAPUWAL RECORD. 



S33 



he received an exxellent education in his na- 
tive tongue, and for some time successfully 
followed the profession of school teachinj^, 
by which method he had accjuired $200 over 
and above the sum necessary to meet his 
expenses. Attracted by the opportunities and 
privilef^es which the New World afforded, 
he sailed for America in 1 .S66, landing on 
the shores of the United States in the fall 
of that year. On the 9th of October he 
reached Waupaca, Wis. The $200 which 
he had brought with him he afterward lost 
!)>■ loaning it to neighboring farmers on im- 
perfect notes. He was first employed in the 
lumber woods and on the river, and being a 
skilled log "driver" was able to command 
good wages for his services. In 187 1 he 
purchased 200 acres of land in Section 3, 
Farmington township, going in debt for the 
same, and has since made his home upon 
that farm. 

In the }ear following his purchase, on 
July 27, 1872, in Farmington township, was 
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Sodresten 
and Miss Betsy Torgensen, a native of Nor- 
wa}-. To them have been bom the follow- 
ing children; Carrie, Josie and Gustav, liv- 
ing; and four children who died in infancy. 
They have also adopted two children — Mar- 
tha and Hilda, daughters of our subject's 
sister, who have taken the name of Sodres- 
ten. For almost acjuarter of a century Mr. 
Sodresten has lived upon his present farm. 
He is a hard-working man, one of the most 
industrious in the township, lab(jring early 
and late, oftentimes long after darkness had 
closed down around him. He has cradled 
three acres of grain at night. He has con- 
tinued his labors unceasingly, the greater 
part of the time having no one to aid him 
save his wife and daughters, who, however, 
proved of much assistance. In addition to 
his valuable property in Farmington town- 
ship he owns eighty acres of land in Scandi- 
navia township, and has several mortgages 
o\\ good property. Mr. Sodresten exercises 
his right of franchise in support of the Re- 
))ublican part}', but has never been an as- 
pirant for political preferment; in religious 
belief he is a Lutheran. He has been the 
architect of his own fortune, building wisely 
and well, and has reared upon a solid foun- 



dation a structure in which the building ma- 
terials have been untiring industry, enter- 
prise, good management and sagacity. 



M 



ANUEL BERRY is numbered 
among the leading and influential 
farmers of Buena Vista township, 
Portage county, where he has a 
hne farm of 240 acres of rich land. He is a 
native of the Keystone State, born in Beth- 
lehem, Luzerne county, January 28, 1821, 
and is a son of Andrew and Hannah (Eshen- 
boch) Berr}', both born in Philadelphia, 
Penn., the father on November 27, 1790, 
the mother on November 27, 1780. The 
maternal great-grandfather, Andrew Eshen- 
boch, came to America with the Penn col- 
ony, and here died before the Revolutionary 
war. His son Andrew served in that 
struggle, taking part in the battle which re- 
sulted in the surrender of Cornwallis, which 
he witnessed in New York; he died at the 
very advanced age of ninety-nine years, nine 
months and nine days. His children were 
John, Hannah, David, Nathaniel, Joseph, 
Thomas and Samuel. 

Andrew Berry, the paternal great-grand- 
father of our subject, was of German de- 
scent, and emigrated to America with Will- 
iam Penn, after which he witnessed the 
treaty between that gentleman and the In- 
dians. Mr Berry located in Philadelphia, 
where he erected a large tannery, and in 
that city died a very wealthy man. His son, 
who also bore the name of Andrew, suc- 
ceeded to the business, and during the Rev- 
olution contributed large sums of money to 
defray the expenses of the Continental army. 
He even mortgaged his property to raise 
monej', and when the notes fell due was un- 
able to pay in Continental money; but in 
order to discharge his obligations he turned 
over all his property to his creditors, and 
became financially ruined. He served as a 
soldier during the war for Independence, 
and, while carrying supplies at the battle of 
Brandywine, was severely wounded in tht; 
leg, from which he recovered, but during the 
war of 1 812, in which he participated, 
erysipelas broke out in the old wound. He 
was sent to his home in Luzerne county. 



834 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Penn., whither he had removed at the close 
of the Revohition, and there his death oc- 
curred. In Philadelphia he had married 
Susanna Fink, who survived him many 
years, her death also occurring on the old 
homestead in Luzerne county. They had 
four children: John was accidentally killed 
in early manhhood while digging a well; the 
father of our subject is next in order of 
birth; Polly was three times married; Katy, 
who first wedded John Clark, after his death 
becoming the wife of George King, passed 
away in Butler county, Penn., in 1861. 

Andrew Berry, the father of our subject, 
was a lumberman of Luzerne county, Penn., 
and also owned a large farm near Pittsburg, 
Butler county, being at one time a very 
wealthy man, but he lost most of his prop- 
erty through speculation. Among the earli- 
est pioneers, he came to Buena Vista, Wis., 
locating on the farm now owned by our sub- 
ject, and there his death occurred about 
1862, his wife following him to the final 
rest some five years later. They were in- 
terred in the cemetery at Liberty Corners. 
In their family were the following children: 
(i) Benjamin, who died at Warsaw, Wis., 
in 1880, was a man of phenomenal strength 
and a giant in stature; he married Martha 
Eshenboch, by whom he had five children 
— Andrew Douglas, Maria, Hattie, Frank 
and Mattie — who, with their mother, now 
make their home in Warsaw. (2) Robert, 
who was an enfjine-builder, was engaged in 
putting an engine in a steamer at \'icks- 
burg, Miss., when he was called from his 
task, and is supposed to have been poisoned 
and afterward robbed of a large sum of 
money he had with him. (3) John, who 
served in Company E, Eighteenth Wis. V. 
I., died in 1890, at the home of his sister, 
in La Crosse, Wis. C4) Andrew, a retired 
farmer of Buena \'ista (he married Angeline 
Johnson, a native of Sweden, and had chil- 
dren as follows: Sarah, married to Frank 
Fletcher, an agriculturist of Buena Vista 
township, and they have one child, Clar- 
ence; Mary, a milliner in Amherst, Wis.; 
Clarissa, deceased wife a{ Nell Winslow, by 
whom she had one child, Nina, who is also 
deceased; Andrew, who wedded Barbara 
Young, and has two children — Effie and 



Robert; Alice, who died in girlhood; and 
Archibald, a wine-merchant of Milledgeville. 
Ga). (5) Mary, married to Charles Turker, 
who served in Company E, Eighteenth 
Regiment, Wis. V. I. , and they have two 
children — Mary and Julia; (6) Sarah, mar- 
ried to Edward Hiigo, and has two children 
— Frank and Margaret (Edward served in 
Company E, Eighteenth Regiment Wis. \ . 
I., lost both legs in battle and died in the 
armyj; (7) Frank S., born in Butler county, 
Penn., married to Margaret Critchlow, and 
came to Wisconsin (they have seven chil- 
dren — Simp, Libbie, Frank, Sarah, John. 
Millie and Andrew; Frank S. also served in 
the war of the Rebellion): and (8) Manuel. 
the subject of this sketch. 

Emanuel Berry received his education in 
Butler count}', Penn., being obliged to walk 
five miles to the district school, and also 
paid his tuition. On leaving school at the 
age of sixteen he began working for his 
father, after which he was employed in the 
woods of Pennsylvania for two or three 
winters. In April, 1843. being at this time 
twenty-two years of age, he accompanied 
his brother John to Wisconsin. The journey 
as far as Galena, 111., was accomplished by 
boat on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and 
from that place they walked to Warsaw, 
Wis., where our subject was engaged in the 
lumber camps most of the time for twelve 
years. He experienced some little trouble 
with the Indians, who were very numerous 
in this State at the time of his arrival, and 
they killed two yoke of oxen belonging to 
him. He did considerable trading with 
them, and at one time while thus engaged 
in Merrill, \\'is. , he was severely wounded 
over the eye with a knife in the hands of an 
Indian. In exchange for provisions he had 
obtained a lot of buckskins which he laid 
down, when they were seized by a young 
Indian who made for the woods. Our sub- 
ject seeing what had occurred, started in 
pursuit and overtook the thief, who was dis- 
posed to fight, but a well-directed blow from 
Mr. Berry knocked him down, on which an- 
other Indian who had followed them in- 
flicted the wound on Mr. Berry, above 
spoken of. He jumped back to escape an- 
other thrust of the knife, and the second 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S35 



Indian was soon disposed of by a mighty 
blow from our subject. At a place above 
Merrill he once agreed to meet a chief and 
exchange provisions for anything they had 
to trade. He also took a small key and a 
barrel of whiskey with him, but hiding the 
latter a short distance away, only retained 
the key, thinking that the Indians might get 
drunk and force the barrel from him. On 
their arrival he gave them each a glass of 
••tire-water," but they clamored for more 
which he refused to give without pay. He 
had been accompanied by two men, who on 
seeing trouble brewing ran away, leaving 
Mr. Berry to face the Indians alone. The 
Indians crowded around him, while one 
seized him another ran away with the keg. 
He procured a large club and started in pur- 
suit, and after felling several to the ground 
the chief told his men to flee, which they 
did, realizing what a terrible fighter they had 
to contend with. On returning to the camp 
Mr. Berry again treated them, and they left 
the next morning without further trouble, re- 
ceiving $300 in cash and fourteen Mackinaw 
blankets. 

In the spring of 1855 Mr. Berry and his 
brother came to Buena Vista, where our 
subject purchased 160 acres of land, on 
which he made a clearing and built a log 
house. To this dwelling he brought his 
bride the same year. In her maidenhood 
she was Miss Catherine Johnson, and she 
was born in Sweden, November 25, 1835, 
coming to the United States with her par- 
ents in the fall of 1851. On landing in 
New York the family came direct to Wau- 
paca, Wis., locating on a farm where they 
resided for five years, when they removed 
to Minnesota, near London, that State, and 
while there the terrible Indian massacre oc- 
curred, from which they narrowly escaped. 
Mr. Johnson died there in January, 1891, 
and his widow still makes that place her 
home. Breta is at home; Angeline married 
a brother of our subject; Mrs. Berry comes 
next in order of birth; Annie wedded Anton 
Knobloch, a banker of Carver, Minn. ; 
John, who wedded Christine Pohnan. is a 
farmer of Minnesota; George, who married 
Annie Anderson, resides in Kandiyohi coun- 
ty, Minn. ; Marcus Johnson was revenue col- 



lector under President Harrison; Peter, a 
resident of Burbank, Minn., married Carrie 
Thompson. Mr. and Mrs. Berry have three 
children: Annie, wife of George Clarke, 
an agriculturist of Buena Vista township, 
Portage county; John A., a farmer of the . 
same township, married to Etta Bennett; 
and Edward F., who was born in Buena 
Vista township, September 14, 1S64, now 
carrying on the home farm, being one of 
the prosperous and enterprising younger 
farmers of the community. 

In politics Mr. Berry is a Republican 
and has served as township supervisor for a 
number of years. He holds membership 
with the Lutheran Church, while his wife, 
who was formerly of the same religious 
views, now belongs to the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church. He is a large, powerful man, 
six feet tall, when young being noted for his 
strength and agility, and his brothers were 
still larger. He is a great reader, thoroughly 
conversant with the Bible, being able to 
quote Scripture with the greatest ease as he 
has a wonderfully retentive memory; he has 
had frequent arguments on religion, and in- 
variably comes out ahead. For the last two 
years he has been suffering from an attack 
of rheumatism, and has now practically 
laid aside business cares. 



GEORGE PHILLIPPI is a farmer in 
Bear Creek township, Waupaca 
county, and was a soldier in the 
war of the Rel)ellion, contracting 
illness at that time from which he was per- 
manently disabled. He was born Septem- 
ber 17, 1833, in Prussia, Germany, and is a 
son of Nicholas and Katherine (Schmitz) 
Phillippi, who were the parents of five chil- 
dren. 

George Phillippi had a good common- 
school education, and learned the tailor's 
trade, at which he worked till he left for 
America. In 1853 he sailed from Liver- 
pool, and after a voyage of thirty-two days 
arrived at Boston, Ma.ss., going thence to 
Buffalo, N. Y. , where he worked in a tailor 
shop one year. The family then went into 
the country, eighteen miles from Buffalo. 



S36 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL UECORD. 



and rented a farm, on which they lived for 
three jears. Our subject then came to 
Newburgh, Washington Co., Wis., where 
he worked till his parents came, some three 
or four months afterward. There they re- 
•mained about three years, at the end of that 
time removing to Bear Creek township, 
Waupaca county, where George, their son, 
took up forty acres of government land. 
He moved from Newburgh in a cart drawn 
by oxen, a distance of 140 miles. On Sep- 
tember 12, 1858, George Phillippi was united 
in marriage with Elizabeth Long, daughter 
of Wensel and Mary (Hamletj Long, and 
nine children have been born to them, as 
follows: Susan, Catherine, John, George, 
Lizzie, .Anna, Mary, Catherine and Frances. 
Mr. Phillippi built a small log house, 16 .\ 20 
feet. The land was in a primitive state, 
bear and deer were common, and he felled 
the first tree that was cut (jn the farm. 
The work of clearing was at once com- 
menced, and, with axe and grub-hoe, went 
slowly but surely on. In 1865, Mr. Phil- 
lippi bought forty acres more, and then an- 
other forty. His father died in three months 
after leaving Newburgh, but his mother still 
lives with tiim, and is now eighty-six years 
of age. 

In 1863 Mr. Phillippi was drafted, but 
was cleared by his mother, and in 1864 was 
again drafted. He finally enlisted at Mena- 
sha, was mustered in at (jreen Ba)', and 
went to Mississippi, where he was on guard 
duty under Sherman. He was in Missis- 
sippi nine months, or until the close of the 
war, and there contracted chronic diarrhea 
and smallpox, from which he was totally 
blind for seven weeks. On May 9, 1865, 
he returned home. He has since been 
obliged to hire all his work done, and has 
not been able to do any hard labor. He 
receives a pension. In 1873, after living 
on his farm for nineteen years, Mr. Phillippi 
sold 1 20 acres, of which sixt}'-five acres 
were cleared, and bought forty acres of 
partly-improved land. As he is unable to 
work, his son takes his place. Politically, 
Mr. Phillippi is a Republican, has been 
town assessor and constable, and has served 
on the side board. In religious belief the 
family are Catholics. 



TORGER TORGERSON, one of the 
worth}' sons of Norwaj', was born 
September 21, 1844, son of Torger 
Swenson, who, in 1849, accompanied 
by his wife, two sons and a daughter, sailed 
for the United States, and located in Dodge 
county, Wis., arriving there in the latter 
part of July. The cholera was raging at 
that time, and a few days later the father, 
mother and sister Dora were carried away 
by that dread disease. 

After the death of his parents our sub- 
ject found a home with an aunt, his mother's 
sister, with whom he lived until he was 
twenty-two years of age, during which time, 
in the spring of 1852, they removed to Scan- 
dinavia township, Waupaca county. Dur- 
ing his boyhood days he attended the district 
schools, t)ut the educational privileges af- 
forded by frontier settlements were some- 
what primitive in character, and only the 
rudimentary branches of learning could there 
be studied. In those days neighbors were 
widely scattered, work was ver}' plentiful, 
and there were manj' privations and hard- 
ships to be borne, but this life developed in 
our subject a self-reliance and independence 
of character that have proven of incalcula- 
ble benefit to him in later years. At the 
age of twenty-two Mr. Torgerson became 
the owner of forty acres of land in Section 
9, Farmington township, and worked the 
place for two years before his marriage, liv- 
ing with his brother Swen, whose farm ad- 
joined. On October 20, 1868, in Scandi- 
navia township, he was joined in wedlock 
with Miss Dora Swenson, a native of Nor- 
way, and the young couple began their do- 
mestic life in a small log cabin 16x14 feet. 
But though the work was hard and comforts 
were few, many happy days were there 
passed, and the home was brightened by 
the presence of six children, namely: Theo- 
dore B., Anton G., Tillie S., all at home; 
Sam S., who is attending school: and Deiia 
and Cina S., also at home. One child, 
Thomas, died in infancy. The mother of 
these passed away January 8, 1888. since 
which time the daughters have taken upon 
themselves the household cares. 

Mr. Torgerson now owns 100 acres of 
land, one-half of which is cultivated and 



COMMEMORATIVE BlOOliAPMlCAL RECORD. 



837 



improved, a work that has been accom- 
pHshed mainly through his own efforts, with 
the assistance of his family. Left an orphan 
at an early age, he has depended almost 
entirely upon his own resources, and de- 
serves much credit for his success in life. 
Much of the work of clearing his land was 
carried on without the help of the improved 
machinery of the da)', which greath' lightens 
labor, and his arduous work has to some 
extent left its trace upon his once robust 
constitution. He has always faithfully per- 
formed his duties of citizenship, and is a 
public-spirited and })rogressive man, one who 
takes a deep and abiding interest in every- 
thing pertaining to the welfare of the com- 
munity and its advancement. He and his 
family are Lutheran in religious connection, 
and in politics he is a Republican. 

JGRENLIE. Norway has furnished to 
America a class of men who have be- 
come good citizens, true to the inter- 
ests of their adopted country and faith- 
ful in upholding her institutions, and atypical 
representative of this class was the gentle- 
man whose name introduces this biography. 
He was born October 8, 1825, in the "Land 
of the Midnight Sun," where, in the common 
schools, he acquired a good practical educa- 
tion — a sure foundation for future success. 
When a young man he determined to seek a 
home in America, and after his arrival in 
this country he sailed upon Lake Michigan 
for five years. 

On the e.xpiration of that period our sub- 
ject was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary 
(irenlie, who was born in Norway, March 
23, 1832, daughter of Ole and Bertha (Nel- 
son) Grenlie, natives of the same country, 
who are both now deceased. Her father 
was a shoemaker by trade, but after crossing 
the Atlantic to the United States, in 1854, 
he settled in Milwaukee, Wis., where he 
worked in the shipyards. After his marriage 
Mr. Grenlie engaged in the manufacture of 
shingles in Milwaukee, making that city his 
home until T858, the year of his removal to 
Waupaca county. He settled in Scandi- 
navia township, and, purchasing forty acres 
of timber land, turned his attention to agri- 



cultural pursuits. Later he secured a home- 
stead claim of eighty acres, and subsequently 
purchased an additional tract of forty acres, 
so that at the time of his death he owned a 
quarter-section of land. This he placed 
under a high state of cultivation, making 
man)- improvements upon it, and throughout 
the community he was recognized as one lA 
the representative farmers of his township. 
He came to this country a poor man, but by 
industry and perseverance he overcame the 
obstacles and difficulties in his path, and 
slowly but steadily acquired a competence 
that left his family in comfortable circum- 
stances. He passed through all the hard- 
ships incident to pioneer life, and ever bore 
his part in the upbuilding of his adopted 
county. To Mr. and Mrs. Grenlie were 
born eleven children, of whom six are now 
living — Lena, wife of. Martin Nelson, of 
Albion, Portage Co., Wis.; Carrie, wife of 
William Hoyord, of Amherst, Wis. ; Joseph- 
ine, Henry, Adolph and Ella, who arc still 
with their mother. 

Mr. Grenlie voted with the Republican 
part}', and was a stanch adherent of its prin- 
ciples. He and his family belonged to the 
Lutheran Church, and his well-spent life was 
in harmony with his profession. He died 
in that faith, December 21, 1890, and was 
laid to rest in the cemetery in Scandinavia 
township, aniid the deep regret of many 
friends who honored and respected him. 

PROSPER STIMSON, a well-to-do 
b\isiness man of Clintonville, Wau- 
paca county, has resided in that city 
since 1 890, and has been a resident 
of Waupaca county for about forty years. 

He was born in Canton, N. Y. , April 
25, 1835, son of Benjamin S. and BetS}' K. 
(Gould) Stimson, the latter a distant relative 
of the late niulti-millionaire. Jay Gould. 
Benjamin S. Stimson was by trade a cabi- 
net maker. In 1837 he migrated from New 
York to Milwaukee, Wis., when that now 
large and flourishing city contained .only 
three frame houses, and bought lots where 
the " Kirby House" now stands. Through 
sickness he lost this property, and then lo- 
cated in the woods, five miles distant, taking 



S38 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



xi\> a homestead, which he fanned during 
the summers, working at his trade in the 
cit}- during the winters. In 1856 he sold 
this place and came to New London, Wau- 
paca county, where he engaged in farming, 
and was the proprietor of a warehouse busi- 
Jiess, ranking among the most prominent 
citizens of that city. He died there at the 
age of eighty-two years, the mother passing 
away at the age of sixty-four. They raised 
a famih' of si.x children: Louisa, now de- 
ceased; Merlin, of New London; Azro, de- 
ceased; Prosper; Lavina, deceased; and 
James, of New London. 

During his youth Prosper Stimson as- 
sisted his father in the pioneer labors of that 
•early day, attending the schools that were 
taught on the wild frontier. He was the 
first man to enlist from New London, Wis., 
■enrollinghisnameat Oshkosh, May 17, 1861, 
and becoming a member of Company E, 
Second Wis. V. I., which was Capt. Gabe 
Bouck's company. The regiment proceeded 
from Madison to Pittsburg, Penn., thence 
to Harrisburg, where the)' received arms, 
then on to Washington. After ten days at 
the capital they proceeded to Arlington 
Heights, where they were drilled. Bull Run 
followed quickly, and among the fourteen 
hundred prisoners taken was Mr. Stimson. 
He was taken to Richmond, thence to Tus- 
caloosa, thence to Saulsbury, N. C, thence 
to Pamlico Sound, and thence to New York, 
, where he was paroled, going to St. Louis, 
where he remained three months in Benton 
Barracks. Transferred to Fort Crawford, 
he received his discharge, and returned home 
in December, 1862. On January 4, 1864, 
Mr. Stimson re-enlisted in Company \, 
Third Wis. \'. C. , which company was under 
command of Capt. Conkey, and was known 
as "Conkey's mules." They went on the 
Plains, when they were kept there as recruits 
until the close of the war, guarding the 
Santa Fe mail route, etc., and were mus- 
tered out at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. , in 
1865, coming to Madison, Wis., at which 
city they drew their final pay. W. H. Up- 
ham, present governor of Wisconsion, was 
a fellow-prisoner with our subject, and they 
dressed each other's wounds and slept under 
the same blanket. 



Mr. Stimson returned to New London, 
and for a time was engaged in boating and 
river driving from that place as far north as 
Shawano, poling boats above Shawano when 
there was only one building in Clintonville. 
He purchased the general warehouse busi- 
ness from his father, and ccjnducted it for 
fi\e years. Then for three years he fol- 
lowed merchandising and milling, but lost 
all he had by fire, and had to begin anew, 
renting a farm, on which he lived for five 
\'ears. Embarking in a restaurant and saloon 
business at New London Junction, he con- 
tinued to conduct it for si.x years, owning 
the farm now used as the Fair grounds. 
Selling out in 1890, he came to Clinton- 
ville. He had by that time regained the 
losses he had suffered by fire, and has since 
been engaged in the real-estate business. 

Mr. Stimson was first married to Miss 
Lucy Hyde, who died while he was in serv- 
ice, leaving one child, Stella May, now 
wife of Leslie J. Freeman, of New London. 
His second wife was Mrs. Martha M. Kel- 
sey, lice Cornish, and to their union three 
children have been born: Stella Pearl, now 
Mrs. Frank Cause, of Clintonville; Emma 
L. , who died in infancy; and Bessie, at home. 
Mrs. Martha M. Stimson had one child by 
her former marriage, Lucy M., now Mrs. 
Perry, who is carrying on a millinery store 
at Clintonville. She had one child. Hazel 
Kelse}' Perry, aged thirteen years. In poli- 
tics Mr. Stimson is a Republican, and has 
served on the county board in Outagamie 
county, and also on the city board of New 
London. 



HENRY F. GROPP is one of that in- 
telligent and sturdy type of German 
settlers, which has been of so great 
value in the framework of American 
citizenship. Undaunted by hardship and 
obstacles, he has ventured where less deter- 
mined men would never have gone. He 
sacrificed his health in the military service 
of the nation of his adoption, and then, 
though broken down by protracted sickness, 
sought independence for himself and family 
by penetrating the deep forest growths of 
Wood county. Wis., and by almost unend- 




yd^cy ^ Qro 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



^39 



ing toil hewing out for himself a home in the ' 
wilderness. He has won the tight, and is : 
to-day one of the prosperous and most highly j 
respected citizens of Lincoln township. I 

He was born in the Kingdom of Saxony, 
Germany, September 26, 1S34, son of Bern- 
hard Gropp, a miller, and grandson of Fred- j 
erick Gropp, who was also a miller. Bern- 
hard was one of three sons. He married 
Christina Palm, and reared three children: 
Henry F., Wilhelmina and Augusta. Henry 
F., the only son, learned the trade of his 
father, and worked in the home gristmill un- 
til twenty-one years of age. He then enter- 
ed the Prussian army, and remained therein 
three years. When discharged, in 18 58, 
he emigrated to America, and for four years 
worked at his trade in Sheboygan county, 
Wis. On August 20, 1862, he enlisted in 
Company H, Twenty-si.xth Wis. V. I., for 
three years, and participated in the desperate 
and dicisive three-days' battle at Gettys- 
burg. He was in the engagement at East 
Missionary Ridge, and was with Sherman 
from Chattanooga to Atlanta, joining in the 
sharp fighting in and around that city. 
Here, on account of e.xposure and the many 
hardships to which the brave volunteers 
were necessarily subjected, his health yield- 
ed to the severe physical strain, and he was 
among the many sent to the hospital at 
Nashville, Tenn. He lingered there until 
May, 1865, when he was honorably dis- 
charged on account of his poor health. 
Never until the physical collapse before At- 
lanta had he been absent from his company 
and regiment. Ever ready for duty, he had 
been promoted to corporal and sergeant suc- 
cessively, and was one of the best soldiers of the 
regiment. For a year after his discharge he 
was unfit for work of any kind. Then he 
bought a small farm in Calumet county, 
Wis., which he tilled for four years, and in 
1870, took charge of a gristmill in Rantoul 
township, Calumet county. Eight years 
later he was compelled by ill health to 
abandon this work, and again he sought the 
open air. In the spring of 1879, he came 
to \\'ood county, and purchased a farm near 
Bakerville; here he resided one and one-half 
years, and cleared fifteen acres; he then 
bought his present home, moving to it in the 

63 



winter of 1S80. His farm, containing 160 
acres, was then wild land, and his nearest 
neighbor was two and a half miles distant. 
Indians were numerous but friendly. There 
were no roads and no schools, and only 
about a dozen houses occupied the site of 
Marshfield. Mr. Gropp began anew the 
work of clearing a farm, but for two years 
he could sell no timber, as there waj no de- 
mand for it. He now has one hundred acres 
under cultivation, has erected good and sub- 
stantial buildings, and has a fine orchard. The 
country around him he has seen thickly 
dotted with farm houses, the homes of pros- 
perous farmers. 

Mr. Gropp was married, in the autumn 
of 1865, to Christine Hein. She was born 
in Germany, on the Rhine, near Cologne, 
daughter of Jacob Hein, who with his wife 
and children — Nick, Christine, Mat, Susan, 
Peter and Mary — came to America in 1852, 
settling on a farm in Sheboygan county, 
where the father died in 1892, at the age of 
ninety-four years; the mother is yet living. 
Mr. and Mrs. Gropp had eleven children, as 
follows: August, Jacob, Anna, William, 
Mary, Henry, Mat, John, Charles, Joseph 
and Clara. Two of these are married: Au- 
gust, who lives at home, and Anna, now 
Mrs. Joseph Reger, who lives a mile distant 
from the home farm. Mrs. Henry F. 
Gropp died Novembers, 1889. Politically 
Mr. Gropp is a Republican. He has been 
chairman of the town six years, town clerk 
six years, besides filling the of^ce of assessor 
and holding various school offices. He pos- 
sesses a good German education; socially he 
is a member of the G. A. R. Coming to 
America without any capital, his present 
valuabe farm property whereon he resides 
is the result of his own unswerving industry. 



CHARLES JACOB is one of ^^'iscon- 
sin's native sons, born February 19. 
1864, in Winchester township, Win- 
nebago county. The family is of 
German origin, and was founded in America 
by the father of our subject, August Jacob, 
who was born in Schleswig, Germany, in 
1828. He was educated in the common 
schools of his native land, and there learned 



840 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the wagon maker's trade, following it there 
until twentj'-four years of age, when he 
crossed the briny deep to the New World, 
hoping thereby to benefit his financial con- 
dition, and secure a pleasant home and good 
property. He first cast in his lot with the 
residents of Milwaukee, and there worked 
at his trade for a time, but afterward going 
to Winnebago county purchased land and en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. Upon that 
farm he made his home until 1883, which 
year witnessed his removal to Caledonia 
township, Waupaca county. Here he pur- 
chased land, and in connection with its culti- 
vation he also operates a sawmill, doing a 
paying business. He came to this country 
in very limited circumstances, but by un- 
ceasing industry and capable management he 
has accumulated a good property, and is now 
in comfortable circumstances. 

Mr. Jacob's marriage to Miss Henrietta 
Bramer, a native of Germany, took place in 
Milwaukee, and their union was blessed with 
seven children: Theodore, at home; Ida, now 
the wife of Otto Beilkee, of Oshkosh, Wis. ; 
Amelia, now Mrs. Richard Weikholz, of Nee- 
nah; Charles, subject of this sketch; Rudolph, 
of Bear Creek, Waupaca county, and Rob- 
ert and William, both at home. The parents 
hold membership with the Lutheran Church, 
and Mr. Jacob is a supporter of the men and 
measures of the Democratic party. 

In taking up the personal history of our 
subject we present to our readers the life re- 
cord of one who is both widely and favorably 
known in ^^'aupaca county. The public 
schools afforded him his educational privi- 
leges, and upon the home farm he was reared. 
Throughout his entire life he has carried on 
agricultural pursuits, and he certainly under- 
stands the business in all its details, a fact 
which is demonstrated by the neat and thrif- 
ty appearance of his place, with its well- 
tilled fields and good improvements. 

On November 8, 1888, Mr. Jacob was 
united in marriage with Miss Theresa Schmit, 
who was born in Caledoniatownship June 9, 
1 86 1, daughter of Joseph and Katherine 
fW^eizner) Schmit; her father is a native of 
Germany, and became one of the early set- 
tler? of the county, and her mother's birth 
occurred in Scandinavia township, Waupaca 



county. Mrs. Jacob is an estimable lad\',. 
possessed of many excellencies of character, 
and our subject and his wife have a wide cir- 
cle of friends and acquaintances in the com- 
munity. They hold membership with the 
Lutheran Church, and Mr. Jacob votes with 
the Democratic party, by which he has been 
elected a member of the township board. He 
is a practical and progressive citizen, alive to 
the best interests of the community, and 
withholds his co-operation from no enter- 
prise calculated to prove of public benefit. 



AUGUST HAMMOND, a prominent 
farmer of Section 17, Royalton 
township, Waupaca county, came 
to the county in 1866, but estab- 
lished himself on his present farm in 1884, 
erecting that year a good residence, 18x26 
feet, and one-and-a-half stories in height in 
the main part, with an L also 18x26. He 
was born in 1838 in Schwarz-Dehninger, 
Germany, son of Gottfred and Minnie (Ham- 
mer) Hammond, both also natives of Ger- 
many. 

Gottfred Hammond was a farmer by oc- 
cupation, and, crossing the broad ocean, 
came to Wisconsin, locating in Weyauwega 
and later moving to Portage county, Wis., 
where his death occurred in 1890. His 
widow resides in Portage county. They 
reared a family of four children: August, 
of whom this record is written; Henry, living 
in Germany; Fredericka, who is married, 
and resides in Germany, and William, re- 
siding in Portage county, Wisconsin. 

August Hammond was reared in the 
Fatherland, and educated in its schools, and 
for three years served in the German army, 
for the most part in Denmark. After coming 
to the United States he was married, in 1 868, 
in Weyauwega, Wis., to Mrs. Fredericka 
(Glocke) Juch, who was born in Germany, 
and was the widow of Chris Juch, an early 
pioneer of Waupaca county, who settled in 
Royalton township as early as 1855, after 
remaining one year in We_\-auwega, to which 
place he came in 1854. Mr. Juch died in 
Royalton township in 1865. He left four 
children, as follows: August, residing in 
Portage county. Wis. ; F"redericka, in Me- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



841 



nasha, Wis. ; Chris, married and residing in 
Royalton township; and Lena, the wife of 
Frank Powers, of Royalton township. To 
August Hammond and his wife has been born 
one child, Emma, the wife of Charles Cick, 
of Waupaca township. Mr. Hammond has 
been treasurer of the school district and 
pathmaster for many years. He formerly 
affiliated with the Democratic party, but is 
now a Republican. Both he and Mrs. Ham- 
mond are members of the Lutheran Church 
of Weyauwega, Wis. , and he has been treas- 
urer and trustee of same for many years. 
He is one of the well-known, progressive, 
representative and honored citizens, and may 
be justly called the leading German of Royal- 
ton township. 



ANDREW PEDERSON was born in 
Denmark May 4, 1854, a son of 
Hans Peter Peterson, who was born 
in that country in 1 822. The father 
followed farming in the land of his nativity, 
where he was united in marriage with Annie 
Hanson, and they became the parents of 
ten children, most of whom are now de- 
ceased. Those still living are Christ, of 
the State of Washington; Ole, who is liv- 
ing in Idaho; Lydia, now Mrs. John Ander- 
son, of the town of Mukwa, and Andrew, 
whose name opens this sketch. 

In 1872 the father crossed the Atlantic 
to the New World, and took up his resi- 
dence in Lind township, Waupaca county, 
Wis., where he engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits for one year. At the end of that time 
our subject purchased 120 acres of land in 
Mukwa township, and the family removed 
to this farm, which was the home of the 
father until his death, in the year 1884. He 
was a supporter of the Republican party, 
was a Lutheran in religious belief, and was 
an honorable, upright man, highly respected 
by all who knew him. 

The gentleman whose name begins this 
article, obtained his education in the schools 
of his native land, and thedaysof his boyhood 
and youth were passed upon his father's farm. 
He came to the United States with his par- 
ents, and is now engaged in general farming 
on the 120-acre tract of land in Mukwa 



township, which he purchased soon after his 
arrival in this State. Since it has been in 
his possession he has placed good buildings 
on the farm, and otherwise impro\ed it, 
until it is now one of the valuable proper- 
ties in this section of the county. 

In 1885 Mr. Pederson married Miss 
Carrie Pederson, who was born in Denmark 
in 1864, and their union was blessed with 
four children, but two of whom are now liv- 
ing — Peter and Alfred. Mr. Pederson 
springs from a race of people who have been 
important factors in the development of this 
country, and valuable acquisitions to the 
great Republic. He advocates the best inter- 
ests of the community, and gives his support 
to all enterprises that he believes will prove 
of public benefit. He holds membership 
with the Lutheran Church, and his views on 
political questions are in harmony with the 
principles of the Republican party. 



JAMES K. SMITH belongs to one of the 
leading representative families of Little 
Wolf township, Waupaca county, where 
he is extensively engaged in agricultur- 
al pursuits. He is a native of New York, 
born in St. Lawrence county, July 21, 1845, 
son of Robert and Elizabeth (Knox) Smith, 
who were natives of Dublin, Ireland. 

In an early day the father of our subject 
came to America, purchasing seventy-three 
acres of land in St. Lawrence county, N. 
Y. , on which he farmed several years. The 
family consisted of nine children: Sarah, 
who is the wife of Andrew Van Audestein, 
of Little Wolf township, and has three chil- 
dren: Elizabeth, Gertrude and Robert; Will- 
iam, Daniel and Robert, all three residents 
of Little Wolf township; Elizabeth, de- 
ceased; James K., subject of this sketch; 
Thomas, deceased; John, of Little Wolf 
township, and Henry H., a blacksmith, of 
Manawa, Waupaca county. The children 
all received a limited amount of education, 
and remained at home with their parents 
until they were married, all locating within 
a radius of a half mile from the old home- 
stead. 

In 1S68 the parents, accompanied by all 
the fainilj- but William and James K., mi- 



842 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



grated westward, stopping in Bloomington 
and Chicago, 111., where the summer was 
passed. Thence proceeding to Wisconsin 
they located in Little Wolf township, Wau- 
paca county, where the father purchased 
eighty acres of land in Section 35. The 
same fall the other sons joined them. The 
land was in its primitive state, the only im- 
provement being a house, and the work of 
clearing was at once begun — no easy under- 
taking, for the land was covered with a 
heavy growth of pine timber; but by their 
persistent and untiring efforts it was soon 
made to yield bounteous returns for the care 
and labor expended upon it. Mr. Smith 
had teams and other conveniences that many 
of the early pioneers did not possess, thus 
making the work somewhat easier. He 
added to the original tract until he owned 
160 acres of good land, on which he and his 
wife passed the remainder of their days, her 
death occurring in 1881, and his in 1889, 
when he was aged ninety-five years. Though 
he had reached so advanced an age, he was 
very active up to the time of his death, and 
was ill for only five days. 

James K. Smith, whose name we find at 
the beginning of this record, has passed his 
entire life on the old homestead, never hav- 
ing left the paternal roof. To-day he is the 
owner of two hundred acres, of which one 
hundred have been placed under the plow, 
and he takes great pride in the appearance 
and management of his place, which is one 
of the best in the neighborhood. On Feb- 
ruary 6, 1890, Mr. Smith was united in 
marriage with Mrs. Caroline Knight, daugh- 
ter of Welby and Celia (Clarkj Smith, the 
former a native of England, and the latter 
of New Hampshire; the father, who is a 
butcher by trade, now makes his home in 
San Francisco, Cal. Mrs. Smith has one 
sister, Jane, the widow of George Weith- 
man, who has two children — Mabel and 
Clyde. Mrs. Smith was born, reared and 
married in Omro, Wis., and by her first 
union became the mother of three daugh- 
ters — Mabel, Beatrice and Margaret. 

Public-spirited to a great degree, Mr. 
Smith takes great interest in every measure 
that is calculated to benefit the community, 
or to accrue to the good of society in gen- 



eral. Politically he is a stanch Democrat; 
has been supervisor of the poor one }ear, 
township supervisor two years, and school 
director nine j-ears. 



ANDREW JENSEN, an enterprising 
and public-spirited man, is now 
numbered among the substantial 
self-made citizens of Waupaca coun- 
ty. Working on day after day and year 
after year, he has wrung practical favors 
from perverse fortune, and is to-day the 
possessor of a comfortable competence. 

Mr. Jensen was born in the village of 
Nestoed, on the Island of Zealand, part of 
the kingdom of Denmark, June 2, 1852, 
son of Nels Jensen, a farmer, who in 1867 
brought his wife and four sons — Andrew, 
James, Fred and George — to the United 
States. They landed in June at Hull, Eng- 
land, and sailed for America from Liver- 
pool, reaching New York on the i6th of 
July. They had started for Nebraska, but 
instead went to Neenah, Wis., where for 
three months the father worked at anything 
that he could find to do. In the fall of 1867 
he removed to St. Lawrence township, 
Waupaca county, Wis. , and purchasing 
forty acres of land in Section 10, lived 
there for more than twenty years; he is now 
a resident of Ogdensburg. He was born 
September 27, 1820, and his wife was born 
in May, 1824. He was quite successful in 
his undertakings, and has accumulated more 
than 160 acres of land by judicious energy, 
enterprise, industry and frugality. Both he 
and his wife are members of the Lutheran 
Church. Of their four children two are liv- 
ing — Andrew and James, the latter a farmer 
and lumber foreman of St. Lawrence town- 
ship, Waupaca county. Fred and George 
both died young, and were buried in St. 
Lawrence township. 

After coming to this country Andrew 
Jensen attended school only seventeen days, 
but he has managed to acquire a practical 
business education through his own efforts. 
When a young boy he began working for 
others, and his earnings went to help his par- 
ents. At the age of si.xteen he drove a team in 
the lumber woods, and a year later had 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



843 



charge of a gang of men on the Green Bay, 
Winona & St. Paul railroad then being 
built through Ogdensburg. He had applied 
merely for employment, and, being told that 
if he could secure a number of men he could 
oversee them, he went to Neenah, Wis., 
and though but a boy in years secured a 
number of his countrymen, over whom he 
was placed in charge. At the age of eight- 
een he began logging for himself, securing 
the timber from a piece of land that he 
had obtained by a tax deed, and hauling the 
lumber with a j'oke of oxen. In the suc- 
ceeding winter he sold his outfit — consist- 
ing of tools, oxen, and lumber cut and 
standing — to J. R. Moses for $800, with 
which he purchased forty acres of land ad- 
joining the farm of his father, to ^whom he 
afterward deeded this property. Subse- 
quently he and his brother James took a 
contract for supplying the railroad company 
with ten thousand ties, and thus began a 
partnership, under the name of Jensen 
Brothers, which continued until 1891. dur- 
ing which time they put in over thirty- 
two million feet of logs and handled thou- 
sands of dollars. They also dealt in hard- 
wood for some winters, but in this venture 
lost over $15,000. Our subject was general 
manager for the Wisconsin Valley Lumber 
Co. for two winters, his previous experi- 
ence fitting him well for this position. 

On July 3, 1875, in Oshkosh, Wis., 
Mr. Jensen married Ruble F. Brownell, 
who was born October 29, 1 856, in Waukau, 
Winnebago Co., Wis., a daughter of Reuben 
F. and Clarissa (Cottrellj Brownell, who 
are yet living in Helvetia township, Wau- 
paca county. They have two children — 
Jessie A., born June 1 1, 1879; and Glen A., 
born September 19, 1884. 

For over twenty-two years Mr. Jensen 
operated a threshing machine in the fall of 
each year. In 1884 he located upon his 
farm in Section 36, Helvetia township, 
now one of the most valuable properties 
in the county, comprising 300 acres of land, 
of which 125 acres are under a high state 
of cultivation, and well improved with all 
modern accessories. In addition he owns 
considerable real estate, and buys and sells 
property, realizing a good income there- 



from. His extensive lumber operations 
have made him well known throughout the 
northern part of the State. His business 
career has been crowned with success, 
which has come as the reward of energy, 
enterprise, preseverance and capable man- 
agement; his unquestioned integrity and 
honesty characterize every transaction, and 
have gained him the confidence and respect 
of all who know him. He is one of the 
active workers of the Republican part}', 
and has served as assessor for four years, 
as a member of the township board two 
terms, and many times as a delegate to 
the county conventions. However, he cares 
not for office for himself, but gives his support 
in behalf of his friends. One of Mr. Jensen's _ 
most prominent characteristics is his uni- 
form humanity and generosity in his deal- 
ings with his neighbors, and all others with 
whom he comes in contact, and as for as- 
sisting his fellowmen in business or other 
ways, he has the reputation of never with- 
holding aid from worthy young men who 
apply to him, while his contributions to the 
needy are always liberal and freely extended. 
He is still in the prime of life, and deserved- 
ly enjoys the high regard and esteem of all 
who enjoy his acquaintance. 



HIRAM ERNST was born in Latimore 
township, Adams Co., Penn., April 
12, 1848, and is the only child of 
Samuel and Sarah (Smith) Ernst. 
His father was a brick maker by vocation, 
and at one time was quite wealthy; but 
meeting with reverses he lost his property, 
and Hiram, therefore, received but limited 
educational advantages. 

When a bey our subject commenced to 
work in his father's brick yard, as " off- 
bearer, " for three years. In the summer of 
1863 he enlisted at Carlisle, Penn., as a 
member of Company B, One Hundred and 
Ninety-fifth P. V. I. , and though but a boy of 
fifteen he passed for older, and was accepted. 
He was very anxious to become a soldier, 
and was mustered in at Harrisburg, Penn., 
while his first active engagement was at a 
junction on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, 
west of Harper's Ferry. The regiment was 



844 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



then engaged in guarding the railroad, which 
Col. Mosby's men were endeavoring to tear 
up, and was thus employed for some time. 
Mr. Ernst had first enlisted for three months' 
service, but afterward re-enlisted to serve 
until the close of the war. While erecting 
fortifications at Summit Point, Va., he suf- 
fered a sunstroke, but would not go to the 
hospital, and two months later joined his 
regiment, being engaged in active service 
until the fall of 1865, when he was dis- 
charged at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Ernst at once returned to his native 
county, but later in 1865 made his way to 
the home of a half brother, who lived at 
White Pigeon, Mich. There he secured 
employment on the Lake Shore & Michigan 
Southern railroad, his work being to saw 
food for fuel, for it was prior to the day of 
coal-burning locomotives. Two years were 
thus passed, after which he came to Wis- 
consin. He had made arrangements to 
work as a harvester in the town of Bristol, 
Kenosha county, but found that the man 
who had hired him was an imposter. His 
first night in this State was passed under 
a haystack, but he soon secured work, be- 
ing employed for some time on the farm of 
Hiram Bacon. 

In Bristol township, Kenosha county, 
Mr. Ernst was joined in wedlock with Miss 
Susan Griswold, who was born in that lo- 
cality September 22, 1843. Her father, 
Aaron Griswold, came from New York to 
this State in 1843, and made annual visits 
for some time before locating permanently. 
He and his wife, who have now reached the 
advanced ages of eighty-eight and eighty- 
five years respectively, live with Mrs. Ernst, 
the only surviving one in their family of four 
children. The children of our subject and 
wife are Nellie P., wife of N. L. Baker, of 
Dayton township, and Arthur C. Their 
second child, Zora E. , died at the age of 
eleven years. 

Upon his marriage Mr. Ernst removed 
to Iowa, and purchased a farm near Burr 
Oak, but after a year sold out and located 
near Spring \'alley, Minn., where he made 
his home for eighteen months. Returning 
then to Wisconsin, he conducted the farm 
in Kenosha count}' belonging to his father- 



in-law, who was attending to pastoral du- 
ties, and after two years had elapsed became 
a resident of Milwaukee, where he was em- 
ployed in the yards of the Chicago, Mil- 
waukee & St. Paul railroad. For six j'ears 
he worked in that cit}-, thence going to 
Lyons, Wis., and later spending one winter 
in Berlin, Wis. In April, 1882, he came 
to Dayton township, Waupaca county, and 
has since lived on his present farm, now 
comprising 1 1 5 acres of good land, under a 
high state of cultivation, and improved with 
good, well-kept buildings, while the neat 
and thrifty appearance of the place indi- 
cates the careful supervision of the owner. 
In politics he is a Republican, but his wife 
advocates Prohibition principles. He has 
served as school treasurer of District No. 7, 
Dayton township, and both Mr. and Mrs. 
Ernst are consistent and faithful members 
of the M. E. Church. He is a man of do- 
mestic tastes, taking great interest in his 
home and famil}', and in every possible 
manner he tries to promote the comfort and 
enhance the happiness of his wife and chil- 
dren. 



WILLIAM WILD, a successful farm- 
er of Lind township, Waupaca 
county, was born in Denmark No- 
vember/, 1859, son of Hans Wied, 
a mason by trade, who owned a small but 
comfortable home, and made his living at 
work by the day. At his death, in the fall 
of 1872, he left a widow and six children — 
Christian, Carrie, Sophia, William (of whom 
we write), Fred and Lars. 

Christian Wied, the eldest son, and 
brother of \\'illiam, had been in the United 
States four years, and knowing of the better 
opportunities here, advised the family to 
come to this country. So the following 
spring, in 1873, the widowed mother with 
her five children left C(5penhagen, going to 
Hull, in England, and from Hull b}' railway 
to Glasgow, Scotland, where they took an 
Allan Line steamer for Quebec, arriving 
there after a voyage of fourteen days. Their 
destination was Waupaca, where Christian, 
the eldest son, was located, and they came 
bv rail to Grand HavSn, Mich. , then to Mil- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



S45 



waukee, and from there to Waupaca, Wau- 
paca countj', where their home was first 
made, and where the family Hved for two 
years. They then came to Lind township, 
where the mother now Hves at the age of 
seventy years. 

William Wied attended school in Den- 
mark until leaving for the United States, 
where he attended English school for three 
months, though he had acquired a fair edu- 
cation in his native tongue. Soon after he 
came to \\'isconsin, in the summer of 1873, 
he began work for Marcus Burnham at eight 
dollars a month. During the winter seasons 
he went to the woods, and in all has spent 
eight winters lumbering. At the age of 
twenty he bought a team, with which he 
was able to earn from sixt}' to seventy-five 
dollars a month. When but twenty-one he 
secured forty acres of land in Section 16, 
Lind township, Waupaca county, though 
not able at the time to make the first pay- 
ment, but after that the greater part of his 
money went, as he made it, to pay for his 
land, which cost him nine nundred dollars. 
On June 4, 1883, in Scandinavia township, 
\N^aupaca county, William Wied was united 
in marriage with Caroline Madson, who was 
born in Denmark February 16, 1862, and 
they became the parents of the following 
children: John, Eddie W. , Walter E., 
Albertus M., Gracie and Ida, all of whom 
are living. Mrs. Wied is the daughter of 
J. P. Madson, who came to Scandinavia 
township in June, 1863. Immediately after 
his marriage Mr. \\'ied located on his forty 
acres, where he has since resided, and he 
now has 120 acres, all but five or six acres 
of which are broken. 

Mr. Wied is a Prohibitionist in principle, 
a Republican in politics, and has been called 
upon to serve in positions of honor and trust. 
In the spring of 1S93 he was elected treas- 
urer of Lind township, Waupaca county, 
was again elected in 1894, performing his 
duties in a most creditable manner. Mr. 
Wied and his wife are both members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a self- 
made man. Twenty-one years ago he came 
to Waupaca, a stranger in a strange land, 
and with little save his own earnings to de- 
pend upon; but he was a "hustler," and he 



continued to work and prosper until now he 
is the possessor of i i 5 acres of broken land, 
against which no man holds so much as a 
line, and a complete threshing outfit, in- 
cluding traction engine and separator — all 
the result of his own efforts. His manner 
of dealing is such as to cause him to be re- 
spected, and to enjoy a good reputation for 
fairness, reliability and honesty. 



EDWIN R. KNAPP, one of the early 
residents of Outagamie county, was 
a Union soldier during the greater 
part of the war of the Rebellion. He 
was born in 1830, in Batavia, Genesee Co., 
N. Y. , son of Timoth}' and Martha (Blod- 
gett) Knapp, who were natives of New York, 
were reared and married in their native 
State, and in 1838, came to Delavan, Wal- 
worth Co., Wisconsin. 

Timothy Knapp was a blacksmith by 
trade. In 1843 he went to Palmyra, Jeffer- 
son Co., Wis., in 1854 removing to Apple- 
ton, Outagamie county, where he was fore- 
man of the building of the locks, later going 
to Waushara, Wis. , and thence returning to 
Palmyra. His wife died in Appleton in 
1887. They reared a family of six children, 
as follows: William who resided in Dakota, 
and died in Kansas in 1S92 (he served in a 
Wisconsin regiment); Mortimer, who died in 
1850, in Wisconsin; Edwin R., the subject 
of this sketch; Almond, who enlisted in a 
Wisconsin regiment, and died in 1866, from 
the effects of disease contracted in the serv- 
vice; Loren, who enlisted in the Third Wis. 
V. I., and died in Appleton, in 1864, from 
disease brought on while in the service; and 
George W. , who enlisted in a Wisconsin regi- 
ment, and now resides in Regina, Shawano 
Co. , Wisconsin. 

Edwin R. Knapp came to Delavan, Wal- 
worth Co., Wis., in 1838, at the age of 
eight years, and was reared in Wisconsin 
from this time, receiving his education in the 
schools of Delavan, Walworth county. He 
learned the trades of blacksmith and car- 
penter, which he followed the greater part 
of the time (except during the years of his 
service in the army) until his removal to 
Bear Creek township, Waupaca county, in 



846 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1878. In 1855 he was married to Mrs. 
Betsey M. (Bowen) Knapp, a widow, daugh- 
ter of B. H. Bowen, who was a farmer, and 
was one of the early pioneers of Wood coun- 
ty, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Edwin R. Knapp 
are the parents of two children — Theodora, 
who resides in South Kaukauna, Outagamie 
county, and Willie Orsino. 

In December, 1861, in Appleton, Outa- 
gamie county, Mr. Knapp enlisted in Com- 
pany I, Third Wis. V. C, for three years 
or during the war, was mustered in at Janes- 
ville in January, 1862, and went into camp 
at Jefferson Barracks, Mo. Thence he 
went to Fort Leavenworth, Kans. , and re- 
mained there for some time, then to Fort 
Scott, Kans., to Fort Gibson, to Van Buren, 
Ark., to Little Rock, Ark., and thence home, 
serving the entire time in Alissouri, Indian 
Territory and Arkansas. He was honorably 
discharged at Madison, Wis., in 1865, and 
for a short time remained in Appleton, in 
1866 removing to Oshkosh, Winnebago 
county, where he worked at the carpenter's 
trade. As above stated he removed to 
Bear Creek township, Waupaca county, in 
1878, and a few years later took up his 
home in Larrabee township, Waupaca coun- 
ty, where he has since resided, now devot- 
ing his time and attention to general farm- 
ing. Mr. Ivnapp is a Republican, takes an 
active interest in politics, and is a member 
of the G. A. R. 



WILLIAM BAUER, furniture dealer 
and undertaker at Weyauwega, is 
one of the most substantial and re- 
spected citizens of Waupaca coun- 
t\'. He is of German extraction, born at 
Ranis, Province of Saxony, in 1838, son of 
Frederic and Dorothea (Grosch) Bauer. 

Frederic Bauer, who was a manufacturer 
of woolen and linen goods, died in Germany 
in 1864, and his widow emigrated to America, 
as did also their seven children. Charles 
came in i860, tarried four years at Racine, 
then became a farmer of Royalton township, 
W'aupaca county. Frederic emigrated to 
Buffalo, N. Y., in 1849, to Oshkosh, \\'is., 
in 185 1, and two years later to \\'eyauwega, 
where he operated a cooper shop until his 



death, in 1867. Caroline is the wife of 
Henry Guenther, of Racine, Wis., and 
Paulina, wife of John Miller, is a resident 
of the same city. Julius came to \\'eyau- 
wega in i860, and enlisted in the First Wis- 
consin Heavy Artillery, serving through 
three years; he is a cooper bj- trade, and 
now lives at Green Baj'. William, subject 
of this sketch, is the sixth child. Wilhelmina, 
wife of Herman Raabe, of \\'eyauwega town- 
ship, came to the county in 1865. 

William Bauer received a common-school 
education in Germany, and there learned the 
cabinet maker's trade, at which he worked 
in all the principal cities of Germany, trav- 
eling nine years. He sailed from Bremen 
for America in 1S65, and after a voyage of 
eight weeks landed at Baltimore, thence 
coming to Wisconsin, and after working at 
his trade for a time at Racine, he came to 
Weyauwega and entered the furniture busi- 
ness. He has built up a magnificent trade, 
and now carries the largest stock in the 
county, the business requiring two store 
rooms, the present building, which was pur- 
chased in 1889, having 50 feet frontage, 60 
feet deep, and two stories in height. 

In 1867 he was married, at Weyauwega, 
to Hannah Behnka, a native of Germany, 
daughter of ^^'illiam and Wilhelmina Behnka, 
who, in 1849, emigrated from Germany to 
America, coming first to Chicago, 111., to 
Oshkosh in 1852, and to Weyauwega in 
1855. Mr. Behnka died in Royalton town- 
ship in 1890, and his widow resides in Mil- 
waukee. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
Bauer are eight in number: Laura, wife of 
William H. Mackmiller, a merchant of Ash- 
land, Wis. ; Louisa, wife of F. S. Grubb, 
county superintendent of Waupaca county; 
Paulina, clerk in the furniture store; Hulda, 
clerking with Louis Loos, at Weyauwega: 
Rena, Emma, Fritz and Irving. 

Mr. Bauer is independent in politics, 
voting for the best measures and men in 
county, State and National politics. He 
was elected village president in 1884, serv- 
ing four 3'ears, and it was during his admin- 
istration that the village was incorporated 
under the general statute. He was again 
elected village president in 1893, and left 
the office with the village indebtedness ex- 



UOMyrEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



847 



tinguished, with $500 in the treasury, and 
with many improvements made, including 
the purchase of a fire engine and the paving 
of a number of streets. He was two years 
police justice, and has been township trus- 
tee and a delegate to the Democratic county 
convention. Mr. Bauer's public adminis- 
tration has been brilliant and clean. He 
was highly successful because he worked 
solely for the interest of the village, giving 
its affairs the same benefit of his ripe judg- 
ment and experience that he would apply 
to his own individual business. He is a 
leading member and presiding officer in the 
Lutheran Church, and in all the relations of 
public and private life his conduct is marked 
by that sincerity and earnestness of charac- 
ter which places him in the highest and 
purest type of citizenship. 



WH. STACY. As an enterprising 
and wide-awake business man of 
Clintonville, Waupaca county, and 
one who, through his own efforts, 
has established himself among the prominent 
and leading men of the community, we take 
pleasure in giving a brief biography of the 
gentleman whose name introduces this 
sketch. 

Mr. Stacy was born in 1836, in St. Law- 
rence county, N. Y., son of John and Lydia 
(Bell) Stacy, the former of whom was a na- 
tive of Vermont, the latter of Massachusetts. 
The father was reared in Vermont and there 
married, but afterward settled in New York, 
where he was employed as a carpenter and 
millwright. In 1856 he migrated to Sha- 
wano county. Wis., locating on a farm in 
that then wild and unsettled region, and 
there engaged in agricultural pursuits until 
his death, which occurred in 1862. His wife 
survived him about ten years. They were 
the parents of seven children, of whom Bar- 
nard came to Green Lake county. Wis., 
and there died in 1894; Richardson died in 
Esse.x county, N. Y. ; Charley came to Wis- 
consin, afterward, in 1863, going- to Cali- 
fornia, where he died in 1884; James resides 
in Essex count}', N. Y. ; Abram lived for a 
time in this State, but in 1853 went to Cali- 
fornia, and there died in 1886; Newell set- 



tled in Shawano county. Wis., where he 
died in 1869; \\' . H. is next in order of 
birth; Emeline died in Iowa in 1879; and 
Lorinda became the wife of Edward Beedle, 
of Shawano county. Wis. The paternal 
grandfather of our subject was also a native 
of Vermont, and was a soldier in the Revol- 
utionary war. 

The early life of W. H. Stacy was passed 
in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and there 
he was educated in the common schools. 
On coming to Wisconsin in 1856, he aided 
in clearing and developing the home farm 
during the summer months, and during the 
winter engaged in logging. In 1866 he 
erected the first flouring-mill at Embarrass, 
Wis. , which he operated for six years, and 
then, in 1872, built a mill at Clintonville, 
which he afterward sold to Lawson & 
Shaver, who still carry it on. Since his ar- 
rival in Wisconsin Mr. Stacy has been con- 
tinuously engaged in business, first operating 
a farm in Belle Plaine township, Shawano 
county, but for the most part engaged in 
milling, being one of the pioneer millers of 
this section of the country. He now owns 
a sawmill at Birnamwood, Wis., which he 
built in 1887, and there gives employment 
to twenty men, and he is also the proprietor 
of a flouring-mill in Clinton\ille, which he 
erected in 1884. This mill is two stories in 
height, with a basement, and here both rye 
and feed are ground, employment being fur- 
nished to three men. 

In 1858, in Shawano county, \\'is. , Mr. 
Stacy was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary Beedle, who was born in New York, 
daughter of Austin and Sally Beedle, natives 
of the same State, who came to Wisconsin 
in 1856, locating in Winnebago county. 
They remained there until 1865, when they 
went to Shawano county, and, opening up a 
farm, located thereon. The death of the 
father occurred in 1878, and the mother 
passed away in 1884. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Stacy have been born two children — Vinnie 
and Frankie. 

Mr. Stacy aided in the incorporation of 
Clintonville, and still takes an active interest 
in its welfare and advancement, having 
served for two terms as mayor, discharging 
his duties to the satisfaction of all concerned.- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In politics he is a Democrat, while socially 
he is a member of Clintonville Lodge No. 
197, F. & A. M., of which he served as 
junior warden for fifteen years. 



LD. GOLDBERG, who for seventeen 
years has resided in Marion, and since 
1 87 1 has been a citizen of Waupaca 
county, was born in Hamilton, Can- 
ada, June I, i860, son of Mark and Matilda 
(Hammel) Goldberg, who were of German 
e.xtraction. 

The parents of our subject came to the 
United States in 1854, locating in Ithaca, 
N. Y. , where the father became quite prom- 
inent as an auctioneer. They were m.arried 
in Sjracuse, N. Y. , and removed thence to 
Harrisburg, Penn., which was their home 
for about three years, during which time Mr. 
•Goldberg was employed as a traveling sales- 
man. They afterward lived in Rochester, 
N. Y. , and subsequently returned to Canada, 
where for eight years he engaged in the 
clothing business. Again he became a resi- 
dent of Sjracuse, following the same pursuit 
there until 1871, when he took up his resi- 
dence in New London, Waupaca Co., Wis., 
and embarked in merchandising, carrying on 
a store for twelve years. He was also owner 
of a sawmill and factory. In 1879 he sold 
those interests and engaged in the patent- 
right business until 1882, when he came to 
]\Iarion and lived retired until his death. May 
22, 1885. Mrs. Goldberg still survives him. 
In the family were eleven children: Benja- 
min; Carrie, deceased; L. D. ; Eva, wife of 
B. Painter, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; Isaac, de- 
ceased; Rachel; Louis, a merchant of Wake- 
field, Mich. ; Moses, a dealer in horses in 
Marion; Mollie, deceased; Selma, wife of 
Charles Furstenwald, of Marion; and Adelia, 
at home. In 1880 the Marion Stove Com- 
pany was formed by Mr. Furstenwald and 
Mrs. Goldberg, and is one of the leading in- 
dustries of the connnunity. 

We now take up the personal histor\- of 
the gentleman whose name begins this re- 
view, one of the leading citizens of Marion. 
He obtained the only school privileges of the 
•neighborhood of his bo\hood home, and on 
entering upon his business career engaged 



with D. Hammel & Co., of Appleton, Wis., 
continuing in their employ for five years. 
On severing his connection with that firm he 
engaged in the live-stock business in New 
London, Waupaca county, continuing there 
from 1879 until 1882, and in August, 1893, 
he formed his present connection with D. 
Hammel & Co. 

On September 18, 1888, Mr. Goldberg 
was united in marriage with Miss Ida Mejer, 
daughter of Bernard Meyer, and she died in 
August, 1892, leaving two children — Amy 
and Freda. In February, 1893, Mr. Gold- 
berg was again married, his second union 
being with Amanda Simon, daughter of 
Charles and Julia Simon, of Milwaukee, Wis. 
She became the mother of one child, Mark, 
who died in infancy. Mr. Goldberg has 
supported both the Democratic and the Re- 
publican parties, but now gives his allegi- 
ance to the latter. He has served as school 
director, and takes an active interest in pro- 
moting the cause of education, and in ad- 
vancing those enterprises which are calcu- 
lated to benefit the community. Mrs. Gold- 
berg is a member of the Hebrew Church. 



FRANK SCHAETZEL, who is en- 
gaged in the general merchandise 
business in Marion, Dupont town- 
ship, Waupaca county, is the son of 
George Conrad and Lena (Gerlach) Schaet- 
zel. 

George Conrad Schaetzel was born in 
Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, was educated 
in the schools of the Fatherland, and after 
serving a short time in the German army, 
came to the United States, locating, in his 
twenty-second year, in Jefferson county. 
Wis. Working on a farm there for a short 
time, he removed ne.xt to Sheboygan count}'. 
Wis., and bought a farm of 160 acres, in 
Rhine township, when he married. For a 
while he worked by the month, and then 
opening up his farm in the woods, settled 
thereon. He did his trading in Sheboygan, 
eighteen miles distant, in the same county, 
going with an o.x-teani, and taking two days 
to make the trip. He built first a log house, 
16x20 feet, which was the home for some 
years, and built a barn 31 x 60. His father, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S49 



Jacob Schaetzel, came from Germany, and 
lived with him on the farm, dying there in 
1873, aged seventy-three 3'ears. Retaining 
the farm, Mr. Schaetzel purchased a store 
at Batch's mill, near Elkhart mill, and en- 
gaged one year in a mercantile business, 
which he then sold, and, returning to the 
farm, remained there till 1869. Then he 
went to Fremont, Waupaca county, where 
he remained two years, conducting a store 
and a sawmill, and then he went to Weyau- 
wega, Waupaca county, where he purchased 
a brewery, and remained six years. He 
traded the brewer\- property for a farm in 
Waushara county, on which he resided six 
j'ears, when he sold it, and moved to Sioux 
Falls, Dak., after eighteen months return- 
ing to Wisconsin, and locating in Hilbert, 
Calumet county. He subsequently moved 
to Millhome, Manitowoc county, and thence 
to Antigo, Langlade county, where he now 
lives a retired life. His wife is also living. 
They have had three children — Mary, wife 
of Robert Vreeland, of Sioux Falls, Dak. ; 
Frank, subject of this sketch; and Ida, wife 
of R. J. Leutsker, residing in Antigo, Wis- 
consin. 

Frank Schaetzel was born in i860, in 
Rhine township, Sheboygan Co., Wis., re- 
ceived his education in Waushara county, 
aided in clearing up the home farm, and at 
the age of sixteen, in the latter county, be- 
gan his mercantile career as clerk for C. H. 
Stowers & Co. From Waushara county he 
went to Sioux Falls, Dak., where he clerked 
for eighteen months in the hardware busi- 
ness, then, returning to Wisconsin, was for 
six years engaged in cheese manufacturing 
at Hilbert, Calumet county, and after- 
ward was in Manitowoc county for a time. 
Since leaving Hilbert he has, up to the pres- 
ent time, given his attention to mercantile 
pursuits. 

In 1888 Frank Schaetzel was united in 
marriage with Miss Bertha M. Greve, who 
was born in Calumet county. Wis., daugh- 
ter of Fred Greve. and they have become 
the parents of three children: Benjamin, 
Edna (who died at the age of nine months) 
and Lillie. The parents of Mrs. Schaetzel 
were born in Holstein, Germany, and in an 
€arly day came to Calumet county, Wis., 



where Mrs. Greve died, and where Mr. 
Greve still resides. He was a pioneer among 
the Indians. In 1S89 Mr. Schaetzel went 
from Manitowoc county to Antigo, Lang- 
lade county, and was in business there until 
1890, when he came to Marion, Waupaca 
county, bought a frame store building, 24 x 
65 feet, and became established in his pres- 
ent location. He is a Republican, takes an 
interest in politics, and has been justice of 
the peace. Socially, he is a member of 
the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. 
Schaetzel has seen many changes in Wis- 
consin since his boyhood days, and has al- 
ways taken an interest in its general wel- 
fare. 



JOHN N. PALMER, a miller by occupa- 
tion, and one of the early pioneer set- 
tlers of Embarrass, Matteson township, 
Waupaca county, was born October 16, 
1833, in Oneida county, N. Y. , son of Mark 
and Mary (Wiswall) Palmer, who were both 
born, reared and married in New York. 

In 1857 Mark Palmer and his wife came 
to Matteson, Wis., where he built a dam and 
a sawmill in the same year, operating same 
till about 1859, wheh he built a gristmill. 
He was postmaster of Embarrass, which 
town he helped to establish, and he made 
Matteson his home till about 1880, in which 
year he went to Raymondsville, Shawano 
Co., Wis., where he built a flouring-mill. 
He was a Republican in politics from the 
birth of the party. He and his wife both 
died at Raymondsville, she in about 1888. 
They reared a family of seven children, of 
whom Albert, now deceased, came here in 
1856 and engaged in milling; John N. is the 
subject of this sketch; Carrie is the widow of 
William Harris, of Appleton; Mary died at 
Embarrass about 1878; Catherine is the wife 
of G. Smith, of Matteson township; A. C, 
who resides in Embarrass, was in the mer- 
cantile business for years, and was postmas- 
ter for eighteen or twenty years; James re- 
sides in Oregon. 

John N. Palmer was reared in his native 
State, and educated in the public schools 
there, in 1856, at the age of twenty-three, 
coming from Rome, Oneida Co., N. Y. , to 



850 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



what is now Embarrass, Matteson township, 
Waupaca Co. , Wis. , where he engaged in mill- 
ing. In 1858, in Montgomery county, N. Y., 
John N. Palmer was united in marriage with 
Miss Sarah Adams, who was born in Mont- 
gomery county, N. Y. , daughter of James 
Adams, and they have become the parents 
of three children — Mark, who is married, and 
resides in Embarrass; Harriet, the wife of A. 
M. Perry, of Embarrass, who is engaged in 
the hardware business, and Helen, who re- 
sides at home. Mrs. Palmer's parents were 
both born in Canada, and were reared in New 
York, where they lived and died. 

The first mill built in Matteson by Air. 
Palmer was torn down, and in 1863, in con- 
nection with \\'. H. Stacy, he erected a 
flouring-mill, which was operated by Pal- 
mer & Stacy till about 1866, when Mr. Stacy 
went to Clintonville, Waupaca county, and 
Mr. Palmer has since continued the busi- 
ness, for the last eight years under the firm 
name of Palmer & Son. On May 17, 1894, 
the mill was burned. Mr. Palmer is a Re- 
publican in politics, was postmaster at Em- 
barrass in 1892, under the Republican ad- 
ministration, and was chairman of Matte- 
son township for three years, until the town 
was out of debt. Socially he is a member 
of Clintonville Lodge F. & A. M., of which 
he was one of the early members. Mr. Pal- 
mer came by team from Fond du Lac to the 
Embarrass river, and there built the first 
boat used on that river. He is one of the 
oldest men in the town of Embarrass, and 
has seen much of the progress and develop- 
ment of this section of Waupaca county, 
having settled here at a time when there 
were onlj- four or five families on the road 
to New London, Waupaca Co., Wis. The 
milling was then done at Hortonville, Outa- 
gamie county, and New London was the 
market for many years, in fact till the build- 
ing of the railroad. 



ALLEN B. PHILLIPS, farmer, and 
one of the old residents of Bear 
Creek township, Waupaca county, 
was born December 25, 1S29, in 
Ashfield, Mass. His parents were Liscom 



and Fidelia (Baldwin) Phillips, the former 
of whom was a farmer by occupation. 

Liscom Phillips reared a family of six 
children — George H., Allen B. (subject of 
this sketch), Delia, Lemuel J., Francis S. 
and Albert L. Allen B Phillips received a 
common-school education, and lived on a 
farm until he was twenty j-ears of age, when 
he went to Conway, Mass., and remained 
four years, there engaging in learning the 
toolmaker's trade. During this time his 
parents died, and, returning home, he re- 
mained about a year, going then to Worces- 
ter, where he remained about eight months, 
employed in a gun shop. In 1855 Mr. 
Phillips was united in marriage with Almira 
T. Ta3lor, who was born October 14, 1833, 
in Manchester, Vt., and to their union came 
two children: Irving, born March 12, 1865, 
who died May 20, 1 888, at the age of twenty- 
three; and Clara F., born December 14, 
1866, who has always remained at home, 
and on December 25, 1893, was married to 
Albert E. Rand, a school teacher in Bear 
Creek. Mrs. Phillips' parents, Oreb and 
Polly (Putnam) Taylor, had a family of 
eleven children, as follows: Mary Ann, Jon- 
athan, Sophia, Rachel, Lydia, Sophronia, 
Almira (Mrs. Phillips), Betsy, Selinda, Laura 
and Elsie. Oreb Taylor was a successful 
farmer. 

After leaving Worcester Mr. Phillips and 
his wife visited friends at Ashfield, Alass. . 
migrating theiji,ce to Oak Creek, Milwaukee 
Co., Wis., where they had relatives. He 
went to Oshkosh and engaged in pattern 
making, and his wife joining him there soon 
afterward, they remained thereabout a year, 
in September, 1857, coming to Bear Creek 
township, Waupaca county, where he had 
bought about eighty acres of wild land, in 
the most primitive condition, where roamed 
bear and deer, and where the hideous howl- 
ing of the wolves was not infrequently heard. 
For ten years they kept a hotel on the stage 
road, and then moved to the farm, which 
was now partly improved. The work of 
clearing was taken up, and the a.\e and the 
grub-hoe were his daily companions. Mr. 
Phillips has dealt somewhat in land, at one 
time owning 320 acres, but he has sold off 
until now he has but forty-two acres. Po- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



851 



litically he is a strong Republican, and has 
been honored by his fellow citizens with 
election to office, having served as town 
clerk and as town treasurer, and he was the 
first postmaster appointed at Bear Creek. 



CHARLES I. BARD, one of the lead- 
ing merchants, and the only real-es- 
tate dealer of Symco, Waupaca 
county, was born in Binghamton, 
N. Y., in 1840, son of George and Sarah 
(Gibbs) Bard. 

The father of our subject, who was a 
tailor by trade, removed when a young man 
to New York, where he spent his remaining 
days, his death occurring in 1841. The 
mother afterward came to Symco, Wis., 
and long survived her husband, being called 
to her final rest in 1890. In 1S44 she was 
married to one of the pioneer settlers of She- 
boygan county, this State, who died in 
1846. By her first marriage she had two 
children — Charles I. and George, the latter 
of whom is now deceased. In an early day 
he came to Sheboygan county and was there 
married in 1 869. Removing to Larrabee 
township, Waupaca county, he purchased a 
tract of timber land and opened up a farm, 
which he cultivated until November, 1875, 
the date of his removal to Symco, at which 
place he embarked in merchandising and 
subsequently was appointed postmaster, 
serving faithfully in that capacity until his life 
labors were ended. In politics he was a 
stalwart Republican, and he was a progress- 
ive and valued citizen, respected by all 
who knew him. He died in Symco in 1889, 
and his widow then removed to Manawa, 
Wis. . where she yet resides with her eldest 
son, who is there engaged in merchandising. 
In taking up the personal history of 
Charles Bard we present to our readers the 
life record of one who is well and favorably 
known throughout this region. He was 
reared on a farm in Sheboygan county, and 
obtained his education in its common schools. 
In 1878 he came to Symco and joined his 
brother George as a partner in the mercan- 
tile business, the firm carrying on a general 
mercantile establishment for nine years, and 
.then turning their attention exclusively to 



the hardware trade, in which they contin- 
ued for five years. They erected the store 
building which Charles Bard now occupies, 
a two-story structure, and enjoyed a large 
trade, which came to them as a reward of 
courteous treatment and honorable dealing. 
In 1893 the business was sold out, and since 
that time the subject of this sketch has de- 
voted his attention and energies to his real- 
estate interests, being the only real-estate 
dealer in Symco. He was a popular mer- 
chant, and is a straightforward business man, 
one who has the confidence and respect of 
all with whom he has been brought in con- 
tact. 

Mr. Bard has always been a supporter 
of the Republican party, and is a stalwart 
advocate of its principles, but has never 
sought political preferment for himself. The 
cause of education finds in him a warm 
friend, and he has given his support to what- 
ever will promote the welfare of the common 
schools and raise their standard of excellence. 
Since the Territorial days of Wisconsin he 
has resided within her borders, and is well 
deserving of mention among her honored 
pioneers. 



BERNARD LAUGHRIN. In the ca- 
reer of this gentleman we- find an ex- 
cellent example for young men just 
embarking in the field of active life 
of what can be accomplished by a man be- 
ginning poor, but honest, prudent and in- 
dustrious. Mr. Laughrin is one of the 
pioneers of Lebanon township, Waupaca 
county, having located there in 1857, and 
still makes his home on his original farm. 

A native of County Monaghan, Ireland, 
our subject was born November 20, 1831, 
son of William and Mary (Dailey) Laughrin, 
farming people, who spent their entire lives 
on the Emerald Isle. They reared a family 
of five children, of whom Michael came to 
America, but returned to Ireland, where he 
died, leaving a wife and two children; Ann 
died in New York; Bernard is next in order 
of birth; Mary is a resident of New York; 
and Patrick came to America, but now 
makes his home in Ireland. Bernard Laugh- 
rin was reared and educated in his native 



S:;2 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



countr)', but, not beinjj satisfied with his con- 
dition or prospects in the Old World, he de- 
termined to seek his fortune in the New, 
and in 1849 first set foot on American soil, 
at Boston. He engaged in day labor in the 
East until 1857, when he came to Milwau- 
kee, Wis., and a year later arrived in 
Lebanon township, Waupaca county, where 
he has since resided. 

In New York City Mr. Laughrin had 
married Ann Maloone, a native of Ireland, 
who came to America alone, and to them 
have been born eight children: William, 
who now lives with Michael Gorman, in 
Lebanon township; John, a farmer of Leban- 
on township, who is married and has four 
children — Mary, Ann, Margaret and Joseph; 
Bernard, still under the parental roof; Mary, 
wife of Matt Gorman, an agriculturist of 
Lebanon township; Michael is at home; 
Catherine, wife of Thomas Gornty, of 
Lebanon township; Patrick, also a farmer 
of that same township; and Anna, wife of 
Jerry Driskill, a farmer of Lebanon town- 
ship. 

On coming to Waupaca county Mr. 
Laughrin purchased forty acres of land in 
Section 17, Lebanon township, which to- 
day forms a portion of his possessions. He 
bought it at the government price of $1.25 
per acre, and it was still in its primitive con- 
dition. Mr. Laughrin lived with a neigh- 
bor, about three miles from his farm, while 
his own log house was being built, a struc- 
ture 16 X 24 feet, which is still standing. 
The}' had no team, an axe and a grub hoe 
being the only tools with which they had to 
do the work of clearing and cultivating the 
land, and their first crop was potatoes. Mr. 
Laughrin has since carried on the develop- 
ment and improveinent of his place, to 
which he added until at one time he had 
340 acres of good land, but he has since 
sold a portion of this, and now owns some 
200 acres, which has been converted into 
valuable property by the labor of his own 
hands. He there carries on general farming 
and stock raising, and in both lines has been 
very successful, his farm now yielding him 
a good income in return for the care and 
labor bestowed upon it. Mr. Laughrin ranks 
among the self-made men of his section, and 



in all respects has proved himself a valued 
addition to the community. Though not an 
office-seeker he takes a loyal interest in 
political affairs, and uses his right of fran- 
chise in support of the Democratic party. 
Religiously he and his family are faithful 
members of the Catholic Church. 



LC. DILLEY, an honored veteran of 
the Civil war, and a pioneer settler 
of Symco, Waupaca county, was born 
in 1842, in Trumbull count}', Ohio, 
and is a son of Huston and Lois (Griffith) 
Dilley, who were also natives of the Buck- 
eye State. 

In 1854 the Dilleys removed to McHenry 
county. 111., where Mr. Dilley purchased a 
tract of wild forest land, which he at once 
began to clear and improve, transforming it 
into a fine farm. The mother died in tfiat 
county in 1S62, and the following year the 
father married Amanda Waite. Since 1878 
he and his wife have resided in Lake county, 
111. Nine of the ten children of the first 
marriage are still living, namely: L. C, 
whose name opens this sketch; Mary, wife 
of Martin Miller, of McHenry county. 111. ; 
Mrs. Theresa Templeton, of Huntley, 111. ; 
Lydia, wife of William Dunbar, of Fari- 
bault county, Minn. ; Albert, who enlisted in 
1864, in McHenry county, in the One Hun- 
dred and Forty-fourth 111. V. I., served 
through the war, and is now living in Nunda, 
111. ; Jane, wife of John Barber, of Liberty- 
ville. 111. ; Augusta, who died in 1862; Mrs. 
Martha Shields, of Waukegan, 111. ; Olive, 
Mrs. Barnes, of Waukegan; and Clara, wife 
of J. Mack McGuire, also of Waukegan. 
The children of the second marriage are 
Francis, now of Lake county. 111. ; and 
George, who died in Lake county. 

When a youth of twelve years L. C. 
Dilley accompanied his parents from Trum- 
bull county, Ohio, to McHenry county. 111., 
and in the latter place completed his educa- 
tion. He remained under the parental roof 
until nineteen years of age, and then entered 
the Union army, during his military career 
manifesting his loyalty to the government by 
faithful service in the field. On September 
13, 1 861, in Nunda, 111., he enlisted in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S55- 



Company F, Fifteenth 111. V. I., for three 
years, and was mustered in at Rolla, Mo., 
the regiment being assigned to the Armj- of 
the West. He served under Gen. John C. 
Fremont, and participated in the battles of 
Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Land- 
ing, luka. Champion Hills and Hatcher's Run, 
as well as the siege of Vicksburg. He was 
also in one of Gen. Sherman's raids, and, 
then returning to Camp Cowers, went home 
on a furlough. He re-enlisted January i, 
1864, and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth 
Illinois Regiments were then consolidated 
into a battalion. Mr. Dilley participated in 
all the engagements of the Atlanta cam- 
paign until after the capture of the city, then 
returned to Acquis, Ga., where he was taken 
prisoner October 4, 1864, and sent to An- 
dersonville, being incarcerated there until 
April 13, 1865, when he was taken to Flor- 
ida. At Broadhead, that State, he was re- 
leased, and joined the Union army at Jack- 
sonville, Fla. , April 29, 1865, going then 
with the northern troops to Annapolis, Md. 
When captured his weight was 163 pounds, 
but such was the hardship of prison life that 
at the time of his release he weighed only 
sixty-five. With other troops Mr. Dilley 
went to Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, 
where they were paid off, and after a week 
passed there returned to Springfield, 111., 
where he was honorably discharged June 21, 
1865. 

The following year, June i, 1866, Mr. 
Dilley was married to Miss Jane Lozier, a 
native of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and two chil- 
dren graced their union — Roy L. , ofSymco, 
Wis., who in 1893 married Lillie Conrad; 
and Adella, wife of Curtis Myers, of Symco, 
by whom she has a daughter, Leona Arline. 
Mr. Dilley first came to Wisconsin in 1866, 
and engaged in farming in Richmond county 
until 1873, the year of his removal to Sym- 
co, where he has since engaged in the lum- 
bering business. He has now charge of all 
the outside work connected with the lum- 
bering business of Mr. Miller, who owns and 
operates a sawmill, which furnishes employ- 
ment to thirteen men. Socially he is a mem- 
ber of J. B. Stedman Post No. 271, G.A.R. , 
and of Marion Lodge, I.O.O.F. He has 
been honored with several locar offices of 



trust, including that of town clerk and chair- 
man of the town board of supervisors, in 
which offices his duties were discharged in a 
prompt and capable manner. No trust re- 
posed in him has ever been betrayed, and 
he has an army record of which he may well 
be proud, for few saw more arduous ser\- 
ice, and none were more lo3al to the stars 
and stripes, which now triumphantly wave 
over a united nation. 



JACOB H. HERBERT, a hardware 
merchant and one of the leading busi- 
ness men of Ogdensburg, Waupaca 
county, is one of the honored early set- 
tlers of the county, where for many years 
he engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 
was born in German}', June 28, 1841, and 
is a son of Anton Herbert. 

Having decided to come to the United 
States with the hope of benefiting his finan- 
cial condition, the father of our subject em- 
barked in 1842, accompanied by his wife 
and three children — Andrew, Jacob and 
Margaret. After a long and tedious voyage 
of forty-two days they landed in New York, 
from which place they immediately pro- 
ceeded to Milwaukee, Wis., going by way 
of the Erie canal and Great Lakes. Their 
funds were exhausted on reaching that city, 
but they soon after made a settlement in 
Waukesha county, and began the develop- 
ment of a new farm. There they made their 
home until 1855, when with an ox-team and 
wagon they drove the entire distance to St. 
Lawrence township, Waupaca county, and 
purchased a farm of John Veysey, compris- 
ing one hundred and sixty acres lying in 
Section 36. Their home was near what is 
known as the " Brick School House," and 
there the parents pa.ssed the remainder of 
their da3's. 

Jacob H. Herbert accjuired his education 
in the primitive district schools of those early 
days. He was unable to attend school after 
coming to Waupaca county, and when tall 
enough to reach the plow handles he began 
work upon the home farm. As he was 
reared upon the frontier, he soon became 
familiar with the arduous life of a pioneer, 
and contributed his share to the cultivation 



■ss^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and improvement of the farm. He also 
worked for some time in the Umiber woods. 
On August 2 1, 1862, at ^^'aupaca, Mr. Her- 
bert enhsted in Company G, Twenty-first 
Wis. V. I., which regiment, after remaining 
in camp at Oshkosh for a few days, started 
for the front, going to Louisville, Ky. At 
Perryville, that State, they participated in 
their first engagement, where Mr. Herbert 
lost all of his clothes except his trousers and 
shirt, and in consequence of exposure during 
a cold rain he was taken ill, and gradually 
grew worse. He remained with the regi- 
ment until reaching Three Springs, Ky. , 
when he was taken in an ambulence to 
Nashville, there entering a hospital, in which 
he remained for nearl}" two months, until 
transferred to Louisville, Ky. After being 
in the latter place for nine months he was 
sent with a company of convalescents to 
Washington to aid in guarding that city. 
Later he returned to Camp Douglass, Chi- 
cago, where he did guard duty for some 
time, and was afterward sent to Cairo, 111. , 
where he received an honorable discharge 
July 17. 1865, and was mustered out. On 
returning to St. Lawrence township he was 
a physical wreck, and he has never fully re- 
gained his strength, for a year and a half 
being unable to perform an)- work. 

In St. Lawrence township, Waupaca 
county, Mr. Herbert was married, in March, 
1866. to Miss Harriet Fisk, a native of 
Janesville, Wis., whose father, Ira Fisk, 
was one of the early pioneers of St. Law- 
rence township. After his marriage our sub- 
ject and his wife immediately began house- 
keeping upon the Herbert homestead, as his 
parents at that time were getting advanced 
in years, and needed his assistance. There 
he resided until March, 1S92, when on ac- 
count of ill-health he removed, on the ad- 
vice of his physician, to Ogdensburg. In the 
spring of 1894 he there purchased a hard- 
ware store, and also bought from two gen- 
eral merchants the stock they kept in that 
line, and he has enlarged his place of busi- 
ness, now having a well-appointed store. 
He also deals in agricultural implements, 
and has met with good success in this line, 
conducting a lucrative business. As a farmer 
he became very prosperous, owning at one 



time 280 acres of rich and arable land. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert have been born four 
children — Harry, a farmer of St. Lawrence 
township; Ralph, a resident of \\'ashington; 
Grace, who is at home, and Jesse, a clerk in 
his father's store. Socially Mr. Herbert 
holds membership with Chester A. Arthur 
Post, No. 239, G. A. R., of which he is a 
charter member, and is at present serving 
as commander, and Mrs. Herbert belongs to 
the Woman's Relief Corps. Our subject is 
a supporter of the Republican part}", but has 
never been an office-seeker, though at one 
time he served as a member of the township 
board. 



ANDREW M. HANSEN, a promi- 
nent manufacturer of ^^'aupaca, 
possesses that rare mechanical abil- 
it}' which in itself is a proud heri- 
tage of the Scandinavian race, and which is 
needed in every civilised community. He 
is fond of machinery and of the mechanical 
problems which almost daily arise in a man- 
ufacturing business to puzzle the unskillful, 
and to throw impediments in the way of 
progress unless the solution can be reached 
by an ingenious brain. Mr. Hansen has 
made this natural faculty the highway to 
his success in life, and coupled with his good 
business faculties and his sterling traits of 
character, it has yielded him comforts and 
influence in life. 

He was born December 30, 1858, in 
Boesholm, near Helsingor, Nort Sjeland, 
Denmark, son of H. C. and Marion (Andrew) 
Rasmussen. His fat'her was a blacksmith 
and wagon maker of unusual ability and 
thoroughness, and the products of his shops 
had a wide reputation, ^^'hen ten years of 
age Andrew M. came with his parents to 
America, and settled in \\'aupaca. When 
seventeen years of age he entered the shop 
of his half brother, Jens Hansen, and 
learned the wagonmaker's trade, remaining 
there seven years, or until 1883, when he 
opened a shop of his own, and fitted it out 
with steam engine, planer and other ma- 
chinery for working wood. For ten years, 
or until 1893, he successfully operated this 
thriving little plant, but finding the space 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S5: 



too small for the growing trade he sold out. 
In 1S92 he had built a sawmill on the river, 
and this in the fall of 1893 he fitted out with 
planers and other machinery, to-da\- having 
under his management one of the best 
equipped wood-working establishments in 
this part of Wisconsin. For many years, 
in connection with the old shop, he had a 
plumbing and steamfitting business also. 
He still handles well-drilling outfits, and 
catries a full line of well supplies, employ- 
ing from six to fifteen men. He has two 
well-drilling forces on the road. 

Mr. Hansen was first married, in 1885, 
to Mary Thompson, of Norwegian birth, 
and they had one child, who died in infan- 
cy, the mother following it to the grave in 
1887. The following year Mr. Hansen was 
united in marriage with Ella Larson, who 
in 1S84 emigrated to America from Norway, 
where her mother is yet living. She has 
two sisters and two brothers^Anna, Mary, 
Louis and Charles. To Mr. and Mrs. Han- 
sen one child has been born, Florence Mar- 
ion. Mr. Hansen is one of the most pub- 
lic-spirited citizens of Waupaca. He is 
Republican in politics, has served on the 
count)- board, and has also been supervisor 
of the First ward. His religious connec- 
tions are with the Danish Lutheran Church. 
When a lad of sixteen years he joined the 
Volunteer Fire Company, and is still a 
member of the organization, during five 
years of this time serving as chief engineer 
of the fire department. During his first 
year in America he worked for fifty dollars, 
but since that time he has established a fine 
business and home for himself, and is num- 
bered among the most prosperous of Wau- 
paca's active business men. 



TORGRIM THOMPSON. It is as- 
tonishing to note with what quick- 
ness a foreigner, landing on the shores 
of this country unknown, learns the 
ways and habits of the people of the New 
World, adapts himself to new customs and 
new methods, and wins success, becoming 
at the same time a good law-abiding citizen, 
whom any community might be glad to 



number among its members. Such a man 
is Mr. Thompson. 

He was born in Norway, July 21, 1842, 
and is a son of Torgrim Thompson, a car- 
penter by trade, who owned a small farm. 
Both he and his wife are still living in Nor- 
way, at the age of about ninety years. In 
the family were seven children, two sons and 
five daughters, of whom Torgrim and two 
daughters alone came to the United States. 
Our subject received but meagre educational 
privileges, and was reared on the old home 
farm, where he remained until his marriage. 
At the age of fourteen he began to learn the 
shoemaker's trade, serving a three-years' ap- 
prenticeship. In June, 1S68, he wedded 
Tone Tostensdatter, and in March, 1S69, 
came to the United States. From his mea- 
gre earnings he had saved a few dollars, and, 
with the determination to try his fortune in 
the New World, sailed from his native coun- 
try on the vessel " Rukan," commanded by 
Capt. Hanson, which after six weeks and two 
days reached Quebec harbor. He then went 
to Toronto, thence b\- steamer to Grand 
Haven, Mich. , by rail and boat to Milwaukee, 
and on by rail and across the country by 
stage to Stevens Point. 

Mr. Thompson there purchased a rude 
shanty and began work at his trade, follow- 
ing it until August, when he was stricken 
with typhoid fever and was unable to work 
until the following February, being confined 
to his bed until Christmas. His wife was 
also taken sick during this time, and died 
shortly after, leaving a son, Theodore A., 
who died the next January. Mr. Thompson's 
condition was a pitiable one. His wife had 
been dead fourteen days before he was able 
to be told of it, his money was utterly ex- 
hausted, and his little home and contents 
had to be sold in order to satisfy the claims 
of those to whom he was indebted. As soon 
as possible he secured work, and was em- 
ployed at Stevens Point from February until 
May, when he determined to return to Nor- 
way, but as he had not money enough for 
the voyage, he began shoemaking in lola. 
He purchased his leather in Waupaca, carry- 
ing it to and fro upon his back, making the 
journey several times e\'en when he was yet 
very weak from the fever. He worked hard, 



8^6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



putting forth every effort to obtain a start, 
and at length established a reputation as a 
good shoemaker and secured a good trade, 
carrying on business along that line until 

1882. Several years previous he also began 
dealing in ready-made shoes, and then added 
a stock of notions, and later dry goods and 
groceries. He established a small store on 
Main street, continuing business there until 

1883, when he erected what was then the 
largest business block in Ida. In 1893 he 
also built two residences, and, and in addi- 
tion, owns a store building in Tomahawk, 
Wis. He carries a full and complete line of 
general merchandise, and his honorable deal- 
ing and earnest desire to please his custom- 
ers have increased the volume of his busi- 
ness to quite extensive proportions. 

Mr. Thompson was married, in Winne- 
conne, Wis., May 22, 1872, to Mrs. Karen 
Anderson, who was born in Norway, and 
was an acquaintance of his childhood. They 
now have five children: Theodore A., a 
bookkeeper for the Armour Packing Com- 
pany, Decatur, 111.; Regina T., wife of Gil- 
bert Gullikson, of lola; Boletta O., Carl O., 
and Carrie A. , all at home. In politics Mr. 
Thompson is a stanch Republican, but has 
no time nor inclination for public office, pre- 
ferring to devote his energies to his business 
interests, in which he has met with signal 



HANS OLFSON is a prominent farmer 
of Farmington township, and the 
head of one of the most thriving 
mercantile establishments in Wau- 
paca county, located at Sheridan. He be- 
came identified with commercial life by slow 
degrees, yet, when fairly established therein, 
he developed a business tact so marked that 
it at once proclaimed him a natural-born 
merchant, with an ability far surpassing that 
which falls to the average human kind. He 
has, by his own unaided efforts, risen from 
an humble condition to a commanding po- 
sition in the material affairs of Waupaca 
county. 

Mr. Olfson was born in Sweden May 18, 
1840, son of Hans Olfson, Sr. , who had two 
children — Hans and Christine. In 1852 a 



band of thirty-seven hardy, frugal and in- 
dustrious Swedes left their native land for 
homes in Wisconsin. Among them was the 
family of Hans Olfson, Sr. , and our subject 
is one of the two members of that band now 
left. After a voyage of eleven weeks and 
three days they landed at New York, pro- 
ceeded by rail to Buffalo, there took a boat 
for Chicago, and re-embarking there, reached 
Green Bay via Milwaukee. Thence they 
proceeded by flat-boat to Appleton, by team 
to Neenah, reached Gill's Landing by boat, 
and concluded their long journey through 
the woods to Waupaca county, reaching 
their destination October 14, 1852. The 
father of Hans purchased eighty acres of 
land in Section i 5, of Farmington township, 
through his ignorance and the false repre- 
sentations of the agents paying $200 more 
for the property than was necessary, for it 
was government land. A little log house, 
12 X 14, stood on the place, and five or six 
acres had been cleared. Here the little 
family settled down to face the exigencies 
and stern requirements of pioneer life. Hans 
was then a lad of twelve years. He had 
received some education in Sweden, but 
educational facilities at the new home were 
meager, for it was not until 1855 that even 
a subscription school was formed, John 
Harris, late of Sturgeon Bay, being the first 
teacher. At the age of nineteen young 
Hans began to work out for himself. He 
was married April 13, 1858, to Margaret 
Thompson, daughter of Peter Thompson, 
who, in 1850, had emigrated with his family 
from Sweden, settling in Farmington town- 
ship. By this marriage there are three 
children: Hans, now a merchant of Sheri- 
dan; Peter M., of Waupaca, and Oliver J., 
of the firm of Olfson Bros., Sheridan. After 
marriage Mr. Olfson began housekeeping at 
the home farm, where for many years he 
was engaged exclusively in agricultural pur- 
suits. 

It was not until 1877 that he became 
identified with mercantile business. He be- 
gan by buying grain and potatoes for another 
firm. Then he bought agricultural products 
on his own account. In 1886 he began to 
keep a stock of goods, and all these years 
the trade grew steadily. He is now asso- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



857 



ciated in business at Sheridan with his two 
sons, Hans and Oliver, handling grain and 
farm products, and he has done a business 
which at times has amounted to $25,000 
per month. In 1889 he shipped to New 
York City 430 carloads of potatoes. Mr. 
Olfson resides on his farm in Section 16, 
and his land holdings to-day are about 300 
acres. His parents lived with him until 
they passed away, the father in 1870, the 
mother in 1875; they are buried in the 
Swedish Cemetery at Sheridan. Mr. Olfson 
is an earnest Republican. For ten years 
he has been treasurer of the township, and 
for two years he was assessor; but, while 
ready to reasonably serve his fellow citizens, 
he will not permit his business interests to 
suffer by seeking office. He is an active and 
prominent member of the Lutheran Church. 
He has e.xtensive business interests, and is 
an influential citizen and a thorough-going 
man of affairs. The business at Sheridan, 
as established by him, is among the leading 
country stores of the county, and none are 
better or more neatly kept. 



WILLIAM EDWIN McHUGH was 
born October 15, 1855, on the farm 
which he now owns and occupies 
in the township of Caledonia, 
Waupaca county. His father, Michael Mc- 
Hugh, and his grandfather, James McHugh, 
were both natives of County Donegal, Ireland. 
The latter was a man of wealth and refine- 
ment, and highly educated, having studied 
for the priesthood, but his health pre\'ented 
him entering that life, and he afterward did 
an extensive business as a distiller. 

In 1 82 5 Michael McHugh, at the age about 
ten years, accompanied his parents on their 
emigration to America, the family settling 
in Columbiana county, Ohio, where they 
carried on agricultural pursuits until 1847. 
On the 4th of July of that year, they located 
upon what is now the McHugh homestead, 
and the grandparents there resided until 
death. Their remains were interred in the 
Catholic Cemetery in the town of Center, 
Outagamie Co., Wis. Michael McHugh 
married Miss Mary McCoy, a native of Coun- 
ty Antrim, Ireland, born August 15, 1810, 



and they became the parents of children as 
follows: Hugh, a resident of Maine township, 
Outagamie county; Sarah, wife of John P. 
Penworden, a resident of the same locality; 
Alex, of Browns Valley, Minn. ; James, de- 
ceased; Patrick, of Bear Creek, Outagamie 
county; Dennis, deceased; Francis, who is 
located in Caledonia township, Waupaca 
county, and is the present postmaster at 
Readfield, having been appointed November 
7, 1893, by President Cleveland; Michael, a 
representative citizen of Stockbridge town- 
ship, Calumet Co., Wis.; Mary, twin sister 
of Michael; Annie, who has also passed 
away; and William Edwin, who completes 
the family. 

Upon his marriage Michael McHugh pur- 
chased 400 acres of timber land, but after- 
ward lost 160 acres of this, having secured 
it on a land warrant which proved to be 
illegal. The remainder of the farm, how- 
ever, he continued to operate successfully 
until his death, which, occurred January i, 
1856. In politics he was always a stanch 
Democrat, and while residing in Ohio, was 
called upon to fill many public positions of 
honor and trust in his community. He 
held membership with the Catholic Church, 
and was respected by all who knew him for 
the many excellencies of his character. 

In the public schools of his nati\-e county 
William Edwin McHugh actjuired a good 
practical education. Early in life he became 
familiar with farm work in its various depart- 
ments, and has throughout life followed the 
occupation to which he was reared, living 
always upon the old homestead. He is one 
of the representative progressive agricultur- 
ists of the community, and the neat and 
thrifty appearance of his place is evidence 
to the passer-by of the careful supervision 
of the owner. 

On March 13, 1886, in Shiocton, Wis., 
was celebrated the marriage of Mr. McHugh 
and Miss Mary Kohl, who was born in Cale- 
donia township November 26, 18G6, andis 
a daughter of Henry and Dora (Heuer) 
Kohl, natives of Germany. Four children 
graced this union, but Michael, the first 
born, is deceased, and Ralph, born April 2, 
1892, died September 15, 1893; Gracie, 
born May 4, 1890, and George J., born 



858 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



April 19, 1894, are with the parents. Mr. 
McHugh votes with the Democratic party, 
and holds membership with the Catholic 
Church, but takes no active part in public 
affairs, preferring to give his time to his busi- 
ness interests and the enjoyment of home 
pleasures. He is an honored pioneer of the 
county, one who has witnessed its growth 
from an early day, and in its history he 
well deserves representation. 



CHARLES WENDT, an enterprising 
wagon manufacturer of Embarrass, 
Matteson township, Waupaca coun- 
ty, was born December 16, 1847, in 
Prussia, Germany. 

Mr. Wendt's parents were August and 
Anna (Wendt) Wendt, who had a family of 
eight children — August, Fred, Charles (the 
subject of this sketch), Albert, Bertha, Au- 
gusta, Herman and Amelia, all now living 
e.xcept Amelia, and Augusta and Charles 
were the only ones who came to America. 
August Wendt was a manufacturer of spin- 
ning wheels. Charles Wendt commenced to 
learn his trade of wagon manufacturer when 
fifteen years of age, and he has followed it 
since, with the exception of three years, dur- 
ing which he served in the German army. 
In 1872 he sailed for America, landing in 
New York, and came direct to New London, 
Waupaca Co. , Wis. , where he remained one 
year, working at his trade. Going from there 
to Northport, Waupaca county, he remained 
about six months, and then returning to New 
London worked there four months, in 1875 
coming to Embarrass, Matteson township. 
After working here for others four months, 
he built a shop of his own, having bought 
an acre of land, and he still occupies the same 
shop, having worked here at his trade for 
twenty-one years. He has purchased fifty- 
one acres of land. Mr. Wendt is one of the 
oldest wagon makers in this part of the coun- 
try, and many of the wagons seen hauling 
loads to-day were made by him. 

On March 22, 1876, Charles Wendt and 
Louise Helner were united in marriage. They 
have an adopted son — Robert. Mr. and Mrs. 
Wendt are both members of the Methodist 
Church, and politically he is a Republican. 



LOUIS RAW, farmer, of Royalton 
township, Waupaca county, was born 
April 14, 1855, in Buffalo, N. Y. He 
obtained a fair education in his native 
city, and, while still young, came to Wiscon- 
sin with his parents, who had bought a farm 
in Royalton township, Waupaca county, on 
which he still resides, and which he has con- 
tinued to work ever since his father's death, 
which occurred some years ago. 

Andrew Ravy. the father of Louis Ravy, 
was born in Paris, France, and served in the 
French army for about seven years. In 1852 
he came to America, landing in New York, 
bought a farm near Buffalo, N. Y., where he 
lived for some years, and then came to Wis- 
consin, locating in Royalton township, Wau- 
paca county, on the site of the present farm, 
which was all a wilderness, where the brush 
had to be cut away to make a place to build 
themselves a home. Andrew Ravy. married 
Celia Weller, who was also born in Paris, 
France, and came to America shortl}' after 
he did, their marriage taking place in Buffalo 
soon after her arrival. They had six chil- 
ren: Celia, Fannie, Andrew, Louis, Charles 
and Joseph, of whom Celia died in 1881, all 
the others living in Royalton township, ex- 
cept Andrew, who lives in Little Wolf town- 
ship, Waupaca county. 

Louis Ravy was united in marriage with 
Maggie Seigworth, of Royalton township, 
Waupaca county, who was born December 
10, 1862, and they have become the parents 
of five children: Mamie, Lourie, Flora, Mary 
and Hazel. The family are members of the 
Catholic Church, and in politics Louis Ravy 
is a Republican. 



TORGUS OLSON, a prominent and 
influential farmer of Waupaca coun- 
ty, is a self-made man, whose suc- 
cess in life may be attributed solely 
to his own efforts, and his example is one 
well worthy of emulation. 

Mr. Olson was born in Norway August 
29, 1840, and is a son of Ole Torgunson, a 
native of the same countrj-. His education 
was acquired in the public schools of that 
land, and when a young man he learned 
the carpenter's trade, following same there 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



59 



until 1 86 1, when, with the hope of better- 
ing his financial condition by taking advan- 
tage of the superior opportunities offered 
in America, he crossed the broad Atlantic. 
On his arrival here he at once located in 
Scandinavia township, Waupaca Co., Wis., 
where for two jears he worked as a laborer, 
after that followed his trade during the 
summer months, while in the winter season 
he worked in the pineries, until he was en- 
abled to purchase land. In 1S67 he be- 
came the owner of a tract of eighty acres, 
mostly covered with timber, and has since 
been accounted one of the leading farmers 
of this locality. As his financial resources 
were increased he e.xtended the boundaries 
of his farm, until it now comprises 260 
acres of good land, one-half of which is 
cleared and under a high state of cultiva- 
tion. Waving fields of grain delight the 
eye and surround the pleasant home and 
other substantial buildings, which were all 
placed upon the farm by the industrious 
owner. 

The lady who now bears the name of 
Mrs. Olson was in her maidenhood Matilda 
Knudson, a native of Norway, born in 1844. 
Their union was celebrated in Scandinavia 
township, and has been blessed with nine 
children — Mary, Ole, Tillie (now Mrs. Gib- 
hart, of Tomahawk, Wis.), Annie, Carl, 
Clara, Knud, Ella and Theresa. Mr. Olson 
still follows the carpenter's trade to some 
extent, and is an expert workman. His 
prosperit}- is all the result of his own dili- 
gence, unfaltering perseverance and capable 
management, and success has been the just 
reward of his labor. He passed through 
the hardships of frontier life in Wisconsin, 
and in the development and upbuilding of 
the community has ever borne his part. 
His right of franchise is exercised in sup- 
port of the Republican party and its princi- 
ples, and he holds membership with the 
Lutheran Church. 



CHRISTIAN LARSEN, a wide-awake 
and enterprising agriculturist, who 
now owns a good farm of 1 20 acres 
in Farmington township, Waupaca 
county, was born May 14, 1858, in Norway, 



and is a son of Lars Christiansen, who now 
follows farming in St. Lawrence township, 
Waupaca county. 

The subject of this sketch was reared in 
the usual manner of farmer lads, beginning 
work in the fields as soon as he was old 
enough, and being thus employed through 
the summer months, while in the winter 
season he attended the public schools, and 
mastered the common branches of learning. 
At the age of sixteen he crossed the briny 
deep in company with an older brother, and 
made his way to Scandinavia township, Wau- 
paca Co., Wis., where his uncle, Peter Nel- 
son, was living. This uncle had sent two 
tickets to Norway that the brothers might 
come to America, thinking that they would 
have better advantages here, and in June, 
1874, they sailed from Christiania to Hull, 
England, thence going to Glasgow, where 
they embarked for New York, landing after 
a voyage of ten days. On reaching his des- 
tination Mr. Larsen began working as a 
farm hand. He owed his uncle $60 for his 
passage money, but he was ambitious and 
industrious, and by hard labor he was not 
only enabled to pay off this sum, but also 
acquired the capital with which, in 1880, he 
purchased eighty acres of land located in 
Section 2, Farmington township. Not a fur- 
row had been turned or an improvement 
made upon the place, which was covered 
with a heavy growth of timber, so he at 
once began to clear it. 

A few years later Mr. Larsen was united 
in marriage with Miss Mattie Mortensen, a 
native of St. Lawrence township, Waupaca 
county, where their marriage was cele- 
brated. He had built a substantial log 
house, and the young couple removed to the 
farm. Their home has been blessed with 
the following-named children: Louis, Carl, 
John, Edward, Morten and Oliver, all 3'ct 
living. Mr. and Mrs. Larsen hold member- 
ship with the Lutheran Church, and by his 
ballot Mr. Larsen upholds the Republican 
party, but takes no active part in political 
affairs, and has never sought office. He 
came to this country a poor boy, unable to 
speak a word of English, and the success 
which he has achieved is the reward of the 
honest and industrious effort, close attention 



86o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



to the details of his business and capable 
management. He is honest and fair in all 
his dealings, and the improvements upon his 
farm, including the good barn which he 
erected in 1891, are monuments to his enter- 
prise. The best interests of the communit\' 
find in him a friend, and as a citizen he 
ranks deservedl}' high. 



GEORGE W. STINEMATES. Most 
of the early Western settlers doubt- 
less left their comfortable Eastern 
homes with the expectation of im- 
proving their circumstances, but the trials 
and hardships of a pioneer life were so se- 
vere that men and women of unusual strength 
and determination were needed to convert 
the unbroken wilderness into a fertile, pros- 
perous region, living during the transition 
period amidst discomforts and privations 
that appalled the faint-hearted. Yet upon 
those of strong and honest fiber who endured 
it all fortune smiled eventually, and bestowed 
peace and plenty, honor and esteem, in rich 
measure. Of this hardy, sterling type of 
pioneers is George W. Stinemates, one of 
the most substantial farmers of Dayton 
township, Waupaca county, Wisconsin. 

He was the tenant on a small rented farm 
in Miller township, Knox Co., Ohio, in 
1853, with a wife and two young children, 
when a desire to possess a home of his own 
impelled him to migrate to \\"isconsin. He 
was born in Licking county, Ohio, January 
2, 1823, son of Christian Stinemates. who 
was a son of Philip Stinemates; Christian, 
who was a native son of Westmoreland 
county, Penn, had been educated for the 
German Lutheran ministr}', but afterward 
learned and followed the shoemaker's trade. 
He married Hester McMullen in Pennsylva- 
nia, where two children were born to them, 
William, now of Cass county, Iowa, and 
Maria, who married Thomas T. Warren, 
and died in Springwater, Waushara Co., 
Wis. This little family moved to Licking 
county, Ohio, where George W. Stinemates 
was born, then to Pleasant township, Knox 
county, and a little later to Miller township, 
same county. The younger children were 
Franklin, who died at Mt. Vernon, Ohio; 



Mary, now Mrs. Charles Manvilie, of New- 
ark, Ohio; John, of Miller township, Knox 
Co., Ohio; Richard, of Columbus, Ohio, 
and Eli, who died in Pleasant township, 
Knox Co., Ohio. Christian Stinemates 
followed his trade for man\' years, and died 
in Knox county at the age of eighty-one 
years, ten months, his wife surviving to the 
age of eighty-seven years. He was a strong 
Democrat, and in early life a Lutheran, 
though later a member of theM. E. Church. 
The education of George W. Stinemates 
was limited. He worked on the farm at 
home, assisting his father, and at times was 
employed at ditching, chopping, and per- 
forming other work for the neighbors, in- 
variably bringing his wages home to his fa- 
ther. He was married, February 18,1847, i^i 
Pleasant township, Knox Co., Ohio, to Char- 
lotte Boyle, who was born in Milford town- 
ship. I\nox Co., Ohio, January 21, 1828, 
daughter of Thomas and Mary (McCammon) 
Bo\le, early settlers there, Mr. Boyle com- 
ing from Virginia. The young farmer lived 
on a rented place until he concluded to mi- 
grate to Wisconsin, and in 1853, in com- 
pany with another family named Warren, 
they made the long journey in wagons. It 
consumed four weeks, during which time 
they slept onl}' four nights in houses, usually 
occupying the wagons for that purpose. In 
Section 34, Dayton township, Waupaca 
county, Mr. Stinemates bought eighty acres 
of wild land, and built a little cabin, 12x16 
feet, with roof of cedar and tamarack logs. 
Deer, bears, prairie chickens and other game 
were abundant. Many times did the little 
family grow homesick, and long for their 
former home, but they determined to stay 
it out, and began in earnest to clear up the 
little place. The good wife was a great help 
to Mr. Stinemates, giving him her assistance 
whenever needed. On this farm he has 
lived ever since. His children were Laura 
A., who died unmarried at the age of thirty- 
six; Esther A., wife of Hon. P. A. Hamm, 
of Dayton township; Charles F., who died 
in childhood; William T. C, a farmer, of 
Dayton township; Albert M., a farmer, of 
Springwater, Waushara countj" Edgar E., 
a farmer, of Dayton, and Minor W., at 
home. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



86 1 



Mr. Stineniates has been quite successful 
as a farmer, and now owns 400 acres of 
land. Formerly a Democrat, through his 
father's influence, he joined the Republican 
party on its organization, and voted for John 
C. Fremont and later Republican candi- 
dates, but he favors reform, and was a 
strong supporter of the Greenback policy. 
Never in any sense an office-seeker, he has 
held a number of the township and school 
district offices. Mr. Stinemates values his 
own word so highly that it circulates any- 
where among his acquaintances at par value 
or at a premium. He is an accommodating 
neighbor, and a kind parent. He is blessed 
with sons who are prosperous farmers around 
him, and who, thanks to his careful train- 
ing, are as straightforward as himself. As 
one of Dayton's most substantial and high- 
minded farmers, Mr. Stinemates holds an 
endearing place in the hearts of his neigh- 
bors and wide circle of acquaintances. 



EE. STINEMATES is one of the 
younger representatives of agricul- 
tural interests, and one of the native 
sons of Waupaca county, his birth 
having occurred July 7, 1864, in Section 34, 
Dayton township, where his parents, George 
W. and Charlotte (Boyle) Stinemates, had 
located at an early day. The educational 
privileges which he received were those af- 
forded by the common schools, and he gave 
the benefit of his services to his father until 
his removal to his present farm. 

On April 3, 1887, in the township of his 
birth, Mr. Stinemates was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Sarah Barrington, who was 
born in the same township February 24, 
1865, and is a daughter of Alex and Eliza- 
beth (Symco.x) Barrington. Two children 
grace their union — Olive I., born October 
20, 1888, and Erma E., born August 9, 1890. 
Mrs. Stinemates is a member of the Method- 
ist Church of Crystal Lake, and is an esti- 
mable lady, presiding with grace over her 
hospitable home. 

The young couple began their domestic 
life on the old home farm, continuing to live 
with Mr. Stinemate's parents until the au- 
tumn of 1889, when they removed to a farm 



in Section 27, Dayton township. Here our 
subject operates 160 acres of good land, and 
no young farmer in the township is more 
prosperous. He possesses a laudable ambi- 
tion, a resolute spirit and firm determina- 
tion, and whatever he undertakes carries 
forward to a successful completion. He is 
honored and honorable alike, and the word 
of this highly-respected young farmer is as 
good as his bond. 



IVI 



ARCUS MADEL, one of the pro- 
gressive business men of Clinton- 
ville, Waupaca county, where he 
is successfully engaged in the gro- 
cery and restaurant business, was born April 
25, 1 8 58, in Bavaria, Germany, son of Mat bias 
and Anna Mary Madel, also natives of the 
Fatherland. The father worked as a laborer to 
support his family in his native land, and in 
1 87 1 he sailed for America, landing in New 
York, whence he went direct to Kansas. 
There he purchased eighty acres of land, 
but after engaging in farming for less than a 
year returned to his native land, the mother 
and children, however, remaining in the 
United States and removing to Oshkosh, 
Wis., where Mrs. Madel died in 1877, her 
death being the result of an injury caused 
by jumping from a train. She- was twice 
married, and by her first union had the fol- 
lowing children: John, Louise, Andrew, 
Joseph, Anna and Theresa. By her second 
marriage she had four children — Frank, 
Mary, Marcus and Grace. 

When Marcus Madel began to earn his 
living he entered the employ of J. L. Clark, 
of the Oshkosh Match Factory, where he 
continued until January 10, 1880, the date 
of his coming to Clintonville. Here he 
embarked in the saloon business, carrying 
it on for a year, and he was afterward in- 
terested in another saloon for about four 
months, later joining his brother in business 
and purchasing the "Ward House," which 
hotel they successfully conducted for three 
years. Selling out on the expiration of that 
period, he once more established a saloon, 
which he conducted until 1891, when he 
sold out, although retaining possession of 
the building, which he yet owns. In that 



S62 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



year he opened up his grocery and restau- 
rant, which he has since conducted, meeting 
with good success. 

Mr. Madel married Miss Carohne Read- 
inger, of Oshkosh, Wis., by whom he has 
had four children — Meta, Joseph, William 
and Ceceha. In his political views Mr. 
Madel has always been a Democrat, and 
takes a warm interest in the growth and 
success of his party. He has served as 
school trustee, and for some years has been 
a member of the fire department of the city. 
In religious belief he is a Catholic. He is 
public-spirited to an eminent degree, -deeply 
interested in everything that pertains to the 
welfare of the community. [Since the 
above was written we have received infor- 
mation from Mr. Made! that he has dis- 
posed of his business in Clintonville. — Ed. 



JC. QUIMBY is a native of the Buck- 
eye State, born in Mt. Vernon, Kno.x 
county, in 1844. His parents, Omer 
Alonzo and Amanda (Crippen) Ouimby, 
were both natives of Vermont, whence, after 
their marriage, they removed to Licking 
county, Ohio. 

The father of our subject was a farmer 
by occupation. In 1850 he brought his 
family to Berlin, Green Lake Co., Wis., in 
1855 removing to New London, where for 
two years he worked at the blacksmith's 
trade, which he had learned in early life. 
In 1857 he came to Waupaca county, set- 
tling in what was then a part of Union town- 
ship, now Dupont township, and purchasing 
wild land here he opened up a farm, placing 
improvements upon it from time to time, 
and cultivating the tract until it became one 
of the valuable properties of the neighbor- 
hood. He took quite an -active interest in 
politics, supporting the Republican party, 
and for two terms was chairman of Union 
township. He joined the Masonic frater- 
nity in his native State. Mr. Quimby aided 
in the organization of Dupont township, and 
made it his home until life's labors were 
ended, passing away in 1887, at the age of 
eighty-six; his wife died the same year, at 
the age of eighty-four. Of their family, 
David J., the eldest, enlisted at Appleton in 



1861, in Company I, Thirty-second Wis. V. 
I., for three years' service, and was wounded 
near Memphis, Tenn. ; he was a physician 
by profession, and during the yellow-fever 
panic in the South was sent by the State of 
Indiana to relieve the sufferers. Phcebe 
Ann, the next child, is the wife of Louis 
Devaud, a farmer residing in Dupont town- 
ship, Waupaca count}'. George W. was a 
member of Gen. Howard's staff, and served 
through the Civil war, at its close being 
commissioned and placed in command at 
Castle Thunder; he resigned in 1868, and 
located in Appleton, Wis., but is now living 
in Lynch, Neb. , serving as adjuster for the 
extension of the right of way of the Chicago 
& North ^^'estern Railway Company. J. C. 
is the next in the order of birth. Horace is 
living on the old homestead. 

When a child of six years, J. C. Ouimby 
was brought by his parents to Wisconsin, 
and here received his education, being a 
student at Lawrence University, Appleton, 
at the beginning of the Civil war. His 
studies were interrupted by his enlistment 
in the Union army, September 10, 1861, 
and for three years he was with Company 
K, Seventeenth Wis. V. I., which was sent 
to Madison and assigned to the Third Di- 
vision, Seventeenth Army Corps. He took 
part in many important battles, including 
those at Purdy, Corinth, Hatcher's Run, 
Grand Gulf, Champion Hills, Raymond, the 
siege of Vicksburg, Harrisonville, Lookout 
Mountain, Resaca, Kingston, Kenesaw 
Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Ezra Church, 
Jonesboro, Savannah and Pocataligo. He 
then returned home on a furlough, and in 
the fall of 1S63 rejoined his company. In 
February, 1S65, he was sent with Gen. Leg- 
gett to New 'Y'ork to aid in the protection 
of that city, though he had been honorably 
discharged at Pocataligo on January 27, but 
he was sent in the government employ to 
New York, where he was finally discharged 
in March. 

Mr. Ouimby at once returned to Apple- 
ton, and in 1865 and 1866 read law in Wau- 
paca, Wis., entering upon practice in Clin- 
tonville, Waupaca county, in 1867. He 
was elected justice of the peace, assisted in 
the organization of the village, and there 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S63 



made his home until 1880, when he removed 
to Marion, Waupaca county. In 1882 he 
came to Symco, where he has since success- 
fully engaged in the practice of law, enjoy- 
ing a liberal clientage. Mr. Quimby was 
married in 1870 to Mary S. Van Patten, 
who was born in Rock county, Wis. , daugh- 
ter of F. P. and Laura Van Patten, of New 
York, and by their marriage they have four 
children — Matthew H., Mabel, Frederick 
and Jessie. 

Politically Mr. Ouimby is a Democrat, 
and, as every true citizen should do, mani- 
fests a deep interest in public affairs. While 
he was in the army he was elected the first 
town clerk of Dupont township, Waupaca 
county, and has served as chairman, as jus- 
tice of the peace of Symco, and for years as 
health officer. His wife is a notary public. 
Socially, he is connected with J. B. Sted- 
man Post, G. A. R., of Manawa, of which 
he is serving as adjutant. His public du- 
ties are ever faithfully performed, his pri- 
vate trusts are conscientiously discharged, 
and in all the relations of life his conduct 
has been such as to merit the high regard 
in which he is held. During the war he 
was a loyal soldier, and in times of peace 
he is alike true to his duties of citizenship. 



HERBERT L. REED, M. D., an 
active practitioner of medicine at 
Waupaca, Waupaca county, is the 
grandson of one of the earliest pio- 
neers of Winnebago county, Richard Reed, 
who in October, 1847, migrated with his 
wife and family of seven children to the site 
of Omro, \^'innebago county, where a primi- 
tive cluster of white settlers was then form- 
ing. 

The father of Richard was a native of 
Scotland, who had emigrated to the New 
England colonies in ante-Revolutionary 
times and took up arms for the American 
patriots, receiving in one of the battles a 
bullet which he carried with him to the 
grave. In his later life this Revolutionary 
soldier had migrated to New York, where 
his son Richard was born. The latter was 
married in New York to Cynthia Anderson, 
and they had seven children — Luther, Royal, 



Philander, Richard, E'i. '. '\\ ■' an, H. and 
Cynthia. Luther, the ^'Ulcst i.nd, was born 
in New York in I.S23, wj ^ .m.11 educated 
and studied civil engineer!. i^l', and during the 
early pioneer days of ^ ^'isconsin he taught 
school. In 1830 hi; \\.\-: married to Zibah 
Littlefield, wlvi ' , - native of Maine, of 
Irish extrac' on .. !, lighter of Winthrop 
and Emm.i W.r.s L .Uefield. Three chil- 
dren were bom tr I^uther and Zibah Reed, as 
follows: l>i. Herbert L., the subject of this 
sketch; \ illiani A and Cynthia ^I. Luther 
Reed WcS a; • .irnest Republican, and served 
at Omro as ; i\vn clerk and in many minor 
offices. When the call came for volunteers 
to suppress the Rebellion he was among 
those who enlisted, but he was rejected; 
each of his four brothers displayed equal 
patriotism, and served honorably through 
the long civil strife. Luther Reed died in 
1 88 1, a highly-respected pioneer. His wife 
still survives, and now makes her home with 
her daughter, Mrs. Hicks, of Oshkosh. 

Herbert L. Reed, the eldest child of 
Luther and Zibah Reed, was born in Winne- 
bago county June 10, 1853, attended the 
common schools at Omro, and from the 
time he was si.\teen worked out on a farm 
or taught school. He aspired to a higher 
education and to a professional life, and at- 
tained it mainly through his own unaided 
efforts. In 1875, ^t the age of about twenty- 
two years, he entered the office of Dr. Har- 
vey Dale as a student of medicine, and, after 
reading with him three years, attended lec- 
tures for two years at Hahnemann Medical 
College, Chicago. His preparatory studies 
thus closed, the young physician opened an 
office at Waupun, Wis., in about 1881, and 
remained in active practice there for six and 
a half years, in 1888 removing to Waupaca, 
in which flourishing city he has since built 
up a large and lucrative practice. 

Dr. Reed was married, in 1876, to Miss 
Marilla Calkins, who was born in New York. 
Her parents, Volney and Harriet (Cole) 
Calkins, were both natives of that State, and 
in 1858 migrated to Wisconsin, settling on a 
farm in Waupaca county with their four 
children — Marilla, Viola, N'iletta and Mary. 
To Dr. and Mrs. Reed three children have 
been born: Earl, Jessie and Ethel V. In 



864 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



politics Dr. Reed is a member of that large 
and growing factor of independent voters 
who endeavor to support the men and prin- 
ciples which seem best, regardless of party 
connections. He has served as city physi- 
cian. Mrs. Reed is a member of the M. E. 
Church. 



LARS LARSON. There was a strong 
tide of emigration from Denmark to 
the United States in the years 1867 
and 1868. The great majority of 
the emigrants were well-to-do people in 
their native land, and as a rule they profited 
by the change. Some were without means, 
it is true, but they possessed health and 
strength and good principles. Others were 
property owners, who disposed of their in- 
herited holdings to win broader farms in the 
new land. Of the latter class was Lars 
Anderson, the father of Lars Larson, the 
popular hotel proprietor whose name opens 
this sketch. 

Lars Anderson was a farmer in Den- 
mark, owning the land from which he 
earned his living. But he had a large fam- 
ily, thirteen children — nine sons and four 
daughters — and the little holding would 
have cut but a sorry figure if partitioned 
among so many. Accordingly Mr. Ander- 
son resolved to do as so many of his coun- 
trymen were doing, migrate to a land where 
farms were cheap and opportunities were 
abundant, so he sold his farm in Denmark 
in 1868, and with his family crossed the 
ocean. He settled in Farmington town- 
ship, Waupaca Co., Wis., where he re- 
mained until his death, in 1872. His wife, 
Anna M. Anderson, survived until 1885. 

Lars Larson was fourteen years old 
when he came with his parents to America. 
He was born in Denmark January 19, 1854, 
and in his native land had obtained the 
rudiments of an education. For five years 
after he reached Waupaca county he re- 
mained on his father's farm, and then for 
two years worked during the summer as a 
laborer on the railroad. Arriving at his 
majority, he decided to learn a trade, and 
at Waupaca served an apprenticeship to a 
harness maker, after which he purchased a 



one-half interest in the shop of F. E. Lund, 
and for five years continued thus. Then, 
disposing of his interest, he purchased a 
farm in Belmont township. Portage count}-, 
and for nine years was engaged in the active 
prosecution of agricultural pursuits. In 1S93 
Mr. Larson sold his farm and purchased his 
present hotel property in Waupaca. In 1878 
he was married, at Waupaca, to Pauline Ole- 
son, who was born in Sweden, daughter of 
Lars Oleson, and they are the parents of 
six children — Edith, Ella, Axel, Charles, 
Louis and Hjalmar. In religious connec- 
tion Mr. Larson is a member of the Lu- 
theran Church, and socially he is affiliated 
with the Danish Home and the I, O. O. F. 
In politics he is a Republican, and while 
living in Portage county served as treasurer 
and as clerk of the school board. Lars 
Larson is winning many friends by his geni- 
ality, and by the efficient manner in which 
he provides for the comfort of his many 
guests. He is a self-made man, one who 
has taken advantage of the opportunities 
that crossed his path, and has become an 
active and a prominent factor in the devel- 
opment of the interests of Waupaca county. 



EDWARD MULROY is one of the 
self-made men of Waupaca county, 
and one of the representative and pro- 
gressive farmers of Mukwa township. 
The record of his life is as follows: A na- 
tive of the Emerald Isle, he was born in 
County Mayo in 1822, son of James and 
Ellen (Gavin) Mulroy, also natives of Ireland; 
the former of whom died when Edward was 
quite young, but the mother reared her 
family, keeping them all together. 

The educational privileges which our 
subject received were quite limited, but 
possessing an observing eye and reten- 
tive memory he has, by reading and obser- 
vation, made himself a well-informed man. 
His childhood days were passed upon the 
old home farm in Ireland, and when a young 
man he came with the family to the United 
States, locating in New York State, where 
they lived for about three years. On the 
expiration of that period Mr. Mulroy came 
to Wisconsin and purchased an eighty-acre 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S6s 



farm in Mukwa township, Waupaca county, 
having ever since engaged in agricultural 
pursuits; he has been quite successful in his 
business dealings, his well-directed efforts 
and capable management bringing him pros- 
perity. 

Before leaving the Emerald Isle he was 
married to Miss Katharine Kearney, a na- 
tive of Ireland, and their home was blessed 
by the birth of eleven children, of whom two 
are now deceased. Those still living are: 
Mary, the wife of James Flanagan, a resi- 
dent of Lebanon, Wis. ; Ellen, wife of Sam- 
uel Mash, who is living in New London, this 
State; Edward, at home; Annie, wife of John 
Flanagan, of Maple Creek, Wis. ; Katharine, 
Mrs. William Goff, of Bear Creek, Wis. ; 
Michael and James, who are still upon the 
home farm; Alice; and Lizzie, wife of John 
Jennings, who is located at Northport, Wis- 
consin. 

In his political views Mr. Mulroy is a 
supporter of the Democratic party, and in 
his religious belief he is a Catholic. He 
came to this country a poor man, but has 
steadily worked his way upward, overcoming 
the difficulties and obstacles in his path by 
diligence and perseverance, until he is now 
accounted one of the thrifty and substantial 
farmers of the neighborhood. All who know 
him hold him in high regard, for his life has 
been well and worthily passed, and his 
friends in Waupaca county are many. 



FELIX KOSSEY, one of the leading 
agriculturists of Little Wolf town- 
ship, Waupaca county, was born Feb- 
ruary 25, 1846, in Alsace, France, 
and is a son of Ambrose and Elizabeth (Eg- 
lin) Rossey, farming people, the former of 
whom was a son of John Claude and Eliza- 
beth Rossey. 

Ambrose Rossey served for seven years in 
the French army. In his family were six- 
children, of whom our subject is the eldest; 
Frank, a farmer of Little Wolf township, 
Waupaca county, is married, and has two 
children, Ella and Margaret; Elizabeth is the 
wife of Emil Roemer, a farmer of Royalton, 
Waupaca county, and has seven children; 
August, who is a farmer, of the same place. 



is married, and has three children — Flora, 
William and an infant; Julius is also an agri- 
culturist of Ro5'alton, and has three children, 
and August died in infancy. 

Felix Rossey attended the common 
schools of his native land until fourteen years 
of age, from which time he engaged in farm- 
ing until September, 1865, when, with the 
family he sailed from Havre, France, to the 
New World, arriving at New York, after a 
voyage of sixteen days. At Gallon, Ohio, 
he was employed as a common laborer until 
the following spring, when he came to Wau- 
paca township, Waupaca Co., Wis., the 
father purchasing a farm six miles from the 
city of Waupaca. It was a tract of rich 
and arable land, equipped with good build- 
ings, and there the family lived for a couple 
of years, when they removed to Little \\o\i 
township, buying eighty acres, which was 
heavily covered with timber, though there 
was a substantial residence and outbuildings 
upon the place. At the end of two years 
our subject purchased the farm, and his par- 
ents then bought nine acres, on which they 
erected a dwelling, and where they still re- 
side. The father has now reached the age 
of seventy-seven years, while the mother is 
seventy-five. Religiously they are devout 
members of the Catholic Church, and in pol- 
itics he is a Republican. 

On the 23d of April, 1S74, Felix Rossey 
was married to Josephine Bruley, who was 
born March 27, 1S50, in Keeseville, N. Y., 
daughter of Abraham and Margaret (St. 
George) Bruley, who, since 1867, have re- 
sided in Waupaca county, and now make 
their home in Manawa. Mrs. Rossey is one 
of a famil3^ of eighteen children, only six of 
whom are now living — George, Joseph, W'ill- 
iam, Armelia, Josephine and Louis. Our sub- 
ject and wife have four children: Frank, born 
January 22, 1 875; Caroline, born August 25, 
1886; Eugenia, born September i, 1889, and 
Rosa, born February 28, 1892. 

At the time of his marriage Mr. Rossey 
was living where his brother Frank now re- 
sides, remaining on that place until 1879, 
when he traded it for another farm, and later 
owned several different places, on which he 
made his home until 1888. In that year he 
took up his residence on his present farm, to 



S66 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the cultivation of which he has since devoted 
his time and attention, making it one of the 
best places in the locality. His first Presi- 
dential vote was cast for Gen. U. S. Grant, 
and he has since been an ardent supporter 
of the men and measures of the Republican 
party. In religious faith he and his family 
are Catholics. 



GEORGE TYRRELL, a successful 
farmer and well-known citizen of 
Bear Creek township, Waupaca 
county, was born November 25, 
1844, in Upper Canada, son of John and 
Mary (Le Grue) Tyrrell, the former of whom 
is a son of William and Fannie (Webb) 
Tyrrell. 

William Tyrrell, grandfather of our sub- 
ject, came with his family from England in 
1833 to Cornwall, Canada. Mrs. Fannie 
(Webb) Tyrrell died when her son John was 
but six years of age, the mother of the three 
children — John, George and Joseph. Will- 
iam Tyrrell had one more son, William, by 
another marriage. John Tyrrell was born 
June 15, 1S17, in O.xfordshire, England, and 
had but meager chances for an education, 
ail his training being obtained at Sunday- 
school. When sixteen years of age he came 
with his father to Canada, shortly afterward 
going to St. Lawrence county, N. Y., for a 
time. He served three years — from 1840 
to 1843 — in the British army in Canada. 
On August 20, 1840, he was married in 
Canada to Mary Le Grue, who bore him 
thirteen children, viz. : Adelaide, George, 
Charles, Martha, Mary Ann, Solomon, 
Elizabeth, Electa, John, Carrie, Maria, 
Horace and Lucian, of whom four — Ade- 
laide, Mary Ann, Maria and Horace — died 
in infancy; the others are yet living, all ex- 
cept three in the State of Wisconsin. When 
our subject (George Tyrrell) was but two 
years old, in 1846, Mr. and Mrs. John Tyr- 
rell removed to St. Lawrence county, N.Y. , 
where Mr. Tyrrell farmed on rented land for 
about five years, or until 1851, in which 
year he removed westward to Rockport, 
Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, and there learned the 
carpenter's trade. This he continued to 
follow during his residence in Ohio, and in 



1856 he came to Wisconsin, working at his 
trade in New London for two years, when 
he came to Bear Creek township, Waupaca 
county, and here, in Section 13, purchased 
forty acres of land in its most primitive con- 
dition, for which he paid $150 cash, in 
gold. He had a yoke of oxen, and at once 
commenced the work of clearing, and, hav- 
ing come early in the spring, in March, he 
had five acres sowed to corn, potatoes and 
turnips the first year. The family lived 
with Martin Phillips until a house could be 
constructed. During their early residence 
here Mrs. Tyrrell would shell corn from the 
cob, grind it in a coffee-mill, and make 
mush, which they ate with milk, having 
brought two cows with them from New 
London. Mr. Tyrrell was a very energetic 
and progressive man; he made a cradle and 
fanning-mill, which helped him considera- 
bly in his work, and as an evidence of his 
untiring efforts to push his work it is re- 
lated that on one occasion he walked to New 
London after six o'clock one evening, car- 
ried home a bag of wheat, and had it sowed 
by six o'clock the next morning. In about 
three years after coming here he purchased 
another forty acres, which was also cleared, 
and he yet lives on the homestead, which 
his son Lucian now conducts. Mrs. Mary 
(Le Grue) Tyrrell died in September, 1S90. 
George Tyrrell, being the eldest in the 
family, had but limited opportunities for an 
education, and commenced to work at an 
early age, being reared to agricultural life 
on the pioneer farm. On July 4, 1863, he 
was united in marriage with Jane De Groff, 
who was born March i, 1843, '" Upper 
Canada, daughter of Nicholas and Betsey 
(Greppier) De Groff, who had children as 
follows: Richard, Melissa, Jane, William 
Henry, Allen, Ellen, Harlan, living, and 
Lodina, deceased. By a previous marriage 
Mr. De Groff had five children: Stephen, 
Eliza, Maria, John and Lydia. After mar- 
riage Mr. and Mrs. Tyrrell lived with his 
parents for about three months, when he 
bought forty acres of timberland in Section 
36, on which he lived about five years, clear- 
ing thirty acres of the tract during that time. 
Moving thence to what is now called Bear 
Creek Corners, he kept hotel for two years, 



COMMEMOnATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



86-7 



and since that time he has lived in various 
parts of the township, in 1883 buyingtwenty 
acres of improved land, where he yet makes 
his home. In addition to farming he has 
been engaged in the woods, in river driving, 
and for twenty-three years has conducted a 
threshing machine. In 1888 he erected a 
shingle-mill, which he still operates. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Tyrrell have been born 
ten children, as follows: Arthur, May 4, 
1864; Rhoda, November 11, 1865; Mary 
Ann, November 9, 1867; Olive, Februarj- 

15, 1869; Fletcher, November 25, 1870; 
Rindia, November 29, 1872; Elva, October 
18, 1874; George, Jr., August 25, 1876; 
Luther, April 13, 1879; and Mabel, Feb- 
ruary 28, 1 88 1. They have also an adopted 
daughter, Emma, who was born December 

16, i860, and was adopted by the Tyrrelis 
in 1S63, her father, Mr. Page, having died 
in the arm}'. Our subject has always been 
a stanch Republican in politics, casting his 
first vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. 



OLE C. GURHOLDT, who owns and 
operates a good farm in Scandina- 
\ia township, Waupaca county, 
claims Norway as the land of his 
birth, which occurred in the year 18:^3. His 
parents. Christian and Mattie (Olstad) Gur- 
holdt were also natives of that country, 
and the father was a farmer by occupation, 
carrying on agricultural pursuits until his 
death, which occurred when Ole was about 
six years of age. The mother was thus left 
to rear the family, consisting of four chil- 
dren, as follows: Peter, Ole C., Jacob, and 
Mam (now Mrs. Lars Erickson), all resi- 
dents of Scandinavia township. 

Mr. Gurholdt acquired a good practical 
education in the public schools of his native 
land, and was reared upon the home farm, 
his youthful days being quietly passed. At 
the age of twenty-six he bade adieu to home 
and friends, and sailed for the " land of the 
free," hoping thereby to benefit his financial 
condition. He finally took up his residence 
in ^^'^aukesha county. Wis. , where he was 
employed in various ways for some three 
years, on the expiration of that time coming 
to Waupaca county and purchasing a farm 



in Scandinavia township, where he was 
joined by the other members of the family, 
who emigrated to the United States* The 
mother died at an advanced age, spending 
her remaining days upon this homestead, 
and living to see her children all comforta- 
bly situated in life. The sons engaged in 
clearing the land, and all follow farming as 
a life work. The gentleman of whom we 
write is now the owner of a good tract of 
200 acres, for the most part under the plow, 
and the well-tilled fields yield to him a 
golden tribute in return for the care and 
cultivation he bestows upon them. The 
place is improved with good substantial 
buildings, which were all erected by him, 
and he is recognized as one of the prosperous 
and representative farmers of the community. 
Mr. Gurholdt's marriage to Miss Gunill 
Rasmusson, a native of Norway, was cele- 
brated in Scandinavia township, and their 
union has been blessed with seven children, 
as follows: Otto, Eunice, Mary Dorothea, 
Minnie, Racina, Annie and Olga. Mr. Gur- 
holdt and his famil}' hold membership with 
the Norwegian Lutheran Church, and he 
votes with the Republican party. He is 
numbered among the early settlers of Wau- 
paca county, having located here when Indi- 
ans still roamed through the forests, when the 
woods abounded with wild game, when the 
settlers were widely scattered and when many 
of the now thriving towns and villages had not 
yet sprung into existence. He has seen the 
introduction of the railroads and telegraph, 
has witnessed the growth of the county, 
and has been an iinportant factor in the pro- 
gress of his neighborhood. 



HANS C. ANDERSON is one of the 
self-made men of Tola township, 
Waupaca county. At the age of 
fifteen years he was left fatherless, 
with no capital, and a widowed mother to 
support, but he is now the owner of a good 
property, which has been accumulated by 
his own perseverance and industry. 

Mr. Anderson is a native of Norway, 
born April 30, 1838, and is the only son of 
Andrew Christianson, who was foreman in 
a rope factory in Norway. In the fall of 



S6S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1849 he decided to leave his native land to 
make his home in America, where he be- 
lieved that better opportunities were afford- 
ed for securing a competence. The little 
famil}' boarded the sailing vessel "Clause 
Thomason," which, after a voyage of eleven 
weeks, landed them at New York Cit)', 
. whence the\- proceeded to Waukesha county. 
Wis. Near Pine Lake the father found 
emploj'ment, later removing to Muskegon, 
Mich., where he worked in the pineries, and 
was killed by a falling limb, April 14, 1853. 
After that sad event the mother and son re- 
turned to Waukesha count}-. Wis., whence, 
after a few months, they came with a party 
to Scandinavia. Waupaca county, where 
thej" had relatives living. The trip, which 
lasted eight days, was made with ox-teams, 
the part\" sleeping in the wagons where night 
overtook them. Being then too 3'oung to 
enter the pineries, Mr. Anderson worked for 
a farmer for $5 a month, and later obtained 
a tract of eighty acres of government land 
in Section 34, Tola township, where he and 
his mother removed. The place was en- 
tirely unimproved, and on it our subject 
erected a log house. Game was very plen- 
tiful, and furnished many a meal. He went 
in debt for his farm, but, being strong and 
willing to work, this was soon paid off, and 
he has added to his land until he is now the 
owner of 120 acres, which he has placed 
under a high state of cultivation. 

In i860, in lola, Mr. Anderson was united 
in marriage with Miss Anna Cristofferson, 
who was born in Norway, March 19, 1840, 
and is a daughter of Christopher Olson, who 
came to the United States in 1857, being 
six weeks upon the ocean. To them has 
been born one child — Carrie, now Mrs. Cris 
Johnson, of Helvetia township, Waupaca 
county. His mother, who still resides with 
him, has been blind since 1887. On his 
marriage Mr. Anderson brought his bride to 
the home which they still occupy. He has 
spent as many as twelve years in the piner- 
ies, and in taking lumber down the Wiscon- 
sin and Mississippi rivers as far as St. Louis. 
His life has not been an easy one. as he not 
only supported himself, but also his mother, 
from an early age. He never attended an 
English school, but has gained a fair English 



education by reading and observation. He 
was ambitious to succeed, working early 
and late, and is now reaping the just reward 
of his honest toil, his honest, straightforward 
course having won him many friends, and 
he is held in the highest esteem b\' all who 
know him. 

Mr. Anderson is an earnest supporter of 
the Republican part)', though he gives no 
time to political matters, his business affairs 
requiring his entire attention. Religiously, 
he and his wife hold membership with the 
Lutheran Church of Scandinavia, Wis. In 
the fall of 1 864, at Waupaca, he enlisted in 
Company C, Forty-fourth Wis. V. I., under 
Capt. Vaughn, to aid in the preservation of 
his adopted country. From Madison, Wis.. 
the troops proceeded to Nashville. Tenn. , 
where they were held in reserve during the 
battles in the spring of 1865. At Paducah, 
Ky. , Mr. Anderson was discharged, and re- 
turned home in August of that year. He 
was wounded by a cannon sweeper, which 
accidentall}' struck him, and caused his ab- 
sence from service for some weeks. He is 
a charter member of lola Post, No. 99, G. 
A. R. , in which he is an active worker. 



FREDERICK P. VAN PATTEN is 
numbered among the pioneer settlers 
of Waupaca county, and has been 
identified with its history since the 
days when the frontiersmen followed Indian 
trials through the forest in going from place 
to place. He was born in Albany count), 
N. Y. , July 20, 1820, a son of Peter and 
Magdalena (Relyea) Van Patten. His grand- 
parents were Frederick and Elizabeth (Sea) 
Van Patten, the former of whom follow- 
ed farming, as did also the father of our 
subject. 

Peter Van Patten had children as fol- 
lows: Frederick P. ; Maria, widow of Joseph 
Lee, of Dakota; Sarah, widow of Thomas 
Anderson, who was a farmer of Symco; 
David, a resident of Afton, Rock Co.,\\'is. ; 
Willard, who died in the army; Hiram, a 
carpenter, of Evansville, Wis. ; James, a 
grain buyer, of Sheldon, Iowa; Peter, of 
Evansville, Wis. ; and Jane, wife of \\'illiam 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



869. 



Wilcox, of the same place. The father of 
this family owned sixty acres of land in New 
York, which he traded for 320 acres in 
Rock county. Wis., and the family began 
life anew in the forest, which was yet the 
haunt of deer and wolves. Their first home 
was a rudely-constructed shanty, 16x24 
feet, through which the rain beat, but in a 
short time it was replaced by a more com- 
fortable residence. They had brought with 
them a valuable team of horses, and they 
traveled by wagon from Milwaukee, but as 
the roads were in a very bad condition, it 
required five days to complete the journey. 
The work of clearing and improving the land 
at once began, and during the first year a 
large crop of corn was gathered. Corn meal 
flour was their principal article used in cook- 
ing, but all kinds of wild game could be 
secured, and the Catfish river, on which the 
farm bordered, furnished them with fine fish. 
They had to go thirty miles to mill, and as 
far as Milwaukee for lumber. The children 
all remained at home until they reached 
adult age, but one by one they married and 
left the parental roof, and the parents after- 
ward went to live with them. 

As Frederick P. Van Patten was the eldest 
of the family, his educational privileges were 
necessarily limited, and he was early inured 
to hard labor, passing through all the ex- 
periences of frontier life. He was married, 
February 12, 1846, to Laura Roberts, a na- 
tive of Virgil, Cortland Co., N. Y., born 
February 12, 1824, daughter of William 
and Salina (Elwell) Roberts. Her father 
was a tailor by trade, but on account of ill 
health abandoned that pursuit, and took up 
farming. In 1837 he removed with his fam- 
ily to Warren county. 111., where he pur- 
chased 160 acres of wild prairie land, which 
he proceeded to cultivate, making his home 
thereon until 1846, when he sold, and re- 
moved to Dane county. Wis. There he 
purchased a quarter-section of land, part 
prairie and part timber, but was not long 
permitted to enjoy his new home, his death 
occurring in 1848. His wife passed away in 
1S72. Their children were Clarissa and 
Ezra, deceased; James C, of Illinois; Har- 
riet and Ira Norman, deceased; Darius, of 
Canton, 111.; Mrs. Van Patten; Nancy, who 



died at the age of fourteen; and Mary, who 
died at the age of thirteen years. 

Our subject and his wife have a family 
of six children — Charles; Mary, wife of J. 
C. Quimby; Hattie, wife of Marshall S. 
Baldwin; Ella; Cassie, wife of Byron Bald- 
win; and Jennie. The parents are faithful 
and leading members of the Methodist 
Church, in which Mr. Van Patten has been 
steward and trustee, while for thirty years 
he has served as classleader, and is now 
Church treasurer. In politics he is a Pro- 
hibitionist, and has filled the office of super- 
visor. Mr. Van Patten has made farming 
his life work. At the time of his marriage 
he purchased eighty acres of the old home 
farm, on which he resided for nine years, 
when he sold it and became the owner of 
160 acres of land in Springville, Adams Co., 
Wis. Of that about forty acres were broken, 
the remainder being in its primitive condi- 
tion. When the Civil war broke out Mr. 
Van Patten sold his farm and rented land 
until about 1866, when he came to Wau- 
paca county, and bought eighty acres of 
timber land in Section 36, Union township. 
He was one of the first settlers of that lo- 
cality, and in its improvement and upbuild- 
ing he has borne an important part. His 
son Charles now conducts the home farm, 
which he had operated continuously from 
the time of his purchase until 1883, in that 
year he retiring from active life, and remov- 
ing to Symco to enjoy the rest which he so 
truly earned and richlj' deserves. He is a 
conspicuous figure in the history of the com- 
munity, and the name of Frederick Van 
Patten deserves an honored place in this 
volume. 



PATRICK MULVEY, a farmer of Bear 
Creek township, Waupaca county, 
was born February 25, 1824, in. 
County Leitrim, Ireland, a son of 
Henry and Rebecca (Masterson) Mulvey,. 
who were of Irish and Danish descent re- 
spectively. They had a family of seven' 
children, namely: Patrick, Michael, Jane, 
Agnes, Francis, Henry and William. 

In 1848 Patrick Mulvey sailed for Amer- 
ica, landing in New York after a voyage of. 



870 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



three months and three daj-s. His sister 
Jane, who had preceded him to America, 
was hving in Rochester, N. Y. , and thither 
he went, remaining some years, engaged in 
peddUng tinware, a vocation which he fol- 
lowed many 3'ears. On March 28, 1853, 
he was united in marriage with Ann Chap- 
man, a second cousin of Gen. Scott, who, at 
the time Mr. Mulvey came to America, was 
fighting in the Mexican war. Five children 
were born to them, as follows: Jane Re- 
becca, February 2, 1854; John P., March 
30, 1855; William H., December 31, 1856; 
Francis, January 8, 1859; and Stephen, De- 
cember 26, 1 86 1, only one of whom, Fran- 
cis, is now living. 

After remaining in Rochester till 1854, 
engaged in the grocery business, which he 
disliked, Mr. Mulvey went to Perry, N. Y. , 
and again took up peddling, subsequently 
removing to Pavilion, N. Y. In the mean- 
time Mr. Mulvey's father had come to Amer- 
ica, settled in Pavilion, spending the re- 
mainder of his life there. In about 1862 
Mr. Mulvey went to Simcoe county, Cana- 
da, and again engaged in peddling, but after 
a residence in Canada of a year and a half 
came to Holland, Shebojgan Co., Wis., 
living there one year, and then moving to 
Lima, in the same county (where his broth- 
er Frank was living), rented a farm. -Dur- 
ing this time, on November 27, 1864, Mrs. 
Mulvey died, and on May 25, 1865, our sub- 
ject again married, taking for his second 
wife Bridget Hynes, a lady of Irish descent. 
By her he had two children: Ann, born 
June 20, 1868, and Charles, born June 20, 
1868, the former of whom is the wife of A. 
J. Damon, a carpenter, of Bear Creek sta- 
tion. Frank has remained at home, and 
now cares for the farm. Mr. Mulvey bought 
forty acres of partly-improved land, which 
he afterward sold, and then bought other 
land, meeting with great success in these 
ventures. He dealt thus until 1882, when 
he came to Bear Creek township, and bought 
of A. J. Shepardson eighty acres of partly- 
improved land in Section 23, on which he 
began improvements, built a large house, 
and cleared nearly sixtj- acres. On July 24, 
1888, his second wife died of cancer. Po- 
litically Mr. Mulvey is a Democrat. In re- 



ligious affiliation he belongs to the Catholic 
Church, and has been secretary and treas- 
urer of the Church in Bear Creek ever since 
it was built. 



A 



LEXANDER FERAGEX, a leading 
general merchant of Ogdensburg, is 
one of the wide-awake and pro- 
gressive business men of Waupaca 
county. He was born in Norway, August 
14, 1856, a son of A. N. Feragen, who for 
many years has engaged in teaching in his 
native land, and now, though he has reached 
the age of sevent\-six, still follows that pro- 
fession, being principal of a school with 
four teachers under him. 

Alexander Feragen is one of a family of 
six children, three sons and three daughters, 
but is the only member that ever came to 
the United States. He attended the com- 
mon schools until he had reached the age of 
fifteen, when he shipped before the mast on 
the vessel "Queen Louise," doing any work 
he was able to perform. During the two 
years he was aboard that vessel he made 
two trips to America, going both to New 
York and New Orleans, as well as plying 
between Great Britian and Europe. At 
Quebec boarded a ship bound for Bristol, 
England, working his passage to that lat- 
ter port, and thence paid his fare to his 
home. In his native country he then at- 
tended a navigator's school, preparing for a 
government examination, which he success- 
fully passed at the end of four months. 
With this knowledge he became second 
mate on a vessel, on which he remained 
two j'ears, plying between the Mediterra- 
nean ports, England and the United States. 
On leaving that veasel, at the port of St. 
Petersburg, he engaged passage on an En- 
glish steamer, which stopped at Copen- 
hagen, and from that place he returned 
home. For two years and a half he was 
then second mate on the " Broge," trading 
between Great Britan, the continent and 
the United States, after which he entered a 
more advanced navigation school, a govern- 
ment institution of Norway, which he at- 
tended for about seven months, thus fitting 
himself to take charge of all classes of ves- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sels. Becoming first mate on the "Glitner, " 
he spent another two years in pljing be- 
tween the United States and Europe. 

In the fall of 1880 Mr. Feragen return- 
ed to Norwa}', and there remained until the 
following June, when he crossed to the 
United States from Liverpool, England, on 
a Cunarder, which dropped anchor in Bos- 
ton, Mass., July 4, after a thirteen-days' 
voyage. Ogdensburg, N. Y., was his desti- 
nation, but after remaining in that place a 
short time he went to Erie, Penn., where 
he had an acquaintance living, and there 
became watchman on the steamer "Phila- 
delphia," plying between Erie and Chicago. 
After making two trips he secured a position 
on the "Delaware," which belonged to 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and 
on that vessel served as wheelman until 
July, 1882, during which time he made 
several trips between Erie, Penn. , and 
Chicago. He next was given a similar 
position on a lumber barge plying between 
Manistee, Mich., and Chicago, on which he 
remained until August, 1883, when he 
entered the service of the schooner ' ' Ke- 
waunee," as a sailor, making the ports of 
Frankfort, Mich., and Racine, Wis., and 
was on that vessel until navigation closed in 
the fall of 1883. During the following 
winter he was employed in the lumber 
woods of northern Wisconsin, an occupa- 
tion which was entirely new to him. 

In the spring of 1884 Mr. Feragen 
came to Ogdensburg, Wis., where he pur- 
chased of F. Livermore a small stock of 
general merchandise and began business, in 
which he met with excellent success, al- 
though it was his first experience in that 
line. He conducted the business alone 
from April, that year, until September, 
1885, when, on selling out to R. Lamkins, 
he formed a partnership with J. R. Keat- 
ing, and they became the first local dealers 
in produce, grain and potatoes. In the 
spring of 1886 they bought a wagon shop 
which they converted into a store-room, and 
added a stock of general merchandise, car- 
rying on the business under the firm name 
of Feragen & Keating until the fall of 1888, 
when, on the retirement of Mr. Keating, 
L. F. Hopkins was admitted to partnership. 



Since the first of January, 1892, however, 
our subject has been alone in business, and 
receives a liberal patronage. 

In Ogdensburg, November 12, 1884, 
Mr. Feragen wedded Miss Emily Olson, a 
native of St. Lawrence township, Waupaca 
county, and a daughter of M. A. Olson. To 
them have been born three children — Arthur, 
who is now nine years of age; Irwin, five; 
and Inga, one. Mr. Feragen takes an active 
part in politics, and by his vote supports the 
men and measures of the Republican party. 
He served as postmaster of Ogdensburg for 
six years, resigning in February, 1893, and 
giving up the position on the 1 3th of May 
following. Religiously both he and his wife 
are members of the Lutheran Church, while 
socially he belongs to the Odd Fellows 
Lodge at Ogdensburg, No. 211. He is 
straightforward and honorable in all his 
business dealings, enjoying the confidence 
and esteem of his many patrons, and he 
well deserves the success he has achieved, 
for everything he now possesses he has 
acquired through his own industry and 
economy. 



WILLIAM D. WEIDENBECK, one 
of the prominent and representa- 
tive farmers of Little Wolf town- 
ship, Waupaca county, is a native 
of the Fatherland, his birth having occurred 
in Prussia September 18, i860. 

The parents of our subject, Da\id and 
Mary (Bateman) Weidenbeck, were born in 
the same country, where the father was em- 
ployed as a shepherd and miner. In 1862 
the family embarked for the New World, 
and after landing in New York came direct 
to Oshkosh, Wis., where for a time the 
father was engaged in a sawmill, afterward 
for nine years working in a tannery. By his 
first marriage he had one son, Fred, who is 
now a farmer of Texas. Our subject is the 
eldest of the six children born to the second 
union, and is the only one whose birth oc- 
curred in German}-. The others are Lizzie, 
wife of Michael Frohlich, a tailor, of Apple- 
ton, Wis. ; Charles, w-ho makes his home in 
Little Wolf township; Emma, wife of Christ 
Winsten, of Manawa, Waupaca ct)unty; 



872 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



August, of Little Wolf township, and Min- 
nie, who resides in Waupaca. 

^^'illiam D. Weidenbeck received a good 
common-school education. He is yet living 
with his parents, taking care of them in their 
declining days, his father having now reached 
the age of sixty-four, and his mother sixty- 
two. In 1875 the family removed from 
Oshkosh to Little Wolf township, Waupaca 
county, where the father bought eighty acres 
in Section i 3. The trees had been cut away 
from about twelve acres of this tract, but 
the stumps were still remaining and had to 
be taken out before it was ready for the 
plow. Work was at once begun upon the 
farm, on which there was still a debt of 
$1,400, and it took many hard months of 
labor to pay off the same. At the age of 
eighteen years our subject began working in 
the woods, his wages being immediately 
given to his father to be applied in paying 
off the debt. He had labored from early 
morning until late at night, and by his in- 
dustry and good management has a fine farm 
of 120 acres, of which 100 acres are in a 
good state of cultivation. 

On May 5, 1891, Mr. Weidenbeck wed- 
ded Ernestine Bucholz, who was born March 
14, 1870, daughter of August and Christina 
(Klause) Bucholz, natives of Germany. In 
1867 the parents arrived in Oshkosh, Wis., 
from which place they removed to Bloom- 
field township, Waushara Co., Wis., where 
Mrs. Weidenbeck's birth occurred. In the 
family were sixteen children, four of whom 
died in infancy, the others being Edward, 
August, Herman, Alonia, Ernestine, Fred, 
Minnie, Bertha, Henr}, Charles, Lena and 
Clara. After residing in Bloomfield town- 
ship for some ten years, during which the 
father was engaged in farming, the parents 
removed to Saxeville, in the same county, 
where they yet reside. Our subject and his 
wife have one daughter, Elsie Anna, born 
June 25, 1892. 

Mr. \\^eidenbeck is a Democrat in poli- 
tics. He is recognized as an honest man 
and a good citizen, the encourager of relig- 
ious institutions, being a member of the Lu- 
theran Church, in which he takes an active 
interest, and during the year 1894 served as 
church treasurer. 



WILLIAM HARDERN. To this 
enterprising resident of Dayton 
township, Waupaca count}', is due 
the credit of introducing upon an 
extensive scale the breeding of strictly high- 
grade cattle and sheep in Waupaca county. 
The products of his stock farm have at- 
tained a wide reputation, and are sold in 
many States. 

Mr. Hardern's connection with the af- 
fairs of Waupaca county has been compar- 
atively recent. He was born at Nantwich, 
Parish of Huff, Cheshire, England, son of 
John and Elizabeth (Edwards) Hardern, 
and the youngest of three children — -John, 
Elizabeth and William — Elizabeth still liv- 
ing in Nantwich, England. The father was 
a farmer of the better class, and a member 
of a well-to-do family. William was reared 
on the farm, and at the age of twenty-two 
married Mary Edwards, a native of Che- 
shire, and daughter of \\'illiam Edwards, a 
wealthy farmer and cattle dealer. .After 
marriage Mr. Hardern lived for a time 
upon his father's farm, and then removed to 
" Sidway Hall," a beautifully located coun- 
tr}- place. In December, 1873, on account 
of his wife's and daughter's declining health, 
he concluded to emigrate to America. 
Making a prospecting trip on the " Ger- 
mania " in that month, he proceeded direct- 
ly to \'inland township, "\Vinnebago Co., 
Wis., where he had friends, and then to 
Waupaca county. Next visiting Canada, 
and traveling over much of that Dominion, 
he returned to England, and in the spring 
of 1 874 left his native land with his family 
for Waupaca county. Hesitating between 
the purchase of the " \'aughn farm" in 
Waupaca township and his present farm of 
200 acres in Section 7, Dayton township, 
he finally selected the latter, and moved to 
it with his wife and family, then consisting 
of six children, in June, 1874. There Mrs. 
Hardern died in September, 1880, and is 
buried in Pleasant Valley Cemetery. Mr. 
Hardern has also lost two children since liv- 
ing in Dayton township. The surviving 
children are Frank (a farmer of Dayton), 
and Sarah A., William E. and Ella M., all 
at home. Upon his settlement in Dayton 
township Mr. Hardern at once began dairy 



COMyrEMOnATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S73 



and stock farming, which he has followed 
ever since. He is a thoroughly scientific 
breeder, well posted on matters relating to 
the breeding of strictly high-grade stock, 
and his present herd of about thirty head of 
registered Shorthorns is one of the finest in 
the State. He has a herd of twenty Leices- 
ter sheep, all registered, and both these in- 
dustries he introduced into Waupaca coun- 
ty. At the State fair in Milwaukee, in 
1S94, he took four first prizes, and at the 
Weyauwega fair he was awarded all the 
prizes in his classes. He ships stock through- 
out Wisconsin, and to many of the neigh- 
boring States. On his own farm Mr. Har- 
dern conducts a factory for the manufacture 
of cheese. 

In politics Mr. Hardern is a stanch Dem- 
ocrat, but is not an office-seeker. He is a 
member of the Episcopal Church, and a 
liberal contributor to its support, but was 
reared under the auspices of the Presbyte- 
rian Church, of which his ancestors were 
members for 160 years or longer. Since 
coming to the United States he has paid 
many visits to his native land, having crossed 
the Atlantic nine times. Mr. Hardern is 
one of Waupaca's most progressive citizens. 
He is thoroughly posted upon the issues of 
the times, and upon all matters of public 
importance. Righteously he deserves and 
has won the esteem of a wide circle of 
friends. While a resident of England he 
was for eight years a member of the Staf- 
ford Cavalry, part of the military reserve of 
England, and for four years served as ser- 
geant. 



HERMAN HOTZ is a leading and in- 
fiuential member of the agricultural 
community of Scandinavia township, 
Waupaca county, where he owns a 
fine farm. He was born in Zurich, Switzer- 
land, March 26, 1848, son of Casper Hotz, 
who carried on farming in that community, 
and was a man of ordinary means. When 
Herman was but a child the family came to 
America, sailing from Havre, France, in 
May, 1854, and at the end of thirty da\s 
set foot on American soil, landing in New 
York. The father had disposed of all his 



' property in the old country, hoping here to 
find a better home for his famih', which con- 
sisted of wife and five children — three sons 
and two daughters. Their first location 
! was in Sauk county. Wis. , but the land 
there was not as cheap as the "Indian 
lands" in Northern Wisconsin, and a year 
later the family came to Scandina\ia town- 
ship, Waupaca count}-. 

It was in May, 1855, that the family 
made the journey, in a covered wagon drawn 
by an ox-team. The mother had died in 
Sauk count}'. They passed many nights on 
the road, sleeping in their wagon, and their 
route la}' through Baraboo, Portage Cit}-, 
Montello, Saxeville, \\'automa and Wau- 
j paca. They were very fortunate in having 
j a good team, for there were few bridges in 
j those days, and they had to ford most of 
the streams. The father bought the right 
to land in Sections 6 and 8, Scandinavia 
township, of a man who had pre-empted it. 
A round-log house had been erected, with a 
birch-bark roof, covered with sod, and this 
was the first home of the famil}- in Wau- 
paca count}-; it contained only one window 
and one door, but it proved a pleasing shel- 
ter after their long and tiresome journey, 
though the country was still in its primitive 
condition, and no clearing whatever had yet 
' been made upon the place. The Indians 
! would often knock at their door, asking for 
' blueberry pie, blueberries growing in abund- 
ance among the small brush in the woods. 
After the farm had been placed imder cul- 
tivation, wheat, corn and oats were the 
main crops, and the wheat, which was gen- 
eral!}- good and could be relied upon, was 
marketed at Gill's Landing and Neenah, 
Wis. In later years another house was 
built, in Section 17, adjoining the old home, 
and there the father passed his remaining 
days with his son Herman, d}-ing April 21, 
1S77, his remains being interred in the 
Scandinaxia Cemeter}-. Of the family of 
five children, Herman is the subject of this 
sketch; Bertha is the wife of William Smith, 
of ("alifornia; Barbara is the wife of Jacob 
Suhs, of the same State; Henr}- conducted a 
harness shop in Amherst, Wis., where he 
died in 1S77; and Gustav is also a resident 
of California. 



874 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Herman Hotz had but a common-school 
education in the United States, learning his 
letters and obtaining the first rudiments of 
an education while living in Sauk county. 
On his arrival in Waupaca county there were 
no schools near his home, so that he at- 
tended the one in the village of Scandinavia. 
Later the farmers of the community made 
contributions of logs, etc., and built the 
school-house which is now in District No. 4, 
where our subject attended the first term, 
the teacher being Sorena Sorensen. He has • 
witnessed the great advancement made in 
the schools, which he fully endorses, and 
desires that the members of his family shall 
have better opportunities in that direction 
than he enjoyed. He did his share of the 
work on the home farm, and remained with 
his father until about eighteen years of age, 
when he was employed by J. H. Leuthold, 
and later by E. Bentzel, as a farm hand. 

On October i, 1871, in Scandinavia, Mr. 
Hotz was united in marriage with Miss Emma 
Hartmann, a native of Jefferson county. 
Wis. , and a daughter of Richard Hartmann, 
whose birth occurred in Saxony, Germany. 
To them have been born eleven children, all 
of whom are at home — Ella, Emil, Lydia, 
Arnold, Henry, Oscar, Selma, Richard, 
Hilda, Winifred and Florence. Ella and 
Lydia are now engaged in teaching. After 
his marriage Mr. Hotz located on the farm 
where he still resides, and he now owns 340 
acres. In 1891 he built a barn, 45x70 
feet, one of the best of the kind in the town- 
ship, and all the buildings on the farm have 
been erected by the family. From its prim- 
itive condition it has been converted into a 
productive and fertile piece of land, and it 
has been brought to its present highly culti- 
vated state by the exercise of great industry, 
perseverance, and excellent management. 
The improvements are all of a substantial 
character, and everything about the place 
denotes prosperity and thrift. Mr. Hotz 
has been quite prominently identified with 
the interests of the community in which he 
lives, and assisted materially in the devel- 
opment of this portion of the county. At 
State and National elections Mr. Hotz gen- 
eral!} supports the candidates of the Demo- 
cratic party, but in local matters he is en- 



tirel}' independent of party lines, voting for 
the men whom he thinks will best fill the 
township and county offices. He has never 
aspired to political preferment, desiring 
rather to give his time and attention to his 
business interests. He bears a high char- 
acter for sterling integrity, and has a fine 
reputation for following systematic methods 
and good business principles, and his credit 
is unquestioned. He and his family are 
members in good standing of the Reformed 
Church. 



JAMES DURANT is one of the worthy 
citizens of Farmington township, Wau- 
paca county, a man highly respected 
by all who know him, and in the his- 
tory of his adopted county he well deserves 
representation. 

Mr. Durant was born in 1843, in Nova 
Scotia, son of Thomas and Margaret (Day) 
Durant, the former of whom was born in 
England, and in early manhood emigrated 
to Nova Scotia, where he met and married 
Miss Day. During their residence in that 
country the following children were born to 
them: William H., who was a soldier in the 
war of the Rebellion, and died in Minnesota; 
Thomas, a farmer of Portage county, Wis. ; 
Charles, who enlisted in the Union army, 
and laid doWn his life on the altar of his 
country; James, subject of this sketch; and 
John, who carries on agricultural pursuits in 
Portage county. Wisconsin. 

When James Durant was only about four 
\-ears old his parents removed to Massachu- 
setts, settling-near Boston, where the father 
worked as a farm hand, supporting his fam- 
ily in that waj' for seven years. On the 
expiration of that period he sought a home 
in the West, hoping thereby to benefit his 
financial condition, and coming to Waupaca 
county. Wis., located in Waupaca township, 
about four miles east of the city of that 
name, which at that time contained only a 
few buildings. The farm on which they 
settled was all wild land, and after cultivat- 
ing it for a time they removed to near Hor- 
tonville, on the New London road, about a 
3'ear later going to Portage county, settling 
near Pipes. The last days of Mr. and Mrs. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S75 



Durant were passed in Lind township, Wau- 
paca county. After cominjj; to the United 
States their family was increased by the 
following children: George, born in Massa- 
chusetts, who now follows farming in Lind 
township; William, born in the old Bay 
State, who is an agriculturist of Lind town- 
ship; Mary, born in Massachusetts, who 
became the wife of Royal Ballard, and died 
in Dakota; and Benjamin, born in Wau- 
paca county, who is a farmer by occupa- 
tion. The father started out in very hum- 
ble circumstances, but by hard labor secured 
a competency, and became one of the sub- 
stantial citizens of his community. His life 
was an honorable, upright one, and he mer- 
ited the high esteem in which he was held. 
In politics he was a Republican. 

The educational privileges which James 
Durant received were e.xceedingly limited, 
for his services were needed upon the home 
farm. At the age of seventeen he offered 
his services to the country as one of its de- 
fenders during the Civil war, but on account 
of his youth he was rejected. On Septem- 
ber 10, 1865, in Portage county. Wis., Mr. 
Durant was united in marriage with Miss 
Jane Velie, who was born January 10, 1848, 
in Steuben county, N. Y. Her parents, 
Peter and Elizabeth (Van Warren) Velie, 
became pioneer settlers of Farmington town- 
ship, having migrated to Waupaca county 
in a very early day. After his marriage Mr. 
Durant lived at home with his parents for a 
short time, and worked in the lumber woods. 
In the fall of 1865 he purchased an eighty- 
acre tract of land in Portage county, and, 
locating thereon in the spring of 1866, made 
it his home until the spring of 1877, since 
which time Farmington township has num- 
bered him among her citizens. He located 
in Section 17, and now owns here a valua- 
ble tract of land of 142 acres, of which 100 
acres are under cultivation. The improve- 
ments were all put upon the farm by him, 
and the buildings stand as monuments to 
his thrift and enterprise. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Durant have been born 
the following-named children: Annie, now 
Mrs. John Horton, of Waupaca; George A., 
at home; Emma, wife of Gust Ceak, of 
Portage countv. Wis. ; and Maggie, Cora, 



James T., Laura, Carrie, Mary and Blanche, 
all of whom are yet under the parental roof. 
The family usually attend the Methodist 
Church, and in the community where they 
live they have many friends. Mr. Durant 
votes with the Republican party, and for six 
years served as director of School District 
No. 2, but has never been a politician in 
the sense of office seeking, though he is in- 
terested in political affairs to the extent of 
supporting by his ballot the principles which 
he believes to produce good government. 
He is a valued citizen of the community, a 
practical and progressive farmer, and 
throughout the neighborhood has gained 
many warm friends. 



GEORGE E. MOORE is one of the 
oldest living settlers in Waupaca 
county, having come to Wisconsin 
as far back as 1843, and to what is 
now Royalton township in 1849. He was 
born in the town of Putnam, Washington 
Co., N. Y. , in 1822, son of James and 
Hannah (Easton) Moore. 

James Moore was born in Scotland, and, 
when twenty- one or twenty-two years of 
age came to the United States, locating in 
Washington county, N. Y., where he mar- 
ried and made a permanent home, following 
the occupation of farming. Mr. Moore and 
his wife both died in New York, she preced- 
ing him to the grave. They reared a family of 
eleven children, two of whom are now living, 
and five of whom came west, four coming 
to Wisconsin, as follows: John came to 
Waupaca county in 1850, and died at Roy- 
alton, Waupaca county, in 1880; George E. 
is the pioneer whose history is here outlined; 
Henry came to Marathon county in 1 840, 
engaged in lumbering, and died in St. 
Charles, Kane Co., 111.; Andrew came to 
Waupaca county with George E. in 1849, 
and died in St. Charles, 111., in 18540^855. 
Margaret is the widow of W. F. Moore, of 
St. Charles, 111., and she and her brother, 
George, are the only members of the family 
now living. 

George E. Moore was reared in Washing- 
ton county, N. W, and educated in its 
schools. At the age of twenty-one he set 



876 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



out for the West, coming direct to Chicago, 
and thence on foot to Grand Rapids, Wis., 
in the year 1843. He was on the upper 
Wisconsin river, kimbering, from Grand 
Rapids to Wausau, Wis., for two years, and 
then at Mosinee, Wis. , operating a mill. After 
being on the Wisconsin river six years in all, 
he went to Royalton township, at that time 
(1849) not named or surveyed [this was 
then all Indian land; the treaty had been 
made only the year before, and the Indians 
had not yet been removed], located in what 
is now Little Wolf township, and engaged in 
lumbering and milling. In the winter of 
1849-50 Mr. Moore built a sawmill, and 
after operating it two years, came, in 1852, 
to what is now Royalton township, Waupaca 
county, bought a sawmill, to which he built 
an addition, and engaged in the manufacture 
of shingles and lumber for man}- }ears, till 
about 1873, when he sold the mill. He was 
the founder of the village of Royalton, which 
he laid out in 1855 or 1856, and in connec- 
tion with a brother gave employment in the 
mill to an average of twent\' men or more. 

At Roj'alton, Waupaca county, in 1864, 
George E. Moore married Mrs. Mary (Hulse) 
Phillips, who was born in New York, widow 
of Bradford Phillips. Two children were 
born to them: Alice, wife of Charles Mather, 
of State Line, Wis., and Maud, who is at- 
tending the State Normal School at Oshkosh, 
Wis. Mrs. Moore had two sons by her 
former marriage: Milton, an attorney at 
law, w-ho is married and resides at Oshkosh, 
Wis., and Clarence, also married, who re- 
sides at Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 

After the sale of the mill, in 1873, Mr. 
Moore engaged in farming in Royalton. He 
bought a timber tract of two hundred acres 
adjoining the village, cleared it, and built a 
good residence on the farm, where he made 
his home for fifteen years, and carried on gen- 
eral agriculture. In early life Mr. Moore 
was a Whig, afterward becoming a Republi- 
can, and he still takes an interest in politics. 
He was the first chairman of Royalton town- 
ship, and was also a member of the county 
board and chairman for one term. During 
the war he was postmaster of Royalton, was 
a member of the Legislature in 1871, and 
has held other offices of responsibility and 



trust. Mr. Moore is widely and favorably 
known, has been interested in advancing the 
prosperity of the county, and no man has 
been more familiar with its changes from 
the forest where roamed the Indian to culti- 
vated fields. 



PETER RASMUSSEX. There are 
men who are fitted by nature to toil 
patientl)' and contentedly in a narrow 
sphere of life. There are others who 
have a wider grasp of mind, and who under- 
take greater things, who not onl)' perceive 
the more important works to be accom- 
plished, but who possess likewise the capaci- 
ty to control and direct men, and to lead to 
a successful conclusion the operations which 
they assume. In this latter class must be 
ranked Peter Rasmussen. He is still a young 
man. not yet thirt\- years of age, but he has 
already widened his horizon of life bejond 
that of most men at fifty. He is a mason by 
trade, and he might have remained a mason 
for life, but the opportunity presented itself 
to him to climb upward just as opportunities 
present themselves to every man, and he rose 
by the most natural route. He became a 
contractor, and is to-day one of the most act- 
ive and energetic contractors and builders 
in the Northern Wisconsin Valley. 

Mr. Rasmussen was born in Denmark 
May 30, 1867, son of Mats and Mary (Peter- 
son) Rasmussen, in whose famil\- were five 
children — Trena, Sophia, Peter, Henry and 
Christina; the elder three were born in Den- 
mark, the other two in America. It was in 
1869 that Mats Rasmussen, also a mason by 
trade, determined to make an important move 
in life, to cross the ocean with his family, and 
dwell in a land where chances of success 
were said to be better. He first settled in 
Calumet county. Wis., and in 1882 he moved 
to Waupaca. Peter, the elder son, received 
a fair education in the schools of Wisconsin, 
but quite early in life he learned the trade of 
mason with his fatlier, and worked with him 
most of the time, until he reached his ma- 
jority. About 1 890, when scarcely twenty- 
three years of age, he began to contract for 
work on his own responsibility; sometimes 
his father would be jointly interested in the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



877 



contract, but gradually the young man as- 
sumed full charge of his own operations, and 
the father has since retired from business. 
Mr. Rasmussen employs about fifty-five car- 
penters and masons, and now has contracts 
throughout many counties in northern Wis- 
consin, each year increasing his acquaint- 
anceship, and the scope of his operations. 
On May 29, 1894, he was married to Su- 
sie Hanson, a native of Norway, who, when 
a child, lost both parents in her native land. 
Mr. and Mrs. Rasmussen are members of the 
Scandinavian M. E. Church, and he is now 
chairman of the Church board. In politics 
Mr. Rasmussen is liberal. Socially he is an 
active member of the I. O. O. F. 



JOHN ESCHENBACH, an intelligent 
and energetic farmer, and a substantial 
and reliable citizen of St. Lawrence 
township, Waupaca county, was born 
in Germany, February 8, 1855, and is one 
of a family of five children, three sons and 
two daughters. His father, John Eschen- 
bach, who was born January 10, 18 10, was 
a farmer in the Fatherland. 

Our subject was the youngest son, and 
after attending the common schools from 
the age of seven to fourteen years, he en- 
tered an advanced school, which he attend- 
ed two \ears. He then went to work 
in Berlin, being employed in a bottling 
works in that city for two years, after which 
he returned home and worked as a farm 
hand for about three years. Purchasing a 
horse and wagon, he was engaged for a year 
in buying butter, eggs and other farm pro- 
duce throughout the country, which he 
shipped to Berlin. On February 15, 1878, 
Mr. Eschenbach wedded, in Germany, Lor- 
etta Lebka, who was born August 25, 1843, 
daughter of Gottlieb Lebka, an agriculturist 
of that countr}-. For three years after his 
marriage our subject rented land, which he 
afterward purchased, following farming un- 
til the fall of 1883. After selling out his 
possessions and securing all the money pos- 
sible he concluded to come to the United 
States, where he hoped to find better 
chances, for it seemed as if a lifetime must 



elapse before he would be able to pay off 
the mortgage on his farm. So with his 
family, consisting of wife and three children, 
he bade farewell to home and friends, 
and at Bremen embarked on the steamer 
"Rhine" for New York. After thirteen 
days upon the Atlantic they set foot on 
American soil, and their fare being paid to 
Oshkosh, Wis., they at once proceeded to 
that city, where Mrs. Eschenbach's sister 
Amelia was living. 

On his arrival in this country Mr. Eschen- 
bach could not speak a word of English, 
and it was impossible to secure work until 
the following spring, when he found em- 
ployment in Gould's planing mill, taking 
lumber from the planer. His employment 
continued through the summer, but during 
the winter of 1884-85, he was compelled to 
lie idle, as he could find nothing to do. 
His next work was at laying sewers, and 
later he was engaged in Foster's lumber 
yard, loading wagons. He remained in 
Oshkosh for about two years and a half, 
during which time he had purchased a house 
and two lots in that city, which, in the fall 
of 1885, he traded for 160 acres of land in 
Section 3, St. Lawrence township, the prop- 
erty belonging to P. O. Peterson, and March 
10, 1886, removed to this farm. A small 
log house, 16 X 26 feet, was their first home, 
and thirty acres of the tract were partially 
cleared, Isut full of stumps, and in anything 
but a first-class condition. Anxious for a 
home, however, he went to work with a 
will, but ill luck seemed to follow him — the 
team he had bought was broken, his cow 
died after a few weeks, and another horse 
died the same summer Two dry seasons 
followed, and it was with ditiiculty that Mr. 
Eschenbach could support his family. Dur- 
ing the winter seasons he would work in the 
lumber woods, and in the winter of 1886-87 
he hewed 1600 ties and cut 60,000 feet of 
logs. Instead of discouraging him, his losses 
I only seemed to inspire him with renewed 
! energy, and he bravely worked on until 
i these hardships were overcome, and he is 
i now the possessor of 200 acres of good land, 
j ninety of which he has placed under the 
I plow. In 1893 he erected a very comforta- 
i ble and convenient home, which is sur- 



878 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



rounded b}' all the outbuildings and acces- 
sories which go to make up a model farm. 
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Eschenbach 
has been blessed with five children, the two 
younger being born in this country, the 
others in Germany, as follows: Augusta, 
born August 22, 1879; Martha T. , born 
August 14, 1 881; Johanna, born January 
10, 1883; Alvina, born May 6, 1885; and 
Theresa, born October 15, 1888, in St. 
Lawrence township, ^^'aupaca county. The 
parents are members of the Lutheran Church 
of Symco, Wis. Mr. Eschenbach is en- 
tirely independent of party lines in politics, 
his onl}^ criterion in such matters being 
whether any measure is for the benefit of 
the county in which he lives, or is calcu- 
lated to elevate society at large. He is 
practically what is termed a self-made man, 
having overcome the many difficulties and 
obstacles in his path until he is now the 
possessor of a handsome competence, and 
by his sterling worth and integrity he has 
gained many friends in this community. 



JOHN DIMMOCK, Sr., a leading and 
prominent agriculturist of lola town- 
ship, Waupaca county, is a native of 
England, born in Somersetshire, Jan- 
uary 18, 1829, a son of James and Ann 
(Lock) Dimmock, the latter a daughter of 
John Lock. There were eleven children in 
the family — six sons and five daughters — 
but our subject is the only one who ever 
came to America. He has one brother, 
Frederick, who lives in Australia. The 
parents, who spent their entire lives in Eng- 
land, have now passed away. 

Mr. Dimmock received a meager educa- 
tion in his native land, and at an earl\- age 
began to earn his own living, at first only 
receiving three shillings per week, out of 
which he had to board himself. At the age 
of fourteen he went to the Isle of Guernsey, 
where he became coachman for a French 
lady, having always been used to horses, 
and quite an expert in managing them. At 
one time it was the intention of Mr. Dim- 
mock to go to Australia, but at the age of 
twenty-one he left Portsmouth, England, on 
board the sailinsr vessel "Sir Robert Peel," 



bound for New York, which he reached after 
being five weeks upon the broad Atlantic. 
He brought with him a recommendation 
from his former mistress, and it was his in- 
tention to obtain a position as coachman in 
Boston, but he changed his mind and went 
to Batavia, Genesee Co., N. Y. In that 
county he found work with a German farmer 
by the name of Brinkerhoff, with whom he 
remained for six months, receiving $11 per 
month. For the next two years he was then 
employed by the day at farm work in that 
section of New York. 

At the end of that time Mr. Dimmock, 
taking the advice of friends, came to Racine, 
Wis., making the journey by the lakes from 
Buffalo, and landing at Racine at the end of 
ten days. His first work was at " firing " a 
furnace. In the following spring he hired 
out to Lyman and Perry Dutton, brothers, 
for one year, at $20 per month, boarding 
himself, and on the expiration of that time 
came to lola township, Waupaca county, 
where several acquaintances were living. He 
had at that time $75 and a cow. which lat- 
ter was brought here by a man hired for the 
purpose. At the end of one month, how- 
ever, he returned to Racine, going by con- 
veyance to Gill's Landing, on Wolf river, 
and thence by boat. At the end of one year 
Mr. Dimmock again came to lola and pur- 
chased forty acres of wild land in Scandi- 
navia township, Waupaca county, intending 
to live thereon. He paid all but $100 on 
the same, for which he had to give twelve 
per cent, interest, and after working some 
time, and being unable to pay olT the debt, 
he sold out. He had already paid $36 in- 
terest. He then bought in the village of 
lola, and built a log house, which was the 
first home he had had since coming to this 
country. 

On the Isle of Guernsey Mr. Dimmock 
had married, in 1851, Miss Mary Grieves, a 
native of France, and before coming to the 
New World a son had been born — John, Jr., 
who is now a farmer of lola township. The 
wife died the same day and hour that Presi- 
dent Grant passed away, and was buried in 
lola Cemetery. After their arrival here the 
family circle had been increased by the birth 
of four children — Frederick, a farmer, of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



879- 



lola township; Susan, wife of Adelbert Hatch, 
a hardware dealer, of lola; Mary, who be- 
came the wife of Thomas Parker, and died 
in lola, and George, who died at the age of 
two years. In i 886 Mr. Dimmock wedded 
Miss Anna Biedermann, and to them has 
been born a son, William, who is still at 
home. In 1862 Mr. Dimmock became the 
owner of forty acres in Section 24, lola 
township, on which not a stick had been cut 
or an improvement of any kind made, and 
at first he worked on the river and in the 
lumber woods inorder to support the family, 
as the farm was non-productive. He spent 
eighteen winters in the pineries, and almost 
as many seasons on the Wisconsin, Little 
Wolf and Plover rivers. In the fall of 1864 
he entered the service of the United States 
government, and went to Nashville, taking 
charge of horses and driving teams, at which 
he served until the close of the war, when 
he returned home. At one time he owned 
160 acres, and still has in his possession 100 
acres, one of the best farms of the commu- 
nity. He is one of the most highly-respected 
citizens of Waupaca count\-, where his ac- 
quaintance is extensive. 

Politically, Mr. Dimmock is a Republi- 
can, though no politician in the sense of of- 
fice-seeking, and cast his first Presidential 
vote for John C. Fremont. At one time he 
was a member of the Church of England. 
On May 16, 1893, he left lola for his native 
country, taking passage on board a steamer 
of the Cunard line, and after nine days land- 
ed at Liverpool. He spent three months in 
visiting the scenes of his boyhood days, 
which had so changed that it caused more 
sadness than pleasure, everything being so 
different that he could not have been induced 
to remain. He returned home on the " City 
of New York," from Southampton, being 
only seven days on the water. 



THOMAS L. TRULL, one of the sub- 
stantial and representative citizens of 
Dayton township, Waupaca county, 
is a self-made man. He was born 
in Greenwood, Oxford Co., Maine, February 
16, 1833, son of Griffin S, and Hannah 
(Furlong) Trull, the former of whom was a 



blacksmith by trade, but later in life follow- 
ed farming. Both parents lived to a good 
old age, and died in Greenwood, Maine. 
The family consisted of the following chil- 
dren: Lucinda, who was married and died 
in New Hampshire; Thomas L. ; Henry, who 
enlisted in the army in Maine, and died 
at Washington, D. C. ; Alanson M., of Fitch- 
burg, Mass; Edwin, who died when a 
young married man; Sarah, who married 
Ned Adams, of Nashua, N. H ; Mary, now 
Mrs. Fletcher, of Manchester, N. H. ; Austin, 
of Fitchburg, Mass.; John, of Trull, Colo., 
the postoffice there recei\ing his name; and 
Uriah, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. 

Thomas L. Trull is now the oldest living 
child, and the only representative of his 
father's family in Wisconsin. The district 
schools in the mountainous regions of Maine, 
where he was reared, were elementary, and 
his education was therefore meager. But, 
as the eldest son in a large family, an abund- 
ance of work and responsibility fell to his 
lot. He was raised a farmer's boy, and 
after he reached the age of eighteen hired 
out to farmers in Maine and New Hampshire, 
during the winters often going to the lum- 
bering camps. He was married, at Green- 
wood, Maine, May 5, 1861, to Miss Emma 
Shirlej-, who was born at Calais, that State, 
December 12, 1836, the daughter of Moses 
and Elizabeth (Nesbet) Shirley. Moses Shir- 
ley was a mason by trade. He died at the 
age of forty, leaving a widow and large 
family; but the mother succeeded in keeping 
the little ones together, and lived to the 
age of sixty-three years. Of the ten children 
only two remain: Mary, now Mrs. John Bailey, 
of Shell Lake, Wis., and Mrs. Trull. 

During the summer after his marriage 
Mr. Trull worked as a farm hand, and his 
wife worked in cotton mills at Lewiston, 
Maine, and elsewhere. Resolving to make 
for himself a home in the West, he left 
Lewiston, in April, 1862, for Wisconsin, 
reaching Dayton township. Waupaca county, 
by stage. Here some acquaintances and 
relatives had preceded him. Though he 
had some savings he did not at once invest 
in land, but for a year worked as a farm 
hand for Elder Ashmun. and for E. G. Fur- 
long, his cousin. In the spring of 1863, his 



SSo 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



■wife joined him, and he purchased eighty 
acres of partially-improved land in Section 
1 8, Dayton township, on which stood a log 
Jiouse, 16x20 feet. Mr. Trull purchased 
his farm on time, and added to his future 
obligations by the purchase of an o.\-team, 
but before many years he was able to add 
eighty acres to his original purchase. In 
February, 1865, Mr. Trull enlisted at Rural 
in Compan}' D, Forty-seventh Wis. V. I., 
the regiment proceeding from Madison to 
Louisville, Ky. . thence to Nashville and to 
TuUahoma, Tenn. At the close of the war 
he was discharged at Nashville, in Septem- 
ber, 1865. 

The three children of Mr. and Mrs. 
Trull are Ervin P., born Februarj' 27, 1864, 
a mason and farmer, of Waupaca, who is 
married to Eva Jones, daughter of Merrit 
Jones, and has one child, May; Edgar L. , 
of Dayton township, and Eva E., wife of 
William R. Johnson, of Dayton. In politics 
Mr. Trull has always been a Republican. 
Both he and his wife are members of Grant's 
M. E. Church, in Belmont township, of 
which he is also trustee. He has held 
olifices in the school district, but is not an 
office-seeker. Essentially a self-made man, 
he has won his competency by intelligent 
and unflagging hard work, and the success 
.he has met with has been well-deserved. 



LOUIS C. BOWERS, who is account- 
ed one of the leading and influential 
citizens of Marion, has been a resi- 
dent of Waupaca county since 1867. 
He was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, 
May 18, 1852, son of Louis and Mary 
(Misch) Bowers, both of whom were of Ger- 
man birth, and. emigrating to America be- 
fore marriage, located in Ohio. The father 
was a carpenter by trade, and after his mi- 
gration to Wisconsin, in 1856, engaged in 
the sawmill business in We3"auwega. Sub- 
sequently he purchased land, and devoted 
his energies to the improvement of the new 
farm until 1866, when he went to Oshkosh, 
-coming thence to Marion the following year. 
A sawmill frame was about the only im- 
^provement on the site of the town, no roads 



had been cut, and all was in its primitive 
condition. 

Mr. Bowers secured 160 acres of timber 
land, which he at once began to clear, and 
the family lived with a settler near by until 
a log cabin, covered with cedar shakes, 
could be built. He had no team, and was 
compelled to do his logging by hand. With 
such primiti\e implements as were at his 
command, he carried on the work of the 
farm, and .afterward bought a yoke of o.xen. 
which was of great help to him in his labors, 
and in going to market and mill, for he had 
to do his trading at New London or Wau- 
paca, and the nearest gristmill was seven- 
teen miles away. At last success crowned 
his efforts, and he became the possessor of 
a comfortable property. His death occurred 
April 28, 1884, and was mourned by a wide 
circle of warm friends. His wife still sur- 
vives him, and has reached the ripe old age 
of seventy-seven. In the family were three 
children — Louis C.; Mary, deceased; and 
Henry, a farmer of Dupont township. 

Louis C. Bowers aided his father in all 
the work of the farm, and is familiar with 
the arduous task of clearing and improving 
new land. The experiences of life on the 
frontier were the principal part of his early 
life, and he continued on the old homestead 
and cared for his parents, to-day giving to 
his mother a pleasant and comfortable 
home. He remained upon the old farm un- 
til 1886, in which year he sold that property 
and came to Marion, where he has since en- 
gaged in the saloon business, and the store 
building and lot on which it is situated form 
a part of his possessions. In his political 
affiliations Mr. Bowers is a Republican, hav- 
ing supported that party since attaining his 
majority. He has served as township as- 
sessor, and for six years was treasurer, prov- 
ing a most capable and efficient officer. 
Sociallv, he is connected with Marion Lodge 
No. 256, I. O. O. F. 

Mr. Bowers was married, in 1878, the 
lady of his choice being Miss Anna Granger, 
daughter of William and Rebecca Granger, 
who were of English descent. They began 
their domestic life on the old farm, and now 
have a pleasant home in Marit>n. Their 
union has been blessed with eight children 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



SSi 



— Mary A., Edna, John, Myrtle, Grace, 
Walter, Lora and Herbert, and the family 
circle yet remains unbroken. 



JAMES SWAN is a native of Canada, 
born in the Province of Quebec, No- 
vember 24, 1838. His parents, Thomas 
and Martha (Mcjennett) Swan, were 
both natives of Scotland, and during: their 
residence in Canada four children were born 
to them — James, Thomas, Jane and Janet. 
About 1848 Mr. and Mrs. Swan brought 
their family to Wisconsin, settling in \'in- 
land township, \\'innebago count}', where 
the father secured eighty acres of wild land. 
The city of Oshkosh was then a mere ham- 
let, composed of only a few cabins, and the 
work of progress and civilization seemed 
scarcely begun in this section of the coun- 
try. Upon his claim Mr. Swan resided un- 
til his removal to Portage county, where he 
yet makes his home, having now reached 
the advanced age of eighty-three years. 
During his entire residence in the last-named 
county he has lived uj)on only one farm, 
and he is an honored and respected citizen 
of the community. In 1889 he was called 
upon to mourn the death of his wife, who 
passed away at the age of seventy-si.\ years, 
and he is now living with a son. After com- 
ing to the Badger State the family was in- 
creased by the birth of the following chil- 
dren — Robert, Thomas, Martha, Elizabeth, 
William and John D. 

James Swan was only about ten years 
of age at the time of the coming to Wis- 
consin. The experiences and pri\ations of 
pioneer life form an interesting chapter in 
his life history. He received but meager 
educational privileges, for he was the eldest 
son and his services were needed at home 
upon the farm, where he continued to work 
with his father until the time of his mar- 
riage. On January i, 1861, in Portage coun- 
ty, Wis., he wedded Miss Elizabeth Bees- 
ley, a native of Wales, who was born July 
18, 1844, and came to the United States 
with her parents, Cornelius and Charlotte 
(Parkerj Beesley, when she was but six 
\ears of age. Her father became one of 
the early settlers of Dayton township, Wau- 



paca county, ancT there for the most part 
her earl}- days were passed. Upon his mar- 
riage Mr. Swan rented a farm in Farming- 
ton township, and operated the same for 
about a year, when his agricultural pursuits 
were interrupted by his enlistment in the 
army. In October, 1864, he responded to 
the country's call for troops, and became a 
member of Company C, Forty-fourth Wis. 
V. I., under Capt. Omer D. Vaughn. The 
troops were sent to Nashville, where they 
saw their first active service, and they after- 
ward went to Paducah, Ky., where Mr. 
Swan remained until honorably discharged 
at the close of the war, in August, 1865. 
He was mustered out at Madison, Wis., 
and at once returned to his home. 

In December following Mr. Swan re- 
moved with his family to Republic county, 
Kans. , and secured a homestead claim in 
Richland township. He was one of the 
pioneer settlers of that locality, but he was 
familiar with pioneer life from the experi- 
ences of his boyhood, and he was therefore 
well prepared to meet the different emer- 
gencies that might arise. After eleven years 
spent in the • ' Sunflower State, " he returned 
to Wisconsin on a visit, and as his health 
was poor he decided to remain, disposing of 
his home in Kansas the following year. In 
1877 he purchased eighty acres of land in 
Section 30, Farmington township, a par- 
tially-improved tract, upon which he has 
since made his home, and to the cultivation 
of which he has devoted his energies as his 
health would permit. In 1890 he purchased 
an additional tract of eighty acres, and now 
owns 160 acres of good land, half of which 
he rents. His life has been a busy and use- 
ful one, and his own diligence and enter- 
prise have secured to him the prosperity 
which he now enjoys. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Swan have been born the following chil- 
dren: Charlotte, now the wife of D. D. 
Waite, of Wilkin county, Minn. ; Martha, 
who died at the age of one year; Fannie, 
who is engaged in dressmaking in Waupaca; 
John, who died at the age of two years; 
Mary, who is attending school in Waupaca; 
Thomas C. and Elizabeth, both at home. 

In his political views Mr. Swan has al- 
ways been a stanch Republican since attain- 



882 



COIdMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ing his majority. He has been honored 
with several local offices, having served as 
justice of the peace, and was appointed 
postmaster of the Badger postoffice by Pres- 
ident Arthur, having since acceptably tilled 
that position. He and his wife are faithful 
members of and active workers in the Pres- 
byterian Church, in which he is now serving 
as elder, and for some years he was super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school. He also 
belongs to Garfield Post No. 21, G. A. R. , 
of Waupaca. Since leaving the army he 
has never regained his health, the exposure 
and hardship incident to such a life under- 
mining a constitution that had previously 
been quite robust. He now spends much of 
his time in reading, and leads a quiet and 
unassuming life, yet all who know him es- 
teem him highly for the many e.xcellencies 
of his character. 



HALVOR K. TUBAAS, one of the act- 
ive, prominent and most enterpris- 
ing citizens of lola township, Wau- 
paca county, is engaged in farming. 
His birth occurred in Norway April 14, 1840, 
and he is a son of Kittel Halvorson, who 
was a farmer in ordinary circumstances. 

The mother of our subject died in Nor- 
way, and in the spring of 1854, the father, 
with his five children, took passage on board 
the sailing vessel, "Johanna Marie," which 
at the end of six weeks and three days drop- 
ped anchor in the harbor of Quebec. From 
that city they came via Milwaukee to Rock 
River, Wis., while the father and one son, 
Ole Rittelson, came on to lola township, 
Waupaca county, and selected the land, 
where our subject yet lives, in Section 13. 
The brother then returned to Rock River, 
and brought the family to their new home by 
way of Berlin, Pine River, Waupaca and 
Scandinavia, Wis. A log house about 20 x 30 
feet, was their first abode, and the farm, 
which comprised 360 acres, was entirely un- 
improved. There the father resided until 
his death. May 28, 1868, at the age of seven- 
ty years, and he now lies buried in the Scan- 
dinavia Cemetery. 

Hahor K. Tubaas was the third son and 
fourth child of the familv, and was but four- 



teen on his arrival in the New World. At 
that time no schools had yet been estab- 
lished in the neighborhood, and he attended 
an English school but one day, though he 
had previously received some education in 
his native land. Work was plenty, however, 
and it was work instead of school that claimed 
his time and attention. Times were hard at 
first, and their wheat had to be hauled to 
Waupaca, where they received goods from 
the stores in exchange, or as far as Neenah, 
at which place they could obtain the cash. 
It required three days to make the trip to 
Waupaca and back, the roads being very 
poor, and not direct. In the fall, when the 
winter wheat was put in, the deer would feed 
upon it, and our subject has killed many by 
moonlight while in the wheatfields. Bears 
and wolves were also quite numerous. Mr. 
Tubaas remained at home until his enlist- 
ment at Waupaca, for service in the Union 
army during the war of the Rebellion. In 
the latter part of October, 1864, he became 
a member of Company C, Forty-fourth Wis. 
V. I., under Capt. DeVoin, and was sent to 
Madison, Wis., from which city the troops 
went to Nashville, Tenn., where our subject 
was detailed as guard at the government 
buildings, remaining there until April 4, 1 865, 
when he was transferred to Paducah, K\'., 
at which place he was discharged the latter 
part of August, and returned home. On 
March i, 1866, Mr. Tubaas was married, 
in the Scandinavia Church, to Miss Annie 
Andrew, a native of Norway. To them 
were born six children — Charles, who died 
at the age of about twenty-one, in Minneso- 
ta; Albert, at home; Gena, who died just 
three days before the death of her brother; 
and Annie, Henry and Emma, at home. On 
their present farm Mr. and Mrs. Tubaas be- 
gan their domestic life, and with them his 
father resided until his death. The place 
now contains 160 acres, of which 100 have 
been cleared and developed. Our subject is 
a tireless worker, and well deserves the suc- 
cess he has achieved. He holds membership 
with lola Post, No. 99, G. A. R. ; in politics 
is a stanch Republican; and religiously he be- 
longs to Hitterdall Lutheran Church, and has 
aided in the erection of that and the one at 
Scandinavia. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S83 



HANS J. PETERSON. In the long 
ago, when boys were apprenticed to 
a tradesman, and were obliged to 
thoroughly master all the details and 
branches of the craft by a servitude of five 
or six 3'ears, good workmen were produced. 
The era of apprenticeship expired in Amer- 
ica many years ago, but it survived longer 
on the continent of Europe, and that per- 
haps explains in a measure why some of the 
foreign-born artisans of this country excel in 
their respective trades. While young men 
here were sliding into a trade with little or 
no preparation, across the waters the young 
men were still serving long years of ap- 
prenticeship. Whether the above is the 
true explanation or not, it is a fact that 
Hans J. Peterson, as a representative of the 
craft which Longfellow has immortalized in 
his poem, "The Village Blacksmith," has 
established for himself in Waupaca and 
vicinity a reputation for excellence of work, 
for promptitude, and for other workmanlike 
qualities, that is of invaluable service to him. 
He was born in Denmark, September 17, 
1857, and is one of the six children of Peter 
Oleson, who were as follows: Robert, Dora, 
Hans, Nels, Claus and Christian. His 
childhood was uneventful, and the educa- 
tion which was common to the youth of his 
native land fell to his lot. In 1872, at the 
age of fifteen years, he was bound out to a 
blacksmith, and faithfully served his long ap- 
prenticeship, on completing which he worked 
at his trade for a short time in Denmark, 
but in 1879 emigrated to America, impressed 
with the belief that opportunties here were 
better for the young man who is without 
means or influential friends. Coming directly 
to \\'aupaca, Waupaca Co., Wis. , he worked 
here for about eighteen months at his trade, 
and then went to Racine, where for ten 
years the sharp ring of his merry hammer 
might have been heard upon the responsive 
anvil. In 1891 Mr. Peterson returned to 
Waupaca, and with the savings from his 
labor in Racine erected his present shop, C. 
W. Nelson conducting the wood-working 
department. Mr. Peterson does general 
blacksmithing, and has a fine trade, being 
an excellent workman, and thoroughly under- 
standing his trade. 



In 1881 he was married to Anna D. 
Madeson, who is a native of Denmark, and 
five children have been born to them: Ella, 
Nanna and Walter, and two who died in in- 
fancy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Peterson are mem- 
bers of the Danish Lutheian Church. Politic- 
ally he is a Republican. In 1882 Peter Oleson, 
the father, who was a farmer, followed his 
son to a new home in America. 



CHRIST KLATT, one of the success- 
ful and representative agricultur- 
ists of Waupaca count}', now living 
in Mukwa township, was born De- 
cember 26, 1859, in Posen, Prussia. 

Jacob Klatt, his father, was a native of 
the same locality, born in 1829, and was 
educated in the common schools of the 
Fatherland. He was reared upon a farm, 
serving as foreman of a large landed estate 
after he had arrived at years of maturity, 
and was thus employed until 1871, the year 
of his emigration to America. Mr. Klatt 
was joined in wedlock in Germany with Miss 
Annie Klawitter, also a native of Posen, and 
the}' became the parents of three children — 
Andrew; Christ, subject of this sketch, and 
Mary, the wife of Stafford Bolinske, of 
Mukwa. Upon the emigration of the fam- 
ily to America they located in Waukesha, 
Wis., a year later removing to New London, 
Wis. , where for some time the father worked 
in the factories. In that way he acquired 
the capital necessary to purchase land, and 
in 1874 he became the owner of a tract of 
120 acres, upon which he yet resides, but 
which is now owned by his son Andrew. 
His political views are in harmony with the 
principles of the Democratic party, and in 
religious belief he is a Catholic. 

No event of special importance occurred 
during the childhood and youth of Christ 
Klatt, who acquired a good education, pur- 
suing his studies in the public schools of his 
native land, and in the schools of this coun- 
try after the emigration of his parents to 
the United States. He was reared upon the 
farm, but during his youth learned the car- 
penter's trade, and for some seven years fol- 
lowed bridge carpentering upon the railroad. 
He was an expert workman, one who thor- 



SS4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ouj:;hly understood the business in all its de- 
tails, and his services were therefore con- 
stantly in demand. At length, however, he 
determined to engage in agricultural pur- 
suits, and in 1886 he became the owner of 
an eighty-acre tract of land in the township 
of Mukwa, upon which he located in 1888. 
For the past six years he has devoted his 
time and energies to its development and 
cultivation, and now has a highly-improved 
farm — one of the valuable properties of this 
locality. 

On October 8, 1886, in New London, 
Wis., was celebrated the marriage of Mr. 
Klatt and Miss Mary Nussbaum. who was 
born in the town of Ellington, Outagamie 
Co., Wis., September 20, 1870, daughter 
of William and Annie (Kraus) Nussbaum; 
the parents, who were natives of Germany, 
came to the United States in very limited 
circumstances, but are now numbered among 
the substantial and progressive agricultur- 
ists of Mukwa township. By this marriage 
there are three daughters — Clara, Rosa and 
Annie. Mr. Klatt votes with the Democratic 
party, which he has supported since becom- 
ing an American citizen, and has hlled the 
office of supervisor. He is a member of the 
Catholic Church and the Catholic Knights 
of Wisconsin, and takes an active and com- 
mendable interest in everything pertaining 
to the welfare of the community in which 
he makes his home. The many excellencies 
of his character have won him high regard, 
and he has a large circle of friends and ac- 
(piaintances in his neighborhood. 



EDWARD ELSNER, one of the lead- 
ing farmers of Dupont township, 
Waupaca county, claims Germany 
as the land of his birth, which oc- 
curred in Schleswig in 1847. 

Gottfried and Mary (Schafer) Eisner, his 
parents, were also natives of that locality, 
and in 1856 crossed the Atlantic to .America, 
settling in Outagamie county. Wis., where 
the father purchased land and opened up a 
farm, making his home thereon until his 
death in 1887. His wife passed away in 
1856. In their family were eight children, 
namely: Loisa, wife of Ferdinand Arndt; 



August, who enlisted in Outagamie county, 
in 1 86 1, as a member of the Thirty-second 
Wis. \. I., and died at Memphis, Tenn., in 
1S63; Ernest, who was a member of the 
same compan)-, serving for three years dur- 
ing the Civil war, and is now living on the 
old family homestead; Charles, who was a 
member of the same regiment for three 
years, and died in Outagamie county in 1872; 
Edward; Anna, widow of J. Berendstein, re- 
siding in New London, W'is. ; Esther, wife 
of Frank Hammer, of Dakota; and Augusta, 
wife of Ed Westfall, of Outagamie county, 
Wisconsin. 

No event of special importance occurred 
during the boyhood and youth of Edward 
Eisner. \\'hen a child of nine years he ac- 
companied his parents to America, and was 
reared upon a farm in Outagamie county, 
while his education was acquired in a private 
house, there being no school buildings in the 
neighborhood at that day. The work of the 
farm afforded him sufificient physical train- 
ing, and he aided in the arduous task of 
clearing and developing the wild land. Mr. 
Eisner remained at home until his marriage, 
which was celebrated in Dale township, 
Outagamie county, the lady of his choice be- 
ing Miss Lavina Blue, who was born in New 
England, daughter of Harve}' and Martha 
(Williams) Blue, both of whom were natives 
of America and became pioneer settlers of 
Dale township, where Mrs. Blue still makes 
her home on the old farm. Her husband 
was called to his final rest in 1888. Two 
sons, Melvin and Forest, have been born to 
our subject and his estimable wife. 

Mr. Eisner resided in Dale township, 
Outagamie county, until 1882, when he 
came to Dupont township, Waupaca county, 
and purchased forty acres of land in Section 
24, the nucleus of his present fine farm of 
1 60 acres. He now has ninety acres cleared, 
and the well-tilled fields yield to him a golden 
tribute in return for the care and cultivation 
he bestows upon them. The place is im- 
proved with good buildings, which add to 
its value and attractive appearance, and 
stand as monuments to the enterprise of the 
owner, who is recognized as one of the pro- 
gressive agriculturists of the communit}'. He 
takes a deep interest in public affairs, espe- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



SSs 



cially in those matters pertaining to the wel- 
fare of the community and its upbuilding, 
and in his poHtical views he is a stalwart 
Republican. 



HS. BOWERS, deceased, was born 
May 5, 1812, in Genesee county, 
N. Y. His father was a mill owner 
and a well-to-do man, and the son 
remained under the parental roof until 
eighteen years of age, when he went to 
Kentucky, attending school in Mayville, 
that State. After a time he removed to 
Missouri, there being an exodus of people 
from Kentucky to that State, and near St. 
Joseph he remained for some time. He was 
an educated young man, but most of the 
work required in a new locality was manual 
labor, and Mr. Bowers engaged in freighting 
from Missouri to Colorado, and led several 
caravans across the Plains. The city of 
Denver was then a mere hamlet. Mr. 
Bowers became familiar with much of the 
pioneer history of the West, ha\'ing con- 
tinued for some time to haul merchandise to 
western points, finding a ready sale for the 
commodities in neighborhoods that were far 
distant from towns. While on one of these 
trips he was attacked by Indians, and he 
also went through other exciting adventures 
of that day and locality, participating in the 
" Run for the Black Hills." 

About the beginning of the war, busi- 
ness interests having been greatly injured 
by the troubles which preceded the out- 
break of the Rebellion, Mr. Bowers went to 
Michigan on a visit, coming thence to Wau- 
paca county, Wis., where his sister Eliza, 
wife of H. N. Waterhouse, was then living. 
He purchased, merely as an investment, a 
tract of land in Section 32, Dayton town- 
ship, the farm upon which his widow now 
resides, although at the time he had no in- 
tention of locating thereon. On December 
7, 1865, in Lind, Wis., Mr. Bowers was 
united in marriage with Maryette Caldwell, 
who was born October 8, NS33, in the town 
of Charlotte, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., 
daughter of Tyler and Mary (Warner) Cald- 
well, who came with their family to Wau- 
paca county in 1850. Mrs. Bowers had re- 



ceived good educational privileges, and 
taught the first school at Lind Center in 
the summer of 185 i, in what was known as 
the '■ block school house. " Upon the old 
homestead, which is still her place of resi- 
dence, the young couple began their domes- 
tic life, and there lived happily together for 
many years, until separated by death. To 
their union came three children — Charles H. , 
who was born August 25, 1866, and follows 
farming near Springwater, Waushara Co., 
Wis.; Tyler C, born May 31, 1870; and 
George C., born March 9, 1872. Alary P., 
an adopted daughter, born August 23, 1875, 
is now successfully engaged in school teach- 
ing. 

Mr. Bowers began farming on the land 
which he had purchased prior to his mar- 
riage, and carried on agricultural pursuits 
with signal success for more than a quarter 
of a century. He was industrious and enter- 
prising, and well-merited the prosperity 
which crowned his efforts. In politics he 
was first a Democrat, but later became a 
stalwart supporter of the Republican party 
and its principles. As a citizen he was 
loyal and true, and in all the relations of 
life he was an honorable, upright man. In 
his prime he possessed a fine physique, and 
was very powerful. He passed away on. 
the 30th of September, 1887, after a years' 
illness, and the community mourned the 
loss of one of its valued citizens, and the 
family a loving and considerate husband and 
father. Mrs. Bowers, an intelligent and 
cultured lady, still resides at her pleasant 
home on the farm where her entirei married 
life has been passed. 



THOMAS ORR. Among the agri- 
cultural classes in this country there 
are few that are more progressive or 
thrifty than the representatives of 
the Scotch-Irish race, who have so materially 
helped in the development of our soil. Their 
sturdy physical strength and inborn frugality 
and industry are still characteristically devel- 
oped in their descendants in America, and the 
subject of this sketch, who is one of the 
most prosperous farmers in St. Lawrence 



S86 



COMMEMOUATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



township, Waupaca county, is a worthy 
specimen of this hardy race. 

Mr. Orr was born in County Antrim, 
Ireland, February i, 1855, a son of Hugh 
and EHzabeth (Neil) Orr, who were the par- 
ents of six children, namely: Elizabeth, 
who is married and living in New Zealand; 
Thomas; James, who died in Ireland at the 
age of sixteen years; Matilda, still a resi- 
dent of the Emerald Isle; Hugh, Jr., who 
died at the age of two years; and William, 
who died in infancy. The parents are still 
living in Ireland, where the father is en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. Our subject 
remained on the home farm until fourteen 
years of age, when he began working for 
farmers in the neighborhood, but his wages 
were very small, he sometimes receiving but 
$10 for six months' work. After following 
that pursuit for a couple of years he went to 
Glasgow, Scotland, where he obtained em- 
ployment in the city gas works, and there 
made his home for seven or eight years, 
during which time he was variously em- 
ployed. 

In the fall of 1879, in County Antrim, 
Ireland, Mr. Orr was united in marriage 
with Miss Nancy Campbell, who was born in 
that county February 14, i860, and is a 
daughter of James and Elizabeth Campbell, 
farming people, who yet make their home in 
Ireland. Our subject had worked indus- 
triously and economically, and yet found it 
difficult to accumulate any capital, so with 
his young wife he determined to come to 
America. In April, 1880, they left Belfast, 
Ireland, for Liverpool, where they took pass- 
age on a White Star liner, and after twelve 
days landed at Castle Garden. As their 
passage was contracted to Philadelphia, 
Penn. , they went by rail to that city, and on 
his arrival Mr. Orr found that he had only 
$25 remaining. However, he was energetic 
and willing to work at anything by which he 
might earn an honest dollar, and he secured 
a place as farm hand ele\en miles from 
Philadelphia, receiving $11 per month, but 
at the end of one month he concluded to 
migrate to Wisconsin. John Pinkerton, a 
well-known farmer of Waupaca township, 
Waupaca county, hearing of Mr. Orr's arri- 
val in Pennsylvania, sent him tickets to come 



to Waupaca, which destination he reached 
June 7, 1880, $16 in debt. He worked six 
months for Mr. Pinkerton, after which he 
was in the employ of other farmers for about 
three years, in 1883 purchasing forty acres 
of land in Waupaca township, and after buy- 
ing the implements necessary for its cultiva- 
tion he was $300 in debt. At the end of 
three years he sold that place, and for one 
year operated the farm of Mr. Pinkerton, 
paying $500 rent. In April, 1887, he re- 
moved to his present farm in Section 35, 
St. Lawrence township, Waupaca county, 
which he had purchased the previous fall, 
and which then comprised seventy-five acres. 
He went in debt $1400, but he has been 
prospered in his undertakings, and added 
more land until now he is the owner of 240 
acres, all free from indebtedness, and nearl}' 
I 50 acres have been placed under the plow. 
His success is not the result of speculation, 
but of industry, economy and perseverance. 
He is one of the representative men of the 
county, and a credit to the land which gave 
him birth. 

Mr. and Mrs. Orr have become the par- 
ents of six children, in order of birth named 
as follows: Jennie, Maggie, Elizabeth, James, 
Leslie and Thomas, Jr. The parents united 
with the Presbyterian Church in their native 
land. Mr. Orr alvvaN's casts his ballot in 
favor of the Republican party, but has ever 
refused office, as his private interests would 
prevent proper attention to official positions. 
As his motto is "thoroughness," he believes 
in doing everything well. 



WILLIAM THOMPSON is one of the 
progressive farmers of Mukwa 
township, Waupaca county, who 
does not think that agricultural 
pursuits may be followed successfully by 
any one, or that the mental qualities neces- 
sary in this vocation of prime importance 
are of a comparatively low order. He finds 
by experience that there is much of \alue to 
be learned, and that the farmer who applies 
himself industriously to the acquisition of 
what is known as scientific farming will, if 
he possesses in addition the hard, practical 
common sense of average humanity, stand 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



S87 



the better chance of winning; a comfortable 
subsistence from the soil. 

Mr. Thompson is the son of one of the 
foremost educators of this section of north- 
ern Wisconsin, and a descendant of New 
England pioneers in the old Colonial days. 
His great-grandfather fought for the inde- 
pendence of those Colonies, and his grand- 
father, James Thompson, was a farmer of 
Maine. James Thompson, Jr., his son, who 
is the father of William Thompson, subject 
of this sketch, was born in March, 1824, in 
Maine, and was educated in the common 
schools of his native State, also taking a 
course in one of its excellent academies. 
He was a natural teacher, and for three or 
four years taught school, then engaging in 
mercantile pursuits, which he followed until 
he migrated to Wisconsin, in 1855. Pur- 
chasing land in Mukwa township, Waupaca 
county, James Thompson applied himself to 
the arduous toil of a pioneer's life, and 
steadily clearing up the farm continued to 
follow agricultural pursuits, now owning a 
place of 200 acres, with some of the best 
improvements in the township. He is a 
Prohibitionist politically, and a member of 
the Christian Church. He is widely known 
in Mukwa township, having for many years 
filled the position of superintendent of public 
schools, and he has also been chairman 
many terms, clerk, and a member of the 
town board. He is one of the best known 
citizens of Waupaca county, and has always 
taken an active interest in questions of pub- 
lic moment, especially those which pertain 
to the educational or intellectual welfare of 
the town and county. He was married to Miss 
Julia Wheeler, a native of Maine, and the 
daughter of Charles Wheeler, who was also 
born in Maine. To James and Julia Thomp- 
son eight children were born: Evert, de- 
ceased; William, deceased; John Herbert, 
of Ostrander, Wis.; Clara, deceased; Will- 
iam; Charles, of Lebanon, Waupaca county; 
Annie, now Mrs. John Shaw, of Ostrander, 
and Roberta, now Mrs. Fred Miller, of 
Wausau, Wis. Mrs. Thompson died in 
1869, and Mr. Thompson subsequently mar- 
ried Jessie Shaw, who bore him six children: 
Samuel H., James, Luther, Ira, Walter and 
Glover. 



William Thompson was born in Mukwa 
township, Waupaca county, June 17, 1857, 
attended the common schools of his native 
township, and since the close of his school 
has devoted his attention to farming, a voca- 
tion to which he is greatly attached. Until 
1892 he remained on the home farm, and 
then purchased the fariu which he now oc- 
cupies. Mr. Thompson was married, in 
1876, to Miss Eliza Heath, who was born in 
Jefferson county, Wis., May 31, 1853, 
daughter of John and Bridget (Garritj'j 
Heath, and the children born to this union 
are Nellie, Llewellyn, Clara, Ralph and 
Cleveland. Mr. Thompson is a Republican 
in politics. 



AF. NETZEL is a native of Germany, 
born in Pommern in 1858, son of 
August and Fredericka (Blauck) Net- 
zel, who were also natives of the 
same neighborhood. 

The parents of our subject were reared 
and married in Germany, and on determin- 
ing to leave the Fatherland took passage on 
a sailing vessel at Bremen, which, after a 
voyage of seven weeks, reached the harbor 
of Baltimore. They thence proceeded by 
rail to Oshkosh, Wis., by boat to New Lon- 
don, and on foot to Grant township, Sha- 
wano county, where the father secured a 
tract of timber land, and began the work of 
developing a farm. Many were the hard- 
ships and trials of pioneer life to be endured; 
but as the years passed and the country be- 
came more thickly settled, the comforts of 
civilization were more easily obtained, and 
the unbroken timber tract was greatly im- 
proved. The father there died in August, 
1 88 1, but the mother is still living on the 
old homestead. They had a family of eight 
children — Charley, who is married and re- 
sides in Grant township, Shawano Co., 
Wis. ; Otelia, wife of Gottlieb Garbrecht, a 
clothing merchant of Shawano; William, 
who is married, and follows farming in Grant 
township; Herman, who carries on carjien- 
tering in Shawano; August, who is married, 
and carries on agricultural pursuits in Grant 
township; Julius, who is married, and is en- 
gaged in the furniture business in Caroline, 



888 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Wis. ; Amelia, wife of Theodore Buettner, 
a miller of that place; and A. F., subject of 
this sketch. 

A. F. Netzel was reared and educated in 
Germany, and came to this country with 
his parents, for the first few years aiding in 
the arduous task of clearing and developing 
a new farm. He remained on the old home- 
stead until seventeen years of age, when he 
learned the trade of carpentering with his 
brother, following that pursuit for four years. 
He next engaged in the saloon and hotel 
business in Caroline, Wis., where he con- 
tinued for a period of four years, at the end 
of that time coming to Clintonville, where 
he rented a store room of M. Madel for two 
years. He then built his present business 
block, a two-story structure 24 x 50 feet. 
This was in 1892, and since that time he 
has carried on the saloon business, winning 
success in his undertakings. 

Mr. Netzel was married in Shawano 
county, Wis., in 1882, to Miss Augusta 
Jesse, who was born in Mayville, Dodge Co., 
Wis. , and is a daughter of Charley and Caro- 
line Jesse, natives of Germany, and pioneer 
settlers of Mayville. Her father is a farmer 
by occupation, and is now engaged in gar- 
dening near Waupun, Wis. Six children 
have been born to our subject and his wife 
— Rudolph, Alma, Helinda, Albert, Arthur 
and Viola. While living in Shawano county, 
Mr. Netzel served as justice of the peace, 
and in politics he is a Republican. He has 
lived in this section of the State for almost 
a quarter of a century, and has, therefore, 
witnessed much of its growth and develop- 
ment, always doing his share in the work of 
progress. 



WILLIAM (j. GANSEN, a druggist 
and prominent citizen of Marion, 
Dupont township, Waupaca coun- 
ty, was born in Bettingen, Ger- 
many, February 28, 1863. He is a son of 
Peter and Anna (Mallitarics) Gansen, both 
also natives of Germany, who had the fol- 
lowing-named children: Ernest, whoisnow 
an engineer, in Oshkosh, Winnebago Co., 
Wis.; Charles I., a druggist in Sheboygan, 
Wis. ; Albert, a druggist in Hortonville, Out- 



agamie Co., Wis.; John, a merchant, in 
Oshkosh; Mary, living with her mother in 
Oshkosh; and William O., of whom we 
write. 

Peter Gansen was a grain buyer and wine 
dealer, in Germany. In 1871 became with 
his famil}- to America, and, locating at once 
in Oshkosh, Winnebago Co., Wis., there 
embarked in the grocery business, in which 
he continued during the remainder of his 
life. He built up a large and lucrative trade, 
and was successful, but he suffered loss by 
fire three times, which somewhat impaired 
his fortunes. He died in 1894, after ailing 
for three years. The mother, Mrs. Peter 
Gansen, inherits an estate in German)-, 
which can be attended to by only two of her 
sons, William O. and John, as the others 
came to this country to escape army service. 
The children were all thoroughly educated, 
the three oldest having been college students 
in Germany, the others in America, and all 
but one remained under the parental roof 
until of adult age. John and Mary are now 
the only ones at home. 

William O. Gansen was employed in the 
dry -goods business some two years, in 1882 
going to Clintonville, Larrabee township, 
Waupaca county, where he commenced in 
the drug business with his brother Charles, 
and during his stay there read pharmacy and 
passed a pharmaceutical examination. He 
was in the drug busines in Kenosha, Keno- 
sha Co., Wis., for about one year with R. 
Robinson, afterward for three months in 
Browntown, Green county; and then for 
about two years conducted a store for Charles 
Sheldon, in Thorp, Clark county. In 1891 
he came to Marion, Dupont township, Wau- 
paca county, and here engaged in the drug 
business, now carrying a full and complete 
line. 

In January, 1887, \\'illiam O. Gansen 
was united in marriage with Miss Belle Taff. 
and two children have been born to them: 
Adrian P. and Anna M. Mrs. Gansen's par- 
ents, Samuel and Lucia Taff, were of 
Spanish descent, and he was a ship builder 
in Detroit, Mich. ; they died in Montreal. 
Canada. Mr. Gansen is a Democrat in 
politics, and is now serving as school treas- 
urer. Socially he is a member of the I. O. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



S89 



O. F. at Marion, and of the Modern Wood- 
men of America, Granite Camp, No. 1825, 
Marion. 



ANDREW MARTIN. This gentle- 
man occupies no unimportant posi- 
tion among the leading citizens of 
Lebanon township, Waupaca coun- 
ty, for he came here during the days of its 
early settlement, and has contributed his 
share in bringing it to its present advanced 
position. He is a native of County Meath, 
Ireland, and a son of Edward and Margaret 
(Kusick) Martin, farming people of that 
land, who passed their entire lives there. 
They were the parents of six children, all of 
whom died in Ireland with the exception of 
our subject. The others were Patrick. John, 
Catherine, Mary and Bridget. 

When but eleven years of age Andrew 
Martin came to the United States in com- 
pany with his brother John, who later re- 
turned to the Emerald Isle. He obtained 
employment in New Jersey, remaining in 
that State for two years, when he went to 
Pennsylvania, there securing work on a rail- 
road, which occupation he followed for three 
years. At the end of that time we find him 
in ^^'isconsin, employed on the La Crosse 
railroad, with which he remained for about 
seven years, when he removed to Oshkosh, 
Wis. In that city Mr. Martin was joined in 
wedlock with a Miss Neary, who was also a 
native of County Meath, Ireland, and came 
to America when only a child, with her par- 
ents, Mathew and Margaret (McCormick) 
Neary. Her father, who is still living at 
the extreme old age of ninety-seven years, 
finds a pleasant home with our subject. 
Mrs. Martin is one of a familj' of five chil- 
dren, the others being James, John, Peter, 
and Margaret, who still lives in London, 
England. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have be- 
come the parents of six children — Margaret, 
at home; Edward, of Lebanon township; 
Mary, wife of Frank (lodell. of St. Paul, 
Minn.; and Mathew, Michael and John, all 
of Lebanon township. 

At the time of his marriage Mr 
was a resident of Oshkosh, Wis. 



ty, and from there came to Lebanon town- 
ship, where he has since made his home. 
He had to cut two miles of road leading to 
his farm, and had to clear space enough to 
build his log house, 16x24 feet, which is 
still standing, one of the landmarks of pio- 
neer dajs. He at that time owned a yoke 
of steers, but his farm niactiinery consisted 
only of an axe and grub-hoe, though he soon 
added a plow. Thus it can be seen how- 
arduous must have been the task of clearing 
and cultivating that wild tract of forty acres, 
which then comprised his farm. Work on 
his place was immediately begun, and his 
first crop consisted of potatoes and corn. 
He added to his land from time to time un- 
til he had 550 acres, and to-day he is the 
owner of 250 acres. For many seasons he 
was also employed in the lumber woods, 
thus adding materially to his income, and 
now is the possessor of a comfortable compe- 
tence. He holds a prominent place among 
the intelligent and enterprising farmers of 
the county where he is so widely and favor- 
ably known, and has the respect of the en- 
tire community. Politically Mr. Martin is 
an ardent Democrat, always supporting that 
party by his ballot, and for twenty years 
has served as pathmaster; religiously he and 
his family are all devout members of the 
Catholic Church. 



M 



Martin 

but in 



1.S60 he went to Northport, Waujiaca coun- 



LARSEN, who owns a good farm 
of 163 acres in Farmington town- 
ship. Waupaca county, has placed 
fifty-Hve acres of this under a good 
state of cultivation, and in 1891 erected 
thereon a commodious and pleasant home, 
in which he and his family now reside. 
The life record of this worthv citizen is as 
follows: 

Born September i S, 1 S44, Mr. Larsen 
is a native of Denmark, and is a son of Lars 
Olson, who passed his entire life in his na- 
tive land, his death occurring when our sub- 
ject was only eight years old. The latter at- 
tended the common schools until fourteen 
years of age, thus accpiiring a good practical 
education, after which he began working as 
a farm hand, being in the employ of one 
m;in for nine \-ears, a fact which indicates 



890 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his faithfulness and efficiency, even in his 
earher days. When twenty-six years of age 
he resolved to seek a home beyond the At- 
lantic, and in the spring of 1870 sailed for 
New York, leaving Copenhagen in companj' 
with his mother and sister, whose passage 
he paid, and eleven days were passed on 
board the " Rising Star," an ocean steamer. 
Their destination was Wisconsin, and they 
made their way to the home of Hans, a 
brother of our subject, who was then living 
in Dodge count)'. They spent the night 
after their arrival in the depot, and at four 
o'clock the ne.xt morning our subject started 
out to find his brother, succeeding in his 
undertaking by eleven o'clock. Soon after 
he hired out to a farmer, working for four 
months for $70. 

In the autumn of 1870 Mr. Larsen came 
to Gill's Landing, in which locality he found 
employment on the construction of the Wis- 
consin Central railroad until the early part 
of 1872, when he was married. On Feb- 
ruary 26, of that year, in Weyauwega,Wis. , 
he wedded Anna Anderson, a native of Den- 
mark, who came to the United States in 
1868. Locating in that village, he was em- 
ployed during the succeeding four 3 ears as 
a section hand on the Wisconsin Central 
railroad, after which, in 1876, he removed 
to Waupaca, and for four 3'ears was foreman 
of that section of the road. He made his 
first purchase of land in 1880, becoming 
owner of i6o acres of land in Section 4, 
Farmington township, although he was only 
able to pay for about half of that amount. 
Twenty acres had been cleared at the time 
of the purchase, but no other improvements 
had been made, and the present fine condi- 
tion of the farm is the result of the persistent 
efforts and perseverance of the owner, who 
has not only paid off all indebtedness, but 
has made of his property one of the valuable 
farms of the neighborhood. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Larsen 
has been blessed with children as follows: 
Kate, John, Ella, Louis August, Dora and 
Thomas William, living, and one son, An- 
drew, who died in Waupaca at the age of 
nine months. The family attend the serv- 
ices of the Lutheran Church, and the father 
votes with the Republican party, of which 



he is a stanch adherent. Mr. Larsen is a 
self-made man, one who has arisen from a 
humble position in life until he has been en- 
abled to gather the fruits of his honest toil. 
He is now the possessor of a comfortable 
competence, and a well-spent life has gained 
him the high regard and confidence of all 
with whom business or social relations have 
brought him in contact. 



JACOB NELSON. About a quarter of 
a century ago a young Dane arrived at 
the city of Waupaca, Wis., without a 
dollar. He was even in debt for a por- 
tion of his transportation fare to the new 
land. To-day he owns a good farm of 160 
acres, a fine city residence, other property 
in Waupaca, and a flourishing manufactory 
located there. He is a blacksmith by trade, 
and the property which he has accumulated 
is the result of his manful efforts toward in- 
dependence. He fittingl}" represents that 
type of sturdy citizenship which is rapidly 
converting the Upper Wisconsin Valley into 
a region of prosperous and happy homes. 
His name is Jacob Nelson. 

Mr. Nelson was born July 8, 1838, near 
the city of Maribo, Laaland, Denmark. His 
father, a farmer, died when Jacob was an 
infant. The mother married again, but died 
several years later, leaving Jacob, her only 
child, then six years old, in the care of his 
stepfather. His school days were over when 
he was fourteen, and next year he was ap- 
prenticed to a blacksmith, serving five years 
for his board and clothes. At the age of 
twent\-one he enlisted in the Danish infan- 
tr\', serving three jears during the war be- 
tween Denmark and Germany, and at the 
expiration of his military service resumed his 
trade, working for the blacksmith to whom 
he had served an apprenticeship. In 1865 
he married Carrie Jensen, the youngest 
daughter of Jens and Mary (Rasmussen) 
Jensen, whose four children were Stena, 
Catherine, Peter and Carrie. Mr. Rasmus- 
sen was a farmer, and in 1869 immigrated 
with his wife to America, making their home 
with their youngest daughter, Mrs. Nelson, 
until their death. To Jacob and Carrie Nel- 
son three children have been born: Rasmus, 



COMM£-VORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



89 1 



who died in 1888; one who died in infancy; 
and Charles, who is now in business with his 
father. 

In 1869 Mr. Nelson brought his family 
to America. He arrived at Waupaca, via 
Quebec, in July of that year, and found 
himself in debt, for he was compelled to 
borrow money before he reached his destina- 
tion. He went to work at his trade imme- 
diately, and by strict economy he had saved 
enough money si.\ years later to start a shop 
of his own. The business has prospered 
greatly, and has been enlarged until at pres- 
ent it is much wider in scope than when he 
began. Besides doing a general blacksmith- 
ing business, Mr. Nelson manufactures 
wagons, buggies and sleighs. He built his 
large and substantial shop in 1882, and has 
since added a full line of farm machinery 
to his stock. Both he and his wife are 
members of the Danish Lutheran Church, 
and in politics he is a Republican. Mr. 
Nelson is a self-made man, and the thriving 
trade which he has built up is a credit to 
Waupaca and an honor to himself. 



SVENUNG THOMPSON. Among 
the worthy citizens that Norway has 
furnished to Waupaca county, is this 
gentleman, who was born in that far- 
away land in July, 1824, son of Thomas 
Tigerson, a farmer in limited circumstances, 
who had a family of three sons and five 
daughters. The parents spent their entire 
lives in Norway, the father dying at the age 
of sixty, the mother at the age of seventy 
years. 

Mr. Thompson was the youngest child 
in the family. He received but limited 
school privileges, having to assist in the 
labors of the farm from a very early age, 
working at home until twenty years of age, 
and then for neighboring farmers. In the 
summer of 1850, having saved from his 
meager earnings enough to bring him to 
America, he took passage at Skien on the 
sailing vessel "Alert," which after si.\ weeks 
and five days reached New York. His des- 
tination was Winchester, Winnebago Co., 
Wis., where he had a brother living; but 
his money was exhausted on reaching Chica- 



go, and he secured work at mowing north of 
that city, thus earning his first money in the 
New World. He afterward removed to the 
neighborhood of Whitewater, Wis., where 
there was a Norwegian settlement, and sub- 
sequently went to Rock River, and to Win- 
chester, where he worked with his brother. 

At that place, when twenty-seven years 
of age, Mr. Thompson married Miss Tone 
Kittelson, who was born in Norway October 
10, 1833, and came with her parents to this 
country at the age of thirteen. .\t the time 
of his marriage Mr. Thompson had no cap- 
ital, but he rented a farm on which he lived 
for about five years, and worked at anything 
by which he could earn an honest living. 
There two children were born to them — 
Mattie, now Mrs. John Toe, of Helvetia 
township, Waupaca county; and Charles, a 
carpenter, of Norrie, Wis. About 1856, he 
purchased, in Sections I5and 22, lola town- 
ship, eighty acres of new land, built the 
first house thereon — a log cabin, 12x15 feet 
— and made his first improvements. W^ild 
game was to be had in abundance, and 
Indians still roamed through the forests. 
He began to improve the farm, in the 
winter working in the woods. W'hen the 
summer crops were harvested he hauled his 
grain to the market with oxen. After three 
years of labor here he returned to Winches- 
ter, \Vis. , where work was then more plenti- 
ful, but, after living there three years again 
came to his farm. 

In October, 1864, Mr. Thompson left 
his home and family to enlist in the service 
of his country, becoming a member of Com- 
pany C, Forty-fourth W'is. V. I., under 
Capt. Vaughn, the company proceeding 
from Waupaca to Madison, and then start- 
ing for Nashville. At Louisville Mr. Thomp- 
son was taken sick and was sent to hospi- 
tal, thence after two weeks being transferred 
to a hospital in Prairie du Chien, Wis. , 
where he continued until April I, 1865. Re- 
joining his regiment in Paducah, Ky., he re- 
mained there until discharged, August 28, 
1865, when he returned to lola. Though 
he had entered the army a strong, robust 
man, the exposure had broken down his 
health, and he has never been the same 
since, for many years having done no active 



893 



COMMEMOBATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



work on the farm save the chores. Yet this 
highly-cultivated place is a monument to his 
thrift and enterprise; all the buildings were 
erected by him, and the neatness andthriftj- 
surroundings indicate his careful supervision. 
Of his eighty-acre farm one-half is under a 
high state of cultivation, and he is account- 
ed one of the progressive and substantial 
agriculturists of his community. 

The children who have been added to 
the family since the removal from the rented 
farm are Albert, an agriculturist, of lola 
township; Henry, at home; Jerry, a car- 
penter, of Minnesota; Emma, who is en- 
gaged in dressmaking in Chicago; Sophia, 
wife of Nicholas Frank, of Ironwood, Wis. ; 
Clara, at home; and Thomas and Emma 
(the latter being the first one so named), 
both of whom died in childhood. The mother 
of this family passed away Sunday, February 
3, 1895, and was laid to rest in Hitterdall 
Church Cemetery. On that day, accom- 
panied by her daughter Clara, she went to 
visit her married daughter, Mattie, and while 
there complained of not feeling well; she set 
out for home with her daughter, Clara, but 
died ere reaching her residence. In his po- 
litical views Mr. Thompson is a Republican, 
and in religious conviction he is a member 
of the Hitterdall Lutheran Church, to the 
support of which he is a liberal contributor. 
He also holds membership with the Grand 
Army Post of Ida. 



ERNEST W. KURTZ, who is now 
engaged in farming on the old Kurtz 
homestead, comprising 160 acres of 
rich land in Dayton township, Wau- 
paca county, was born August 20, 1867, in 
Dayton township, son of William and Lydia 
(Smith) Kurtz, early settlers of the county. 
The father of our subject was born in 
Pennsylvania, and the mother in New York. 
After taking up their residence in Waupaca 
county they resided in Dayton township un- 
til the autumn of 1894, when they removed 
to Weyauwega, Wis., where they are now 
living retired. In his political views Mr. 
Kurtz is a Republican, and both he and his 
wife are members of the Wesleyan Meth- 
odist Church. Their famiK' numbered four 



children, our subject being the only son, and 
the three daughters are Annie, wife of Charles 
Stratton, of Dayton; Alice, wife of Chester 
Poland, who is living in the same locality, 
and Carrie, who is with her parents. 

The farm which is now his place of resi- 
dence was also the birthplace of Ernest W. 
Kurtz, and within its boundaries he played 
and worked as a boy, acquiring his educa- 
tion in the district schools of the neighbor- 
hood. With the exception of two years he 
has always lived upon the homestead, and 
he gave the benefit of his services to his 
father until after he had attained his majority. 
On July 27, 1 89 1, Mr. Kurtz was united in 
marriage in Ashland, Wis., with Miss Lucia 
Strong, who was born in Belmont township, 
Portage county. May 23, 1871, daughter of 
William and Abbie (Curtis) Strong. Upon 
their marriage Mr. Kurtz located near Ash- 
land, Wis., and was engaged in the lumber 
business, having charge of a camp for the 
firm of Holland & Pennybacker. In the 
spring of 1892 he returned to the old home- 
stead, and engaged in operating the farm 
through that year. In 1893 he carried on 
the Rile}' farm in Dayton township, and in 
1894 went to the city of Waupaca, where 
for five months he engaged in business as the 
proprietor of the "Waupaca House, "a hotel 
at that place. In the autumn he returned 
to Da}ton, and now has charge of the home 
farm, which is under a high state of cultiva- 
tion. He is an enterprising and thrifty 
young farmer, possessing good business 
ability. 

Mr. Kurtz is a stalwart advocate of the 
cause of temperance, and by his ballot sup- 
ports the Prohibition party, which embodies 
his views on that question. His entire life 
has been passed in his native county, and 
those who have known him from boyhood 
are numbered among his stanchest friends. 



JOHN McFALL. Among the well- 
known farmers and citizens of Waupaca 
count}-, few if any are better known in 
that locality than the gentleman whose 
name appears at the beginning of this article, 
and none are more deserving of representa- 
tion in this N'olume. 



COMMEMORATIVK BIOGIIAPIIWAL liECORD. 



893 



He was born in April, 1842, on board a 
vessel which was then in the Irish Channel, 
son of Traver and Betsy (Beggs) McFall, 
the former of whom was a native of Scot- 
land, the latter of County Antrim, Ireland. 
They were at that time residents of Glasgow, 
Scotland. The father was part owner of a 
coal mine. They were the parents of six 
children, of whom our subject was the only 
son and the fifth child. He received a com- 
mon-school education, and remained at home 
until fourteen years of age, when he started 
out to make his own way in the world. He 
had heard much of the good opportunities 
offered in America, and he concluded to seek 
his fortune beyond the Atlantic. This was 
not the first time that such an idea had been 
entertained, or the first time that such a step 
had been taken by him, for the year previous 
he had left for the United States, but his 
parents learning of his proposed emigration 
pursued the vessel on which he had sailed, in 
a little tug, and brought him back home. 
The strong determination which has ever 
been one of Mr. McFall's chief characteris- 
tics was then manifest, for the frustration of 
his plans did not discourage him, and the 
next Maj% without saying a word to his par- 
ents, he boarded the sailing vessel "La- 
conic, " near Glasgow. He had saved enough 
money to pay for his ticket, but had little 
capital besides. During the long voyage, 
which consumed nearly three months, he for 
the first time repented of the step he had 
taken, but he resolved to continue on his 
way, makmg the best of things, and in 
August, 1856, he landed at New York. All 
Mr. McFall's possessions at that time were 
the clothes that he wore and a few cents in 
cash, but he soon after found work with a 
farmer of St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , whom 
he met in New York city, and for seven 
months was employed in that capacity for 
$10 per month. He was next employed at 
increased wages on the Van Rensselaer farm 
near Ogdensburg, N. Y., and in that vicinity 
he remained until the breaking out of the 
Civil war. 

On May 17, 1861, at Ogdensburg, Mr. 
McFall enlisted in Compan)- K, Eighteenth 
New York Infantry, serving for more than 
two years with that regiment. The first en- 



gagement of note in which he took part was 
the first battle of Bull Run. At Gaines' Mills 
he was wounded in the thumb and in the leg 
above the knee, and was sent to hospital, 
but on learning that the doctors were going 
to amputate his thumb he decided to return 
to his regiment, and did so. On the expira- 
tion of his two-years' term he was honorably 
discharged May 28, 1863, and returned to 
Ogdensburg, for one month working again 
on a farm. On August 10, 1863, he re- 
enlisted, in Company A, New York Heavy 
Artillery, and with his command was assigned 
to the Army of the Potomac. He was made 
first sergeant, and took part with his regiment 
in all of its engagements, after which he was 
mustered out, August 21, 1865, on Staten 
Island, N. \'., having served in all for over 
four years. 

Returning to Ogdensburg, Mr. McFall 
started for the West not long after, and 
while en route met George Dewey, who per- 
suaded him to come to Waupaca county. 
Wis., a section which at that time had not 
yet been invaded by the railroad, and they 
proceeded by boat to Gill's Landing. In 
Section 15, Farmington township, our sub- 
ject purchased 120 acres of partially-im- 
proved land. Returning to New York soon 
afterward, Mr. McFall was married, in the 
autumn of 1865, to Elizabeth H. Weather- 
head, a native of St. Lawrence countj-, 
N. Y. ,. born in Oswegatchie, and a daughter 
of Benjamin Weatherhead. Not long after 
our subject returned to Waupaca county, 
where he began to clear his farm, but 
during the winter he worked in the lumber 
woods, his wife joining him there in the 
spring. He has since successfully carried on 
general farming. In 1871 Mrs. McFall died, 
and he subsequently wedded Roseltha Pen- 
ny, who was born in Indiana, daughter of 
George Penny, one of the early settlers of 
Farmington township, and by their mar- 
riage have been born seven children — John, 
Ellen, Sarah, Hattie, Charles, Edward and 
Frank, all yet living. 

Mr. McFall's fellow townsmen have 
manifested their confidence in his worth and 
ability by keeping him in some elective of- 
fice during the greater part of his residence 
there; he was assessor for seven vears, chair- 



894 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



man of the town board for three years, and 
justice of the peace for many years, and 
ever discharged his duties in a prompt and 
capable manner. He is a pubhc-spirited 
and progressive citizen, one who takes a 
warm interest in everj'thing pertaining to 
the welfare of the community; is a practical 
and enterprising farmer who has won suc- 
cess in his chosen vocation, and is a kind 
and indulgent husband and father, who sup- 
plies his family with many things for recrea- 
tion and amusement, doing all in his power 
to promote their happiness. 



ESBEN EWER. The history of Wau- 
paca county would be incomplete 
without the sketch of this gentleman, 
who settled in Matteson township in 
August, 1853, locating on Pigeon river, in 
the midst of the forest, where he opened up 
a farm of 160 acres. On settling there his 
nearest neighbors were at Clintonville or 
Embarrass, three miles distant. He first 
erected a log cabin, living in true pioneer 
style, but later a frame house, a story-and-a- 
half in height, was constructed, and a good 
barn, 30 x 50 feet, was built. On that farm 
he made his home until his removal, in 
1 89 1, to the city of Clintonville, during 
which time he developed the wild land into 
one of the best farms of the county. 

Mr. Ewer claims the Empire State as 
the place of his birth, which occurred De- 
cember 26, 1822, in Onondaga county, and 
he is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Rus- 
sell) Ewer, both of whom were natives of 
Massachusetts, whence, in an earl}" day, 
they removed to New York. Thomas Ewer 
was of Scotch and Welsh descent. W^hen 
our subject was only nine months old the 
father took his family to Wayne county, 
that State, where for many years he made 
his home, and there his wife died in 1827. 
He later became one of the pioneers of Wis- 
consin, settling in Washington county, on a 
farm in Hartford township, where he passed 
away March 20, 1852, when aged over eighty 
years. He was a soldier during the Revo- 
lution, having served as a minute man at the 
age of fourteen. He wasthe father of twelve 
children (eleven of whom became residents 



of Wisconsin), as follows: Lena died in New 
York; Chester settled in Washington county. 
Wis., but later went to Minnesota, where he 
died in Blue Earth, at the age of eighty- 
seven years; Thomas, who departed this 
life in New York, had for some time made 
his home in W^ashington county, Wis. ; 
Daniel died in Washington county; Lucy, 
Mrs. Kelly, died in Portage county. Wis. , 
in 1892; Eber died in Wisconsin in 1850; 
Lucena married and died in Michigan; Ben- 
jamin makes his home near Marshfield, Wis. ; 
Philinda lives in Michigan, widow of Ben- 
jamin French, a soldier of the Civil war; 
Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Fremont, re- 
sides in Milwaukee, Wis. ; Mary, wife of 
Emanuel Northern, is living in Wayne 
county, N. Y. ; and Esben is the subject of 
this memoir. 

The early life of Esben Ewer was passed 
in W'ayne county, N. Y. , and there he re- 
mained until the age of twenty-one, when 
he started for Wisconsin. He reached Mil- 
waukee November 5, 1843, and soon after 
opened up a farm in Washington county, 
W'is. , receiving the third deed for land in 
Hartford township, ^fihvaukee was then 
but a village of about 1,400 inhabitants, and 
Mr. Ewer worked in the first gristmill ever 
erected there. The country was then in 
its primitive condition, and wild animals and 
game were very plentiful, furnishing many a 
meal for the early settlers. 

In Washington county, \\'is., Mr. Ewer 
was married, April 11, 1847, to Lucy Mat- 
teson, who was born in the Mohawk \'alley, 
in New York, a daughter of Roswell and 
Miranda (Palmer) Matteson, natives of Mas- 
sachusetts. From New York the parents 
came to Washington count}'. Wis., in 1852, 
locating in Matteson township, ^^'aupaca 
county, which was named in honor of their 
oldest son, who was the first of the family 
to settle there. The father died in that 
township in 1887, at the age of nearly ninety 
years, and the mother departed this life in 
1886. They were the parents of thirteen 
children (five of whom are now living), name- 
ly: Ezekiel Daniel resides in Phlox, Wis. ; 
Mark makes his home near Sparta, Monroe 
Co., Wis.; Nancy died in New York, at the 
age of four years; Ehira died in Michigan: 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



895. 



Lucy is Mrs. Esben Ewer; Amos died in 
New York; Charles lives in Wittenberg, 
Wis. ; David resides at Phlox, Wis. ; Mar- 
tha died in Matteson township, Waupaca 
Co., Wis., in 1886; John enlisted at Black 
River Falls, Wis., in the First Wis. V. I., 
was made color-bearer of his regiment, and 
lost his life at Richmond, \'a., while carry- 
ing the colors over the breastworks; Aaron 
died in Washington county. Wis. ; Zopher 
makes his home in Matteson township, Wau- 
paca county; and Nate died in Washington 
county. In the family of our subject are 
seven children — Lena, the wife of John 
Morgan, of Matteson township, Waupaca 
Co., \N'is. ; Charley, who is married, and 
lives in Kansas; Emma, wife of John Olm- 
sted, of Embarrass, Wis. ; Roswell, who is 
married, and resides in Matteson township, 
Waupaca Co., \\'is. ; Eber, who died at the 
age of eight years; Truman, who is married, 
and lives on the old homestead; and Free- 
man, a resident of Embarrass, Wis., who is 
also married. 

In 1864 Mr. Ewer enlisted for service in 
the Civil war, becoming a member of Com- 
pany B, Thirty-eighth Wis. X. I., and 
served one year, being stationed most of 
the time at Petersburg. Va. He partici- 
pated in the Grand Review in Washington, 
D. C, and was mustered out in that city in 
June, 1865, returning at once to his home 
in \\'aupaca county. He had been wounded 
by a shell in April, 1864, but otherwise es- 
caped uninjured. In politics he is independ- 
ent. Socially, he is a member of J. B. 
Wyman Post, G. A. R. , of Clintonville, 
Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Ewer have seen the 
complete development of Waupaca county, 
doing much toward its advancement, and 
are now numbered among its highly-respected 
citizens. 



SAMUEL D. PINKERTON, deceased, 
was born in County Antrim, Ireland, 
in 1832, and during his youth learned 
the blacksmith trade with his father. 
At the age of eighteen he crossed the At- 
lantic to the New World and began working 
as a farm hand in New York State, and 
though he had no capital, save a young 



man's bright hope of the future and a de- 
termination to win success, he succeeded in 
accumulating enough by about 1S55 to send 
for his parents. A brother and sister had 
previously emigrated to this country, and 
another brother accompanied the parents. 

In June, 1859, in the town of Salem, 
Washington Co., N. Y., Mr. Pinkerton was 
united in marriage with Miss Jane McAllister, 
a native of County Antrim, Ireland, born 
May 7, 1839, and a daughter of James and 
Mary A. (Henry) McAllister, whose family 
numbered nine children — five sons and four 
daughters. The father was a weaver by 
occupation. A brother of Mrs. Pinkerton, 
James McAllister, came to this country and 
sent for his sister, who, in May, 1855, sailed 
from Liverpool, six weeks and three days 
later landing at New York. She went to 
Washington county, that State, where for a 
time she was employed as a domestic, and 
there Mr. and Mrs. Pinkerton began their 
domestic life. In the autumn of 1861 the 
husband came to Wisconsin, and purchased 
eighty acres of land in Section 26, Dayton 
township, Waupaca county, sending for his 
wife and child the following March, and 
they began life in the West in a house of 
one room, 12 x 16 feet. Soon a more sub- 
stantial residence was erected and after the 
first season the farm was cleared of all in- 
debtedness. The home was blessed by the 
birth of the following children — Robert, who 
was born May 31, i860, and is a farmer of 
Dayton township; Mary, born May 10, 
1862, wife of S. A. Barrington; Ida, who is 
living with her mother; Samuel J., born 
January 14, 1866, who was married Sep- 
tember 7, 1893, to Miss Ruth Brigham, of 
Waushara county. Wis. , and who now has 
the management of the home farm; John, 
born October 10, 1867, who now follows 
farming in Hancock county, Iowa. 

Throughout his life Mr. Pinkerton car- 
ried on agricultural pursuits, and for a time 
after his arrival in W'aupaca county was 
employed as a farm hand by others. He 
was a very energetic and industrious man. 
and as the result of his indefatigable labors 
was very successful, becoming the owner of 
a valuable farm of 320 acres. In early life 
he had held membership with the Methodist 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Church, but afterward joined the Presby- 
.terian Church at Rural, which he served as 
superintendent of the Sunday-school, and 
also held a number of Church offices. In 
.politics he was a stalwart Republican, and 
served as supervisor. No trust reposed in 
him was ever betrayed, and his straightfor- 
ward dealing and honorable, upright life 
commended him to the confidence of man\' 
friends in whose regard he held a high place. 
After a short illness he died, Jul^^ 23, 1883, 
and was buried in Crystal Lake Cemetery. 
His widow still resides on the old home farm. 
She, too, is a member of the Presbyterian 
■Church, and her earnest Christian life and 
many excellencies of character have won her 
love and respect. 



IVI 



ICHAEL LARSEN, prominent 
among the farmers of lola town- 
ship, Waupaca county, is a most 
enterprising and energetic man, 
and from an humble beginning in life has ac- 
cumulated a handsome property. He not 
only commenced without means, but was 
obliged to battle with the elements of a for- 
eign soil, and the customs of a strange coun- 
try, as he is of Norwegian birth and parent- 
age, having first seen the light August 17, 
1844, in Norwa\-. His father owned a farm 
near the seashore, and for twenty-five years 
was a pilot, it being his business to take large 
vessels into port. The father yet lives in 
Norway, at the age of eighty-eight years, 
but the mother died when her son was only 
a year old. Michael was the only child. 

Mr. Larsen received a good common- 
school education in his native land, and, be- 
ing an apt scholar, learned easily, .\fter his 
confirmation, at the age of fifteen, he went 
to sea as a cook, receiving $4 per month, on 
his first voyage going to Newcastle, England, 
with a cargo of lumber. When he had served 
eight months as cook, he became a second- 
class seaman, and was serving as such while 
at Cardiff, England, where all but two of a 
crew of twenty deserted, and he then be- 
came "able seaman." During the first ten 
years he visited ports on the Black Sea, and 
all of the principal ports of Europe and South 
America, and was ne\x-r shipwrecked. .\t the 



end of that time he attended a navigation 
school for some months in his native land, 
and then was offered $8 per month to go as 
second mate on a vessel, but refused. 

With a friend, Mr. Larsen went to Glas- 
gow, Scotland, intending to ship for San 
Francisco, but failing an opportunity, went 
to Porto Rico and other places in the West 
Indies, getting a cargo of tobacco at San Do- 
mingo for Germany. After taking this to its 
destination, and being paid off, our subject 
bought a ticket for New York, and was fif- 
teen days in crossing to that city. Finding 
his money gone on his arrival at Buffalo, in 
the spring of 1871, and navigation having not 
yet opened, he secured employment at re- 
pairing and painting a vessel at $2 per day, 
and was offered a position on the same, but 
declined. He made two short trips from 
Buffalo, on one of which he went to Cleve- 
land, and thus earned enough to pay his 
board. Mr. Larsen had an uncle living in 
Waushara county, Wis. , who wrote for him 
to come there, and accordingly he worked 
his way to Milwaukee. He had enough money 
to carry him to Winneconne, Wis., where 
he paid out his last twenty-five cents for his 
lodgings, and started on his nine-mile walk 
to his uncle's, without any breakfast. He 
became lost twice in the woods en route. 
The road to his uncle's lay directly across 
Lake Poygan, and securing an old boat that 
leaked badly, he at last arrived on the oppo- 
site shore. 

For a time Mr. Larsen worked for his 
uncle, only receiving his board in compensa- 
tion. Having earned a little money by car- 
rying ice, he went to Chicago, but was una- 
ble to obtain a position there as a sailor, and 
at Peshtigo, W^is., worked on a railroad for 
a time, after which he returned to Milwaukee, 
and shipped, under Capt. Sullivan, on board 
the •' \\'oodrow," bound for Buffalo, with 
wheat, receiving $3 per da}'. On again reach- 
ing Milwaukee he proceeded to Chicago, from 
which city he made a trip to Muskegon and 
back, and by that time the season had closed, 
so he went into the lumber woods. Mr. Lar- 
sen has spent twenty winters in lumbering, 
and twelve or fourteen springs on the river, 
while for five springs he tended the "Tim 
Crane" dam, on the Little W'olf river. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



S97 



On July 6, 1873, in the church at New 
Hope, Portage Co., Wis., was celebrated the 
marriage of Mr. Larsen and Miss Annie S. 
Olson, who was born in Aspen, Wis., Novem- 
ber 26, 1856, and is the daughter of Sondra 
Olson, a farmer by occupation. To them have 
been born six children — Lillie S. , Martin, 
Adolph, Michael, Jr., and Arvada, all living; 
and Jane, the eldest of the family, who died 
in infancy. Mr. Larsen and his wife began 
their domestic life in Tustenville, Wis. , where 
he owned a house and two lots. In Novem- 
ber, 1875, however, they removed to lola 
township, \\'aupaca county, where he pur- 
chased twenty-five acres in Section 5, four 
of which had been broken, and a rude shan- 
ty on the place afforded them a temporary 
residence. In 1894 he remodeled his dwell- 
ing, and now has a comfortable home. He has 
also added more land, until the area of his 
farm now exceeds 100 acres. Twice he has 
visited his native land, once in December, 
1890, and again in December, 1892, when 
he was gone for three months, renewing old 
acquaintances. He is a well-informed man, 
having an excellent memory, and has learned 
much bj' his travels. Mr. Larsen uses his 
right of franchise in support of the Repub- 
lican part}', has filled the offices of pathmast- 
er, and clerk of District No. 5, and in 1893 
was elected assessor, which position he has 
continuously filled ever since. Religiously 
he belongs to the New Hope Lutheran 
Church. 



KNUT OLSON is one of the well- 
to-do and highly-respected citizens 
of Farmington township, Waupaca 
county, whose lives serve as an in- 
spiration to the young men who now com- 
plain of lack of opportunities. No one can 
read the brief chronicle of his life's history 
without being impressed with the suffering, 
sacrifices and struggles of the young Nor- 
wegian, happily crowned in later life with 
that success which conies to those who toil 
with patience and intelligence. 

Knut Olson was born in Norway June 5, 
1838, son of Ole Knutson, a farmer in ordi- 
nary circumstances and feeble health, who 
with the hope of bettering his condition 



concluded to emigrate with his wife and six 
children 'to America. They took passage in 
1851 aboard a sailing vessel, and were 
eighteen weeks in reaching Quebec. Their 
destination was Manitowoc, Wis., where 
they arrived in October, remaining there 
until the following spring, and on account of 
the father's ill health the burden of support 
fell largely upon the shoulders of the two 
sons, of whom Knut, then thirteen years 
old, was the elder. He found work in a 
hotel stable at $4 a month. When lake 
navigation opened in the spring Knut Olson 
brought his family to a farm near Water- 
town, Jefferson county, where thej' remained 
five years, and where the eldest daughter 
died. Fortune did not seem to smile on 
them, and in 1857 they made a long journey 
northward to Waupaca, then only a small 
settlement containing two stores. 

Knut Olson here entered forty acres of 
land in Section 4, entirely without clearing, 
and the work of improving it fell mainly 
upon him. He remained at home until the 
age of twenty-five, contributing all his earn- 
ings to his parents, who needed this assist- 
ance. On this farm the father died in 
1880, and the mother still survives, at the 
age of seventy-eight years, making her 
home with a daughter, Jeanette, in Farm- 
ington township. The only education which 
Knut Olson received was in his native land, 
his knowledge of English having been at- 
tained without any instruction. In Novem- 
ber, 1863, he was married to Jennie Oleson, 
who was born in Norway in 1841, and 
whose parents had emigrated to Waupaca 
county. For a year after his marriage he 
lived at the home of his wife's parents, and 
then purchased 120 acres in Section 10, 
Farmington township, containing about eight- 
een acres of cleared land and a small log 
house. Mr. Olson was able to make a cash 
payment for almost half the amount -due for 
this property, and assumed future obliga- 
tions for the balance; but he was young and 
strong, and the thought of a home inspired 
him to redouble his efforts to meet the de- 
ferred payments. He has met with notable 
success, and added from time to time to his 
farm until it now comprises 280 acres. In 
1880 Mr. Olson erected a large brick resi- 



89S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



dence, which is one of the substantial 
dwellings of the township. He and his wife 
are members of the Lutheran Church. They 
have four living children: Carrie, Andrew O., 
Kund M. and George A. Five are dead, 
three of whom were lost by that dread 
scourge, diphtheria. In politics Mr. Olson 
is a stanch Republican. He served three 
years as supervisor, but has, however, never 
devoted much time to active politics, pre- 
ferring to give his attention to farming. His 
fair and honest dealings have, with his other 
sterling qualities, won for him the highest 
esteem and respect of his fellowmen. 



HEZEKIAH S. SCOVILLE is one of 
the honored pioneers of Waupaca 
county who has experienced the 
vicissitudes and hardships insepara- 
able from the early stages of civilized coloni- 
zation. He was among the earliest settlers 
of the Upper Wisconsin ^'alley, and like 
many of his hardy and determined confreres 
he was compelled in extremity to resort to 
many expedients to keep the phantom wolf 
from his cabin door. 

Mr. Scoville was born in Onondaga 
county, N. Y. , July 9, 18 13, son of James 
and I^ydia (Hall) Scoville, who in an early 
day migrated with one child from Connecti- 
cut, their native State, and opened up the 
large farm in Onondaga county, N. Y., 
which in subsequent years it became their 
lot in life to clear and till. James and Lydia 
Scoville had sixteen children, of whom the 
following grew to maturity: Hiram, Tnno- 
thy, Joseph and Benjamin (twins), Salinas, 
Hezekiah S., Julia, Lydia, Mary Ann, Har- 
riet, and Athelreid. During the years 181 2 
to 1814 James Scoville kept a tavern near 
his farm, but afterward returned to the 
homestead, where many years later he and 
his wife passed away. 

Hezekiah Sco\'ille was reared on the 
farm and educated in the common schools, 
afterward taking two terms in an academj'. 
In 1834 he was married in Onondaga coun- 
ty to Elizabeth Alderman, and after his mar- 
riage engaged in farming for a few years, 
subse<]uently keeping a public house in New 
York, and later was proprietor of a small 



store. In 1854 he came west, settling on a 
farm seven miles distant from Waupaca, 
which he paid for, but was soon compelled 
to mortgage it for fifty dollars in order to 
pay for the transportation of his goods from 
Sheboygan to his farm. After getting set- 
tled he again ran out of money, and he then 
made baskets which he sold for groceries. 
He was a natural mechanic, and built a shop 
where he manufactured axe helves and 
sleighs, in the meantime clearing up his 
farm. For fifteen years he manufactured 
cigars, and traveled through the country sell- 
ing them. He tried raising hops, but the 
experiment was a failure, and he finall}' sold 
his farm and purchased a home in Waupaca 
City, where his wife died in 1888. They 
had three children: George, who died in 
Minnesota in 1888; Clark L. ; and a daugh- 
ter who died at the age of two years. Mr. 
Scoville now lives with his son Clark L. , a 
sketch of whom follows. He has been an 
honest, hard-working pioneer, and bears an 
unblemished name. In politics he is a 
stanch Republican, and for fifty years he 
has been a steadfast and consistent member 
of the M. E. Church. 

Clark L. Scoville, son of Hezekiah 
S. Scoville, is the popular landlord of a 
popular hotel, the "Scoville House," of 
Waupaca. He was born, January 10, 1849, 
in the town of Oran, Onondaga Co., X. Y., 
and was but five years old when his father, 
in 1854, came to the pioneer home in the 
wilderness of Wisconsin. He remained on 
the farm until he was eighteen years old, 
assisting in the farm work and attending the 
district schools at intervals, excepting four 
months, when, at the age of fourteen \-ears, 
he clerked in a store. He next engaged in 
manufacturing cigars, also running a small 
grocery store, and continued thus for about 
ten years, when he resumed farming life, 
clerking at intervals, however, as his health 
would permit, until 18S8, when the farm- 
house burned. Mr. Scoville then resolved 
to change his business. Coming to Wau- 
paca, he opened a boarding house, and 
found that as a landlord he was a decided 
success. He gradually enlarged the house, 
until it has to-day grown into one of the 
leading hotels of the city, containing fifty 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



899 



rooms and enjoying an active and lucrative 
trade. 

In Februarj-, 1873, Mr. Scoville was 
married to Lydia Saxton, who was born at 
Ithaca, N. Y., daughter of Garwood T. and 
Ruth (Brown) Saxton, both natives of New 
York, who in 1859 migrated to Portage 
county. Wis. , where they now hve. They 
had four children — John, who died at the 
age of eighteen years; Lydia, Gilbert and 
Margaret. Garwood T. Saxton was one of 
a family of nine children, of whom we have 
mention of Margaret, Gilbert, Wheeler, 
Maria, Loretta, John and Garvin. The 
maternal grandfather of Mrs. Scoville, John 
Brown, was a native of New York, and was 
a colonel in the war of 181 2; he married 
Nancy Jones, and to them a family of nine 
children were born, as follows: Mary, Jona- 
than, Elizabeth, Edward, Kuth, Lydia, and 
three who died young. Clark L. and Lydia 
Scoville have two children — Winnie and 
They are members of the M. E. 
and active in Church work. Mr. 
Republican in politics, and 
while deeply interested in the success of the 
party is not a politician, though he has filled 
the office of supervisor. Socially he is a 
member of the Masonic Lodge and Chapter 
at Waupaca. 



Burton. 
Church, 
Scoville 



LZ. TORREY, one of the prominent 
lumber merchants of Clintonville, 
Waupaca county, and president of 
the Torrey Lumber Co. , was born 
August 4, 1829, at Watertown, Jefferson 
Co., N. Y., son of Joel and Pettie (Howard) 
Torrey, both of whom were natives of New 
Hampshire. They reared a family of eleven 
children, as follows: John, Levi F., Will- 
iam, Frederick O., Emily, Marie, Dulcena, 
George, Rebecca, CorneUa, and L. Z. Joel 
Torrey was a successful business man, by 
occupation a brick-maker, and gave his 
children each a good common-school educa- 
tion. Levi F. fared a little better, receiv- 
ing an academic course, and afterward grad- 
uating from the LaPorte Medical College; 
he practiced medicine in Illinois until 1850, 
when he went to California, dying at Sacra- 
mento in 1853. 



L. Z. Torrey, at the age of twenty 
years, moved from New York to Elgin, 111., 
and for four years was connected with a 
surveying corps of the Wisconsin Central 
railroad. In 1858 he removed with his 
young wife to Mankato, Minn. , purchasing 
160 acres of wild land, one-fourth of it tim- 
ber land, and for seven years he followed 
farming in Nicollet county, excepting eight- 
een months, when he was engaged in the 
wood business at St. Paul. He also served 
as county surveyor in Nicollet county. Mr. 
Torrey was in Minnesota during the Indian 
massacre, and was a member of the first 
company sent out from Mankato in pursuit 
of the murderous redskins. In 1868 he 
sold his farm, and went to Mankato. Later 
he bought a milk and dairy route, and re- 
mained in that business four 3ears, when 
he was elected county surveyor of Blue 
Earth county. For a year he was engaged 
in selling Johnson's Encyclopedia, and then 
spent three months traveling through Colo- 
rado. Returning to Mankato, he moved 
thence to New London, Wis., in 1880, and 
for several months was employed on the 
Milwaukee & Lake Shore railroad, in 1881 
coming to Clintonville, where, in a modest 
way, he embarked in a business which, un- 
der his energetic and sagacious care, has 
grown to great proportions. At first dealing 
only in timber, his operations extended, and 
now the Torrey Cedar Co., of which he is 
president, is prominent among the industries 
of Northern Wisconsin. 

Mr. Torrey was married December 26, 
1855, to Harriet F. Clark, daughter of Cur- 
tis and Electa (Meecham) Clark, and a 
lineal descendant of Miles Standish. The 
genealogy from this renowed Pilgrim ances- 
tor is preser\-ed complete through the eight 
intervening generations. Miles Standish 
landed at Plymouth, Mass., in December, 
1620. From him descended in successive 
generations Josiah Standish, Samuel Stand- 
ish and Thomas Standish. The latter was 
born at Williamstown, Mass., in 1725, and 
his children were Lucy, Lydia, Lemuel and 
Moses. Lydia Standish was born in Nor- 
wich, Conn., April 22, 1761, and was mar- 
ried October 15, 1778, at Williamstown, 
Mass., to Abraham Meecham, who was born 



goo 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



at Weston, Mass.. June 24, I753. and died 
at Benson, Vt., December 24, 1822, at the 
age of si.xty-nine years. His wife died in 
Sandy Creek, N. Y., September 25, 1844, 
at the age of eighty-three years. The chil- 
dren of Abraham and Lydia (Standishj 
Meecham were as follows: Stephen, born 
at Williamstown, Mass. , September 9, 1779, 
died at East Hamburg, N. Y., October 23, 
1 84 1, aged sixty-two years; Asa, born at 
Paulet, Vt., July 20, 1781, died at Sandy 
Creek, N. Y. , February 26, 1858, aged 
seventy-seven years; Daniel, born January 
5, 1784, died at Chicago, 111., April i, 1859, 
aged seventy-si.\ years; Lydia, born at Pau- 
let, Vt., January 4, 1786, died at Liberty- 
ville. 111., May 4, 1880, aged ninety-four 
years; Silas, born at Paulet, \'t., July 2, 
1789, died at Maine, 111., July 21, 1852, 
aged sixty-four years; Electa, born at Pau- 
let, Vt., September 9, 1792, died at Nicol- 
let, Minn., June 15, 1868, aged seventy- 
six years; Sally, born at Paulet, \'t., April 
22, 1795, died at Granville, N. Y. .August 
15, 1834, aged thirty-nine years; Lyman 
was born at Paulet, Vt., October 5, 1797; 
Harvey, born at Paulet, Vt. , August 9, 1800, 
died at Belgrade, Minn., November 28, 1878, 
aged seventy-eight years. 

Curtis Clark married Electa Meecham, 
by whom he had eleven children: John, 
Electa, Margaret, William, Polly, Asa, Wat- 
son (deceased), Watson, Harriet F. (now 
Mrs. Torrey), Sarah and Carrie. Harriet 
F. was born at Sandy Creek, N. Y. , where 
her father was engaged in cloth dressing. 
In 1836 the Clark family moved to what is 
now Park Ridge, a suburb of Chicago, where 
Mr. Clark engaged in farming for many 
years, removing thence to Minnesota, and 
after his wife's death, in 1868, he went to 
California. Spending twelve }-ears on the 
Pacific coast, he returned to Minnesota, 
where he died at the ripe old age of ninety- 
three years. 

To L. Z. and Harriet F. Torrey four 
children have been born: Alice H., at home, 
employed in the express ofifice; Emma C, 
wife of W. H. Clinton, of Clintonville; 
Julia M., wife of Charles H. Forward, an 
attorney of Oshkosh; and Louise S., at 
home. In politics Mr. Torrey is a Repub- 



lican. He and his wife are members of the 
Congregational Church, of which he has been 
deacon for twent\' years, besides serving as 
treasurer and trustee. 



HANS A. MYHRE, who resides in 
Section 6, lola township, Waupaca 
county, was born March 17, 1840. 
in Norway, in which countr}- both 
his parents died. He is one of a family of 
twelve children — eight sons and four daugh- 
ters — of whom four sons came to the United 
States — Ole, of St. Lawrence township, 
Waupaca county; Simon, who was a soldier 
in Company I, Fifteenth Wis. V. I., and 
died in Andersonville prison during the Civil 
war; Peter, who was a member of the same 
company, and died in Scandinavia, \\'aupaca 
county; and our subject. 

The educational privileges of Hans A. 
Myhre were those afforded by the common 
schools of Norway. In April, 1861, he left 
home, and on the 3rd of May sailed from 
Christiania on the " Garibaldi," which drop- 
ped anchor in the harbor of Quebec at the 
end of seven weeks. He had $10 left on 
reaching Chicago, whence he proceeded to 
Oshkosh, \\'is. ,up the Wolf river to Gill's 
Landing, and on to St. Lawrence township, 
Waupaca county, where his brother Ole 
was living. He was accompanied by his 
brother Simon. For the first summer he 
worked for his brother, receiving $6 per 
month. On December 9, 1861, Mr. Myhre 
enlisted, at Scandinavia, Wis., in Company 
I, Fifteenth Wis. V. I., under Capt. Goss- 
man. After remaining in Madison, Wis., 
until the following March they proceeded to 
Bird Point, Mo., and at Union City, that 
State, our subject participated in his first 
battle. At Island No. 10 Companies I and 
G were stationed for seventeen months, dur- 
ing which time they engaged in many 
skirmishes with the bushwhackers. They 
then marched on to Chattanooga, and Mr. 
Myhre participated in the battles of Chick- 
amauga and Missionary Ridge, after which 
he went on the campaign to the sea, as far 
as Jonesboro, Ga. , where his time expired. 
He was discharged at Chattanooga, Feb- 
ruary 10, 1865, and returned to Scandina- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



90 1» 



via, Wis. , where he worked as a farm hand 
or at anything he could get to do. 

In the church at New Hope, Portage 
Co., Wis., on December 4, 1867, Mr. 
Myhre was united in marriage with Mrs. 
Annie Mortenson, whose former husband, 
Andrew Mortenson, was a member of Com- 
pany A, Forty-second Wis. V. I., and had 
died at Cairo, 111. She bore the maiden 
name of Annie Erlandson, and was born 
September 29, 1834, in Norway, whence, in 
1857, she emigrated to America, landing 
after a voyage of three weeks and three days. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Myhre have been born 
seven children, of whom Gena died in in- 
fancy; those living are Serena, Andrew, 
Mary, Gena (the second of that namej, 
Henry and Edward. Mr. and Mrs. Myhre 
located in Section 6, lola township, on the 
farm previously owned by the first husband 
of Mrs. Myhre. Although our subject came to 
America a poor boy, a stranger in a strange 
land, and unable to speak a word of English, 
he was young and strong, and went to work 
with a will; but since leaving the army he 
has never been the same physically, for 
though not wounded he was broken down in 
health. He now owns over 250 acres of rich 
and arable land, nearly all the buildings on 
which he has himself erected. In all the 
trials and adversities of life his estimable 
wife has been a true helpmeet to him, and 
the\- have reared a family of which they may 
be justly proud. He has watched with 
lively interest the growth and development 
of Waupaca county, and has contributed 
largely in its advancement and prosperity. 
His ballot is cast in support of the Republi- 
can party; he is a charter member of lola 
Post No. 99, G. A. R. ; and he and his fam- 
ily hold membership with the Lutheran 
Church at New Hope. 



WELLINGTON STRATTON, one 
of the self-made and most highly- 
esteemed citizens of Dayton town- 
ship, Waupaca county, was born 
near Burlington, Racine Co., Wis., Feb- 
ruary 15, 1848, son of Joel and Adeline 
(Lewis) Stratton. When three years old he 
moved with his parents to Waupaca county. 



and was reared on the farm. His oppor- 
tunities for an education were meager, for 
the school was two miles distant. 

When eighteen years of age he pur- 
chased his time from his father for $200, 
which he had earned the previous summer 
while working with his father at the busi- 
ness of basket making, and willingl}' sur- 
rendered the amount for his freedom during 
the remaining three years of his minority. 
Basket making was then profitable, and 
Wellington often made $5 per day at the 
work, which gave him his first start in life. 
Purchasing eighty acres of wild land in Sec- 
tion 33. Dayton township, Mr. Stratton 
made early improvements upon it, and has 
ever since continued to cultivate it, his home 
now consisting of i 20 acres of land, eighty 
acres of which he himself cleared. It is- 
beautifully located, and from its natural ele- 
vation commands a fine view of the sur- 
rounding country. He was married July 4, 
1869, in Dayton, to Annie Warren, daugh- 
ter of Thomas Warren, and by her he had 
one child, Edith E,, born September 25, 
1 87 1, now Mrs. John Button, of Waupaca. 
For his second wife he married Lucinda Mc- 
Allister, of Dayton township, daughter of 
James and Anna (Foster) McAllister. Po- 
litically Mr. Stratton was a Republican till 
1886, when, from principle, he affiliated 
with the Prohibition party. He has never 
drank liquor or beer as a beverage. Be- 
sides amassing for himself and his family a-, 
comfortable subsistence, Mr. Stratton has 
contributed in a financial way to the success 
of others. He has met misfortunes bravely, 
and without discouragement, and has over- 
come obstacles with happy results. He has 
been through life a hard worker, and it is to- 
unremitting labor and perse\'erance alone 
that Mr. Stratton attrilautes his financial 
success. 



PETER SORENSEN is a worthy 
type of that class of self-made men 
to whom most communities owe 
their prosperity and progress. He 
started out in life for himself at a very early 
age, and dependent entirely on his own re- 
sources has made his way in- the world, ris- 



.902 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ing from a humble position to one of af- 
fluence, for he is now numbered among the 
substantial farmers of Waupaca county. 

The record of his life is herewith given. 
He was born ^[arch 18. 1845, in Denmark, 
and was the third child and second son in a 
family which numbered four sons and two 
•daughters. His father, Soren Nelson, was 
a laboring man who had all he could do to 
provide for his familj', and at the early age 
■of eight years Peter began working in order 
to help his parents, giving all of his earn- 
ings to his father. For some years he was 
a shepherd bo\-, and afterward was employed 
as a farm hand, receiving as a compensation 
for his services the meager sum of $7 per 
vear. In 1872, in Denmark, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Carrie Yorgensen, an 
old school mate of his. Previous to that 
time, when twenty-one years of age, he 
had entered the army, and served two years. 
After his marriage he lived very economic- 
ally, and did his best to save his money 
and thus get a good start in life, but do what 
he would he was only able to save $200 
and his passage money during the first eight 
years of his married life. Hoping to bene- 
fit his financial condition he resolved to seek 
a home in the New World, and in the spring 
of 1880, accompanied by his wife, he left 
Copenhagen for Bremen, and sailed from 
that place to New York, where. he arrived 
after a twelve-days' voyage. He had an 
acquaintance living in Waupaca, Wis., and 
hither directed his steps, reaching his desti- 
nation on the I 5th of May. 

Mr. Sorensen began life in the United 
States bj- working as a farm hand in Wau- 
paca township for Jack Nelson, and his wife 
was employed in a hotel. They saved their 
money, and the industry and frugality of 
the worthy couple made it possible for them 
to soon afterward secure a home of their 
own. Mr. Sorensen was emploj-ed on the 
construction of the courthouse in Waupaca, 
and during the first year after his arrival he 
purchased a house and lot in that cit}-, which 
he afterward traded for a part of his farm 
in Section 2, Farmington township. He 
here owns 160 acres of land in Section 2, 
and forty acres in Section 3, and has placed 
fifty-five acres of this tract under cultiva- 



tion, although only a small clearing had 
been made when he located thereon. In 
1893 he erected one of the best barns in 
the township, also a good granary, and now 
has a well-improved and valuable propertj' 
— the merited reward of earnest and well- 
directed effort. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sorensen have no children 
of their own, but in 1882 they adopted a 
sister's son, Sophus, whom they are now 
rearing as their own child. They are most 
highly-esteemed citizens, their many excel- 
lencies of character having gained them the 
warm regard of all with whom they have 
been brought in contact. They hold mem- 
bership with the Lutheran Church, and the 
political views of our subject are in harmony 
with the principles of the Republican party; 
but he has neither time nor inclination for 
office seeking, his attention being given to 
his business interests and the enjoyment of 
his home. His enviable reputation, his fair 
and honest dealing, and his well-spent life, 
have made him a valued citizen. 



ALPHEUS A VAN ORNUM, one of 
the most highly-respected citizens 
of Lind township, ^^^aupaca county, 
and one of its leading farmers, has 
been a lifelong agriculturist, save for the 
years of the Civil war, when he was found 
in the ranks of his country's defenders. 

He was born October 18, 1 841, in Cham- 
plain, Clinton Co., N. Y. , son of Josiah G. 
and Mary A. (Leonard) Van Ornum, the 
former a native of Quebec, Canada, the lat- 
ter of Vermont. Josiah \'an Ornum, a small 
landowner, was by trade a stonemason, and 
from him Alpheus gained a knowledge of the 
trade, but never followed it. He was reared 
on his father's farm, and at Centerville, 
Clinton Co., N. Y., he was married January 
I, 1 86 1, to Miss Lydia E. Ferris, a native 
of Grand Isle, Vt., born May 24, 1842, 
daughter of Russell and Hannah (Bronson) 
Ferris, who later in life removed to Wiscon- 
sin, making their home with Mr. and Mrs. 
Van Ornum. Mrs. \'an Ornum had ob- 
tained a teacher's certificate before she was 
sixteen, and was a very successful teacher, 
having taught seven terms. After marriage 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



903 



the young couple settled on a farm in the 
town of I^Iooers, Clinton Co. , N. Y. , owned 
b}' his father, and here he worked in the 
woods and on the farm until his enlistment, 
August 13, 1S62, at Mooers, in Company G, 
One Hundred and Fifty-third N. Y. V. I. 
The regiment was dispatched to Alexandria, 
\'a., and there did guard duty during the 
winter of 1862-63; in the following spring it 
>was sent to participate in the Southwest 
campaign, and at Pleasant Hill, La., June 
19, 1S63, the regiment first met the enemy 
in sharp conflict. Then followed the march 
to Shreveport, and disastrous fighting which 
greatly reduced the ranks of the regiment. 
The Cane Creek (Ala.) engagement fol- 
lowed, October 26, 1863, and as the cam- 
paign closed in the Southwest the regiment 
was ordered to join the Nineteenth Army 
Corps, in preparation for the severe conflict 
that was expected in V^irginia when the 
spring of 1864 had fairly opened. The regi- 
ment proceeded by boat from New Orleans 
to Alexandria, Va., and during the ensuing 
months saw heavy lighting at Harper's Ferry, 
at Winchester, and at Bolivar Heights Land- 
ing. After the last engagement. Company 
G, of the One Hundred and Fifty-third N. 
Y. \'. I., was detailed for guard duty at the 
headquarters of the Nineteenth Army Corps, 
and was stationed wherever headquarters 
were established. After Lee's surrender Mr. 
\"an Ornum was sent with the One Hundred 
and Fifty-third New York to Savannah to 
do guard duty. * Private Van Ornum was 
selected to take charge of the horses, which 
were to be sold at public auction, and he 
took excellent care of the animals. He was 
honorabl}' discharged at Savannah October 
2, 1S65, and returned by boat to Albany, N. 
Y. . where for five weeks he lay sick in the 
hospital, and then returned to Clinton 
coimty. During his service of more than 
three years he fiad been home only once, 
on a fifteen-days' furlough. 

Resuming farming, Mr. \'an Ornum pur- 
chased from his father the tract he had pre- 
viously rented. Selling this soon after, he 
purchased another in the town of Cham- 
plain, Clinton Co., N. Y. , where for eight 
years he followed general farming, subse- 
quently for two }ears managing for a Mr. 



Brown a large farm of 320 acres, situated 
in the corporation of Champlain, N. Y. Mr. 
Van Ornum next bought a farm of 260 acres 
in the town of Mooers, Clinton Co., N. Y. , 
where he lived until 1880, in which year he 
concluded to come west. First prospecting 
in Wisconsin, Dakota and other parts of the 
Northwest, he found no locality that pleased 
him better than Waupaca county. Wis., and, 
selling his New York farm, he in 1881 locat- 
ed in Royalton township. He then bought 
120 acres lying in Sections 9, 10 and 4, 
Lind township, but did not settle on that 
property, for, his parents moving to Lind 
township about that time and buying land 
in Section 15, he first rented and then pur- 
chased from them the well-improved farm 
of eighty acres, which he now cultivates. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Van 
Ornum were Albertus R., whose death at 
the age of twenty-two years resulted from 
the kick of a horse; Charles R., a farmer of 
Waupaca township, and Mabel, now Mrs. 
A. E. Norris, of Lind township. Mr. and 
Mrs. Van Ornum are both members of the 
M. E. Church, of which he is at present 
trustee, steward and class-leader, and has 
been Sunday-school superintendent. For 
many years Mrs. Van Ornum has been a 
teacher in the Sunday-school. In politics 
Mr, Van Ornum has been a Republican, but 
in recent years the Prohibition question has 
received his earnest attention, and from 
conviction and principle he favors the plat- 
form of that party and votes its ticket. Al- 
though a resident of the township for a com- 
paratively short time, he has twice served 
as its treasurer and once as assessor. Since 
coming to Wisconsin he has worked in the 
lumber woods, and applied himself indus- 
triously to the development of the country's 
resources. In consequence he is a most 
successful and influential farmer. 



ALFRED H. MATTESON, a pros- 
perous farmer of Larrabee town- 
ship, Waupaca count}-, was born in 
Mercer county, Penn. , November 4, 
1854, and is a descendant of the first family 
to settle in Matteson township, Waupaca 
count}', being a son of C. K. and IClizabeth 



904 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(Carnahan) Matteson, the former a native 
of New York, the latter of Pennsylvania. 

The parents of C. K. Matteson were 
Roswell and Miranda Palmer Matteson, na- 
tives of New York. They came in an early 
day to Wisconsin, and leaving Milwaukee 
county in about 1850 came by scow from 
New London up the Embarrass river, locat- 
ing where their grandson, Alfred H. Matte- 
son, now resides, on what was then govern- 
ment land. The}' commenced clearing for 
a cabin, lived there some years, and then 
located again in the woods, in what is now 
Matteson township, opening up a farm. 
Here Roswell Matteson afterward made his 
home, dying in 18S4, and his wife is also 
deceased. The town was named for him, 
and the people presented him some lots in 
the cemetery. They reared a family of nine 
children, all living but two. 

C. K. Matteson was born in New York 
December 3, 1832, and on coming west first 
stopped in Michigan, afterward locating with 
his parents near Milwaukee, Wis. Later 
he went to Sparta, Monroe Co., Wis., en- 
gaged in farming, and here he also married. 
In April, 1858, he returned to Matteson 
township, in 1859 locating on the farm 
where his son, Alfred H. Matteson, now re- 
sides, which he made his home for many 
years. He and his wife now reside at \\^it- 
tenberg, Shawano county. They have had 
four children, namely: Archie, who was 
drowned in the Embarrass river in 1879; 
Matt, who died at the age of two years; 
Charles, who resides at \Vittenberg, Wis., 
and Alfred H., the subject of this sketch. 
C. K. Matteson enlisted in 1864 in Com- 
pany C, Thirty-si.xth Wis. V. L, for three 
years or during the war, and served till the 
close of the struggle in the army of the Po- 
tomac. He is a Republican politically, and 
has served as chairman of Larrabee town- 
ship. 

Alfred H. Matteson was educated in the 
schools of Larrabee township, and snbse- 
([uently took a business course at the Osh- 
kosh Business College. He followed logging 
winters, and farming in the summer. On 
January 29, 1880, in Larrabee township, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Jennie 
Simmons, who was born on the present site 



of Minneapolis, Minn., and three children 
came to their union: Bessie, born March 
25, 1882, who died May 7, 1893; Archie, 
born March i, 1884, who died May 21, 
1893; and James, born May 24, 1886, who 
died May 6, 1893. 

Mrs. Matteson's parents, James and 
Marv (Hobbs) Simmons, were born in 
Maine, and in an early day migrated to 
Minnesota, where he became a well-known 
lumber merchant. Later they came to Eau 
Claire, Wis., thence to Oshkosh, and from 
there to Winneconne, whence, in 1882, Mr. 
Simmons came to live with his son-in-law,. 
Mr. Matteson. His death occurred April 
28, I S87, and his widow resides in Larrabee 
township. They had five children, as fol- 
lows: Bessie Ingalls, wife of J. K. Van- 
Doren, of Wheaton, Minn. : Sarah Hobbs, 
who was the wife of Albert Branshaw, of 
Dallas, Texas, and died in April, 1S88;. 
Ellen Allen, wife of E. H. Drew, residing 
in St. Louis, Mo. ; Daniel Hobbs, who resided 
in Ironwood, Mich., where he died in 1890; 
and Jennie (Mrs. Matteson), who previous 
to her marriage was a teacher in Waupaca 
county. 

In 1889 and 1890 Mr. Matteson kept 
hotel at Wittenberg, Wis., and with that 
exception has lived on his farm since his 
marriage, owning a good tract of i 50 acres, 
well improved. In politics he is a Repul)- 
lican, but is not desirous of holding office. 
He and his wife are both members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church of Clintonville, 
and he is one of the trustees of same. 



AN. CARTER. Waupaca county ha.s 
many sons of whom she may well be 
proud, and prominent among these 
stands this gentleman, who is now 
the leading contractor and builder of Clin- 
tonville. He was born in Bear Creek town- 
ship in 1864, son of N. B. and Serena 
(Brown) Carter, the former a native of 
Maine, and the latter of New Hampshire, 
who in an early day came to the West, set- 
tling in Waupaca county. In 1861 the father 
secured land in Bear Creek township, where 
he carried on agricultural pursuits until 1 866. 
in which year he brought his family to Clin- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



905 



tonville, and he and his wife still reside 
there, esteemed and honored citizens of the 
community. 

A. N. Carter was reared in Clintonville, 
which, during his boj'hood, was little more 
than a hamlet. He acquired his education 
in its public schools, and, while not spend- 
ing his time at his lessons, aided in clearing 
and developing the home farm in Larrabee 
township. Thus he became familiar with 
all the duties of farm life, and carried on 
agricultural pursuits until 1885, when he re- 
moved to Seneca, Kans. In that place he 
learned and followed the carpenter's trade 
until 1 886, when he took up his residence in 
Michigan, there continuing carpentering for 
a time. Subsequently he was employed in 
that capacity in \\'est Superior and Duluth, 
until his removal to Clintonville in 1890. 
He thoroughly understands his business in 
all its details, is himself an excellent work- 
man, and therefore capable of managing his 
employes. He is now doing a large and 
constantly increasing business, and furnishes 
employment to eight workmen. On all sides 
stand buildings which are monuments to 
his thrift and enterprise, among the notable 
structures he has erected in Clintonville 
being the city hall, and the Lutheran and 
Catholic churches. At Wittenberg he built 
the Orphans' Home and schoolhouse, and put 
in the wood work in the Wittenberg Bank. 
He has erected many fine residences, in- 
cluding two handsome ones in W'ausau, and 
at this writing he is erecting in Clintonville 
for himself one of the best residences in the 
town. 

Mr. Carter was here married, December 
26, 1892, to Miss Lydia Korb, a native of 
Jackson county. Wis., and a daughter of 
Louis Korb, who came to this State during 
his boyhood, and since 1880 has resided in 
Larrabee township, Waupaca count\-. Mr. 
and Mrs. Carter have one child, Erwin Ben- 
jamin. Mr. Carter is a charter member of 
Clintonville Lodge No. 314, I. O. O. F., 
and in politics is a Republican, warmly ad- 
vocating his party's principles. Belonging 
to one of the pioneer families of the com- 
munity, he has witnessed much of the growth 
and development of \^'aupaca county, and 
has ever taken a commendable interest in its 



welfare, doing all in his power for it's pro- 
motion and progress. His business interests 
and social acquaintance have made him 
widely known, and his friendship is priced 
most by those who know him best. 



JACOB C. TOE, an honored and re- 
spected farmer of lola township, Wau- 
paca county, is a native of Norway, 
born January 13, 1833, son of Chris- 
tian Christianson, who also followed agri- 
cultural pursuits as a means of livelihood. 
In 1853 the family came to America, 
with a brother of the father, who had lo- 
cated here some years previously, and hav- 
ing gone on a visit to Norway Christian 
Christianson and his family accompanied 
him on his return to the New World. The 
voyage across the ocean was made in the 
sailing vessel "Johanna Marie," a Nor- 
wegian boat that had been used in the trade 
with India. At the end of seven weeks and 
three days they landed at Ouebec, going at 
once to Buffalo by lake and rail, and on to 
Toledo, Ohio, thence to Chicago, Milwau- 
kee and Sheboygan, \\'is. , by lake. At the 
latter place they hired a conveyance to Fond 
du Lac, at which city they took a boat for 
Berlin, \\'is. , where their goods were left, it 
being about fourteen miles from .the broth- 
er's home in Marquette county, \\'is. With 
him the family made their temporary home, 
while the father proceeded to Waupaca 
county to look up land, taking his brother's 
sons with him as interpreters. He bought 
160 acres in Section 12, Jola township, to 
which the family removed in October, 1853, 
going b\- way of Berlin and Pine river with 
ox-teams. A small log house, 18x26 feet, 
had been built, southwest of our subject's 
present home, which was the first abode of 
the family in America. Deer were often 
seen in large numbers, Indians still fre- 
quented the neighborhood, and fish could be 
obtained from their camp in Helvetia, near 
the lake. 

In the work of impro\ing and develop- 
ing the land Jacob C. Toe bcjre a prominent 
part. He also went to Wausau, Wis. , 
where he was employed in building a raft 
for transit down the riser, hunbering being 



COMMEMORATIVE BJOORAPUICAL RECORD. 



the popular employment in those days. At 
the time of his marriage he was still in lim- 
ited circumstances, and was living on the 
farm, where he yet resides, which at that 
time was in its primitive condition. Besides 
his farm duties he has worked in the lumber 
woods in season in order to support his 
family, and he also made shingles at home, 
which he marketed at Waupaca, Wis., re- 
ceiving from $2. 50 to $3.00 per thousand. 
On October 2, 1856. Mr. Toe was married, 
in lola, to Miss Margaret K. Tubaas, who 
was born in Norway, December 25, 1830, 
daughter of Kittel H. Tubaas, and came to 
the United States in 1854, on the same ves- 
sel on which her husband sailed. To them 
have been born seven children: Christian, 
a farmer, of lola township; Kittel J., at 
home; Ole J., also a farmer, of lola town- 
ship; Anna J., of Spokane Falls, Wash.; 
and Levi J., Ed J. and Clara ]., at home. 
Mr. Toe enlisted in the Union army 
October 29, 1864, becoming a member of 
Company C, Forty-fourth W'is. V. I., and 
from Waupaca went to Madison, Wis., 
where he was taken ill and sent to the 
hospital, being confined in two different 
hospitals until his discharge, in June, 1865, 
when he returned to his family. At one 
time Mr. Toe owned 320 acres of land 
which he has given to his sons, beside several 
hundred acres of timber land. Although 
his opportunities in youth were limited, he 
has made the most of life, and has now be- 
come a prosperous farmer. His school 
training was most meagre, but by reading 
and observation he has become well-in- 
formed until he ranks foremost among the 
intelligent farmers of lola township, ami he 
is an earnest supporter of our public-scliool 
system. Until 1890 Mr. Toe supported the 
Democratic party, but since then he has 
belonged to the ranks of the Republicans. 
He has held various township olifices, in- 
cluding those of supervisor and assessor, 
serving in the latter position many terms, 
and his public service has given him a wide 
acquaintance, few farmers being more widely 
or favorably known. He and his family are 
connected with Hitterdall Lutheran Church, 
to which he was one of the original con- 
tributors, ami has ever taken a prominent 



part in its work; he has been foreman of the 
board of trustees, and for many years was 
treasurer of the church. Socially he is a 
member of lola Post, No. 99, G. A. R. 
Three times he has visited his native land, 
in 1885, 1890 and 1893, making seven times 
that he has crossed the Atlantic, while he 
has also traveled extensively over the west- 
ern States of the New World. 



JOHN J. FUCHS, one of the leading 
representative citizens of Marion, Du- 
pont township, Waupaca Co. , was 

born on the ocean June 7, 1848, while 
his parents were on their way from Ger- 
many to America. He is a son of John and 
Catharine (Ran) Fuchs, who were both born 
in Germany. 

John I'uchs was a blacksmith by trade, 
but followed farming in America. In 1848 
he set sail from Germany, and after a voy- 
age of seventeen weeks landed in New York, 
coming from there by boat to Milwaukee, 
W'is., whence he was taken by team, at an 
exorbitant price, to Ozaukee count}-. Wis., 
and there bought 640 acres, situated in 
Town II. at the government rate. They 
had to cut their own road for about thirty 
miles, but finally arrived at their destination 
in the midst of the forest, in a country where 
no other road had been cut, and where 
the nearest neighbor was nine miles distant. 
Mr. Fuchs built a small log cabin, 16x22 
feet, the family in the meantime living in 
the wagon. He had no team for seven 
years, and all the logging was done by hand. 
The work of clearing was carried on with an 
axe and a grub-hoc, which he made himself 
— the only tools he had — and was diligently 
carried forward, though rye, which was 
then worth only eighteen cents a bushel, 
was their only crop. He also made a 
wagon himself, with solid oak wheels and a 
wooden axle, and bought his first yoke of 
oxen in Racine, the journey requiring nearly 
four weeks. Their nearest market was Port 
WashingtcMi. Ozaukee county. 

Here John I'uchs lived until 1871, by 
which time he had disposed of all except the 
old homestead, a tract of 160 acres, seven- 
ty-five of which were under the plow. Sell- 



COMME^yrORATIVE BrOORAPUWAL RECORD. 



907 



ing out, he removed to Fond dii Lac county, 
and bought 240 acres of partly-improved 
land on which he settled and lived till 1880, 
when he sold this property, and retired from 
active life, corning to Marion, Dupont town- 
ship, Waupaca Co., where he still lives, in 
his seventy-eighth year. His wife died De- 
cember 5, 1894. They reared si.x children: 
John J., subject of this sketch; Augusta, 
wife of William Huller, a carpenter and 
joiner, and now postmaster of Marion; and 
Jacob, Fred, Adam, and Charles, all of 
Marion. 

John J. Fuchs was reared to farm life, 
and educated in the common schools. At 
the age of fifteen he went to Rockford, 111., 
and worked four years in a brickyard, after 
which he learned the trade of carpenter and 
joiner, and followed the same. After re- 
maining in Illinois eight years he came to 
Fond du Lac, Wis. , whither his parents had 
just moved, and made his home with them 
till April 18, 1874, when he was united in 
marriage with Catharine Huller. F(nir chil- 
dren have come to this union: Clara G., 
born May 22, 1875; Johanna, born Novem- 
ber 9, 1876; Oscar, born January 30, 1883, 
who died in infancy; and Edward P., born 
May 17, 1892. Mrs. F"uchs is a daughter 
of John and Mary (Boehmj Huller, natives 
of Germany, who were the parents of four 
children: Eliza, now Mrs. Fred Lade, of 
Cliiitonville, Larrabee township, Waupaca 
Co.; W'illiam, postmaster at Marion; Henry 
P., of Marion; and Catharine, now Mrs. 
Fuchs. In i860 the family came to Fond 
du Lac county, where Mr. Huller bought 
forty acres and opened up a farm, living 
upon it until 1876, when he died, and his 
widow now resides in Fond du Lac, having 
sold the farm. Mr. Huller was a miller by 
trade. 

Mr. Fuchs came to Marion, Dupont 
township, Waupaca Co., July 4, 1878, en- 
gaged in the furniture and undertaking busi- 
ness, and put up the building which he now 
occupies. He has built up a good trade, 
and carries a full stock. When he came 
there were only two shops in Marion — a 
shoemaker's and a blacksmith's. Socially 
Mr. Fuchs is a member of Marion Lodge 
No. 256, I. O. O. F., and in religious con- 



nection he is a member of the Lutheran 
Church. Politically he is a life-long Re- 
publican, and has held offices of trust in the 
township, having served as side commis- 
sioner six times, and as school clerk. 



CHARLES H. EMMONS has the 
honor of being a native of Wiscon- 
sin, having been born September 
24, 1849, in Dale township, Outa- 
gamie count}'. He is a son of William D. 
and Sarah Ann (Young) Emmons, who 
brought him, when a child of three years, to 
Dayton township, Waupaca county, where 
he received his early education in School 
District No. 5. Later he attended the Nor- 
mal School at Weyauwega, and also various 
teachers' institutes, commencing to teach at 
the age of eighteen, in Farmington town- 
ship, and following that profession until he 
had taught twenty-two terms, being em- 
ployed in Dayton and Farmington town- 
ships, Waupaca county, Lanark township, 
Portage county, and Dale township, Outa- 
gamie county. His efforts in that direction 
were verj' successful, and he won a high 
reputation. 

On April 23, 1872, in Dayton township, 
Mr. Emmons married Amanda M. Cham- 
berlain, who was born in Philadelphia, 
Penn., April 23, 1852, daughter of Henry 
and Sarah J. (Brown) Chamberlain, who 
came to Wisconsin during her early girl- 
hood. Her father, who was born near Har- 
risburg, Penn., was a carpenter by trade, 
and died in Dayton township, in 1890. His 
wife, who was born in New York City, is 
still living. For nine years after his mar- 
riage Mr. Emmons carried on his father's 
farm, in 1880 removing to Dale township, 
Outagamie county, and in 1881 to Barron 
county. Wis. During his residence in Dale 
township he learned telegraphy, and served 
as agent for the Wisconsin Central railroad. 
He went to Barronett to act as agent for 
the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & 
Omaha railroad, and was also clerk for the 
Barronett Lumber Co., there residing for 
four and a half years, when, in the spring of 
1886, he returned to Waupaca county, and 
purchased the old home farm of 188 acres. 



9oS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



on which he hved for a year and a half. He 
then took up his residence in the city of 
\Vaupaca, and in the fall of 1888 started 
over the Northern Pacific route for Tacoma, 
Wash. He spent a week in that city, 
and a week in Salem, Ore., then pur- 
chased property in Centralia, Wash., 
where he made his home for eight months. 
Thev had been there only a very short 
time when Lydia, their four-year-old daugh- 
ter, was taken ill with smallpox, and the 
house was quarantined, cutting them off 
from all communication with the outside 
world. Mr. Emmons followed carpenter- 
tering while living there, and bought a claim 
in contest, which he was afterward obliged 
to sell at a sacrifice; so in September, 1889, 
he determined to return to Waupaca coun- 
ty, and soon after, selling his residence at a 
good price, he was again in Dayton town- 
ship. 

Mr. Emmons purchased 120 acres of 
land in Section 5, from his father, but sold 
in November, 1890, and was then a resi- 
dent of Rural until the spring of 1891, when 
he again went to Barronett as clerk for the 
Barronett Lumber Co., serving in that ca- 
pacity until the fall of 1892. For a short 
time thereafter he was engaged in dealing 
in potatoes in Waupaca, and in the spring 
of 1893 he purchased of his father ihe farm 
he now owns, comprising 188 acres l3ing in 
Sections 5 and 8, Dayton township. Mr. 
and Mrs. Emmons have three children — 
George V., born February 22, 1874, and 
Jessie B., born October 27, 1889, both born 
in Dayton township, and Lydia A., who 
was born November 20, 1884, in Barronett, 
Wisconsin. 

Since casting his first Presidential vote 
for Gen. U. S. Grant, Mr. Emmons has 
never wavered in his allegiance to the Re- 
publican party, and has frequently been 
called upon to serve his fellow townsmen in 
positions of public trust. He has held a num- 
ber of school offices, and since 1894 has been 
the efficient town clerk. He is also secre- 
tary of the Pleasant \'alley Cemetery Asso- 
ciation. Mr. Emmons is a very popular 
man, and his genial disposition and ster- 
ling worth have gained him the regard of 
many friends. 



JOSEPH E. MONTGOMERY is a na- 
tive of the Empire State, born in the 
town of Cambridge, Washington coun- 
ty, April 6, 1857. His parents, Thomas 
and Margaret (Edmundson) Montgomery, 
who were both born in the North, of Ireland, 
still reside in Washington county, and the 
father is a farmer in comfortable circum- 
stances. Their family numbered twelve 
children (ten of whom are yet living), viz.: 
William, who resides in Washington county, 
N. Y. ; Martha, wife of John K. Moore, of 
the same county; Isabel, wife of James 
Dorris, of Troy, N. Y. ; John, Joseph, Stew- 
art, Daniel, Minnie (wife of Frank Part- 
ridge), George and Howard, all of whom 
live in Washington county; Luther, who 
died at the age of eleven years; and one 
daughter who died in infancy. 

The boyhood days of our subject were 
quietly passed in attendance upon the com- 
mon schools of the neighborhood, and in 
work upon the old home farm. He remained 
at home until his marriage, which was cele- 
brated December 24, 1885, in Salem town- 
ship, Washington Co., N. Y. . at the home 
of the bride. Miss Sarah J. Pinkerton, who 
was born in Greenwich township, that coun- 
ty, July 23, 1857. Her parents, Robert and 
Rachel (McCallister) Pinkerton, were also 
natives of the North of Ireland, and are still 
living in Salem township. They had seven 
children, namely: John, who is a butcher in 
Salem, N. Y. ; Sarah J., Mrs. Montgomery; 
Mary, wife of John Pinkerton, of Waupaca 
township; Rachel and Isabella, who are liv- 
ing with their parents in the Empire State; 
Emma, now Mrs. Martin D. Hubbard, of 
Salem, N. Y. ; and Carrie, wife of Daniel 
Colton, of Salem, New York. 

Mr. Montgomery engaged in the draying 
business in his native county for a time, and 
then spent two and a half years in a lumber 
camp, serving as overseer in several small 
camps. In March, 1888, he came with his 
wife to \\'aupaca county. Wis., on a visit, 
and determining to here locate disposed of 
his property in the East and purchased 120 
acres of land in Section 5, Lind township, 
removing to that farm in the spring of 1889. 
Two years were there passed, after which he 
spent one year in Farmington township, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



909 



\\'aupaca count}', and then disposing of his 
propert}' in that place he returned to Wash- 
ington county, N. Y. , on a visit. For a short 
time he was in a meat market in the East, 
but came to the West to visit the World's 
Fair in Chicago, and then once more sought 
a home in the Badger State, purchasing in 
the spring of 1894 a sixty-acre tract of land 
in Section 8, Lind township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery have one 
child, Ward, born March 17, 1890. Our 
subject is a member of the Methodist Church, 
while his wife is a Presbyterian in religious 
connection. Politically he has always been 
a supporter of the Republican party and its 
principles, and takes a deep interest in its 
growth and success. While he has resided 
in Waupaca county but a short time, he has 
made many friends, and his honesty and 
steadfastness of purpose command the re- 
spect of all with whom he has been brought 
in contact. His life has been one of ear- 
nest labor, and he is now a prosperous 
farmer. 



JOHN F. MEISNER has been promi- 
nently identified with the business in- 
terests of Clintonville, Waupaca coun- 
ty, since 1872, and by promoting the 
commercial activit}' of the town has aided 
materially in its progress and upbuilding. 
It is not legislators or statesmen who upbuild 
a community, but the enterprising business 
men who are unselfishh' de\'oted to its in- 
terests. 

Mr. Meisner was born in October, 1852, 
in Brandenburg, Germany, of which locality 
his parents, John D. and Justina (Krum- 
bach) Meisner, were also natives. In 1855 
they crossed the Atlantic, reaching New 
York after a voyage of ten weeks, and in 
I 863 they became residents of Belle Plaine 
township, Shawano Co., Wis., where the 
father improved a good farm. Since 1884 
he and his wife have resided in Clintonville. 
Of their thirteen children nine are yet liv- 
ing, as follows: John F., whose name opens 
this sketch; William, a farmer, residing in 
Belle Plaine township; Herman, a resident 
■of Wittenberg, Wis. ; August, who is living 
in Clintonville; Augusta, wife of Herman 



Beyer, of Grant township, Shawano county; 
Ann, wife of John Frank, of the same town- 
ship; David, who is living on the old home 
farm; Emma, wife of Herman Prey, of 
Clintonville; and Albert, who is married 
and resides in Clintonville. 

John F. Meisner was a child of only 
about three years when his parents left the 
Fatherland to seek a home in New York. 
He was educated in the schools of Niagara 
county, N. Y. , and again pursued his studies 
after the migration of the family to Belle 
Plaine township, Shawano county. Here 
he became familiar with all the experiences 
of frontier life, and was engaged in work 
upon the home farm until obtaining a posi- 
tion in a mill in Embarrass, Wis., owned by 
W. H. Stacy. In 1872 he came to Clinton- 
ville, and in 1874 began the milling business 
on his own account, successfully carrying on 
operations along that line for several years. 
In 1882 he began general merchandising, 
in that year erecting a good frame store 
building, 24 x 80 feet, which is now stocked 
with a full line of everything usually found 
in a first-class establishment of the kind, 
and the well-appointed store is a favorite 
trading place with the public, which grants 
it a liberal patronage. Other interests also 
claim the attention of the owner, who in 
1892 built a warehouse, and is now ex- 
tensively engaged in handling potatoes, lime, 
plaster and salt. 

In Clintonville, on December 3, 1874, 
was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Meis- 
ner and Miss Minnie Folkman, a native of 
Mayville, Wis., whose parents, Henry and 
Frederica (Telkey) Folkman, were honored 
pioneers of Bear Creek township, Waupaca 
county. Seven children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Meisner — John (who died at 
the age of three years). Flora (who died at 
the age of nineteen months), Lillie, Clara, 
Charley, Martha and Alma. The parents 
hold membership with the Lutheran Church, 
in which Mr. Meisner has served as trustee 
for the past twelve years, taking a promi- 
nent part in Church work, and he is actively 
interested in everything tending to promote 
the welfare of the community. The cause 
of education finds in him a warm friend, and 
for fifteen years he has efficientl}' served as 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



school treasurer. He votes with the Demo- 
crats, and since 1892 has served as post- 
master of Clintonville; he has also been 
tovi'nship supervisor, and has served as 
supervisor from the Fourth ward of Clin- 
tonville, also holding other public offices of 
trust, performing all his public duties faith- 
fully, and winning the confidence and trust 
of all concerned. His private life is alike 
above reproach, and his sterling worth has 
won him the highest regard. 



AW. EGGLESTON, a successful 
farmer of Buckbee, Larrabee town- 
ship, Waupaca county, was a Union 
soldier during the greater part of the 
war of the Rebellion. He was born in Ver- 
mont in 1843, son of James and Louisa 
(Johnson) Eggleston. 

James Eggleston was born and married 
in Vermont. In 1845 he came to Wiscon- 
sin, locating on a farm near Racine, where 
he remained seven years, and in 1S52 went 
to Appleton, opening up a farm in Grand 
Chute township, Outagamie county, on which 
he made his home till about 1867, removing 
then to Pardeeville, Columbia Co., Wis., 
where his death occurred in March, 1893. 
Mrs. James Eggleston was born in Canada, 
and died in Bear Creek township, Waupaca 
Co., Wis., in April, 1891. They were the 
parents of the following named children: 
Melissa, wife of Washington Gregg, of Man- 
kato, Minn. ; Susan, who died in Appleton, 
Wis., in 1866, wife of S. P. Belding; George, 
who enlisted at Appleton in July, 1861, in 
Company E, Sixth Wis. V. I., served four 
years, re-enlisted, and served with the army 
of the Potomac till the close of the war, and 
died at Appleton, Wis., in 1883; A. W., 
subject of this sketch; Henry, who enlisted 
at Appleton in the Twenty-first Wis. V. I., 
serving two years, and now resides in Osh- 
kosh, Winnebago county; Alvah, who re- 
sides in Bear Creek township, Waupaca 
county; Mary, wife of William Green, of 
California; and John, who is married, and 
resides in Oshkosh. 

A. W. Eggleston was reared in Wiscon- 
sin, in 1852 removed with his parents to 



Appleton, and was educated in the schools 
of Grand Chute township, Outagamie county. 
He aided in clearing the home farm, and 
during his youth and early manhood engaged 
in hunting as far as New London, also mak- 
ing potash salts. In 1876 he commenced 
farming for himself in Bear Creek township, 
Waupaca county, where he opened up a 
farm, and in 1882 went thence to Buckbee, 
Larrabee township, buying one acre in the 
woods, which he cleared, and the same year 
built a one-and-a-half story house, 16x22 
feet in the main part, with a one-story L 16 
X 22 feet. He now has about ninety-five 
acres in the township, with about twenty- 
five acres cleared, has been engaged in buy- 
ing and selling wood, and is quite an apiar- 
ist, raising a number of bees. 

In December, 1861, Mr. Eggleston en- 
listed at Appleton in the Third Wis. V. C, 
for three years, and was mustered in at 
Janesville, Wis., as a member of Company 
I, which company was the body-guard of 
Gen. Blunt, under whom our subject served 
in the West, being in the Missouri campaign, 
at Fayetteville, Ark., and at Devall's Bluff, 
Ark. He re-enlisted February 29, 1864, 
for three years or during the war, served on 
the frontier, and was honorably discharged 
September 8, 1865, at Fort Leavenworth, 
Kans. , returning thence to Appleton, Wis. 
In 1866, in Outagamie county, Wis., A. W. 
Eggleston married Dora Knapp, who was 
born in Wisconsin, daughter of E. R. Knapp, 
and there were three children by this mar- 
riage — Adda, the wife of Jesse Freiry, of 
Nebraska; Ralph, who resides at Buckbee, 
Larrabee township; and Jennie, the wife of 
John Leppla, train dispatcher at Kaukauna, 
Wis. In 1884 Mr. Eggleston married, in 
Buckbee, for his second wife, Miss Minnie 
Kruger, who was born in Germany, and by 
this union there have been five children — 
Henry, Frank, Anna, Willie and Edna. Mr. 
Eggleston votes with the Republican party, 
and has served on the school board for eleven 
years; he is a member of J. B. Wyman Post, 
No. 32, G. A. R., oi which he has been 
senior vice-commander. He belongs to one 
of the old families of Outagamie county, 
and has seen much of the rapid development 
of this locality. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



911 



PRESTON K. HAYWARD, a promi- 
nent farmer of Royalton township, 
Waupaca county, has been identified 
ahnost from his earhest remembrance 
down to the present time with the interests 
of this portion of northern Wisconsin, save 
during the years of the civil struggle, when 
he bore arms in his country's defense. 

He was born in St. Lawrence county, 
N. Y., in 1843, son of John and Mary Ann 
(Cobb) Hayward, both of whom were na- 
tives of \'ermont, after marriage removing 
to St. Lawrence county, N. Y. , where they 
engaged in farming until 1848. In the lat- 
ter year they migrated to what is now Roy- 
alton township, Waupaca county, which 
was then an unsurveyed, unbroken wilder- 
ness, and Indians lingered and hunted in 
the forest fastnesses. John Hayward set- 
tled on the site of the present village of 
Royalton, and here engaged in the lumber 
business. Here, too, he remained through 
life, a prominent pioneer of Waupaca coun- 
ty. He served as chairman of the town- 
ship, and surveyed the Weyauwega road. 
Politically he was an old-time Democrat, 
but in i860 became a Republican. His 
death occurred in 1866, his wife surviving 
until the following year. The}' reared a 
family of eight children (seven of whom are 
now living), as follows: Percy, who was 
the wife of A. J. Moore, and is now de- 
ceased; M. L., of Mnkwa township; Laura, 
wife of Joseph Farrell, of Wood county; 
John K., who enlisted at Oshkosh in 1862 
in Company C, Twenty-first Wis. V. I., for 
three years, was wounded in the right ankle 
at the battle of Stone river, and now re- 
sides at Spencer, Marathon county; Mary 
E., wife of J. H. Sheldon, of Neligh, Ante- 
lope Co., Neb.; Preston K. ; George E., 
who in 1864 enlisted at Royalton in the 
Thirteenth Wis. V. I., and served to the 
close of the war; and Anna, wife of L. W. 
Wilcox, of Fifield, Wis., all of whom were 
born in St. Lawrence county, New York. 

Preston K. Hayward was five years old 
when his parents moved to Wisconsin, and 
he was reared in Royalton township, receiv- 
ing his education in the district schools. In 
September, 1861, at the age of seventeen 
vears, he enlisted for three vears in Com- 



pany A, of the noted Eighth Wis. V. I., 
known as the ' ' Eagle Regiment," was sworn 
into service at Madison, and with the regi- 
ment was attached to the army of the West. 
It was under the command of John C. Fre- 
mont at St. Louis, and was thence trans- 
ferred via Cairo to Island No. 10. It 
reached Shiloh after the battle there. After 
the evacuation of Corinth the regiment went 
into camp at Clear Creek, Miss., remaining 
till August 18, 1862, then marched to Tus- 
cumbia, Ala., retreated to luka and par- 
ticipated in the fierce and protracted en- 
gagement at Corinth, October 3 and 4, 
1862. Here Mr. Hayward received a gun- 
shot wound in the nose and right side of his 
face. He was furloughed, and rejoined his 
regiment at Holly Springs, Miss. The regi- 
ment wintered in Tennessee during the win- 
ter of 1862-63, and in February, 1863, ad- 
vanced to Vicksburg and remained through 
the notable siege, participating in the deadly 
charge of June 22, 1863. After the capitu- 
lation of Vicksburg the Eighth Wisconsin 
was sent to Black River, Miss., and thence 
joined the Red River expedition up to Sa- 
bine Cross Roads. Mr. Hayward had vet- 
eranized in January, 1863, at Saulsbury, 
Tenn. , in the same company and regiment, 
under Gen. A. J. Smith, later of the Red 
River expedition, and came home on vet- 
eran furlough. After rejoining" the com- 
mand it was in Tennessee and Alabama, 
wintered at New Orleans, and then pro- 
ceeded to the mouth of the Fish river, near 
Spanish Fort, where Mr. Hayward was 
wounded by a shell. He was sent to the 
United States general hospital at New Or- 
leans till able to return home, and reported 
again at Mobile, proceeding with the regi- 
ment to Uniontown, Ala., where it was dis- 
charged in September, 1865, returning to 
Madison, Wis., where it was paid off and 
mustered out. 

Mr. Hayward returned to Royalton 
township, and was engaged chiefly in lum- 
bering in northern Wisconsin until 1891, 
when he engaged in farming. He was mar- 
ried at Royalton to Miss Susan Akins. a na- 
tive of St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and 
daughter of Robert and Susan Akins. In 
politics Mr. Hayward is a Republican. So- 



912 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



cially he is a member of Brad Phillips Post 
No. 265, G. A. R., of which he is now offi- 
cer of the day, and a charter member of 
Union No. 1236 of the Modern Woodmen, 
at Weyauwega. He owns a good farm of 
160 acres in Town 23, Range 13, besides a 
pretty little farm of fifty acres in Royalton 
village. He is an industrious and highly- 
respected citizen, attached and thoroughly 
devoted to the interests and welfare of Wau- 
paca county. 



GOTFRIED BIEDERMANN, a rep- 
resentative and enterprising farmer, 
of lola township, Waupaca county, 
was born in Thalwyl, Canton of Zu- 
rich, Switzerland, in January, 1837, son of 
Felix Biedermann, who was a farmer, and at 
one time quite wealthy, having a fine home 
on the banks of Lake Zurich. In going se- 
curity for friends he lost everything he pos- 
sessed, and he afterward made his home with 
,a daughter, dj'ing at an advanced age. In 
the family were eight children, five sons and 
three daughters — Jacob, a resident of Osh- 
kosh. Wis.; Gotfried; Julius, who came to 
the United States, but later returned to 
Switzerland, where he died in 1893; August, 
•who lives in Wells, Minn. ; Gotlieb, of Port 
Washington, Wis. ; Sophia, who died in 
Switzerland; Annie, wife of Rudolph Heme, 
of Switzerland; and Louisa, who is married, 
and resides in Zurich, Switzerland. 

Mr. Biedermann had ver}' good educa- 
tional advantages, and after completing a 
course in the common schools, entered the 
high school; but as he did not like study, he 
returned to the farm. He was married in his 
native land January 4, 1864, to Elizabeth 
Bickel, who was born in April, 1843, daugh- 
ter of Henry Bickel, and after marriage the 
young couple lived upon the home place 
until it was sold by the authorities. He 
then removed to Thalwyl, where he was 
ta.\-collecter, wearing the uniform, and giv- 
ing his entire attention to that business 
for three years and a half. He could 
have held the position for life had he 
so desired, and was offered an increase in 
wages to remain. For some time, however, 
he had been thinking of comins: to the New 



World, where his brother August then lived, 
and in the fall of 1869 crossed the Atlantic 
with his wife and two children — Jacob and 
Anna. From Havre, France, they took pas- 
sage on a steamer, bound for New York, 
where they landed after a voyage of eleven 
days, and his brother then living in lola. 
Wis. , they at once proceeded to that place, 
being nine days in coming, by lake and rail, 
to Oshkosh, and then up the Wolf river to 
Gill's Landing, where they were met by Henrj' 
Wipf. In a lumber wagon they then came 
to lola, where they arrived about the middle 
of October, 1869. At that time Mr. Bieder- 
mann was $100 in debt, as his money was 
exhausted on reaching New York City, and 
his brother sent him that amount. He was 
entirely unfamiliar with the customs and hab- 
its of this country, and was unable to speak 
the language. He made his home temporari- 
ly with Jacob Wipf, and his first work in the 
United States was digging potatoes; later he 
worked for Mr. Wipf in a sawmill, and at 
cutting windfalls in the woods. His first 
home was a little old house in lola, where 
the wind blew in, and often extinguished his 
light. The first winter he was employed in 
the woods, and not until 1871 was he able 
to purchase any land, but at that time he and 
his brother August bought 200 acres in Sec- 
tions 13 and 14, lola township, of S. S. 
Chandler, of Waupaca, Wis., going largely 
in debt. Our subject was anxious to get a 
home, howe\'er, and going to work with a 
will soon cleared himself from debt. 

On that place Mr. Biedermann continued 
to reside for seven 3-ears, when he traded his 
land with A. Weinmann, of lola, for village 
property, and moved there; but being dissat- 
isfied he sold out at the end of a year, and 
bought 120 acres of new land in Sections 25 
and 26, lola township, whereon he settled, 
in 1 880. It was a wild tract, ^\■ithout build- 
ings, entirely unimproved, and the land was 
covered with brush, but he has labored un- 
tiringly, and now has sixty acres under a high 
state of cultivation. He has erected a good, 
substantial dwelling, and the outbuildings are 
all models of convenience, while the entire 
place indicates the enterprise and progress- 
ive spirit of the owner. The union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Biedermann has been blessed by 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



913 



seven children — Jacob, of Port Washington, 
Wis. ; Anna, now Mrs. John Dininiock, of 
lola; Albert, of Port \\'ashington; Fred, 
Martha and Harrj', at home; and Mary, who 
died at the age of about one year. Mr. Bied- 
erniann is not bound by party ties, holding 
himself free to vote for the man whom he 
thinks best qualified to fill the office. He 
has never sought political preferment, but 
has served in the position of pathmaster. 



GEORGE HOXIE is one of the young- 
est members of the bar of Waupaca 
county, yet he is recognized as an 
able lawyer, and is rapidly winning 
a foremost place in the ranks of his chosen 
profession. He is numbered among the 
native sons of Wisconsin, his birth having 
occurred in New London in 1870. He is 
a son of Albert and Jennie (Sibley) Ho.xie, 
the former of whom was one of the pioneer 
settlers of New London, where for some 
years he engaged in general merchandising. 
He is now living in Florida. 

The early education of George Ho.xie 
was acquired in the schools of his native 
neighborhood, and those of Milwaukee, after 
which, in 1885, he entered the State Uni- 
versity, at which he was graduated with the 
class of 1890. Having determined to enter 
the legal profession, he at once became a 
student in the law school in Madison, Wis., 
and after thorough preparation was grad- 
uated from that institution in 1892. Im- 
mediately he became a member of the well- 
known firm of Goldberg & Ho.xie, and began 
practice in Clintonville, now piracticing in all 
the courts of the State, and also in the Fed- 
eral courts. The firm had an office in New 
London, Wis., and Mr. Hoxie had charge 
of the business there until December, 1894, 
when he took charge of the Clintonville of- 
fice, Mr. Goldberg going to Milwaukee, 
where he now practices as a member of the 
firm of Felker, Goldberg cS: FeJker. Since 
his admission to the bar our subject has been 
comiected with every case of prominence 
which has arisen in Waupaca county, and 
his legal ability, which is of a high order, 
has won for him excellent success. He is a 
Hucnt and forcible speaker, clear and log- 



ical, and his keen perception readily recog- 
nizes an assailable point in an opponent's 
argument. Arguing from his success in the 
past, it is safe to say he has a brilliant fu- 
ture before him. 

Mr. Hoxie was married in New London, 
Wis., in June, 1894, the lady of his choice 
being Miss Edith D. Ketchum, a native of 
that place, and the daughter of Henry and 
Martha (Downing) Ketchum, the father a 
native of New York, who, in an early day, 
came to this State. He was one of the 
prime movers in the establishment of the 
Green Bay, Winona & St. Paul railroad, 
and was a leading real-estate dealer. He 
died in 1887 in New London, where his 
widow still resides. 

Mr. Hoxie is a member of Clintonville 
Lodge No. 314, I. O. O. F., and has been 
honored with office therein. He has been 
called to municipal office, having served for 
two years as city attorney of Clintonville, 
and as supervisor from the Third ward in 
1894. He has been an ardent and untiring 
worker in the ranks of the Republican party 
since before attaining his majority, having 
taken active part in campaign work since 
his eighteenth year, and the party recognizes 
in him a valued member, for he possesses a 
progressive spirit, and has that determina- 
tion that carries forward to successful com- 
pletion whatever he undertakes. He is an 
able lawyer and a rising politician, and 
withal a courteous, genial gentleman, one 
whose friends in Waupaca county are legion. 



M 



ATHIAS IvOBISKE, a substantial 
farmer and worthy citizen of Wau- 
paca township, Waupaca county, 
was born July 7, 1831, in Ger- 
many, son of Mathias Kobiske (Sr. ), a small 
farmer in that country. Of his children, only 
three lived to adult age: Mathias (Jr. ), the 
subject of this sketch; Caroline, who mar- 
ried Gottlieb Leiske, and died in Berlin; and 
Henry, of Berlin, Wisconsin. 

Mathias Kobiske (Jr.) was the eldest in 
his father's family. He attended the com- 
mon schools in Germany, was reared on 
a farm, and always worked for farmers, at 
times receiving no more than fifteen dollars 



914 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



a year and some clothing. On April 1 5, 
1855, in the Fatherland, he was united in 
marriage with Gustina Mannke, who was 
born in Germany, December 4, 1836, daugh- 
ter of John Mannke, who was a blacksmith 
by trade, and had a small farm. For two 
years Mr. Kobiske and his wife lived on the 
home farm with his parents, then, in the 
spring of 1857, left their native land to seek 
their fortunes in America. Bidding farewell 
to their friends, they took passage from 
Hamburg on the vessel "Europe," and 
after si.\ weeks and two days landed at 
Quebec. Wisconsin was their destination, 
and they came to Bloomfield township, Wau- 
shara county, where friends and former 
neighbors in Germany then lived, arriving 
there June 12, 1857. Their money had 
dwindled to a hundred dollars. He worked 
the first summer on the prairie near Ripon, 
Fond du Lac county, and, in fact, worked 
at almost any honest employment he could 
get, sometimes at fifty cents per day. He 
was poor, but willing and industrious. 

The fall after became Mr. Kobiske bought 
twelve acres of land, for which he paid fifty 
dollars. Their first house, a log one, con- 
structed by the help of neighbors, contained 
but one room, i6.\ 12 feet, in which a fire- 
place was built, as they could not afford a 
stove. This small dwelling was their home 
for five years, and here two of the children 
were born — Albertina, nows Mrs. Herman 
Fallendorf, of Lind township, Waupaca 
county; and Henry, a farmer of Lind. About 
1862 Mr. Kobiske sold this farm and bought 
forty acres of school land in Bloomfield, 
where again the work of clearing for a farm 
had to be done. He built the first house on 
his new property, making it of logs, and 
continued to live on that farm during his 
residence in Bloomfield. To the original 
forty acres more were added, until he had 
170 acres of excellent land, made so by the 
work of himself and his family. The chil- 
dren born to them there were as follows: 
Frederick, of Bloomfield, Waushara county; 
Mollie, now Mrs. Edward Breyer, of Medina, 
Outagamie county; William, of Bloomfield, 
Waushara county; Augustus and Charles, at 
home; and two girls, who died young. 

On April 14, 1894, Mr. Kobiske removed 



to Waupaca township, Waupaca county, 
here purchasing 160 acres in Section 34, 
and twenty-five acres in Section 36, where 
he now lives, owning in all, with ten acres in 
\\'aushara county, 195 acres of land. He 
is largely a self-made man, and well respected 
in the community. Beginning with very lit- 
tle, he has accumulated a \evy comfortable 
competence, chiefly through hard work and 
economy, and he has passed through such 
times as his children are not likely to ex- 
perience. His family have been of great 
help to him, however, especially his sons, 
who have been grateful, and have been hard 
workers. With their assistance, and with 
the help of a faithful and economical \\ ife, 
he has been successful, and not by specula- 
tion. He is a Republican in politics, but 
has never been an office-seeker, having been 
busied with his own affairs. In religious 
affiliation he and his family are Lutherans. 



GEORGE E. THOMAS is one of the 
progressive young farmers of Lind 
township, Waupaca county, and in a 
way he has been a pioneer; for by 
his improved methods he has demonstrated 
to a doubting community, and especially to 
the older heads, that crops can be raised in 
the western part of Lind township. Set- 
tling there on a farm, the wiseacres said he 
would starve, but to their surprise he has 
thrived beyond measure. If he who causes 
two blades of grass to grow where formerly 
there was but one deserves the world's 
gratitude, much more is he worthy of praise 
who brings under cultivation whole farms 
once deemed waste land. Mr. Thomas 
comes of pioneer stock. 

His father, James Thomas, was born in 
Februarv, 1821, in Seneca county, N. Y. , 
son of James Thomas, Sr. , a farmer. The 
former was raised on a farm, and before he 
was twentj'-one married Elizabeth Swart/, 
who was born in Seneca county, N. Y. , May 
4, 1820. She was the daughter of Jacob 
Swartz, a German, born at Essenheim on 
the Rhine, who three times deserted from 
the German army, only to be recaptured 
and punished. Finally, escaping from prison, 
he swam the river, and at last reached 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



915 



America, where he married and reared a 
family of six children. After their marriage, 
James and Elizabeth Thomas lived for six 
years on a farm in Steuben county, N. Y., 
where he cleared sixtj' acres of heavily-tim- 
bered land. Four children were born to 
them here. In 1849 Mr. Thomas resolved 
to migrate to the Indian land in Wisconsin, 
and starting in May of that year from Seneca 
county, where they had been visiting, the 
family proceeded from \\'aterloo to Buffalo 
via the Erie canal, thence via the lakes to 
Sheboygan. Here the family remained while 
the father looked about him for a site, but 
they soon proceeded by conveyance to Fond 
du Lac, where they remained until October. 
Mr. Thomas never missed an opportunity to 
earn an honest dollar. Securing an ox-team 
at Fond du Lac, and loading his goods and 
family, he started b}" way of Ripon and Ber- 
lin (then Strong's Landing) to Waupaca 
county; on the journey from Berlin to Wau- 
paca, forty miles by the route taken, they 
did not pass a house. At the home of John 
Vaughn a temporar}' shelter was obtained, 
and the new-comer homesteaded 160 acres 
in Sections 33 and 34 of Waupaca town- 
ship, then in a state of complete wildness, 
on which he made the first improvements, 
and built the first white man's habitation, a 
cabin 16x20, the lumber for which was 
among the first product of the Weyauwega 
sawmill. It was completed December 24, 
1S49, and the family celebrated Christmas 
Day in their new home. Here Mr. Thomas 
remained until his death, April 29, 1S80. 
In politics he was a Democrat until James 
Buchanan's election, when he became a Re- 
publican. He held various township offices, 
and became a prosperous farmer, and one of 
the best-known men in the county. Com- 
mencing life in Waupaca county with but fif- 
teen dollars, he accumulated property, until 
at his death he owned 440 acres of land, 240 
of which he obtained from the government. 
Mr. Thomas was an extensive hop grower, 
and while a shrewd business man, he was 
generous and charitable in many ways. 
Never did a girl pick hops for him, and sub- 
sequently marry, but that the baby received 
a new dress from Mr. Thomas. The widow 
of Mr. Thomas still lixes on the home place. 



a highly-respected lady. The children born 
to them — four in New York, the others in 
Waupaca count}" — were as follows: Marj' 
J., w'ho first married David Young, and is 
now Mrs. Philip Koons, of Waupaca; W^ill- 
iam H., of Crystal River, Dayton township; 
John F. , who enlisted in the Twenty-first 
Wis. V. I., and died June 4, 1862, at 
Columbia Hospital, Washington, D. C, after 
three months' service; Harriet E., now Mrs. 
Ira Spencer, of Lind township; George E. , 
subject of this sketch; Allie N., now Mrs. 
Orlando Bills, of Waupaca; Cassius L. , of 
Iron River; Fred M., of Hope, 111.; James 
A., at home; Belle E., now Mrs. Frank 
Allen, of Stockton, Portage county; Minnie 
F. , now Mrs. Charles \'an Ornum, of \\'au- 
paca township. 

George E. Thomas was born May i , 
1852, in the pioneer home of his parents. 
He was raised a farmer's boy, attending the 
schools that were available in the new coun- 
try, and when of age began life for himself. 
The winter of 1872-73 he spent in the lum- 
ber woods, working for the first time away 
from home, driving a team in the north- 
eastern part of the county. Returning home 
in the spring, he concluded to -'run the 
river" to St. Louis, making one trip as 
"tailsman." At Alton, on the way to St. 
Louis, he received word to watch the raft of 
lumber to be tied up there awaiting the ar- 
rival of another raft, and while lying there 
two weeks he hired out as a harvest hand 
and saved some money. Not liking river 
life he returned home July 10, and subse- 
l^quentl}' for a time worked for his father and 
j in the woods. On April 13, 1875, he was 
; married, in Pine River, W'aushara county, 
to Miss Carrie L. Vanness, born in Bridge- 
port, Conn., November 9, 1856, daughter of 
G. J. and Elizabeth (Upton) Vanness, who 
in 1866 removed to Wisconsin from Connec- 
ticut with their three children — Carrie L. , 
George E. (who died in Minnesota) and 
Blanche (a school teacher, of Chicago). Mr. 
and Mrs. Thomas in 1875 located on the 
farm in Lind township where they still live, 
the southeast-quarter of Section 7, which 
Mr. Thomas had purchased the previous 
winter. He now owns 250 acres, 210 of 
which are cleared, and he is engaged in gen- 



gi6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



eral farming and stock raising. He is an 
enthusiastic Republican, but not an office- 
seeker, for his business interests him and he 
devotes his entire attention to it. His meth- 
ods are systematic and thorough, and some 
call him a scientific farmer. Certain it is 
that he has succeeded where others have 
failed. He possesses good business and fin- 
ancial ability, and is justly esteemed as one 
of the most progressive and able farmers of 
Waupaca county. 



ON. R.ASMUSSEN, one of the sub- 
stantial and highly-respected farm- 
ers of Farmington township, Wau- 
paca county, well typifies in his life 
the rewards that come to him who resolutely 
assumes the burdens of life, and with faith- 
fulness and integrity performs the duties 
that lie in his pathway to success. Through- 
out his life he has never shunned honest labor, 
and by a proper direction of that capacity' 
for toil he has guided his career upward to a 
generous competency. 

Mr. Rasmussen was born in Denmark 
April 24, 1840, son of Rasmus Nelson, a 
farmer of limited means, whose family num- 
bered ten children — seven sons and three 
daughters. Of these, O. N. was one of the 
youngest, and his services were not much 
needed at home. Receiving a common-school 
education, he at the age of si.xteen began to 
work out among other farmers, at first earning 
but $4 per month, but his wages gradually 
rose until he could command $75 per year, 
which was about the maximum for farm 
labor in Denmark. He was married in 
February. 1868, to Annie Hanson, who was 
born in 1843. Although he had worked 
steadily, and did not spend his money fool- 
ishly or unnecessarily, he was unable to save 
much from his scant earnings, and at the 
time of his marriage had accumulated but 
little capital. Clearly perceiving that his 
chances for owning a home in Denmark were 
few, he resolved to seek his fortune in the 
United States, and bidding his friends and 
relatives adieu, he set sail from Bremen with 
his young wife in April, 1868, fourteen days 
later landing at Portland, Maine. Two 
brothers, James and Rasmus, were already 



living in Waupaca county, Wis., as well as 
many countrymen, and thither the young 
Danish couple journeyed, by rail to Oshkosh 
and thence by team to W'inchester, Winne- 
bago county, where another brother, Peter, 
was living. Reaching Waupaca county Mr. 
Rasmussen, after looking around, bought 
eighty acres of land, in May, 1868, in Sec- 
tion I, Farmington township. It contained 
a log house and barn, and between twenty 
and thirt}' acres had been cleared. He went 
into debt for more than one-half the pur- 
chase price, but the better opportunities in 
the new land, and the prospect of soon own- 
ing, without encumbrance, a home of his 
own, spurred him on to toil unceasingh". 
Each \ear the cleared portion of the little 
farm grew larger and larger, and later forty 
acres were added to the home. Mr. Ras- 
mussen now owns an unencumbered farm of 
1 20 acres, si.xty of which are cleared and 
under a high state of cultivation. He has 
built a good home and a large and commo- 
dious barn, as well as completing many other 
notable improvements. 

In 1869 Mrs. Rasmussen died, and for 
his second wife he married Mattie A. Siver- 
son, a native of Norway. His family con- 
sists of six children: Carrie, wife of Jacob 
Tulofson, of Scandinavia township; and 
Fred, Gustav, Anna, Mabel and Ettie, at 
home. Mr. Rasmussen is a Republican, 
and in religious connection he and his family 
are members of the Lutheran Church. He 
is one of the excellent farmers and good 
citizens of Farmington township, by fair and 
honest dealing, by industry and unwavering 
toil, ha\ing risen to his present position and 
established for himself an imperishable char- 
acter for many sterling qualities. His good 
wife by her careful management of the 
household affairs has contributed measurably 
to his prosperity. 



WILLIAM W. CARR, the highly- 
esteemed city clerk of Rhinclandcr, 
widely known for his courtes}- and 
urbanity, is a native of Wisconsin, 
born of Scottish ancestr}', December 19, 
1859, in the township of Mukwa, Waupaca 
county. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



9'/ 



William D. Carr, his father, was born in 
Corning, N. Y. , a son of William D. Carr, 
who came from Scotland to this country, 
where he followed his trade, that of carpen- 
ter, married and had three children: Will- 
iam D., Jr., John P. and Susan. The mother 
of these died in Corning, N. Y., after which 
the father came west to Wisconsin, settling 
in \ew London, where he died about the 
}ear 1868. William D. Carr, Jr., was mar- 
ried in New York State to Miss ^fary Pace, 
who was born in New Jersey, daughter of 
M. J. and Caroline (Gorton) Pace, and a 
direct descendant of Gov. Wolcott, who 
came over in the " Maj'flower," and had the 
historic plates handed down by him, which 
are now in the possession of Mrs. Wallace 
(daughter of Mrs. Caroline Pace), now of 
Escanaba, Mich. Mrs. Carr had three 
brothers, John, William and Michael, and 
two sisters, Martha and Carrie. Grand- 
father Pace, who was a baker by trade, and 
a native of Pennsylvania, came to Wiscon- 
sin with his entire family in 1854 or 1855, 
locating at Mukwa, Waupaca county, and 
there built the first sawmill north of Osh- 
kosh, which he operated up to some time in 
the "sixties," when he farmed for a time. 
For several years after retiring he lived 
among his children, and he died in 1883 in 
Waupaca county. He was a prominent 
Methodist, and a stanch Democrat; he had 
three sons serving as soldiers in the Civil 
war, in Wisconsin regiments. To William 
D. Carr, Jr., and his wife were born six 
children, viz.: Charles F. , William W. and 
Walter M., living, and Walter, Mamie K., 
and an infant deceased — Walter when three 
years old, and Mamie K. when thirteen. 
In 1858 the father of our subject came to 
Wisconsin with his family, locating at first 
near Fond du Lac, but soon thereafter 
moving to New London where he embarked 
in mercantile trade, in which he continued 
up to his enlistment, in 1861, in the Third 
Wis. V. C. He served throughout the 
war, and after receiving an honorable dis- 
charge returned to New London and re- 
sumed mercantile pursuits. He died at 
New London in 1883, leaving the heritage 
of a good name and an unsullied reputa- 
tion. In politics he was a consistent Demo- 



crat, and filled several positions of honor 
and trust, such as postmaster at New Lon- 
don thirteen years, and clerk of Waupaca 
county four years; was corresponding secre- 
tary of the Treasury Department, under 
Ferdinand Kuehn, over four years. For 
many years he was secretary of the Demo- 
cratic State Central Committee, and had 
the reputation of being an able man, bright 
and clever. He was an active member of 
both the F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F. For 
her second husband his widow married S. H. 
Cowles, and now resides at Madison, Wis- 
consin. 

William W. Carr, the subject proper of 
this memoir, received his education at the 
common schools of Waupaca and the high, 
schools of Madison, Wis., but owing to- 
suffering partial paralysis when he was an 
infant he was unable to attend school with 
any degree of regularity. At the age of 
nineteen years he commenced learning the 
jeweler's trade, which, after three years, 
however, he had to abandon on account of: 
his early trouble, which even to this day 
affects fiim. In 1884 he came to Rhine- 
lander, to fill a position in Shepherd's real- 
estate office, and he has dealt considerably 
in real estate, including city property and 
pine lands. 

In June, 1889, Mr. Carr was married to 
Mabel Pingry, who was born in Omro, 
Wis., daughter of George C. and Sarah J. 
(Scram) Pingry, who were the parents of 
six children: Myrta, Charles, Mabel, Frank, 
Lena and Chester. To Mr. and Mrs. Carr 
have been born three children, named re- 
spectively: Hazel, William D. and Lynne. 
Politically our subject is a Republican, and 
while a resident of Waupaca count)' he 
served as deputy register of deeds some 
four years. 



HERMAN A. KOHL, of Antigo, Lang- 
lade county, son of Bernard and 
Louisa (Sieben) Kohl, is a native of 
Manitowoc county. Wis., born at 
Newton, July 7, 1854. His parents were 
both natives of Germany, the father born in 
Hessen in 181 1, the mother in 1818. In 
1S48 they came to America and settled in. 



<Jli 



COMMEMORAriVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 



Newton township, Manitowoc county, Wis., 
on some wild land which they improved, and 
upon which thej- resided until 1875, when 
they moved to Manitowoc, where they now 
live retired. The father has always lived a 
plain and unassuming life, taking no active 
part in politics. He is a member of the 
German Reformed Church. To the marriage 
of Bernard and Louisa (Siebenj Kohl were 
born si.\ children, of whom Otto, Herman 
A., and Julia are now living; Louisa became 
the wife of Mr. Schuelke, a minister of the 
German Reformed Church, and died at the 
age of forty years, the mother of three chil- 
dren. 

The subject of this sketch, Herman A. 
Kohl, passed his early boyhood on the farm, 
engaged in rural pursuits. His education 
consisted of such training as the common 
schools afforded; a course of two years at 
the German Mission House at Franklin, 
Wis. ; one term at the Normal School at 
■Oshkosh, Wis., and one term at Bryant & 
Stratton's Business College, Cleveland, 
Ohio. At the age of eighteen he began 
teaching at Cleveland, Ohio, and after 
teaching two years in the Parochial schools 
and nine months in the Lutheran school at 
Cooperstown, Manitowoc Co. , Wis., he was 
compelled, owing to poor health, to give up 
that vocation. In November, 1875, he 
went to Manitowoc and entered the employ 
of Charles Bock, a general merchant, as 
bookkeeper, with whom he remained until 
in February, 1882, when he went to Antigo 
and purchased an interest in a hardware 
store with C. S. Leykom, which partnership 
continued until in May, 1886, when he 
withdrew from the business. 

In July following, in connection with A. 
M. Tollefson, Mr. Kohl opened a hardware 
store at Wakefield, Mich., the business being 
conducted by that firm until 1888, when it was 
moved to Antigo, where it was carried on 
until the death of Mr. Tollefson in 1894, 
since when Mr. Kohl has carried it on as a 
stock company. He is a live, enterprising 
man, and has every taken a great interest 
in all matters pertaining to the building up of 
Antigo; has contributed largely of his time 
and given liberally to enterprises that look- 
ed to the development of Antigo and Lang- 



lade county. He is a stockholder in the 
Wisconsin Handle Manufacturing Co., and 
chief of the Fire Department of the tow n, 
which he helped to organize in 1883, it then 
consisting of a bucket brigade only. He 
has ever watched its progress and been 
identified with its history from that period 
to the present. It is said that in 1894, dur- 
ing a big fire he lost his own store-house, 
entailing a loss of some three thousand 
dollars, while protecting property for others. 
Politicially speaking he is a Republican; but is 
not an office-seeker, preferring to work for 
his friends. In 1884 he became county 
treasurer and in the fall of the same year, 
was elected to that office in which he served 
a term of two years; he served two years on 
the school board, and was supervisor in 
1889-90. 

On March 27, 1S77, Mr. Kohl was mar- 
ried to Harriet Leykom, daughter of John 
Leykom, and to this marriage were born 
eight children, namely: Oliver B., Harry F". , 
LeonaM., Trevor R. , Elmer, Harriet A., 
and William, who are still at home, and 
Herman (the eldest), who died at the age of 
two years. 



ALFRED WILLIAM TRE\TTT, M. 
D., was born in February, 1859, in 
the town of Harlansburg, Lawrence 
Co., Penn., a son of John Trevitt, a 
native of Birmingham, England. 

John Trevitt married Emily Beven, who 
was born in Wales. Her father and broth- 
ers were all officers in the British army. Mr. 
Trevitt, who was a Baptist minister, was act- 
ive in British politics, and a leader in the 
Labor agitation, which was probably the 
cause of his emigration to the United States, 
and he came to Pennsylvania in 1852. Here 
he was a radical Republican. He located 
in New Brighton, Beaver Co., Penn., and 
afterward moved to Lee county, Iowa, ten 
miles from Fort Madison. In Iowa he fol- 
lowed farming. 

When Dr. Trevitt was a three-year-old 
child his mother died; he was seven at the 
time of the family's removal to Iowa, and 
when he was thirteen years of age his father 
died. He continued to li\e on the farm till 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



919 



he was twenty, receiving a common-school 
education. He then began reading medi- 
cine, became a student of the Eclectic 
Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, and 
graduated from that institution January 7, 
1 88 1. At West Point, Lee Co., Iowa, he 
began practice, and was subsequently en- 
gaged in practice at Fort Madison, in the 
same county, for three years. On Novem- 
ber 20, 1883, Dr. Trevitt married Margaret 
Trout Johnson. From Fort Madison he 
came to Wisconsin to take charge of the 
hospital at Stevens Point, Portage county, 
in which he had a one-fourth interest. He 
operated the hospital there for fourteen 
months, moved it to Wausau, Marathon 
county, in 1886, and there conducted it three 
3'ears, when he sold out. Since then he has 
paid strict attention to his private practice. 
Mrs. Dr. Trevitt is also a graduate of the 
Cincinnati Eclectic Medical College, and en- 
gaged in the practice of medicine, herself 
and husband having an office together. Dr. 
A. W. Trevitt is a Republican, takes a lively 
interest in politics, has always been active 
as a stump speaker in his locality, and was 
called to Minnesota in 1892 to make several 
speeches in the January campaign. He has 
served as member of the board of health of 
Wausau, and is now the board of health 
physician for the cit}'. 



FRANK BRIGGS, D.V.S., who has a 
professional reputation second to none 
in Marathon county as a veterinary 
surgeon, was born in North Wayne, 
Kennebec Co., Maine, January 24, 1849, 
sonof William B. and Enielinc (Farr) Briggs. 
The Briggs family is of English extraction, 
but had been transplanted to the shores of 
the Pine Tree State in early Colonial times. 
William B. Briggs was a native of Maine, 
and his wife of New York State. Their 
family consisted of five children, all living, 
as follows: William B., a resident of Chi- 
cago; Frank, subject of this sketch; Fred 
and Annie S. (twins), the former a resident 
of Ottumwa, Iowa, the latter the wife of 
James Reynolds, of Le Roy, Dodge Co., 
Wis. ; and Bell, wife of F". Ward, a resident 
-of Oshkosh. The parents removed to Wis- 

68 



cousin about 1855, when Frank was si.x years 
old. They purchased a farm in Dodge 
county, and there reared their children. 
The father was an industrious and successful 
farmer, and still resides on the old home- 
stead at the ripe old age of eighty years. 
His faithful and devoted wife passed from 
earth in October, 1891. 

The boyhood days of Frank were spent 
on the home farm, in Dodge county. He at- 
tended the district schools, and assisted in 
the farm work until he attained the age of 
twenty-one. In 1871 he left home and 
came north to Marathon county. Here he 
became actively interested in the great lum- 
bering interests, and for fourteen years was 
chiefly engaged in the pineries and in running 
the river. From boyhood he had taken an 
interest in veterinary science, and gradually 
he acquired a valuable and almost a profes- 
sional knowledge of the science. He occa- 
sionally practiced, and in 1890 he entered 
the Chicago Veterinary College as a student, 
graduating two years later, in the class of 
1892. He located in Wausau, and has since 
largely increased his practice. The Doctor 
has never married. He is a member of Oak- 
field Lodge No. 158, I.O.O.F. , of Fond du 
Lac, and is also a member of the Wisconsin 
Society of Veterinary Graduates. Dr. Briggs 
has almost numberless friends, and is a very 
popular and highly - respected ' citizen of 
Wausau. 



OLE O. OMIT. The subject of this 
personal narrative is one of the most 
industrious and progressive farmers 
within the borders of lola township, 
Waupaca county, and is highly esteemed 
and respected by those who know him best. 
He was born in Norway October 25, 1832, 
and as his father died when he was but a 
boy he was compelled to begin life for him- 
self at an early age. He had little or no 
chances for an education, and in the spring 
of 1 85 1 he decided to come to America, 
using the $35 received from his father's es- 
tate to pay his passage. He embarked on 
the sailing vessel "Johannes," which after 
a voyage of four weeks and two days landed 
him at Quebec. From that city he came by 



920 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



way of the lakes to Milwaukee, Wis., where 
he secured work in a sawmill in Michigan, 
and there earned his first dollar in the New 
World. He was unfamiliar with the English 
language, and on his arrival had only fifty 
cents left. During the summer of 185 i and 
the following winter he was employed at 
lumbering in Michigan, and the ne.xt summer 
was also there engaged in a sawmill, after 
which he came to Merrill, W'is. For several 
years he was engaged in the lumber business, 
and for four seasons ran on the river. 

In October, 1861, Mr. Omit enlisted in 
the Eighth Wisconsin Light Artillery at 
Wausau, Wis., from which place the regi- 
ment went to Madison, and then to Racine, 
Wis., where they remained until March, 
1862. The first battle in which our subject 
participated was at Corinth. This was fol- 
lowed by the engagement at Perryville, 
Stone River, Tullahoma, Chattanooga, 
Chickamauga and the Atlanta campaign 
under Sherman. He then returned to Ten- 
nessee, where he took part in the battles of 
Murfreesboro, Missionary Ridge and Nash- 
ville. After the latter engagement he was 
taken ill and for si.\ weeks was confined in 
hospital No. 4, at Nashville, this being the 
onlj' time he was absent from duty, as he 
was never wounded. In August, 1865, he 
received his discharge at Stone River, Ky. , 
and returned home. He was a faithful sol- 
dier, valiantly aiding his adopted countr}' in 
her struggle to preserve the Union, and was 
ever found at his post of dut)'. 

On his return to Wisconsin Mr. Omit 
purchased eighty acres of partially-improved 
land in Section 28, Tola township, Waupaca 
county, and after buying his tools and equip- 
ments found himself in debt. There were 
no dwelling or outbuildings upon the place, 
but he at once erected a small log house, 
I2X 14 feet, this being the first home that 
he had ever owned, and the first place he 
could call by that name from the time he 
was a mere youth. Mr. Omit was married 
in Scandinavia, Waupaca county, July 22, 
1866, to Miss Mary A. Thomason, who was 
born in Norway, in January, 1847, ^"^ came 
to the New World with her parents when 
six months old. Her father, who was for- 
merly an agriculturist of Scandinavia town- 



ship, Waupaca county, now makes his home 
in the village of lola. To this worthy cou- 
ple have been born six children — Oscar, of 
Rhinelander, Wis. ; Gusta, now Mrs. Martin 
Caldwell, of lola; Harris, Amelia, Albert 
and Henry, at home. 

After his marriage Mr. Omit and his 
young wife began housekeeping in the log 
house where he had lived before, and where 
he had previously done his own cooking. 
His home was small and humble, but was all 
his own, and he has added to his original 
purchase until he is now the owner of 140 
acres of fine land, which he has brought to 
a high state of culture, and upon which he 
has some verj" good and substantial im- 
provements. The neatness and orderly ap- 
pearance of the property manifest to the 
most casual observer the thrift and care of 
the proprietor, and show conclusively that 
he understands his business thoroughly. On 
first becoming an American citizen his vote 
was cast in favor of the Democratic party, 
but he has since changed his allegiance, and 
is now a stanch supporter of Republicanism. 
He is a charter member of lola Post No. 99, 
G. A. R., while religiously he belongs to 
the Lutheran Church of Scandinavia. 



FRANKLIN R. HOUSTON, D. D. S., 
one of the most popular and skillful 
dentists of Wausau, is a native of the 
Upper Wisconsin Valley, havingbeen 
born in Centralia, \\'ood Co., Wis., June 13, 
1S72, son of James T. and Lydia H- (Lyon) 
Houston. The father was born in Missouri, 
and was by trade a machinist. The mother 
was born at Centralia, Wis., February 27, 
1850, eldest daughter of Reuben C. and 
Esther J. (Hill) Lyon. Reuben C. Lyon 
was one of the most prominent manufactur- 
ers of Centralia, and an incorporator of the 
Wisconsin Valley railroad. He died Octo- 
ber 1 8, 1887. To James and Lydia Hous- 
ton seven children were born, six of whom 
arc now living: Franklin R. , Lorena and 
Laura (twins), George and .\rthur (twins), 
and Robert. 

When Franklin R. Houston, subject of 
this sketch, was about four years old his par- 
ents removed from Centralia to Stevens 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



921 



Point, and here he attended the village 
schools, here too he met with misfortune in 
the death of his father, June 13, 18S3. In 
the following year, when twelve years of 
age, he returned with his mother to Cen- 
tralia, and there completed his education in 
the public schools. Mr. Houston's first 
position in the world's great sphere of labor 
was as a salesman, but in 1891, at the age 
of nineteen, he began the study of dentistry 
in the Chicago College of Dental Surgery. 
As a student Dr. Houston was untiring and 
thorough, and he evinced his enterprise and 
ability by taking a two-year's course in Rush 
Medical College while at Chicago. Gradu- 
ating with honor from the College of Dental 
Surgery in April, 1894, he at once began the 
practice of his profession at Wausau. Dur- 
ing his comparatively brief professional 
career there he has attained a wide popu- 
larity, and a large and lucrative practice. 
In politics the Doctor is a Republican. He 
attends the Presbyterian Church, and is a 
prominent member of Grand Rapids Lodge 
No. 128, F. & A. M., and also of the Royal 
Arcanum. 



IVl 



ARCUS S. PRATT. There are 
some men, quiet and unostenta- 
tious in manner, who, neverthe- 
less, exert a strong influence for 
good that is widely felt, while others, who 
try to be of importance, impress us with 
their insignificance. To the former class 
belongs the subject of this sketch. 

Mr. Pratt was born in Bath, Steuben 
Co., N. Y. , February 28, 1840, and is a son 
of Sherman Shumway and Sarepta A. (War- 
ren) Pratt, the former a native oi Holyoke, 
Mass., the latter of Edinburg, Saratoga Co., 
N. Y. The ancestry of the Pratt family 
can be traced back as far as 1682, and was 
of Welsh origin. Ebene/er Pratt, a great 
uncle of our subject's father, was among the 
first to enter the Colonial service in the war 
of the Re\olution, was made an ensign, and 
was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill. 
Asher Chapin, the great-grandfather on the 
paternal side, was a captain in the war for 
independence, and suffered all the hardships 
of the winter at Valley Forge, one of the 



most distressing experiences in that long 
struggle, and died from the effects of exposure. 
In the Mexican war the family also had its 
representative in the person of Elijah Pratt, 
grandfather of our subject. Sherman Shum- 
way Pratt married Miss Sarepta A. Warren, 
who traces her ancestry in direct line back 
to Joseph Warren, of Bunker Hill memory. 
He was her great-grandfather, and Gen. 
Warren, of the army of the Potomac, was 
her fourth cousin. The Warrens are direct 
descendants of Mary, ( Jueen of Scots, and 
both the Pratts and the Warrens belonged 
to that sturdy Puritan stock who were the 
founders of New England, and gave to it its 
stable institutions. Mr. and Mrs. Pratt be- 
came the parents of two sons, our subject 
being the eldest. 

His only brother, P. Warren Pratt, was 
born in Steuben county, N. Y., in January, 
1845, and removed with his parents to Wis- 
consin, where he resided until 1864, follow- 
ing the profession of school teaching. He 
then enlisted for the war in the same regi- 
ment with our subject, and about August 
15, 1864, was transferred to the United 
States detective force, stationed on the 
boundary lines between this country and 
Canada, where he continued until after the 
cessation of hostilities. He then returned 
to his home in Grand Rapids, but his health 
was broken down through exposure, and 
after lingering for about three years, he 
passed peacefully away. The father died 
in Grand Rapids, in January, 1880, since 
which time the mother has made her home 
with her surviving son. 

Marcus S. Pratt left Batli, N. Y., in 
1854, and accompanied his parents on their 
removal to Plover, Wis., which, at that time, 
was the county scat of Portage county. He 
was educated in the Haverling High School, 
in Steuben county, N. Y. , and at the age of 
eleven years was graduated from the Fulton 
& Eastman Commercial College, of Syracuse, 
N. Y. , while previous to his removal to Plover 
he occupied the position of bookkeeper with 
the Bath Milling Co., although not yet four- 
teen years of age. After his arrival in Wis- 
consin he worked with his father at the car- 
penter's trade, and they took a contract to 
build two churches in Plover. In 1855 our 



922 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



subject went to Chicago, and there, on Sep- 
tember 12, enhsted in the Chicago Light 
Horse Company, for the suppression of the | 
border war in Kansas, where the struggle 
between slavery and free rule was then in 
progress, remaining there until May, 1856, 
when he was honorably discharged, and re- 
turned to his home in Grand Rapids. Here 
Mr. Pratt again engaged in civil pursuits as 
a contractor, and erected two large stores, 
also the combined court house and jail 
building of Portage county. In the winter 
of i860 he began teaching school, and in 
April, 1 86 1, when the echo of Fort Sumter's 
guns was hardly silenced, he enlisted in the 
Union service at Grand Rapids. On August 
16, following, he re-enlisted in the "Ever- 
greens," under Capt. Daniel Howell, and on 
their arrival in Madison, Wis., early in Sep- 
tember, they were attached to the Twelfth 
Wisconsin Regiment as Company G, of which 
Mr. Pratt was made corporal. He served 
with distinction in the numerous engage- 
ments in which his command participated, 
and the Twelfth was noted for the bravery 
it displayed. In Januarj', 1864, he was 
thrice slightl}' wounded, but never left his 
post, continuing with his regiment at the 
siege of Savannah, and being present at the 
surrender of Columbus, and the capture of 
Raleigh, as well as in numerous other en- 
gagements, including the last battle of the 
war, at Bentonville. He was there wounded 
by the explosion of a shell, and sent to the 
hospital with both knees badly injured. He 
first received treatment at the corps hospi- 
tal, and was then sent to the general hospi- 
tal at Newburn, whence he was transferred 
to Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia, 
and later to Madison, Wis., where, August 
20, 1865, he was honorably discharged. 

Upon his return from the war Mr. Pratt 
resumed the business of contracting and 
building in Grand Rapids, carrying on oper- 
ations along that line until April, 1887, 
when, on account of the injuries he had sus- 
tained in the struggle, he was forced to take 
up a less arduous pursuit, and for a time en- 
gaged in the insurance business. On his 
recovery he resumed his chosen calling, and 
is now widel)' recognized as one of the lead- 
ing contractors in this section of the State. 



His life has indeed been a busy one, yet he 
has found time to serve his fellow towns- 
men in political office, where he has dis- 
charged his duties with a promptness and 
fidelity that have won him high commenda- 
tion. He served for two j'ears as assistant 
register of deeds in Portage count)', was for 
four successive jears chairman of the town 
board of Grand Rapids, for two years town 
treasurer, three years town clerk, and is 
now serving his fourth term as high school 
commissioner. In politics he is a stalwart 
Republican, and socially is connected with 
the Grand Army Post of Grand Rapids, of 
which he is a charter member, and in which 
he has filled all the offices, being at the 
present time commander. All through the 
long war for the preservation of the Union 
he bravely followed the old flag, and in days 
of peace he is the same true and loyal citi- 
zen. He is recognized as one of the promi- 
nent and influential men in this communit}", 
and Grand Rapids numbers him among her 
valued residents. 

On April 20, 1864, Mr. Pratt was mar- 
ried to Maria Watkins, daughter of Thomas 
and Eliza (Hire) Watkins, a native of Steu- 
ben county, N. Y. She died in Grand 
Rapids, in June, 1887, leaving three chil- 
dren: Cora A.. Jennie M. and Gracia E. 
The family attend the Congregational 
Church. 



FRANZ F. KOSKE, a popular and 
successful business man of Green 
Valley township, Shawano county, 
was born in the cit\' of Pyritz, 
Pomerania, Germany, and is a son of Sam- 
uel and Hannah (Bretlof) Koske, who were 
both born in the above-named city. 

Samuel Koske received a good educa- 
tion, and when a young man learned the 
trade of blacksmith, which he followed up 
to the time of his retirement, a few years 
ago. He now resides in Pyritz; his wife 
died in 1869. They had the following- 
named children: August, Albert, and Ru- 
dolph, who live in Germany; Bernard, in 
Berlin, Germany; Amelia, now Mrs. Emil 
Schmidt, of Shawano county. Wis. ; Franz 
F., subject of this sketch; Bertha, living in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



923 



Germany; and Reinhold, in Pulcifer, Wis- 
consin. 

Franz F. Koske received a good com- 
mon-school education, and at the age of 
fifteen commenced to learn the trade of 
miller, at which he served three years, fol- 
lowing this trade in Germany, and after 
coming to America. In June, 1882, he 
sailed from Hamburg, and, after a voyage 
of nineteen days, landed in New York, thence 
coming directly to Monroe, Green Co., Wis., 
where he remained five months with friends, 
working on a farm three months out of the 
five. Going then to Shawano, Shawano 
Co., Wis., he secured work there as head 
miller in the mill of Fred Kost, remaining in 
his employ four months, after which he came 
to Pulcifer, and was head miller here for 
Schwarz & Bergner for four years. 

On November 7, 1884, Franz F. Koske 
was united in marriage, in Dodge county. 
Wis., with Miss Louise Heldt, who was born 
in Lomira, Dodge county, and they have had 
three children, namely: Herbert, Hattie 
and Otto. The parents of Mrs. Koske, 
Gottfried and Mary (Besco) Heldt, have 
been married fifty years. They were born 
in Germany, came to the United States after 
their marriage, and settled on a farm in 
May ville. Dodge Co. , Wis. , where they now 
reside. In 1888 Mr. Koske erected his 
present place of business, where his trade 
has so increased that he is now building a 
large addition to the store. He also carries 
on a small farm. He is a Democrat in pol- 
itics, but has never sought office. Mr. Koske 
is pleasant, affable, much respected in the 
community, and has many friends. 



JOSEPH KERN, M. D., who has a large 
medical practice in Washington town- 
ship, Shawano county, was born in the 
city of Basel, Switzerland, June 20, 
1864, and is the son of Joseph and Mary A. 
(Berger) Kern, who were both born in Swit- 
zerland. Mrs. Kern's father was born in 
France. 

Joseph Kern, Sr. , was a lumber mer- 
chant, and a dealer in real estate. He and 
his wife both died in Switzerland, in 1871, 
leaving but one child, Joseph, the subject of 



this sketch. Joseph Kern attended school in 
his native city, Basel, until the age of nine, 
and then entered college, where he remained 
for nine years. He next commenced the 
study of medicine, which he pursued success- 
fully in Heidelberg, Germany; Basel, Swit- 
zerland, and Jena, Germany. Entering the 
University Hospital in Jena, in 1888, he 
practiced there until 1890. On March ig, 
he and his family took passage at Antwerp, 
sailing for the United States on the steamer. 
"Western Land," and landing, after a voy- 
age of thirteen days, in New York. They 
came direct to Dodge county. Wis., reach- 
ing Hustisford, in that county, on April 15, 
and there he practiced until January, 1891, 
when he removed to Cecil, Washington town- 
ship, Shawano county, and erected a large 
and beautiful home. He has an extensive 
practice, and has been very successful. At 
present he is building an addition to his 
house, which will be used for baths — Turk- 
ish, Russian, electrical, etc. In 1885, in Je- 
na, Germany, Dr. Joseph Kern was united in 
marriage with Miss Hedwig Peter, and they 
have had three children — Emma, Hildegard 
and one not yet named. 

J. Conrad, a grand-uncle of Dr. Kern, is 
a Swiss statesman. He was born in Aren- 
burg. Canton of Thurgau, in 1808, and stud- 
ied theology at Basel, but abandoning his 
plan of entering the ministry, he turned his 
attention to law, which he studied success- 
fully at Basel, Heidelberg and Paris. On 
his return to his native canton he was ap- 
pointed to the presidency of the Supreme 
Court, and the Council of Public Instruc- 
tion, and in these offices made himself re- 
markable for his talent for public speaking, 
and for his great legal and administrative 
sagacity. When, in 1838, the French gov- 
ernment demanded the extradition of Prince 
Napoleon, he took the most prominent part 
at the diet in stirring up the Swiss to refuse 
to be intimidated. In 1848 he took an act- 
ive part in the preparation of the federal 
constitution. Afterward he established the 
Polytechnic school of Zurich, one of the 
most admirable institutions of the kind in 
Europe. In 1857 he was elected to com- 
plete negotiations regarding the dispute with 
Prussia, and at the conference of Paris, be- 



9M 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tween the great powers, he represented 
Switzerland. One of Dr. Kern's grandfathers 
was an officer under Napoleon the First. 



CHARLES WINKLEY (deceased), 
one of the pioneer settlers of Mara- 
thon county, was born in Gosberton, 
Lincolnshire, England, September 
I, 1829, a son of John and Elizabeth (Hel- 
sey) Winkley, who were residents of that 
county in England. They had born to them 
a family of six children, four of whom are 
living, namely: John, who resides in South 
Dakota; Susan, widow of John Thomas 
Clark, residing in Kaukauna, Outagamie Co., 
Wis.; Thomas, in Manchester, England; 
and Sarah, wife of W. A. Reed, in South 
Dakota. 

Charles Winkley was reared to manhood 
and educated in his native town of Gosber- 
ton, and there, on December 30, 1850, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Susannah 
Ruth Hucbody, who was born at Pinchback, 
Lincolnshire, England, June 24, 1830. Six 
children were born to them, namely: Sarah 
Ann, February 1, 1852, died August 25, 
1852; Letitia Alice Ann, born October 9, 
1853, is the wife of George Higgins, and re- 
sides in Waverly, Iowa; Charles, born July 
10, 1856, died October 25, 1859; John 
Thomas, born October 2, 1858, is a promi- 
nent hotel proprietor of Wausau, was united 
in marriage November 4, 1878, with Clara 
Babcock (daughter of James H. and Mary 
A. Herdman, who were born in New York 
State — the former deceased, the latter re- 
siding in Wausau), and by her has had four 
children: Carl E., born November 25, 1882; 
Arthur B, February 12, 1886; Mary Adelia, 
July 14, 1890, and Ruth, January 9, 1892; 
Mary Elizabeth, born January 13, 1861, 
died March 7, 1862; and Charles James, 
born November 21, 1864, died November 
5. 1867. 

Mrs. Winkley's parents, Nathan and 
Sarah Ann (Mallaly) Hucbody, had a family 
of nine children, of whom six are living, 
namely: John, residing in Salt Lake City; 
Susannah Ruth, Mrs. Winkley; Charles, re- 
siding in Wausau: Georgiana, wife of Ed- 
ward Wright, residing near Manchester, 



England; Sarah Ann, wife of Mr. Colton, 
residing in Antigo. Langlade Co., Wis. ; and 
Richard, in \\'ausau. Nathan Hucbody and 
his wife were both born in Lincolnshire, 
England, and Mrs. Hucbody was a resident 
of Wausau, Wis., for eighteen years, and 
died August 14, 1881, aged seventy-nine 
years. Mr. Winkley was engaged from his 
}'outh in agricultural pursuits, and in 185 1 
came to America. He went to St. Louis, 
Mo., remained a few months, and in July 
of that year came to Wausau, Marathon Co. , 
Wis., making the trip from Galena, 111., in 
a wagon. After locating in Wausau he en- 
gaged in lumbering and in shingle manufac- 
turing, and in 1858 in the hotel business, in 
which he continued until his sudden death, 
on June 10, 1891. 



WILLIAM W. ANDREWS, a prom- 
inent farmer and popular hotel- 
keeper in the village of Spencer, 
Marathon county, was born at 
Guildhall, Essex county, Vermont, May 17, 
1834- 

His grandparents, Silas and Betsy (Cow- 
an) Andrews, were natives of Massachusetts, 
and moved to Vermont in 1830, where they 
engaged in farming. Here Silas Andrews 
died in 1843, his wife surviving at the home 
of her son in Wisconsin until 1849. The}' 
had two sons, Sumner and Sidney. The 
latter, father of William W., was born at 
Bridgewater, Mass., March 29, 181 1, and 
was married in \'ermont January i, 1833, to 
Susanna Washburn. They had two children 
— William W. , and Caroline M., now wife 
of D. H. Wagner, of Cheney, Wash. Sid- 
ney Andrews in 1847 migrated to Wisconsin 
with his famil}-, including his widowed 
mother. They landed in the southern part 
of the State near Kenosha, next year Mr. 
Andrews purchased land in Sheboygan coun- 
ty, and there engaged in pioneer farming. 
Selling his interests in Sheboygan county in 
1864, he moved to Black Hawk count}-, 
Iowa, where he lived until 1882. He then 
rented his farm in Iowa, and, being seventy- 
one years of age, made his home with his 
son William W. in Sheboygan county. Wis. 
Here the mother died in January. 1883, her 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



925 



husband, Sidney Andrews, surviving until 
January 3, 1894, when he passed away at 
the home of his son in Spencer. He was a 
man of strong character, well educated, and 
during life held many offices of responsibility 
and trust. He was highly respected by all 
who knew him. 

William W. Andrews was sufficiently well 
educated in the common schools to teach 
successfully for a number of winters in the 
neighborhood of his father's farm in Sheboy- 
gan county. He was a self-reliant and ener- 
getic young man, and remained on the farm 
until he was of age. Then he went, in 1855, 
to Minnesota, and purchased 160 acres of 
government land. Remaining about eight 
months, he returned to Wisconsin. He was 
married, September 16, 1858, to Mary Jane 
Clark, who was born at Stanstead, Canada, 
in 1834, daughter of Rufus and Miriam 
(W'orth) Clark. Rufus Clark was born at 
Andover, Canada, November 4, 1805, son 
of W^illiam and Betsy (Danforth) Clark, the 
former of whom was born in Massachusetts 
May 10, 1774, and was a farmer. In 1797 
he removed from Massachusetts to Stan- 
stead, Canada, with his family, consisting of 
seven children — William, Ballard, Leonard, 
Betsy, Hannah, Rufus and Cushman. Here 
William Clark died March 28, 1846, surviv- 
ing his wife Betsy, who died in February, 
1843. Rufus, the son, was a soldier in Can- 
ada during the rebellion of 1837. He mar- 
ried Miriam Worth about 1830, and had 
twelve children — Luther (i), Mary Jane, 
Luther (2), Calvin, Charles, George, Janet, 
Anna, Orcelia, Helen, Henry and Maria. In 
1853 Rufus Clark moved with his family to 
Sheboygan county. Wis., where he engaged 
in farming until his death in 1872. To Will- 
iam W. and Mary Jane Andrews three chil- 
dren have been born — Emma, Herbert and 
Mae; Emma married Charles I-', (xjlby, and 
has one child, Myrtle Bell. 

After his marriage Mr. Andrews purchas- 
ed a farm in Sheyboygan county, where he 
was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits 
until 1892, when he sold out and came to 
Spencer. Here he purchased an hotel, and 
also a tract of land near by, which he is im- 
proving. He is a Republican in politics, and 
has held many townshij) offices. He is a 



genial and efficient landlord, and has suffi- 
ciently placed the routine work of his hos- 
telry upon other shoulders to permit him to 
devote a portion of his time to farming, a 
pursuit to which he is greatly attached. Mr. 
Andrews is a man of sterling qualities, and 
has the respect and esteem of all who know 
him. 



CHARLES A. BERNIER, of the firm 
of La Du & Bernier, prominent mer- 
chants of Mosinee, Marathon coun- 
ty, was born in Grand Rapids, 
Wood Co., Wis., May 10, 1861, and is a 
son of Louis A. and Clementine (Blench- 
ette) Bernier, both born in the province of 
Quebec, Canada. 

Mr. and Mrs. Louis .A. Bernier were 
the parents of eight children, seven of 
whom are living, namely: Herminigle, re- 
siding at Lin wood. Portage county; Charles 
A., the subject of this sketch; Delveno, 
wife of Peter Rockstead, of Grand Rapids, 
Wis. ; Frank A. , residing at Grand Rapids, 
Wis.; Mary L., wife of Frank Beste, of 
Mosinee; Louis A. (Jr.), clerking in a store; 
and Laura, residing in Grand Rapids, Wis. 
Louis A. Bernier (Sr. ) died while on a visit 
to his son Herminigle; his widow now re- 
sides at Grand Rapids, Wis. ■ Charles A. 
Bernier was educated in the Grand Rapids 
public and high schools, and when his edu- 
cation was completed worked at the lumber- 
ing business. Afterward he engaged as 
salesman in a general store. In 1882 he 
removed to Mosinee, and was salesman 
with Joseph Hornier two years and with 
David Roberts eight years. 

In Mosinee, in 1884, Charles A. Ber- 
nier was united in marriage with Miss Mar- 
garet Keep, and four children have been born 
to their union, three of whom are living, 
namely: Eva Marie, October 22, 1889; 
Charles Alexander, February 22, 1892; and 
Willis Owen Francis, December 2, 1894. 
In 1892 the firm of La Du & Bernier was 
formed, Mr. Bernier becoming a partner in 
business with Willis F. La Du. Mr. Ber- 
nier is a member of the Catholic Knights of 
Wisconsin, No. 17; in political views is 



926 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Democratic, and has been assessor of the 
village of Mosinee one term. He ranks 
among the representative, thorough busi- 
ness men and wide-awake citizens of Mosi- 
nee. The family attend the Roman Catho- 
lic Church. 



EDWARD B. CROFOOT, proprietor 
of a lucrative dairying business in 
Rhinelander, Oneida county, is a 
native of Wisconsin, born at Kau- 
kauna. Brown county, October 9, 1842, a 
grandson of Isaac Crofoot, who was of Con- 
necticut nativity, from which State he moved 
when young to New York State, where he 
was a hotel-keeper and farmer, keeping the 
old-time •' Checkered Tavern " on the road 
from Utica to Rome. In i S48 he (the grand- 
father) came to Wisconsin, locating at Fond 
du Lac, where he followed agricultural pur- 
suits up to his death, which occurred in 
September, 1868. He was a probate judge 
in New York State many years, hence was 
generally known as "Judge Crofoot;" was 
a soldier in the war of 18 12, and with the 
land warrant, granted him for his services, 
he took up land in Wisconsin. He was 
twice married, the second time to Mrs. 
Sarah Crofoot, widow of his brother, James, 
and three children were born to this mar- 
riage: Isaac, David, and Eliza; by his first 
wife (of whom nothing is known) Isaac had 
four children: Lewis, Anson, Elbert and 
Julia Ann. 

Lewis Crofoot, father of our subject, was 
born in Lowville, Lewis Co., N. Y. , Decem- 
ber 14, 1805, and was reared to farming 
pursuits. In 1838 he set out for Wisconsin 
with his family, on his way remaining in 
Michigan a couple of years, and arriving in 
1840 at Green Bay, where he worked two 
years, also on a farm for Gov. Doty. In 
1844 he reached Fond du Lac county, and 
here settled on land he had entered, in 1835, 
through his brother-in-law, George Elliott, 
which land has never passed out of the 
family. Here he died in 1874, after a life 
of usefulness and assiduous industry; he was 
something of a politician, and held various 
township and count)' offices; of surveying he 



was fairly well acquainted, and did not a 
little in that line of work. In New York 
State he married Miss Lavinia Wilcox, who 
was born there March 16, 1806, and eight 
children came of this union, named respect- 
ively: Alva, Isaac, Anson, George, Will- 
iam, Edward B., Charles and Jay. 

The subject proper of this memoir, Ed- 
ward B. Crofoot, was reared on a farm, re- 
maining at home until his enlistment, April 
17, 1 861, in the First Wisconsin Infantry, 
three months' service, at the end of which 
time, and after a short sojourn at home, he 
re-enlisted; then, at the close of five months' 
more service under Gen. Paterson in the 
Shenandoah Valley, he again enlisted, Au- 
gust 15, 1862, in Company A, Thirty-second 
Wis. V. I., of which he was appointed first 
sergeant, and subsequently promoted to 
second lieutenant and first heutenant. He 
has a grand war record, having partici- 
pated in no less than twenty-one engage- 
ments, including service under Sherman at 
Atlanta, where he was wounded. At Cape 
Fear River he had a very narrow escape, 
his regiment having to cross that river un- 
der a heavy fire from and in the face of the 
enemy. At one time he was sent on some 
duty to a farm house, and there found a 
couple of Confederate soldiers, whom he 
made prisoners. After his discharge -he 
took up farming near Fond du Lac, where 
he conducted a dairy until 1870, in which 
year he embarked in the lumber business 
at Kewaskum, Washington county; later 
was in the same line of business in Mara- 
thon county four years, and had charge of 
the McMillan Bros.' mill and yards two 
years; then in Hatley, same county, he 
continued lumbering another two years. In 
the spring of 1885 he came to Rhinelander, 
where he entered the employ of the Brown 
Lumber Co. as foreman of the mills and 
yard, remaining with that firm some seven 
years, in the meantime preparing the home- 
stead where he now resides, and where 
since 1893 he has carried on a remunera- 
tive dairy business, supplying the city with 
milk. In 1892 he was in Michigan, engaged 
about fifteen months superintending the 
building of a large sawmill at Choate, On- 
tonagon county. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



927 



In November, 1861, Mr. Crofoot was 
united in marriage with Miss Juliet A. Wa- 
trous, who was born in Byron. Genesee Co., 
N. Y.. June 7, 1843, daughter of Russell 
and Louisa (Beebe) Watrous, who were the 
parents of five children: Martha J., Mary 
J., Isabel M., Juliet A. and Louisa Estella. 
The parents were natives of New York, 
whence they came to Wisconsin, the mother 
in 1S46, the father sometime in the previous 
year, settling in Byron township. Fond du 
Lac county, where he died in 1848. His 
widow subsequently re-married, but had no 
children by that union; she died in 1894; 
she was one of a large family of children, 
whose parents died in New York State: one 
of her brothers went to the ' ' gold diggings " 
in California in 1849. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Crofoot were born three children: Charles, 
Alta A. and Elsie B., the latter being de- 
ceased. Our subject is a Royal Arch Ma- 
son, and a member of the I. O. O. F. and 
G. A. R. ; he and his wife attend the serv- 
ices of the M. E. Church, toward which 
they have given liberally of their means. 
In his political preferences he is a strong 
Republican, is a member of the county 
board of Oneida county, was the first presi- 
dent of the school board of Rhinelander, 
and filled that incumbency four consecutive 
years. In fact, in all things, social or other- 
wise, Mr. Crofoot has ever proved himself a 
useful, loyal and industrious citizen. 



his instructions. After finishing his trade 
he was for three years in the German army, 
as is customary in that country, completing 
his service in the fall of 1866. In the spring 
of 1867 he came to the United States, land- 
ing in New York. Coming at once to Wis- 
consin, he located in Wausau, Marathon 
county, where he has since made his home, 
and went to work at his trade of wagon- 
maker with August Lemke. In Wausau, in 
the fall of 1867, Frederick Jawort was united 
in marriage with Miss Mary Hoeft, who was 
born in Germany, and they have become 
the parents of eleven children, seven of 
whom are living, namely: Richard, Martha, 
William, Fernand, Arthur, Frank and Alma. 
Mr. Jawort remained in Mr. Lemke's 
employ for eight years, in 1875 engaging in 
business for himself, and has continued ever 
since. He is a member of the Sons of Her- 
mann and United Workmen, and in political 
views is a Republican. The family attend 
St. Paul's Evangelical Church. 



FREDERICK JAWORT, a wagon 
maker and blacksmith, has been a 
resident of Wausau, Marathon coun- 
ty, for twenty-eight years. He was 
born in Germany, March 27, 1843, a son of 
Ferdinand and Charlotte Jawort, also na- 
tives of German, who died before Frederick 
had attained the age of eight years. 

Being left an orphan early in life our 
subject had but few opportunities for an 
education, only such as could be obtained 
in those days in a country district school. 
He worked upon a farm from the age of 
eight until he had attained his sixteenth 
year, and was then apprenticed to the 
wagon-making business, working part of the 
time for his board, and the remainder for 



BYRON H. GARFIELD, the popular 
young proprietor of the '-Murdock 
House, " Shawano, Shawano county, 
is a native of Wisconsin, born Feb- 
ruary 7, 1 861, in Shiocton, Outagamie 
county, son of Henry T. Garfield (who was 
a cousin of President James A. Garfield). 

Henry T. Garfield was married, in 1859, 
in Shawano, to Elmira A. Sanders, at that 
time but fifteen years of age, who was a 
daughter of William H. Sanders, one of the 
leading farmers of Belle Plaine township, 
Shawano county. To this union came one 
child, Byron H. At the breaking out of the 
Civil war Henry T. Garfield enlisted in the 
Sixth Wis. V. I., known as the "Iron 
Brigade," was at once made first lieutenant 
of his company, and after a year's ser\ice 
became captain, serving as such throughout 
the remainder of his four-and-a-half jears" 
service. When Mr. Garfield enlisted, \\\\\- 
iam H. Sanders, maternal grandfather of 
our subject, came to Shiocton and brought 
Mrs. Garfield and her son Byron, then only 
two months old, to his home in Belle Plaine 
township, Shawano county, the trip being 
made b}' boat up the Wolf river. There 



928 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the}' remained during the father's absence 
in the army, and on his return the Httle 
family located in Oshkosh, where Mr. Gar- 
field was in business for several years. 
Thence the\' removed to New London, and 
later to Embarrass, at which place Mr. Gar- 
field conducted the " Stacy House " for one 
year. In 1871 they removed to Shawano, 
where the father was engaged in logging, 
also jobbing in logs for Henry Beecher, and 
in 1872 they took up their residence on a 
farm in Belle Plaine township, Mr. Garfield 
continuing in the lumber business. He was 
in business in a number of places, among 
others Morris, 111. , at which place he con- 
ducted the " Forest House." 

Thus it will be seen that our subject had 
ample opportunity for acquiring a knowledge 
of the hotel business, at the expense unfor- 
tunately of his literary training, for although 
he learned rapidly his chances for an educa- 
tion were limited, and the schools of that 
day vastly inferior to those of the present. 
For a time he lived with his grandfather on 
the farm in Belle Plaine township, working 
as a farmer boy. and when a young man of 
nineteen he was practically in charge of the 
hostelry known as the " Log Cabin " (owned 
by one Chris Hill), situated twenty-seven 
miles north of Shawano, toward Langlade, 
it being a station on the military road built 
by the government between Green Bay and 
Lake Superior. The hotel consisted of five 
log cabins, and stabling accomodations were 
provided in four log cabins used as barns; 
travel was heavy, and this being an import- 
ant station the hotel was well patronized — 
doing probably the largest business ever 
done by any hotel in Shawano county — as 
many as 1 50 guests having been accom- 
modated there in a single day. Our subject 
was there two years, during which time he 
fully demonstrated his ability in that line. 
Shawano in those days, having no railroad, 
was connected with Clintonville by regular 
stage lines, two round trips a daj' being 
made between these points, and on returning 
to Shawano he found employment with 
Henry Gamble as stage driver, following 
this occupation si.\ months, at fifty dollars 
per month. 

Up to the time of his marriage Mr. Gar- 



field worked for others, and proved so faith- 
ful and efficient that he could always obtain 
employment a second time with any emplo)- 
er, but on April i, 1883, he started a stage 
line of his own between Shawano and Clin- 
tonville. There were already four lines on 
that route, and Mr. Garfield had no means 
or equipment, but he had a well-earned repu- 
tation as an energetic, hard worker, and he 
found friends who had the means, and were 
able to back him, with no security but their 
confidence in his honesty and worth, Mr. C. 
M. Upham assisting him with money and 
influence. He was fortunate enough to se- 
cure the mail and express business, which 
was looked after by his wife, the office being 
in their house. His energy was soon re- 
warded, and it was not long before he had 
a good business, and was able to clear him- 
self from debt. In the fall of 1884 he sold 
out his stage line, and on February 2, 1885, 
he bought property on Main street, in Sha- 
wano, where he remained in business until 
April I. 1894, his first venture there being 
a liquor business, which proved so unprofita- 
ble that he closed out, deeply in debt. Not 
discouraged, however, he opened a temper- 
ance hall and fruit store, which he carried 
on five years, and, by careful management, 
contrived to pay his debts and regain his old 
footing. On April i, 1894, he took charge 
of the "Murdock Hotel," with which he has 
since been connected, and which he has im- 
proved until it is now one of the leading 
hotels in Northern Wisconsin, and undoubt- 
edly the best ever conducted in the city of 
Shawano, which may justly feel proud of 
such an establishment. Under his manage- 
ment it has been refitted at considerable ex- 
pense, and well deserves the patronage ac- 
corded it. Mr. Garfield has occupied every 
position connected with the business, from 
stable-boy to proprietor, and none under- 
stands better the requirements of his guests 
or strives more earnestly to provide for 
them. Ever active and enterprising, he has 
encouraged every progressive movement 
made by his fellow citizens for the advance- 
ment of the town or county, and has also 
aided in introducing various improvements 
in Shawano, laboring diligently to secure 
the electric-light plant and other desirable 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



939 



improvements. Politically he is a stanch 
Republican, a "wheel-horse" of the party 
in his locality, and, though not an aspirant 
for office, he was, in 1895, elected a mem- 
ber of the city council, of which the mayor 
appointed him president. Socially he is a 
member of Wolf River Lodge, No. 14, K. 
of P., and of Shawano Lodge, No. 243, L 
O. O. F., Shawano. 

On June 20, 1882, Mr. Garfield was 
united in marriage, in Shawano with Miss 
Minnie A. Steinke, a native of Germany, 
who came to the United States at the age 
of twelve years, and this union has been 
blessed with one son, Walter H., born July 
13. 1S83. The comfortable competence 
and enviable position Mr. Garfield now en- 
joys have been gained by his own earnest 
efforts, for though at times in his business 
career he has found it necessary to accept 
assistance from others, he has always proved 
himself worthy of their confidence, and has 
never abused it, and his natural energy and 
ability, together with the good management 
he has always e.xercised in his affairs, have 
enabled him to triumph over all obstacles 
and conquer all difficulties in the way of 
success. Though his business receives care- 
ful attention, he occasionally finds time to 
take a little recreation, hunting and fishing, 
of which he is very fond, and there are few 
spots in this region affording such sport with 
which he is not well acquainted. 



LOUIS RUDER. It is a trueism that 
one succeeds best in whatever he 
undertakes if he applies his undivid- 
ed attention and energies to the ac- 
complishment of his aim. It is also true 
that after thoroughly learning a business he 
usually fares best who continues in that 
vocation. This principle is illustrated in 
the life of Louis Ruder. He is a brewer; 
he thoroughly understands his business; he 
has devoted himself to it, and he has met 
with success. He is now vice-president of 
the George Ruder Brewing Company, of 
Wausau. 

Mr. Ruder was born at Stevens Point, 
Wis., March 4, 1858. When but two years 
old he moved with his parents to Wausau, 



where he laid the foundation of his educa- 
tion, completed by a two-years' course in 
the German-American Academy, of Milwau- 
kee. When his school days were over Mr. 
Ruder entered the employ of the Philip 
Best Brewing Company as an apprentice to 
the brewing business. He remained three 
years, and then went to St. Paul, Minn., 
where he worked at the brewing business 
for a year. Returning to Wausau he 
entered his father's brewery as an employe, 
and in 1885 was admitted as a partner to 
the firm. In 1887 his father retired from 
active life, and from that date the business 
was conducted by Louis and Herman Ruder 
until 1892, when a stock company was 
formed. Louis Ruder was elected vice- 
president of the company, and still holds 
the position. 

In 1893 he w^as married to Miss Helen 
Haupt, who was born in Germany. Mr. 
Ruder is a prominent member of the 
Druids, of the Sons of Hermann, the Ger- 
man Sick and Aid Society, and the Turners. 
He is a thoroughly practical and successful 
business man. and popular among a wide 
circle of friends and acquaintances. 



CHARLES D. WESCOTT, the oldest 
pioneer of Shawano count}', was 
born December 23, i8i6,-in Morris- 
town, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y . son 
of Eldridge and Hannah (Bogardus) Wes- 
cott, who were natives of \'ermont and 
New York State, respectively. 

Eldridge Wescott was born in Rutland, 
Vt., in 1788, was reared to farming, and 
when a young man removed to St. Law- 
rence county, N. Y. There he married 
Hannah Bogardus, who was born in 
Schoharie county, N. Y., daughter of Henry 
Bogardus, and their children, all of whom 
were born in St. Lawrence county, were as 
follows: Lavina, who married Iva Swain 
and died in Michigan; Charles D., whose 
name introduces this sketch; Hiram, a 
farmer of Richmond; Catherine, who mar- 
ried Charles Lashay, and died in 1889 in 
Angelica. Shawano county; Almira, who 
married and died in St. Lawrence county, 
N. Y. ; Susan, who married and lives in 



930 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Wisconsin; Lydia, who died young; Horace, 
who died in Angelica, Shawano county; 
William, of Maple Valley, Oconto county 
(he served in the Civil war); Susan, who 
died from poisoning when small; and Lydia, 
living in Shawano. Eldridge Wescott fol- 
lowed farming and lumbering in western 
New York; after living in St. Lawrence 
county a number of years he removed 
thence to Allegany county, and thence 
migrated westward to Wisconsin, settling 
in Shawano county, where he died in 1854. 
His wife survived him for some time, and 
their remains now repose in the cemetery at 
Shawano. Mr. Wescott was a soldier in 
the war of 1812, and drew a pension for his 
services. 

Charles D. Wescott, being the eldest 
son of poor parents, had only meagre 
school advantages, receiving a limited edu- 
cation in the subscription schools of the 
period. He was reared to farming, and 
remained at home up to the age of twenty- 
three years, when he went to Oswego 
county, N. Y. , and for some time after 
starting in life for himself worked at any- 
thing he could find to do. From Oswego 
county he went to Livingston county, where 
he was employed in a stone quarry. In the 
spring of 1842 he set out from Allegany 
county, N. Y., with the Rowley family, 
driving a four-horse covered wagon through 
to the then Territory of Wisconsin, the trip 
occupying nineteen days; they came by way 
of Chicago, the family locating a little west 
of Milwaukee, at what was then called 
Prairieville, now Waukesha. After spend- 
ing a few weeks in this vicinity Mr. Wes- 
cott found employment in a sawmill on the 
Oconomowoc river operated by Curtis Reed 
(late of Menasha), and next entered the 
employ of Harrison Reed, at Neenah, as 
overseer. In May, 1844, he came up the 
Wolf river to Shawano, arriving May 9, 
whither he had been preceded by Samuel 
Farnsworth, who made the trip up the river 
two weeks previouslj' in a bark canoe. At 
that time there were no evidences of civiliza- 
tion whatever in the region, and the Indians 
who still remained in their native forests 
were untamed and frequently troublesome. 
Farnsworth & Moore erected a mill at the 



outlet of Shawano lake, near the Wolf 
river, in Section 25, Richmond township, 
and our subject had charge of the same for 
eight years, receiving so much per thousand 
for the lumber sawed and delivered at Osh- 
kosh, it being rafted down the Wolf river. 
After leaving the mill he engaged on his own 
account in lumbering — an industry which he 
followed in its most remunerative da3^s, and 
which he has lived to see in its present state 
of decline. His home was at the sawmill up 
to 1853, when he took up his residence at 
his present home on the banks of the Wolf 
river, above Shawano. 

Having lived in Shawano county since 
long before its organization, Mr. Wescott 
has been closely identified with its progress, 
and has been a leader in every movement 
made for its advancement and welfare. A 
lifelong Democrat, and a local leader in his 
party, he has filled various offices of trust, 
and served fifteen years as chairman of the 
township board and nine years as chairman 
of the county board. While serving in the 
latter capacity he was one of a committee 
of three who located the site of the present 
court house, and he has also assisted in lay- 
ing out many of the roads throughout the 
count}'. He was also the first postmaster at 
Shawano, holding the office up to Lincoln's 
administration, when he resigned. 

Mr. Wescott was married, January 6, 
184S, at Waukau, Winnebago county, to 
Miss Jane Driesbach, who was a native of 
Livingston county, N. Y., born November 
9, 1820, in the town of Sparta. She was 
the eldest daughter of Joseph and Mary 
(Gillespie) Driesbach — the former born Feb- 
ruary 16, 1793, in Easton, Penn., the latter 
November i, 1797, in Bath, N. Y. — who 
had a family of five children, as follows: 
William H., who died May 14, 1861, in 
Waukau, Winnebago Co., \\'is. ; Jane, Mrs. 
Wescott; Mary, Mrs. William Masters, who 
died in Waukau, Wis. ; Catherine, Mrs. 
Henry Johnson, who died in Dexterville. 
Wood Co., Wis.; and Joanna, Mrs. B. F. 
King, who died in Rushford, Winnebago 
Co., Wis. They also reared a foster child, 
John Orr. In 1845 this family migrated to 
Wisconsin, and they were among the earliest 
settlers of Waukau township, Winnebago 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



93' 



count}', where Mrs. Driesbach passed away 
April 14, 1863; the father, who survived 
until 1876, died in Rushford, Winnebago 
county. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wes- 
cott made their home in Waukau until 1849, 
when, with their infant son, Charles J., 
they came to Shawano, making the trip, 
which occupied nine days, up the Wolf river 
in a Mackinaw boat. It is a fact worth}' of 
mention that the first Bible in Shawano was 
sent by Mrs. Wescott to her husband among 
some clothes. To our subject and wife have 
been born five children, namely: Charles 
J., born October 10, 184S, now of Sha- 
wano; Dayn E., born December 11, 
1850, in Oshkosh, now of Shawano; 
Mary J., born August 24, 1852, in Waukau, 
now Mrs. John Montour, of Richmond town- 
ship, Shawano count}-; Ella, born January 
17, 1854, in Shawano, deceased in 1889; 
and John A., born February 13, 185S, now 
of Wakefield, Mich. Mrs. Wescott is a 
member of the Presbyterian Church, and 
Mr. W^escott has for years been connected 
with the Temple of Honor. There are no 
citizens in their section who are more highly 
respected for their true moral worth and the 
part they have taken in the development of 
the county, the growth of which they have 
watched and aided from its earliest days to 
its present prosperous state, enduring in 
their pioneer life the usual hardships which 
fall to the lot of early settlers in a new coun- 
try, and enjoying in their declining years 
the results of those days of privation and 
toil. 



HERMAN MILLER, superintendent 
of city street paving and water- 
works construction for the city of 
Wausau, Marathon county, was born 
in Pomerania, Germany, November 1 1, 1833, 
and is a son of Ernest W. and Dora Miller, 
who were both born in the F"atherland. 
They had three sons, of whom Herman was 
the only one to cross the Atlantic; the two 
other sons, William and Albert, still reside 
in their native town. 

Herman Miller was educated in the pub- 
Jic schools of Germany, and after complet- 



ing his education was engaged for a number 
of years as a salesman in a general store. 
In April, 1856, he came to the United 
States, landing at New York, proceeded 
west at once, and located at Stevens Point, 
Portage Co., Wis., where he remained un- 
til November of the same year. From Stev- 
ens Point he removed to Wausau, at that 
time but a small village, and was among the 
early settlers. Here he engaged in mercan- 
tile pursuits up to 1 864, in which year he 
was elected register of deeds, an office he 
filled six years. In 1870 he engaged in the 
lumber business, carried it on until 1884, 
and for the following si.x years conducted a 
hotel, which he sold out in 1890. Since 
that date Mr. Miller has not been in active 
business life, but he is still superintendent of 
city street paving, superintendent of water- 
works construction, and holds other civic 
offices. He has served as supervisor and 
alderman for the Third ward for seventeen 
years, was chairman of the county board 
during the year 1876, and a member of the 
school board for about eight years. 

Mr. Miller has been twice married: his 
first wife was Augusta Brertenfeld, and one 
child was born to them, who died in infancy. 
Mrs. Miller died in 1863. Her parents, 
Gottfried and Louisa Brertenfeld, are resi- 
dents of Butternut, Ashland Co., Wis. In 
Wausau, Marathon county, July 2, 1864, 
Herman Miller was again married, this time 
to Miss Sarah Duffy, and they have become 
the parents of seven children, all now living, 
namely: William H., residing in W^ausau; 
Mada, wife of William H. Derham, residing 
in Rockford, 111.; and Herman O., Sarah, 
Nellie, Maud and Robert, all residing at 
Wausau. The parents of Mrs. Miller, Mr. 
and Mrs. Peter Duff}', were born in Lewis 
county, New York. 



WILLIAM B. RICHARDSON, ma- 
chinist and model-maker, of Wau- 
sau, Marathon county, was born at 
W'altham, Mass., September 3, 
18 — . His parents, Calvin and Zorado 
(Chapman) Richardson, were born, respect- 
ively, in Boston, Mass., and Rockland, 
Maine. Mrs. Calvin Richardson is a sister 



932 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of Brig. -Gen. Stephen Chapman, U. S. A., 
who was killed at the battle of Bull Run. 

Our subject was educated in the public 
schools of his native city, and, after com- 
pleting his classical education, studied music 
with the instrumental instructor of the Bos- 
ton Conservatory of Music for two years, 
and also under the instruction of Carl Ham- 
per, formerly of Wagner's Orchestra, and 
now of the Boston Symphony Company. 
Mr. Richardson had been employed in the 
musical profession for a large portion of his 
time, but in 1892 removed to Wausau, and 
engaged in the machinist and model-making 
business. 

At Beloit, I^ock Co., Wis., October i, 
1893, William B. Richardson married Miss 
Jessie Pells, daughter of Thomas R. and 
Caroline Pells, who was born in Rockland, 
Maine, of English ancestry. Mr. Richard- 
son is a member of the Wausau Band and 
Orchestra. 



LOUIS BOCHER is numbered among 
the native sons of Wisconsin, his 
birth having occurred in Fredonia 
township, Ozaukee county, February 
18, 1855. His father, Gotfried Bocher, was 
a native of Germany, and in 1849 came to 
the United States, locating first in Milwau- 
kee, Wis., whence he afterward removed to 
Ozaukee county, and passed the remainder 
of his life there. His wife died in Sheboy- 
gan, Wis. In the family were five children, 
four sons and one daughter, of whom two 
sons are now deceased. 

The subject of this sketch received but 
meagre educational privileges, attending 
English schools for only about two j'ears, 
and his boyhood was passed in the usual 
manner of farmer lads of that place and 
period. His father died when he was only 
twelve years of age, and when a youth of 
fourteen the home farm was rented, and he 
began learning the carpenter's trade, which 
he followed for some time in that locality. 
The greater part of his earnings went toward 
the support of his mother, and at the time 
of his marriage he had a capital of only a 
few dollars. In the fall of 1877 Mr. Bocher 
was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary Roell, 



daughter of John Roell, an agriculturist of 
Farmington township, Washington Co., Wis. 
After looking for a favorable location he 
came to Bonduel, Shawano county, and 
purchased what is now the "Bonduel 
Hotel." During the first season after his 
arrival here he worked at his trade, and 
then established a saloon, carrying on busi- 
ness along that line for about eleven years, 
' and in the spring of 1889 embarked in gen- 
' eral merchandising, which he has since con- 
j tinned with good success, building up an 
excellent trade, which has constantly in- 
creased until it has now assumed extensive 
proportions for a town of this size. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Bocher is 
a Democrat, and for five successive years 
served as township clerk, previous to which 
he held the office of constable, discharg- 
ing his duties with promptness and fidelity. 
He and his wife are members of the Lu- 
theran Church. They are the parents of nine 
children, namely: Odelia, Minnie, Robert. 
Ewalt, Otto, Louis, Selina, Amanda and 
Freeda. The family circle yet remains un- 
broken by the hand of death. 



RE. WEDGWOOD is one of the lead- 
ing farmers of Waukechon township, 
Shawano county. He was born in 
Canada, March 20, 1855, and is a 
son of David and Henrietta (Weir) Wedg- 
wood, who were from the State of Maine, 
and from Haldimand county, Ontario, Can- 
ada, respectively. 

David Wedgwood was a blacksmith by 
trade, and a successful man. He lived single 
until about fifty years of age, when he mar- 
ried and had a family of five children, as 
follows: David, now a farmer at Little. 
Suamico, Oconto Co., Wis., who has a wife 
and six children ; William, a farmer in Wauke- 
chon township; R. E., the subject of this 
sketch; and two that died in infancy. David 
Wedgwood, Sr. , came to Wisconsin in i860, 
and his death occurred at Little Suamico in 
1867. His widow died here in Waukechon 
township, March 17, 1892, at the age of 
sixty-eight years. 

R. E. Wedgwood was reared a farmer 
boy, and had somewhat limited opportunities 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



933 



for an education. His father died when he 
was only twelve years of age, after which 
he cared for his widowed mother, and they 
hved together for the remainder of her life. 
As soon as he was old enough he shouldered 
his axe and started out. In 1873 he came 
with his mother to Waukechon township, and 
here bought 211 acres of land in Section i, 
tifty acres of which were already cleared, 
and there were buildings on the place. For 
some years he had kept a hotel at Little 
Suamico, but since that time he has been 
engaged in general farming, and he now has 
I 20 acres of cleared land. Mr. Wedgwood 
is a lifelong Republican in politics, and he 
has served as town clerk and treasurer for 
live years in succession. He is a third-degree 
Mason, a Master Mason, and was a member 
of the I.O.O.F. 



JAMES B. ALLEN, of the firm of Emter 
& Allen, prominent liverymen of Wau- 
sau, Marathon county, was born in 
Cattaraugus county, N. Y. , January 19, 
1848. His parents, Chauncey and Orissa 
(Newton) Allen, were born in Cortland 
county. N. Y. Chauncey Allen died in 
i8gi ; his widow is still living, and resides in 
Hinsdale, Cattaraugus Co. , N. Y. They 
were the parents of five children, all now 
living, namely: Timoth}', supposed to be 
•residing in Pittsburg, Penn. ; Caroline (widow 
of Gilbert Fay), residing in Omaha; Dana 
E., in Wausau, Wis.; James B. and George 
F., in Hinsdale, New York. 

Our subject received a limited education 
in the district schools of Cattaraugus county, 
N. Y.. and when about eighteen years of 
age removed to Pit Hole City, Penn. Re- 
maining about a year, he went to Corry, 
Penn., and was engaged there for a year 
and a half as a measurer in a lumber yard. 
In 1867 he came to Wausau, and worked in 
the woods and on the river the greater part 
of the time up to 1892, when he engaged in 
the livery business. In Wausau, in 1872, he 
married Miss Betsy Philbrick, and they have 
become the parents of three children — Car- 
rie, Flora M. and Evard C. Mrs. Allen is 
a daughter of Clausen and Jane Philbrick. 



Mr. Allen is a member of Wausau Lodge 
No. 215, I. O. O. F. and of the Modern 
Woodmen of America. 



HERMAN R. SCHWANKEhasforthe 
past several years been a leading 
miller of Tigerton, Shawano county, 
where he has resided for about ten 
years. He was born in i860, at Ripon, 
Fond du Lac Co. , W^is. , son of John and 
Louisa (Baubult;;) Schwanke, both of whom 
were born in Germany, in which country 
they married. 

John Schwanke was a day laborer in a 
distillery in Germany, and worked as such 
for a number of years. He had been a 
soldier in the German army, and subsequent- 
ly worked in a distillery until he had money 
enough together to bring himself and wife 
to America, whither they came in 1859, lo- 
cating first in Illinois. They were obliged 
to remain long enough to get sufficient money 
to enable them to continue their journey to 
Wisconsin, and on coming to this State lo- 
cated in Ripon, Fond du Lac county, where 
Mr. Schwanke was employed as a day labor- 
er for two years. He then rented land and 
began to farm, following this occupation 
three years, after which he engaged in brick- 
making in Winnebago count)' for two j'ears, 
and then resumed farming. He bought land 
in Fond du Lac county when that region was 
in a primitive condition, and was one of the 
earliest settlers in that vicinity. Engaging 
to quite an e.xtent in wheat speculation, he 
met with gratifying success in that line, be- 
coming known as one of the shrewdest busi- 
ness men in Ripon, and he continued his 
wheat speculations until 1 894, when he re- 
tired from the business. His farm of 160 
acres was conducted by the members of his 
family and hired help, and he now, at the age 
of si.\ty-two years, makes his home there. 
Politically he is a Republican. His wife is 
now sixty-six years old. The\' have had six 
children, as follows: Herman R., the sub- 
ject of this sketch; Minnie, who became the 
wife of Jake Letz, a farmer, living near Ri- 
pon, and has two children; John, Jr., a 
farmer at West Rosendalc, Fond du Lac Co. , 



934 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Wis., who has a wife and two children; Au- 
gust, married, who is engaged in farming in 
Winnebago county; Gusta, at home with her 
parents on the farm in Winnebago count)-; 
and Henr\-, who died at the age of two and 
a half j-ears. 

Being the eldest in his father's famil}' 
Herman R. Schwanke was kept awaj' from 
school more than the others, and when he 
was eight years old was following the plow. 
They had a large farm, and at the age of 
twelve he received twenty-five cents a day 
during harvest time to lead men that were get- 
ting two dollars and a half a day. He re- 
mained at home until others could take his 
place, and then engaged in the wheat busi- 
ness with his father, but he was very ambi- 
tious, and worked at almost anything at 
which he could make a dollar. When 
seventeen years of age, being desirous of 
seeing more of the country, Mr. Schwanke 
went west and traveled through Iowa, 
Minnesota, Dakota and Montana. He serv- 
ed on the police force in Omaha and in 
Council Bluffs for two years, and on his 
return to his home in Wisconsin engaged in 
the threshing business, remaining there until 
1885, when he came north and located. He 
had been north previously, in connection 
with railroad business, cutting out rights of 
way, etc., but on coming to Tigerton in 
1885, he embarked in the lumber business, 
and was one of a company of four who 
at a cost of three thousand dollars built a 
mill there, where a general milling business 
was conducted. Tigerton was then a vast 
wilderness, with but a few settlers, and he has 
not only seen the place built up to what it 
is to-day, but has also been instrumental in 
its development, having taken a prominent 
part in a number of movements for improve- 
ments of the town The mill was burned 
cut once, and rebuilt at an expense of ten 
thousand dollars, at present having a capac- 
ity of 45,000 feet per day, and giving employ- 
ment, in all, to forty men. Mr. Schwanke 
owns a half-interest in this concern, 
and is also interested in two other mills, 
one at Whitcomb, Shawano county, and 
the other near Tigerton, one of which is 
larger than the mill here. He has been 
very successful in all his business undertak- 



ings. In politics he is a Republican, and 
he has served as a member of the county 
board. 

In 1892 Herman R. Schwanke was unit- 
ed in marriage with Lizzie Roemer, daugh- 
ter of Bernard and Catherine (Glickstein) 
Roemer, people of German descent who 
located in an early day in Manitowoc coun- 
tv. Wis. ; here they died, leaving a family of 
five children, as follows: Bernard, Mary, 
Joseph, Anna, and Lizzie (Mrs. Schwanke). 
Mrs. Schwanke died November 16, 1893, 
leaving one daughter, Irma L. She was a 
Catholic in religious faith. 



FRED L. LEVENHAGEN, a promi- 
nent and progressive hardware mer- 
chant, of Wausau, Marathon coun- 
ty, and a highly-esteemed citizen, 
was born in Mishicot township, Manitowoc 
Co., Wis., December 6, 1S58. 

His parents, Henry and Sophia (Cope) 
Levenhagen, were both born in Germany. 
They came to the United States with their 
three children, first resided for two years in 
New Jersey, then removed to Wisconsin, 
and located in Mishicot township, Manito- 
woc county, where their home has been 
continuously ever since, and where Henry 
Levenhagen is engaged in the hotel busi- 
ness. He was formerly a gristmiller, and 
continued to follow this occupation up to 
about 1880, when he sold his mill and en- 
gaged in the saloon business. To Henry 
and Sophia Levenhagen was born a family 
of ten children, all now living, as follows: 
Henry and Charles, born in Germany, and 
Louis, born on the ocean — all residing in 
Mishicot; Matilda, wife of Rudolf Olnes, re- 
siding at Little Black, Taylor Co., Wis.; 
Mary, wife of Albert Mueller, residing in 
Tacoma, Wash.; Fred L. , the subject of 
this sketch; Ernest, residing at Everett, 
Wash. ; Ira, at Manitowoc, Wis. ; Sophia, 
wife of Julius Lindstedt, register of deeds at 
Manitowoc, Wis.; and William, at Mishicot, 
Wisconsin. 

Fred L. Levenhagen was educated in the 
public schools of Manitowoc county. In 
1875 he went to Chicago, 111., learned the 
trade of engineer and machinist, and in the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



935 



latter part of 1876 went to Cleveland, Ohio, 
where he held the position of engineer in a 
rolling-mill until 1878. He then returned 
to his native town, Mishicot, Wis., and re- 
mained there until the fall of 1879, engaged 
during that period as a salesman and tinner 
in a hardware store. In 1879, at Mishicot, 
Mr. Fred L. Levenhagen married Miss 
Katherine Haider, and two children have 
been born to their union: Alexander Fred- 
erick, July 9, 1 88 1, and Frederick George, 
April 17, 1890. The parents of Mrs. F. L. 
Levenhagen, Charles and Minna (Schmore) 
Haider, were both born in Germany, and 
settled in Manitowoc county. Wis., in 1870. 
Charles Haider resides in Wausau, Mara- 
thon county; his wife, Minna, died in 1875. 
There were born to them a family of nine 
children, four of whom died in infancy; 
those living are asfollows: Ivatherine, Mrs. 
F. L. Levenhagen; William and George, 
residingin Wausau; Minnie, attending school 
at Valparaiso, Ind., and Albert, residingin 
Wausau. 

Mr. Levenhagen removed to Mont- 
pelier, I^ewaunee Co. , Wis. , in the fall of 
1879, was occupied there at engineering un- 
til the spring of 1880, then went to Wausau 
and worked as a machine hand for the 
George Werheim Co. until the fall of the 
same year. He was then employed as a 
salesman with James McCrorsen & Co., 
managing their establishment until the spring 
of 1887, when he engaged in business for 
himself. He is a member of Wausau Lodge 
No. 215, L O. O. F., and of the Sons of 
Hermann. 



JOHN C. BERG, ex-county treasurer 
of Marathon county, and a resident of 
Wausau, was born near the city of 
Kongsvinger, Norway, February 22, 
1850, a son of Carl H. Berg, who was a 
farmer by occupation. 

Our subject obtained a common-school 
education, and learned the trade of house- 
builder. Having served his apprenticeship, 
he soon afterward set out for America, tak- 
ing ship from Norway in 1869. Coming to 
Wisconsin, he first located in the western 
part of Marathon county, working thirteen 



months on a farm for an Englishman, dur- 
ing which time he learned to speak the 
English language. He then came to Black 
River Falls, Jackson county, and worked as 
a millwright. From that time he followed 
the same industry for several years, and for 
six years he had full charge of the mill at 
Unity, Marathon county, owned hy D. K. 
Spalding. He married Lena Saugstad, by 
whom he has had six children: Alvin, 
Walter, John C, Willie, Flora and Nellie. 
Mr. Berg has an interest in a mercantile 
business at Wausau, Marathon county. He 
formerly dealt quite largely in real estate, 
and was the cause of the settlement of a 
considerable colony of Norwegians and 
Swedes in the neighborhood of Unity. Po- 
litically he is a Democrat. He was treas- 
urer of Unity township seven years, and in 
the fall of 1889 was appointed treasurer of 
Marathon county, to till a vacancy, and 
elected to the same office in 1892; He is a 
member of the Masonic Fraternity and of 
the I. O. O. F. In religious affiliation Mr. 
Berg is a member of the Lutheran Church. 



JOHN QUINN, a prominent and sub- 
stantial citizen of Fella, Shawano 
county, was born in Clifton, County 
Galway, Ireland, in 1835, son of John 
and Mary (Cady) Quinn. 

John Ouinn, Sr. , was a miller by trade. 
He reared a family of four children, as fol- 
lows: Michael, a merchant tailor in Co- 
bourg, Canada, who has a wife and two 
children (his brother John made him a visit 
in 1892); Catherine, wife of Thomas Mc- 
Mahon, a fisherman of Cobourg, Canada 
(they have a large family); Martin, now in 
Bridgenorth, Canada (he learned the trade 
of milling with his father, and to-day works 
for the son of the man for whom his father 
commenced work nearly forty years ago, 
and they have been, one or both, in the 
employ of the same firm ever since); and 
John, the subject of this sketch. About 
1848 John Quinn, Sr., came with his family 
to Canada, locating in Haldimand, where 
he engaged in work in a sawmill. He al- 
ways followed this occupation, and con- 
tinued with the same firm for the remainder 



936 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of his life, being in their employ when he 
died. The firm afterward moved to Bridge- 
north, where John Quinn, the subject of 
this sketch, also went. The father owned 
his own home, and brought up his sons to 
milling. 

John Ouinn, whose name introduces this 
sketch, obtained a very limited amount of 
learning in school, and the principal part of 
his education has been gained elsewhere. 
He remained at home only to the age of 
fourteen, and since that time has earned his 
own livelihood. For some two years he fol- 
lowed clerking in a store, and then served two 
years' apprenticeship to a cooper, but not 
being suited with the cooper's trade he has 
never worked at it to any extent. He was 
fond of reading, and by his own efforts was 
able to obtain a certificate to teach school. 
On October i8, 1862, John Ouinn was 
united in marriage with Martha Hickey, who 
was born in Emily township, in Canada, on 
November 4, 1841, and they have had ten 
children, of whom only four are now living, 
namely: Josephine, widow of Fred Grant, 
a ranchman, of Wyoming, who left one 
daughter; John J., who has always remained 
at home with his parents, and Meade and 
Birda, at school. Mary, now deceased, was 
the wife of Henrv Crebolt, and left one son, 
William. 

The parents of Mrs. Ouinn, James and 
Jane (O'Donnell) Hickev. both came from 
Ireland to America in 181 1. Mr. Hickey 
was a farmer, and had 160 acres of wild 
unimproved land. Here they commenced 
the work of clearing and to make a home; 
there were no roads cut through at that 
time, Indians roamed about, and wolves 
were so numerous and so bold that the fam- 
ily could not cook meat in the morning 
or in the evening. Mrs. Hickey used to 
take wheat and carry it on her shoulders 
four miles through the woods to a mill, and 
return the next day with flour. Amidst 
such hardships and privations as these they 
established a home, where they reared their 
family, and where they both died. They 
had twelve children, only four of whom are 
now living, as follows: Martha, Mrs. Ouinn; 
Mary, widow of Lawrence Doran, a farmer, 
who resides in Roj'alton, Waupaca Co.. 



Wis. ; Johanna, wife of William Whalen, a 
farmer, of Canada, and Edwin, who is en- 
gaged in farming in Canada, and has a wife 
and three children. Mrs. Ouinn's mother 
came to America with her parents, Patrick 
and Martha (McMahon) O'Donnell, the for- 
mer of whom, a mason by trade, died about 
a year after his arrival. 

In 1866 Mr. Ouinn went with his wife 
to New London, Waupaca count}-, where 
he worked to some extent at the carpenter's 
trade, and remained until 1868. He then 
came by team to Pella, Shawano county, 
here purchasing eighty acres of land, which 
to-day forms part of his farm. There were 
no roads cut through here at that time. He 
erected a log shantj' 14X 16 feet, with floor 
of split logs, and in this house they lived 
two years. During those early days he had 
no team, and only an axe and a grub hoe, 
with which he went to work, his first crops 
being potatoes and corn; he traded in Sha- 
wano, journeying back and forth on foot, 
and there were but few clearings then on 
the way. He made shingles in those days 
that are still on the roofs where they were 
put. What Mr. Ouinn possesses has been 
made by himself and wife, by their own 
united efforts, and to-day he has 128 acres 
of land, of which eighty are in good farming 
condition. He taught school for two years, 
and has also been engaged in carpenter 
work. In politics he is a Democrat, and 
has been justice of the peace for some 
twenty years. 



WILLIAM SEEKING is a self-made 
man, who has worked his wa}' up- 
ward to a position of affluence un- 
aided save b\' his own perseverance, 
diligence andgood management. The record 
of such a man should serve as a source of 
encouragement to others, and it is with 
pleasure that we present the sketch of his 
life to our readers. 

Mr. Seering was born in Prussia, Novem- 
ber 18, 1839, son of Gotfried Seering, a 
farmer and miller, who in later life engaged 
in hotel keeping. Gotfried Seering was mar- 
ried in his native land to Miss Sophia Hoff- 



COMMEMORATIVE BJOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



937 



man, and ere leaving Germany they became 
the parents of three sons and two daughters. 
The father was at one time possessed of a 
comfortable competence, but during the 
revolution of 1848 his property was all swept 
awaj-, and he then concluded to come to the 
United States. In the spring of 1850 he 
embarked with his family at Hamburg on 
the '•North America," which reached New 
York after a voyage of thirty-three days, a 
remarkably short vo\age for that period. 
He made his way to Milwaukee, Wis., leav- 
ing his family there for a short time while 
he went to Mayville, Dodge county, to find 
a relative. Thither he took his family in a 
wagon, and for about a year was employed 
in a distillery in Mayville, after which he 
purchased forty acres of new land, building 
thereon a log cabin. He then began the 
cultivation of his farm, and as his financial 
resources increased extended its boundaries 
by additional purchase. The children of 
the family were: William; August, a farmer 
of Hartland township, Shawano county; 
Julius, a farmer of Dodge county. Wis. ; 
Louisa, wife of August Waner, of Dodge 
county ; one daughter who died in Milwaukee 
soon after the arrival of the family in this 
country; Amelia, wife of William Swan, of 
Dodge county; and Carl, who died at the 
age of fourteen years. The father spent the 
last seven years of his life at the home of 
his daughter, Mrs. Swan, his wife passing 
away five years before him. Both were 
members of the Lutheran Church, and were 
laid to rest in Woodland Cemeter}-. The 
father had prospered in his undertakings, 
and by persistent labor had acquired a good 
farm. 

The schoolhouse where ^^'illiam Seering 
pursued his studies was far distant from his 
home, and, as his services were needed on 
the farm, his educational privileges were, in 
consequence, limited, but he has always 
been a warm friend of education, and as a 
school director has done effective service in 
its interest. He early became familiar with 
the hardships and experiences of frontier 
life, and with the arduous task of develop- 
ing a new farm, giving the benefit of his 
services to his father most of the time until 
his marriage. At the age of twenty-two, in 



Williamstown, Dodge county, Mr. Seering 
wedded Caroline Uhlerich. His father then 
gave him a wagon and yoke of oxen, and in 
1 86 1 he came to Shawano county, where 
the year before he had purchased a tract of 
government land in Section 15, Hartland 
township. The household goods were moved 
in a wagon drawn by oxen, and they were 
ten days on the road, being obliged to cut 
their way through the woods in order to 
reach their farm. He built a log house, 20 
X 24 feet, and here began life in true pioneer 
style. A year and a half later his wife died, 
and, as his own health was poor, he returned 
to his parents' home in Dodge county, re- 
maining with them until his second marriage. 
On July 3, 1867, in Mayville, Wis., he wed- 
ded Miss Johanna Petermann, who was born 
in Germany June 3, 1848, a daughter of 
Christian Petermann, a farmer, with whom 
she came to this country at the age of eight- 
een years. Again Mr. Seering made the 
trip with a wagon and ox-team to his farm 
in Hartland township, and has since made 
his home thereon. He now has 160 acres 
of rich land, of which 130 acres are under a 
high state of cultivation — in fact, his farm 
is the best in Hartland township, it being 
assessed higher than any other. The build- 
ings upon the place stand as monuments to 
his thrift and enterprise, and are modern in 
structure, and models of convenience. His 
fine brick residence was erected in 1880, 
and the other improvements are in keeping 
with the home. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Seering 
are Albert, a merchant of Bonduel; Frank, 
who clerks in his father's store; Emma, wife 
of Herman Siebert; and Robert, Charley, 
Helen and Elizabeth, at home. Mr. Seering 
has always been a Democrat, and has served 
altogether for fifteen years as supervisor, 
and for nine years as school treasurer. In 
August, 1892, in company with Frank Sie- 
bert, he purchased the mercantile business 
of Philip Meyer, of Bonduel, of which he is 
now the sole proprietor. He possesses ex- 
cellent business abihty, and his enterprise 
and well-directed efforts have brought to 
him a high degree of prosperity, which he 
well merits. He and his wife are members 
of the Lutheran Church. 



938 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



DAVID ROBERTS. To no one indi- 
dividual, perhaps, is the develop- 
ment of Mosinee and vicinity due in 
a greater deg;ree than to the pioneer 
merchant and lumberman whose name ap- 
pears above. He is not only pioneer, but ; 
during the forty-five years that he has been 
living in this portion of Marathon county he 
has been one of the most active and influen- 
tial promoters of its growth. 

Mr. Roberts was born near Montreal, 
Canada, June 6, 1831, son of Constant and 
Flavie (Laplainte) Roberts, natives of that 
country. They had a family of nine children. 
of whom only two, Eugene, a resident of 
Madison, Wis., and David, survive. The 
latter grew to early manhood on his father's 
farm, receiving a limited French education, 
and when nineteen years old he left the pa- 
rental roof and found a home in Wisconsin. 
On November 27, 1850, he came to Mosi- 
nee, and since that date he has been a con- 
tinuous resident of the village. For nine 
years he worked in the woods and on the 
river, then, in 1859, engaged in the lumber- 
ing business on his own account. In 1882 
he added to it a general mercantile trade, 
and has since conducted both on an exten- 
sive scale. 

Mr. Roberts was married, at Stevens 
Point, Wis., in 1863, to Miss Jane Moray, 
a native of Wisconsin. Their two children 
have both passed away, and Mrs. Roberts 
died in 1878. On June 15, i88i,Mr. Rob- 
erts was married to Miss Elizabeth Lemmer, 
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Dahlem) 
Lemmer, who emigrated from Germany and 
became early settlers of Marathon county, 
Wis. Mr. Lemmer, at this writing, still 
survives at the advanced age of seventy-eight 
years; his wife died in Marathon city in 
February, 1885. To Mr. and Mrs. Roberts 
have come three children — Nelson D., born 
March 3, 1884; Amelia E., born November 
21, 1885, and Constant E. , born July i, 
1888. Mr. Roberts has held many local 
offices, among them that of county super- 
visor four terms. He has also been town 
supervisor tor several terms, and school 
treasurer some seventeen years; for six years 
he was the postmaster at Mosinee. In poli- 
tics he is Republican. The family attend 



the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. Roberts 
is widely and favorably known, enjoying the 
distinction of an acquaintance, than which 
none other in Marathon county is wider. 
In business he displays a broad sagacity that 
marks him as a man of great native ability. 
His convictions are strong, and his principles 
thoroughly honest. Added to these sterling 
qualities is his untiring energy, which is 
directed not only for his home, but for the 
immediate community in which he lives and 
for Marathon county. Keenly alive to the 
importance of knowledge, Mr. Roberts is a 
well-informed man upon the current events 
of his State and country. 



WILLIAM HOFFMANN, a substan- 
tial farmer of Pella, Shawano 
county, was born in Pella October 
12, 1863, and is a son of Gottlieb 
and Sophia (Genskow) Hoffmann. 

In i860 Gottlieb Hoffmann was united 
in marriage with Sophia, widow of Gottlieb 
Koepsel, and they reared three children, as 
follows: Mary, wifeof August Wechmann, of 
Pella township, who has had seven children; 
William, the subject of this sketch; and .Au- 
gust, a farmer in Dupont township, Wau- 
paca county, who has one son. Mrs. Gott- 
lieb Hoffmann was born in Germany Octo- 
ber 6, 1S24, daughter of Casper F. and 
Sophia (Buss) Genskow, who reared a family 
of children as follows: Wilhelmine, Char- 
lotte, Sophia (Mrs. Hoffmann; and Mary 
(twins), John, Charles, and two who died in 
infancy. Casper F. Genskow was a day 
laborer. When twenty years of age Sophia 
Genskow was married to Gottlieb Koepsel, 
with whom she came to America in 1855, 
landing in Quebec. They came from there 
direct to Dodge count}', Wis., where he en- 
gaged in work as a day laborer. His back 
was broken while raising a barn in Dodge 
county, and he died leaving two children, 
namely: John, who died at the age of 
twenty-one years, and Wilhelmine, now the 
wife of Charles Brown, a farmer of Pella 
township. 

In 1 86 1 Gottlieb Hoffmann and his wife 
came with an ox-team from Dodge county 
to Pella, Shawano county, at that time all 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



939 



woods, and boug;ht forty acres of land in 
Section 30, which still forms a part of the 
farm. Here he built a log house about 
16x18 feet, covered with grooved logs, and 
the floor was of split logs. They had only 
an ox-team, and an axe and grub hoe for the 
work of clearing, which began at once, but 
progressed slowly, with their meager equip- 
ment. There were only trails to mark their 
paths, and they were obliged to cut their 
own roads, as none were there. Thus they 
made a brave beginning. Game was abund- 
ant in the woods, and William Hoffmann, 
whose name introduces this sketch, can well 
remember how the wolves prowled about. 
Afterward they bought eight}' acres more, 
and now the farm consists of 1 20 acres of 
land, of which lOO are cleared, all done by 
their own hard work. Mr. Hoffman died 
in 1888, at the age of sixty. 

William Hoffman remained at home 
with his parents, was educated in the com- 
mon schools, and commenced the more 
arduous work of life rather young. He was 
of much help to his parents, and, when his 
father died, became the head of the family. 
On November 18, 1887, he was united in 
marriage with Bertha Wichman, and they 
have had five children — Arthur, Emma, 
Theodore, Lillie and Albert. Mrs. Hoffman 
is the daughter of Fred and Louise (Wolf) 
Wichman. Politically Mr. Hoffman is a 
Democrat, and he has been town clerk 
since 1889. Both he and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Lutheran Church. He has as 
good a farm as there is in the township, and 
is one of the most intelligent and industrious 
farmers there. 



REV. EMIL STUBENVOLL, a Lu- 
theran minister of Pella township, 
Shawano county, was born in Baden, 
Germany, July 6, 1866, son of Charles 
F. and Elizabeth (Nautascerj Stubenvoll. 

Charles F. Stubenvoll was a lawyer in 
Germany, as well as a merchant, and was a 
very successful man. There were six chil- 
dren in his family, as follows: Emil, the 
subject of this sketch; Lizzie, the wife of 
Matt Heine, an artist of Milwaukee, who 
has two children, Frank and Clarence; 



Charles, a physician of Oakwood, Milwaukee 
Co., Wis., who has one son; Hugo, study- 
ing for the ministry with his brother, Emil; 
Frederick, who died at the age of nine years; 
and Christoph, who is married, and is a 
hotel-keeper in New York (he has crossed 
the ocean three times). The children all 
received an excellent education, and have 
all been successful in life. In 1882 Mr. 
Stubenvoll came with his family to America, 
sailing from Havre and landing in New York, 
wh^re they located, the father dying there 
March 13, 1884, at the age of thirty-nine 
years. His widow is still living in New York, 
at about the age of forty-five. 

Rev. Emil Stubenvoll received his earlier 
education in Germany, in the town of Frei- 
burg, where he attended school for seven 
years. He was next a student at a high 
school in Tegernau for three and a half years, 
after which he came with his parents to 
America. In 1887 he went to Springfield, 
111., and attended the Lutheran College 
there three years. In 1890 he came to Mil- 
waukee, Wis., and in 1891 to Regina, Sha- 
wano Co., Wis., where he took his first con- 
gregation. He remained there one year, 
then removed to Pella, where he now has 
a congregation of fifty-three members. This 
church was organized in 1 860. 

On June 4, 1891, Rev. Emil Stubenvoll 
was united in marriage with Rose Malitz, 
who was born in Germany October 27, 1 874, 
and they have had two children — Rose and 
Emil. The parents of Mrs. Stubenvoll, 
Charles and Wilhelmine (Bartelme) Malitz, 
came to America in 1880, proceeding direct- 
ly to Wisconsin and locating in Shawano 
county. Their family is as follows: Anna, 
now the wife of Fred Shanck, a farmer at 
Antigo, Langlade Co. , Wis. ; Fred, a farmer 
in Regina, Shawano county; Bertha, Mrs. 
Frank Westfall, of Wittenberg, Shawano 
county. Wis. ; Rose, Mrs. Stubenvoll; Ame- 
lia, Mrs. Owen Hughes, of Shawano coun- 
ty; Herman, at home with his parents in 
Seneca, Shawano county, where they came 
in 1880; Charles, at home; and Emma, liv- 
ing with Mr. and Mrs. Stubenvoll. The 
father, Charles Malitz, is a farmer by occu- 
pation. Politically, Rev. Mr. Stubenvoll is 
a Republican. 



940 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ROBERT E. SEMPLE, a prosperous 
farmer of Waukechon township, Sha- 
\Nano county, was born in that town- 
ship January 8, 1867, and is a son 
of Archibald and Margaret (Cunningham) 
Sample, who came from Canada, locating 
in Waukechon, Wisconsin. 

Archibald Semple was a farmer by occu- 
pation. He died here in Waukechon in 
1886, and his wife, Margaret, died five 
months later, leaving four children, namely: 
Robert E., the subject of this sketch; Mary, 
now at Wittenberg, Shawano county, who 
is in poor health; Louise, who lives with 
her uncle at Oshkosh, and Anna, also in 
Oshkosh, where both are attending school. 
Robert E. Semple attended school in his 
boyhood at Shawano, and he always lived 
at home with his parents. On November 
20, 1894, he was united in marriage with 
Catherine Wilson, deughterof John and El- 
len (Burns) Wilson, who removed from Up- 
per Canada to Waupaca, Wis., in 1880, 
establishing themselves here on a farm, and 
both are now living, engaged in farming, in 
Embarrass, Waupaca county. They were 
the parents of the following named children: 
Maggie, wife of Michael Finnerty, a farmer 
of West Branch, Mich. ; Thomas, also a 
farmer in West Branch, Mich. ; Ke;?iah, 
wife of Frank Wait, of Matteson tt)wnship, 
Waupaca county; Joseph, a farmer in Nav- 
arino township, Shawano county; Ella, 
widow of Edward Brinkerhoff, who died, 
leaving two children; Mary Ann, wife of 
Webb Conklin, a farmer, of Waukechon 
township; Ellen, Mrs. Semjile; and lohn, 
at home. 

Shortly after the death of his parents 
Mr. Semple bought out the heirs, and to- 
day he has 2 1 5 acres of land, of which 
ninety are under the plow. Politically he 
is a lifelong Republican, and socially he is 
a Mason, and a member of Shawano Lodge 
No. 1 14, K. of P. 

The grandparents of Robert E. Semple, 
who were farming people, lived in Canada, 
where the grandfather died in 184"; the 
grandmother subsequently came to Wau- 
kechon, Shawano Co., Wis., and remained 
here imtil her death, in 1878. They reared 
afamiljof four children, as follows: James, 



who died in 1874, in Oshkosh, Wis., leav- 
ing a wife and three children, all of whom — 
Wallace, James and Norman — moved with 
their grandparents to the State of Wash- 
ington; Archibald, father of Robert E., who 
is mentioned above; Parian, now living in 
Oshkosh, who has one son, Parian, Jr., a 
lumberman, and one son whose name is not 
given. This son was married February 23, 
1859, to Jane H. Semple, after which he 
bought a small lot, and began speculating, 
at which he has since been engaged. He 
located on lOO acres of wild land, which, 
when he first came there, was inhabited 
only by Indians, and forty wigwams could 
be seen near by, but he transformed it into 
a comfortable home. Mrs. Semple was 
born October 10, 1834, in Canada, daugh- 
ter of Archibald and Ann (Cunningham) 
Semple, natives of Scotland, who came to 
America with their parents in an early day. 

HA. HOLCOMB, one of the promi- 
nent farmers of Royalton township, 
Waupaca county, is a representative 
also of one of the earliest pioneer 
families of northern Wisconsin. 

He was born in Oneida county, N. Y., 
in June, 1845, son of Hiram and Sarah 
Jane (Richards) Holcomb, and a grandson 
of a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The 
Holcomb family was of mingled English and 
Welsh extraction, and settled in America in 
Colonial times. Hiram Holcomb was a 
shoemaker by trade, but usually followed 
farming as a vocation. He migrated with 
his family to Milwaukee, Wis., in 1847 (the 
year Wisconsin became a State), and for 
two years followed farming within the pres- 
ent limits of that prosperous city. Then, 
in 1849, he penetrated into the wooded 
depths of the newly-made State, and select- 
ed for himself and family a home in Warren 
township, W'aushara county, a region still 
the domain of plenteous wild game. Indian 
wigwams abounded, and one solitary log 
cabin stood on the site of the city of Berlin. 
He lived here, seeing the wild land about 
him graduall}' transformed into cultivated 
farms, and into homes of content and plenty, 
until 1 87 1, when he removed to Royalton 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



941 



township, Waupaca county, and there died 
in 1878, his widow survi\-ing until 1885, and 
dying at the age of eighty-two years. The 
children of Hiram and Sarah Holcomb were 
as follows: Richard, who died in infancy 
in New York; Lucretia, who died in infancy 
in New York; Norton, now of Waushara 
county, who enlisted in the Fifth Wis. V. I. 
in 1864, and served in the army of the Po- 
tomac to the close of the war; Francis, who 
while cii route to California disappeared, and 
of whose fate no tidings were received; Cor- 
delia, widow of Silas Nichols, of Oshkosh; 
Elvira, who died at Antigo, W'is. , in 1886, 
the widow of Capt. Irving Eckels, of Com- 
pany E, Thirty-second Wis. V. I., who was 
killed at the battle of River's Bridge, Salka- 
hatchie, S. C, in Februar\-, 1865; Anna, 
who was the wife of Isaac Brown, of North- 
port, Wis., and who died in 1885; Levancia, 
widow of Samuel Plum, of Wheaton, 111. ; 
and H. A., our subject. 

H. A. Holcomb was so young when his 
parents came to Wisconsin that he can 
scarcely remember the event. He does 
know, however, that while a small 
child he suffered in Milwaukee a severe 
attack of cholera, but fortunately recov- 
ered. He was raised amid the scenes 
of pioneer life, in the forests of Waushara 
county, and there attended the primitive 
schools. While yet a mere youth of seven- 
teen years he enlisted, in August, 1862, in 
Company C, Thirty-second Wis. V. I., was 
transferred at Oshkosh to Company E, and 
served three years, participating, among 
other engagements, in the battles before At- 
lanta and in the siege of that city. He was 
also at Jonesboro, and followed Sherman in 
his renowned march to the sea at Savannah. 
He was active in the Carolina campaign, 
and faced the enemy's guns at Bentonvillc, 
N. C. Participating in the Grand Review 
at Washington, D. C, he was honorably 
discharged in June, 1865, and, like hun- 
dreds of thousands of other loyal soldiers, 
he grounded his arms and resumed a peace- 
ful vocation. Returning to Waushara coun- 
ty, he there followed farming until March, 
1871, when with his family he removed to a 
seventy-five-acre tract located in Section 13, 
Royalton township, Waupaca county, which 



he had purchased four months before. Only 
thirty acres of the land were then cleared, 
and an abundance of pioneer work remained. 
Mr. Holcomb added to the little farm, and 
now owns 120 acres, 100 acres of which are 
cleared. Upon this he has built two large 
and substantial barns, and made other im- 
provements. 

In 1870 Mr. Holcomb was married to 
Emma Berray, daughter of Charles Berray, 
who in 1 85 1 migrated with his family from 
New York State, and settled, an early pio- 
neer, in Waushara county, Wis. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Holcomb eleven children have 
been born, as follows: Nellie J., wife of 
James Curtis, engaged in the livery business 
at Waupaca; Charles; Stella, a teacher; 
Mildred and Mabel, both attending the State 
Normal School at Oshkosh; Levancia, Glen- 
nie, Ervene, Hazel, Harold and Richard. 
Mr. Holcomb has been a Prohibitionist and 
Republican in political sentiment, and for 
years he has served as a member of the 
school board. He is a member of Brad 
Phillips Post No. 285, G. A. R. In addi- 
tion to general farming he has paid consid- 
erable attention to the raising of a high 
grade of stock, and is now giving special at- 
tention to the cultivation of potatoes. Mr. 
Holcomb is one of the best-known men in 
Royalton township, and commands the re- 
spect and esteem of all who know him. 



HERMAN RUDER. If the name 
Ruder is intimately associated with 
the idea of thorough business abil- 
ity, it is due in no small degree to 
the young brewer whose name appears 
above. Mr. Ruder was for some time man- 
ager of the George Ruder Brewing Company, 
and in that capacity had active charge of its 
extensive operations. 

He is a native of the city of Wausau, 
Wis., born August 16, i86i, and for many 
years lived in that city. After his educa- 
tion in the public schools was completed 
Mr. Ruder entered his father's business, and 
was actively connected therewith, first as 
employe (during which period he thoroughly 
learned the business), then as partner, and 



942 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



in 1892 became a stockholder and officer of 
the company then formed. 

Mr. Ruder was married in May, 1886, 
to Miss Mary Gates, and three children have 
come to this union: Helena, born May 26, 
1887; Margaret, born October 5, 1888, and 
John, born August 11, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ruder are members of the Catholic Church. 
Mr. Ruder is an expert in the brewing trade, 
and even an enthusiast on the subject. He 
has thoroughly acquired all its details, and 
keeps himself fully informed upon all im- 
provements and matters having a bearing 
directly or indirectly upon the business. His 
value as a painstaking and straightforward 
business man is appreciated by the com- 
munity, and he enjoys the respect and es- 
teem of all who know him. 



FRANK BRABANT was born in Mosi- 
nee, Marath'on county, March 5, 
1870, and is a son of John B. and 
Barbara fHilbe) Brabant, who were 
born in the Province of Quebec, Canada, 
and Pennsylvania, respectively, and were 
early settlers of Marathon county. 

John B. Brabant located in Mosinee in 
the fall of 1856, and was engaged in lum- 
bering up to his death, which occurred Jul}' 
27, 1 88 1. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Brabant 
were the parents of seven children, namely: 
Frank, the subject of this sketch; Delia; 
Barbara, wife of Alexander Keep, residing 
in Concord, Jefferson Co., Wis., and Jos- 
ephine, William, Susan and Mary, all resid- 
ing in Mosinee. John B. Brabant was an 
old and honored resident of the village of 
Mosinee for many years, served in the Four- 
teenth Wis. V. I. during the war of the Re- 
bellion, and was present with his regiment 
in many of the principal engagements. Dur- 
ing his residence in Mosinee he was promi- 
nently engaged in the lumbering business, 
and took an active part in matters relating 
to the welfare of the county. 

Our subject was educated in the public 
schools of Mosinee, Marathon county, and 
was then employed in grading lumber. 
Later on he was a salesman in the dry-goods 
business, and in 1889 commenced an en- 
gagement with C. A. Gardner & Co. He is 



a very popular young man in the village, and 
enjoys the confidence of his employers, and 
the respect and esteem of the residents of 
Mosinee, with whom he is a general favorite. 
[Since the above was written Mr. Brabant 
has enlisted into the ranks of the noble army 
of Benedicts. 



JOHN A. HUNT is one of the more re- 
cent arrivals in Marshfield, Wood 
county, yet he has already become 
quite widely known and has gained the 
esteem and confidence of those with whom 
he has been brought in contact, for they 
recognize his genuine worth. He occupies 
a prominent place in commercial circles, and 
as a citizen is public-spirited and progressive. 

Mr. Hunt was born July 27, 1862, in 
Northfield, Summit Co., Ohio, and belongs 
to one of the pioneer families of that State. 
His grandfather, Abner Hunt, was one of 
the earliest settlers of Summit count}', 
whither he removed from Massachusetts. 
Born and reared in the Bay State, he there 
married a Miss Johnson, and subsequently 
started with his family for Ohio, making the 
journey with an ox-team. In the locality in 
which he settled there were only six families 
living within a radius of fifteen miles, and 
the city of Cleveland was then only a small 
village. Mr. Hunt secured a tract of wild 
land, but for a time had to leave his own 
farm and work for others in order to support 
the family. He would walk seven miles to do 
a day's work and take his pay in corn, but as 
time passed, through his industry and fru- 
gality, he was enabled to sa\e some money, 
and eventually became the possessor of a 
fine property. In the family were twelve 
children — Abner, Norman, Russell, Mar- 
shall, Calvin, Elmira, Betsy, Lavina, Will- 
iam, Hannah, and two who died in infancy. 

Marshall Hunt, father of our subject is a 
native of Massachusetts, and in his earlier 
years learned and followed the carpenter's 
trade, but during most of his life carried on 
agricultural pursuits, He was married, in 
Northfield, Ohio, in 1854, to Mary Green- 
lee, who had two brothers living in Missouri; 
but little else is known concerning her 
family. Following farming, Mr. Hunt ac- 



COMMEMOnATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



943- 



cumulated a comfortable competency, and 
has now for the past ten years lived a re- 
tired life in Bedford, Ohio, enjoying the rest 
which he has truly earned and richly de- 
serves. His wife died in 1868. Of their 
family of eight children, six survived their 
mother, namely: Calvin, Betsy, Nettie, 
John A., Arlette and William. Eliza died 
at the age of thirty-four, and one child died 
in infancy. 

John A. Hunt spent his early boyhood 
days upon the old homestead, and attended 
the district schools of the neighborhood until 
sixteen years of age. This completed his 
school training until after his marriage, 
when he took a course in a business college 
of Detroit, Mich., making a specialty of 
mechanical draughting. When a youth of 
sixteen he entered the chair factory owned 
by W. O. Taylor & Son, of Bedford, Ohio, 
where he continued for three years, becom- 
ing quite familiar with the business. After 
spending one winter in the lumber camps of 
northern Michigan, whither he went in the 
hope of benefiting his health, which was 
somewhat impaired, he removed to Detroit, 
Mich., and entered the employ of the Union 
Chair Works, of which his brother Calvin 
was foreman. Three years later his brother 
purchased the factory and John A. became 
foreman, serving in that capacity some seven 
years. He then embarked in business for 
himself, associated with a partner, in De- 
troit, Mich., but eight months later sold his 
interest and entered the employ of one of 
the largest chair companies in the United 
States, as a designer. Five months passed, 
and he then accepted a position as superin- 
tendent with the Upper Peninsula Chair & 
Manufacturing Company, of Ironwood,Mich. 
with which he continued for a year, when, 
in June, 1894, the business was removed to 
Marshfield, Wis. Here the company was 
re-organized under the name of the Marsh- 
field Chair & Manufacturing Company, and 
Mr. Hunt became a member of the board of 
directors and superintendent of the works, 
wherein are employed 125 workmen. This 
is one of the leading industries of the city, 
and its success during the past year is large- 
ly due to the capable administration and 
managerial ability of Mr. Hunt. 



On June 8, 1887, in Detroit, Mich., Mr. 
Hunt married Miss Barbara Huyser, a na- 
tive of Canada, and a daughter of Cornelius 
Huyser, who was born in Holland. For a 
number of years he engaged in merchandis- 
ing in Detroit, and then removed to Canada, 
locating upon a farm. His family numbered 
ten children — Mary, Lina, Henry, Frances, 
Barbara, Robert, Delilah, Isaac, Nellie and 
Nancy. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt have three 
children — Oracle, Florence and Harold. 
They hold membership with the Presbyte- 
rian Church, and in his political views Mr. 
Hunt is a Republican. 



M 



ART IN JOHNSON was born 
March 3, 1857, in Kongsberg, 
Norway, son of Herman and Leal 
K. (Horto) Johnson, both of whom 
were born in Kongsberg — the father Septem- 
ber 30, 1828, the mother December 8, 1S26. 
The parents of Herman Johnson, Jo- 
hanas and Bertha Johnson, had four children, 
namely: Christ, who died in Norway; Ole, 
who is in Norway, if living; Martha, who 
died in Norway; and Herman. Johanas 
Johnson, who was a shoemaker by trade, 
died when his son Herman was only nine 
years old, leaving his widow and children 
alone. W'hen Herman was a boy he had 
poor opportunities for an education, and has 
earned his own living from the age of thir- 
teen years. He went to work in a gunshop, 
learned the gunsmith's trade, and worked at 
this occupation for the government in one 
place for thirty-one years, receiving at first 
but sixteen cents a day. and gradually work- 
ing up to ten or fifteen dollars a month. 
While here he was united in marriage with 
Leal K. Horto, and they have had a family 
of eight children, as follows: Johanna, who 
died in Norway at the age of fifteen: 
Martin, who died in infancy in Norway; 
Thorvle, engaged in the mercantile busi- 
ness in Maple Grove township with his 
brother Martin; Martin, the subject of 
this sketch; Bernard, who is married and 
is engaged in a shingle mill in Merrill, W'is. ; 
Martinius, who married Nellie Gullickson 
and lives on the homestead, caring for 
his father and mother (they have one 



•944 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



daughter, Laura M., born March 20, 1890); 
John, who owns and operates an eighty-acre 
farm in Angehca, Shawano county, is mar- 
ried and has a son named Harry; and Jo- 
ihanna, wife of Ole Oleson, a general busi- 
ness man of Crystal Falls, Mich, (they have 
three children — Herbert, Carrie and Nor- 
man). The parents of Mrs. Herman John- 
:3on, Tolorf and Ingeberg (Larson) Horto, 
had seven children, namely: Christopher, 
who died in Little Suamico, Oconto Co., 
Wis. ; Lars, living in Norway; Engas, de- 
•ceased in Norway, who worked forty years 
for one fanjily named White, for which she 
received a pension; Amberg, who died in 
Norway; Leal K., Mrs. Johnson; Asa, who 
•died in Norway; and Bertha, who lives in 
Norway. Mr. Horto worked in the silver 
mines all his life, and was also on the fire 
•department. 

Herman Johnson sailed from Christiania 
for America in 1873, and landing in New 
York after a voyage of fourteen days came 
to Angelica township, Shawano Co., Wis., 
where he was employed for a short time in 
a sawmill. In six months his wife and chil- 
dren joined him, and he remained in Angelica 
some seven years, working for six years in 
a sawmill for Gov. Uphani. At that time 
this was all wild country. Mr. and Mrs. 
Johnson bought eighty acres of land in the 
town ,of Maple Grove, built a home and 
lived on this land three years. At the end 
of that time he had twenty acres cleared, 
and selling the place bought eighty acres of 
unimproved land in Section No. 2 (on which 
he and his son now live), built a frame house, 
and immediately started to clear the land, 
but had no team for two years. Here with 
his wife he has since lived, and they expect 
to spend the remainder of their days with 
their son. The children, for the most part, 
remained at home until married. 

Martin Johnson came to America before 
his parents, when only fifteen years of age, 
since which time he has made his own liv- 
ing, for seven years being chiefly employed 
in the woods. On December i, 1879, he 
was united in marriage with Mary Oleson, 
who was born in Kewaunee county, Wis. , in 
January, 1857, and they have had five chil- 
dren, namely, Ludwig, Charlie, Mattie, 



Otto (now deceased) and Clara. The father 
of Mrs. Johnson, who was a farmer by occu- 
pation, came with his wife and daughter 
from Hedemarken, Norway, to America, 
locating in Kewaunee county. Wis., in an 
early day, and died soon after his arrival. 
Since his marriage Martin Johnson has been 
engaged in farming. He first bought land 
in Section No. i, in Lessor township, Sha- 
wano county, opened it up and cleared a 
small tract, but he sold this, and removing to 
Angelica township bought sixty acres of land 
in Section 31, now having a farm of 100 
acres, of which fifty are cleared. Politically 
he is a Republican. In religious affiliation 
the family are Lutherans. 



CHARLES MAGEE, Sr.. has for 
thirty-three years been connected 
with the lumber business in Shawa- 
no county, and his well-spent life 
and sterling worth have gained him the high 
regard of all with whom he has come in con- 
tact. He was born April 28, 1828, in Kings- 
ton, Canada, and is a son of John and Su- 
sanna (Cook) Magee, both of whom were na- 
tives of County Cavan, Ireland. In their 
family were the following named children — 
Charles, John, Robert, Dick, Joe, Kittie, 
Bessie, Hannah, Susie and Martha. 

Our subject received but meager school 
privileges, for the schoolhouse was a long 
distance from his home, and as he was one 
of a large family his services were needed in 
the development and improvement of the 
new farm. He followed farm work until 
twenty-two years of age, and then began 
work on the Northern railroad in Upper Can- 
ada. On September 15, 185 i, he was mar- 
ried, in Upper Canada, to Miss Margaret 
Thompson, who was born May 18, 1833, 
twenty miles north of Toronto, a daughter 
of George Thompson, who came from Coun- 
ty Monaghan, Ireland. After his marriage 
Mr. Magee located in Newmarket, Canada, 
and worked on the railway. Later he was 
employed on the construction of the Grand 
Trunk railway, taking a contract for build- 
ing three miles of the road, near Guelph, 
Canada. In 1853 he came to Wisconsin, and 
six weeks after his arrival sent for his wife 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGEAPHWAL RECORD. 



945 



and child, the familj* being among the pio- 
oneer settlers of Two Rivers, Manitowoc 
county, which was their home until Septem- 
ber, 1 86 1. With an ox-team and a large 
covered lumber wagon he then moved his 
family to Shawano, taking nine days to make 
the trip, for he had to follow a very circuit- 
ous route, few roads having then been laid 
out. 

Mr. Magee had disposed of his land in 
Manitowoc county, and on reaching this 
place he made a temporary home in a par- 
tially finished house on a lot that was given 
him by H. C. Naber, who was then making 
an addition to Shawano, and giving away 
lots in order to induce settlers to locate here. 
Our subject built a log cabin, in which he 
spent the winter of 1861-62, and when the 
homestead act was passed in the latter year 
he secured an eighty-acre claim in Section 
13, Richmond township. He had previous- 
ly located on the bank of the Wolf river, 
but when the bridge leading to his home was 
swept away he settled on his claim, and for 
seven years lived in the house, which he 
there erected; during that time he was profit- 
ably engaged in lumbering. In the fall of 
1 87 1 he removed to the township of Rich- 
mond, on a farm covered with a second 
growth of timber, and surrounded by a pole 
fence. He erected the first building upon 
that tract of 100 acres, and it has since been 
his place of residence. 

While living in Canada Mr. and Mrs. 
Magee had a daughter, Elizabeth, who be- 
came the wife of William Ainsworth, and 
died in Angelica, Wis. Since their arrival 
in the United States the family circle has 
been increased by the birth of the following 
children: James, who is successfully engaged 
in the lumber business, and has a good home 
near his father; Martha S., wife of August 
Anderson, of Richmond township, Shawano 
county; Mary A., wife of John C. Black, of 
Shawano; George, who is engaged in the 
lumber business; Charles W., foreman of the 
Winneconne Lumber Co., of Shawano; Le- 
titia, who died in infancy; Margaret, wife of 
William Gibbs, of Shawano; and Beatrice 
M., a teacher in the high school of Shawa- 
no. Another member of the family is Grace 
E., the only child of their eldest daughter, 



who has lived with them since she was four- 
teen months old. Besides the property pre- 
viously mentioned Mr. Magee owns seventy 
acres of rich land. His possessions have all 
been acquired through his own efforts, and 
untiring industry, enterprise and good man- 
agement have brought to him a success of 
which he may well be proud. He takes an 
interest in the success of the Republican 
party, which he supports by his ballot, but 
has never been an office-seeker. He and his 
wife hold membership with the Presbyterian 
Church, of Shawano, and he has served as 
one of its officers. The family is one of 
prominence in the community, its members 
holding a high position in social circles, and 
none are more worthy of representation in 
this volume than the Masjees. 



WILLIAM McGEE, now serving as 
city engineer of Tomahawk, Lin- 
coln county, is one of the prominent 
and representative citizens. On 
June 22, 1861, he was born in New York 
City, while his mother was there on a visit, 
her home being in the central part of Ten- 
nessee. The paternal grandfather, David 
McGee, was born in the Shenandoah Val- 
ley, Virginia, in 1806, but removed to Ten- 
nessee, where he and his wife both died. 
He was a farmer and mason by occupation. 
In his family were five children — Wiley, 
William, James, l^ixzie, and one who died 
in childhood. 

The father of our subject, Wiley Mc- 
Gee, was born in 1825 in Franklin, Tenn. , 
where he learned the trade of harness mak- 
ing in his youth. He was soon established 
as a manufacturer of saddlery, and now has 
two factories in Tennessee, employing a 
number of men. He was joined in wed- 
lock with Emily Journey, a native of the 
same State, and to that union were born 
si.x children — James, John, William, Eliza- 
beth, and two who died in infancy. Her 
parents, William and Hannah Journey, were 
large landowners, and had a family of eight 
children, of whom are mentioned Feilan, 
John, Henry, Emily, Candice, Mary and 
Paulina. Mrs. McGee passed to her final 
rest in 1S85. 



946 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



On leaving home William McGee went 
to Minneapolis, Minn., where he was em- 
ployed in a machine shop. He was alwaj's 
fond of machinery, being very much at home 
around an engine, and during his stay in 
Minnesota was chief engineer on different 
plants. He remained in that State until 
coming to Tomahawk in 1890; later he re- 
moved to Merrill, Wis., where he served as 
chief engineer for the Wisconsin Valley 
Lumber Co. , remaining with them one sea- 
son. For one year he then filled another 
position as chief engineer, after which he 
returned to Tomahawk to look after the city 
water plant, and has since filled his present 
position — that of city engineer. He gives 
general satisfaction, as he thoroughly un- 
derstands the work he has in charge. 

On February 4, 1890, Mr. McGee mar- 
ried Miss Lizzie Lahay, and to them have 
been born two children — Ada E. and Will- 
iam L. Mrs. McGee is a native of Canada, 
in which country her parents, Alexander and 
Julia (Defosses) Lahay, were also born, the 
father in 18 19, and the mother in 1825. 
They had a family of eleven children — 
Alexander, Julia, Frank, Mary, Emma, 
Clara, Emily, George, Rosa, Elizabeth, and 
one that died in childhood. While a resi- 
dent of Canada the father was foreman of 
a lumber company, working in the woods 
during the winter season, and in the sum- 
mer he was on the river. In April, 1873, 
he located with his famil}' in Lewiston, 
Maine, where his death occurred June 7, 
1874, the result of an injury received in a 
brick-yard. In 1882 the mother joined her 
children in Wisconsin, where she is still 
living. She is of French descent, her par- 
ents, Louis and Julia Defosses, having both 
been born in France, where their marriage 
was celebrated, and to them were born ten 
children — Jule, Thomas, Julia, Louie, Lucia, 
Mary, Frank, Leo, and two who died in 
childhood. The father followed agricul- 
tural pursuits. 

Socially, Mr. McGee is identified with 
the Masonic Fraternity, holding member- 
ship with the lodge in Tomahawk No. 242, 
F. &A. M. ; Tomahawk Lodge No. 155, I. O. 
O. F. , and with the Order of American Me- 
chanics. 



AXEL K. HATTEBERG is one of 
the self-made men of Marshfield, 
Wood county. The spirit of self- 
help is the source of all genuine 
worth in the individual, and is the means of 
bringing to man success when he has no 
advantages of wealth or influence to aid 
him. It illustrates in no uncertain manner 
what it is possible to accomplish, when 
perseverance and determination are a man's 
chief characteristics. Such a spirit has 
been the controlling influence in the life of 
Mr. Hatteberg. 

Our subject was born in Norway, No- 
vember 30, 1833; His father, Knutson 
Perstegarden, who was a mechanic, married 
Christine Hatteberg, and of their family of 
seven children five are yet living — Axel K. , 
Knutson, Martha, Christine and Kistia, of 
whom two sons and one daughter live in 
this country. The parents both passed 
away in Norway, which was their home 
throughout life's pilgrimage, the father dying 
when his son Axel was thirteen years of age. 
He was a well-educated man, and owned a 
small estate. He was employed by a Nor- 
wegian baron, and with that gentleman 
traveled extensively, visiting many points of 
interest in Europe. 

Axel K. Hatteberg, like the other chil- 
dren of the family, and in accordance with 
the laws of his native land, attended school 
until fourteen years of age, and then was 
sent to a garden and agricultural college, 
where he pursued a seven-years' course, 
graduating at the age of twenty-tWo. While 
there he became a practical farmer, and 
also became familiar with the use of tools, 
so that he was well-fitted for almost any 
position that he might be called upon to 
fill. After his graduation he was employed 
as foreman on a large farm, and a year later 
accepted a more responsible position on a 
larger estate, continuing in charge for three 
years. He then accepted another position 
of like character, which he retained for two 
years. Although his duties were arduous 
and his responsibilities great, he at first re- 
ceived only $60 per year, and was never 
given more than $100 per year, so low were 
the wages paid in his native land. Believ- 
intr that he could better his financial condi- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



947 



tion, he resolved to emigrate to America, 
and carried out his determination in 1862. 
Mr. Hatteberg was previously married, hav- 
ing, in 1859, wedded Bertha Sternneloga, 
who accompanied him to the United States. 
They took up their residence in Whitewater, 
Wis., where Mr. Hatteberg worked in a 
wagon shop for about seven months, after- 
ward removing to Hebron, Wis., where he 
learned the turner's trade. On the expira- 
tion of two years he returned to Whitewater, 
where he was employed as a turner for about 
two years, until the factory in which he 
served was destroyed by fire. He next 
removed to Richland Center, Wis. , where 
for two years he served as superintendent 
of a small furniture factory, and then joining 
three others formed a company which erect- 
ed a sawmill and established a furniture 
factory. Operations had been carried on 
for only a year and a half when the plant 
was destroyed by fire, and Mr. Hatteberg 
was left almost penniless.. With undaunted 
spirit, however, he made his way to Chicago, 
and resumed work at turning, following that 
pursuit for three years, when his old employ- 
er, Mr. Easterly, offered him the position 
of superintendent in the large factory which 
he had built at Whitewater. Mr. Hatte- 
berg accepted the offer and there remained 
for seven years, a capable and trusted man- 
ager of that establishment. 

In 1882 our subject came to Marshfield 
to start and act as superintendent of the 
factory owned by Mr. Upham, and his con- 
nected therewith continued until the spring 
of 1894. In 1 89 1 he also organized a stock 
company for the manufacture of furniture, 
and was its president until 1894, when he 
laid aside all business cares, having since 
lived retired. 

In 1 864 Mr. Hatteberg was called upon 
to mourn the death of his first wife. They 
had two children — Charles, who died at the 
age of twenty-two; and Emma, now Mrs. 
Prescott. In 1866 he married Christine 
Prescott, who died in 1889, and in 1890, he 
wedded Mrs. Christine (Prescott) Williams, 
a native of Wisconsin, who by her first 
marriage had two children — Carus and Nora 
Prescott. The Republican party receives 
the earnest support of Mr. Hatteberg, and 



for seven years he served as alderman of 
Marshfield, while at this writing he is the 
supervisor from his ward. He holds mem- 
bership with the Presbyterian Church, and 
is affiliated with the Ancient Order of Unit- 
ed Workmen. Aside from a good education 
he has received no aid, and the success of 
his life is all due to his own efforts. He 
possesses considerable inventive genius, and 
is the patentee of four different inventions 
now in general use. 



WILLIS F. LA DU, postmaster at 
Mosinee, Marathon county, and 
senior member of the firm of La 
Du & Bernier, general merchants, 
of Mosinee, was born in the town of Mans- 
field, Tioga Co., Penn., July 2, 185C, and is 
asonof Edgar and SarahJane(Ayers)La Du, 
who were born respectively in Cattaraugus 
county, N. Y. , and in Pennsylvania. They 
removed to Wisconsin about the year 1862, 
and located at Plainfield, Waushara county. 
After remaining there about a year they re- 
moved to Mosinee, and made their home 
here until the death of Mrs. La Du, after 
which event Mr. La Du removed to Wau- 
sau, where he now resides. By Edgar La- 
Du's first marriage there were born six chil- 
dren, four of whom are living, namely: 
Willis F. , the eldest; and William, Miles E. 
and Charles, all residing in Mosinee. Bj' 
the second marriage there were no children. 
Our subject came with his parents to 
Wisconsin when about six years of age, 
lived for a time in Plainfield, then in Mosi- 
nee, and has been a continuous resident of 
that village since that date. He was edu- 
cated in the common district schools, and 
afterward engaged in lumbering, in which 
he has continued ever since. In 1884, in 
Mosinee, Willis F. La Du was united in 
marriage with Miss Helen Keep, and they 
have become the parents of one child — 
Sarah, born March 13, 1886. The parents 
of Mrs. La Du, John and Mary (Egan) 
Keep, were both born in Ireland. Mrs. Keep 
is deceased; Mr. Keep resides in Mosinee. 
In 1888 Mr. La Du engaged in mercantile 
pursuits in connection with his lumbering, 



94S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and in 1892 associated with him in his busi- 
ness Charles A. Bernier. 

Mr. La Du has filled the office of super- 
visor of the town of Bergen two terms, of 
supervisor of the village of Mosinee one 
term, of side supervisor of the town of Ber- 
gen one term, and is chairman of the Second 
Assembly, District of Marathon county. He 
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America, and politically affiliates with the 
Democratic party. Mr. La Du is one of 
the live young professional business men of 
Marathon county, taking an active part in 
what he considers for the welfare of the 
county, as well as of the town in which he 
resides, and has the respect and esteem of 
his fellow citizens. The family attend the 
Roman Catholic Church. 



C- SHANAHAN was born June g, 
1S42, in County Tipperary, Ire- 
land, son of John and Julia (Quirk) 
Shanahan, who were natives of the 
same county. The father was a wagon- 
maker and wheelwright by trade. 

In 1845 Mr. Shanahan left his native 
land for the United States becoming a resi- 
dent of Wisconsin. He brought with him 
his family, consisting of wife and five chil- 
dren, of whom John became a soldier of the 
Twenty-fourth Wis. \\ I. during the Civil war, 
and was killed in 1864 before Atlanta, his 
remains being interred there; C. Shanahan 
is the subject of this memoir; Mary mar- 
ried Calvin Allen, and died near Black River 
Falls, Wis., the mother of nine children; 
Annie became the wife of C. C. Crowley, 
by whom she had seven children, and died 
in Shawano in 1892; Ellen married Dr. 
Thornton, by whom she had three children, 
and her death occurred in Lansing, Iowa, 
but her remains were interred in Manito- 
woc county. Wis. On emigrating to this 
country the famil\- at once came to Wiscon- 
sin, locating in Milwaukee, where the father 
worked at day labor until his removal to 
Liberty township, Manitowoc county. He 
there built a log cabin upon a tract of wild 
land, and went through the usual experiences 
of frontier life, among other inconveniences 
being obliged to carry food from Manitowoc, 



a distance of thirteen miles. They had to 
endure many hardships, and the father died 
when our subject was only about twelve 
years of age; the mother was afterward ac- 
cidentally killed in a runaway. 

Mr. Shanahan was reared on the home 
farm, and received but meagre school privi- 
leges. He worked for neighboring farmers 
for fifty cents per day, and when he had 
saved a little sum of money started for 
California, in 1858, going bj' way of Chi- 
cago, Detroit, Niagara Falls, New York, 
Aspinwall, across the Isthmus and then on to 
San Francisco. He afterward went to 
Sacramento, and to Virginia Cit\', Nev., 
where he engaged in mining. Altogether 
he spent eight and a half years in the West, 
prospecting and mining, and working in the 
quartz mills and in other capacities. It was 
during the rough period of western history, 
and he went through many unpleasant ex- 
periences. He engaged in prospecting in 
Snake river \alley. Queen river valley and 
in Oregon and Idaho, and at Silver City had 
charge of the pan room in a quartz mill. 
He also worked in various parts of Idaho 
and Montana, and the trips between the 
places, which he usually made on foot, were 
fraught with much danger, for the Indians 
were then very treacherous, and there was 
also considerable danger from wild animals. 

For a year after his return. Mr. Shana- 
han had no steady employment. In 1869 
he came to Shawano, where his sister, Mrs. 
Crowle\- lived. The following }"ear he was 
married in Janesville, Wis., to Miss Mary 
Cantwell, a native of this State, and they 
began their domestic life in Shawano, where 
Mrs. Shanahan died April 17, 1878, leaving 
five children, namely: John. Frank and 
Mary, at home; Ellen, who is attending St. 
Clair's Academy at Cincinnati, Iowa, and 
Cornelius, who died at the age of five years. 
In the winter of 1887-88 Mr. Shanahan 
made an extensive trip through the South 
and West, on his trip visiting Alabama, 
Mississippi, New Orleans, Galveston, New 
Mexico, Arizona and Los Angeles. In July, 
1894, he opened out the liquor business in 
Shawano in which he still continues, and he 
is also engaged in real-estate dealing. In 
politics he is a Democrat, though not 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



949' 



strictly partisan, and has served as street 
commissioner and marshal of Shawano. In 
relig;ious belief he is a Catholic, but has 
contributed to the support of various other 
churches. He has given his children good 
opportunities, and is devoted to the welfare 
of his family and to the best interests of the 
community in which he makes his home. 



AOUILLA K. ORR, a veterinary 
surgeon of marked success, is one 
of the most progressive and enter- 
prising young citizens of Wausau. 
He was born in East Union township, 
Wayne Co. , Ohio, November 5, 1861, son 
of Smith and Elizabeth (Anderson) Orr, 
both natives of Ohio. The mother passed 
away in 1871, when Acjuilla was ten years 
of age. The father is still living a retired 
farmer's life at Apple Creek, Wayne Co., 
Ohio, in the midst of the associations of a 
lifetime, and of a fruitful region which his 
honest labor has done much to develop. To 
Smith and Elizabeth Orr were born eight 
children, seven of whom are yet living, as 
follows: Samuel C, a veterinary surgeon 
of Manhattan, Kans., and the publisher and 
editor of the "Handbook of Diseases of 
Horses and Cattle"; Samantha, wife of 
Abraham Brown, of Decatur, Ind. ; David 
O. , a prominent stock raiser of Riley, Kans. ; 
Savilla, wife of Frank Howenstein, of F"ort 
Wayne, Ind.; James L. , superintendent of 
public schools at Middleton, Ohio; Aquilla 
E., subject of this sketch; and Harvey D., 
manager of a sash and door factory at Wau- 
kegan, Illinois. 

Our subject was reared a farmer's boy. 
He attended the public schools, and most 
thoroughly learned the theory and practice 
of farming on his father's broad, rich acres. 
He remained on the farm until 1885, when 
he began work for C. Aultman & Co., of 
Canton, Ohio, as an agricultural implement 
agent and a machinist. However, he soon 
became convinced that his tastes were rather 
for an occupation that was nearer the farm. 
He went to Kansas, and for about a year 
was employed on a large stock ranch in 
Ellsworth county, on the Smoky river. 
Here was completed the professional bent 



of his mind toward veterinary surgery. To 
thoroughly fit himself for the work he in 
the fall of 1 886 entered the Ontario \'eter- 
inary College, at Toronto, Canada, from 
which institution he graduated in March, 
1888. He began the practice of his profes- 
sion at Milwaukee, where he remained a 
year. He then practiced at Buchanan 
Springs, Berrien Co., Mich., until the fall 
of 1890, when he came to Wausau. Here 
by his skill and application he has built up 
a large and rapidly increasing practice. 

Dr. Orr was married, in Wausau, Sep- 
tember 13, 1894, to Miss Mary E. Andrews, 
daughter of Augustus and Mary M. An- 
drews, residents of Wausau. The Doctor 
is a prominent member of the Knights of 
the Maccabees, and of the Royal Arcanum. 
He is also a member of the Veterinary Med- 
ical Society of the Ontario Veterinary Col- 
lege. Himself and wife attend the M. E. 
Church, and his political preferences are for 
the principles of the Republican party. 



WILLIAM H. BEACH, the efficient 
and popular station agent and tele- 
graph operator of Marshfield, Wood 
county, is a native of the neighbor- 
ing State of Michigan, born in Allegan coun- 
ty January 21, 1861. 

His father, Horace S. Beach; was born 
in Baldwinsville, N. Y., March 29, 1829, 
and had eleven brothers and sisters. At the 
age of thirty he migrated westward, taking 
up his residence in Michigan, where he wed- 
ded Mary Reynolds, who was born in Buf- 
falo, N. Y. , a daughter of William A. and 
Mary (Fisher) Reynolds. Mrs. Reynolds 
was a member of the Society of Friends, 
and marrying outside of the Society she was 
e.xpelled for the offense, but was afterward 
told that she might be reinstated if she 
would ask forgiveness. Mr. and Mrs. Rey- 
nolds migrated to Michigan in the days of 
its early history, and took up a homestead 
near Plainwell. In order to support his fam- 
ily the father engaged in burning potash, 
whereby he secured means sufficient to make 
a start, and from this beginning he worked 
his way upward until he was the owner of a 
good property. He served as a soldier in 



95° 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



the war of i8i2, and is still living at a ripe 
old age, an honored and respected man. 
His hair is still untinged with gray, and he 
has the appearance of one many years his 
junior. His wife was called to the home be- 
yond in 1870. In their family were five 
children — Henry, Elizabeth, Jane, Mary and 
Job. In the war of the Rebellion Horace 
S. Beach went to the defense of the Union 
as a member of the Thirteenth Mich. V. I., 
serving in Company G, which was command- 
ed by Capt. Kenyon. He still makes his 
home in Shelbyville, Michigan. 

William H. Beach, whose name begins 
this review, acquired his education in the 
common schools, and remained at home un- 
til twenty years of age. On attaining his 
majority he was married, in Allegan, Mich., 
to Miss Ella Maybee, who was born in ^^'at- 
son, Allegan county. Her parents, George 
and Janet (Fisk) Maybee, were both natives 
of New York, and the mother was a direct 
descendant of the Fisks, who came from 
England to America, and a distant relative 
of Col. James Fisk. Her father, a farmer 
by occupation, died in the spring of 1881, 
since which time the mother has become the 
wife of Noah Houser. The children of the 
first marriage, five daughters, are Eva, Em- 
ma, Ella, Etta and Mary. Mr. and Mrs. 
Beach had three daugthers, but Eleanor is 
the only one now living. Clarissa and Lulu 
both died when three-and-a-half years of age. 

Upon his marriage Mr. Beach settled at 
Summit City, Mich., where he engaged in 
scaling logs and lumber for the Michigan 
Flooring and Handle Company, in whose 
employ he continued for four years. He 
■ftien entered school in Janesville, Wis., and 
on completing a commercial and railroad 
course was graduated in the fall of 1887. 
Being now fitted for railroad work, he ac- 
cepted the position of assistant agent in 
Boyd, Wis., where he remained for ten 
months, after which he spent si.\ months in 
Hewitt, this State. He was in the employ 
of the Wisconsin Central Railway Co., and 
from time to time his ability and faithful- 
ness won him promotion until, in 1892, he 
was given the position of station agent and 
telegraph operator in Marshfield. He is ever 
kind and courteous, and his frank and amiable 



manner has won him a host of warm friends. 
He takes quite an active interest in political 
affairs, and keeps well informed on the issues 
of the day. He is a stalwart advocate of 
Republican principles, and ere entering the 
railroad employ served in several different 
town offices. He is connected with two fra- 
ternities, the Knights of Honor and the 
Modern Woodmen of America. 



WILLIAM H. MARSH, one of the 
most pushing, energetic, wide- 
awake young business men of 
Langlade county, proprietor of the 
leading general store in Antigo, is a native 
of Illinois, born March 16, 1865, at the vil- 
lage of Bonus, Boone county. 

He is third in the order of birth in the 
family of children born to Hosea F. and 
Marian M. Marsh, the former of whom is a 
native of Vermont. When our subject was 
six years old the family came to Wisconsin, 
settling at Sun Prairie, Dane county, where 
he received a good common-school educa- 
tion. At the age of fifteen he commenced 
learning the business of cheese making, 
which he continued in some five years, at 
the end of that time, or in the fall of 1884, 
entering the general store of C. G. Adkins 
as clerk. After remaining here one year he 
embarked in a milling business, in which he 
invested some money, but soon afterward 
retired from it. He then clerked for Hessel 
& Leykom, hardware merchants, Antigo, till 
the spring of 18S6, at which time he went 
to South Dakota, where he remained six 
months, then returning to Antigo once more 
entered the employ of Hessel & Leykom. 
In the fall of 1891 he bought out Mr. Ad- 
kins' general store, which he conducted until 
burned out in July, 1894, after which he 
opened out his present fine establishment, 
one of the handsomest stores in Antigo. 

In 1889 Mr. Marsh was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Susan Morse, a native of 
Vermont, daughter of John and Melissa 
Morse, respectable farming people of the 
same nativity, the former of whom died in 
the " Green Mountain State." To Mr. and 
Mrs. Marsh was born one child, Veda, whose 
mother died August 13, 1891. Politically, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPniCAL RECORD. 



951 



our subject is independent, and has never 
sought office; socially he is a member of the 
F. & A. M. ; in religious faith he is identified 
with the M. E. Church. He is an essen- 
tially self-made man, his phenomenal suc- 
cess being due to his own unaided efforts 
and enterprise, backed b}' natural ability, 
indomitable energy and sound judgment. 



HOSEA F. MARSH, father of Will- 
iam H. Marsh, of Antigo, Langlade 
county, is descended from a sturdy 
old New England family, and was 
born in Windham county, Vt., June 2, 1838, a 
son of Nathan Marsh. The family have 
been of considerable prominence as farmers, 
soldiers, and educators, and are noted for 
their energy and progressiveness. They 
trace their ancestr\' back to the year 1633, 
to John Marsh, of Salem, Mass., who came 
from England. He was a baker and farmer, 
and a man of remarkable strength. He had 
eleven children, and from him is descended 
the Marsh family in America. 

Osborn Marsh, father of Nathan, was a 
soldier in the Revolutionary war, and Hosea 
F. Marsh, his grandson, has his old musket. 
Nathan Marsh was born in W^indham county, 
Vt., was a farmer by occupation, and came 
to Wisconsin in 1842, settling in Dodge 
county. Nathan Marsh and his wife had 
six children, namely: Hosea F. (subject of 
this sketch), Osborn, William, Mary E., 
Rosina, and Calista. Hosea F. Marsh came 
to Dodge county, \Vis., in 1843. On Novem- 
ber 16, 1858, he was united in marriage 
with Marian M. Merritt, who was born at 
Hartford, Windsor Co., Vt. , in 1833. The 
parents of Mrs. Marsh, William and Mary 
(Spaulding) Merritt, both died in New Hamp- 
shire. They had eight children, as follows: 
Marian M. (Mrs. Marsh), Helen S., Edwin, 
Mary Jane, Susan, Adeline, Charles, and 
George. William Merritt was a farmer bj^ 
occupation, and was a soldier in the war of 
the Rebellion, serving in the Fifth N. H.V. 
I. Mr. Marsh has been a farmer most of 
his life. In politics he is a Republican, 
though not an office-seeker, and is highly 
respected by all who know him. 



ROBERT J. STINTZI is one of the 
most energetic and enterprising busi- 
ness men of Tomahawk, Lincoln 
county, where he is successfully car- 
rying on harness making. He is a native of 
Wisconsin, born in Sauk City, October 20, 
1856, and is a son of John Stintzi, whose 
birth occurred in France in 1834. 

Matthew Stintzi, grandfather of our sub- 
ject, owned a vineyard in France, where he 
was married, and of his large family of twelve 
children only three are yet living — John, 
Joseph and Magdalena. He brought his 
family to America in 185 1, locating in 
Sauk City, Wis., but he later removed to 
Bangor, this State, while his last days were 
passed in Eau Claire, Wis., where he died 
in 1882. His wife had long since departed 
this life, dying in 1852. He had served as 
a soldier in the French army under Na- 
poleon, and in one of his campaigns was 
wounded. John Stintzi, the father of our 
subject, wedded Francisco Welshinger, a 
native of Alsace, France, who had come to 
America with her parents in 1849. Her 
father, Joseph Welshinger, was a farmer, 
and his family contained thirteen children. 
Mr. and Mrs. Stintzi had four children — 
Robert J., George E., Delia, and Louisa, 
who died in infancy. The father owns a fine 
farm near Bangor, La Crosse Co., Wis., 
but has now laid aside business cares and is 
living retired in that city. 

Like most farmer bo3-s our subject aided 
in the work of the farm, and acquired his 
education in the country schools, remaining 
at home until he had reached the age of 
twenty-two years. During that period, how- 
ever, he had gained some knowledge of har- 
ness making, and now went to La Crosse, 
Wis., where he finished learning his trade. 
For seven years he worked in that city, and 
then opened a shop in Bangor, Wis., which 
he successfully conducted until March, 1889. 
The following October, he arrived in Toma- 
hawk, where he began business, opening the 
first harness shop in the city, which he still 
profitably carries on. He owns his own 
building, in which he has a good stock of 
everything found in his line, and is meeting 
with a well-merited success. He has also 
dealt to some extent in real estate, buying 



952 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and selling timber land, and now has in his 
possession two hundred acres of land. 

In 1884, in La Crosse, Wis., Mr. Stintzi 
was united in marriage with Miss May Lee, 
who was born in Norwaj' in 1863, the only 
child of John and Mary Lee. Her father 
died in that country, and in 1881 her mother 
came to the United States, since which time 
she wedded John Snedah), and they now 
make their home in La Crosse. Our sub- 
ject and his wife have become the parents of 
two children — Forest and Flossa. Mr. 
Stintzi takes an active interest in political 
affairs, and now casts his ballot with the Re- 
publican party, though he was formerly a 
Democrat. He has served as supervisor, and 
for three years was a member of the county 
board. He is now holding the office of 
treasurer of the Tomahawk fire department, 
and is one of its leading members. Socially 
he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and is now secretary of the local 
lodge. He has been prominently connected 
with the growth and upbuilding of Toma- 
hawk, aiding in every possible way in its 
advancement, and is heartilj' in sympathy 
with every movement that will in an\' way 
add to the prosperity of the city. 



JOHN B. HAEBIG is the oldest black- 
smith of Marshfield, Wood county, and 
has long been identified with the history 
of the city, taking an active interest in 
everything pertaining to its welfare. He was 
born in Baden, German\', March 30, 1S38. 
His father, John B. Haebig, Sr. , also a black- 
smith, was born in the same localit\-, in i S03, 
and the grandfather, Gabriel Haebig, claimed 
Baden as the place of his nativity. The lat- 
ter was a highly-educated man, and for twen- 
ty-eight years served as burgomaster in the 
town in which he resided. His family num- 
bered nine children, three sons and six 
daughters — John B. Haebig, Sr. , being the 
youngest son. For a number of years the 
grandfather also served in the German army, 
and he passed away in his native countrj' at 
the advanced age of eighty-nine years. The 
father of our subject also acquired a good ed- 
ucation, and, when a young man, learned the 
blacksmith's trade in Switzerland, following 



that pursuit in France, Switzerland and Ger- 
many. Having arrived at years of maturity 
he wedded Regina Kesser, and they became 
the parents of the following children: Adolph. 
Gabriel, Frank, John B., Anton, Edward, 
Hannah, Regina, Elizabeth, Rosa, and two 
who died in infancy. The mother departed 
this life in Germany in i860, and in 1867 
the father sailed for America, spending his 
last years at the home of his son, in Marsh- 
field, where he passed away in 1885, at the 
age of eighty-three years. 

John B. Haebig. the subject of this arti- 
cle, received a good education in the schools 
of his native land, and was emploj-ed in va- 
rious ways until entering his father's shop in 
1859. Under his direction he worked at 
blacksmithing for four years, and then was 
employed in the same business in Switzer- 
land, Austria, France and \\'olenburg, Bava- 
ria. In August, 1865, he emigrated to the 
United States, crossing the Atlantic in a sail- 
ing vessel, which reached New York harbor 
on the 1st of November. There he secured 
a situation in a shop, and was emploj'ed for 
two years. It was in that citj-, in 1866, that 
he married Barbara Deshler, who was born 
in Germany in 1847, and came to this coun- 
try on the same vessel with Mr. Haebig. 

In 1 868 Mr. Haebig brought his wife to 
Wisconsin, locating in Oshkosh, where, for 
three months they remained with his uncle, 
and then removing to Menasha, Wis., where 
for ten \ears he continued in the employ of 
one man. In the spring of 1878 he came to 
Marshfield, which at that time contained two 
stores, six saloons and a log hotel. Pur- 
chasing an old shop he began business as a 
blacksmith, the first time he had ever con- 
ducted business on his own account in this 
country. The family moved into a log cabin, 
and their home was one of the few which es- 
caped the fire that almost destroyed Marsh- 
field. In the year of his arrival Mr. Up- 
ham built a mill in Marshfield, and also 
opened a store, Mrs. Haebig being his first 
customer. By sale and purchase Mr. Hae- 
big has made several changes in his business 
during his residence here, and in 1 884 erect- 
ed his present home, and built his shop: he 
is now the oldest blacksmith in the city. 

Mrs. Haebig is a daughter of Fredling 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGIiAPSICAL RECORD. 



953 



and Barbara (Bordman) Deshler, the former 
a farmer, who owned a tract of land and a 
large vineyard in Germany, where he died in 
1857. The latter passed away when her 
daughter, Barbara, was only a year old, leav- 
ing the following children — Roman, Frank, 
Fredling, William, Victoria, Ferona, Jennie 
and Barbara; two children had also died in 
infancy. Ten children were born to the un- 
ion of Mr. and Mrs. Haebig, of whom seven 
are living — Mary, Louisa, I-iosa, Joseph, 
John B., Edward and Theodore; two sons 
and a daughter have passed away. A sup- 
porter of the Democratic party, Mr. Haebig 
has held the office of alderman, but has 
never sought political preferment. For eight 
years he was a member of the fire depart- 
ment of Menasha, and has ever been a pub- 
lic-spirited and progressive citizen, wide- 
awake to the interests of the community 
with which he has identified himself. Both 
he and his wife hold membership with the 
Catholic Church, and in the community, 
where they have so long resided, they have 
a wide circle of friends, who esteem them 
highly for their excellent traits of character. 



GEORGE P. DICKINSON, one of 
highly-respected, busy and pro- 
gressive merchants and real-estate 
dealers of Vilas county, is a native 
of Illinois, born August 17, 1849, in Haines- 
ville. Lake county, son of Dr. Parley Dick- 
inson and Susan C. (Arnold) Dickinson. 

Dr. Parley Dickinson was born at H ad- 
dam. Conn., in 1806, only child of John 
Dickinson, the latter dying when Parley 
was yet an infant. The mother subsequently 
married a Mr. Jones, by whom she had four 
children: Edwin, Henry, Clark and Laura, 
and she passed from earth in 1885. Dr. 
Dickinson was a grailuate of Cleveland 
Medical College. His wife, Susan C. Arn- 
old, was born in Connecticut in 1821, a 
daughter of Simon Arnold, a sea captain by 
vocation, who had a large family of chil- 
dren; both parents passed from earth in 
Connecticut. To Dr. and Mrs. Dickinson 
were born si.x children, to wit: Alice f widow 
of Dr. Dickson, living in New London, 
Wis., with her only child), Clarence, 



George P., Nellie (now Mrs. Dr. Moore, of 
Ironwood, Mich.), and two that died in in- 
fancy. The father of these moved from 
Connecticut to Ohio, locating near Cleve- 
land, later moving to Lake county. 111., and 
from there coming, in 1857, to New Lon- 
don, Wis., where he continued in the 
practice of his profession till his death in 
1884; at the time of his settling in that 
locality there was only one physician in 
Waupaca county. Dr. Dickinson was a 
very prominent man in his day, a leader in 
the ranks of the Republican party, and a 
member, in good standing, of the F. & A. M. 

George P. Dickinson, the subject proper 
of these lines, received his education in the 
common schools of Waupaca county. Wis. , 
and at the age of eighteen years commenced 
learning the trade of tinner, at which he 
worked some seven years. In 1874 he em- 
barked in the drug business at Shiocton, 
Wis. , where he remained about three years, 
or until 1877, at which time he entered in- 
to co-partnership with Lyman J. Cook in a 
general mercantile and drug business, at 
Norrie, Marathon county, the style of the 
firm being Dickinson & Cook. In 1884 
they removed to Eagle River, Vilas county, 
establishing the first store in the place, and 
here they have since conducted a prosperous 
general mercantile, drug and real-estate busi- 
ness. They had to haul their goods from 
Three Rivers to Eagle River in a wagon, 
and for some time kept their store in a tent. 
In his political preferences Mr. Dickinson is 
a Republican, and has served in various 
positions of honor and trust with credit to 
himself and satisfaction to his constituents. 
Under Harrison's administration he was 
postmaster, has also been supervisor, and 
held various minor offices, such as member 
of the board of education; but he makes no 
pretense of being a politician, his f)usiness 
demanding and rt-ceiving all his time and 
attention 

In 1876 Mr. Dickinson was married to 
Miss Callie Jones, who was born, in 1857, 
in Lake county. 111-, daughter of Clark and 
Elizabeth (Kapple) Jones, natives of Ohio, 
who followed farming in Illinois, and who 
had five children, as follows; Dora (de- 
ceased), Callie, William, Linna and Mrs. 



954 



COMMEMOBATirB BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



Thomas Herenshaw, of Chicago. The 
mother died in 1892, and the father now 
Hves with Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson, who are 
the parents of seven children: Merton, 
Ralph, Imogene, Rolla, Denton, John and 
Dorothy, all still under the parental roof. 
Dr. Charles Dickson (husband of Mr. 
Dickinson's sister, Mrs. Alice Dickson, of 
New London), who was a practicing physi- 
cian at Eagle River, while out hunting No- 
■vember 6, 1894, lost his way, and perished 
in the woods near Rumley's Siding, and his 
remains were not discovered until in 
April, 1895. 



JOHN J. WILLIAMS, one of the lead- 
ing young business men of Marshfield, 
Wood county, was born June i, 1857, 
in New York City, and is a son of John 
J. Williams, who was born in Wales about 
1 8 34. 

The father of our subject was a sea 
captain, beginning his career as a cabin boy, 
embarking on a whaling expedition, which 
continued through four years. His entire 
life has been spent on the deep, and for 
twenty years he was connected with the 
firm of Grenell & Menton, of New York 
City. From the lowly position in which he 
started he steadily worked his way upward, 
and for many years was in command of a 
vessel. He was married in England, about 
1854, to Miss Hannah Brown, and soon after 
came to the United States, locating in New 
York City. 

To this union were born five children, 
as follows: John J., Mamie, Anna, Nellie 
and George. The mother died in New York 
in 1890, but the father is still living there, 
and for the past eight years he has been re- 
tired from active business life. The greater 
part of the time he had his family sailing 
with him between New York and London, 
and from the age of si.\ years our subject, 
John J. Williams, was much of the time on 
the ocean. At the age of eleven, during a 
voyage, the family met some friends who 
were going West, and the parents consented 
to let John go with them and remain one 
summer. This was in 1867, and he was 
thus introduced to western life and customs. 



The party with which he traveled stopped 
at Fort Atkinson, Wis., and the boy made 
his home with George Dow, of Cambridge, 
Wis., with whom he continued for two 
years, after which he returned to Fort At- 
kinson for a short time. He then went to 
Menominee, Mich., where he was engaged 
in a hotel for a short time, afterward spend- 
ing one year in a hotel office in Shawano. 
It was on the expiration of this period that 
he formed a business connection with Upham 
& Russell, learning the tinner's trade. At 
first he received only $4 per week, but he 
applied himself diligently to his task, became 
an expert workman, and remained in the 
service of the firm eleven years, receiving 
$1000 per year. Mr. Williams has ever 
been a strong temperance man, and Mr. C. 
M. Upham and Mrs. H. C. Russell first be- 
came interested in him because he lost his 
position in the hotel on account of signing 
the pledge. From that time they befriend- 
ed the young man, promoted him as his 
abilities merited, and continued their warm 
interest in him, and Mr. Williams never 
tires of expressing his gratitude for the kind- 
ness that was shown him in the days when 
he needed a friend. Mrs. H. C. Russell was 
a mother to him. 

In 1885 Mr. Williams came to Marsh- 
field, and purchased an interest in a hard- 
ware store, but after two years sold out. 
Four months later, with the aid of his old 
friend, C. M. Upham, of Shawano, he 
bought out the business, Mr. Upham giving 
his own note for $6, 500 for the stock, which 
he turned over to Mr. Williams, telling him 
to pay the notes as they became due. Three 
days after he began business in this way a 
big fire swept over the city and consumed 
everything which he possessed; but his reso- 
lute spirit and indomitable energy are shown 
by the fact that he was the first one to erect 
a shanty and resume business. From out- 
side came help for the business men, and he 
received $500 for his share, but he turned 
it over to the relief committee to aid the 
men with large families. He was the only 
business man of Marshfield who refused to 
accept the proffered assistance. He carried 
on business alone for two years, when in 
company with C. M. Upham, of Shawano, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



955 



and W. H. Upham, of Marshfield, he or- 
ganized the WilHams Hardware Company, 
and is now doing business in an elegant new 
store building, having full control of the en- 
tire establishment. His excellent ability, 
his commendable ambition and honesty of 
purpose have brought him prosperity. 

In politics our subject is a Republican, 
and served as alderman in Shawano, but he 
has never been an office-seeker, preferring 
to give his attention to other interests. He 
belongs to the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, and is a charter member of the 
Knights of Pythias Lodge of Marshfield. 
He holds membership with the Presbyte- 
rian Church, was for fourteen years super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school, and takes 
a deep and abiding interest in Church and 
benevolent work. The poor and needy al- 
ways find in him a friend. He is also pres- 
ident of the Christian Endeavor Society, 
and was sent as its delegate to the national 
conventions in New York and Cleveland. 
He is a man of strong convictions, out- 
spoken and fearless in defense of what he 
believes to be right, and his earnest, con- 
sistent Christian life is well worthy of emu- 
lation. 



WILLIAM C. ANDREAS PETER- 
SEN, prominent in the real-estate 
and insurance circles of Antigo, 
Langlade county, is a native of 
Germany, born July 19, 1844, near the city 
of Hamburg. His grandfather Frederick 
Petersen, Sr. , who was a cabinet maker by 
trade in the Fatherland, had a family of 
fourteen children — one son. Frederick, Jr., 
and thirteen daughters. 

Frederick Petersen, father of our subject, 
was born in 1802, in Germany, and there 
received a thorough education. He was an 
active business man, for many years keep- 
ing a general store and holding government 
offices, being a member of the council in his 
city and chief of the fire department; in 
military affairs he was a lieutenant in the 
German landwehr, which is similar to the 
State militia in this country. He was twice 
married,, first time to Jane Retz, by whom 
he had three children — Frederick. Amelia 



and Julia; by his second wife, Elizabeth 
(Rabe), he had two children — John C. and 
William C. Mr. Petersen was a man of no 
little influence, and none was more highly 
or widely respected. On the occasion of 
his departure from the city of Gluckstadt, 
Holstein, Prussia, for America, he was 
escorted to the train with a band of music, 
and many of the leading citizens, who pre- 
sented him with a gold cup as a souvenir of 
their high esteem and regard. This was in 
1868, some time after the rest of the family 
had come to the United States, and the par- 
ents after their arrival at New York came 
direct to Wisconsin, settling in Appleton, 
where the father died in 1872, the mother 
in 1890, at the advanced age of eighty-eight 
years. Frederick Petersen, Jr., was the 
only one of his father's family to come to 
America, his thirteen sisters all remaining in 
Germany, where, like their parents, they 
passed the rest of their days. 

The subject proper of these lines receiv- 
ed a liberal education in the public schools, 
and also attended college, graduating from 
the latter and laying aside his studies at the 
age of sixteen. He then accepted a position 
as bookkeeper in a store, which he held four 
and one-half 3ears, after which, in July, 
1864, he came to the United States, pro- 
ceeding at once from New York to Appleton, 
Wis., where he had relatives living. Here 
for about two and one-half years he worked 
in a chair factory, and then engaged in the 
general mercantile business in Appleton, but 
after two years selling his interest to his 
partner. He now went on the road as sales- 
man for a Chicago firm, wholesale dealers 
in fancy groceries and liquors, representing 
that house eight years, after which he open- 
ed for his own account a wholesale liquor 
store, which he shortly afterward sold out 
and resumed commercial traveling. In 
March, 1885, he took up his home in Anti- 
go, at the same time retaining his position 
on the road, and so continuing until 1890, 
when he embarked in his present real-estate 
and insurance business, which is now the 
leading one in .Antigo. He represents 
twelve different insurance companies, loans 
money and collects debts, and in addition is 
local agent for several steamboat lines. 



956 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



On April 4, 1867, Mr. Petersen was 
married to Miss Cora Barker, who was born 
in January, 1852, in New York, an only 
child of parents who died when she was a 
young girl. To this union were born eight 
children, to wit: Alice, who is married and 
lives in Antigo; Edwin A. and Arthur, both 
married; and Jessie M., Richard, Carrie, 
^^'illiam and Lillie, all yet living except the 
last named, who died in infancy. The en- 
tire family attend the services of the Con- 
gregational Church at Antigo, and socially 
NIr. Petersen is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
K. of P. (being secretary of the Lodge), and 
Modern Woodman. In his political prefer- 
ences he is a stanch Democrat, and has serv- 
ed as member of the Democratic Committee; 
he has been an alderman of the city, has 
been a justice of the peace three terms, and 
in all respects is a useful, loyal citizen. 



WILLARD C. DICKENS, M. D., 
was born in Kilbourn City, Colum- 
bia Co., Wis., October 28, 1856, 
and is a son of Lyman S. and Mary 
(Codner) Dickens, who were both born in 
Herkimer county, N. Y. Lyman S. Dick- 
ens was from the same family stock as the 
great novelist — Charles Dickens. 

Dr. Willard C. Dickens was reared on a 
farm until he was fourteen years of age, 
when he was sent to the high school of 
Fountain City, Buffalo Co., Wis. He af- 
terward attended the high school at Bara- 
boo, Sauk county, and also that at Kilbourn 
City, Columbia county, graduating there. 
Then for one term he attended the State 
University of Wisconsin. In his twenty- 
sixth year he began the study of medicine. 
He was a student in the office of Dr. George 
W. Jenkins, at Kilbourn City, and entered 
Rush Medical College, at Chicago, remain- 
ing for two terms. In 1882 he began prac- 
tice at Ordway, Dak. In 1883, at Ordway, 
Dak., he was united in marriage with Marj- 
McPeck, of Oshkosh, Winnebago county, 
Wisconsin. 

In 1886 Dr. Dickens removed from Ord- 
way to Aberdeen, S. Dak., where he re- 
mained until 1889. He then entered the 
College of Phj'sicians and Surgeons, at St. 



Louis, Mo., graduating from that institution 
in the spring of 1890. Coming to Wausau, 
Marathon county, in the spring of the same 
year, he opened an office, June 22, 1890, 
and engaged in the practice of his profes- 
sion, which he has followed up to the pres- 
ent time. Socially Dr. Dickens is a mem- 
ber of the F. & A. M., and of the Royal 
Arcanum. 



NICHOLAS BRITTEN, one of the 
substantial citizens of Bakerville, 
Wood county, was born in Prussia 
March 19, 1831, and is a son of Mat 
Britten, who was a landowner of that coun- 
try and carried on farming. He had two 
brothers, Michael and Nicholas, and a sis- 
ter, Madaline. Their father was a soldier in 
the Prussian army, and Mat did military 
service in Berlin. The first of the family to 
come to America was our subject, Nicholas, 
who crossed the Atlantic in 1855, and after 
working as a farm hand for a year purchased 
a tract of wild land in Richfield, Washing- 
ton Co., Wis. Several years later he was 
joined by his father, who spent his remain- 
ing daj's in this State, dying in Calumet 
county in 1873. The mother died in Prus- 
sia when Nicholas was a small boy. 

Nicholas Britten acquired a good educa- 
tion in the schools of his native land, and 
after coming to this country carried on farm- 
ing for five years in Washington county. On 
the expiration of that period he sold out 
and removed to Manitowoc county. Wis., 
where he purchased a tract of wild land 
which he cultivated and improved for six 
years. The farm was then sold, and he took 
up his residencs in Calumet county, where 
he purchased a partially-improved farm, 
upon which he made his home until the 
spring of 1875. On disposing of his interest 
in that count}- and removing to Wood coun- 
ty, he purchased the farm which he now 
owns, a tract of 160 acres, which, to a lim- 
ited extent, had been improved. Of this he 
gave forty acres to his son, but he still re- 
tains possession of the remainder, and has 
converted it into a valuable tract by his 
careful cultivation and excellent improve- 
ments. He has also owned other farms in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



957 



the county, which he has disposed of from 
time to time as he could sell advanteige- 
ously. 

While living in Washington county, in 
1856, Mr. Britten married Christine Bey, 
who was born in Prussia in 1838, daughter 
of William and Mary fSuller) Bey. In 1845 
the family crossed the Atlantic and took up 
a location in Washington county, Wis. , 
where the father reared his children and 
carried on the old homestead. He continued 
the cultivation of the farm until his death, 
which occurred in 1880, his wife surviving 
him until 18S5, when she, too, departed this 
life. They had a family of nine children, as 
follows: Christine, Joseph, Martin, Peter, 
Madaline, John, Nicholas, Catherine and 
Barbara. Mr. and Mrs. Britten are the par- 
ents of ten children — William, Mary, Anna, 
Joseph, Margaretta, Susanna, Martin, Peter, 
Nicholas and Mathias, all living save the last 
named, who died at the age of fifteen; the 
others are married with the exception of 
Martin, Peter and Nicholas, who are still 
under the parental roof and carry on the 
home farm. 

In politics Mr. Britten is a stalwart 
Democrat, and for ten years has served as a 
member of the board of supervisors in his 
township. The cause of education finds in 
him a warm friend, and he has frequently 
acted in the capacity of school director. 
Both he and his family hold membership 
with the Catholic Church. Mr. Britten is 
truly a self-made man. When he landed in 
America he had but three dollars, but was 
possessed of energy and a strong determina- 
tion to succeed, and has steadily worked his 
way upward, rising from a position of com- 
parative obscurity to one of affluence. 



DIEDRICK C. BERG, a talented 
young attorney at law, at Wausau, 
was born December 17, 1868, in 
the Province of SoloerFinskog, Nor- 
way, youngest son of Carl H. and Ellen 
(Hendrikson) Berg. His father was born 
January 6, 1822, and his mother February 
21, 1826; they are industrious and frugal 
farmers, who by hard labor won their way 



from tenants for life to owners in fee of their 
landlord's estate. 

The ancestry is supposed to have been 
Mongolian, from the fact that the}' and a 
number of others during the Thirty-years' 
War immigrated from Finland, and formed 
an exclusive colony in the wilderness near 
the boundary line between Norway and 
Sweden. This colony was, until recently, 
preserved intact from outside influences. 
The language, customs, houses, mode of 
living, rehgion, etc., have until late years 
been at least two hundred years behind the 
progress of civilization. Schools they had 
none; very few could read; fewer still could 
write. Churches were twenty and thirty 
miles distant. They were rarely visited by 
strangers. Trade was unknown, except 
among themselves. If ever an adventurous 
peddler appeared among them, that was 
generally the last of him. They were very 
superstitious; anything beyond the ordinary 
affairs of daily life was considered the handi- 
work of him from whom all evil comes. 

The subject of this sketch came to this 
country June 24, 1886, under peculiar cir- 
cumstances. He left home May 30 for 
Christiania, where he was promised a vacant 
position in the Military Academy, but when 
he arrived the place was taken. Before 
leaving home he secured a steerage ticket 
from Christiania to Black River Falls, Wis. 
This ticket was intended for his elder broth- 
er, who did not care to leave home. The 
ticket Diedrick secured surreptitiously, for 
the parents did not wish their youngest child 
to emigrate. When on board the steamer 
that carried the passengers to England 
Diedrick found that all his worldly posses- 
sions consisted of a change of underwear and 
three ore of Norwegian money — about one 
cent. He was sick during most of the pas- 
sage, and arrived at Philadelphia with no 
money. As he set foot on dry land he felt 
keenly hungry, but, nevertheless, he made 
the journey from Philadeljihia to Black 
River Falls, W^is. , exhausted, as he was, 
without tasting a mouthful of food. To beg 
he was too proud, and there was nobody 
from whom he could borrow. During the 
summer of 1886 he worked on his brother's 
farm at Granton. The next winter and 



95S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



spring he worked at small wages in the 
woods and sawmill for D. J. Spaulding, at 
Unity. Discouraged, he one day quit the 
work, shouldered his grip, and started for 
the residence of his brother, Carl, at Gran- 
ton, with the intention of going to school to 
learn a little English. Everybody thought 
he was a queer-looking scholar. He was 
taller than the teacher, and did not even 
know the English alphabet. He was placed 
in the lowest class, with the small children. 
There he spent the summer, attending school 
during the day, and doing the chores for his 
brother mornings and evenings. In the fall 
of 1887 he removed to Unity, where his 
brother, John, then lived, working at his 
trade as millwright. There Diedrick en- 
tered the intermediate department of the 
school, and through herd work he was dur- 
ing the winter promoted to the high school 
proper. On June 24, 1889, e.xactly three 
years after he landed on American soil, he 
graduated from the Unity High School with 
the highest honors. In the fall of 1889 he 
secured a school near Rozellville, which he 
taught until spring. With the money thus 
earned he returned to his old home in Nor- 
way, remaining during the summer. In the 
autumn he reached Wisconsin again, with 
no money and no desirable position in view. 
He was compelled in self-support to work 
on the right of way of the Milwaukee & St. 
Paul railroad, on the extension from Bab- 
cock to Lynn. Luckily for Diedrick, his 
brother John was, in 1890, elected county 
treasurer for Marathon county, and offered 
him a position in the office, which was glad- 
ly accepted. About Christmas, 1890, he 
came to Wausau, where, besides his work 
in his brother's office, he commenced to 
study law in the office of C. F. Eldred, who 
was district attorney, and also in the office 
of A. L. Kreutzer. He studied law and 
worked alternately until August, 1893, when 
he was admitted to the bar by the board of 
examiners appointed by the supreme court. 
In October, of the same year, he located at 
Black River Falls, trying to practice law, 
but in June, 1894, he moved back to Wau- 
sau, and opened a law office, where he now 
practices. 

Mr. Berg was married, June 20, 1892, 



at Independence, Wis. , to Miss Anetta Ben- 
son, born in the Province of Gudbrandsalen, 
Norway, August 15, 1866, daughter of 
Borre and Anna (Hanson) Torgerson. She 
came to this country in 1885. Mr. and Mrs. 
Berg have two children: Bessie Mae, born 
May 22, 1893, and Eugene Malcolm, born 
February 5, 1895. Mr. Berg has had nine 
brothers and two sisters; two of the brothers 
died in infancy, and one, Einar, died De- 
cember 4, 1 89 1, aged thirty -two years, leav- 
ing a wife and two children. Four brothers — 
Henry, Carl, Ole and Julius — are living at 
Granton, Wis. ; John, ex-county treasurer 
of Marathon county, resides at Wausau. 
One brother. Axel, is still at the old home 
in Norway. His sisters, Annie and Carrie, 
are both married and live in Cass county, 
N. Dak. Mr. Berg's ancestors are known 
for their longevity; his grandparents and 
great-grandparents all lived to the age of 
ninety or one hundred, and even longer. In 
June, 1892, the parents came to America, 
where all their children except one then lived, 
and visited the sons at Granton, W^is. , but 
they pined for the old home. The mother re- 
turned to Norway in 1893; the father 
lingered until April, 1894, then followed her 
back to the scenes of their early life. 



WILLIAM L. MARSHALL, the pop- 
ular and efficient postmaster of 
Tomahawk, Lincoln county, is one 
of the most enterprising citizens of 
the place. He is a native of the Buckeye 
State, where his birth occurred August 12, 
1849. 

His father, Edmund^Marshall, was born 
in 1S17, in Pennsylvania, and was a son of 
Lazarus Marshall, a native of the same State. 
The latter, who was a carpenter by trade, 
had a family of six children. The father of 
our subject wedded Miss Mary Crawford, who 
was born in 1825, in Ohio, daughter of John 
Crawford, who was a native of Ireland, and 
a farmer by occupation. She was one of a 
family of eight children, three of her broth- 
ers being James, Arthur and Weslej'. Mr. 
and Mrs. Marshall have had children as fol- 
lows: Sarah A., John W., James A., Leoni- 
das H., Almeda and William L. The father. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



959 



who was an agriculturist, followed that vo- 
cation after locating in Vernon county, Wis., 
in 1856, where he died January 8, 1894, and 
his wife departed this life in July, 1888. 

William L. Marshall migrated with his 
parents to Vernon county. Wis., in 1856, lo- 
cating in the wilds of the Wisconsin forests, 
where he endured the hardships incident to 
pioneer life. His early days were spent 
in attendance at the district schools during 
the winter months, while in the summer sea- 
son he assisted his father in the arduous task 
of clearing and developing his new land. On 
January i, 1879, Mr. Marshall was united in 
marriage with Miss Adella E. Slade, who was 
born in Fox Lake, Wis., and prior to her 
marriage had engaged in teaching. She is a 
daughter of ^^■illiam and Elizabeth Slade, 
the former a native of London, England, 
and the latter of New York. To our sub- 
ject and his wife have been born four chil- 
dren, of whom Nellie died at the age of four 
years; those living are MaryE., William W. 
and Fred. 

In March, 1881, Mr. Marshall removed 
with his family, consisting of wife and one 
baby girl, to Merrill, Lincoln county, where 
he worked at his trade of house carpenter- 
ing until the fall of 1886, when he was em- 
ployed on the great Tomahawk dam, where 
he remained until the spring of 1888. He 
was then elected to the office of treasurer of 
the town of Rock Falls, and removed to the 
village of Tomahawk, which he has since 
made his home. Here he began the real-es- 
tate and tire insurance business, in which he 
has ever since met with a well-deserved 
success. 

Being an active I^mocrat Mr. Marshall 
was, after a heated contest, appointed post- 
master of Tomahawk by President Cleve- 
land, receiving his appointment January 25, 
1895, which was confirmed by the United 
States Senate February 2, 1895; and he took 
charge of the office February 28, 1895. ^^ 
seems to be alive to the needs of the patrons 
of the post office in the thriving city in which 
he lives, as he at once set to work carpen- 
ters and painters fitting up a new office, 
which is now completed, and is one of the 
finest in all its details in Northern Wiscon- 
sin. Mr. Marshall has ever taken a great in- 



terest in political affairs, serving as a dele- 
gate to both State and County Conventions, 
and for two years was town treasurer. He 
takes an active part in promoting educational 
work, and for four years was a member of 
the school board. For twenty-two years he 
has been connected with the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, being a charter mem- 
ber of two lodges, and has filled all the chairs 
in the local order. 



SIMON PFLUM. Quite a number of 
the leading and prominent citizens 
of Wood county are of alien birth, 
and have transported to this land of 
fertility and plenty the thrifty habits of their 
native country. Among these there is none 
that is better known or more widely respect- 
ed than the gentleman whose name appears 
at the beginning of this sketch. 

Mr. Pflum is a native of Prussia, where 
he was born October i, 1S30, son of John 
Pflum, who was also born in the same coun- 
try, and there married Mary Kadarina. Their 
family consisted of eight children, one of 
whom died in infancy, the others being 
Rosal, Christina, Peter, Elizabeth, Thomas, 
Joseph and Simon. The father carried on 
agricultural pursuits, and his death occurred 
in Germany in 1878, but his wife had died 
long before, passing away in 1831. He had 
served as a soldier in 1809 in the war be- 
tween Russia and France. 

Simon Pflum was reared on the farm 
owned by his father, and attended the com- 
mon schools of Germany until he reached 
his nineteenth year. On March 6, 1850, he 
landed in New York City, thence making 
his way direct to Cincinnati, Ohio, but re- 
mained there only a week when he went to 
Memphis, Tenn., where his brother had 
been living some six years. In that city he 
learned the trade of harness-making, which 
he there followed for three years, when he 
came to Wisconsin, settling in Washington 
county and engaging in the same occupation. 
He worked for others until 1864, but in that 
year opened a shop for himself. 

In November, 1864, Mr. Pflum wedded 
Mary Magdalina, who was born in Prussia 
in 1844 and came to America with her par- 



960 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ents when only two years of age. She was 
one of a family of seven children. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Pflum have been born the follow- 
ing children — Joseph, Frank, Lena, Will- 
iam, Mary, Anna, Josephine, Lillie, Peter, 
and one who died in infancy. In 1867 Mr. 
Pflum removed to Green Bay, Wis. , where 
he worked at his trade for seven years, and 
then leaving his famil}' in that city went to 
Lake Superior, there being employed for 
three months. On the expiration of that 
time he sold his home at Green Bay, and 
established a business at Fort Howard, Wis. 
At the end of one year, however, he went to 
Outagamie county. Wis., where he remained 
some three years. In October, 1879, he 
came to Marshfield, where he opened the 
harness shop which he is still conducting, 
being the oldest harness maker in the place, 
and is doing a successful business. His 
stock and shop were destroyed by the fire 
of 1887, thus causing him heavy losses, as 
there was no insurance on either, but he 
saved his home, and soon after rebuilt his 
shop. He now has a good store, and well 
deserves the excellent patronage which he 
receives, being the leading harness maker 
of the city. Three of his sons have followed 
the same vocation, and William is now con- 
nected with his father. 

Mr. Pflum enlisted in 1862 in the 
Twenty-seventh W'isconsin Infantry, becom- 
ing a member of Company E, in which he 
served for nine months, when he was hon- 
orabh' discharged at Madison, Wis., on ac- 
count of injuries he had received in the serv- 
ice. Politically he affiliates with the Re- 
publican party, and in religious belief he is 
a Catholic, holding membership with that 
Church, and also with St. Joseph's Society. 
He is a plain, unassuming man, yet is one 
of the highly-respected citizens of Marshfield, 
and has a large circle of friends and well- 
wishers. 



JOSEPH TREMMEL, of Marshfield, 
Wood county, was born in July, 1856, 
in Bavaria, Germany, and is a son of 
Joseph and Magdelina (Seigel) Trem- 
mel, who were also natives of the same 
locality. 



The father of our subject was a miller 
by trade, and followed that pursuit until his 
emigration to the New World. In 1858, 
accompanied by his family, he sailed for 
America, and made his first location in 
Menasha, Wis. , where he remained for two 
years. He then settled upon a farm in 
Calumet county, this State, which he culti- 
vated and improved for the long period of 
twenty-two years, when his life s labors 
were ended and he passed awa}', in Novem- 
ber, 1 8S0. He received a fair education in his 
native land, and served for three years in the 
German arm\'. His wife and the following 
named children survive him: Agnes, Joseph, 
George, Rosa, Magdalena, Michael, Theresa, 
Mary and Jacob. The grandfather of our 
subject, Jacob Tremmel, was a land owner 
in Bavaria, and had a family of eight chil- 
dren. Joseph Tremmel came to this countr}' 
in limited circumstances, but at length be- 
came the possessor of a comfortable prop- 
erty, and while his industry won him means, 
his worth won him many friends. 

During the boyhood of our subject, 
however, the family was in somewhat 
limited circumstances, and hewas reared upon 
a new farm on the frontier, where he earl}' 
became familiar with the arduous task of 
aiding in the cultivation of the land, and in 
otherwise improving the old homestead. He 
remained with his father until twenty-four 
years of age, when he went to Milwaukee, 
there working at any honest employment 
that he could secure. After a year he re- 
turned home and learned the trade of 
cheese-making, which he followed for two 
years in Calumet county. Wis. His arrival 
in Marshfield dates from 18S4, when he 
came to that city and bought a piece of 
land on which he erected a home. He 
worked for others until 1887, when he 
established a cheese factorj-, successfully 
conducting it until 1891. In 1890 he built 
a fine brick residence and store, and opened 
a first-class saloon which he still carries 
on. His attention has also been given to 
various other business interests, and he is 
now proprietor of a hotel, a stockholder in 
both the chair and bedding factories of 
Marshfield, and also deals quite extensively 
in city real estate. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



961 



Mr. Tremmel has been twice married. 
In 1883, in Calumet county, he married 
Gertrude Groeshel, who was born in Wis- 
consin, and died in Marshfield, February 6, 
1888, leaving three children — Joseph, Frank 
and William. In Bakerville, Wis., on 
September 16, 1889, Mr. Tremmel was 
again married, his second union being with 
Margaret Ott Kick, a native of Germany. 
They have three children — Ella, Lillie and 
Michael. The parents hold membership 
with the Catholic Church. In politics Mr. 
Tremmel was formerlj- a Democrat; he has 
served as school treasurer, but has never 
sought or desired political preferment. In 
his business career he has met with reverses, 
but a resolute purpose and worthy ambition 
have been to him the rounds of the ladder 
on which he has climbed to something 
higher, and he is now numbered among the 
prosperous business men of Marshfield. 



CHARLES A. AVER is numbered 
among the leading business men of 
Tomahawk, Lincoln county, where 
he established a cigar factory No- 
vember2, 1889, and is now conducting a suc- 
cessful and profitable business, usually em- 
ploying five men. 

He is a native of the Bay State, born in 
Boston February 28, 1854, and is a son of 
William M. Aj'er, whose birth occurred in 
the same place in 1826. The grandfather, 
Henry Ayer, was also a Bostonian by birth, 
and on both sides our subject can trace his 
ancestry back to 1620. The paternal grand- 
father served as a soldier in the war of 1812, 
for which he organized a company, and from 
the rank of captain rose to that of major, 
proving himself an efficient officer; he was 
wounded during the struggle. By vocation 
he was a ship chandler, as were also his 
forefathers for many years in Boston. In 
his family were three sons — James F., 
Henry T. and W'illiam M. — and three daugh- 
ters. William M. , the father of our subject, 
is a blacksmith by trade, and still conducts a 
shop in Boston, while he has also done all 
the city blacksmithing on contract. He 
married Helen E. Mitchell, also a native of 
that city, daughter of Daniel Mitchell, a ship 



chandler, and to them have been born four 
children — Charles A., George H., William 
L. and Alice E. 

At the age of seventeen Charles A. Ayer 
was graduated from the high school of his 
native city, after which he went to Spring- 
field, Mass., and began learning the trade of 
cigar making. In that place he remained 
for six months, when he returned to Boston 
and completed his trade there, since which 
time he has worked in every State east of 
the Mississippi river. He made his first 
start in business in 1874, in Haverhill, 
Mass., where he remained two years, return- 
ing thence to Boston. After being in Chi- 
cago for five years he came to Tomahawk, 
where he and his wife find a pleasant home. 
He was married in Rochester, N. Y. , Sep- 
tember 10, 1878, to Mary Smith, a native of 
Canada. 

Politically Mr. A3'er is a Democrat, and 
by that party was elected mayor of Toma- 
hawk in March, 1893, at which time he ran 
against two opponents. In 1894 he was 
succeeded by E. W. Whitson, who appointed 
him city clerk, a fit recognition of his capa- 
bility to discharge the duties of public 
office. While in Boston he served for six 
months as appraiser in the Custom House. 
Mr. Ayer is a prominent member of the K. 
O. T. M., being the present commander of 
the Tomahawk lodge. His fair dealing and 
systematic methods of doing business have 
won for him the confidence and respect of 
all with whom he has had occasion to trans- 
act business, and he takes great inter- 
est in the welfare of Tomahawk, doing all 
in his power for its upbuilding and advance- 
ment. 



JOHN A. HOFFMAN, though still a 
young man, has gained a prominent 
place in the commercial circles in 
Wood count}". It is with pleasure 
that we present the record of his life to our 
readers, for he has a wide acquaintance in 
Marshfield and vicinity, and we feel assured 
that the sketch of his life will prove of inter- 
est to many. 

A native of W'isconsin, Mr. Hoffman 
was born in Lima township, Sheboygan 



962 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



count}', August 15, 1858, and is descended 
from worthy German ancestry. His grand- 
father, Philip Hoffman, was of German 
birth, and a farmer by occupation. The 
father, Frederick Hoffman, was also born 
in Germany, in the year 1833, was reared 
on the old home farm, and acquired his educa- 
tion in the common schools. On attaining 
years of maturity he resolved to make Amer- 
ica his future place of residence, and in 
1854 sailed for New York harbor, where 
he arrived in due time. He then went to 
Buffalo, N. Y. , coming thence to Wiscon- 
sin some time later. He was married, in 
1855, to Elizabeth Aulman, who was born 
in Germany and when a girl of ten summers 
came to the United States with her parents, 
Adam and Margaret (Fitter) Aulman. The 
Aulman family at onetime numbered ten chil- 
dren, but two of the number died in infancy. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman became the parents 
of eight children, namely: Jacob, John A., 
Mary, Sophia, Frederick, George, Amelia 
and William. After their marriage Mr. and 
Mrs. Hoffman removed to a farm in Sheboy- 
gan county. Wis., where the father spent 
his remaining days, carrying on agricultural 
pursuits. But '• All that live must die, 
passing through nature to eternity," and 
the father was called to the home beyond 
in September, 1889. He was an honored 
and respected citizen, and his death was 
deeplj' mourned by many friends. His 
widow is yet living. 

During his earlier years John A. Hoffman 
aided in the labors of the home farm, work- 
ing in the fields as soon as he was old enough 
to handle the plow, and performing such 
other tasks as fall to the lot of the agricul- 
turist. At the age of seventeen he bade 
adieu to the family and started northward, 
working in the lumber woods until 1885, in 
which year he arrived in Marshfield. He 
then drove a team for a year, after which 
he purchased a team and carried on the 
same line of business in his own interest. 
In 1889 he established a dray line, and now 
has exclusive control of the business in 
Marshfield. In 1892 he e.xtended his opera- 
tions to other lines of commerce, by dealing 
in lime and brick, and in 1893 entered the 
coal trade, in which he is meeting with an 



excellent degree of success. These com- 
bined interests now yield him a good income, 
and although he is one of the younger, he is 
also one of the substantial business men of 
Marshfield. His career is all the more de- 
serving of commendation when we take into 
consideration the fact that it is his enter- 
prise and industry alone which have brought 
his prosperity to him. 

In Stevens Point, Wis., in September, 
1888, Mr. Hoffman was married to Miss 
Mary Schoenhafen, a native of Washington 
county, Wis., and a daughter of John and 
Saloma (Trautman) Schoenhafen, both of 
whom were natives of Germany, but were 
married in this country. Mr. Schoenhafen 
was twice married, and by his first union 
had five children — Johanna, Catherine and 
Elizabeth, still living, and Christopher and 
John, deceased. By his second wife he had 
ten children — Josephine, Mary, Theresa, 
Anna, Anton, Leo, Frederick and Margaret, 
living, and John and Cecil, both deceased. 
The father was a wagon-maker by trade, 
and during the Civil war served the govern- 
ment in that capacity. He departed this 
life in November, 1886, but the mother is 
still living. 

In the pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. 
Hoffman are three children — Oscar, Hazel 
and Vivian. Mr. Hoffman is a member of 
the Evangelical Church, and socially be- 
longs to the Modern Woodmen of America. 
In his political affiliations he is a Democrat, 
and has been elected on that ticket as alder- 
man of the Fourth ward for two terms. He 
has, however, never sought political prefer- 
ment, as his time has largely been taken up 
by his business interests, yet his duties of 
citizenship are always faithfully performed, 
and whatever is calculated to promote the 
general welfare receives his support. 



LORENZ HARTL, general agent for 
the Cream City Brewing Company, 
of Milwaukee, was born in Austria 
February 28, 1865. His father, Lo- 
renz Hartl, was also a native of the same 
locality, and while in that country was for 
four years a soldier, but though in active 
service was never wounded. He married 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



963 



Addie Woolf, and they became the parents 
of twelve children, namely: Barbara, Lo- 
renz, Anna, Minnie, Henrjf, Louis, Celia, 
John, Ludwig, and three who are now de- 
ceased. The year 1881 witnessed the emi- 
gration of the family to America. On reach- 
ing Wisconsin they located in Manitowoc, 
where they made their home for two months, 
coming then to Marshfield, where the par- 
ents still reside, the father having carried on 
a hotel and saloon during his entire resi- 
dence there. 

Lorenz Hartl spent the first eighteen 
years of his life in Austria, within which 
time he acquired a good common-school 
education. He then accompanied the fam- 
ily on their emigration to the United States, 
and assisted his father until twent3'-seven 
years of age. He is now agent for the Cream 
City Brewing Company, of Milwaukee, and 
his business duties take him away from home 
much of the time, yet he has lived long 
enough in Marshfield to have won rank 
among her esteemed and practical business 
men and wide-awake citizens. Recognizing 
his worth and ability, his fellow townsmen 
have called him to public office, and he is 
now serving his second term as alderman of 
the Second ward, being elected on the 
Democratic ticket. The principles of the 
Democratic party are earnestly upheld by 
him, and the party numbers him among its 
stalwart ad\ocates. 

In Marshfield, in October, 1891, Mr. 
Hartl was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary Kollorohs, daughter of Anton and 
Julia (Frisch) Kollorohs, who came to Amer- 
ica from Austria, their native land, when 
their daughter was a maiden of eight sum- 
mers. The members of their family, five in 
number, are John, Mary, Theresa, Monica 
and Anna. Mr. and Mrs. Hartl have but 
one child, Louis. The parents hold mem- 
bership with the Catholic Church, and con- 
tribute liberally to its support. 



EDWIN E. FINNEY is one of the 
younger representatives of the busi- 
ness interests of Marshfield, Wood 
county, but he is also a leading man 
in the commercial circles of the city. He 



is not yet thirty years of age, but he has at- 
tained a prominence in mercantile life that 
might well be envied by many who are some 
years his senior. He was born in Oshkosh, 
Wis., October 6, 1866, and is descended 
from one of the old New England families. 

His father, Edwin E. Finjiey, Sr. , was 
born in Vermont in 1838, and came to the 
West with his parents when but three years 
of age, the family casting in their lot with 
the early settlers of Oshkosh, in 1841, sev- 
eral years before the admission of the State 
into the Union. The grandfather built the 
first log cabin, and owned the first horse team 
in that settlement. He traded considera- 
bly with the Indians, and was one of the 
prominent pioneers of this frontier region, a 
man widely known in the West. His re- 
maining days were spent in Oshkosh, where 
he passed away some years ago. In his 
-family were four children — Newton S., who 
graduated from West Point, and is now a 
broker in New York City; Georgia, deceased 
wife of Col. H. B. Herhan; Edwin E. and 
R. P. ; the last named is a son of the sec- 
ond marriage. In those early days, when 
Wisconsin was a frontier settlement, the 
grandfather also ran a stage between Osh- 
kosh and Portage City, and since that time 
the name of Finney has been prominently 
connected with the upbuilding and progress 
of Wisconsin. 

Edwin E. Finney, Sr., attended the 
schools of Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, 
Wis., and acquired a commercial education. 
After arriving at years of maturitj' he mar- 
ried Anna Louisa Coffin, who was born in 
Appleton, Wis. , and they became the par- . 
ents of seven children, as follows: Ina, 
Edwin E., Carl, Newton S., Earl, Arthur, 
and one who died in infancy. During the 
Civil war the father offered his services to 
the government to aid in suppressing the 
Rebellion, enlisting as a private in the Sec- 
ond Wisconsin Infantry for three months' 
service, within which time he participated 
in the battle of Bull Run. He later re- 
enlisted at Washington, but was discharged 
on account of sickness. When he had re- 
covered his health, he again joined the army 
as a member of the Forty-seventh Wiscon- 
sin Infantry, and served until the close of 



964 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



the war as a musician. When the South 
had laid down its arms he returned to Wis- 
consin, and resumed civil pursuits, opening 
a mercantile establishment in Oshkosh, 
where he was recognized as one of the lead- 
ing merchants up to 1873. He has since 
occupied the, position of superintendent of 
the mail carriers of that city, and in the 
twenty-two years of his service his fidelity 
has never been questioned, his faithfulness 
being known as one of his most marked 
characteristics. 

In the city of his nativity Edwin E. 
Finney, Jr. , was reared, pursuing his studies 
in the common schools until thirteen years 
of age, at which time he began clerking for 
E. L. Hughes, a dry-goods merchant of 
Oshkosh, in whose service he continued for 
six years. At the age of nineteen he came 
to Marshfield and assumed charge of the 
dry-goods department in the Upham Manu- 
facturers Store, of which he was given full 
charge November 10, 1893, nosv occupying 
the responsible position of sole manager of 
a business whose sales amount to $100,000 
annually. His capable administration has 
certainly been a factor in the success of this 
concern, and his business and executive 
ability have won him merited promotion. 

In October, 1893, was celebrated the 
marriage of Mr. Finney and Miss Elsie C. 
Upham, and they have one daughter, Doro- 
tha. Mr. Finney votes with the Republi- 
can party, and stanchly upholds its princi- 
ples, but has never sought office. Socially 
he is a member of the Masonic Fraternity 
and the Knights of Pythias Lodge, in which 
he is now serving as chancellor, and relig- 
iously he is connected with the First Pres- 
byterian Church. 



STEPHEN E. ALDRICH, manager 
for the Underwood Lumber Co., at 
Eagle River, Vilas county, and a 
prominent, progressive citizen, is a 
native of New York State, born in Owego, 
Tioga county, November 2, 1841. 

Olney B. Aldrich, his father, was of 
Rhode Island birth, born in Providence in 
1805, son of Aaron Aldrich, a farmer by oc- 
cupation, who had a family of five children: 



William, Cyrus, Olney B., Henry and 
Sarah. The father of these was a soldier in 
the Revolutionary war, and he and his wife 
both died in Rhode Island. Olney B. Al- 
drich was a lumberman and farmer, and also 
dealt considerably in cattle. He was mar- 
ried, in New York State, to Miss Minerva 
H. Robertson, who was born in Oneida 
county, N. Y. , daughter of David and Roxey 
Robertson, well-to-do farming people, who 
had a family of children named as follows: 
Philander, Timothy, Avery, Minerva H., 
Sophia and Clarissa. David Robertson's 
father served in the Revolutionary war. The 
children born to Olney B. and Minerva H. 
Aldrich were Mary, Stephen E., Minerva, 
Harriet, Madonna, Anna, Melville, and 
Charles, all yet living except Anna. After 
marriage the father passed the rest of his 
days on the farm which he owned for many 
years in Tioga county, N. Y. , dying there 
in 1870. He was a great reader, and though 
not an educated man, in the literal sense of 
the word, he nevertheless secured a good 
practical education. In politics he was a 
Douglas-Democrat, but never an office- 
seeker, preferring to follow through life the 
quiet, " even tenor of his way." 

The subject proper of these lines was 
provided in his boyhood with a good com- 
mon-school education, afterward assisting 
his father in his farming and lumbering in- 
terests until he was twenty-three years of 
age. At that time he commenced jobbing 
in lumber, etc., for his own account, and 
was also employed as purchasing agent on 
the canal, buying horses, tools, etc., for the 
contractors. In the fall of 1867 he moved 
west to Michigan, locating at Big Rapids, 
where he worked for the Tioga Lumber 
Manufacturing Company, after the first win- 
ter being promoted to scaler and foreman of 
the yards, in which capacities he remained 
some five years. While with this firm he 
superintended the construction of the dam 
and boom on the Muskegon river, about the 
year 1872, at which time he took a five- 
years' contract to sort the logs; he also sup- 
erintended the building of a mill, and cut 
and logged seventeen million feet of lumber 
for J. P. Underwood. With the exception 
of one year he spent in Barnes countj', S. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



965 



Dak., on a farm, Mr. Aldrich remained con- 
tinuously at Big Rapids until 1886, the year 
of his coming to Eagle River, Wis., as 
manager of the Underwood Lumber Co., in 
which concern he owned stock, and had full 
charge of the running of their logs to Rhine- 
lander. In 1893 the company completed 
their lumbering operations at Eagle River, 
since when Mr. Aldrich has had charge of 
Mr. Underwood's individual lumber interests, 
having banked some thirteen millions dur- 
ing the winter of 1894-95. 

In 1873 our subject was married to Miss 
Rachel Ferguson, who was born in Michi- 
gan, and three children were born to them, 
only one of whom, Herrick, is now living, 
Elsie having died at the age of nine 3ears, the 
other in infancy. Mr. Aldrich is a Repub- 
lican, but has never sought political prefer- 
ment. He has traveled considerably 
throughout the United States, looking up 
pine and other lands, and is recognized as a 
typical American hustler. 



GILBERT BACON, a leading and 
progressive citizen of Antigo, Lang- 
lade county, comes of a long line of 
well-to-do citizens of the East, 
chiefly Vermont, who, for the most part, 
were agriculturists. 

Born March 16, 1821, in Van Buren, 
Onondaga Co., N. Y. , he is a son of Phi- 
lander Bacon, of the same State, who had 
but one sister, by name Philinda. He mar- 
ried Clara Earl, also a native of Onondaga 
county, N. Y., born in 1801, daughter of 
Alpheus Earl, a farmer by occupation, who 
died in Oneida county, N. Y. , the father of 
five children: Artemus, Daniel, Samuel, 
John and Clara. To Philander Bacon were 
born si.x children, as follows: Adelia, Gil- 
bert, Mary, Jerome, Abigail and Ira. He 
died about the year 1833, in Medina county, 
Ohio, whither he had moved with his family 
in 1 83 1. He enlisted as a soldier in the 
war of 181 2, but was soon afterward dis- 
charged on account of his youth. His widow 
married a Mr. Logan, who died, and she 
then came to Wisconsin, where, for her 
third husband, she wedded a Mr. Thomp- 
son, in Hortonville, Outagamie county; she 



died there in 1887 at the advanced age of 
eighty- six years. 

The subject proper of this sketch, Gil- 
bert Bacon, received a fairly liberal educa- 
tion at the public schools of his native place, 
and in 1837, after the death of his father, 
he came to Wisconsin, locating in Walworth 
county, where he worked as a farm hand for 
a time; he then learned the trade of wagon- 
maker, at which he worked till, having some 
sufficient means, he bought a land warrant 
of an old soldier, the property represented 
lying near Oshkosh, and there he made his 
residence, farming and lumbering, for sev- 
eral years. Moving next to Outagamie 
county, he there purchased a farm whereon 
he lived twenty-eight years, clearing and im- 
proving it, and at the same time following 
carpentry. In March, 1883, he sold his 
property, and moved to Antigo, Langlade 
county, where he commenced investing in 
village property, also keeping up his trade, 
and has since been considerably interested 
in real-estate deals, including both village 
lots and farm lands. He soon purchased his 
present property, and in 1891 opened a com- 
fortable, well-appointed family hotel, which 
he has since conducted with eminent success. 

In 1 861 Mr. Bacon was married to Miss 
Cornelia Rhodes, who was born in Medina 
county, Ohio, and two children blessed this 
union: Elton and Milton, both' married, 
Elton living at Medina, Wis. , where he is 
postmaster, Milton in Antigo. The mother 
of these dying in 1864, our subject for his 
second wife married Miss Cordelia Lathrop, 
a native of New York State, whence when 
four years old she accompanied her parents 
to Wisconsin; she is one of six children — 
Edgar, Willard, Oscar, Luther, Albert, and 
Cordelia — born to Homer and Paulina 
(Whitford) Lathrop, the former of whom, a 
farmer by occupation, died in 1881. To 
Mr. and Mrs. I3acon have been born six 
children, to wit: Herbert, Herman, Arthur, 
Charles, Minnie, and Clara, of whom the 
first three live in Milwaukee; Charles at 
home, and Minnie (wife of Dr. Leib), and 
Clara (Mrs. Schofield, an accomplished mu- 
sician), at Elk Mound, Dunn Co., Wis. 
Mr. Bacon is a strong temperance man, a 
pronouncetl Prohibitionist in his political 



.966 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



predilections, has held town offices and 
served on the school board. He has fol- 
lowed the trade of carpenter thirty years, is 
a thorough adept of consummate skill, and 
possessed of a most inventive turn of mind; 
he holds patents on a broom, ironing board, 
washing machine, land-side for ploughs, and 
on weather strips for outside doors. 



DENNIS FINNEY, ornamental scenic 
painter, fresco artist, etc., Wausau, 
was born in De Kalb, 111., June 3, 
1854, and is a son of Patrick and 
Julia (Donahoe) Finney, who were both born 
in Ireland, came to America, and located in 
Kingston, Province of Ontario, Canada. Af- 
ter residing for a few years in Kingston they 
were in Rochester, N. Y. , about three years; 
in Erin, Washington Co. , Wis. , some five 
years; then removed to De Kalb, 111., and 
about 1853 to Iowa, locating near \'olga. 

Patrick Finney had been a tailor by oc- 
cupation, but in Iowa engaged in agriculture. 
His family resided in Volga about si.\ years, 
and about 1859 removed to Oshkosh, Win- 
nebago Co., Wis. In 1 86 1 he enlisted in 
Compan}^ A, Seventh Wis. V. I. , and at the 
battle of Antietam he received a wound in 
his right arm, which necessitated its ampu- 
tation. In consequence of this disability he 
was discharged in 1863, returned to his home 
in Oshkosh, and from that date was engaged 
in the occupation of an agent up to the time of 
his death, which occurred December 25, 1888, 
from the effect of his wounds. His widow 
is still living, and resides in Chicago, 111. 
They were the parents of seven children, five 
of whom are living, namely: Ann (widow of 
the late John Phillips), residing in Newark, 
N. Y.; Jeremiah, in Elkader, Iowa; Michael, 
in Philadelphia, Penn. ; Matthew, at Little- 
port, Iowa; and Dennis, whose name opens 
this sketch. • 

After completing his education, the great- 
er part of which he received in the public 
school of Oshkosh, Dennis Finney engaged 
in the painting business, and has continued 
in it ever since, working in Minneapolis, Far- 
go (S. Dak.), Chicago (111.), and other cit- 
ies. In 1 88 1 he removed to Wausau, Mara- 
thon county, where he has since been in bus- 



iness. In June, 1883, at Norrie, Marathon 
Co., Wis., he married Miss Elsie Andrews, 
and two daughters have been born to them 
— Bernice, February 28, 1885, and Alvina 
Marie, July 22, 1893. The parents of Mrs. 
Finney, Augustus and Mary (Robins) An- 
drews, were early settlers of Marathon coun- 
ty. Mr. Andrews died in 1883; his widow is 
still living, and resides in Wausau. 

Mr. Finney is one of the best-known of 
Wausau's master painters, and is always 
prompt in completing his work, which he 
does in an artistic manner, a fact that has 
enabled him to build up a large business. 
Besides his general painting, he is a portrait 
artist of more than ordinary merit, and has 
painted the portraits of some of Wausau's 
most prominent citizens. Some of his land- 
scapes are masterpieces, and might well 
awake the envy of some of the well-known 
painters of the day. In political views Mr. 
Finney is a Republican. In religious affilia- 
tion he attends the Roman Catholic Church. 



CARL HOEFLINGER (deceased). 
Among the names of Marathon coun- 
ty's departed none stands higher 
than that of Mr. Hoeflinger. He was 
a leader among men, one to whose opinions 
his fellow citizens deferred, and who by his 
own native force of character rose to promi- 
nence in the affairs of his adopted county. 
He was born in Germany in 1832, son of 
Joseph and Josephine Hoeflinger, grew to 
manhood in the Fatherland, and ^or several 
years superintended the real-estate business 
of his uncle. 

In 1854, at the age of twenty-two, Mr. 
Hoeflinger emigrated to America, first locat- 
ing at Fond du Lac, but soon after proceeding 
to Stevens Point, where he was emploj-ed 
in the United States Land Office until 1857. 
In that year he removed to Wausau, where 
he remained a continuous resident until his 
death, September 22, 1879. In 1859 he 
was appointed count}' treasurer, and so faith- 
fully and creditabh' did he perform the duties 
of the office that, though a comparativel)' 
young man, and a late arrival in the county, 
he was unanimously elected to the same 
position for a further term of two years. In 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHIGAL RECORD. 



967 



1863 he was again a candidate, but after a 
warmly-contested election was defeated by 
Jacob Paff. In 1865 Mr. Hoeflinger was 
again before the people; he was triumphant- 
ly elected county treasurer, and served for 
several successive terms thereafter. He also 
filled the office of city treasurer. Retiring 
from public life, he devoted his attention to 
real estate until shortly before his death. 

Mr. Hoeflinger was twice married, first 
time, on May 5, 1857, to Miss Antoinette 
Krims, daughter of Anton and Louisa (Greim) 
Krims, natives of Germany. By this mar- 
riage he had four children: Anna, Helen, 
Paulina and Richard, all of whom have 
passed away. Helen, the second daughter, 
had married Charles Johnson, of St. Paul, 
Minn., and died December 29, 1893, while 
visiting in Wausau, leaving two children — 
Irma K., born February 9, 1885, and Frankie 
C., born September 26, 1886. Mrs. Hoef- 
linger died in 1863, and June i, 1864, Mr. 
Hoeflinger married Miss Anna Krims, born 
in Germany June i, 1842, a sister of his first 
wife. Six children were born to them: 
Marie, born March 25, 1865, wife of John 
T. Bradley, of Oak Park, 111. ; Carl, born 
June 12, 1866, died July 22, 1893; Joseph- 
ine, who died in infancy; Julia, born June 
19, 1868; Anna, born December 12, 1870; 
and Antoinette, born September 29, 1872. 
Carl, the only son by this marriage, was edu- 
cated in the public schools of Wausau and 
at Spencer's Business College, Milwaukee. 
Early in life he entered business life as an 
expert accountant, and was a trusted em- 
ploye in the First National Bank, also in the 
office of the Alexander Stewart Lumber Co., 
by his faithfulness and efficiency winning the 
entire confidence of his employers. His hab- 
its were exemplary, and a bright future 
seemed opening for the young man when he 
was suddenly stricken by death. It was a 
keen blow to his mother and sisters, to 
whom he had been a most devoted son and 
brother. 

Mr. Hoeflinger, during his entire resi- 
dence in Wausau, was active in matters of 
public importance, and with his good judg- 
ment, clear head and energetic purpose he 
usually carried to a successful conclusion 
the affairs which he undertook. In his of- 



ficial capacity great respect was always paid 
to his opinion, and in the community in 
which he lived he was a valuable and useful 
member. In his social relations no man in 
northern Wisconsin was more highly re- 
spected than he, and in his domestic life the 
affection which he gave his family was born 
of a noble heart. By his death the wife lost 
a kind and devoted husband, and the chil- 
dren an indulgent father. 



ELLERY D. FROST, one of the 
prosperous and progressive young 
farmers of Almond township, Port- 
age county, was born June 26, 
1858, a son of Daniel B. and Jane W. 
(Cowan) Frost. 

Daniel B. Frost was born of New Eng- 
land parentage, near Boston, Mass., in 
1 8 19. His parents died leaving him and one 
brother (Locke) orphans while yet children. 
When only fifteen years old he came west 
alone, and for four years worked at farming 
with a relative in Pike county. 111. Later 
he engaged in mercantile pursuits in south- 
ern Ohio for several years. In 1847 he 
came to Oshkosh, Wis., and was there 
married, October 27, 1847, to Jane W. 
Cowan, who was born July 17, 1828, at 
Rochester, N. Y. , daughter of James and 
Mary (West) Cowan, natives of Ireland, 
who emigrated to America in 1828 and in 
1846 pre-empted a homestead in Algoma 
township, near Oshkosh, Wis., where they 
remained through life. The children of 
James and Mary Cowan vv'ere Jane W. , 
Margaret (deceased), Sarah (deceased), 
Mary Ellen (deceased), Martha (deceased), 
Jefferson (deceased), John, William and 
West. After their marriage Daniel and 
Jane Frost lived for three years in Illinois ; 
then, in 1850, returned to Oshkosh and in 
April, 1851, settled in what is now Almond 
township. Portage county, but was then the 
unsurveyed Indian reservation. At that 
time there was not more than a dozen 
settlers in the township, and Mr. Frost 
took a claim of 160 acres which he held by 
occupation until the surveys were made, 
when he pre-empted the farm. It was 
f)rairie land, and farming at once began. 



968 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 



for Mr. Frost had brought with him five 
horses. He constructed a frame house, 
16x24, which now forms a portion of the 
present residence. Mr. Frost devoted his 
attention to this farm until his death from 
consumption, in 1867. He had been a 
prominent citizen; pohticallya RepubHcan, 
and had been continuously for more than a 
dozen years chairman of the town board. 
Religiously he was a Spiritualist. He left a 
widow, and his six children were as follows : 
(i) Mary, now Mrs. C. E. Webster, of 
Stevens Point ; (2) Frank, who died at the 
age of seventeen years ; (3J Sarah, who 
died at the age of eight years ; (4) EUery 
D. ; (5) Oscar J., who graduated at the 
State University, and took a special course 
in metallurgy. (He went directly to Denver, 
Colo. , and secured a position as assayer for 
the Boston and Colorado Smelting Com- 
pany. With this company he remained 
several years, during which time he was the 
Denver correspondent and the Colorado 
business representative of the Engineering 
and Mining fcnirnal. During one of his 
vacations, while with the smelting comp- 
any, he went east and pursued his studies 
in special lines at the Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity. He is now in the real estate and 
loan business in Denver. He married Miss 
Carrie W. Cooper, of Pittsburg, Penn.); 
(6) Willard L. , who was educated at the 
Oshkosh Normal and the State University, 
moved to Fort Atkinson, and afterward to 
Sioux City, Iowa, where he is engaged in 
the real-estate and insurance business, is 
now secretary of the Republican Central 
Committee, and of the Sioux City Real 
Estate Board. (He married Miss Hattie 
May, of Fort Atkinson, Wis.) 

Ellery D. Frost was reared on the farm. 
He attended the high school at Berlin and 
the Normal School at Oshkosh, and for 
three terms taught school, but on account 
of failing health was obliged to abandon 
that profession. He accordingly returned 
to the farm, where he entirely regained his 
health, and has since remained. He was 
married, March 17, 1884, to Bella M. 
Baker, of Berlin, Wis., daughter of Hiram 
T. and Mary (Hunter) Baker. Hiram T. 
Baker was a successful merchant, and now 



lives retired. Mrs. Bella Frost died in 1889, 
leaving three children — Raymond, Mabel 
and Leslie. She was an estimable and 
cultured woman, a member of the Congre- 
gational Church at Berlin. The mother of 
Ellery D. Frost, a woman of great energy 
and considerable business ability, had in 
1 884 paid a visit to Denver, Colo., remain- 
ing seven months. She then returned, and 
since the young wife's death has devoted 
herself to her little grandchildren. In 
politics Mr. Frost is a Republican. On the 
farm he devotes considerable attention to 
potato raising and dairying. Portage 
county raises more potatoes than any other 
county in Wisconsin, and Almond township 
usually produces more than any other town- 
ship in the State. The potato acreage of 
Portage in 1894 was 21,816, and of Almond 
township 3,170 acres, or 250 acres more 
than Stockton township, next in amount of 
acreage. Mr. Frost raises about forty 
acres of potatoes per year. He is an intel- 
ligent farmer, fully alive to the possibilities 
of his vocation, and ever ready to test any 
improved method which commends itself to 
his judgment. He has, to some extent, 
been in Farmers' Institute work, and in 
1889 was appointed by Gov. Hoard dele- 
gate to the National Farmers' Congress for 
the Ninth Congressional District. 



ANTOINE PRECOURT was born in 
Lower Canada, July 2, 1820, and is 
a son of Joseph and Theresa (Bou- 
voir) Precourt, also natives of Can- 
ada. The father was a British soldier dur- 
ing the war of 1812, and died in Canada in 
1822. In the family were four children: 
Joseph, of Canada; Francis, who is living 
on the old homestead; Antoine; and Matilda, 
widow of Pierre Margette, who was a sailor 
for many years, and died leaving a consider- 
able fortune. 

Antoine Precourt attended French 
schools until fifteen years of age. Upon 
his father's death he went to live with his 
grandfather, Baptiste Precourt, with whom 
he remained until he was fifteen years of 
age, when he began working for his uncle at 
Three Rivers, Canada, learning the baker's 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



969 



trade. After two years he returned to his 
native place, and shortly came under con- 
tract with eighteen others to Green Bay, 
Wis. , where he was to work for $80 a year. 
Concluding he could do better elsewhere, 
for he could get no pay for his services, he 
sought other employment in Green Bay, 
and later started on foot with two com- 
panions for Portage City, where he at length 
arrived. He then began working in the 
lumber woods at $26 per month, and was 
here employed for many years, running the 
river, cutting the logs and making shingles. 
He also owned a sawmill on Mill creek, in 
company with his brother-in-law, A. Hayden. 
He labored earnestly and persistently, and 
in course of time his efforts were crowned 
with success. 

Mr. Precourt was married in Beloit, 
Wis., by John Hacket, justice of the peace, 
to Miss Lois Young, who was born in Som- 
erset county, Maine, December 16, 1825, a 
daughterof Simon and Lois (Knowles) Young, 
the former a native of New Hampshire, the 
latter of Kennebec, Maine. Mr. Young re- 
moved with his parents to Maine during his 
boyhood. The parents of Mrs. Young were 
natives of England; the father died from a 
wound in the hip received during the Revo- 
lutionary war. His children were John, 
Benjamin, Caleb and Daniel. Grandfather 
Young had three children: Simon, James 
and Zoie. The father of Mrs. Precourt, 
accompanied by his familj', came to the 
West in October, 1838, and located on a 
farm in Winnebago county. 111., where he 
resided until his death, which occurred in 
February, 1876. He was a soldier in the 
war of 1 81 2, and while stationed at Lake 
Champlain was wounded. His wife died 
on the old homestead in Illinois in 1845, 
and the following year he married Mary 
Cuttler, who is yet living aged one hundred 
years. A record of their children is as fol- 
lows: Lewis died at the age of twenty-two; 
Harrison, a blacksmith, of California, wed- 
ded Mary Ann Batchelder, and they had 
seven children — Melissa, wife of Salvini 
Myers, of Buena Vista, Wis. ; James, who 
married Emma Lombard, and is boom mas- 
ter; John, who resides in California; Ida, 
wife of Eli Mitchell, a farmer of California; 



and Wesley, Vandalia Finley, and Thomas, 
who are all also living in California. Louisa 
became the wife of Zeblin L. Sargent, a 
farmer of Minnesota, and had twelve chil- 
dren. Henry married Jane Ingersoll, and 
both are now deceased; they resided in 
Lyons, Iowa, and had three children — Mar- 
tha Jane, wife of Benjamin Clark, of Lyons, 
Iowa; James Henry, of Lyons; and Rose, 
wife of David Brandt, of Lyons, Iowa. 
Daniel died at the age of eighteen. Amanda 
O. is the wife of Amezyer Hayden, a dairy 
farmer of California, and they had three 
children — Mina (who died in infancy), 
Leonard and Alice. Lois is the wife of Mr. 
Precourt. Mary is the wife of John Bour- 
sier, a farmer of Stockton, Wis. , and their 
four children are Arvesta, Arvilla, Zoa and 
John. Simon married Margaret Harkness, 
by whom he had two children — Stanley 
and Lillian — and after the death of his 
first wife he wedded Sarah Adams, by 
whom he had two children — Emma Louise 
and Myra Belle. Sarah Jane, wife of 
John Maynard (now deceased), a farm- 
er of Ellsworth county, Wis., and they 
had five children — Hattie, John, Daniel, 
Zilfina and Benjamin. James died at the 
age of five years. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Pre- 
court lived for four years in a log house 
which he had built on Mill creek. He then 
moved to Buena Vista, Portage county, in 
June, 1850, and located a claim, although 
the land had not yet come into market. 
He paid the government for this tract in 
1852, and built thereon a small frame 
house in which they lived from June until 
September, when he erected a part of their 
present home. He first secured 160 acres 
on Section 5, to which he afterward added 
another 160 acres, but later sold eighty 
acres of the last purchase, and gave forty 
acres to his daughter. 

Mr. and Mrs. Precourt have five chil- 
dren as follows: (i) Alvina is the widow of 
Alfred Puariea, deceased, by whom she had 
si.x children — Clement, Lois Annie. Ida 
May, Moses Antoine, Myrtle and Joseph 
Lyman. (2) Rosina F. married Joseph 
Precourt, a farmer of Buena Vista township. 
Portage county, and their children were 



970 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Matilda Amelia, David Lyman, Lewis An- 
toine, and Lowell Edward, deceased. (3) 
Luman died at the age of ten years. (4) 
Amelia P. is the wife of William Clark, a 
farmer of Buena Vista township, and they 
have five children — William Vernon, Pearl 
Ann, Lowell Antoine, Lillian Amber and 
Lois Coral. (5) Lyman Antoine received 
an excellent education in Portage county, 
and is one of the most prosperous and 
highly-esteemed young men in the county. 
He served as township treasurer three 
years, as assessor for two years, and also 
member of the town board, and is an act- 
ive worker in the ranks of the Democratic 
party. He was married in Stevens Point, 
Wis., November 4, 1879, by Rev. Nicholas 
July, pastor of Stevens Point Catholic 
Church, to Miss Lucy Shortell, who was 
born in Stockton, Wis., September 11, 
1857, a daughter of Michael and Johanna 
(Dawson) Shortell, natives of Ireland. At 
the age of twenty-one her father emigrated 
to America, locating in New Brunswick, 
Maine, where he was married, his wife hav- 
ing crossed the Atlantic with her parents 
when a child of nine years. The latter had 
previously sought a home here, leaving their 
daughter with her grandmother until nine 
years of age. Mr. Shortell brought his 
family to Stockton, Wis., in 1850, and pur- 
chased 120 acres of wild land, upon which 
he made his home until his death in 1866. 
His wife died in June, 1886. Their eleven 
children were: Michael, who was killed in 
the Rebellion; John, who died in infancy; 
Mary, wife of O. Beaujolie, of Buena Vista, 
by whom she has ten children — William, 
Michael, Frances, Charles, George, John, 
Ernest, Joseph, Rosina and Rosella; John, 
who died at the age of three years; Sarah, 
who died in girlhood; William, deceased at 
the age of twenty-two; Annie, who died at 
the age of ten; Ellen, wife of Elmer Kim- 
ball, a farmer of Buena Vista township. 
Portage county (they have one son, Wal- 
lace); Lucy, wife of Lyman Precourt, and 
her twin sister, Elizabeth, who died in in- 
fancy; and Charles, married to Ellen Ryan, 
and residing on a farm in Buena Vista 
township. 

To Lyman A. Precourt and his estimable 



wife have been born five children, all born 
in the same house, same room and on the 
sam.e farm as was their father — Theresa, 
born August 13, 1880; William Claude, 
born September 3, 1886; Lois Annie, born 
July 12, 1888; Lucy Rosalie, born October 
28, 1892; Bonnie Ellen, born January 4, 
1895. The family resides on the old home- 
stead with Antoine Precourt, and they are 
people of sterling worth, held in the highest 
regard throughout the community. The 
father and sons are able representatives of 
the agricultural interests of Portage county, 
and well deserve representation in the his- 
tory of this county. 



CHARLES E. BUCK, one of the hon- 
ored pioneers of Amherst township, 
Portage county, was born in Great 
Bend, Susquehanna Co., Penn., 
February 26, 1818, son of Hiram and Pru- 
dence (Dean) Buck, the former born in 
1790, the latter one year later, both natives 
of Pennsylvania. 

Hiram Buck was the son of Rev. Dan- 
iel Buck, a Congregational minister in anti- 
Revolutionary times, who, when the brave 
and determined colonists took up arms for 
their political independence, resigned his 
charge and enlisted in the service of his 
country. He was commissioned a major, 
and served throughout the memorable strug- 
gle. When peace was declared he discarded 
his military uniform, donned his clerical 
garb and again preached the gospel of peace 
and good-will. A monument, erected to 
his memory on the banks of the Susque- 
hanna river, tells the story of his many val-. 
orous deeds. About 1820, Hiram Buck, 
the son of this gallant patriot, moved with 
his family to Owego, Tioga Co., N. Y. , 
where he lived until his death. His chil- 
dren were Alonzo D., Minerva, Charles E., 
Levi, Phcebe, J. P., Frank and Evaline. 

Charles E. Buck received but a limited 
education, and the broad intelligence he now 
displays is the result of self-education by 
observation and careful reading. He 
learned the carpenter and joiner trade, and 
was married in Owego, N. Y. , September i, 
1844, to Miss Harriet Darling, daughter of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



97' 



Calvin and Emily (Steele) Darling, the for- 
mer born at Keene, N. H., in February, 

1800, and the latter at Putney, Vt., in July, 

1 801. Soon after their marriage, or in the 
summer of 1845, Mr. and Mrs. Buck started 
for the West. On April 26, that year, they 
left Owego, N. Y. , Mr. Buck's brother, Al- 
onzo, conveying them to Waterloo, N. Y. , 
in a two-horse wagon. From Lyons they 
(Mr. and Mrs. Buck and his brother J. P.) 
proceeded to Buffalo by canal-boat, where 
they took the steamboat "Madison," an old 
craft, for Milwaukee, the voyage taking them 
through lakes Erie, St. Clair, Huron and 
Michigan, there being no railroads as far 
west at that time. They experienced very 
rough weather most of the time, and the 
trip occupied one week. When off Sagi- 
naw bay the cross swells rolled the steam- 
boat about so much that she was in danger 
of sinking, being heavily laden ; but she 
weathered the gale, and arrived safely at 
Milwaukee on September 12. Here Mr. 
Buck and his brother left Mrs. Buck while 
they set out into the wilderness to prospect 
for a home. They heard of a Mr. Salsbury 
who was somewhere in the woods on the 
Milwaukee river where he had located a wa- 
ter-power and built a sawmill, and him the 
brothers sought out and found. Making a 
bargain with him, they cut logs and built a 
log cabin, after which they returned to Mil- 
waukee for Mrs. Buck, who was beginning 
to be alarmed about them, as they had been 
absent a week, although they promised to 
be back in a couple of days. The three 
then left Milwaukee on the 21st of Septem- 
ber, and journeyed direct to Washington 
county. Town 11, Range 19, East, Section 
2, at that time all an unbroken wilderness, 
Mr. Salsbury, Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Buck and 
his brother J. P., being the first white set- 
tlers there. The cabin not yet being ready 
for occupancy, Mrs. Buck was left at the 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, some 
three miles distant, there to remain till her 
own home should be ready. The Thomp- 
sons lived in a very primitive log shanty, 
provided with neither floor, door nor stove, 
fire being made on the ground at one end of 
the cabin, while the smoke found an indis- 
criminate exit through the bark roof. After 



three days Mrs. Buck resolved that she would 
join her husband, and accordingly prepared 
to set out alone through the dense woods 
with no guide for her except an occasional 
marked or "blazed " tree. Fortunately, 
just as she was starting Mr. Salsbury and 
her brother-in-law came to the shanty, be- 
ing on their way to help some " neighbor" 
to roll up a log cabin, and Mr. Salsbury in- 
sisted that her brother-in-law should ac- 
company her. When she reached the river 
in the vicinity of which her husband was at 
work, he spied her, and wading across car- 
ried her over in his arms. Naturally he re- 
proached her for coming before the new 
house was ready for her ; but her reply was 
that if he could live there, so could she, and 
she at once went to work, made a fire beside 
a log, and got supper ready. For a table 
they used a tool chest, a cheese-box served 
as a chair for her, the others seating them- 
selves on "nature's carpet." At bed time 
she spread a blanket on the ground, Indian 
fashion, and slept the sleep of the weary but 
contented. 

Mr. Buck and his brother both entered 
land. They worked for Mr. Salsbury the 
first winter he built the first sawmill. The 
country round it was soon settled, and a little 
village sprung up, named Barton, after Bar- 
ton Salsbury. Here our subject and little 
family lived some ten years, at the end of 
which time Mrs. Buck's parents having come 
west in search of a home, Mr. Buck sold 
what he possessed, and moving to Portage 
county took up government land, where a 
second time he and his faithful wife endured 
the privations incident to a new country. 
In what is now Amherst there were at that 
time only two log cabins to be seen. Mr. 
Buck worked at his trade most of the time 
for several years, and helped to build the 
first sawmill for J. Nelson, and the first grist- 
mill for Bancroft & Grover. In Amherst 
township he bought eighty acres on which he 
and his wife are yet living. 

To them have been born five children. 
(i) Chester, the eldest, died in infancy. (2) C. 
Frederick was born April 25, 1846, the first 
white child to see the light of day in Barton 
township, Washington county; in 1864, 
then seventeen years of age, he enlisted in 



972 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEICAL RECORD. 



Company E, Thirty-second Wis. V. I. , was 
taken sicli at Memphis, and was sent to re- 
cuperate, and while at Madison on his way 
to rejoin his regiment, the news came that 
the war was over; he is now station agent at 
East Elkport, Iowa. (3) Emily P. , born April 
23, 1848, is now Mrs. Andrew Moberg, of 
Amherst. (4) Phoebe, born October 26, 1 849, 
married Rev. O. D. Teal, who died in Grass 
Valley, Cal., March 12, 1873; she is now 
the wife of Rev. J. D. Mason, of Forest 
City, Iowa (by her first husband she has 
one child, Grace, and by her second has had 
two children — Ada and Forest). (5) Ches- 
ter, born March 29, 1852, is the youngest 
child. In politics Mr. IBuck was a Repub- 
lican until 1894; he is now a Democrat, 
and a strong advocate of free trade. In 
1856 and 1857 he was elected assessor, and 
has served six terms since then. He is a 
member of the M. E. Church. He is well 
and favorably known throughout Portage 
county as one of its leading citizens, is com- 
fortably situated in life, owns a good home, 
and has the esteem and respect of all who 
know him. 



DR. A. W. GUERNSEY has been a 
prominent practicing physician of 
Almond township. Portage county, 
for nearly forty years. He came to 
his present home in 1856, when it was wild 
land, with his brother George H., buying 
160 acres of land, and while George con- 
ducted the farm the young physician began 
a successful practice of medicine, which he 
continued until 1892. Dr. Guernsey then 
retired to a less active life, to which his 
long public career so richly entitled him. 
He has not, however, permitted himself to 
lose interest in public affairs, and he still 
ranks among the leading and influential 
spirits of the county. 

Dr. Guernsey was born in Chenango, 
county, N. Y. , September 10, 1828, son of 
Jonathan and Frances (Putnam) Guernsey, 
Eastern people, the father a physician, the 
mother a distant relative of Israel Putnam. 
A. W. Guernsey read medicine with his 
father in Chenango county, N. Y. , and 
completed his professional education at Ann 



Arbor, Mich., graduating with high honors 
from the Medical University in the class of 
1853. Returning home, he practiced for 
two years with his father. He was married, 
September 19, 1854, to Charlotte L. Mor- 
gan, daughter of Jasper and Hannah (Cory) 
Morgan. Jasper Morgan was a successful 
farmer, and died leaving two children — 
Henry, a farmer, living near Elmira, N. Y. , 
and Charlotte L. The widow afterward 
married David Hayes, and by her second 
marriage also had two children, Corj" D., 
now a banker at Clinton, N. Y. , and Edna, 
wife of George H. Spay, a lawyer of Minne- 
apolis, Minn. Again widowed, Mrs. Ha}es 
now makes her home with her daughter, 
Mrs. Guernsey, and is nearly ninety years 
of age. 

Failing health induced Dr. Guernsey in 
1856 to come west. The journey was 
made by himself and wife and his brother 
Frank M. He and his brother George H. 
purchased 160 acres jointly, and for some 
time lived together, the young physician de- 
voting his attention to the practice of his pro- 
fession, as above mentioned. He became 
a noted physician, and enjoyed a wide and 
lucrative practice until he voluntarily sur- 
rendered it, several years ago. To Dr. and 
Mrs. Guernsey two children have been born 
— Edna, who died at the age of four years, 
and Cora, who was born September 2 1 , 
i860, and who in 1883 was united in mar- 
riage with Fred J. Frost, son of Locke and 
Maria Frost. Fred J. Frost was born in 
Almond township May 20, 1858. He at- 
tended the high schools of Berhn and Osh- 
kosh, and the Normal School at the latter 
city. He is now engaged in farming on 
Dr. Guernsey's farm, and also conducts an 
adjoining place of i 10 acres of his own. 
Mr. Frost is also engaged in the general in- 
surance business. Politically he is a Repub- 
lican; socially he is a Mason and a promi- 
nent member of Almond Lodge, No. 284, 
I. O. O. F. To Fred and Cora Frost two 
children have been born — Harold G., Janu- 
ary 22, 1888, and Edna H., .\ugust 2, 1889. 
Dr. Guernse}' is a leading member of Plain- 
field Lodge No. 208, F". & A. M., and .in 
politics is a stanch Republican. Mrs. 
Guernsev is a member of the Methodist 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



973 



Church. Since coming to Wisconsin Dr. 
Guernsey has made but one visit to his old 
home in New Yori<. 



CHARLES W. ANDERSON. There 
is in Portage county no better coun- 
try place perhaps than Valley Stock 
Farm, located in Stockton township, 
and the home of Charles W. Anderson. It 
contains 320 acres under the direct manage- 
ment and supervision of its owner, and is 
splendidly equipped. Mr. Anderson is a 
breeder of Percheron horses and fine cattle, 
and his farm finds few equals anywhere in 
the country. If the honor of being the 
representative farmer of Portage county can 
consistently be bestowed upon any one, it is 
deserved by Mr. Anderson. 

He is yet a comparatively young man, 
having been born March 15, 1853, in Oak 
Grove, Dodge Co., Wis. His father, Thom- 
as W. Anderson, was born March 30, 1828, 
in Eaton, Madison Co., N. Y., son of Hol- 
brook and Arvilla (Avery) Anderson, both 
natives of Madison county. Holbrook was 
born in 1806, son of Thomas and Susannah 
Anderson, New Englanders, who during the 
latter part of the last century migrated to a 
farm in Madison county, N. Y. ; their ten 
children were Joseph, Loyal, James, Hiram, 
William M., Holbrook, Nancy, Polly, Abi- 
gail and Lucy, all of whom lived and died 
in Madison county, except Nancy, who 
married a Mr. Harkness and died in New 
York. James was a blacksmith, Hiram an 
innkeeper, William M., a merchant and dis- 
tiller, the other three sons being farmers. 
Holbrook was reared on the farm, and mar- 
ried Arvilla Avery, born in November, 1808, 
daughter of a neighboring farmer. To Hol- 
brook and Arvilla Anderson two children 
were born, Thomas W. and Helen M., the 
latter of whom was born April 15, 1830, 
married E. D. Brown, of Smithfield, N. Y., 
became the mother of thirteen children, and 
moved to Portage county. Wis., where she 
died. Mr. and Mrs. Holbrook Anderson 
came in 1857 to Portage county, where he 
died March 18, 1892, and his wife March 3, 
1879; both are buried in the Episcopal cem- 
etery, and both for fifty years had been 



members of the M. E. Church. In politics 
Holbrook Anderson was a Whig, an Aboli- 
tionist and a Republican successively. 

Thomas W. Anderson, his only son, was 
reared on a farm, receiving a common- 
school education, and also taking a few 
terms in an academy. The father being in 
comfortable circumstances, the son remained 
at home, working with the old-time equip- 
ment, until his marriage, January 28, 1852, 
in Chittenango, Madison county, to Lucy 
^L Bortle, who was born September 8, 
1832, in Lenox township, Madison Co., N. 
Y. , daughter of Henry and Christina (Miller) 
Bortle. Henry and Christina Bortle had a 
family of twelve children, as follows: Cor- 
nelia M., who married Joshua C. Knowles, 
and died in December, 1893, in New York; 
Catherine, who married Daniel Tuttle, and 
now lives in Madison county, N. Y. ; Eliza- 
beth, of Oneida, N. Y. ; Peter J., a farmer 
of Madison County, N. Y. ; Lucy M. ; Caro- 
line, who married Stephen Woodward, and 
now lives at Watertown, Wis. ; William H., 
a farmer and miner of Idaho; Harriet, who 
married Hezekiah Betsinger, and lives in 
Madison county, N. Y. ; James and Jane 
(twins), both of Madison county, N. Y., the 
latter wife of Frank Bortle; Christina, now 
Mrs. Ezra Kline, of Madison county, N. Y., 
and a son who died in infancy. The chil- 
dren of Thomas W. and Lucy M.' Anderson 
are Charles W. , subject of this sketch, and 
Ada F. The latter was born November 19, 
1854, and was married, April 14, 1875, to 
G. F. Andras, a merchant at Stevens Point; 
they have an adopted son, G. W. Anderson. 

Soon after his marriage, or in May, 
1852, Thomas W. Anderson concluded to 
move west. The journey was made by rail 
to Buffalo, thence by boat to Detroit, and 
by rail again to Chicago. First visiting 
friends in McHenry county. 111., for a few 
weeks, the young couple, in June, drove by 
team to Oak Grove, Dodge Co., Wis., where 
Mr. Anderson conducted a mercantile busi- 
ness for several years. Then for two years 
he was a merchant at Newport, Sauk coun- 
ty; but in the spring of 1857 he removed to 
Portage county, settling two miles east of 
Stevens Point. E. D. Brown, his brother- 
in-law, had constructed a sawmill here on 



974 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the Plover river, and with him Mr. Ander- 
son thoroughly learned the lumber business. 
For six years afterward he lived in the 
woods, and often Mrs. Anderson would at- 
tend to the cooking for the camp, taking 
with her the two children, whom she taught 
their letters in the rude lumber camp, for 
there were then no schools. In Sections 19 
and 20 of what is now Stockton township 
Thomas W. Anderson bought his first land 
in Portage county, a tract of eighty acres. 
He afterward increased it to 400 acres. He 
improved the property, constructed build- 
ings, and for nearly thirty years occupied 
the farm. In 1889 he built a cosy home at 
the corner of Church and Clark streets, 
Stevens Point, to which he moved in 1890, 
and where he now lives a retired life and 
enjoys the comforts of a good home. He 
has been a prominent citizen of the county. 
He never aspired to office, but without his 
solicitation he was nominated for representa- 
tive on the Republican ticket in 1876 and 
elected. He has served as township super- 
intedent of schools, and in various other 
local public capacities. In politics he has 
been a stanch Republican. Himself and 
wife are members of the M. E. Church, of 
which he is now trustee. Thomas W. An- 
derson is a fine specimen of that old type of 
pioneer, strong, enduring, tireless, coura- 
geous, thoroughly honest and honorable, 
which now seems to be passing away for- 
ever. 

Charles W. Anderson was a lad of eight 
summers when he came with his parents to 
Stockton township. The impressions of his 
boyhood are in striking contrast to the pres- 
ent highly-developed condition of the coun- 
try. He attended school at Stevens Point, 
and for two years was a student at Law- 
rence University, Appleton. An education 
as thorough and as extensive as he could 
wish was within his grasp, for his parents 
favored it; but Charles W. was a born farmer, 
and preferred the freedom and activity of 
the field to the confinement of the recita- 
tion room. He is a man of action rather 
than of books. Early in life he acquired a 
passion for horses, and this has given direc- 
tion to his business life. While at school, 
and while attending a business course at 



Lawrence University, his motto was "thor- 
oughness," and this he has applied to his 
stock farm. His school work was a model 
of excellence, and so is his life pursuit. 
When his school days were over he returned 
to his father's farm. 

Mr. Anderson has been twice married, 
first time to Isabel S. Rolfson, who was 
born August 5, 1864, one of a familj' 
of eight children — Gustavus B., Carrie 
S., Bertina O., Isabel S. (deceased), 
Theodore O., Julius G. (deceased), Carl J. 
and Oscar E. — born to O. S. Rolfson, a 
farmer; the mother died in 1883. Mrs. Isa- 
bel S. Anderson died July 5, 1890, the 
mother of one son, G. W. Anderson, who 
has been adopted by Mrs. Ada F. Andras. 
On October 22, 1891, Mr. Anderson mar- 
ried Miss Carrie S. Rolfson, who was born 
August 22, i860, in Christiana, Dane Co. , 
Wis., sister to his first wife. The children 
born to their union are Ada Lucy and Isa 
Lena (twins), born October 9, 1892, and 
Thomas W. , Jr., who died when nine 
months old. After his first marriage Mr. 
Anderson located on his present farm, the 
"Anderson Hon:iestead." In politics he is 
an earnest Republican, but has neither time 
nor inclination for active work in the ranks 
of the party or for office -seeking. He is 
thoroughly abreast with the times, and has 
adopted most modern methods in farming. 



CHARLES ROLLIN BRAINARD, 
lawyer and editor, was born in Ra- 
venna, Ohio, August 5, 1840, the 
eldest son of Dr. Linus B. Brain- 
ard. In 1844 his father removed to the Ter- 
ritory of Wisconsin, and on the opening of 
navigation the year following the child was 
on his way to his future home in what was 
practically border land, or even beyond the 
border. His early education was such as 
could be obtained in the log school-house of 
the period, with slab benches and slab ta- 
bles. His school studies were supplemented 
b)' instruction in Latin by his father, and by 
learning to set type, which he began at the 
age of six years, in the office of the Sheboy- 
gan Times. 

So great was his proficiency, as a lad, in 




C/^^f-^^M /€^X^^ 73^r^>^.^nL^r-€xC 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUWAL UECOHD. 



975 



German, French, Oneida and Menominee, 
that from the age of eleven until he was 
thirteen, he filled a clerkship in one of the 
largest stores in Green Baj', Wis., receiv- 
ing a man s salary. A part of this money 
he used in entering eighty acres of land ad- 
joining the tract already entered by his 
father. From 1853 to 1859 he did every 
kind of work incident to pioneer life — clear- 
ing land, logging, taking charge of his fa- 
ther's sawmill, grubbing, plowing and farm- 
ing — and, when he could, he worked in a 
printing office, meanwhile prosecuting his 
studies to the best of his ability. In 1859 
he broke loose from everything and entered 
Racine College, graduating in 1864, at the 
head of his class and with the highest hon- 
ors. He afterward pursued a course of the- 
ology at Nashotah Episcopal Seminary; was 
ordained June 29, 1867. and spent a year 
with Bishop Armitage, in Milwaukee, Wis., 
when he removed to the East, and became 
rector of Christ Church, Ouincy, Mass. 
Four years later he resigned from the min- 
istry, studied Ian' in the offices of Hon. Hen- 
ry W. Paine, the Nestor of the New Eng- 
land bar, was admitted to the bar in Bos- 
ton, Mass., March 20, 1876; to the United 
States bar, June 25, 1878, and to the Wis- 
consin bar in Milwaukee, April 2, 1889. 

He practiced law in Boston twelve years, 
but gradually drifted into magazine work, 
becoming a contributor to the leading mag- 
azines and periodicals. He also became 
connected with some of the larger publish- 
ing houses in New York, and wrote several 
thousand articles for historical and cyclo- 
pedic work, in all of which he displayed 
merit of a high order, his writings being for- 
cible, pleasing and instructive. Several ex- 
peditions were made, of which he was a 
member, under the direction of the Wiscon- 
sin Central Railway Company, and a large 
amount of writing of books, pamphlets and 
newspaper articles was done by him for the 
road. Until October, 1893, his time was 
spent in both Wisconsin and New York, in 
editorial and cyclopedic work, and he then 
returned to Waupaca. 

Mr. Brainard's life in the printing office 
was of the greatest benefit to him, and his 
inventive mind enabled him to make many 



improvements in the composing room, on 
several of which he obtained valuable pat- 
ents and drew extensive royalties. His love 
of scientific pursuits brought him into close 
contact with Agassiz and the Smithsonian 
Institute at Washington. He enjoyed many 
facilities while a guest of theirs on scientific 
expeditions, and secured many thousands of 
ocean specimens which he prepared, classi- 
fied and labelled, both for the Jesuit College 
in Boston and his own, Racine College. His 
travels have been principally in the United 
States, Canada and Mexico. He published 
" Sheriff's Fees" in Boston in 1880, a book 
devoted to the duties and fees of the Mas- 
sachusetts constabulary, of which a second 
edition was reached. He is now a resident 
of Waupaca, passing his time chiefly in lit- 
erary pursuits and in his official duties. 

In stature Mr. Brainard is five feet ten 
inches, straight, a rapid, nervous walker, a 
skilled horseman, and a man wlio never 
knows fatigue. In the early part of 1894 
he was appointed deputy fish and game war- 
den for the Waupaca Valley, embracing the 
counties of Waupaca, Waushara and Port- 
age, and he successfully prosecuted a large 
number of cases. He examined the rivers 
and lakes in summer in a canvas canoe, and 
in winter on skates, making many captures 
of illegal apparatus. He received the ap- 
pointment of local attorney for the Wiscon- 
sin Central railway for 1894, and the ap- 
pointment was renewed in 1895. 



NELSON KOLLOCK. This surname 
is widely known throughout the 
southern portion of Portage county. 
For over twenty years the Kollock 
brothers, Nelson and Henry, were actively 
associated in the development of Almond 
township, and for more than twenty years 
since then each has been prominent, seve- 
rally, in the growth and present prosperity 
of this region. 

Our subject is the junior of his brother 
by two years. He was born in New Bruns- 
wick June 28, 1830, son of Shepherd F. and 
Mary Eliza (Taylorj Kollock, who were the 
parents of nine children. The mother died 



976 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



when Nelson was a small child, and soon 
after, or in 1836. the bereaved father 
brought his family west. He settled near 
Detroit, Mich., and remained there four 
years. William, the eldest son, had in the 
meantime gone on to Wisconsin, purchasing 
land in Waukesha county, and thither the 
father and his remaining children followed 
in I 840. He died three years later. Nel- 
son was sixteen years of age when, in 1846, 
he and his brother Henry decided to leave 
the hospitable shelter of their eldest brother's 
home and strike out for themselves in life. 
They took a good long stroke, for it carried 
them, painfully and slowly, it is true, but 
surely to the dense forest region of the Up- 
per Wisconsin Valley. They traveled afoot 
a distance of nearly 200 miles from Wau- 
kesha to Wausau. The tiresome and mo- 
mentous journey naturally made a deep im- 
jiression upon Nelson. They passed through 
the site of Berlin iii roiih\ and that village 
then contained but one house, which was 
unfinished. The brothers slept on shavings 
under a work bench. Another night they 
slept under a wagon in a marsh; it rained 
all night, and the fires which they had 
kindled were extinguished. They went on, 
following a trail, for there was no road, and 
finally reached their destination. For six 
years they labored in the pineries, then with 
their savings they came to Almond town- 
ship. Portage county, and jointly purchased 
a claim of 320 acres, at that time unsurvey- 
cd. They afterward perfected the claim 
and worked industriously at the clearing, 
adding to the farm from time to time until 
it included 500 acres. Nelson lived at the 
home of his brother Henry until 1873. In 
the latter year, November 15, he married 
Mrs. Ruth Jane (Dickson) Kollock, widow of 
\\'ellington Kollock, a pioneer settler of 
Buena N'ista township. Portage county, and 
a brother to Nelson Kollock. Wellington 
had been killed by the tornado of 1863. 
Mrs. Kollock was the daughter of Major 
Dickson, an early settler from Illinois, who 
had been an officer in the Black Hawk war. 
By her first marriage she had five children: 
Frances A., Alice J., Dora E., Jessie A. and 
Wellington D., all now married and in busi- 
ness for themselves. Mrs. Kollock died 



September 16, 1889. The bereaved hus- 
band still lives on the farm. Besides his 
regular farm work he is engaged in breeding 
deer. He now has twelve head, and has 
had as many as twenty-seven head at one 
time. Mr. Kollock finds a good market for 
the deer. Politically he is a Republican. 
He has always been an enterprising and 
thorough farmer, and is highly esteemed for 
his many sterling qualities. 



WILLIAM D. DOPP. In the spring 
of 1853 William D. Dopp came 
with his young wife to a desolate 
region and settled in what is now 
Sections 35 and 36, Belmont township. 
Portage county. At that time only one 
other family lived within the present limits 
of the township, a Mr. Robinson, whose 
primitive habitation stood off in the north- 
ern portion of the township. Two years 
earlier, Mr. Dopp, accompanied by his two 
brothers, John G. and Amos B. , left the home- 
stead in Waukesha county, and took up 
government lands in Belmont. He attend- 
ed the first township meeting at the home 
of A. D. Freeman, and heard the name 
Belmont suggested for the township by Mrs. 
Freeman, while other names were under 
discussion. 

William I). Dopp was born in Oneida 
county, N. Y., April 12, 1824, son of John 
W. and Catherine (Miller) Dopp. The 
father, a farmer of limited means, was born 
in Dutchess county, N. Y., February 26, 
1792, but the following year his parents, 
Henry and Martha (Gifford) Dopp, moved 
from Dutchess county to Oneida county, 
where they made a permanent home. The 
children of John W. and Catherine Dopp 
were: Henry H., a farmer, of Belmont 
township; John G., who died in Monterey, 
Wis., in 1893; William D., subject of this 
sketch; Martha A., widow of William Mc- 
Horter, of Waukesha; Amos Benjamin, of 
Monterey, Wis., and Susan, now Mrs. L. 
D. Scott, of Belmont township. In 1843 
Henry H. and John G., the two elder 
brothers of William D., came to Wisconsin 
from their home in New York, and selected 



COMMKMORAl'IVE DWaiiAPIIlVAL HE CORD. 



977 



land in Oconomowoc township, Waukesha 
county. They improved this and return- 
ing^ to New York brouf^ht out inta the wil- 
derness, in the spring of 1846, their father's 
entire famil}'. The journey was made via 
the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence by boat to 
Milwaukee. A break in the canal for a 
short time detained the rest of the family, 
and William U. and Henry, who had gone 
to Chautauqua county to transact some 
business, preceded them, taking passage 
on the vessel "Cleveland." From Mil- 
waukee they walked to the new home, a 
distance of about forty miles. The family 
arrived a week later. The first habitation 
here was a shanty 10 .\ 14, which they occu- 
pied while a log cabin was under construc- 
tion. Here the mother died, August 16, 
1846, and later the father returned to New 
York, and died at Ridge Mills, Oneida 
county, February 18, 1856, aged sixty-four 
years. Both parents were members of the 
Society of Friends. Mr. Dopp was early in 
life a Jacksonian Democrat, and later be- 
came a F"ree-Soiler and an earnest Aboli- 
tionist. 

In May, 1851, William D., John and 
Amos, as noted above, started for homes of 
their own far into the depths of the northern 
wilderness. With a team of oxen and uten- 
sils for breaking land, plow and gruljbing hoe, 
they jogged slowly along. Waupaca coun- 
ty had then been surveyed but not Portage 
county, and each of the brothers located on 
an unsurveyed quarter section, immediately 
west of the surveyed land in Waupaca 
county, and also prepared a farm for their 
brother Henry, who was to follow. Their 
first shelter was a board roof laid on poles, 
supported by forked sticks. Here they 
passed the summer of 185 1, broke some 
land and built a log cabin, then return- 
ed to Waukesha county. During the fol- 
lowing winter William D. taught school in 
Waukesha county, and the year following 
he spent in the same manner, clearing his 
farm in the summer and teaching in the 
winter. Although his educational advan- 
tages were slight, yet he improved every 
opportunity, and while a mere boy occupied 
his winters in teaching both day and eve- 
ning school. On December 31, 1852, he 



was married in Lisbon township, Waukesha 
county, to Jeannette Moyes, who was born 
April 30, 1830, in Perthshire, Scotland, 
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Rogers) 
Moyes, who with their family, in 1840, em- 
barked in a sailing vessel for the New 
World, landing seven weeks and four days 
later in Canada. A year afterward Mr. 
Moyes came to Wisconsin and located in 
Lisbon township, Waukesha county; in his 
native land he had been a weaver, but in 
America he became a farmer. The parents, 
while in Scotland, were Presbyterians; but 
upon coming to Lisbon the family united 
with the Congregationalists. Mrs. Doj^p, 
before her marriage, taught school in Wau- 
kesha county. In the spring following his 
marriage Mr. Dopp began housekeeping in 
the log cabin previously erected on his farm 
in Sections 35 and 36, Belmont township. 
Portage county. His children were as fol- 
lows: Emily A., at home, a teacher of 
long experience; Edson C, who died at the 
age of thirteen years; P^lspa M., a graduate 
of Oshkosh Normal School, full course, and 
Ann Arbor, Mich., now a teacher at Man- 
itowoc; Catherine E., a graduate also of 
the above schools, now a teacher at the 
Oshkosh Normal School; F"rank E., a 
graduate of the elementary course at Osh- 
kosh, now at home. 

Mr. Dopp has made all the improve- 
ments on his present excellent farm of 240 
acres. He also owns 174 acres in Wau- 
shara county. When he first came to the 
home, now nearly forty-five years ago, game 
was abundant, and not unfrequently deer 
stalked into the door-yard. In politics he 
was formerly a Democrat, but he has been 
a Republican since the organization of that 
party. He has served as chairman of the 
township longer than any other individual. 
He has been supervisor, and was elected 
the first township superintendent of schools, 
in the days of that office; and in that capac- 
ity he divided the township into school 
districts. The family is one of the most 
prominent in the county. Since the above 
sketch was written, William D. Dopp died 
at his home, September 10, 1895. The fol- 
lowing is a brief sketch of his character 
written by a friend: 



97S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



William D. Dopp, who died at his home in Bel- 
mont recently, was one of the pioneers of 
Portage county, having- purchased from the gov- 
ernment two hundred acres of land in Sections 35 
and 36. town of Belmont, in the spring of 1854, 
upon which he settled and which was the nucleus 
of the large farm upon which he lived up to the 
time of his death. He was a man of more than 
average abilit}-. of good, practicable judgment 
and uncorruptible honesty. Hospitality was a 
fixed principal of his life, and doubtless hundreds 
who read these lines have been happily entertain- 
ed bj' W. D. Dopp and his excellent family. Ver- 
ily, no one was sent empty away. 

Socially, Mr. Dopp had few equals. He was 
well read, had a fund of practical information, 
and through his long and useful life has done 
much b}' precept and example to mould public 
opinion, and always on the safe side. In its 
broadest and best sense, he was a Christian, be- 
lieving that the Fatherhood of God applies to all 
men, and that none will be finallj' lost from the 
fold. For many years he represented his town on 
the county board, and in that capacity always 
ably, honorablj' and conscientiouslj' performed 
the duties impo.sed upon him. His energy, fore- 
sight and practical good judgment enabled him 
to accumulate a handsome property, and he leaves 
his family, comprising his wife, one son and three 
daughters, amply provided with the goods of this 
world, besides that better heritage, an honorable 
name. 

For the past ten years Mr. Dopp's health had 
been poor, and during the more recent months he 
was a great sufferer, from which he has been 
graciously relea.sed, and finds rest in the land 
guaranteed to all just men. In his death the 
State has lost a good citizen, his neighbors a good 
neighbor, his family a kind, thoughtful and lov- 
ing^ husband and father, and friends a trusted and 
valued friend. 



THORBEN GUNDERSEN, a retired 
farmer of Amherst township, Port- 
age county, was born in May, 183 1, 
in Norway, and his parents, Gunder 
and Ann Knutsen, were also natives of the 
same country, as were the grandparents. 
The children of the latter were Torger, Ole, 
Gunder and Julia, all of whom reached ma- 
ture years and reared families of their own. 
The father of our subject became a well-to-do 
farmer, and died in his native land in 1865 ; 
his wife passed away in 1836. To them 
were born the following children : Knute 
(now deceased) married Ann Burry, and 
died leaving two children ; Thomas (de- 
ceased), came to America with our subject, 
and here married Ingebar Benson, by whom 
he had five children, two of whom are yet 
living — Anna and Julia — (he followed farm- 
ing in Waupaca county, Wis.); Thorben is 



the next younger, and was followed by two 
who bore the name of Ella, but both died 
in infancy. 

Until fifteen years of age, Mr. Gunder- 
sen attended the public schools and during 
vacations aided his father on the farm. He 
then came to this country, where for a time 
be worked as a farm hand. In company 
with his brother, he took passage at Chris- 
tiania on a Norwegian sailing vessel, the 
"Inga," which after eight weeks reached 
Quebec, Canada. Our travelers went di- 
rect to Milwaukee, thence to Oconomowoc, 
Wis., where they worked for three months, 
after which they were employed for a time 
in the lumber woods near Stevens Point ere 
coming to Amherst township. Portage 
county. In the spring of 1854, our subject 
arrived here, but his brother located on a 
farm in Waupaca county. He purchased 
of the government forty acres of land in Sec- 
tion 25, Amherst township, and when he 
had cleared a small space built a log cabin. 
He had to walk to Waupaca for his provis- 
ions, which he would carry home on his 
back until he could purchase a yoke of oxen. 

On January 12, 1855, Mr. Gundersen 
was married in Scandinavia, Wis. , by Rev. 
Duse, to Anna, daughter of Benjamin and 
Torber Knutsen, natives of Norway. There 
her father died, after which the other mem- 
bers of the family came to America on the 
same vessel as did our subject, and located 
on a farm near Scandinavia. In the family 
were four children — Louis, Knute, Ingebar 
and Anna. The last named was born in 
Norway in 1827, and died on the old home 
farm June 12, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Gunder- 
sen were the parents of six children, as fol- 
lows: Gunder, the eldest, a farmer of Am- 
herst township, married Rachel Bjerland, 
and they have a son, Adolph; Benjamin, an 
agriculturist of the same township, wedded 
Julia Dale, and their children are xAgnes and 
Bessie Gladys; Annie is the wife of Alex 
Thorn, a farmer of Amherst township. Port- 
age county, and their children are Aimer, 
Rosie, Irving, Robert and Mabel; Mina, the 
next younger, is at home; Ole, who follows 
farming in Amherst township, married Paul- 
ena Hartman, and their children are Laura, 
Raymond, Efifieand Leslie; Allie is at home. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBIVAL RECORD. 



979 



About eight years after his marriage Mr. 
Gundersen replaced the log cabin b}' a more 
commodious residence, and in 1882 he built 
his present fine home. Before leaving the 
farm he had added 120 acres to the original 
purchase, and this he sold to his son, Ole, 
on removing to his present place of abode 
in Section 36, Amherst township. The few 
acres which surround the house are culti- 
vated by him, but he is practically living re- 
tired, enjoying a rest which is the just re- 
ward of his former years of toil. Mr. Gun- 
dersen manifested his loyalty to the govern- 
ment during the war of the Rebellion by 
enlisting, in the fall of 1864, in Company 
B, Seventeenth Wis. V. I., which, after a 
short stay in Madison, Wis., was sent to 
Nashville, Tenn., and joined Sherman's 
army in Georgia. He was honorably dis- 
charged in Washington, in June, 1865, and 
returned at once to his home. He has al- 
ways been a stalwart Republican, but has 
never taken an active part in political affairs, 
preferring to devote his time to his business 
interests, in which he has met with signal 
success, becoming the possessor of a hand- 
some property. He is always ready to lend 
a helping hand to the poor and needy, and 
possesses many excellencies of character 
which have won for him unlimited confi- 
dence and esteem. In all the relations of 
life he is the same true and loyal man that 
he was when, prompted by the spirit of pa- 
triotism, he "donned the blue" and aided 
in the defense of the Union. 



REV. E. P. LORIGAN. It is a proof 
of the high character and ability of 
this priest of the Catholic Church 
that he has as many friends among 
Protestants as among the followers of his 
own religious belief. He possesses in a 
marked degree that charm of manner which 
so well qualifies him to mingle with men and 
influence them in the direction of a better 
life. If Rev. Lorigan has one conviction in 
the matter of practical religion which he 
cherishes above another it is that temper- 
ance should reign, and he has done noble 
service in that cause. No stronger or heartier 



advocate of temperance could be found any- 
where. 

Father Lorigan was born in County 
Limerick, Ireland, in 1840, son of Bartho- 
lomew and Mary (Sheahan) Lorigan. His 
father was a tenant farmer of limited means, 
and had ten children, nine of whom lived to 
maturity. The subject of this sketch was 
one of the younger children, the eighth son, 
and was quite young when his parents died. 
Older brothers had emigrated to America, 
and they brought this lad to the new country 
after the death of the parents. After three 
months on the ocean they landed at New 
York. At Philadelphia E. P. Lorigan was 
employed for a time as an errand boy at one 
dollar per week, and right glad he was to 
earn the wages. He then came to Pittsburg 
with a brother, and was there for about a 
year in the office of Dr. Drake, a leading 
physician of the city. Through the kind- 
ness of his brother, Bryan S. Lorigan, now 
of Manitowoc county. Wis., he entered St. 
Vincent's College, Westmoreland county, 
Penn., at the age of thirteen, and remained 
four years. He next went to St. Thomas 
Seminary, near Bardstown, Ky. , and two 
years later entered St. Francis Seminary, 
Milwaukee. Here he was seized with rheu- 
matism, and to gain relief he returned to 
Ireland. The class of mathematics in 
Thurles College, at Tipperary, Ireland, was 
offered him, but Mr. Lorigan remained in 
Ireland only about a year. It was while 
there that with profound sorrow he read of 
the death of President Lincoln. Returning 
to the United States, he resumed his studies 
at the Jesuit Seminary at Spring Hill, Ala. 
There he was ordained, June 24, 1866. His 
first charge was at Huntsville, Ala., where 
he remained four years. He was stationed 
at the cathedral at Mobile, Ala., three years. 
Father Lorigan then came to Milwaukee, 
and, after he was three years in the cathe- 
dral there, he for eight years had charge of 
the Catholic interests at Chilton, Wis. In 
October, 1889, he took charge at Stevens 
Point, but in November, i 8go, failing health 
and throat trouble compelled him to give up 
preaching for two years. During that time 
he traveled extensively throughout the West 
and on the Pacific coast, visiting California 



9S0 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



and the then booming cities of the North- 
west. Upon his return to Wisconsin, in 
1892, Rev. Lorigan located at Lebanon, 
Waupaca county. He then came to St. 
Patricia's Church, in Lanark township, No- 
vember 9, 1893, and besides that charge he 
now has a mission at Buena Vista and acts 
as chaplain of the Wisconsin Veterans Home 
near Waupaca. He is an earnest Republi- 
can in politics, and a great admirer of the 
G. A. R. He has been a great traveler 
throughout the United States, is devoted to 
his work, and is deservedly popular among 
all classes whom he meets. 



HON. FREDERICK HUNTLEY, 
one of the most prominent and best 
known citizens of Portage county, 
has for forty \ears been connected 
with the upbuilding of the community in 
which he lives, aiding in its advancement, 
both financially and morally. He now 
makes his home in Buena Vista township, 
where he is widely and favorably known. 

In Salina, Onondaga Co., N. Y. , Mr. 
Huntley was born October 9, 1825, and he 
is a son of Lentulus and Harriet (Hicks) 
Huntley, also natives of the Empire State, 
where the father was born August 3, 1804, 
and the mother October 24, 1805. Solo- 
mon Huntley, grandfather of our subject, 
was born in Connecticut, and when a young 
man located in New York, where he was 
married, and where his death occurred in 
1839 when he was aged seventy-eight years. 
He had many adventures with the Indians, 
at one time narrowly escaping death from 
a bullet fired by a Redskin who lay in am- 
bush. As a pioneer of New York he endur- 
ed many hardships, and many times was 
on the verge of starvation. He served 
through the Revolutionary war as a valiant 
and fearless soldier. Twice married, in his 
family were the following children: Heman, 
who died at Syracuse, N. Y., where he was 
engaged as a salt dealer ; Asel, while a 
young man engaged in merchandising in 
New York, later removing to Michigan, 
locating on a farm, where his death occur- 
red ; Lentulus, the father of our subject ; 
and Frederick, who died in Canada, had 



married a Miss Roach, and was in the em- 
ploy' of a Canadian boat line. 

In Syracuse, N. Y. , the father of our 
subject received a limited education, but by 
reading and observation he became a well- 
informed man. In that city his marriage 
was celebrated September 12, 1822, and he 
migrated with his family to Nottawa, Mich., 
at a very early day, locating on a farm. 
Later he removed to Mendon, Mich., where 
for ten years he was engaged in mercantile 
pursuits, after which he retired from active 
business. His death occurred in that city 
April 8, 1890, and there his widow still 
lives at the advanced age of eighty-eight 
years. In the autumn of 1894 she met 
with a painful accident, having fallen and 
broken her arm. In their family were the 
following children : (i) Heman, born June 
2"/, 1823, was married in Nottawa, Mich., 
October 18, 1844, to a Miss Lovett ; he 
engaged in the sawmilling business, and 
died in Galena, 111., May 2, 1854, the 
father of three children — Naomi (who died 
in girlhood), Frank (a finely-educated man, 
was a friend of Gen. Grant, whom he ac- 
companied on his memorable trip around 
the world), and Eliza, married in Mendon, 
Mich., to Nelson Hower, a druggist of that 
place. (2) Our subject is next in order of 
birth. (3) Ruth M., born February 29, 
1828, wedded Levi Hoag at Nottawa, Mich., 
June 10, 1845 ; Mr. Hoag was a soldier 
during the Civil war, and was taken ill 
while in the South ; on his way home he 
was accompanied by an attendant, and they 
had come as far as Detroit, Mich., when 
the nurse left him for a short time, but on 
his return his patient was not to be found ; 
after searching for some time his body was 
discovered in the river ; no one knew how 
it came to be there, but it is supposed that 
he met with foul play as he had quite a sum of 
monej' about him at the time ; his children 
were : Lentulus Mortimer (who died in 
childhood), Kendal, Byron, Estella and 
Mary Jane. (4) Louisa, born September 14, 
1830, married Enoch Healy November 20, 
1852, at Mendon, Mich., and by this union 
there were three children — Heman, Lida 
and Charles ; after the death of her first 
husband she wedded Clayton Mallory, and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPmCAL RECORD. 



981 



they now make their home in Steuben 
county, Ind. (5) Solomon, born Feb- 
ruary 8, 1833, was married at Nottawa, 
Mich., December 29, i860, to Sarah Gib- 
son, and they had two children — William 
and Clyde ; his death occurred in Orland, 
Ind., September 15, 1874, and his widow 
and children now reside at Oregon City, 
Oreg. (6) Adeline, born January 6, 1835, 
became the wife of George Rogers, March 
4, 1853, at Nottawa, Mich., where they 
still make their home, and now have si.x 
children — Ada Adell (now Mrs. William 
Mandigo), Louella (now Mrs. Gilbert 
Knapp), Eva (Mrs. Roscoe Goodrich), 
Allison, Mina (Mrs. Lane), and Cleo. (7) 
Elvira, born September 6, 1S37, was mar- 
ried December 20, 1855, in Nottawa, to 
Charles Grover, and died at the home of 
her sister in Orland, Ind., July 27, 1863, 
leaving a son, Charles. (8) Elizabeth, 
now a widow, born July 29, 1840, and was 
married at Nottawa, December 20, i860, 
to John Roberts ; she now makes her home 
in Chicago with her three children — Edward, 
Lena Mae and Charles. (9) Mary J., born 
February i, 1843, wedded Byron Uptegrove 
in Nottawa, Mich., March 18, 1863, and 
four children were born of this union — Ros- 
sie, Edith, Helen, and one that died in 
infancy. 

Frederick Huntley, whose name intro- 
duces this review, accompanied his parents 
to Michigan when fourteen years of age, 
and attended school until reaching the age 
of seventeen, after which he worked 
through the summer as a farm hand, re- 
ceiving $12 per month, which went toward 
the support of the family. In Nottawa, 
Mich., March 20, 1844, when only nineteen 
years of age, he was married to Adeliza S. 
Powers, who was born in Ypsilanti, Mich., 
December 4, 1828, a daughter of Henry 
and Almira (Field) Powers, natives of New 
York, where they were married. Her 
parents later removed to Cleveland, Ohio, 
where they resided for a short time when 
they went to Oxford, same State. From 
that place they removed to Ypsilanti, Mich., 
and thence to White Pigeon, Mich., after 
which they located on a farm in Nottawa 
Prairie, Mich. , where the father died 



August 26, 1835. His widow made that 
place her home for some years after his 
death, when she went to live with a daugh- 
ter in Sherman, that State, and there she 
departed this life May 31, 1866. Mr. 
Powers was one of the first settlers of Not- 
tawa, arriving there in April, 1830. His 
father was a ship captain, and was lost in a 
storm at sea, leaving a wife and two chil- 
dren, Mr. Powers having a little sister who 
was adopted by a family, and her relatives 
lost all trace of her. 

Mrs. Huntley is one of a family of six 
children, the others being : James, Arabella, 
Ann Janet, Jerial and Almira Henrietta. 
Of these, (i) James, born August 21, 1813, 
wedded Diadama Ferris, July i, 1834, and 
his death occurred May 8, 1882 ; by this 
union were five children — William Wallace, 
Russell Henry, Frances Cordelia, Ella Nora 
and Zalia Isadene. (2) Arabella, born July 
I, 1816, was married in Nottawa, Novem- 
ber 19, 1835, to Leonard Stilson, and they 
had four children — Festus, Caroline Antoin- 
ette, Ernest Lionel and Agnes ; of these, 
Ernest L. , who lives in Corwith, Iowa, is 
the only surviving member of the family, his 
mother having died December 18, 1861. (3) 
Ann Janet, born July i, 1820, married Will- 
iam Connor, March 18, 1838, in Nottawa, 
and by this union were born four children — 
Mark W. , Clarinda, Helen Josephine, and 
Clinton, the last named being deceased ; 
Mrs. Ann Janet Connor died May 20, 1S69, 
and her husband and oldest daughter, Clar- 
inda, live at Wasepi, Mich. , the other two in 
California, one in Oakland, the other in Los 
Angeles. (4) Jerial, born .August 8, 1822, 
was married in Nottawa, June 26, 1844, to 
Betsy Ann Baldwin, and to them were born 
four children — Jerial Leonard, Ann Ger- 
trude, Rowena Arabella and Charles ; by 
his second union Jerial had four sons — 
Luther, Joseph, and two whose names are 
not given. (5) Almira Henrietta, born Sep- 
tember 22, 1835, wedded Darius Gee, Janu- 
ary 27, 1S53, and to them were born the 
following children — Charles (deceased), Mary 
Festus, Lillian (deceased), and Charles ; 
Mrs. Almira H. Gee died November 25, 

1874- 

After his marriage Mr. Huntle\' and his 



982 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



wife began housekeeping in the old log house 
which stood on the tract of eighty acres 
which he had purchased in St. Joseph county, 
Mich., where they made their home until 
1855. On November 3, 1851, he set out 
for California with the intention of there lo- 
cating if he found things satisfactory, as the 
rumors of the great gold discoveries had 
reached him, and he was desirous of secur- 
ing a fortune. He went by the way of the 
Panama route to San Francisco, and from 
there proceeded to Sacramento, where for 
six months he was engaged in taking sup- 
plies from that place to the mountains. He 
was then variously employed until his re- 
turn home, leaving San Francisco November 
3. '853, just two years after he left 
home. In January, 1855, he left Mich- 
igan for Wisconsin, reaching Buena Vista, 
February 14, 1855, where he purchased 160 
acres of land from the government. He 
traded forty acres, a wagon and sleigh for 
an old log house, which stood on eighty 
acres close by. This he moved on the clear- 
ing he had made, and there the family, who 
arrived the following April, made their home 
for ten years, when he erected a large frame 
dwelling, which continued to be their home 
until 1883, when they removed to their pres- 
ent home. In that year he built his present 
residence in Buena Vista, and now rents the 
home farm. He owns 350 acres in Sections 
8, 9, 7, 32 and 33, a part of which his son 
Frank operated, the remainder being rented. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Huntley have come four 
children, as follows: (i) Harriet Almira, 
born in Nottawa, Mich., December 27, 1844, 
was wedded to Charles Thorn, and they had 
one son, Manford C. ; she is now the wife 
of Dr. Clark A. Miner, and they make their 
home in Janesville, Wis. (2) Orra Olivia, 
born in Nottawa, October 11, 1849, died 
July 3, 1 85 1. (3) Fred Heman, born in 
Nottawa, the date of his birth being March i, 
1855, married Jemima Newby in Buena 
Vista, by wht)m he has two daughters — Hat- 
tie Belle and OUie May, and they now make 
their home in Stevens Point, Wis. (4) 
Frank E., born in Buena Vista, March 25, 
1 86 1, was married February 3, 1894, to 
Elva P. Fuller, of Buena Vista, where they 
now live. 



Mr. Huntley is an active worker in the 
Republican party, doing all in his power for 
its success. He has filled nearly every town- 
ship office, for six years was township treas- 
urer, supervisor twelve years, is the present 
town chairman, which office he has filled for 
six years, was town clerk one year, and for 
six years was justice of the peace. In 1869 
he was elected to the General Assembly of 
Wisconsin, and the following year was re- 
elected. During his term he served on sev- 
eral important committees, and always voted 
for any measure which would in any way bene- 
fit his locality or the people in general. He 
has been postmaster at Buena Vista upward 
of twenty years, having served under Buch- 
anan, Lincoln, Grant, Garfield and Harri- 
son. He is a minister of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, but has no permanent 
charge, being frequently called upon to fill 
the pulpits of neighboring churches. He 
evinces a deep interest in all matters per- 
taining to the Church, and contributed 
largely to the building of the house of wor- 
ship at Liberty Corners. Mr. Huntley is a 
very pleasant gentleman, with kindly smile 
and courteous manner, and is an eloquent 
speaker, whether in the pulpit or when 
working for the good of his party. He is 
very fond of his home and family, and is one 
of the most substantial, honored and highly- 
esteemed citizens of Portage county. He 
now conducts a general store at Liberty Cor- 
ners, which is sometimes attended to by his 
wife, who is a kindly motherly lady, with a 
pleasant and benevolent disposition. 

Mr. Huntley is strictly a self-made man 
of great natural powers, but whose oppor- 
tunities in youth were quite limited. He 
made the best use of his meagre advantages, 
and has now become a prosperous, well- 
educated man. 



CYRUS C. YAWKEY. The Upper 
Wisconsin Valley abounds in repre- 
sentative business men whose rec- 
ords will be perused by those to 
come, and therein could not fail to find 
eminent examples of thrift, progress and 
honesty well worthy of emulation. To 
the citizens of Oneida countv, and more 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



983 



especially the rising town of Hazelhurst, the 
mere mention of the name of the subject of 
these lines suggests almost invariably the 
idea of enterprise, intelligence and probity, 
attributes by which the entire family of the 
name have secured for themselves wide rec- 
ognition and well-merited respect. 

Mr. Yawkey was born August 29, 1862, 
in Chicago — the nursery of most progress- 
ive Western men — and is a son of Samuel 
W. Yawkey, a native of Ohio, born, in 1830, 
in the town of Massillon, a son of John H. 
and Lydia (Clyman) Yawkey, who were the 
parents of six children: Sameul W., Mary 
A., William C, Edwin F., Floria A., and 
Cordelia. John H. Yawkey was born near 
Philadelphia, and during the later years of 
his life was identified with the lumbering 
interests of the Saginaw Valley, Michigan, 
where he died in 1889; his wife, Lydia 
(Clyman), a lady of German descent, passed 
away in Detroit, in 188S. Samuel W. 
Yawkey married Mary U. Carpenter, and 
by her had three children: John C, Cyrus 
C, and Mary E. (now of fioney Island, 
La.). The father of these was also a lum- 
berman of the Saginaw Valley, commencing 
operations there in 1851. Later he remov- 
ed to Chicago, but in 18C3 returned to Sag- 
inaw, whence some years afterward he jour- 
neyed west to Nevada, passing the rest of 
his days there and dying at Elko, that State, 
in 1882. In his political preferences he 
was a stanch Republican, and his abilities 
received recognition by his election to prom- 
inent positions— both State and municipal: 
He served in the State Legislature (Michi- 
gan) two terms, and was elected mayor of 
East Saginaw in 1865. Socially, he was a 
Freemason of high standing, and was a 
Knight Templar. Essentially self-made, 
having entered the arena of active business 
life at the early age of twelve years, he as- 
cended the ladder of success by his own un- 
aided efforts, and was a busy man throughout 
his entire life. His widow, who is yet liv- 
ing, was born at Guilford, \'t., in 1833, 
daughter of Cyrus Carpenter, who was of 
English descent, coming of a prominent 
family of that name. 

Cyrus C. Yawkey, the subject proper of 
this review, received a liberal literary odu- 
02 



cation at the common schools of East Sag- 
inaw, Mich., after which he attended the 
Michigan Military Academy at Orchard 
Lake, where he graduated in 1881. After 
leaving school he clerked for some three 
years in a hardware store, at the end of 
which time he became a member of the 
firm of Yawkey & Corby n, at Saginaw, 
Mich. Here he remained nearly five years, 
when he sold out his interests in Michigan 
and moved to Wisconsin. On December 
17, 1888, the Yawkey & Lee Lumber Co., 
was formed, consisting of W. C. Yawkey 
(Detroit, Mich.), Cyrus C. Yawkey and 
Geo. W. Lee, the latter two being the act- 
ive members of the firm. In 1893 Mr. Lee 
retired from the firm, and the business was 
then incorporated as Yawkey Lumber Co., 
with William C. Yawkey as president, and 
Cyrus C. Yawkey as secretary-treasurer and 
general manager. The Yawkey Lumber 
Co. are large manufacturers of lumber, lath 
and shingles, and their e.xtensive plant is 
complete in all details. They have a large 
sawmill, planing-mill and box factory, all of 
which are located at Hazelhurst, and they 
also own and operate about fifteen miles of 
railroad, this railroad being used to haul the 
logs from the woods to the mill. 

In 1887, at Ann Arbor, Mich., Cyrus C. 
Yawkey was united in marriage with Miss 
Alice M. Richardson, a native of that city, 
and one daughter, Leigh, has come to 
brighten their home. Mrs. Yawkey is a 
daughter of Noah C. and Susanna (Turner) 
Richardson, both natives of New York, the 
former of whom, who was a wholesale mer- 
chant, died in 1869. His widow subsequent- 
ly married E. A. Spence, and now lives at 
Ann Arbor, Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Noah C. 
Richardson had children as follows: Susie, 
Jessie C, Alice M. and Helen D. Mr. Cyrus 
C. Yawkey, like his worthy father before 
him, is a strong and ardent Republican, tak- 
ing much interest in the workings of his 
party. He has been chairman of the town 
of Hazelhurst ever since its organization, 
and served as chairman of the county board 
in 1891-92-93. In 1894 he was elected to 
the State Legislature of Wisconsin by a 
handsome majority, he receiving 4, 168 votes 
to his opponent's 2,292. While a resident 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



of Michigan he was commissioned in 1888, 
b}' Gov. Luce, captain of Company E, 
Third Regiment, Michigan National Guards, 
and in 1889 was promoted to major. Mr. 
Yawkey has acquired a more than ordinary 
practical education in addition to his supe- 
rior literary training, and is recognized as a 
man of high integrity and solid worth, and 
of such men of enterprise the State of Wis- 
consin is justly proud. 



THOMAS MORGAN, one of the suc- 
cessful farmers of Lanark township. 
Portage county, has lived an event- 
ful and active life. He was a brave 
soldier in the war of the Rebellion, and 
fought gallantly on many a hard-won battle- 
field. He has been actively interested in 
the lumbering interests of Wisconsin, and 
has in his time contracted a large quantity 
of timber. Now a prominent farmer, his 
station and standing in life have come to him 
through his own personal efforts, 

Mr. Morgan was born in Ireland May 29, 
1843. His mother, Elizabeth Reynolds, 
was the daughter of a Scotchman, and his 
father, William Morgan, born in June, 181 8, 
was of Welsh extraction and a mason by 
trade. In his youth he had visited Canada, 
and returning to Ireland he there married 
Miss Reynolds, January 21, 1841. Three 
years after his marriage the young mason 
with his wife and son Thomas emigrated to 
Canada, five years later, in 1849, coming to 
Wisconsin. He followed his trade for a 
time at Sheboygan Falls, then bought forty 
acres of new land in Cato township, Mani- 
towoc county. There were no roads here, 
and Mr. Morgan carried provisions on his 
back from Manitowoc, a distance of twelve 
miles. In the fall of i860 he removed to 
Rantoul township, Calumet county, then a 
new county also, but with some improve- 
ments. In May, 1861, he enlisted at Chil- 
ton in Company K, Fourth Wis. V. I., and 
while on his way home on a furlough, died 
at Fond du Lac, September 25, 1863; he 
was buried at Chilton. The children of 
William Morgan were: Thomas; William, 
who was born in Canada July 24, 1845, and 
died in Los Angeles, Cal., December 5, 



1890 (he was a member of Company E. 
Fourteenth Wis. V. I.); George, born in 
Canada, and died January i, 1852, in She- 
boygan county; Eleanor, who was born in 
Canada, August 2, 1849, married Frank 
Powers, and died in Wausau, Wis., October 
26, 1876; David, born in Sheboygan coun- 
ty, April I, 1852, a farmer of Farmington 
township, Waupaca county; Reynolds, born 
June 13, 1855, in Manitowoc county. Wis., 
and died in Wausau, Wis., December 19, 
1875; Mary A., born September 16, 1857, 
married Ed Ross, and died January 2. 1894, 
in Farmington township, Waupaca county. 
Wis.; Elizabeth, born January 13, 1859, 
now Mrs. D. Alton Ross, of Waupaca. The 
death of Mr. Morgan left his widow and 
children in straitened circumstances. He- 
roically she struggled to keep the little ones 
together until her death, in February, 1866. 
Typhoid fever had entered the family, and 
the widow, worn down by her constant at- 
tendance at the bedside of her three children, 
contracted the disease and succumbed to its 
ravages She was buried by her patriot 
husband's side, at Chilton cemetery. 

Thomas Morgan, the eldest child, began 
attending school in Canada, and later re- 
ceived some instruction in Wisconsin. In 
Manitowoc county his father and neighbors 
organized the first school in the neighbor- 
hood. When the Rebellion first broke out, 
Thomas; then nearly eighteen, was an.xious 
to enlist, but the father had gone, and for a 
few months the entreaties of the mother 
prevailed; in September of that year, how- 
ever, he went to Sheboygan Falls, and there 
enlisted in Company H, First Wis. \'. I., 
which had served its three- months' term and 
was reorganized for three years. From 
Milwaukee the regiment proceeded to Jeffer- 
sonville, Ind. After a month's drilling there 
it crossed the Ohio into Kentucky, and first 
met the enemy at Salt River; then it par- 
ticipated in the desperate struggle at Perry- 
ville, Ky., October 8, 1862, and here he 
was slightly wounded by a ba\onet thrust. 
Stone River and Chickamauga followed. In 
the latter severe engagement Mr. Morgan 
was three times captured, and each time he 
escaped, an incident that is in itself proof of 
the protracted and hand-to-hand struggle in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



985 



which the First Wisconsin was engaged. 
The regiment, and with it Mr. Morgan, par- 
ticipated in all the battles of that campaign; 
it was at Missionary' Ridge and Lookout 
Mountain, and in the operations around 
Chattanooga and Nashville; it entered upon 
the Atlanta campaign, and took part in the 
engagements around that city. At Jones- 
boro, Ga., September i, 1864, Mr. Morgan 
fired his last shot. His term of service had 
expired. His mother at home was a widow, 
struggling to support her family. He had 
been sending her his pay as a soldier, but he 
felt that she needed his personal assistance. 
In November he was honorably discharged 
at Milwaukee, and came to Chilton. For a 
year he engaged in farming. He then went 
South, to Clarksville, Tenn., and took a 
farm of 400 acres to work on shares. There 
he remained a year and a half, and was of- 
fered a good salary to stay longer, but he 
did not like the country. The war feeling 
had not yet subsided, and his life was con- 
stantly endangered. Returning to Wiscon- 
sin in the spring of 1867, he took the con- 
tract for the building of twenty-five miles of 
fence along the Chicago & North Western 
railroad between Des Moines and Council 
Bluffs, Iowa. 

In the fall he returned to Chilton, W'is. , 
and there he was married, November 14, 
1867, to Eunice Breed, a native of Sharon, 
Penn., daughter of J. H. and Olive (Lawton) 
Breed, the former of whom was a merchant 
and hotel proprietor in the city of her birth. 
After marriage Mr. Morgan rented a farm in 
Rantoul township, Calumet county. A year 
later he gave up farming and entered the 
lumber woods, taking charge of a camp. He 
followed this life until 1890, and for nine 
years he worked for one firm. During the 
last winter he put in 14,000,000 feet of lum- 
ber. In 1880 Mr. Morgan had purchased a 
farm in Section 3, Lanark township, and 
excepting the winter of 1884-85 the family 
has ever since resided there. A record of 
the names and dates of the birth of his chil- 
dren is as follows: John T. , January 11, 
1869; William G., September i, 1872, died 
June 16, 1874; David H., April 29, 1877; 
Frank L., March 13, 1882; Olive E., July 
25, 1885; Ray E., January 1, 1888. Mr. 



Morgan owns a farm of 180 acres, and has 
erected all the substantial buildings it con- 
tains. He is a stanch Republican, and is 
now serving his third term as chairman of 
the township. Himself and family attend 
the M. E. Church. As a thoroughly self- 
made man, as a representative citizen of the 
township, as an experienced lumberman, as 
a kind-hearted father and husband, and as 
an obliging neighbor, Mr. Morgan is highly 
esteemed and respected by all who know 
him. 



JAMES ISHERWOOD. Among the 
leading and influential farmers of 
Plover township. Portage county, who 
thoroughly understand their business 
and pursue the vocation of their chosen 
calling in a methodical and workmanlike 
manner, is the subject of this biography. 
He is a native of England, born in Rams- 
bottom, Lancashire, near Manchester, Jan- 
uary 17, 1833, a son of James and Ellen 
(Brocton) Isherwood, who had a family of 
six children, viz. : Mary (the widow of 
Abraham Coolthurst), now residing in Stev- 
ens Point, Wis.; James, our subject; Rich- 
ard, who died in the prime of life from an 
injury sustained in the back; Henry, a farm- 
er living near Stevens Point; Ellen, wife of 
J. White, of Bancroft, Wis., and Alice, 
wife of Charles Webster, and still a resi- 
dent of England. The father was a mer- 
chant in his native land, where both he and 
his wife spent their entire lives. 

The education of James Isherwood was 
very meager, as he was only able to attend 
school for about one month. Being the old- 
est son, he had to aid in t-he support of the 
family, and remained at home until he 
reached the age of seventeen, at which 
time he sailed for America, landing in New 
York In 185 r, after a voyage of five weeks. 
He came direct to Milwaukee, Wis., and 
from there proceeded to Portage City with 
oxen. He had a sister living at Wausau, 
Wis., and to that place he then walked, a 
distance of one hundred miles, which, as 
there were no roads laid out, was a most 
arduous task. After arriving at that place 
he began working for his brother-in-law, 



986 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBtCAL RECORD. 



with whom he remained two years, and then 
went into the woods and engaged in mak- 
ing shingles and " driving the river." He re- 
mained there some eight years, during which 
time he was chiefly engaged in teaming. 

On December 25, 1862, Mr. Isherwood 
was united in marriage with Miss Almirette 
Taylor, a daughter of George E. and Clar- 
issa (Graves) Taylor, of Plover. She is a 
native of Wisconsin, born February 5, 1843, 
in Darien, Walworth county. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Isherwood have been born seven chil- 
dren, as follows : Clara, at home ; Ellen, 
now the wife of Henry Edwards, of Grand 
Rapids, Wis. ; Edwin, a resident of Plover ; 
and James, George, Henry and Grace, all 
four with their parents at home. The year 
following his marriage, Mr. Isherwood pur- 
chased seventy-six acres of land in Section 
I , Plover township. Portage county, which 
comprises a portion of his present farm. 
There were some old buildings on the place ; 
but he has rebuilt, and also erected a hotel, 
which he has since conducted. He has en- 
larged his farm until it now contains 460 
acres, of which about 135 are under the plow, 
and it is considered one of the best farms of 
the neighborhood. He has witnessed the 
many changes that have taken place in this 
portion of the State since his arrival, and 
has contributed his share toward its advance- 
ment. 

In connection with his hotel, he engages 
in general farming and lumbering, and the 
success that has come to him has been due 
to the united efforts of both himself and his 
noble wife. He was the first man to bring 
a separator into Portage county, and has 
also carried on a creamery business to some 
e.xtent. He was one of the active and pro- 
gressive men of the county, and takes great 
interest in all matters calculated to enhance 
its value, or to benefit his fellowman. Po- 
litically, he is independent, and has served 
as a member of the town board. 



WILLIAM GUSTIN, a prominent 
farmer of Almond township. Port- 
age county, is a native of Canada, 
and the grandson of two Revolu- 
tionary martyrs. Hewasbornm Lower Can- 



ada July 18, 1832, son of Josiah and Esther 
(Kimpton) Gustin, natives of New Hamp- 
shire, who migrated to Canada. Both the 
grandmothers of William Gustin were gov- 
ernment pensioners. Josiah Gustin was a 
successful farmer, and owned 250 acres of 
land. He had seven children: Loren, who 
died in Canada; Abigail, deceased; Josiah, 
now living on the old homestead in 
Canada; Norman, who died in Canada; 
William; John, a farmer in Canada; and 
Esther, widow of Gilbert Blake, of Canada. 
The father died in 1862, aged seventy years, 
the mother surviving until 1878. 

Like his brothers and sisters William re- 
ceived a common-school education, but un- 
like them he migrated to the United States. 
At the age of seventeen years he went to 
Boston, where he railroaded six months. 
He was then watchman at a Lowell (Mass.) 
cotton factory for a year, and in 185 1 he 
went to California, where for four years was 
engaged in gold digging with varying suc- 
cess, taking out precious metal to a value 
as high as $100 in one day. Returning to 
Canada he was married, September 3, 1856, 
to Caroline Buzzell, daughter of John and 
Caroline (Spinney) Buzzell, whose seven 
children were as follows: Betsy, now Mrs. 
Thomas Williamson, of Canada; Lydia, 
who married David Merrill, and is now de- 
ceased; Lovina, Mrs. George Farmer, of 
Canada; Nancy, wife of Alonzo Wood, of 
Almond township; John, deceased; Caroline, 
Mrs. Gustin; and Sally, who died at the age 
of five years. John Buzzell was a native 
of New Hampshire, and when five years old 
migrated with his father, Robert Buzzell, 
from that State to Canada. Caroline Spin- 
ney was born in Canada, but her father, 
Mark Spinney, was descended from old 
Puritan stock. John Buzzell owned 160 
acres of land in Canada, which his father 
had cleared. He died in Canada in 1864, 
his wife in 1884. 

In October, 1856, soon after his mar- 
riage, William Gustincameto Wisconsin and 
settled upon 120 acres of land in Section 18, 
Almond township. Portage county, which 
he bought from his brother-in-law, Alonzo 
Wood, who had come to Wisconsin in 
1854. A small frame house, 16 x 22, stood 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



987 



on the place, and for a year both Mr. Gus- 
tin and Mr. Wood Hved there. Together 
the two pioneers cleared and broke sixty- 
three acres of land, Mr. Gustin then owning 
an ox-team. In later years more acres were 
added. Mr. Gustin has bought land to the 
extent of 500 acres, and now has an excel- 
lent farm of 200 acres, acquired by the 
united efforts of himself and his faithful 
wife, who has nobly stood by him in every 
emergency. They are the parents of five 
children: William, who died aged two 
years; George, of Almond township; Lillie 
Etta, now Mrs. O. M. Baldwin, of Mon- 
tana; John, of Almond township; and Will- 
iam, at home. In 1883 Mr. and Mrs. Gus- 
tin paid a visit to their old home in Canada, 
which they had not seen for twenty-seven 
years. They were warmly welcomed by 
their many friends and relatives, and re- 
mained three weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Gustin 
are members of the M. E. Church. Polit- 
ically, he is a Republican; socially, he is a 
prominent member of Almond Lodge, No. 
284, I. O. O. F. 



ELLIS HICKS was a poor "squat- 
ter" in Portage county before the 
land was surveyed. The cabin he 
had constructed and occupied was 
destroyed by fire. The land to which he 
was morally entitled by precedence of occu- 
pation he was not able to pay for at once, 
and a wealthier, if less scrupulous, indivi- 
dual entered the farm and took possession. 
Most men, thus ousted, would have left the 
neighborhood; not so Ellis Hicks. He was 
a sturdy young Englishman, ambitious and 
law abiding, but not easily swerved by 
fortuitous circumstances from a locality 
which pleased him. He lingered near and 
obtained a start, purchased a few acres, 
added to them, and to-day he and his only 
son, David Hicks, own 490 acres of well- 
improved land, and are among the foremost 
farmers of Almond township. Portage coun- 
ty. The life of Ellis Hicks illustrates in a 
convincing way the endurance and strength 
of his character. 

He was born in Maids Moreton, Eng- 
land, November i, 1S25, second son of 



George and Jane (Line) Hicks, the former 
of whom was a poor man, a laborer, and 
reared a family of eight children, who be- 
came widely scattered. One son and one 
daughter, Lucy, went to Australia; one 
daughter now lives in London, England, 
and four of the children are dead, Ellis be- 
ing the only one in the family to come to 
America. The latter's education was very 
slight, he being principally a self-taught 
man. His mother died when he was nine 
years old, and his father two years later. In 
1845 Ellis, then twenty years old, came to 
America, landing at New York, and for four 
years he worked at daily labor in New 
York State. But the West attracted him, 
and he migrated to Green Lake, Wis., 
where he remained two years. He then 
came to what is now Almond township. 
Portage county, and like many others took 
a claim of 160 acres. The land had just 
been purchased by the government from the 
Indians, and was not yet surveyed. He 
owned at the time and brought with him a 
yoke of oxen. A trail was cut to Stevens 
Point, and Mr. Hicks often counted as 
many as seventy teams going to that hust- 
ling little village, then beginning to boom 
owing to the lumber interests in that lo- 
cality. Meeting with the double misfortune 
of a fire loss, and dispossession through 
inability to perfect his title, Mr. Hicks took 
a forty-acre claim in Section 34, same 
township. It was prairie land, and he occu- 
pied it ten years, building a log house. 
While here he was married in 1852, to 
Jeannette Bell. About i860 Mr. Hicks 
purchased six acres of land in Section 34 
and erected a frame house. He farm- 
ed and prospered, bought more land, 
adding gradually to his possessions until 
they reached 490 acres, including land 
owned by his son. When Mr. Hicks first 
came to the township, Wautoma, sixteen 
miles distant, was the nearest trading sta- 
tion. He has been a faithful worker, and 
has made all the improvements on his ex- 
cellent farm. In politics he is a stanch 
Republican, and his religious connection is 
with the M. E. Church. Socially he is a 
member of Plainfield Lodge No. 208, F. & 
A. M. Mrs. Hicks died of blood poisoning 



988 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in 1886. To Mr. and Mrs. Hicks two chil- 
dren were born, of whom the elder, George, 
died of scarlet fever at the age of seven 
years. 

David Hicks, the younger son of Ellis 
and Jeannette Hicks, was born May 9, 
1855. He received a good common-school 
education, and attended the Beaver Dam 
High School one year. But Mr. Hicks is 
indebted for his education to his own judi- 
cious and extensive reading to a greater de- 
gree than to the hours he spent in the 
schoolroom. He began work on the farm 
when quite young, and can remember when 
he was tied to the seat of a reaper and 
drove the team before he was old enough to 
sit there safely without that protection. He 
has always lived at home, and in the forty 
years of his life he has only earned one dol- 
lar away from the farm. He was married, 
September 15, 1880, to Kate E. Fisher, 
daughter of Philip and Mary A. (Lea) 
Fisher, now residents of Almond township. 
David and Kate Hicks have two children: 
Stewart E., born March 9, 1882, and an 
infant born October i, 1895. Politically, 
Mr. Hicks is an earnest Republican; in relig- 
ious faith, he is an active member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he 
is now steward and trustee; socially, he is 
prominently identified with Almond Lodge 
No. 228, I. O. O. F. 



CHARLES E. DUNAVEN. As an 
enterprising and wide-awake busi- 
ness man of Plover, Portage county, 
and one who through his own efforts 
has established himself among the promi- 
nent and well-to-do men of the city, we take 
pleasure in giving a brief biography of the 
gentleman whose name here appears. He 
is a leading furniture dealer, and also en- 
gages in the insurance business to some 
extent. 

Mr. Dunaven was born in Washington, 
Mass., June 16, 1848, and is a son of Will- 
iam Dunaven, a miller by occupation, and 
Sophia (Hall) Dunaven, who reared a family 
of ten children, in order of birth as follows: 
Philander, a farmer of Grand Rapids, Mich., 
who departed this life in 1893; William, 



who died in the State of Washington; Emma, 
now Mrs. Louis Hill, of Kansas; Mary, the 
widow of John Lester, of Dayton, Ohio; 
Samuel, a millwright of Grand Rapids, Wis. ; 
Maluria, residing in Worcester, Mass. ; Charles 
E., our subject; George, living in Engle- 
wood. 111. ; and Irving and Robert, both mill- 
wrights of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. 

The boyhood of our subject was passed 
in the Bay State, where in the common 
schools he received his education. He re- 
mained at home until fourteen years of age, 
since when he has made his own way in the 
world, and for a time engaged in farming 
with his older brother. At the age of eight- 
een he learned the cabinet-maker's trade, 
but later became a millwright, which occu- 
pation he followed for some fifteen years. 
His father died in 1 866 at the age of seventy- 
eight years, and three j'ears later our sub- 
ject, accompanied by his mother and two 
brothers, migrated to Wisconsin, locating 
in W^ausau, where he engaged in the furni- 
ture business. At the end of eight months, 
however, he came to Stevens Point and was 
employed in a sawmill. After making that 
place his home for about four 3'ears, he re- 
moved to Plover, where for two years he 
worked at the carpenter's trade, but in 1887 
opened a furniture store on his own account, 
which he still conducts with marked success. 
His goods are of an excellent grade, and he 
carries in stock a full and complete line of 
everything found in a first-class establish- 
ment of the kind. He also has the agency 
for several insurance companies, doing an 
excellent business in that line. 

On July 4, 1885, Mr. Dunaven was 
united in marriage with Amelia Waters, a 
daughter of James and Elizabeth (Upson) 
Waters, the former a native of England, the 
latter of New York. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Waters have been born three children — 
Louisa, Jerome and Amelia. The father 
for many years was a lumberman, but finally 
located in Plover, Wis., where he now con- 
ducts a saloon. To our subject and his 
wife was born December 4, 1 892, one daugh- 
ter, named Frances. Mr. Dunaven has al- 
ways been associated with the Democratic 
party, and has held several offices of trust 
in Portage count\-; for nine consecutive vears 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIVAL RECORD. 



he was town clerk, while for ten years he 
served as postmaster at Plover. He is a 
member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge No. 80, 
and enjoys in a marked degree the confi- 
dence and esteem of his fellow citizens, 
while in business he has ever been straight- 
forward and honest in all his dealings. 



EDWARD MONDAY, one of the pio- 
neer and successful farmers of Al- 
mond township, Portage county, 
was born in Lower Canada, Janu- 
ary 25. 1832, son of Bernard and Mary L. 
(Munville) Monday. 

Bernard Monday was born in Irelanii in 
February. 1799, and came to Canada in 
1818, where he married Mary L. Munville, 
a native of Canada. Bernard was an edu- 
cated young man, scion of a distinguished 
family, and he knew far more about letters 
and languages than he did about farming, 
and was often called upon to transaci busi- 
ness for his neighbors. He purchased 200 
acres of wild land in Lower Canada and com- 
menced to clear it; the first tree he chopped 
he began right ; but before the tree fell he had 
chopped as high as his axe would reach. 
Notwithstanding his ignorance of farming 
he prospered. He reared a family of twelve 
children, as follows: John, deceased; Anna, 
deceased; Eliza, deceased; Edward, sub- 
ject of this sketch; Peter, who now occu- 
pies the old homestead in Canada; Joseph, 
of Montreal, Canada; Mary, of Canada; 
Delema, deceased; and four whose names 
are unknown, born since Edward left home. 
The father and mother lived on the old 
homestead until their deaths, which occurred 
in 1874 and 1876 respectively. 

Edward Monday never attended school 
a day in his life, but under his father's in- 
struction he soon learned to read and write. 
When eighteen years of age he started out 
in life for himself and came to Wisconsin, 
where for four years he worked in the lum- 
ber woods. On October 30, 1853, he was 
married, in Columbia county. Wis., to Em- 
ma Murray, daughter of Stephen Murray, a 
pioneer of English extraction, who brought 
his family to Columbia county, and there 
engaged in farming until his death. In 1854 



Mr. Monday purchased 100 acres of govern- 
ment land in Almond township. Portage 
county, paying for it $1.25 per acre. It 
was wild land and contained no buildings. 
Mr. and Mrs. Monday lived with Walter 
Dickson, a neighbor, until they could erect 
a small one-story frame house, 14 x 24, and 
it was a happy day for the young couple 
when they moved into this primitive house. 
Mr. Monday and Albert Wood owned a yoke 
of oxen between them, and in partnership 
they engaged in making shingles. Mr. Mon- 
day broke the land gradually, being so en- 
gaged only when he had no work elsewhere, 
for he depended at first upon outside labor 
for his living. The first crop was wheat, 
and Mr. Monday drew it forty miles to Ber- 
lin with an ox-team, the trip requiring four 
days. The original 100 acres is now all til- 
lable, and is still owned by Mr. Monday. 
His wife died in 1878, leaving four children: 
Eliza, now Mrs. A. D. Rogers, of Almond 
township; Mary, now Mrs. Max Smith, of 
Stevens Point; Ella, Mrs. John Chamber- 
lain, of Stevens Point, and Carrie, Mrs. 
Wyman Smith, of Wausau. In August, 
1882, Mr. Monday, for his second wife, mar- 
ried Miss Mary Dickson, daughter of Sam- 
uel Dickson, a carpenter and farmer, who 
came to Almond township from Iowa and 
purchased a farm, whereon he died in 1890. 
He reared a large family, only two of whom 
now survive: Mrs. Monday, and Mrs. C. A. 
Smith, of South Dakota. By this second 
marriage there is one child, Mabel, now at- 
tending school. Politically Mr. Monday is 
a Republican. He is a prominent member 
of Almond Lodge, No. 284, I. O. O. F., 
and has served his township as supervisor. 
He is widely and favorably known as one of 
the most influential and reliable farmers of 
Almond township. 



JOHN E. MARTIN, the leading attor- 
ney of Langlade county, and superin- 
tendent of the public schools of Anti- 
go, is a native of Pennsylvania, born at 
Meadville, Crawford county, November 20, 
1856, a son of Alexander and Caroline (Her- 
sey) Martin. 

Alexander Martin, father of our subject, 



990 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was born in Nairnshire, Scotland, in 1822, 
a son of James Martin, who was chief stew- 
ard for the Duke of Gordon's estate, was 
married to Jane E. Urquhart, and by her 
had seven children, James, William, John 
and Alexander being the only ones whose 
names are now known. James Martin, the 
father of these, came alone to America some 
time in the "thirties," making his first home 
in the United States on the Ohio Reserva- 
tion; the family following him about the year 
1838. He was a stone contractor by voca- 
tion, but after coming to America he fol- 
lowed farming, owning, at the time of his 
death, a considerable amount of land. He 
died in 1862, in Ohio, his wife surviving him 
till 1865, when she too passed away at the 
advanced age of ninety years. The son, 
Alexander, was a lad of sixteen summers 
when he came to America with his mother, 
and entering Allegheny College, at Mead- 
ville, Penn., passed through the entire cur- 
riculum, graduating at the head of his class, 
well-equipped, intellectually, for the profes- 
sion of educator, which he followed the rest 
of his life. He was principal of the North- 
western Academy, at Clarksburg, W. Va. , a 
number of years, after which he was elected 
professor of Greek, in Allegheny College, 
where he remained some eleven years. 
When yet a young man he was ordained a 
minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and on leaving Allegheny College became 
pastor of the Fourth M. E. Church of 
Wheeling, W. Va. While there he was 
elected president of the West Virginia State 
University, holding that position from 1867 
to 1874. when he resigned to accept a simi- 
lar position in the Asbury University, Indi- 
ana, now DePauw University, Greencastle, 
Ind. In this capacity he served until 1889, 
when he resigned, retaining, however, the 
chair of mental and moral philosophy until 
his death in 1893. At Clarksville, Va. , he 
was married to Miss Caroline Hersey, a na- 
tive of that State, and a member of an old 
Southern family, to which union were born 
five children, to wit: James V., John E., 
Charles A., Edwin L. , and Anna I. Of 
these, James V. was principal of the public 
schools of Greenfield, Ind., and is now de- 
ceased; Charles A. was principal of the 



school for boys at Calcutta, India, five years, 
until his health failed, and is now a resident 
of Greencastle, Ind. (for a short time he was 
editor of the Rcpiil>licaii at Antigo, Wis.); 
Edwin L. is connected with the firm of 
Crawford, Ebersole & Smith, of Cincinnati, 
Ohio; Anna I. married E. E. Whitehead, an 
attorney-at-law, of Denver, Colo., and died 
leaving no children. The father of this 
family during the Civil war was president 
of the West Virginia Christian Commission, 
and was at the front most of the time, 
though not in the capacity of a belligerent; 
was twice captured by the enemy, but re- 
leased each time on account of his civic po- 
sition. He was a delegate to the General 
Conference of the M. E. Church four times; 
attended the M. E. Conference held in Lon- 
don, England, and the Centennial Confer- 
ence convened in Baltimore, Md. — in fact 
he was a most zealous worker in the M. E. 
Church, and took a lively and active inter- 
est in everything pertaining to education. 

John E. Martin, the subject proper of 
this memoir, received his elementary educa- 
tion at the common schools of his native 
city, afterward attending the State Univer- 
sity of West Virginia, and DePauw Uni- 
versity, Indiana, at which latter institute he 
was graduated in 1878; later he entered the 
law office of S. P. Hornbrook, Evansville, 
Ind., remaining there until the summer of 
1880, when his health failing, he came to 
Wisconsin, and in the office of Myron Reed, 
Waupaca, renewed his law studies. Here 
he continued till March, 1882, the date of 
his coming to Antigo, and here at once es- 
tablished his present law office. 

On December 22, 1882, Mr. Martin was 
united in marriage, at Waupaca, with Miss 
Hattie Goldin, daughter of John and Susan 
Vander Werken Goldin, people of Holland 
descent, and natives of New York, where 
the father died when the daughter Hattie 
was quite a child; there were only two chil- 
dren: Hattie and Mary. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Martin have been born three children: Carl 
G., Alexander J. and Anna. In National 
politics our subject is a straight Republican, 
but in State, county and city he casts his 
ballot irrespective of party considerations. 
He has been honored with election to the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



991 



positions of district attorney and county 
judge; has served on the county board, and 
as alderman, and member of the school 
board, taking an exceptionally active inter- 
est in educational affairs; he was elected to 
the position of superintendent of the Anti- 
go public schools. Socially, he is a promi- 
nent Freemason, for five years holding oflfice 
in his Lodge, and is a member of several 
college fraternities. 



JAMES E. DEVENS, justice of the 
peace and insurance agent, is one of 
the oldest and best known settlers of 
Weyauwega, Waupaca county, having 
been for forty-four years, or since 185 i, a 
resident of that town and township. He 
came to Wisconsin in 1847, settling in Vin- 
land township, Winnebago county, and four 
j'ears later came to Weyauwega. 

Jacob Devens, the paternal grandfather, 
was a native of Holland, and an early set- 
tler of Sullivan county, N. Y. , passing the 
remainder of his days in that State ; his son 
Jacob, father of James E., was born in 
New York, and married Margaret Gumaer, 
also a native of that State, whose father. 
Col. Elias Du Puy Gumaer, had served in 
the war of 1812, and was a prominent con- 
tractor and builder at Washington, D. C, 
where he resided ; he owned a farm in On- 
ondaga county, N. Y, and died at Manlius, in 
that county. His widow came west in 1847, 
and ended her days in Oshkosh, Wis. 
Jacob Devens migrated from Onondaga 
county, N. Y., in 1847, settling on a new 
farm in Vinland township, Winnebago 
Co., Wis., which he improved, making 
his home there until his death in 1874. 
Politically he was an unwavering Democrat, 
and he was one of the organisers of Vinland 
township. His wife died on the old farm in 
1880. They reared a family of seven chil- 
dren, as follows : James E. ; Charles, a 
farmer of Minnesota; Edward, a California 
ranchman and fruit grower ; Abram, who 
moved to Texas before the Civil war, and 
afterward died at Nashville, Tenn. ; Mary, 
wife of Charles Vosburg, a pioneer of Osh- 
kosh ; Abram, who resides on the old home- 
stead in Vinland township, Winnebago 



county, and Frances, married to a Chicago 
man. 

James E. Devens, the eldest of this fam- 
ily, was born in 1832 in Onondaga county, 
N. Y. , was reared and educated in the coun- 
ties of Onondaga and Niagara, and when 
about fifteen years old, in 1847, came with 
his parents' family to Wisconsin. He helped 
clear the farm, and four years later accept- 
ed a clerkship in the store of his uncle, C. 
L. Gumaer, at Weyauwega. Some time 
after he joined a corps of engineers, en- 
gaged in sectionizing the county, and after 
the work here was completed he accompa- 
nied the party on their work as far as Coun- 
cil Bluffs, Iowa, and assisted in laying the 
foundations for the Rock Island bridge across 
the Mississippi river. Young Mr. Devens 
was gaining a liberal education by his trav- 
els, and was not yet quite ready to conclude 
that he had completed the course. Return- 
ing to Weyauwega, he started in the follow- 
ing fall for New Orleans, and assisted in sec- 
tionizing that southern country in the vicin- 
ity of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. 
On the return trip he stopped at Davenport 
and engaged in surveying in that locality for 
a time, casting his first vote in that city, 
and subsequently returning to Weyauwega, 
where he has since continuously resided. 
He is now engaged in the insurance busi- 
ness, life and accident, writing for the North- 
western Masonic, the American Mutual (ac- 
cident) and the Northwestern Benevolent of 
Duluth. 

In 1865 he was married to Miss Mary 
Ann Chambers, a native of New York, 
daughter of William and Johanna (Evans) 
Chambers, the former of whom was born 
near Utica, N. Y. ; the latter, also a native 
of New York State, born of Welsh ancestry. 
William Chambers was a son of William 
Chambers, a soldier of the war of 181 2, 
who with his wife migrated to Weyauwega 
in 1864, remaining there honored and re- 
spected through life. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Devens have been born three children: 
(1) Kate is the wife of George E. Sackett, 
editor of the Phillips (Wis.) Times, and 
has one child — Freeman Devens. (2) 
Charles A. went to Hoaquim, Gray's Har- 
bor, Wash., in 1889, took up a claim, and 



992 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



resided there about two years, in about 1892 
removing to Portland, where he was en- 
gaged in the real-estate business. (3) Mar- 
garet A. is assistant postmistress at Phil- 
lips. George E. Sackett is a graduate of 
Lawrence University, formerl\- resided at 
Fifield, and a year ago suffered a complete 
loss of his newspaper plant by fire. In 1890 
Mr. Devens paid a visit to his son on the 
Pacific coast, then living at Hoaquim, 
Gray's Harbor; he visited many points of 
interest, and returned via the Canadian Pa- 
cific railroad. Mr. Devens has been prom- 
inent in the politics of Waupaca county, of 
which for fourteen }'ears he was deputy 
sheriff; he has also served as sheriff, and at 
present holds the office of justice of the 
peace. He is an unswerving Democrat. 
Among the social orders he is a member of 
Weyauwega Lodge, No. 282, F. & A. M., 
and for twelve or fourteen years was Wor- 
shipful Master of the same. As one of the 
pioneers of the county, he has witnessed 
with marked interest and pride its develop- 
ment, for to him is due no inconsiderable 
share of the credit for the public efforts 
that have made the thriving community in 
which he lives what it is. 



WILLIAM A. PORS, of Marshtield, 
is numbered among the leading 
members of the bar of Wood 
county. In mercantile life one 
may start out on a more advanced plane 
than others, may come into possession of a 
business already established and carry it 
still further forward on the road to prosper- 
ity; but in the legal profession one must 
commence at the beginning, must win and 
plead his first case, and must work his way 
upward by merit or not at all. . The envi- 
able position which Mr. Pors occupies has 
been thus gained, and untiring efforts and 
close application have been the stepping 
stones by which he has " crossed the Rubi- 
con." 

Mr. Pors was born in Hamburg, Ger- 
many, in November, 1827, a son of Hans 
Hansen Pors, who was of Danish descent. 
He was born, in 1792, in O.xen Wad, near 
Hadersleben, now a part of Germany, and 



became a merchant of Hamburg. In 18 13 
he married Anna E. Petersen, and they be- 
came the parents of the following children: 
Gustaf, Louisa, William A. and Hans. The 
father died in 1862, the mother some years 
previous. William A. remained in his na- 
tive land during his minority, and acquired 
his education in the common schools. At 
the age of sixteen he went on a large estate 
for the purpose of learning practical farming, 
at which he served three years, his father pay- 
ing for the privilege of having him thus train- 
ed. He was then chosen superintendent of 
the agricultural part of the Redwein estate, 
which he managed until 1849, the year of 
his emigration to America. Here he took 
up farming, following that occupation for a 
year in Farmington township, Washington 
Co., Wis. ; but not being satisfied with that 
mode of life he went to the East, spending 
some time in New Hampshire and Massa- 
chusetts in the study of law. In December, 
1853, he was admitted to the bar, and then 
again came to Wisconsin. 

Mr. Pors has since successfully engaged 
in the practice of law, or in work connected 
with the legal profession. He first opened 
an office in Port Washington, Wis., where 
he remained until 1886, in which year he 
went to Washington, D. C, to serve as a 
law clerk in the office of Secretary Vilas, 
continuing his labors in that capacity until 
1 890, when on account of failing health he 
was obliged to resign. He then left the 
Capitol City, and spent three months in 
New York, after which he came to Marsh- 
field, Wis., where he entered into the prac- 
tice of law, and is now senior member of 
the well-known law firm of W. A. & E. C. 
Pors, which enjoys a very liberal clientage. 
In 1862 our subject was a commissioner 
during the riot in Ozaukee county, Wis- 
consin. 

In New York City, in 1859, Mr. Pors 
was united in marriage with Miss Ida Heine- 
mann, a native of Hanover, Germany, who 
at the time of her marriage was visiting her 
brother, Emil Heinemann, now a banker in 
London, England. Mr. and Mrs. Pors have 
one child, PZmil Q. Mr. Pors has a wide 
acquaintance among the Democratic leaders 
in Wisconsin, and is recognized as a prom- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



993 



inent member of the party in this State. 
For ten successive years he was elected dis- 
trict attorney of Ozaukee county, and his 
long service was in itself a well-deserved 
testimonial to his ability. He has been 
city clerk of Marshfield since 1886, and is 
also city attorney. Until eight years ago 
he was sent as a delegate to every State 
convention of his party in Wisconsin, and 
was alternate delegate to the National Con- 
vention in St. Louis, which nominated S. J. 
Tilden. Socialh, he is one of the oldest 
Masons in the State, having been identified 
with that Fraternity since 1854, while in 
the local Lodge he has several times been 
master. His political record is without a 
stain, his professional career untarnished, 
and over his private life there falls no sus- 
picion of evil. 

In connection with the history of the Pors 
family, we gladly give a more extended 
mention of the junior member of the well- 
known law firm, E. C. Pors. He was born 
in Port Washington, Wis.. March 14, i860, 
and his earl}' education, acquired in the pub- 
lic schools of that place, was supplemented 
by study in Watertown, Wis. At the age of 
eighteen years he entered his father's law 
office, where for two years he was fitting 
himself for the legal profession. After the 
expiration of that period he pursued his 
studies in the office of \\'^eishod & Harshaw, 
of Oshkosh, being admitted to the bar March 
17, 1881. 

Mr. Pors, being now fitted for his life 
work, went to St. Paul, Minn., where he 
engaged in practice for one year. His next 
location was in West Bend, Wis., where he 
formed a partnership with C. H. Miller, suc- 
cessfully continuing his chosen work at that 
place until the fall of i886, when he came 
to Marshfield and opened an office. By na- 
ture he is a man of close discrimination and 
keen perception, one who readily sees the 
assailable points in an opponent's argument 
while protecting his own. His legal abil- 
ity won him political honors in 1888, when 
he was elected district attorney for a two- 
years' term. In 1890 he was re-elected, and 
in 1893 was elected county judge without 
opposition, for his personal worth and legal 
attainments won him the support of both 



parties. In politics Mr. Pors is a Demo- 
crat, and .served as chairman of the county 
committee in 1890 and 1882. .\s a cam- 
paign speaker his services are in demand, 
and in 1880 he served as a delegate to the 
State Convention. In connection with the 
other offices he has held, he has also been 
city attorney of Marshfield. 

In West Bend, Wis., in 18S8, was cele- 
brated the marriage of E. C. Pors and Miss 
Hattie E. Miller, daughter of Charles H. 
and Martha (Wightman) Miller, the former 
a native of Germany, the latter of New 
York. They were married in West Bend, 
Wis., and had five children — W. W. Miller, 
of Fond du Lac, Wis. ; Mrs. Joseph Ott, a 
resident of West Bend; Mrs. W. P. Harns; 
Mrs. Pors, and C. E., now deceased, for- 
merly an attorney in California. The fa- 
ther was one of tfie earlier settlers of south- 
ern Wisconsin, and a prominent attorney. 
Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Pors have had three 
children: William and Charles (twins), and 
Millie (deceased). 



JAMES WILLIAM LADD, cashier of 
the First National Bank of Merrill, 
Lincoln county, is a native of New 
Hampshire, born May 5, 1838, in 
Campton township, Grafton county, a son 
James and Charity (Willey) Ladd, who 
were married in Campton township. 

The family of Ladds in the United States 
trace their ancestry back to 1633, in which 
year Daniel Ladd (the first of the name to 
arrive in this country) came to the New 
World on the ship "Mary and John," of 
London, Robert Sayres, master. A farmer 
by occupation, he settled on a piece of land 
he bought near Ipswich, Mass., and made a 
success of agricultural pursuits. He died at 
Haverhill, Mass., July 27, 1693, his wife on 
February 9, 1694; they were the parents 
of nine children. 

Samuel, son of the above, was born 
November i, 1649, m.arried December i, 
1674, Martha Corliss, daughter of George 
Corliss, and like his father before him was 
a farmer. On February 22. 1698, while he 
and his son Daniel, and Jonathan Hayes 
and his son Joseph, were in the fields making 



994 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



hay, they were surprised by the Indians who 
killed Samuel Ladd, the son Daniel (I) 
making his escape on one of the horses. 
The latter was married to Susanna Hart- 
shorn November 17, 1701, and had a family 
of six children. The father of these died 
in June, 1 751, the mother in 1750. 

Daniel (2), son of Daniel (i), was born 
November 15, 1710; was married in 1733 to 
Mehitabel Roberts, and had twelve children. 

Daniel (3) son of Daniel (2), was born 
April 21, 1740; married Dorothy Foote, and 
had twelve children. 

Jesse, son of Daniel (3), was born Sep- 
tember 14, 1764; married in 1788 to Thank- 
ful Holmstead; moved to northern New 
York State, where he died October 12, 1804. 
They had eight children. 

James Ladd, son of Jesse, and father of 
the subject proper of this sketch, was born 
May 16, 1799, in Sudbury, Vt., but was ed- 
ucated and reared to farming pursuits in 
New Hampshire. He married Charity Wil- 
ley, and by her had a family of four chil- 
dren: Adeline W., Christopher, James W. 
and George H. In 1844 Mr. Ladd came 
to Wisconsin, locating near Beaver Dam, 
Dodge county, in the following year bringing 
his family out. In about eighteen months, 
or in 1847, they moved to the township of 
Menasha, Winnebago county, where the 
father took up government land, which he 
improved, and whereon he passed away in 
1884. His first wife died in 1865, and he 
subsequently married Miss Theresa M. Kel- 
logg, by which union there is no issue. He 
was very prominent and influential in his 
day, holding many local offices of trust, and 
besides farming he was a contractor and 
lime burner; he put up the first frame build- 
ing in Neenah after the erection of the gov- 
ernment mill, and for two years kept the 
first hotel in that then village. 

James William Ladd, whose name intro- 
duces this sketch, received a liberal educa- 
tion, in part at the public schools of Winne- 
bago county, and in part at Lawrence Uni- 
versity, at Appleton, Wis., where he gradu- 
ated in the class of '62, being then twenty- 
four years of age, after which he taught 
school one term. In the spring of 1863 he 
went to Kansas, and was in the employ of 



the United States marshal at Topeka and 
elsewhere until the fall, thence proceeding 
to Fort Larned, where he was employed 
some eighteen months in a store and in the 
post office. His next abiding place was at 
Fort Dodge, and here, in partnership with 
J. H. Crane, he opened a store, later being 
appointed postmaster, a position he filled 
nearly two years. Selling out here, Mr. 
Ladd returned to Wisconsin, and for some 
time was in the grocery business along with 
his brother Christopher at Menasha. He 
served as city clerk of Menasha, and was 
justice of the peace there some three years. 
He is a Republican, and from time to time 
acted as chairman of various political com- 
mittees. In November, 1880, he was elected 
county treasurer of Winnebago county (hold- 
ing the office six years, being elected, in all, 
three times'), and he then removed his family 
to Oshkosh, where they resided till May, 
1887, when he took up his residence in 
Merrill, having been appointed cashier of 
the newly-established First National Bank 
of that city, an incumbency he has since 
filled with acknowledged ability and suc- 
cess. 

On May 20, 1874, Mr. Ladd was united 
in marriage at Evanston, 111., with Mary 
Elizabeth Jackson, who was born in Kenosha 
county. Wis., daughter of Andrew B. and 
Mary A. (Bassett) Jackson, natives of Con- 
necticut, where they were married. They 
came west, in 1836, to Wisconsin, and made 
a settlement in Bristol township, Kenosha 
county, and their family, four in number, 
are named respectively: Elias Gilbert, 
Andrew, Mary E. and William O. The 
father was a register of the United States 
Land Office at Menasha, and was a member 
of the Constitutional Convention which 
framed the present constitution. At one 
time he was nominated for Congress, and 
altogether was a very popular man, his 
business being that of a real-estate dealer. 
Mr. Jackson died at Rogers Park, 111., in 
March, 1878, his wife passing away at 
Merrill, in May, 1892, where she had made 
her home in her widowhood. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Ladd were born two children: Flor- 
ence, who died when two years old; and 
Andrew B. J., born April 28, 1878. They 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



995 



have also an adopted daughter named Mar- 
garet, now aged thirteen years. Socially, 
Mr. Ladd is a member of the F. & A. M., [ 
Lodge No. 126, Merrill, and has attained | 
the thirty-second degree; also a member of : 
the A. O. U. W. and I. O. O. F. ; he is i 
president of the Advancement Association | 
of Merrill. He and his amiable wife are I 
members of the M. E. Church. During the 
summer Mr. Ladd, accompanied by his fam- 
ily, took an extended trip to the Pacific 
coast and British Columbia, being absent 
some eight weeks. The Ladd family, trac- 
ing backward from our subject to Daniel 
Ladd, the colonist of over 260 years ago, 
have always been leaders in religious, polit- 
ical and social circles — in fact, everything 
pertaining to the building up of society, and 
the name has ever been the synonym of up- 
rightness and sound integrity. 



CAPTAIN JEROME BONEPARTE 
ADAMS, one of honored veterans 
of the Civil war, fought for almost 
four years for the preservation of 
the Union, and aided in freeing from bond- 
age four millions of slaves. He ranks among 
the pioneers of Portage county, and now 
superintends the operation of his fine farm 
in Buena Vista township. He is a native of 
New York, born in the town of Alden, Erie 
county, February 25, 1844, and is a son of 
John and Lucy (Newbury) Adams. His 
paternal grandfather, who was born in Eng- 
land, emigrated to America when a young 
man, locating on a farm in Erie county, 
N. Y. , where he married a German lady. 
In connection with agricultural pursuits he 
also engaged in the manufacture of maple 
sugar. On the old homestead in New 
York his wife departed this life; he also died 
in Erie county, about the year 1851. 

John Adams, father of our subject, was 
the only child of their family. His educa- 
tion was somewhat limited as he began 
work early in life, first being employed in 
boating on the Erie canal, and after his 
marriage for a time he was engaged in log- 
ging. In the spring of 1849, with his 
family, he took passage on a boat at Buffalo, 
N. Y. , bound for Milwaukee, Wis., and 



from there made the journey to McHenry 
county. 111., with a wagon, where for eight 
years he worked a farm on shares. In the 
fall of 1857, however, he removed by teams 
to Kenosha county. Wis., where he rented 
a farm which he operated three years, at the 
end of which time he came to Portage county, 
and in connection with our subject purchased 
eighty acres of government land in Section 
14, Buena Vista township. There they 
built a shanty 16 x 12 feet, and began to 
clear and improve the land. On that farm 
the father died in 1864; his widow later 
married Nathan Carpenter, and her death 
occurred in 1880. 

In the family to which our subject be- 
longs were the following children: Julia, 
deceased wife of Paul Burns, of Almond, 
Wis. (she was the mother of five children — 
Emeline and Eveline (twins), Lucy, John 
and Josephine); Eveline, deceased wife of 
Ira Secoy, a miller of Waupaca, Wis. (the}' 
had three children — Henry, and Eleanor 
and Jerome both deceased); Jonathan, wed- 
ded Mary Jilson, and resides on a farm in 
Buena Vista township. Portage county; our 
subject is next in order of birth; George 
married Lucy Clark, and makes his home 
on a farm in the same township (he has two 
children — Roy and Frankie); Mary is the 
wife of E. L. Carpenter. The opportuni- 
ties Capt. Adams had for securing an edu- 
cation were very meagre, and he was 
obliged to walk three miles to school. At 
the age of ten years he began working for 
others, for as his parents were in limited 
circumstances and his father's health was 
poor, he was obliged to aid in the support of 
the family. The last school he attended 
was in Kenosha county. Wis. Most of his 
life has been spent in farm labor, but for 
one season he ran on the river. 

At Buena Vista, Wis., October 10, 
1 86 1, our subject enlisted in Company A, 
Sixteenth Wis. V. I., after which he went 
into camp at Berlin, Wis., where they 
drilled for about three weeks and then went 
to Madison, this State. There they re- 
mained in camp until March, 1862, when 
they were ordered to St. Louis. The first 
active engagement of the regiment was at 
Pittsburg Landing, where Capt. Sax of our 



COMMEMOBATIVM BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 



subject's company, was killed in the first 
fire, and Lieut. George Spir was promoted to 
fill the vacancy. The regiment then took 
part in many skirmishes, the next important 
laattle being at Atlanta. Before that en- 
gagement, however, Mr. Adams had re-en- 
listed as a veteran, to serve for three years. 
The place of his enlistment was at Red- 
bone Church, Miss. , and the date Decem- 
ber II, 1863. The regiment remained in 
camp at Lake Providence, La. , some five 
months, and near Vicksburg our subject did 
guard duty for a time. After a thirty-days' 
furlough, during which time he visited his 
home, he rejoined his regiment at Madison, 
Wis., whence they proceeded to Cairo, 111., 
but immediately left that place for Atlanta, 
Ga. There they occupied a prominent 
position in the front on Kenesaw Heights. 
At Vicksburg Mr. Adams had been promoted 
to corporal, and at Atlanta was made 
sergeant, during which battle he served as 
color guard. His regiment charged through 
a cornfield on the Rebels who were stationed 
on some rising ground, and captured their 
works, but lost many men in the charge. 
Our subject being wounded in the left leg, 
was ordered to the rear, but at his request 
was allowed to remain in the fight. From 
Atlanta they went with Sherman on the 
memorable march to the sea, after which 
they participated in the grand review at 
Washington, D. C. At Louisville, Ky., he 
received his discharge July 20, 1865, when 
he returned home. 

At the home of the bride's sister in Fort 
Wayne, Ind., Capt. Adams was married April 
iS, 1866, to Miss Emma Humphreys, 
who was born in Burton-on-the-Water, 
Gloucestershire, England, in 1S37. When 
seventeen years of age she left Liverpool for 
the United States, taking passage on a sail- 
ing vessel, which was five weeks in crossing 
the ocean. From New York City she came 
direct to Lanark, Wis., where she had sis- 
ters living, and with them she made her 
home five years. At the end of that time 
she went to Fort Wayne, Ind., to make her 
home with another sister, where she learned 
the millinery business. She is the daughter 
of Charles and Mary (Dyer) Humphreys, 
both natives of England, where her father 



was employed as a miller. When a child 
she removed with her parents to Worcester- 
shire, where her mother died at the age of 
fifty-two years, and her father at the age of 
eight3'-two. 

In the Humphreys family were the fol- 
lowing children : Charlotte, married in Eng- 
land to John Fletcher, and after coming to 
America located on a farm in Portage county; 
they are now both deceased ; in their family 
were seven children — Mary Ann, Arthur, 
Frank, Charles, George, Herman and Caro- 
line. Caroline, who became the wife of John 
Doswell, in England, immediately after her 
marriage came with her husband to the 
United States, they making their home for a 
time in Portage county. Wis. ;the3' now reside 
in Fort Wayne, Ind. ; they have seven children 
— Ada, George, Alfred, Harry, Emma, Nel- 
lie and Arthur. Sarah, who died in Eng- 
land, was the wife of John Hodge, by whom 
she had four children. Elizabeth was mar- 
ried in England to Thomas Hanson ; and 
after his death she crossed the Atlantic, and 
is now making her home with her sister in 
Fort Wayne, Ind. Hannah (deceased), was 
married in England to John Lee, after 
which they came to America, locating in 
Lanark, Wis. , where Mr. Lee now resides ; 
by this union were born nine children — Albetr 
Ledornie, Marj', Frank, Fred, Lizzie, Carrie 
(deceased), Edward and Florence. Ann 
came to the New World with her sisters, 
and was married in Portage county to James 
Smith ; after residing here for some years 
they removed to South Dakota, where she 
died, leaving five children — \^'allace, Frank, 
Jessie, Grace, and Mabel (now deceased). 
Emma (Mrs. Adams), completes the family. 
To our subject and wife have been born five 
children : Minnie, who married Ernest Ben- 
nett, a carpenter and joiner of Stevens 
Point, Wis., has three children — Raymond, 
Opal and Stella ; Hugo, a clerk in a store 
at Almond, Wis., married Blanche Thomas ; 
Byron married Annettie Bennett, and is 
farming a part of the homestead ; Victor 
died at the age of fourteen years ; Clyde is 
at home. 

After his marriage Capt. Adams and his 
young wife located on his farm in Buena 
Vista township, where they resided for 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBWAL RECORD. 



997 



about four years, when he disposed of that 
property and purchased his present place, a 
farm consisting of 120 acres, seventy of 
which are under a high state of cultivation. 
This is situated in Section 34, and he also 
owns a tract of fifty-nine acres in Almond 
township. Portage county. In December, 
1 88 1, the captain went to Dakota, locating a 
soldier's claim in the Jim River valley, after 
which he returned home ; but the following 
spring he again went to Dakota, and broke 
thirty-two acres of his land on which he 
built a frame house, remaining there some 
seven months. He then came back to Buena 
Vista where his family still resided, but in 
the following spring he again went to his 
claim, and placed thirty acres more under 
cultivation. In the fall he proved his claim, 
got his patent and then disposed of his Da- 
kota farm, after which he returned to Port- 
age county. In the summer of 1893 he 
erected his present residence, into which he 
moved the following November. It is un- 
doubtedly the neatest and handsomest dwell- 
ing in Buena Vista township. 

In political sentiment the Captain is a 
stanch Republican, and a firm advocate of 
temperance principles. For one year he 
served as township treasurer, was justice of 
the peace three years, and at the last elec- 
tion was made supervisor for one year. He 
and his wife are active members of the Bap- 
tist Church of Buena Vista, and always e.\- 
ert their influence to promote the moral 
welfare of the community. He has ever 
been liberal with his means, during the war 
contributing his soldier's pay to the support 
of his parents, and while in front of Atlanta 
he received the tidings of his father's death. 

Our subject received his wound in the 
charge after the taking of Kenesaw Heights 
by the Federals, and was promoted to the 
rank of captain by his excellency, Governor 
Fairchild, the following being a copy of his 
commission. 

State of Wisconsin, 
Luciu-s Fairchild, Governor. 
To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: 
Know ye that I do hereb)' confer on Jerome B. 
Adams, late a sergeant of Company A, Sixteenth 
Reg-iment of Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, the 
rank of captain by brevet, to rank as such from 
.Tuly 24, 1864, in recognition of distinguished gal- 
lantry displayed by him at that date before At- 



lanta, Ga., in refusing to leave the colors which 
he was guarding, though severely wounded, and 
remaining with them until the battle ended. And 
I do strictly charge and require all officers and 
soldiers under his command to obey and respect 
him accordingly, and he is to observe and follow 
such orders and directions from time to time as he 
shall receive from me or the future Governors of 
State of Wisconsin and other officers set over him. 
according to law and the rules and discipline of 
war. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub- 
scribed my name and caused the great seal of the 
State of Wisconsin to be affixed. Done at Madi- 
son, this 10th day of September in the year of our 
Lord, 1867. By the Governor, Lucius Fairchild. 
Thomas Allen, Secretary of State. James K. 
Pronofet, Adjutant General. 



CYRUS TOWNE, one of the most 
successful and prominent farmers in 
Belmont township. Portage county, 
is also one of its pioneers. He was 
born in Hodgdon, Aroostook Co., Me., 
March 12, 1838, son of Howard P. and 
Sarah A. (Foster) Towne. 

Howard P. Towne was born at .Augusta, 
Me., June 8, 1801, son of Ebenezer Towne, 
a carpenter and millwright, who in 1806 re- 
moved from Augusta, Me., to Topsfield, 
Mass., and later still to Maugerville, New 
Brunswick. Here Howard P. learned the 
millwright's trade with his father. He was 
married June 8, 1824, in Douglas parish. 
New Brunswick, to Sarah A. Foster, who 
was born in that parish, Januarj' 4, 1806, 
daughter of John and Artemissa (Todd) 
Foster, who were farmers. Soon after his 
marriage Howard P. Towne crossed the 
border into his native land, and in Hodgdon 
township, Aroostook Co.. Me., followed 
farming and lumbering for nearly thirty 
years. In the spring of 1855 he migrated 
to Wisconsin, purchasing the southeast 
quarter of Section 35, Belmont township. 
Portage county, at that time all wild land. 
He lived here, improving the land and ad- 
ding to the acreage, until his death, which 
occurred December 27, 1893, when he had 
reached the advanced age of ninety-two 
years. His wife died i^Iay 21, 1890. Mr. 
Towne had been a Jacksonian Democrat, 
but voted for Abraham Lincoln, and after 
i860 was an earnest Republican. He was 
a prominent citizen, a member of the Bap- 



998 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tist Church, and was frequently made the 
recipient of local offices. The children of 
Howard P. and Sarah A. Towne were as 
follows: Francis J., born May 14, 1825, 
died August 24, 1826; David N., born June 
3, 1827, a farmer, of Belmont township; 
Charles, born March 11, 1830, died March 
14, 1831 ; Artemus, born December 17, 1831, 
died October i, 1836; Martha A., born 
March 3, 1834, married Thomas G. Bacon, 
of Maine, and died in Belmont township, 
November 4, 1881 ; Sophia J., born Septem- 
ber 10, 1836, died April 6, 1837; Cyrus, 
subject of this sketch ; Mary L. , born 
July 27, 1840, married Joseph Collier, 
of Wisconsin, and died May 27, 1874; 
Sylvester, born November 27, 1842, 
enlisted September 21, 1864, in Company 
C, Forty-fourth Wis. V. I., and died at 
Nashville, Tenn., February 3, 1865; How- 
ard W., born September 14, 1845, now liv- 
ing in Rhinelander, Wis.; and Alvin O., 
born October 20, 1848, a farmer of Bel- 
mont township. They also had an adopted 
child, Louisa, born December 14, 1850, a 
daughter of Mrs. Towne's sister, and now 
the wife of John Ouincy Foster, of Wau- 
paca, Wisconsin. 

Cyrus Towne was educated in the dis- 
trict schools of Maine. He was about sev- 
enteen years old when he came with his 
parents to Wisconsin, where in the back- 
woods there were no schools, so the school 
days of the young man were over. He re- 
mained with his parents, assisting in im- 
proving the farm in Belmont township until 
his marriage, February 28, 1870, in Almond 
township, to Pamelia Yer.xa, who was born 
February 15, 1847, in New Brunswick. 
Mr. Towne had about the year 1862 pur- 
chased eighty acres of his present farm in 
Section 25 for $400, making a cash pay- 
ment of $100, and from year to year he 
had gradually improved the property. He 
accordingly began housekeeping on this 
farm. Mrs. Towne died childless about four 
years later, and for his second wife Mr. 
Towne married Martha A. Yerxa, a sister of 
his first wife. By this marriage he had 
three children: Winfield D., born April 19, 
1875, living at home; Benjamin B., born 
August 13, 1877, also at home; and Charles 



E., who died aged fifteen months. His sec- 
ond companion also passing away, Mr. 
Towne married his present wife, Mrs. Rose 
Butolph, widow of Harmon Butolph. She 
was born in Orleans county, N. Y. , July 17, 
1839, daughter of Gorham and Jane (Moore) 
Casej', and at the age of si.xteen came with 
her parents to Wisconsin. By her first mar- 
riage Mrs. Towne had five children: Charles 
G., Gardner G., Freddy B., Frank L. and 
Jesse I., all yet living except Freddy B. 
Mrs. Towne is a prominent member of the 
M. E. Church. 

Mr. Towne has from time to time added 
to his farm until now it includes 280 acres, 
located in Sections 24 and 25. Of this 140 
acres have been cleared, all but twenty by 
Mr. Towne or under his personal supervision. 
He has, as a farmer and stockraiser, been 
eminently successful. He resides in a sub- 
stantial brick dwelling, and conducts one of 
the best farms in the township. Mr. Towne 
cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in 
i860, and he has ever since supported the 
Republican party. While not a politician, 
he has interest enough in the success of the 
principles he advocates to attend and vote 
at all elections. He has served in various 
local offices, but is devoted chiefly to his ag- 
ricultural interests, in the management of 
which he displays business ability to a marked 
degree. 



JOSEPH DUCHAC, a prominent citi- 
zen of Antigo, Langlade county, and a 
dealer in real estate, was born near 
Prague, Bohemia, Austria, February 
4, 1854, and is a son of John and Anna 
(Kostak) Duchac. 

The father of John Duchac, Wenzel 
Duchac, was a farmer by occupation, and 
both he and his wife died in Austria. They 
had a family of six children — three sons 
and three daughters — namely: John, Jo- 
seph, Wenzel, Anna, Mary and Anna, all of 
whom, e.xcept John, are still in Austria. 
John Duchac was born in Prague, Austria, 
in 1822, and married Anna Kostak, by whom 
he had six children, two of whom — Joseph 
and Wenzel — were born in Austria, and the 
others— Mary, Anna, Katie and John — in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



999 



America. John Ducliac emigrated to the 
United States, with his family, in Decem- 
ber, 1855, stopped for a time in St. Louis, 
and later coming to Wisconsin, located 
on a piece of wild land in Manitowoc coun- 
tj', where he remained until 1 881; in that 
}'ear he came to Langlade county, and is 
now living with his son. His wife, Anna, 
died about the year 1863. 

Joseph Duchac, the subject of this 
sketch, received only a limited common- 
school education, and began to earn his own 
living when twelve years of age. He was 
employed among the farmers the first two 
years, helped to build railroads for one year, 
was four years in a sawmill, working him- 
self up to the position of head sawyer, and 
then began clerking in a hardware store 
in Manitowoc- county. Wis., where he con- 
tinued until June, 1878. In the spring of 
1879 he came to Langlade county, where 
he had purchased land in 1878. Here he 
settled in the heavy timber; in fact, had to 
drive through the woods all the way from 
Wausau, Marathon county, and commenced 
the work of clearing the land. 

In 1879 Joseph Duchac was united in 
marriage with Mar)' C. Dvorak, who was 
born in Manitowoc county. Wis., in i860, 
and they have had eight children, namely: 
Alonzo, Fred, Frances, John, Joseph, 
Libbie, Frank and Alvina, the latter 
now deceased. The parents of Mrs. 
Duchac, Frank and Charlotte (Cushnet) 
Dvorak, were born in Austria and France, 
respective!)', and \\ere early settlers of Man- 
itowoc county, where the father died in 
1 89 1. They had three children — Mary C. 
(Mrs. Duchac), Joseph and Anna. Mr. 
Duchac had a store, and in 1881 built a 
sawmill in what is now Langlade county, 
repiaining there until 1884. He had the 
pioneer store in the county, and the second 
mill. In his mill he received an injury 
which caused him to leave that business on 
account of his health, and in 1S84 he moved 
to Antigo, engaging in the real-estate busi- 
ness, in which he continues to this day, and 
he is the manager of the Pratt Land & Lum- 
ber Company. Politically Mr. Duchac is 
independent. He has held the office of 
school director, was county surveyor eight 



years, twice chairman of the countj- board, 
supervisor several terms, served one term as 
postmaster at Neva, and as city assessor in 
Antijro five terms. 



JOHN TOBIN, deceased, was one of 
the leading business men of Tomahawk. 
He was widely known and honored, 
and in his death Lincoln county, whose 
interests he had so much advanced by his 
enterprise, has lost a valuable citizen. He 
was born July 9, 1854, in Connecticut, and 
was a son of James Tobin, a native of the 
Emerald Isle, who was married in New 
York, and reared a large family of children, 
consisting of si.\ sons and five daughters. 
By occupation the father was a farmer. At 
an early day in the history of the State he came 
to Wisconsin, locating in Portage county, 
where he still resides. His wife was called 
to her final rest December, 17 1894. 

Like the average farmer lad, John Tobin 
became a pupil in the district schools, and 
assisted in the labors of the farm until reach- 
ing his majority, when he commenced farm- 
ing for himself. He became the owner of 
200 acres of good land in Portage county, 
and as an agriculturist was very successful, 
as was indicated by the appearance of his 
farm. In October, 1877, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Mary Mahanna, whose 
birth occurred in Portage county in 1856. 
Her parents, Bartholomew and Helen (P'lem- 
ing) Mahanna, had a family of five children, 
of whom only two are now living — Wallace 
and Mar}-. Helen died at the age of two 
years-and-a-half; Lousia, while an infant; 
and Ella at the age of si.\ years. The par- 
ents, who were born in Franklin county, 
N. Y. , were married at Malone, that State, 
and emigrated to Wisconsin in June, 1854. 
The father, who was a farmer, died in Au- 
gust, 1 87 1. To our subject and his worthy 
wife were born three children — J. Leroy, 
born March 7, 1880; Raymond J., born 
July 6, 1884; and Merceda, born .April 2, 
1893. 

In the spring of 1887 Mr. Tobin sold his 
personal property and ren-ioved to Toma- 
hawk, where he commenced clearing 125 
acres of wild land for the Tomahawk Land 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



& Boom Company, where the sawmills 
now stand. In the fall he erected the 
present residence of the famil}', and opened 
a boarding house. He dealt in wood, and 
was also general agent for the Miller's Brew- 
ing Company, of Milwaukee, and the Badger 
State Bottling Company, of Watertown, 
Wis. He built a large storehouse for ice, 
which he handled in large quantities. He 
was a thorough business man, and in his 
undertakings generally met with success, 
so that at the time of his death he left 
his wife ami children a fair competency. 
Mr. Tobin was called from earth March 
He had been ill for about a 
had gone to Mount Clemens, 
treatment, and there his death 
He was among the first to lo- 
cate in Tomahawk, arriving there when not 
a single building had been erected on the 
site of the present flourishing little city. 
He gave his earnest support and labor to 
everything tending towards its advancement, 
and was numbered among the most enter- 
prising citizens. In politics he was a Demo- 
crat, and by that party was elected to the 
office of assessor, from which he resigned, 
as he preferred giving his entire time to 
his business interests. He belonged to the 
Catholic Church and the Order of Catholic 
Knitrhts. 



I/". I •'^94- 
year, ant 
Mich., fo 
occurred. 



JAMES W. BEATTIE, one of the re- 
presentative and progressive business 
men of Marshfield, Wood count)', is 
the proprietor of the leading livery 
stable of the city and also runs a bus and 
dray line. 

.Mr. Heattie claims Wisconsin as the 
State of his nativitj, for he was born in 
Clayton township, Winnebago county, in 
1856, the eldest in a family of four children 
whose parents were James and Nancy (Wins- 
field) Beattie. The others are Horace, 
Wallace and Ellether. The father of this 
family was born at Painted Post, N. Y., and 
was the son of John and Mary (Edmonson) 
Beattie, who had a family of five children — 
Thomas, John, Margaret. Mary and James. 
The father of this family was born on the 
luncrald Isle, followed bookkeeping as a 



means of livelihood, and died when his son 
James was quite young. The mother of our 
subject was a native of New York, and a 
daughter of Horace and Eliza (Smith) Wins- 
field, farming people who were the parents 
of eight children, as follows: Nancy, Caro- 
line, Eliza, Tirzah, Tealista, Lydia, Guy 
and Horace. The maternal grandmother, 
Mrs. Smith, was a native of Massachusetts, 
and it will thus be seen that the ancestors 
o{ our subject have long resided in this coun- 
try. James Beattie, father of our subject, 
was married in the Empire State, and in 
1844, on the tide of emigration which was 
steadily drifting westward, he came to Wis- 
consin, then a Territory, and secured a 
homestead in Winnebago county. In 1847 
he returned to the East and was married, 
bringing his bride with him to the new farm 
which he had located and upon which he 
spent his remaining days, his death occur- 
ring there in 1872. In his business dealings 
he was successful, and became a substantial 
agriculturist. In politics he was a Demo- 
crat. Mrs. Beattie still survives her hus- 
band, and is still living on the old home farm 
to which she went a bride more than forty- 
seven years ago. 

James W. Beattie, whose name opens 
this sketch, was reared on the farm and in 
the district schools of the neighborhood 
acquired his education. He was nineteen 
years of age at the time of his father's death, 
and remained on the old place until twenty- 
four years of age, when he began to drill 
wells, following that business for three years. 
In 1 88 1 he removed to Marshfield and con- 
tinued the same industry for a year, after 
which he entered the employ of the Upham 
Manufacturing Company, doing service in 
the warehouse and store for four years. On 
the expiration of that period, he received the 
appointment of postmaster of Marshfield 
under President Cleveland, ser\ing for four 
years, and on leaving office he decided to 
engage in the livery business. He has now 
the best-equipped stable in Marshfield. and 
in connection runs a bus and dray line. 

In October, 1876, in Clayton, Wis. , was 
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Beattie and 
Miss Lorain Babcock, who was l)orn in Clay- 
ton, a daughter oi M. K. and Melinda 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(Wrip;ht) Babcock. Her father was a native 
of \'ermont and was there married, having 
b)' his first wife a family of six children. He 
afterward wedded Miss Wright, and they be- 
came the parents of seven children — Mattie, 
Lorain, Hettie, Orpha, Dvvight, Nathaniel 
and M. K. , the last named now deceased. 
The father of this family carried on agricul- 
tural pursuits until called to the home beyond 
in 1882. His wife still survives him. Mr. 
and Mrs. Beattie have had five children — 
Flora, Nancy, Hazel, Wheeler and Jessie, 
four of whom are yet living. The familj' is 
one of prominence in the communit}', and the 
parents have a wide circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances. Mr. Beattie takes quite an 
active interest in political affairs, and does 
all in his power to promote the growth and 
insure the success of the Democratic party, 
which he always supports by his ballot. His 
fraternity connections are with the Odd 
Fellows and the .\ncient Order of l/nited 
Workmen. 



P PITER SICARD. The name of this 
prominent and prosperous farmer of 
Mosinee township, Marathon count}', 
carries with it, in the minds of all 
who know him, the idea of solidity of char- 
acter and enduring worth. For forty years 
he has been a continuous resident of the 
village of >fosinee, and during that long 
period he has been most actively and suc- 
cessfully engaged in the industries which 
have especially characterized this great re- 
gion of northern \\'isconsin. 

Mr. Sicard was born in tht' district of 
Trois Kixieres (Three Rivers), Ouebec, (Can- 
ada, March 21, 1835, and is the son of Da\id 
and Margaret (Lemiir-l)criunville) .Sicard, 
both natives of Canada. He was educated 
ill the jMiblic .schoiils of iiis nati\e tnwn, 
and worked upon the homestead farm of 
his father until he was sc\enteeu 3ears of 
age. The lumber interests of Michigan were 
then attracting considerable attention, and 
the young man, thnuigh tiic \enturesome 
nature of j-outh, ami the desiri' to learn 
something of life different from his o ah 
immediate surroundings, left home for 
the woods of Michigan, where, for alxnit 



a year, he worked at lumbering and 
logging. Returning to Canada in 1853, 
he located in Belleville, Ontario, and 
for two years engaged in lumbering. Then, 
though he had not yet (]uite reached 
his majority, he made the move that 
has most influenced his life. Lumber- 
ing was, from his experience for several 
years, still in his mind's eye, and he came 
to Mosinee. Thiswasin 1855. Forseven- 
teen years he worked in the woods and on 
the river, at the expiration of which long 
period there was little about the practical 
side of lumbering, as might naturall}' be 
supposed, that had not come under the ob- 
servations of Mr. Sicard. In 1872 he en- 
gaged in lumbering on his own ac- 
count, and followed it successfully for ten 
years. In 1882 he sold out his lumbering 
interests, and engaged in a general mer- 
chandise business at Mosinee. .After a nine- 
years' career as a merchant Mr. Sicard. in 
1891, retired from active business life, and 
engaged in agricultural pmsuits. He now 
owns and operates 480 acres of the most 
producti\-e farming land in Marathon county. 
In 1867 Mr. Sicard was married, at 
Mosinee, to Miss Charlotte Mitchell, daugh- 
ter of Peter and Charlotte Mitchell, residents 
of Mosinee, and of Scottish ancestry. Three 
children ha\e been born to them: Alfred 
Napoleon, a resident of Wausau; Lester 
Grant and Lorina May, residing at home. 
Mr. Sicard has served as assessor of Mosi- 
nee for fifteen or sixteen years. He has 
been a member of the town board for many 
years, town clerk f(U" one year, and is now 
serving his twelfth year as town treasurer. 
In politics he is a KL'piiblicaii. 

J.\COB .\Ni> M.\THI.\S NICK, who 
compose the linn of Nick Brothers, 
furniture <lealers of Tomahawk, Lin- 
coln comity, are both natives of Prus- 
sia, Jacob born October 17, 1 S60. and 
Matinas November 8, 1862. 

The\- are sons of John and Margaret 
1 Kiuit/) Nick, who were also horn in Prus- 
sia, the father in 1S19, and the mother in 
1824. 'i'hey were the |iarents of ten chil- 
dren, one of whom died in iidanc\-, ami the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



others are John, Anna, Katie, Lawrence, 
Sophia, Joseph, Mary, Jacob and Mathias, 
all now living with the exception of John, 
who departed this life in 1881, leaving a 
widow and five children — Jacob, Joseph, 
Phena, Peter and Mary. Mary came to 
America in 1879, and Lawrence arrived in 
1880. While in Prussia the father was a 
baker and hotelkeeper, and also owned some 
property there. In 1885, accompanied by 
his wife, he came to the United States, lo- 
cating in Marshfield, Wis. , where his death 
occurred in 1892, but his wife is still living. 
Nothing is known of his parents, but he had 
three brothers and two sisters — Anton, Pe- 
ter, Jacob, Mary, and one whose name is 
not given. The maternal grandparents, 
who were farming people, had a family of 
seven children — three daughters, Margaret, 
Katie and Gertrude, and four sons, of whom 
three are mentioned, Nicholas. Jacob and 
Peter. 

The Nick brothers attended the schools 
of the Fatherland until reaching the age of 
fourteen years, after which Jacob began 
learning the trade of a cabinet maker, serv- 
ing a two-years' apprenticeship, and Mathias 
assisted his father in the management of the 
hotel. They crossed the ocean .to the New 
World in 1882, coming direct to Milwaukee, 
Wis., where for seven-and-a-half years Ja- 
cob worked at his trade for others, and then 
for two years engaged in business for him- 
self. Mathias Nick only remained in Mil- 
waukee for about three days, when he went 
to Marshfield. Wis., and there for a short 
time worked for his brother in the bakery, 
later employing himself at anything he could 
find to do. After one year he removed to 
Chippewa Falls, Wis., where he was em- 
ployed in a sawmill, but he returned to 
Marshfield, and at the end of six months 
bought out his brother's bakery, which he 
carried on for about a year and a half. On 
the expiration of that time he went to Col- 
by. Wis., and in compan\- with his brother 
Lawrence bought a flouring-mill, which they 
conducted for two years, but as it was not 
a profitable investment he gave up every- 
thing, and went to St. Paul, Minn. For 
six months he worked at his trade there, 
and then, returning to Milwaukee, was em- 



ployed there for a similar period. Later, 
after spending six months inOshkosh, Wis., 
he went to Ironwood, Mich., where he again 
started a baker)-, conducting same three 
years and a half. In February, 1889, the 
brothers came to Tomahawk, where they 
opened their present furniture store, though 
at that time there were two others in the 
place. The}- now have the only store of 
the kind in the city, and their stock, which 
is large and well selected, occupies a double 
store room. They do business under the 
firm style of Nick Brothers, and as they 
are alwaj's courteous and accommodating 
they have won a liberal patronage. 

Jacob Nick was united in marriage, in 
October, 1887, with Katie Heste, who was 
born in Milwaukee, daughter of Jacob and 
Elizabeth Heste, natives of Germany. She 
is one of a famil}- of seven children, the 
others being Clara, George, Frank, Maggie, 
William, and Lizzie, who died at the age of 
two years. Her father, who is a carpenter 
by trade, came to America in 1842, and 
was married in this country; both he and 
his wife are still living; he served for one 
year during the Civil war. B\' his marriage 
Jacob Nick has become the father of three 
children — Jacob, William and Isabella. 

In October, 1887, the marriage of Ma- 
thias Nick was also celebrated. Miss Anna 
Ismen becoming his wife. The lady was 
born in Fond du Lac, Wis., to Joseph and 
Catherine Ismen, the former of whom fol- 
lows carpentering. By her marriage she 
has a little daughter, Laura. 

Jacob and Mathias Nick are both Demo- 
crats, but not politicians in the sense of 
office-seeking, preferring to give their un- 
divided attention to their business rather 
than seeking the honors and emoluments of 
public office. They are members of the 
Catholic Church, and also belong to the 
Catholic Foresters. They are thoroughly 
self-made men, having met with many re- 
verses and obstacles in their way to success, 
among which was a loss to Jacob of $200 
worth of tools by fire in Milwaukee, but they 
have steadily persevered, and to-day are the 
proprietors of one of the best furniture stores 
of Lincoln county. Among the best of their 
stock is furniture of their own maiuifacture. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1003 



JOHN GARDINER, one of the pioneers 
of Spencer, Marathon county, and one 
of its most prominent business men, 
was born in Canada, December 29, 
1837, but is the son of an American citizen. 
His father, John W. Gardiner, was born 
in Schenectady county, N. Y., July 4, 1812. 
The grandparents, John and Rachel (Wil- 
son) Gardiner, who were born natives of 
Scotland, had three children: John W. , 
Ann and Emiline. John Gardiner, the 
grandfather, was a soldier in the war of 
18 1 2. John W. Gardiner received a fair 
education, and when a young man went to 
Canada, where he married Lucinda M. Ron- 
nie. She was born in Canada in 18 16, the 
daughter of Solomon Rennie, and had two 
brothers, Solomon and Herman, and one 
sister, Dorothea. The children of John W. 
and Lucinda Gardiner were Etta (who died 
aged seven years), Ellen, Jane, John, James, 
Emiline, Elizabeth, Eliza, Almon, and one 
who died in infancy. While in Canada 
John W. Gardiner was a general merchant. 
In 1839 he removed with his family to Wis- 
sonsin, settling fir.st at Turtle Creek, near 
Beloit. He traded land several times and 
purchased a large tract near Evansvillc, 
Rock county. In 1846 he built a large 
gristmill there, which exhausted his means 
and did not prove a valuable venture. 
Starting for California in 1S49, he went no 
further than New York State, and in 1851, 
he returned to Stevens Point, where he work- 
ed at the carpenter's trade and where he died 
in June, 1855. Mrs. Gardiner subsequent- 
ly remarried, and still lives at Stevens 
Point. John W. Gardiner was a man of 
strong character. He was strictly temperate, 
and a member of the M. E. Church. 
Though unfortunate in some of his business 
ventures he accumulated considerable pro- 
perty, which he left to his family. 

John Gardiner was the eldest son, and 
was seventeen years of age when his father 
died. He had been attending the schools 
at Stevens Point, but after the family be- 
reavement he for a year took his father's 
place as the chief support. Matters then so 
adjusted themselves that the lad could look 
out for himself, and he began working on 
the ri\cr. In 1 S60 he started overland for 



Oregon, but stopped at Denver, Colo., and 
there found employment on a ranch, put- 
ting up hay, etc., until September 10, 1861, 
when he enlisted in Company F, First Col- 
orado Cavalry, under Captain Cook; the 
regiment did active service in the Southwest, 
in holding Sibley's forces in check in Te.\as. 
One engagement at Pigeon Ranch lasted 
two days. At the expiration of sixteen 
months Mr. Gardiner was honorably dis- 
charged on account of sickness, and he re- 
turned to Stevens Point and rented a farm, 
working in the woods during the winter. In 
the spring of 1864 he took a contract to run 
a fleet of lumber from Stevens Point to St. 
Louis, Mo. In the fall of the same year he 
purchased a team and engaged in teaming 
until he came to Spencer, in December, 
1874. 

Mr. Gardincir was among the earliest ar- 
rivals at Spencer. He has opened a general 
store, and has ever since followed mercantile 
pursuits, sometimes alone and sometimes in 
conjunction with other enterprises. At one 
time he was extensively engaged in pressing 
hay. In August, 1886, his property was 
destroyed by fire, and the loss he sustained 
amounted to about $1 3,000. Without paus- 
ing to bewail his loss Mr. Gardiner at once 
rebuilt his store with brick, and in company 
with Mr. Clark built a sawmill also. A year 
later he purchased Mr. Clark's interest, then 
added a planer, and he has ever since con- 
ducted a thriving lumber business. 

Mr. Gardiner was married June 24, 1 869, 
at Lanark, Portage county, to Jennie Swan, 
who was born in Canada in 1844, daughter 
of Thomas and Martha (Mcjanet) Swan, 
whose eleven children were James, Jane, 
Jennie, Robert, Thomas, Martha, Eliza- 
beth, William, John, and two who died 
young. Thomas Swan was born in Scot- 
land in 181 1, and when nine years old came 
to America with his parents, James and 
Janet (Somerville) Swan, whose five chil- 
dren were Thomas, William, James, Robert 
and Jane. In 1847 the family came to Wis- 
consin, settling on a farm near Oshkosh, 
and removing later to Lanark, Portage 
county, where the grandparents both died, 
at the ages of ninety-one and ninety- three 
years respectively. Martha Mcjanet, the 



1004 



COMMEMOIiATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL ItECORD. 



wife of Thomas Swan, was also a native of 
Scotland, and when fourteen years old moved 
to Canada with her parents. She was one 
of a family of seven children, as follows; 
Robert, James, Mary, Martha, Agnes, Janet 
and Elizabeth. Her mother died in 1889, 
and her father is still living in Portage coun- 
ty. To John and Jennie Gardiner four chil- 
dren have been born — Oscar, a salesman at 
Chicago; Elizabeth, ^[yra and John W., at 
home. The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was 
till' first girl born in Spencer. 

In politics Mr. Gardiner is a Democrat, 
and has served as chairman and supervisor. 
He is a prominent member of the Masonic 
order. He has an elegant residence, and 
besides his regular business is extensively 
interested in timber and farm lands. He 
has taken quite an interest in fine-bred 
horses, and now has a stable of twentj- 
three horses and colts. He is a wide-awake, 
enterprising citi/en, and one of the best- 
known men of Marathon count\-. 



HllNR^' .MVEKS, a farmer of Hear 
Creek township, W'aupaca county, 
was born in Greenville, Outagamie 
Co., \\'is., of German descent, son 
of Jacob and Gertrude Myers. He was 
united in marriage with Mrs. Caroline Dem- 
ming, widow of John J. Demming, and to 
their union have come children, as follows: 
Gordon (deceased), Frank and Ina. Polit- 
ically Mr. Myers is a Democrat, and in 
religious belief a Catholic. 

Mrs. Caroline Myers was born March 14, 
1845, i'l Millrush, Canada, and was a daugh- 
ter of George and Angelinc Tyrrell, in whose 
family were children as follows: Margaret, 
Caroline (Mrs. Myers), George, William, 
Sarah Ann, Emma, Sophia and Je.ssie, and 
three that died in infanc\-. Mr. Tyrrell was 
a miller by trade. Mrs. Myers had very good 
opportunities for an education. On January 
16, 1868, she was married to John J. Dem- 
ming, a successful farmer and merchant by 
vocation, who was from Litchfield, Medina 
Co., Ohio. He had twelve children by a 
former marriage. His death occurred eight 
years after his last marriage. 



HUGH RODGERS, one of the most 
prominent and enterprising lumber- 
men and lumber manufacturers of 
Northern ^\'isconsin, and joint pro- 
prietor and manager of an extensive sawmill, 
planing-mill and machine shops in Toma- 
hawk, Lincoln county, is a native of Michi- 
gan, born in Ferrysburg. Ottawa county, 
May 16, 1858. 

Alexander Rodgers, his father, is b\- birth 
a Scotchman, having hrst seen the light May 
24, 1824, near Edinburgh, "Auld Reekie," 
the most romantic and classic cit}' in all the 
"land of the mountain and the flood." He 
is a son of Alexander and Margaret (McNeal) 
Rodgers, well-to-do farming people of near 
Edinburgh, the parents of six children, to 
wit: Alexander, John, Jessie, Alexander, Bar- 
bara and Margaret. Of this family. Alex- 
.ander in his youth learned the trade of en- 
gineer and machinist, at which he became an 
expert, making it his life work. In 1846 he 
married, and in 1848, two years thereafter, 
the young couple emigrated to America, 
landing in Boston, Mass., near which city he 
found employment in a machine shop, and 
made the first steam-hammer ever used by 
the United States Government. For several 
years thereafter he was employed at his 
trade, chiefly in railroad shops in different 
parts of the Union, till he found himself in 
Romeo, Mich. From there, after a time, 
he moved to Muskegon, where with true 
Scotch grit, and a full determination to 
" make a spoon or spoil a horn," he pur- 
chaseda machine shop, running in debt there- 
for in the sum of five thousand dollars. This, 
with most men, might have resulted in a 
" tapsalteerie " condition, but not so with 
Mr. Rodgers, whose natural abilit}', energy, 
perseverance and, above all, characteristic 
industry and honesty, have brought him to 
his present enviable jiosition oi independence. 
He has been mainly engaged in this machine 
shop in the manufacture of mill machinery, 
in addition to which he owns extensi\e lum- 
ber interests in Wisconsin, and a large plant 
at Tomahawk, while furthermore he is vice- 
president of the Lumbermen's National Bank 
of Muskegon, Mich. Mr. Rodgers in his 
bo\hood had but little opportunity of attend- 
ing school, but he is and has been a great 



COMMEMORATIVE UWOUAPUWAL liECORL. 



1005 



reader, keeping himself well-informed on all 
the day topics, in recording,' which on the tab- 
lets of his n]ind he enjoys the aid of a won- 
derful memory. He is warm-hearted, and 
gencrons. to a fault, a great lover of his fam- 
ily, his country, and of the representative 
poet of the land of heather — Burns, who 
wrote the most pungent truism ever penned 
by mortal man, ' ' a man's a man for a' that. " 
Mr. Rodgers, like Burns and his other coun- 
tryman, Carlyle, believes and affirms that the 
true jiart departs not. Nothing that was 
worthy in the jiast departs — no truth or good- 
ness realized by man ever dies, or can die. 
In Muskegon, Mich , he lost his first wife, 
and he subsequentl}' re-married. 

Hugh Rodgers, the subject projjcr of this 
writing, secured a common-school education 
at Muskegon. Mich., and attended Notre 
Dame (Ind.j College, one year, subsequently 
learning the trade of machinist in his father's 
shop at Muskegon. In 1879, at the age of 
twenty-one years, he commenced the study 
of law, but did not prosecute it, preferring 
to give the usefulness of his life to the lum- 
ber business and kindred industries. In this 
he 'commenced at the bottom rung of the 
ladder, by industry working his way upward 
in a sawmill till within one year he found 
himself in charge of his father's plant in 
Muskegon. In May, 1881, he went south, 
to New Me.xico, and there mined one 
year; thence proceeded to the wilds of Ari- 
zona, being employed in the right of waj' of 
the Atlantic & Pacific railroad, his employ- 
ers being John \V. ^'ouiig and Brigham 
Young, Jr., with wliom he remained four 
months, after which he went farther west, 
working on the same road some nine months. 
On November i, 1882, in company with 
John Moran, he started on foot for Santa 
Maria, Cal., a distance of five hundred miles, 
and on reaching his destination secured a 
position as clerk in a hotel; but, not long re- 
maining there, he proceeded to Los Angeles, 
where he entered the employ of a large com- 
pany as supervisor o\er a 1,200-acre vine- 
yard, and so remained from January till the 
following No\ember; then, after visiting San 
Francisco, he returned to Michigan. 

In the following winter Mr. Rodgers went 
to Williamsport, Penn., as representative of 



the Rodgers Manufacturing Co., of Muske- 
gon, his business connected therewith taking 
him during that winter through the States 
of Pennsylvania and New York, and in the 
succeeding spring and summer he represent- 
ed the firm throughout \\'isconsin and Min- 
nesota. Returning to Muskeg(jn in 1884, 
he took charge of his father's sawmill, in 
which connection he continued until coming 
to Tomahawk in i88g. Here he and his fa- 
ther built a sawmill, and associated them- 
selves with the Tomahawk Lumber Co.. our 
subject being superintendent of Mill No. 4 
until March, 1891, when Alexander and 
Hugh Rodgers withdrew from the company, 
and have since conducted their e.xtensive 
business independently. Their present plant 
at Tomahawk consists of sawmill, planing- 
inill and machine shop, Hugh being manager 
of the entire concern. 

On January 21. 1885. Hugh Rodgers 
was married to Miss Alice Leboeuf, a native 
of Charleston, Mass., and daughter of l)el- 
l)his and 01ym))ia Leboeuf, Canadians of 
I'rench descent, who had a family of four 
children: P-ugene, .Mice, P'lorence, and 
Rose. To Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Rodgers 
were born six children, namely: Alexander, 
Pyle R., Eugene (deceased at the age of two 
yearsj, Hugh, Rosa F.. and Carrie. Mr. 
Rodgers, in national and State affairs, sup- 
ports the Republican party; but in local elec- 
tions he casts his ballot for the best man, 
regardless of i)arty ties. At present he is 
alderman from the Third ward of Toma- 
hawk. Socially, he is affiliated with the I. 
(). O. F., K. of P., Order of Llks, K. O. 
T. M., and .\. P. A. societies. 



AN TON SCHUE rZ, pioneer merchant 
of Wausau, Marathon county. The 
prosperity of this gentleman in busi- 
ness he owes to himself, for he came 
when a mere boy to a new country, and was 
but ill-equipped, with either education or 
cajjital, to l)attle for a competenc}' under 
strange and new conditions. Yet he soon 
laid the foundation of a successful career, 
and time and a strict attention to business 
have made him one of the best-known and 
most successful merchants of Wausau. 



ioo6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Schuetz was born in the Province of 
Hesse, Germany, April 25, 1839, son of 
John and Elizabeth (Stahl) Schuetz. The 
parents died when Anton was a child, leav- 
ing a family of four children (three of whom 
survive): John, a prominent farmer, resid- 
ing in the township of Wansau; Katherina, 
wife of Conrad Althen, a prosperous mer- 
chant of Wausau; Anton and Mary. 

Anton attended the German schools in his 
boyhood, and in 1854, when fifteen years of 
age, he came to America. The first two 
years of his life here were spent at Milwau- 
kee, then in 1856 he cameto \\'ausau, where 
he has lived for nearly forty years. For a 
year or two he was a salesman in the store 
of Conrad Althen; then, in i860, he launched 
out for himself as a merchant tailor, but two 
years later he retired from that line and took 
charge of Conrad Althen's store, remaining 
in that capacit}' until 1868, when he became 
a partner in the business. The firm name 
remained C. Althen & Co., until 1880, when 
Mr. Schuetz retired, and embarked in his 
present successful mercantile trade. 

In I S74 our subject was married, at Wau- 
sau, to Miss Freda Kurth, daughter of Will- 
iam and Augusta Kurth. who were also Ger- 
man immigrants to Wausau, where they re- 
mained through life. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Schuetz seven children have been born, four 
of whom survive, as follows: Emma, Clara, 
Oscar and Edwin. The family attend St. 
Paul's Evangelical Church. Mr. Schuetz has 
served one term as treasurer of Wausau, is a 
careful and conservative business man, yet 
fully abreast with the demands of modern 
trade, and alive to modern business methods. 

JOHN GIKK, one of tlie native sons of 
Wisconsin, has for several years been 
connected with business interests in 
Marshticld, Wood county, where he is 
now engaged in the hotel and saloon busi- 
ness. He was born in Milwaukee county, 
September 22, 1854, and is a son of Henry 
Girk, who was born in Germany in 181 9. 
In 1846 he determined to leave the i'ather- 
land, and crossing the Atlantic in that year 
has since made his home in the United 
States, now li\ing- in Iowa; he is a farmer 



by occupation. By his marriage he became 
the father of thirteen children; the mother 
died in July, 1894. , 

John Girk was reared in the usual man- 
ner of farmer lads, his boyhood days being 
passed in work upon the home farm, assist- 
ing his father in clearing and developing the 
land. His school privileges were very limi- 
ted, but his advantages in respect to work 
were not so meager, as he learned the car- 
penter's trade before he had attained his 
majority, following same a number of years, 
being thus employed until 1878. In that 
year Mr. Girk came to Marshfield, where he 
opened a furniture store, but still engaged 
in contracting and building. On selling out 
he then engaged in the machinery and fire 
insurance business, continuing thus until 
1889, in which year he established a soap 
manufactory which he conducted until the 
following 3ear, when he received a sunstroke 
and was compelled to give up this enter- 
prise. He then started a hotel and saloon, 
which he has since successfully carried on. 

In 1876 Mr. Girk was married to Miss 
Katie Smith, who was born in Washington 
county. Wis., daughter of Peter and .Mar}' 
Smith, natives of Germany. Since his ar- 
rival in this country the father has followed 
farming. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Girk 
consists of six children, namely: John, Ed- 
win, Barbara, Lena, Anna and Katie. In 
politics Mr. Girk affiliated with the Democratic 
party until the fall of 1894. He served for 
two terms as deputy sheriff of \\''ood countv, 
held the office of constable for two years, 
and on the organization of the city of Marsh- 
field he was made one of its first aldermen, 
discharging his duties faithfully and in wliat- 
ever position he has been called upon tn till. 
He takes an active interest in educational 
affairs, and has served as school treasurer. 
In religious faith he is a Catholic, holding 
membership with that denomination. 



CHARLES A. ZAMZOW, a wide- 
awake and enterprising young busi- 
ness man of Merrill, Lincoln county, 
is a nati\e of Wisconsin, born in 
Berlin, \\'is.. May 25, 1865, a son of Lud- 
wig Zamzow, who was born in 1824. in 



COilMEMOUATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lOOJ 



Germany. When the father had reached 
the age of twenty years both his parents 
died. He bad one brother, August, and 
four sisters. In 1856, having decided to 
leave his native land, he crossed the ocean 
to America, and in this country was em- 
ployed as a farm hand. About four years 
after his arrival he was united in marriage 
with Amelia Fehlheber, who was also a 
native of the Fatherland. By this union 
have been born si.\ children, who are still 
living : Herman, Charles, Robert, Albert, 
Otto and Emil. After his marriage the 
father entered a tract of land from the gov- 
ernment in Marathon county. Wis. , which 
he cleared and improved, but later sold and 
purchased the farm on which he now resides. 
He now has 320 acres of rich and arable 
land, under a high state of cultivation, and 
in 1 894 he built thereon a fine and substan- 
tial residence. He is one of the leading 
farmers of Marathon county, held in the 
highest respect by all who know him. 
While still residing in his native land he 
served as a soldier in the German army. 

In the district schools of the neighbor- 
hood of his early home the education of 
Charles A. Zamzow was obtained. On 
completing his studies, at the age of thirteen 
years, he still remained upon the farm, as- 
sisting in the labors of the fields until he had 
reached the age of eighteen, when he went 
to the city of Marathon, Wis., where he 
learned the blacksmith's trade. After fol- 
lowing that occupation there some four and 
a half years, he then spent a short time in 
travel, leaving home in September, 1885, 
and during his absence worked some for 
other parties. In May, 1887, he came to 
Merrill and started his present shop, where 
he is now doing general blacksmithing and 
wagon making, and conducting a lucrative 
business. He is an excellent mechanic, and 
from the surrounding country receives a lib- 
eral patronage, which is justly deserved. 

Mr. Zamzow was united in marriage with 
Miss Ida Krueger, the ceremony being per- 
formed in May, 1886. She was born in Ger- 
many in 1869, and is a daughter of August 
and Minnie (Milleager) Krueger, farming 
people, who had a family of ten children: 
Herman, William, Ida. Mary, August, Ger- 



hardt, Minnie, Augusta, Louisa and Bertha. 
Louisa died in 1894. In 1882 the parents, 
accompanied by their familj', landed in the 
United States, and now reside upon a farm 
in Lincoln county. To our subject and his 
estimable wife have been born five chil- 
dren: Arthur, Edward, Elsie, Emma and 
Willie. Socially Mr. Zamzow belongs to 
the Modern Woodmen of America, and now 
holds office in the lodge at Merrill, while 
both he and his wife are members in good 
standing of the German Lutheran Church. 
In politics he uses his right of franchise in 
support of the Republican party, casting his 
vote for its men and measures. He has 
made many warm friends since coming to 
Merrill, his genial courteous manner and 
other pleasant qualities attracting to him all 
with whom he has come in contact. With 
characteristic energy he has followed his 
chosen trade and bids fair tn become a well- 
to-do ciUxen. 



JOHN SCHNABLEY, one of the early 
settlers of Wood county, now living in 
Grand Rapids, is a native of Berne, 
Switzerland, born March 19, 1826, 
and is a son of Christian and Barbara 
(Lance) Schnablej', who were also natives- 
of the same country. Their family num- 
bered but two children — John and Elizabeth. 
The subject of this sketch was educated 
in the common schools of his native land, 
and for seven years served in the Swiss 
army, participating in the battle of Sumder- 
bunt, in 1S48. As a means of livelihood 
he carried on agricultural pursuits, and made 
his home in the land of the Alps until 1851, 
when he crossed the broad Atlantic to 
America, locating near Milwaukee, Wis., 
where he engaged in farming. In the year 
of his arrival, in Buffalo, N. Y. , he was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary Our- 
born, a native of Berne, Switzerland, and 
the}' had a family of fifteen children, eight 
of whom are living, as follows: Mary, wife 
of Nicholas Martin, who is residing in Grand 
Rapids; Henry, who is li\ing on the Pacific 
coast; Emma, wife of John Heron, of Grand 
Rapids; Laura, ^ife of Edward Bloom, a 
resident of Merrill, Wis.-; |ohn. who was 



{Oo8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



born April 18, 1868, and resides in Grand 
Rapids; Susie Annie, who was born May 20, 
1869, and was married July 29, 1889, in 
Grand Rapids, to Robert Grosl<opf,a resident 
of Merrill, Wis.; Ella and Wiihelinina Alice, 
both of whom are still with their father. 
The mother of this family was called to her 
final rest March 1, 1883. 

For some years Mr. Schnabley engaged 
in farming near Milwaukee, Wis., and in 
1856 came to Grand Rapids, where he em- 
barked in the butchering business. Subse- 
quently he took up lumbering, and later en- 
gaged in farming, but is now living retired, 
having acquired a competency which en- 
ables him to lay aside all business cares. 
He devotes much of his time and attention 
to public affairs, and for the past five years 
has been an efficient member of the town 
board of supervisors, while for sixteen 
\ears he has served his district as school 
treasurer. Socially he is a member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; in 
j)olitical views he is a Democrat; and in re- 
ligious faith he and his family adhere to the 
Congregational Church. Mr. Schnabley 
sought a home in America with the hope of 
bettering his financial condition, and in this 
hope he has not been disappointed, for he 
came with a capital consisting of little more 
than a strong determination to succeed, and 
has steadily worked his way upward to a 
position of affluence. 

OTTO A. HILGEKMANX, president 
of the Rhinelandcr Brewing Co., 
Rhinelander, Oneida count}', is a 
Prussian by birth, ha\ing been born 
in that historic Kingdom April 17, 1845. 

Frederic Hilgerinann, his father, was of 
the same nationality, was a cabinet-maker 
by trade, and was married to Miss I""rederica 
]asse, who bore him six children, viz.; 
Frederic, Otto A., Louie, Adolph, Albert 
and Anna, three of whom died in infancy. 
The mother of these passed from earth in 
1859, the father in 1870. The second son, 
Otto A., who is the subject proper of these 
lines, received his education at the public 
schools of his native land, and learned cab- 
inet-making underhis father's tuition. When 



twenty-three years old, in the spring of 
1868, he emigrated to the United States, 
landing at New York, whence he at once 
came still farther westward, making a halt 
at Cleveland, Ohio. Here he sojourned but 
three months, in the fall of the same )-ear 
proceeding on his way to Chicago, and there 
remained some eighteen years, following his 
regular trade most of the time, and working 
for the Chicago & North Western Railroad 
Company; after the great fire of 1 87 1 , he took 
up contracting, and continued in that line 
with success for a time, then in the fall of 
1875 embarked in the furniture business. In 
December, 1886, he moved to Minneapolis, 
Minn., where he conducted a furniture fac- 
tory, including the manufacture of bar furn- 
ishings, until December, 1893, when he 
came to Rhinelander and engaged in the 
brewing industry, having associated himself 
with the Rhinelander Brewing Co., of which 
he is president. In 1891 he commenced in- 
vesting money in the industry, and in 1892 
sent his son, Otto, to learn the business, but 
after the latter's death our subject had to 
come to Rhinelander himself, in order to 
personally look after the business, and in 
May, 1894, he brought his family to Rhine- 
lander. The present brewery plant has a 
capacity of 30,000 barrels per annum. 

On May 9, 1874, at Chicago, 111., our 
subject was married to Miss Augusta Hirsch- 
mann, who was born in Wurtemberg, Ger- 
many, January 6, 1849, daughter of F" red- 
eric and Catherine (Moellenj Hirschmann, 
who were the parents of three children; Mrs. 
Hilgermann's parents, who carried on a con- 
fectionery business, never left the Father- 
land, dying there. To our subject and wife 
were born six children, three of whom are 
yet living — Hattie, George and Anna; Otto 
was drowned in the Wisconsin river, in 
1893, at the age of seventeen \-ears; one died 
in infancy, and Frederica Carlotta when 
aged twelve. Socially Mr. Hilgermann is a 
member of Khurum Lodge, F. & A. M., 
Minneapolis, of the I. O. O. F., K. of H. 
and A. O. U. W. A few years ago he visited 
California, and in 1888 his wife took a trip 
to Germany, being absent some five months. 
Their children have been well educated, 
having been instructed in the higher branches 



COMMEMORATIVK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1009 



at Chicago. Mr. Hilgermann is a typical 
self-made man, a representative of that solid 
and industrious class of Germans who make 
good citizens in any country. 



FREDERICK HORTON, Sk., is num- 
bered among the honored pioneers 
of Grand Rapids, his residence here 
dating from 1S54, and covering a 
period of forty-one consecutive years. Dur- 
ing this time he has witnessed almost the 
entire growth and development of Wood 
county, having seen it transformed from a 
wild region, sparsely settled, with few roads 
and but slight prospect of rapid growth, in- 
to one of the leading counties of the State, 
with thriving towns and villages, fine farms, 
beautiful homes, and churches and schools. 
Mr. Horton claims New Jersey as the 
State of his nativity, having been born there 
January 27, 1821. He has two brothers 
and a sister still living, namely: Benjamin, 
who makes his home in Hixton, Wis. ; La- 
vina, wife of Naaman Belknap, of Grand 
Rapids; and Daniel, who is living in the 
same place. Mr. Frederick Horton spent 
a part of his early life in Waverley, N. J., 
and renujved thence to the Empire State, 
where he was living at the time he resolved 
to seek a home in the West. He carried 
out this resolution by his removal to Wis- 
consin, where he first engaged in business 
at shingle making, but later he resumed the 
trade of coopering, which he had learned 
during his boyhood and which he had followed 
during his residence in the East. That 
pursuit has practically been his life work, and 
he has followed it successfully, earning a 
good living for himself and family. 

In 1854 Mr. Horton was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Margaret Quick, daughter of 
Herman and Eli;;abeth (Ouimbey) Quick, 
the wedding being celebrated in their old 
home at Waverley. To them have been 
born fourchildren, three yet living, viz. : Alice, 
the eldest, is now the wife of W. A. Horton, 
a resident of Fargo, Wis.; Frederick, Jr. , 
the onlj- son, was born October 24, i860, 
and married. May 14, 1893, Daisy May 
Atwood, daughter of Abnez and Alice At- 
wood, of Grand Rapids; the\' have one child. 



Hazel, who was born May 23, 1894. Lil- 
lian is now the wife of J. J. Gopie, a resi- 
dent of Dawson, N. Dak. William died in 
infancy. 

Mr. Horton is a public-spirited and pro- 
gressive citizen, and has always borne his part 
in the development of his adopted county, 
giving his support to all interests which are 
calculated to promote the general welfare. 
His long life in the county has been well 
spent, and has gained him the warm regard 
of many friends. In his political views he is a 
Democrat, and in religious faith he and his 
family are Congregationalists. 



AUGUST KUNKEL, whose early days 
were passed beneath the genial skies 
of the German Fatherland, is now 
one of the leading blacksmiths of 
Merrill, Lincoln county. He was born in 
Germany, August 17, 1862, and is a son of 
Jacob Kunkel. 

The father is also a native of Germany, 
his birth having occurred there in 1832, and 
by trade he is a blacksmith. His wife's 
maiden name was Christine Hins, and they 
had eight children: Johanna, August, 
Mary, Adolph, Frederick, Lena. Edwin and 
Augusta. AH of the children have come to 
America with the exception of Johanna, who 
is married and yet resides in her native land. 
The parents arrived in this country in 1890, 
and now make their home in Merrill. The 
paternal grandparents both died in Ger- 
many, where the grandfather. Christian 
Kunkel, was engaged in blacksmithing. The 
maiden name of the lady who became his 
wife was Krouse, and they had a family of 
five children: Godfrey, Jacob, Christian, 
August and Christine. 

Our subject in his childhood lived in the 
beautiful land of his birth, where he also re- 
ceived his education. There he learned the 
trade of a blacksmith with his father, which 
occupation he followed until 1883, when at 
the age of twenty-one he enlisted in the 
German Cavalry, serving three years. After 
his discharge he again worked at his trade 
in that country for one year. In September, 
1887, he landed on the .shores of the United 
States, fir.st setting foot in Baltinion.', but 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



proceeded on his westward journey until ar- 
riving at Antigo. Wis., where he remained 
a few da3's. He then came to Merrill, where 
he worked at his trade for others until 1892, 
but in that year he and Martin Larsen pur- 
chased their present shop, where they are 
now doing general blacksmithing under the 
firm name of Larsen & Kunkel. They have 
a large and constantly increasing trade, and 
all the work which they turn out is of a first- 
class description. 

In 1890 Mr. Kunkel married Johanna 
De Graff, also a native of Germany, where 
her birth occurred in 1869. With her par- 
ents, William and Christine De Graff, she 
came to America in 1877; her father now 
lives in Merrill, where he carries on shoe 
making; her mother died in April. 1891, 
leaving a family of si.\ children: Theressa, 
Helmina, Laura, Johanna, William and 
Emil. To our subject and his wife has been 
born one child, Raymond. Mr. Kunkel e.\- 
ercises his right of franchise in support of 
the Republican part}-, whose princioles he 
always espouses, and in religious belief is a 
Lutheran. On his arrival in this country he 
had 00 capital with which to begin life, in 
fact he was fifty dollars in debt; but by in- 
dustry and economy he has worked his way 
upward until now he has secured a comfort- 
able home, and is the manager of a good 
business. 



OLE ERICKSON, township clerk of 
I^essor township, Shawano county, 
and who has held that office since 
1890, was born in Norway, near 
Christiania, April 9, 1854, son of Erick and 
Ingeborg (Helgeson) Oleson. 

Erick Oleson, who was a tanner in Nor- 
way, embarked with his wife and family on 
the sailing vessel " .Erna " at Christiania, 
Norway, for America, landed at Quebec af- 
ter a voyage of seven weeks, and came di- 
rect to Wisconsin, arriving in Manitowoc 
August 15, 1867. They located in Gibson, 
Manitowoc county, where the father bought 
a tract of forty acres, then in a primitive 
condition, on which he lived with his family 
seven years, meanwhile opening up the land 
and clearing it for a home. In 1S74 he 



came to Lessor township, Shawano county, 
and purchasing eightj' acres engaged in 
general farming, also speculating in land, 
and he has owned at one time as much as 
640 acres, in different tracts. Mr. and Mrs. 
Oleson, both now sixty-four years of age, 
are still living on the homestead, which is 
now a fine farm, and their \'ounger children 
are still living at home with them. Their 
children are eight in number — five boys and 
three girls — as follows: Ole, subject of this 
sketch; Helge, a farmer of Lessor township, 
and now township assessor, who married 
and had eleven children, eight of whom are 
yet living, three being dead; Christia, wife 
of Peter Jommen, of Maple Grove township, 
where he is a successful farmer (they had 
seven children — five living and two dead); 
Nels, owner of a fortj'-acre farm in Lessor 
township, married and had five children — 
three living and two dead; Hans, living in 
Lessor, who had three children — two living 
and one dead (his wife died in 1S94); Peter, 
unmarried, living with his father, and Cam- 
line and Hannah, both at home. 

Ole Erickson attended school but five 
months in his native land, and they had 
only four weeks' schooling there each year; 
in this country he attended school only 
eighteen days, so it will be seen that his 
education has been obtained elsewhere than 
in the school-room. He went to work in 
the lumber woods, and since he was fifteen 
years old has done a man's work. In 1S73 
he came to Lessor township, and here, in 
Section i, bought a tract of eighty acres, 
which still forms a portion of his farm. It 
was wild and in a primitive condition, in- 
habited only by deer, bears, and howling 
wolves, and he did not commence to im- 
prove it until after his marriage, up to that 
time working out by the day. 

On May 26, 1877, Mr. Erickson was 
united in marriage with Bertha Gilbert, who 
was born in Manitowoc county. Wis.. July 
9, 1858, and they have one son, Henry Ed- 
ward, born April 5, 1878, and living at home 
with his parents. Hans and Mary (Paulson) 
Gilbert, parents of Mrs. Erickson. wore 
both from Norway, sailing from Christiania 
about the year 1850, and landing at Quebec 
after a voyage of thirteen weeks, thence 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



coming to Wisconsin and locating in Mani- 
towoc county. They were married in Amer- 
ica, and had a family of three children, as 
follows: One that died in infancy; Gabriel, 
a farmer in Pierce county, Wis., where he 
is a successful and prominent citizen, for ten 
years serving as clerk of his township (he 
has a wife and si.\ children), and Bertha, 
Mrs. Erickson. Mr. Gilbert was one of the 
early settlers in Manitowoc count}', where 
he bought and opened up land and cleared 
a home, and there were but a few shanties 
in what is now Manitowoc city when he 
made a settlement. From Manitowoc coun- 
ty they moved to Pierce county, Wis. , where 
Mr. Gilbert has since made his home. He 
is now sixty-five years of age; his wife, Mary, 
died in 1875, at the age of fifty-eight.. 

When Mr. Erickson was married he lo- 
cated on the land where he now lives, and 
had a log house 16x24 feet, in which they 
lived until 1893, when a modern farm house 
was erected in its stead. The land was low, 
and very hard to clear and put into farming 
condition, and no roads had been cut at that 
time. Mr. Erickson had an ox-team, an 
axe and a grub hoe, those convenient tools 
of a pioneer, and commenced the work of 
clearing, with which he advanced as rapidly 
as possible, and to-day he is owner of lOO 
acres of land, of which seventj' are cleared 
and under cultivation, a result which has 
been accomplished solely by hard work. 
Mr. Erickson engages in general agriculture. 
Politically he supports and always has sup- 
ported the Republican party, and he has 
held office ever since he was twenty-one 
years old, at present serving as township 
clerk. For ten years he was township treas- 
urer, chairman two years, supervisor one 
year, and he has been school treasurer four- 
teen years. In religious affiliation the fam- 
ily are members of the United Scandinavian 
Lutheran Church. 



GEORGE AYSHFORD, a son of 
William and Mary (Hoskins) Aysh- 
ford, was born in Taunton, Eng- 
land, and is now engaged in the ho- 
tel business in Grand Rapids, Wood count}'. 
The father of our subject was also born 



in Taunton, February 22, 18 19, was there 
reared and educated, and while in his na- 
tive land followed the occupation of a pit- 
sawyer. Hoping to better, his financial con- 
dition, he crossed the Atlantic to the United 
States in 1849, and took up his residence in 
Galena, 111., where he secured employment 
in the lead mines of that locality. From 
that place he removed to Berlin, Wis., and 
in 1856 came to Grand Rapids, casting in his 
lot among the early settlers of Wood county. 
Here he engaged in lumber sawing in con- 
nection with Henry Rablin, and after the 
latter's death was associated in business 
with Mr. Rablin's brother John. To the 
lumber interests he devoted his time and at- 
tention until 1883, when he laid aside busi- 
ness cares and lived retired until called to 
the eternal life. He passed away April 15, 
1889, and the community mourned the death 
of one of its best citizens. A brother, John, 
still survives him, and is living in Andrew 
county, Mo. Mrs. Ayshford was a daughter 
of James and Elizabeth Hoskins, and was a 
most highly-esteemed lady. 

The family of this worthy couple num- 
bered three children, but our subject is now 
the only survivor. His life was passed in 
the land of his nativity until 1849, when he 
accompanied his parents on their emigra- 
tion to America, was with them until their 
removal to Berlin, Wis., and when the fam- 
ily came to Grand Rapids he too took up his 
residence here, so that he has been identi- 
fied with its interests for almost forty years. 
He is an engineer by trade, but for some 
time past has not followed that occupation, 
being now engaged in the hotel business, 
keeping a well-appointed hotel, neatly and 
tastefully furnished, and his earnest endeav- 
ors to make guests feel at home have made 
this hostelry a popular one with the travel- 
ing public. 

On March i, 1884, Mr. Ayshford was 
united in marriage with Miss Ida Snyder, 
daughter of Stephen and Rosanna (Hoy) 
Sn}der, both of whom are now deceased. 
They were English people, and the father 
was engaged in the commission business in 
Liverpool. Her brother, who resides in 
Newport, Monmouthshire, England, is now 
serving as mayor of that city, and is justice 



COldMEMORArn'B BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of the peace; has been a member of Parlia- 
ment, and has been very prominent and in- 
fluential in the community where he makes 
his home. Her sister Belle is now the wife 
of Frederick Orders, and is also residing in 
Newport, England. Mr. Ayshford and his 
father's family are members of the Presby- 
terian Church, and his wife holds member- 
ship with the Roman Catholic Church. 



LLAMPERT was born in West Bend, 
Wis., and is a son of Florian and 
Katherina (Lampert) I^ampert, who 
were natives of Switzerland. 
In the public schools of his native town 
Mn. Lampert received his education, and 
after leaving school learned the mason's 
trade with his father, working at that busi- 
ness for a period of about six years. He 
next accepted a clerical position with the J. 
Lampert Flouring Mill Company, serving 
as bookkeeper, and continuing with that 
firm for eight }ears, a fact which indicates 
his strict adherence to duty, his fidelity to 
his employers' interest, and the trust which 
was reposed in him, and which was never be- 
tra}'ed ; he was also engaged in the same occu- 
pation with the firm for two years at Stevens 
Point, Wis. He then returned to the old mill 
at Oshkosh, which in the meantime had 
changed ownership, being at that time ojier- 
ated b\' H. C. Ciustavus & Co., with whom 
he continued as an efficient and trusted 
bookkeeper for three years. In 1882 he 
came to Centralia, entering the employ of 
the Jackson Milling Company as bookkeep- 
er — a position he has ever since creditably 
filled. His long-continued service is the 
highest testimonial that can be given of his 
excellent ability' and of his labor in the in- 
terests of the firm. 

Mr. Lampert was married in Green Bay, 
Wis., in May, 1883, to Miss Mamie Pleif- 
fer, whose parents were natives of Germany, 
and her fatiier lost his life while serving his 
adopted country in the war of the Rebel- 
lion. Mrs. Lampert is an estimable lady, 
and has won many friends in the connnun- 
ity, and like her husband is held in the 
highest regard. Their marriage has been 
blessed with five children, namelv. Leona, 



Dorothea, Ernmer Elliott, Blanch Luella, 
William Henry and Minaftawa, all li\ing. 
Mr. and Mrs. Lampert are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a 
member of the society known as the Wood- 
men of the World. 

Florian Lampert, the esteemed father of 
our subject, was a mason and plasterer, 
learning his trade in Switzerland, his native 
land. In his younger years he emigrated to 
the United States, locating in Wisconsin, 
but spent a large portion of his life in St. 
Louis. He served as city treasurer of \^'est 
Bend, and was also count}' treasurer of 
W'ashington count}'. Wis., being thus offi- 
cially connected with the conmiunit}', which 
recognized in him a valuable citizen. He 
erected some of the most important public 
and private buildings of the cit}', and in 
other ways aided in its advancement and 
progress. His death occurred in West Bend 
in 1872, when he was fifty years old, and 
his wife, who survived him some time, 
passed away in Oshkosh, at the age of sixty- 
nine. Their family numbered f(3ur children, 
all of whom are }'et living, namely: Martha, 
wife of Peter Bernhard, a resident of Kan- 
sas; Mathias, a prominent boot and shoe 
merchant of Oshkosh, Wis. ; Florian, comp- 
troller of the city of Oshkosh; and Leon- 
hard, whose name introduces these lines. 



M 



.\RTIN LARSEN is one of the 
leading blacksmiths of Merrill, 
Lincoln county, being a member of 
the well-known firm of Larsen tV 
Kunkel, who are conducting a successful 
and lucrative business. His birth occurred 
June I I, 1833, and he is a son of Lars and 
Hannah Larsen, who were the parents of 
four children: |cns, Martin, Peter and 
John. The father was a carpenter by trade, 
and also engaged in fishing. He died in 
Sweden in 18.47, iiis wife passing awa\' 
in 1870. 

The educ:ation which .Martin Larsen re- 
ceived was very limited, being obtained in 
the connnon schools of Sweden, and at the 
age of eight he commenced herding cattle. 
When he had attained his fifteenth year he 
began learuin-j the trade of a blacksmith. 



COMMEMORATIVK BlOQllAl'lIlCAL llECORD. 



ior3 



servinf^ an apprenticeship of four years, 
during which time the only compensation he 
received was his board. In 1863, in Nor- 
way, he married Hannah Ludwika, a na- 
tive of that country, where she was born in 
1838, and by this union were l)orn in 
Christiania, Norway, four children: Xirtor 
E. A. and Helga M., still living, and two 
that died when quite young. 

In 1873, Mr. Larsen, accompanied b\- 
his family crossed the broad Atlantic, land- 
ing in New York City, from which city 
he went direct to Boston, where he re- 
mained one year. He then went to \<!ox- 
cester, Mass., where for two years he was 
employed by a firm which was engaged in 
the manufacture of cutlery and firearms. 
In July, 1876, he removed to Wisconsin, 
first locating on a tract of wild land nine 
miles from the city of Merrill. There the 
family made their home, while he worked 
at his trade in the city, until July, 1890. At 
that time the\' remo\-ed into Merrill, where 
Mr. Larsen purchased a shop. In the fall 
of 1892 he and August Kunkel bought their 
present place of business, where the\' luue 
since carrieil on general blacksmithing and 
wagonmaking under the firm name of 
Larsen cS: Kunkel. Mr. Larsen's son Victor 
is also interested in the business, and they 
now have an excellent trade, which is con- 
stantly increasing. 

Politically, Mr. Larsen affiliati;s with the 
Republican party, being one of its stanch 
supporters. In religious faith he is a 
Lutheran, holding membership with the 
Norwegian Lutheran Church. He is one of 
the self-made men of the county, all that 
he now possesses being the result of his in- 
dustry and frugality, and at the present time 
he owns a good home and two blacksmith 
shops in Merrill. On September 15, 1894, he 
was called upon to mourn the loss of his 
wife, a most estimable lady, who had the 
respect of all who knew her. 

JACOB LUT2 is one of the worthy 
German citizens of Wood county, his 
home being in Grand Rapids, where he 
does business as the manager of the 
Twin City Brewing Company. His birth 



occurred in Baden, German}', January 16, 
1840, and he is a son of Andrew aud Mary 
fLut/j Lutz, who were also natives of 
Baden, but both are now deceased. The 
father was a farmer by occupation, following 
that pursuit throughout his entire active lifex 

The subject of this sketch was reared 
upon the home farm in thi- usual manner of 
farm lads, his labors in the fields being 
alternated by his attendance at the public 
schools of his nati\e province. He contin- 
ued to work on the old homestead until 
nineteen years of age, when he started out 
in life for himself, and since that time he 
has been dependent entirely upon his own 
resources. As the family to which he be- 
longed was a large one no special advantages- 
could be given him. There were seven 
children, li\'c of whom are yet living, 
namely: .Andniw, who is engaged in the 
brewing business and makes his home in 
Stevens Point, Wis. ; Michael, who is resid- 
ing at Grand Rapids; John, also located at 
Stevens Point ; David, of Grand Rapids : 
and Jacob, whose name introduces this 
sketch. Both parents and one sister of our 
subject died at Almond, Wis., where their 
remains are interred, and another sister de- 
parted this life while the family were in 
Germany. The members of this family are- 
connected with the Lutheran Church. 

Again taking up the life history of Jacob- 
Lutz, we find that at the age of nineteen he 
crossed the -Vtlantic to the United States- 
and made his way direct to Wisconsin, 
where he had a brother living, with whom 
he worked at agricidtural pursuits for two 
or three years. His next jilace of abode 
was in Stevens Point, Wis., where he 
learned the brewing business, working at 
that in the employ of Frank Warder for 
about live years. On the expiration of that 
period he and his brother bought out their 
employer, and conducted the business on 
their own account for about fifteen years. 
In the fall of 1 880 Jacob Lutz removed to 
Grand Rapids, where he has since resided, 
and is still engaged in the brewing business, 
as manager of the affairs and interests of 
the Twin City Brewing Coinpan\ . Hc- 
thoroughly understands the trade, and is well 
littc^d for the position which he now occu- 



I014 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



pies. In his political views he is a Demo- 
crat, but he has had neither time nor incli- 
nation for public office. 



JOSEPH H. LANDRY was born in 
Saint Paschal, Province of Quebec, 
Canada, June 9. 1859, and is a son of 
Francis and Mary (Bochard) Landrj-, 
natives of the same Province, where they 
still reside. Their family numbered thirteen 
children, of whom the following; are living: 
John, a resident of Tomahawk, Wis.; Ellen, 
wife of Antoine Peltier, a resident of Saint 
Paschal; Valentine and Bernard, both living 
in Centralia; Joseph H. ; Clara and Alice, 
twins; August, Peter, and Francis. 

The gentleman whose name begins this 
record was educated in the public schools of 
his native town, and on leaving the Province 
of Quebec made his way to Wisconsin, locat- 
ing in Wood county, where for a number of 
\'ears he engaged in the lumber business. 
On discontinuing that industry he established 
a saloon in Tomahawk, Wis. , where he re- 
Tnained for a year, and also spent one year 
in the same business in Merrill. In 1893 he 
was joined by his brother Valentine in the 
harness-making business in Centralia, and 
they are now enjoying a large and rapidly 
increasing trade. 

Valentine Landry, the brother of Joseph 
H.. was also born in Saint Paschal, Quebec, 
and came to Centralia in 1880. The firm 
of Landry Brothers has now a well-estab- 
lished reputation for good workmanship, and 
they command a liberal share of the public 
patronage. Valentine Landry has been 
twice married. In his native town he wedded 
Miss Salina Gayon, and to them was born 
one child, now deceased. His wife died in 
Centralia, August 16, 1882, and in 1884 he 
was joined in wedlock with Miss Josephine 
Kotelli. Three children grace their union — 
Viola, Frank and Leo. 



EDMUND S. ANDERSON, member 
of the widely-known enterprising firm 
of Anderson Bros., manufacturers 
of wagons and sleighs, Rhinelander, 
Oneida county, is a native of Wisconsin, 



born in Geneva July 10, 1859, a grandson 
of Ira Anderson, a farmer by occupation, 
who was of Scotch descent, if not born in 
Scotland. 

Ira Anderson had a family of eight chil- 
dren, the names of only five being now 
known — Ira, Joseph A., Josiah, Elia and 
Mary. The parents died in New York State. 
Joseph A., the second son, was born in 
1822, at Pompey Hill, Onondaga Co., N. 
Y., and in his boyhood was reared on a 
farm, attending the winter schools for a few 
seasons, after which he followed the profes- 
sion of teacher. In 1 851 he came to Wis- 
consin and located where is now Clinton 
Junction, Rock county, taking up forty 
acres of land. He had studied for the min- 
istry of the M. E. Church, was duly or- 
dained, and here at his new Wisconsin home 
he preached his first sermon, being attached 
to the Fond du Lac circuit. He was a 
typical pioneer preacher, his duties calling 
him all over the then 3-oung State of Wis- 
consin, as well as outside, he having built 
the first church in Wyoming Territory. In 
all his labors he has shown himself to be a 
man of strong character and indomitable 
will power, a leader among men, and an 
earnest, hard worker in the cause of re- 
ligion. He has been thrice married: first 
time, in Wisconsin, to Miss Elizabeth Cole- 
grove, by whom he had si.\ children: John 
\V. , Erwin W., Eugene F., Watson D., 
Charles and Edmund S., of whom Erwin 
W. and Edmund S. are the only survivors. 
The mother of these dying in Appleton in 
1862, Mr. Anderson subsequently married 
Miss Adelia S. Parkell, who died April 13, 
1883, without issue. For his third and 
present wife Mr. Anderson wedded Mrs. 
Helen Anderson, bis brother's widow, and 
they are residing now in Syracuse, New 
York. 

The subject proper of this sketch, whose 
name appears at the opening, received a 
thorough high-school education in the city 
of his birth, and when fifteen years old went 
to Minnesota, where for a year he worked 
as a farm hand. Returning to Wisconsin 
he located at Wausau, where he learned 
the trade of machinist, serving a three- 
j'ears' apprenticeship, and then worked two 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



1015 



years as journeyman, after which he com- 
menced clerking in a' grocery store; but after 
about twelve months, his health becoming 
impaired, he resumed his trade, following it 
some eighteen months at Stevens Point, 
Wis. , and Minneapolis. His health again 
failing, however, he had once more to make 
a change, this time going on a homestead in 
Lincoln (now Oneida) county, Wis., re- 
maining thereon five years. In 1887 he 
moved to Eagle River, and here conducted 
a draying business, handling coal, lime and 
brick, until 1892, in which year he came to 
Rhineland^, and embarked in the manu- 
facture of wagons and sleighs. The founda- 
tion of this business had been laid by John- 
son Bros., in 1886, they continuing until 
1890; in July, 1891, Rogers & Kane be- 
came proprietors by purchase, and they car- 
ried it on till 1892, at which time Erwin W. 
Anderson bought a one-half interest, Ed- 
mund S. associating himself with the busi- 
ness the following September, since when 
the style of the firm has been Anderson 
Bros. They do a lucrative and safe busi- 
ness, are among the pushing manufacturers 
of the county, and at the present time fur- 
nish employment for fifteen hands. Both 
the brothers are of inventive turn of mind, 
Edmund having a patent for extracting 
spokes from a wheel, while Erwin, who is a 
blacksmith by trade, has one for a contriv- 
ance to support wagon and sleigh tongues. 
[Since the above was written we have re- 
ceived information that Anderson Bros, have 
gone out of business. — Ed.] 

On December 19, i888, Edmund S. An- 
derson and Miss Mary J. Allen, were united 
in marriage. She was born, in i860, at 
Appleton, Wis., daughter of Hiram B. and 
Mary (Prince) Allen, the father, who was a 
native of New York State, dying in April, 
1883, the mother in 1893; they had eight 
children: Halsey, Alfred, Foster, Alice, 
Emma, Mary, and two that died in infancy. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Edmund S. Anderson has 
been born one son, named Edmund Wat- 
son. In politics our subject is a Repub- 
lican, and while a resident of Eagle River 
he served as president of the school board 
three years; socially, he is a member of the 
I. O. O. F. 



Erwin W. Anderson married Miss Alice 
Allen, sister to Mrs. Edmund S. Anderson, 
and five children were born to them: Fred- 
erick, Frank, Allen, Imogene and Halsey, 
Imogene being deceased. 



BENJAMIN F. McMillan. While 
the enormous lumber interests of the 
Upper Wisconsin Valley have at- 
tracted a vast number of individual 
enterprises, and have afforded a field for 
operations conducted on either a small or a 
large scale, there have been a few enterprises 
of towering greatness and importance that 
have built railroad spurs, penetrating the 
valuable forests for miles, and in various 
other ways making possible the rapid and 
thorough prosecution of this industry. In 
the southwest portion of Marathon county 
is one of these thriving enterprises. 

In the fall of 1873 Benjamin F. and 
Charles V. McMillan were tramping through 
the pine forests of Wisconsin, looking for 
a desirable site for a mill. They were the 
sons of an extensive lumberman, and thor- 
oughly understood the business. After 
some prospecting they selected the location 
which they still occupy. Commencing with 
a capital of $5,000, their mills at McMillan, 
Marathon county, now have a capacity of 
twelve million feet per annum. Many other 
great enterprises have been inaugurated and 
successfully operated by these untiring busi- 
ness men in this locality and elsewhere. 
The mills at McMillan are in charge of Ben- 
jamin F. McMillan, who is so practical and 
thorough in his management that there is no 
position in the great works, from common 
laborer to president, that he is not capable 
of creditably filling. 

Mr. McMillan is a representative of an 
old and prominent family in American his- 
tory. He was born at Fort Covington, 
Franklin Co., N. Y., October 17, 1845, son 
of David S. and Harriet (Barbour) McMillan. 
The father of David S. was David Mc- 
Millan, a native of Washington county, N. 
Y. , and the latter's father, also named 
David, was of Scotch descent, and a native 
of the North of Ireland, whence he emigrat- 
ed to America, settling in ^^^ashington coun- 



ioi6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPUICAL RECORD. 



ty, N. Y. David McMillan, father of David 
S., settled in Fort Covington, N. Y. , where 
he helped to found the Presbyterian Church, 
and where for many years he followed fann- 
ing and lumber-manufacturing pursuits. He 
died in 1847, having survived his wife a 
number of years. Their si.x children were 
Charles, Benjamin, David S., Mary, Eliza 
and Sarah. 

David S. McMillan was born January i, 
18 1 2, on the same farm where his son Ben- 
jamin F. first saw the light thirty-three 
years later. In early life David S. was a 
farmer, a lumberman and a dealer in wool, 
buying and selling extensively, but later he 
bought a mill at Malone, Franklin Co., N. 
Y. , and engaged in manufacturing woolen 
goods. The mill there still bears his name, 
and it is an evidence of the good quality of 
the product that the " McMillan pants" at- 
tained a world-wide fame. Mr. McMillan 
was married, in 1834, to Harriet Barbour, 
who was born November 22, 1815, at Ol- 
ney, Vt. , a daughter of Joseph and Char- 
lotte (Smith) Barbour. Joseph Barbour, 
who was of French descent, was born in 
September, 1768, and was by occupation a 
farmer and wool carder; he lived to the age 
of ninety-seven years. His wife, Charlotte, 
born May 19, 1771, was the daughter of 
Lord Macllroff, of Ireland; she was adopted 
by the Smith family, and by them brought to 
America, where Lord Macllroff once visited 
her. He returned to Ireland and died in 
that country. The children of Joseph and 
Charlotte Barbour were fifteen in number, 
their names and dates of birth being as fol- 
lows: Charlotte, March 11, 1789; Clarissa, 
February 11, 1791; Joseph, February 14, 
1793; Samuel V., February 13, 1795; 
Chauncey, January 26, 1797; Altha, Novem- 
ber 30, 1799; Lucy, February 5, 1801; 
Huldah, November 22, 1803; Theron, No- 
vember 22, 1805; Eliza, February 5. 1807; 
Albert, February 5, 1809; Volney, February 
5, 181 1 ; Sophrona, January 8, 181 3; Har- 
riet, November 22, 181 5; Mary E., August 
20, 1819. Six of these children lived to the 
age of eighty-nine years. The mother died 
in 1822. 

After his marriage David S. McMillan 
continued in business in New York until 



1864, when he came west and located at 
Sharon, Portage county. Wis., here building 
a mill and manufacturing lumber extensive- 
ly, shipping the product down the Wiscon- 
sin river to his yards at Keokuk, Iowa. In 
politics he was a Whig, a Know-Nothingand 
a Republican successively. He was a man 
of strong personality. Unerring in judg- 
ment and well-informed on all subjects of 
the day, his advice was frequently sought by 
his fellow men. In 1873 he retired from 
business, and died at Stevens Point, Wis., 
ten years later; his widow still survives. 
David S. and Harriet McMillah were the 
parents of twelve children, of whom only 
three now survive — Hulda, Mrs. S. B. 
Powell, who has one son, Dr. John R. 
Powell, in Chicago; Benjamin F. ; and 
Charles v., of Fond du Lac, Wis.; three 
children died in infancy. Of the others, 
Daniel T. was killed at Salem Church, Va., 
on May 3, 1863, three days before his two- 
years' term of enlistment in the Sixteenth 
N. Y. V. I. would expire (he had served 
through the Peninsular campaign, and was 
engaged at Antietam, South Mountain, and 
many other battles — eleven engagements in 
all); Mary Jane died at the age of ten years: 
Henry S. married, and left one daughter, 
Margaret, now of Malone, N. Y. ; Louisa 
married Mr. Charles, and died without is- 
sue; Richard H. married, and had one child, 
Fred S., who now lives with his uncle, Ben- 
jamin F. 

Benjamin F. McMillan attended school 
until he was eighteen years of age, and then 
assisted in his father's business until the 
latter's retirement in 1873. He came west 
in 1865, and from 1868 to 1870 had charge 
of the lumber yards in Keokuk, Iowa. On 
April 30, 1873, he was married to Ada M. 
Beebee, who was born at East Constable. 
N. Y. , daughter of Amander and Laura 
(Bell) Beebee, both natives of New York. 
Amander Beebee was the son of Simeon 
Beebee, a farmer, a native of Connecticut, 
and a soldier in the war of 1812, participat- 
ing in the battle of Plattsburg. His father 
emigrated from England, in what year is not 
known. Simeon Beebee married Sally Rus- 
sell, of Burlington, Vt., and migrated to 
Malone, N. Y. , and later to East Constable, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1017 



Franklin county. He had six children: 
Amander (deceased), Buell S. (deceased), 
Sidney M. (of Carey, Ohio), Laura (deceased), 
Nancy (now Mrs. Allen, of Lockport, N. Y. ), 
and \\'alter (of Needham, Mass.). The 
father of these died in 1856, the mother in 
1880, at Carey, Ohio. Amander Beebee 
married Laura Bell, daughter of Freeman 
and Triphena (Hopkins) Bell. Freeman 
Bell was a native of Connecticut, and mi- 
grated to Constable, N. Y. , where he built, 
in July, 1800, an hotel which he kept during 
the war of 1812, and which his son Seth 
still occupies. Triphena Hopkins was a dis- 
tant relative of Millard Fillmore. The four 
children of Freeman and Triphena Bell were 
Laura, Seth, Hannah and Sarah. The 
children of Amander and Laura Beebee 
were Sheridan F., Edwin H., Ada M., 
Sheridan, Isabel H., Florence T. and Am- 
ander E. Amander Beebee died in New 
York in 1864; his widow still lives at the 
old homestead. To Benjamin F. and Ada 
M. McMillan one child was born, in 1876, 
Laura Bell, who died in 1877, aged six 
months. 

After his father's retirement from active 
life in 1873 Benjamin F.. then twenty-eight 
years old, embarked extensively in business 
in his own name. With his brother Charles 
he located the present site of their extensive 
plant in 1873, and in the following spring 
they constructed the mills and cut a small 
stock of 800,000 feet, which they had pur- 
chased the previous year. For five years 
they hauled the lumber to Manville, then in 
1878 they built a railroad spur three and a 
half miles in length to that station, using 
their own locomoti\e in operating the little 
road. In 1 880 or 1881 they added the stave- 
mill and planer, and the general store in 
1888. Securing the Lake Shore railroad in 
1890, which established a station near their 
mills, and named it McMillan, the brothers 
about that time built a nine-mile logging 
road, reaching through the township of Eau 
Elaine, and penetrating their own lumber 
land. The McMillan brothers also own lands 
in California. Other industries followed: 
In 1885 they established a cold and warm 
storage house at Ashland, Wis. , under the 
firm name of McMillan Bros. &. Co., which 



they managed four years, the last year 
handling produce to the value of $600,000. 
In 1890 McMillan Bros, purchased the plant 
formerly owned by C. J. L. Meyer, at Fond 
du Lac, Wis., and incorporated it as The 
Winnebago Furniture Manufacturing Co., 
with a capital of $200,000, and with C. V. 
McMillan as president, B. F. McMillan as 
vice-president, and E. R. Herren as secre- 
tary and treasurer. In 1892 the brothers 
incorporated the village of McMillan, of 
which Benjamin F. is now president, and 
during the same year he erected his present 
palatial residence, one of the finest in the 
county. In 1889 he began the breeding of 
fine horses, and now has a valuable stable 
of thoroughbreds. In politics Mr. McMillan 
is a Republican, but because of his extensive 
business interests he has religiously refrained 
from public life. 



REV. LIMER F. BRICKELS, Pres- 
byterian minister at Auburndale, 
Wood county, has been an active 
factor in fostering the religious life of 
the pioneers in the Upper Wisconsin Valley. 
He has been instrumental in developing a 
number of Churches, and deserves unusual 
credit for the good work he has done, for 
he did not come into this promisiog harvest 
field as an ordained minister, but as a 
pioneer. In his native land he had been a 
lay minister, but in America his hands were 
thoroughly baptized with the daily toil of 
the masses before the mantle of his sacred 
calling fell upon his shoulders. 

Mr. Brickels was born in Woodbridge, 
County of Suffolk, England, October 4, 
1835, only child of John and Mary Ann 
(Limer) I3rickels, the former of whom, a 
contractor and builder by occupation, was 
born in 18 10. His father, Francis Brickels, 
in his day a collector of customs at Wood- 
bridge, married Margaret Gooding, by whom 
he had five children: William, John, Har- 
riet, Joseph and Ellen. Harriet, now the 
only survivor of this family, is seventy-nine 
years of age, and lives on the old home- 
stead at Woodbridge; she is an active old 
lady, and delights in writing long letters to 
her friends in America. Mary Ann (Limer), 



loiS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the wife of John Brickels, was the daughter 
of Peter Limer, a sea captain, who perished 
in a storm at sea with his entire crew save 
the cabin boy. The widow of Capt. Limer 
hved to the age of eighty-five years. Their 
two children were Wilham and Mary Ann, 
the latter of whom died October ii, 1835, 
a few days after the birth of her only son, 
Limer F., subject of these lines, and sixteen 
years later John Brickels married Harriet 
Cook, by whom there was no issue. He 
died, in 1889, at the old home in Wood- 
bridge, England. 

While not a college graduate, Limer F. 
Brickels received an excellent education at 
a private academy. When about nineteen 
years of age he commenced a theological 
course of study with Rev. Francis Brown, 
intending to become a minister. For many 
years he assisted his father during the week, 
and as a lay minister preached on Sundays. 
In i860 he married Miss Hannah Harris, 
who was born in January, 1838, at Brand- 
eston, Suffolk, a daughter of Ephraim and 
Mary (Randall) Harris, who had a family of 
six children, two of whom died in infancy, 
the others being as follows: Thomas (in 
England), Hannah (Mrs. Brickels), Sarah 
(deceased), and James, manager of a foun- 
dry at Melton, in Suffolk. The father of 
these was a miller by trade. Thomas is 
manager of a foundry at Woodbridge. Eph- 
raim, the father, died in 1843; the mother 
passed away in 1866. To Rev. and Mrs. 
Brickels five children have been born, three 
of whom survive: Mary Ann, now Mrs. 
Elvis, of Medford, Wis. ; John, who married 
Lucy Stockwell, and lives at Waukesha, 
where he is manager of the Wilbur Lumber 
Co. ; and Louisa, a graduate of Carroll, and 
now a high-school teacher at Auburndale, 
Wisconsin. 

In 1 87 1 Rev. L. F. Brickels came to 
America, without means, locating at Fre- 
mont, Waupaca Co. , Wis., where he worked 
in the woods for a year; here he commenced 
his ministry in America. He also clerked 
in a store for a time. Here his family joined 
him in 1873. Two years later he was called 
to the Presbyterian Church at Wcyauwega, 
and was there ordained. Rev. Mr. Brickels 
remained in charge of the Weyauwega 



Church until 1879, when he was sent to his 
present field. He located at Auburndale, 
and preached at Marshfield and at many 
other places. He also has charges at Sherry, 
Colby and Abbottsford. Through his efforts 
Churches were developed at Fremont, Marsh- 
field, Westfield and at Auburndale. At the 
latter point he is the owner of a cosy, de- 
lighful home, and a small farm adjacent. 
In October, 1886, accompanied by his wife 
and daughter, Louisa, Mr. Brickels set out 
on a trip to Old England, being absent till 
April, 1887. They visited his aged father 
at Woodbridge, and while there our subject 
preached nearly every Sabbath in the old 
church wherein he sat when a boy, the Sun- 
day-school of which he and Mrs. Brickels 
had attended in their youth. While in 
Woodbridge he was honored with large 
audiences of old friends and acquaintances 
who extended to him hearty greetings. 

If the spiritual growth of a new country 
is no less important than its material pro- 
gress. Rev. Mr. Brickels' work ranks among 
that of the foremost benefactors of the Upper 
Wisconsin Valley. He has been a pioneer 
in the religious development of an extended 
and active district, and a conscientious, zeal- 
ous and successful worker in the high cause 
to which he has consecrated his life and 
noblest efforts. 



REV. EDWARD FRANCIS VAN- 
HOOTEGEM, pastor of the Church 
of St. Francis Xavier, in Merrill, 
Lincoln county, was born March 3, 
I 856, in Flanders, Belgium, only son of Peter 
John and Sophia (De Smet) Van Hootegem, 
the former of whom had two sons and one 
daughter by a previous marriage. 

Our subject comes of a family of sturdy 
farmers. His father received a common- 
school education, and was one of a family 
of fourteen sons and four daughters, issued 
in two different marriages; and while their 
father was fairly well off in the goods of this 
world, yet the father of our sul)ject had but 
little property of his own, being a tenant 
of most of the land he tilled. He left 
enough, however, to his widow at his death, 
in i860, to enable her to give their son a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1019 



good education, and after her death, when 
he was left to his own resources, he was 
thereby able to continue his studies and to 
provide for himself to the last in an untrarn- 
meled way. The mother died November 
14, 1874, leaving her son, then in the midst 
of his collegiate course, bereft of a tenderly 
beloved parent. Her son, our subject, re- 
ceived his early education in the common 
schools of Belgium, remaining at home on 
the farm till the age of thirteen years, at 
which time he went to Eecloo where he took 
a collegiate course of eight years. Thence 
he went to St. Nicholas for one year's study 
of philosophy, and thence to Louvain for a 
three-years' theological course in the Amer- 
ican College, connected with the famous 
university of that citv, there graduating in 
1881. 

He received the minor orders May 21, 
1880, in Malines, Belgium, at the hands of 
Bishop Van Den Branden de Reeth; sub- 
deaconship December 18, 1880, in Liege, 
Belgium, by Bishop Doutrelou.x; deaconship 
March 12, 1881, and finally was ordained 
to the priesthood April 2, same year, both 
in Roermond, Holland, by Bishop Paredis. 
His object in stud>'ing in the American Col- 
lege, Louvain. was to fit himself for the 
American missions, and on the ist day of 
September, 1881, he landed in New York, 
arriving at Green Bay, Wis. , September 6 
following. He was appointed by Rt. Rev. 
Bishop F. X. Krautbauer, September 8, to 
the parish St. John the Baptist, in Duck 
Creek, and to its missions. His first work 
was to pay off a debt of $3,000 which hung 
over the then widowed church, and to im- 
prove church property in general. He had 
charge of Duck Creek, Flintville and Little 
Suamico for eleven years, and also attended 
the then new missions of Coleman, Maple 
Valley and Stiles, the two first from 1882 
to 1884, the latter for a few months till 
these places were given in charge of a per- 
manent priest. About the year 1885 Sts. 
Edward's and Isidore's Church was erected 
in Flintville, and a couple of years after 
that, St. Leo's, in Little Suamico. In 1888 
a fine school house was built in Duck Creek 
at a total cost of about $5,000. In 1892 
Father Van Hootegem was unexpectedly, to 



the regret of his own people and the people 
of other beliefs as well, taken away from 
Duck Creek, by Rt. Rev. S. G. Messmer, 
and nominated to the church of St. Francis 
Xavier, in Merrill. Improvements here 
were made within the two first years of his 
pastorate, such as reseating the church at a 
cost of $1,000, placing altars, etc., and fur- 
nishing the parish house with waterworks, 
steam plant, electric light, etc., the great 
need, however, of the parish not being sup- 
plied in 1895 — a Catholic school — owing to 
the depression in wages and business in gen- 
eral. 

Twice since coming to the United States 
has our subject visited Europe. On the first 
occasion, in the summer of 1887, he visited 
his relatives and friends in Belgium and 
Holland, and made a tour through Switzer- 
land and on the Rhine. The last time he 
went abroad was in the summer of 1895, 
when, after visiting the Eastern States, 
Washington and all principal cities in the 
East, he made a hurried trip to England and 
Ireland, but made a tour all through Italy 
and Tyrol, Austria, Bavaria and on the 
Rhine, taking in Rome, Naples and all the 
principal cities of these countries; after that 
journey he made another tour through 
France, viewing beautiful Paris for several 
days, thence taking in Lyons, the famous 
desert, in the midst of which, at an altitude 
of 2,000 meters, nestles the " Grande Char- 
treuse," and thence passing through the most 
picturesque parts of France, the Cevennes, 
then journeying through Toulouse, and the 
famous Sanctuary of Lourdes, thence going 
to the Atlantic coast, Biarritz, Bordeaux, 
and returning by way of Paris to Rouen, and 
to Belgium, from which country he set sail 
July 20, 1895, to return hale and hearty to 
the United States, his adopted fatherland. 

Rev. Father Van Hootegem is an able 
and faithful pastor, a genial and compan- 
ionable friend, having always a felicitous 
word upon his tongue to both old and 
young, to rich and poor alike, and ever busy 
in sowing seeds of kindness to help fellow 
mortals on their way. He is a man of fine 
physique and commanding presence, pos- 
sessed of forcible intellectual qualities, the 
results of being an extensive reader and a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



close thinker, while in manner he is social 
and friendly, courteous and refined, quali- 
ties that at once win the admiration and re- 
spect of all, and stamp him with the seal 
of a Christian gentleman. 



HANS A. POUST. In the life of this 
most highly-respected citizen of 
Lanark township, Portage county, 
is illustrated the important fact that 
no matter how obscure one's youthful sur- 
roundings may be, no matter how limited 
his opportunities, if he has within himself 
the ambition and the courage to rise, his 
future is assured. Mr. Poust is to-day the 
largest farmer and landowner in Lanark 
township. His holdings are surrounded by 
nearly four miles of highway. But thirty- 
six years ago he was a penniless sailor boy 
on a Norwegian bark, undecided whether to 
remain in that service or cast his fortunes in 
America. He chose the latter, and has 
since had no cause to regret it. 

Mr. Poust was born in Norway March 29, 
1 843, son of Hans B. Poust, a poor man who 
supported his wife and five children b}' daily 
labor, and by the small profits from a small 
country store. Hans received a fair educa- 
tion; but when he was twelve years of age 
that same spirit that has made the hardy 
Norwegian mariner famous in history assert- 
ed itself, and the lad concluded to become a 
sailor. His first duty was to wait on the 
captain and officers in return for his board 
and clothes. A year later he went before 
the mast on a vessel plying between Nor- 
way and Canada via England, usually cross- 
ing the Atlantic twice a year, and making 
voyages also to the Baltic sea. In the fall 
of 1858 Hans was on the Norwegian bark 
' ' Favorite, " in the port of New York with 
a cargo of wine and brandy from France, 
when his two-years' contract expired. He 
had the option to leave the vessel at New 
York or return in it to Norway- He was 
only fifteen years of age, and could not 
speak the English language; but he had 
heard of the big wages paid seamen on the 
inland lakes, and he concluded to remain in 
the United States. He visited Wisconsin, 
where so many of his countrymen had found 



homes, and in the spring went to Buffalo 
and shipped on a vessel on the " up " trip. 
For twelve seasons he followed the lakes, 
and for two winters when lake navigation 
was closed he was on the coast trade from 
New York to Charleston, S. C, and Wilming- 
ton, N. C. He was on board the Boston 
steamer "Port au Prince," which had been 
a Confederate blockade runner, but was 
captured and sold to Boston parties, a very 
smart boat in her day. In his experience 
as a sailor he crossed the ocean fourteen 
times, and was shipwrecked once through a 
collision, in which accident all hands were 
saved, but the other vessel sank to the 
bottom. 

Soon after he came to America Mr. 
Poust bought sixty acres of wild land in 
Lanark township. It took all his hard-earn- 
ed savings, but the land was cheap. Later 
he sold this and afterward bought land in 
Section 29, Lanark township, which he still 
owns. He was married, in Dayton town- 
ship, Waupaca county, March 11, 1878, to 
Adela A. Swift, born in Belmont Tp., Port- 
age Co., Wis., daughter of Porter and Lucy 
Jane (Taylor) Swift, who settled in Belmont 
township, Portage county. After his mar- 
riage Mr. Poust began housekeeping on 
his present farm, and he has ever since lived 
here. He now owns 600 acres of land, over 
250 acres of which are cleared, with all of 
it free from incumbrance. He has four 
living children: Frank Reuben, Myron 
Henry, Frederic Lawrence and Jessie May. 
One child, Irwin Ruthford, died in infancy. 
Politically Mr. Poust is independent. He 
selects men to vote for in accordance with 
their fitness rather than their politics, and 
in National politics he adopts the same 
course, hearing both sides and then favoring 
the principles which he considers the best. 
Mr. Poust has filled various local offices of 
honor and trust. While not a member of 
Church, himself and family are Protestants 
in belief. His good wife has been a worthy 
helpmeet, and by her economical manage- 
ment of the household affiairs during the 
past seventeen years has contributed largely 
to her husband's success. That success has 
been mainly the result of unflagging industry 
and prudence. Each year his savings have 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



increased, though at one time earlier in Hfe 
misfortune threatened him. He had $3,000 
on deposit in Chicago in 1871, at the time 
of the great fire, and for a time it looked as 
if his money was gone. But happily the 
deposit was saved. In his dealings with 
neighbors and friends Mr. Poust has been 
honest and fair, and has made for himself a 
good reputation, one which is all the more 
influential on account of his extensive land 
holdings. He has never spurned honest 
toil, and when idle he always sought work 
until he found it. He is to-day one of the 
most substantial and influential men of 
Portage county. 



HUGH EVANS, a prominent citizen 
and substantial farmer of Stockton, 
Portage county, was born in the 
Parish of Penwell, Merionethshire, 
Wales, December 18, 1838. His parents, 
John and Catherine (Jones) Evans, were 
also natives of that locality, and in 1850 
Hugh and his father came to America, land- 
ing at New York. After a short time they 
went to New Jersey, later removing to the 
town of Clyman, Dodge Co., Wis. In 
1852 the father returned to Wales for the 
purpose of bringing his wife to America, but 
never again left his native land, dying there 
in 1880 at the age of sixty-five. Mrs. Evans 
passed away in 1859, at the age of forty- 
one. 

Hugh Evans was fourteen years of age 
when his father returned to Wales. For a 
short time thereafter he lived with his uncle 
in Dodge county, and then started out in life 
for himself, working at various places until 
1856, when he went to Stevens Point, Wis., 
where he engaged in lumbering until August 
26, 1 86 1. On that day he enlisted in Com- 
pany G, Seventh Wis. V. I., at Grand Rap- 
ids, for three years' service, and in August, 
1864, he was promoted to the rank of ser- 
geant. He received an honorable discharge 
December 30, 1863, in order that he might 
re-enlist as a veteran January i, 1864, in 
the same company and regiment. He was 
present at thirty of the thirty-nine engage- 
ments in which the " Iron Brigade " partici- 
pated, including Beverly Ford, Gainesville, 



Second Battle of Bull Run and South Moun- 
tain. At the last named battle he was 
wounded in the knee, and was sent from the 
field hospital to Middletown, Md., where he 
was confined during the battle of Antietam. 
He was afterward in the engagements at 
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettys- 
burg and Mine River, and at the battle of 
the Wilderness received a severe wound in 
the face which caused him to remain in Lin- 
coln Hospital at Washington until the i6th 
of August. He yet carries the scarmark of 
his valiant service. He rejoined his regi- 
ment in front of Petersburg, and was under 
fire at the battle of Weldon Railroad, 
Hatcher's Run, Gravely Run, Five Forks and 
Appomattox. On February i, 1863, he was 
detailed to operate with Battery B, Fourth 
United States Artillery, with which he con- 
tinued until December. The battery ac- 
companied his regiment, to which he re- 
turned on veteranizing. He received an 
honorable discharge, July 13, 1865, at Jef- 
fersonville, Ind., and two days later was 
mustered out at Madison, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Evans then returned to Stevens 
Point, this State, and was married Septem- 
ber 10, 1865, to Sarah E. Jones, who was 
born in Trenton, Oneida Co., N. Y. , 
July 6, 1839, daughter of Robert and 
Sophia (Evans) Jones. Her father was a 
native of the same locality, and was a son of 
William Jones, who was born in Wales, and 
! when a young man emigrated to New York, 
following farming in Trenton until his death. 
He left six children — Moses, Ellis, Griffith, 
Robert, Ann and Margaret. Robert Jones 
was a farmer of New York, and there died 
January 12, 1848. His wife passed from 
earth at the home of our subject in 1880, 
having reached the allotted age of three 
score years and ten. The children of the 
I family were as follows : Mary Jane married 
I Allen Hubbard, of Weyauwega, Wis., and 
i they are now living in Avondale, Ala., with 
j their children — Mary, Ann, Ellen, Arthur 
and William J.; Sophia is the wife of Gil- 
bert Smith, of Utica, N. Y. , and they have 
two daughters, Emma and Gertie ; William 
E. S., a farmer of lola. Wis., married Mar- 
ilia Hunt, and afterward wedded Sarah M. 
Hopkins, by whom he has four children ; 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



John, also a farmer of lola, married Emma 
Fox, and their children are Laura, Robert, 
Fred, WilHani, Frank, Myrtle and Albert ; 
Cornelia is the wife of Archibald D. Moor, a 
hotel man of Trenton Falls, N. Y. and their 
children are Sherman, Frederick and Luther 
G. Moor. Mrs. Adams was born July 6, 
1839, and ac(]uired her education in Trenton, 
N. Y. From the time of her father's death 
until her sixteenth year she lived with her 
maternal grandfather, and then came with 
her mother and sister to Wisconsin, liv- 
ing in Weyauwega for five years. After the 
marriage of Mrs. Evans, the mother made 
her home with her daughter until her death. 
The wife of our subject is quite proficient 
with the needle, and for a number of years 
supported her mother and herself by dress- 
making and millinery work. 

Upon his marriage Mr. Evans purchased 
a farm in Stockton township. Portage coun- 
ty, and on selling, in 1869, bought his pres- 
ent farm of eighty acres in Section 1 1 , of 
the same township. He first built a home 
12x16 feet, and some time later built a 
larger house, which in 1893 was replaced by 
his present commodious and beautiful resi- 
dence. The home has been blessed with 
the following children: Robert Noys, who 
was born May 4, 1868, and graduated from 
the business college of Stoughton, Wis. ; 
Catherine S., who was born November 6, 
1870, and is the wife of Bertram Dwihell, of 
Nelsonville, Wis., by whom she has one 
child; Walter De Castro, the youngest of the 
family, was born October 18, 1876, and is 
employed in the machine shops of the Wis- 
consin Central Railroad Company at Stevens 
Point. The survixing members of the fam- 
il)' to which our subject belongs are Margaret, 
wife of Thomas Owens, a collier of Plymouth, 
Penn. ; William, who is living in Wales; 
Ellen, wife of Thomas Roberts, of Wales; 
and John, a Calvinist Methodist minister, of 
Welshpool, Wales. Like her husband, Mrs. 
Evans is of Welsh lineage. Her maternal 
grandfather, John Evans, was born in Wales, 
and at the age of twenty-five, in 1797, he 
and his wife came to America, settling in 
Trenton, N. Y. He died at the age of 
eighty-nine years. Their eldest child, Mary, 
was born on the voyage, and died in Tren- 



ton, April II, 1852, at the age of ninety. 
Of their other children was William, who 
became the father of nine children; he was 
frozen to death on a vessel outside of New 
York harbor while returning from Wales, 
whither he had gone with his father-in-law 
to look after some property; just outside the 
harbor, the vessel being caught in a terrible 
storm, was unable to reach port, and all on 
board were frozen to death. The next two 
children of the family died in infancy. 
Sophia, mother of Mrs. Evans, was born 
January 6, 1805, and died August 5, 1880. 
John (deceased) had three sons — William, 
George W. and Christmas. Jane became 
the wife of Griffith Roberts, of Bay City, 
Mich., and their daughter, Louisa, is now 
Mrs. Edgar Watkins, of Detroit. 

Hugh Evans, whose name introduces 
this sketch, is a popular and genial man, 
and enjoys the esteem of all who know him. 
His life has been well spent, and his honor- 
able, upright career has gained him many 
friends. He is a charter member of Captain 
Eckels Post, G. A. R., of Amherst, and is 
also a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge of 
that place. 



BENJAMIN M. GOLDBERG. Asa 
citizen of whom any State might be 
proud, as a man whose presence 
would benefit any community, and 
whose name would reflect honor upon any 
office or station, there is none more worthy 
whose memory should be preserved in this 
volume than Benjamin M. Goldberg. 

He is a native of Penns3'lvania, born in 
the city of Harrisburg May 7, 1857, a son 
of Marx and Matilda (Hammel) Goldberg, 
natives of Prussia, who in an early day em- 
igrated to the United States, settling first 
at Harrisburg, Penn. From there, in Feb- 
ruary, 1872, they came to Wisconsin, lo- 
cating in New London, Waupaca county, 
where they made their home ten years, or 
until 1882, at which time they moved to 
Marion, same county, w^here the father 
passed away in May, 1885, and where the 
mother is yet li\ing. A brief record of 
their famil}- of children is as follows: Ben- 
jamin M. is the subject proper of this sketch; 



COMMEMORATIVE BWGUAPHWAL RECOHD. 



1023 



L. D. and Moses are dealing in horses at 
Marion, Wis. ; Louis M. is a merchant in 
Wakefield, Mich. ; Mrs. B. Painter lives 
in Milwaukee; Mrs. S. Finsterwald and 
Adelia are both residents of Marion, Wis. 
Mar.\ Goldberg, father of our subject, con- 
ducted a mercantile and milling business up 
to 1882, when he abandoned the latter and 
up to the time of his death confined himself 
exclusively to merchandising in Marion, 
Wisconsin. 

Benjamin M. Goldberg, of whom this 
sketch more especially relates, received his 
literary education in part at the Syracuse 
(N. Y. ) High School, and in part at Law- 
rence University, Appleton, Wis., which 
latter institution he attended from 1869 to 
1871, finishing the junior year. Having now 
decided to make the legal profession his life 
work, he entered the office of Patchin & 
W^eed, of New London, with whom he read 
law till 1877, in that year commencing a 
course of study in Columbia College, New 
York, where he graduated in the class of 
1879. In the same year he was admitted 
to the bar, and locating himself in the city 
of Milwaukee, Wis. , practiced law there till 
January, 1885, when he came to Clinton- 
ville. He practices in all the courts of Wis- 
consin and Michigan; and it can be truth- 
fully said of him that the important quali- 
ties of which he is largely possessed — en- 
ergy, business tact, sound judgment and rare 
acumen — sufficiently account for the re- 
markable success that has crowned his ef- 
forts. In 1892 he was elected, on the Re- 
publican ticket, prosecuting attorney of 
Waupaca county, and re-elected in 1894, 
in which responsible position he has dis- 
played such marked ability that he has al- 
ready acquired a reputation for tact and 
fairness redounding greatly to his credit. 
Among the more prominent criminal cases 
which have come under his charge as pros- 
ecuting attorney, in Waupaca county, may 
be mentioned two famous murder charges, 
those of Curran (in 1883) and Mead (in 

1893). 

On March 9, 1880, at Milwaukee, Wis., 
Mr. Goldberg was united in marriage with 
Jennie Sibley Ho.\ie, who was born in Barre, 
Mass., daughter of Warren H. and Roxa- 



lena (Adams) Sibley, natives of Massachu- 
setts, who in 1858 came to Wisconsin, locat- 
ing in New London, Waupaca county, where 
Mr. Sibley conducted a mercantile and ho- 
tel business until 1873, when the family 
moved to Milwaukee, in which city he car- 
ried on a wholesale clothing establishment 
up to his death, which occurred in 1889; 
his wife was called to her long home in 
1 88 1, and they both died in Milwaukee, 
where they sleep their last sleep. In the 
civic matters of Clintonville Mr. Goldberg 
has always taken a lively interest, and for 
four years served as city attorney; was 
member of the board of supervisors two 
years, and chairman of same in 1891, all of 
which offices he filled with characteristic 
ability and fidelity. Socially, he is a mem- 
ber of Clintonville Lodge, No. 197, F. & A. 
M., and of Clintonville Lodge, No. 314, I. 
O. O. F. His law library is one of the 
most complete in northwestern Wisconsin, 
and he keeps himself posted on all matters 
pertaining to his profession, including all 
legal science, jurisprudence, the principles 
of equity and applied justice, and is ever 
mindful of the memorable words of Coke: 
" Reason is the life of the law; nay, the 
common law itself is nothing but reason." 
Mr. Goldberg enjoys an honorable and 
lucrative practice in his chosen p.rofession, 
and holds, in the opinion of those compe- 
tent to judge, an enviable place in the front 
rank of that remarkable array of talent 
which constitutes the bar of this State. A 
thorough and conscientious worker, an elo- 
quent pleader, a man of unblemished in- 
tegrity and of modest mien, he easily stands 
as one of the best known and highly repre- 
sentative men of this portion of Wisconsin. 



LEWIS GIBBS, of Stockton, is one 
of the wealthiest men in Portage 
county. There is nothing in his 
manner or appearance to indicate the 
accretions of fortune which his energy and 
ability have wrested from the resources of 
the Upper Wisconsin Valley. He is plain 
and unassuming, as approachable as the 
humblest citizen, and the preservation of his 
native kindliness, under condititjns which 



I024 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



encrust so many human hearts, has made 
him one of the best loved characters of Port- 
age county. 

Mr. Gibbs was born in the town of Ville- 
nova, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., July 5, 1834, 
son of Israel and Charlotte (Wright) Gibbs, 
farmers, w'ho were only moderately well off 
in material possessions, but rich in children, 
having eight sons and three daughters. 
Lewis was the seventh son, and the ninth 
child. He attended the district schools of 
his time, which were not the best, and re- 
mained on the farm until after he was of age 
and after his father's death, for his services 
were needed there. He had, however, made 
atrip in 1855 to Racine, Wis. , where an elder 
brother, William, had settled. In 1858 he 
took a journey which was an education in 
inself. He was one of a party of twenty 
who in o.\-teams started overland for Cali- 
fornia. On the way they saw many Indians, 
and herds of countless buffaloes. Remain- 
ing in California three years, Mr. Gibbs re- 
turned to New York via Cape Horn, being 
sixty days cii route. He returned to Racine, 
Wis., and was there married, August 14, 
1862, to Miss Harriet Barrows, who was 
born in McComb county, Mich., August 7, 
1844, daughter of Charles and Polly (Hatch) 
Barrows, natives of New York State, who 
had six children, three sons and three 
daughters. In 1851 Charles Barrows moved 
with his family from Michigan to Racine 
county, Wis. He died August 27, 1890, 
aged seventy-seven years, seven months and 
seven days, and was buried at Stevens 
Point. His widow, who was born February 
24, 1812, still lives at that city with a 
daughter, Mrs. A. Cook. To Lewis and 
Harriet Gibbs were born six children: Gil- 
bert, now a farmer, of Stockton; George, 
who is in business with his father; Frank, 
at home; Nellie, attending the Normal 
School at Stevens Point; Ray and Grace, at 
home. 

After his marriage Mr. Gibbs purchased 
a farm in Caledonia township, Racine coun- 
ty, and there began housekeeping. Eight- 
een months later he removed to a farm in 
Leeds township, Columbia county. Thence 
Mr. Gibbs moved, in 1865, to the neighbor- 
hood with the interests of which he has 



since for thirty-five years been actively iden- 
tified. He bought a farm in Section 31, 
Stockton township. Portage county, which 
land was mostly in timber, but he proceeded 
energetically to convert it into a farm. 
There Mr. Gibbs remained until he removed, 
in 1886, to his present residence and farm 
of 1 20 acres, at Stockton station. He now 
owns between 900 and looo acres of land, 
which he has obtained by good management 
and hard work. For many years he has 
been a dealer in potatoes and other farm 
products. He is thoroughly upright in con- 
duct and straightforward in all business mat- 
ters. His word is accepted at its par value 
by everybody who knows him. Mr. Gibbs 
is an earnest Republican, but has had no 
time to dabble in politics. His business 
success is perhaps without a parallel in Port- 
age county. 

In his life history it can truly be said 
that "in union there is strength;" for, as 
he remarked to the writer, his success he 
owed largely to his family, who " all pulled 
together." Mrs. Gibbs was the fourth child 
in a family of six, and with the rest did 
her share of the work. Happy, amiable, 
kind and courteous, but most unassuming, 
she was a favorite with all. She is now one 
of those mothers who, forgetting self, live 
only for her children, and the comfort and 
help she can give to suffering humanity. To 
do the greatest amount of good to the most 
people is the aim of her life, performing al- 
ways, with willing hands, the duty that lieth 
nearest, shirking no responsibility, content 
to let the rabble pass unheeded, so long as 
she knows she is doing right. 



EL. KENT is a native of England, 
his birth having occurred in Ports- 
mouth, May 19, 1 83 1. His par- 
ents, David and Elizabeth (Whiting) 
Kent, left the land of their nativity in 
1838, with their two sons, E. L. and James, 
the latter now of Illinois, and sailed for the 
New World. In Palmyra township, On- 
tario Co., N. Y. , they made their first loca- 
tion. The father was a farmer, and sup- 
ported his family by day labor. After a few 
years he removed to Oakland county, Mich., 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1025 



and in Springfield township, purchased a 
small tract of land, where he began farm- 
ing for himself. Some years later he came 
to Belmont township, Portage county. Wis., 
where he spent his remaining days, his 
death occurring April 8, 1886, while his 
wife, surviving him but a few days, passed 
away in May of the same year. During 
their declining days they were cared for by 
the subject of this sketch. After coming to 
America their family was increased by the 
following children: Elizabeth, who died in 
New York; Fannie, who became the wife of i 
Josiah Collins, and died in Michigan, but 
was buried in Belmont Cemetery; and 
George A., who was accidentally killed at 
Dixon, 111., by the falling of a bridge then 
being built across Rock river. 

Our subject who is the eldest of the 
family, was a lad of seven summers when the 
family crossed the Atlantic, and in the dis- 
trict schools he was educated. As his par- 
ents were in limited circumstances he began 
working for his board for a neighboring 
farmer, and attended school at the same 
time. In the following year he commenced 
earning his living by working as a farm 
hand at $6 per month, and for a year he 
gave his earnings to his parents. After the 
removal to Oakland county, Mich., he re- 
ceived $10 per month for his services as a 
farm hand, being thus employed until he 
went to Saginaw county, Mich., where he 
engaged in lumbering for a few years. Sub- 
sequently he resumed farm work at $14 per 
month, being employed by Samuel Chad- 
dock, on Tittabanassa river, with whom he 
says he had really the only home that was 
his from the age of twelve years until he 
had a home of his own. In the spring of 
1854 he commenced fishing, but soon 
abandoned that and went to Milwaukee, 
Wis. Here on May 8, 1854, he was mar- 
ried to Sarah L. McGwin, who was born in 
Oakland county, Mich., November 28, 
1832, a daughter of Thomas and Eliza 
Jane (Mandeville) McGwin, the former of 
whom was a native of County Armagh, 
Ireland; the mother was born in Tompkins 
county, N. Y., and was reared in Orange 
county, N. Y. , by an aunt, from the age of 
three years, at which time she was left 



motherless. Mr. McGwin was a farmer of 
limited means, and Mrs. Kent worked for 
her living prior to her marriage, receiving 
one dollar per week for her services. 

In the summer of 1854, Mr. Kent "ran 
the Mississippi river," taking lumber to St. 
Louis, while his wife taught school in 
Marquette county. Wis. In the autumn 
they removed to Marathon county, where 
he worked in a lumber camp, while his wife 
did the cooking for the men. When the 
lumber season was over he came to Bel- 
mont township. Portage county, and made 
his first purchase of land, securing from the 
government eighty acres in Section 20. Not 
a furrow had been turned or an improve- 
ment made upon the place; but he erected a 
little cabin and at once began its develop- 
ment. The family removed to the new 
home in the spring of 1856, but remained 
only a short time, for in the winter seasons 
they would go to the lumber camp and work 
as before. They passed through many hard- 
ships, and those years were years of labor. 

Mr. Kent watched with interest the pro- 
gress of events which preceded and at- 
tended the opening of the Civil war, and in 
December, 1861, he resolved to aid in de- 
fense of the Union, enlisting at Plover, Wis., 
in Company E, Eighteenth Wis. V. I., under 
Capt. Brimmer. After about three months 
spent in Milwaukee, the troops were ordered 
to St. Louis, in March, 1862, thence down 
the Mississippi to Vicksburg. The first act- 
ive engagement in which Mr. Kent partici- 
pated was at Shiloh; later he remained for 
some time in the Si.xth Division Hospital at 
Vicksburg, then joined his regiment at 
Corinth, continuing with it until the last six 
months of his service, when he was on de- 
tached service. He was relieved from duty at 
Savannah in December, 1864, and went by 
way of Hilton Head to New York, thence by 
rail to Madison, Wis., where he was dis- 
charged March 16, 1865. He was slightly 
wounded at Shiloh, but did not leave the 
ranks where he was always found faithful to 
his duty and to the old flag which now floats 
triumphantly over the united Nation. 

Mr. Kent at once returned to his 
family. He has spent twenty-eight winters 
in the lumber camps, and during the re- 



I026 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



mainder of the time has successfully fol- 
lowed farming, being now the owner of 280 
acres of valuable land, highly improved and 
cultivated, constituting one of the fine farms 
of the neighborhood. The record of the 
family of Mr. and Mrs. Kent is as follows: 
George M., born in Marathon county, 
Wis., February 20, 1856, died July 5, 1880, 
at Spencer, Wis., his death resulting from 
injuries sustained by the bursting of a shell 
during the celebration of Independence 
Day: Mary E. was born in the same 
county, March i, 1857, and is the wife of 
James Mclnroe, who lives near Walla 
Walla,, Wash.; Frank J., born in Mara- 
thon county, October 16, 1858, resides in 
Walla Walla county. Wash.; William E., 
born in Portage county, November 17, 
i860, is the local agent of the Chicago 
Lumber Co. at Platte Center, Neb. ; 
Thomas E. , born November 16, 1862, died 
in Belmont township. May 27, 1885; Cora 
E., born October 27, 1866, is the wife of 
Frank Hammel, of Deerfield, Waushara 
Co., Wis.; Walter I., born November 19, 
1873, completes the family. 

Mr. Kent has never aspired to political 
notoriety, but has always been a stalwart 
Republican, deeply interested in the growth 
and success of his party. He is a charter 
member and the present commander of 
Blaine Post, No. 115, G. A. R. He may 
truly be called a self-made man, for his suc- 
cess in life has come to him entirely through 
his own efforts and the assistance of his esti- 
mable wife, who has indeed been to him a 
helpmeet. They have borne the experiences 
and hardships that fall to the lot of the 
pioneer, and know what it is to struggle 
with obstacles, financial and otherwise; but 
their well-directed efforts have at length been 
crowned with success, and they now have a 
pleasant home, supplied not only with the 
necessaries, but with many of the luxuries, 
of life. 



SOLOMON BENNETT. Among the 
many residents within the bounds of 
Portage county, who started out in 
life with naught save an abundance 
of determination and indefatigable industry. 



in addition to a strong and healthy constitu- 
tion, and who have succeeded through their 
own diligence, energy and economy, is to be 
classified the gentleman whose name intro- 
duces this sketch. He is actively engaged 
in agricultural pursuits on his farm in Buena 
Vista township. 

Mr. Bennett is a native of New York, 
born in Orwell, Oswego county, September 
4, 1S29, and is a son of Elisha and Harriet 
(Carpenter) Bennett, both also natives of 
the Empire State, the father born March 

19, 1801, the mother on April 3, 1803. 
They were married in Orwell. Nathaniel 
Bennett, the grandfather of our subject, was 
born in Connecticut, and when a young man 
located in New York, where he was mar- 
ried, and became the father of five children: 
Nathaniel, Stephen, Gilbert, Clarissa and 
Elisha. The last named, who was the 
father of our subject, was a miller and 
farmer of Orwell, N. Y. , where he disposed 
of his property in the spring of 1844, and, 
accompanied by his family, located on a 
farm in Black Wolf township, three miles 
from Oshkosh, Wis. The journey was ac- 
complished by way of the lakes to Milwau- 
kee, Wis., and thence by wagons. He 
bought 160 acres of land from the govern- 
ment, on which the father erected a dwell- 
ing, and here they lived some ten years. 
He then accompanied a gentleman to Buena 
Vista township. Portage county, to look at a 
farm which the latter owned, and decided to 
exchange his place in Black Wolf, giving 
twenty shillings per acre besides for the 360- 
acre tract in Buena Vista. In the summer 
of 1854 the father, accompanied by his sons, 
came to the county and built a log house, 
into which the family moved the following 
February, and it continued to be their home 
twenty-four years. There the father died 
December 24, 1884, the mother on January 

20, 1880. 

In their family were the following chil- 
dren: Maria, who wedded Jacob Wanty 
(now deceased), who was a farmer of Win- 
nebago county, Wis. (they had seven chil- 
dren — Susan, Gibson, Jacob, Nelson, Har- 
riet, Emily and Julia); Alena became the 
wife of James Robison, and is now living 
with her second husband; Solomon is the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECOUD. 



1027 



next in the order of birth; Nathaniel mar- 
ried Rebecca Wanty, and they reside on a 
farm in Buena Vista township (they have 
one child — Maryette, wife of Peter Barrett, 
of the same township); Stephen first wedded 
Ann Hurd, who is now deceased, and they 
had three children — Fred, Ellen (now Mrs. 
John Dosier, of Buena Vista), and Annette 
(now Mrs. Byron Adams, of the same place); 
Harriet married William Eckels, by whom_ 
she had two children-Charles and Minerva 
(after his death she wedded Roderick Palmer, 
also now deceased); Jay married Jemima 
Newby, and they reside in Buena Vista (by 
their union were born two children — Ernest, 
who married Minnie Adams, and Maria, 
wife of Simon Carly) ; George wedded Jerusha 
Dakins, by whom he has three children — 
Ellen, Annie and Ina; William and Emily 
both died in childhood. 

Although obliged to leave school at the 
age of twelve years, Solomon Bennett ac- 
quired a good education, which he has sup- 
plemented by subsequent reading and ob- 
servation. He then began work on the home 
place, remaining with his father until his 
marriage in Buena Vista, November 18, 
1857, with Miss Ruth Araminta Wilcox, the 
ceremony being performed by Rev. Annis, 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. 
Bennett was born in Marshall, Oneida Co., 
N. Y., May 15, 1837, and is a daughter of 
Charles G. and Mary Ann (Eastman) Wil- 
cox. Her father was born in Herkimer 
county, N. Y. , December 20, i8ri, and her 
mother on November 29, 181 3, at Marshall, 
Oneida county, N. Y. Grandfather Ea.st- 
man was a son of Abraham D. and Ruth 
(Rundel) Eastman, natives of Danbury, 
Conn., the former born June 24, 1768, 
and the latter April 18, 1772. Their 
marriage was celebrated October 17, 1790, 
and in their family were the following 
children — Nathaniel, born December 28, 
1 791 ; William R., born October 25, 1793; 
Joseph R., born September 13, 1797; Min- 
divel, born May 18, 1800; Mahala, born 
August 9, 1803; and Mary A., Mrs, Charles 
G. Wilcox. The father of this family died 
February 25, 1850, in Oneida county, N. 
Y. , and the mother passed away in the 
same county, March 30, 1849. 



In the family of Charles G. and Mary 
Ann (Eastman) Wilcox were the following 
children — Ruth A. , the honored wife of our 
subject. Melissa, born in Marshall, N. \., 
March 5, 1839, was married September 22, 
1856, to Frederick Mix, and to them were 
born two children — Charles and Ellen; after 
the death of her first husband she wedded 
Rev. J. H. Wells, who died at Kaukauna, 
Wis., May 5, 1888, and they became the 
parents of one child, Emeline, who is now 
Mrs. Newton, of New London, Wis., was 
previously married, her first husband being 
George Gust, deceased. Mary R., born 
March 8, 1841, became the wife of George 
Ainsworth, who died during the Civil war, 
leaving two children — William and Newton; 
her second union was with Eli Beers, a miller 
of Nebraska. Fayette N., born February 
3, 1844, departed this life April 16, 1848. 
Charles G., born November 29, 1846, died 
February 21, 1848. Dayton E., born Sep- 
tember 18, 1849, married Lucy A. Wood 
July 4, 1875, and they have children — 
Otto (born November 14, 1876), William J. 
(born December 15, 1878), Carrie, Elsie; 
and Julia A , born October 22, 1854, now 
the wife of Oscar Wolf, whom she married 
October 30, 1878 (he is now engaged in 
farming in Waushara county, Wis.); they 
have two children — Charles Mahlon, born 
January 4, 1880, and Abbie Belle, born 
September 5, 1882. Charles G. Wilcox 
died in Waushara county. Wis., June 27, 
1865; his widow is yet living. 

After their marriage Mr. Bennett and 
his wife located on their present farm, which 
consists of 270 acres in Section 22, Buena 
Vista township. Portage county, 153 of 
which have been placed under the plow. 
Prior to her marriage Mrs. Bennett had 
taught school for three terms, also a few 
terms after that event, receiving $10 per 
month. With the money she had previous- 
ly made she purchased their first cow. Be- 
fore his marriage Mr. Bennett had worked 
as a farm hand for about ten years, during 
which time he received fifty cents per day. 
Their first home was a rude log cabin 14 
feet square, and their next dwelling was a 
small frame house, which they occupied for 
some twenty-six years, when, in the summer 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of 1893, he erected their present large and 
commodious home, substantially built, with 
a cellar which will hold 6,000 bushels of pota- 
toes, cemented so as to be proof against frost. 
Mr. Bennett and his worthy wife have 
become the parents of five children, viz. : 
Emma J., born January i, 1864, was "call- 
ed home " on the 22nd of September fol- 
lowing; Albert, born May 10, 1866, is still 
with his parents; Emmarette, born August 
'3i 1873, was a school teacher before her 
marriage with John Berry, a farmer of Buena 
Vista township; and Minnie and May (twins), 
born February 27, 1877 (Minnie died Octo- 
ber 14, 1878). Our subject has never 
sought political preferment for himself, de- 
siring rather to give his undivided attention 
to his farm, which attests the enterprise and 
careful management of the owner. He is 
one of the prosperous farmers of the com- 
munity, and is very liberal with his means, 
materially aiding the poor and needy, who 
always find in him a friend. He is widely 
known in Buena Vista township and sur- 
rounding country, and is held in the highest 
respect by all. He takes great interest in 
educational matters, and for many years 
has served as school director. In politics 
he casts his vote with the Republican party, 
and is an earnest advocate of the cause of 
temperance. 



JENS P. RASMUSSEN, now one of 
the leading farmers of Belmont town- 
ship. Portage county, and perhaps as 
good a type of the self-made man as 
may be found anywhere, was born in Den- 
mark June 17, 1850, son of Rasmus Jensen, 
a small farmer who with difficulty earned a 
scant livelihood for himself and family. He 
had two children: Jens P. and Stine. 

When our subject was seventeen years 
old his father died, and his sister Stine mar- 
ried soon after, making her home in Den- 
mark. Jens P. had poor educational ad- 
vantages, for when a boy he herded cattle 
and sheep for the farmers, and deemed him- 
self fortunate if he received one dollar for 
his summer's work. After his father's death 
the property was divided, and Jens' share 
was about one hundred dollars. With a 



capital so small as that he felt that his op- 
portunities for procuring a home in Den- 
mark could not be bright, so in the spring of 
1868 he started for America. From Copen- 
hagen he went to England, and from there 
started in a steamer for Quebec. His des- 
tination was Waupaca, Wis., where he knew 
many of his countrymen lived. From Que- 
bec he proceeded by rail in a box-car and 
later in a cattle car, for in those days immi- 
grants were thus imposed upon. By rail 
and water he reached Gill's Landing, and 
thence walked to his destination. 

He secured his first work in America 
with Merrick Richmond, a farmer of Day- 
ton Township, Waupaca county, as his em- 
ployer. For four years he followed farming 
and lumbering, then, with the money he had 
thus saved, he in 1871 purchased 160 acres 
of school land in Section 16, Belmont town- 
ship, Portage county. Not a stick of tim- 
ber was cut, no houses nor fences were built, 
no improvements of any kind were made. 
At Waupaca, June 16, 1872, he married 
Johanna M. Neilson, who was born in Den- 
mark January 28, 1852, daughter of Neils 
Christensen, who in 1862 with his wife and 
four children emigrated to Waupaca county, 
buying land in Dayton township, where 
his widow still lives. After his marriage Mr. 
Rasmussen began housekeeping in a small 
house i6.\20, where he lived some eight 
years. He then built his present comforta- 
ble home. He had saved enough money to 
pay for his unimproved farm, but his farm- 
ing utensils he was compelled to buy on 
credit. With strong determination and high 
hope, he assayed the work of transforming 
this timber tract into fertile fields. Year by 
year the clearings grew larger, and the im- 
provements became more marked. To-day 
Mr. Rasmussen has 320 acres, one-half of 
Section 16, and of this about 140 acres are 
now cleared and under cultivation. His 
children were as follows: Anna K., now 
Mrs. John Peterson, of Belmont township; 
Mary D., at home; Rasmus Albert, de- 
ceased in infancy, and Neils Frederick, 
Clara E., Rosa E., Carl C, Jens Albert, 
Marian Ingeborg and Henrietta A., all at 
home. Mr. and Mrs. Rasmussen are mem- 
bers of the Lutheran Church. In politics 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1029 



he is a Republican. He has served as su- 
pervisor two years, but prefers giving his 
attention to his farm. In 1879 he sent for 
his widowed mother, and she now lives with 
him at the age of seventy-six years. No 
man in Belmont township enjoys a better 
reputation than Mr. Rasmussen as farmer, 
citizen and business man. His fair, honest 
dealings have won for him the respect of the 
community. His farm buildings, second to 
none in the township, stand as a living mon- 
ument to his industry and thrift. His life 
typifies the possibilities open to a boy of 
courageous heart, clear mind and willing 
hands. 



M 



ARTIN WROLSTAD, a stalwart 
and sturdy representative of the 
noble yeomanry who make up the 
agricultural population of Portage 
county, is a resident of New Hope township. 
He is a native of Wisconsin, having been 
born February 2, 1856, in the township 
where he yet lives. His parents, Ole Ole- 
son and Aasild Johnson (Sneaas) Wrolstad, 
were natives of Wrolstad, Norway, the 
father born March 6, 18 10, the mother on 
March 30, 18 14. The paternal grandfather, 
Ole Wrolstad, was a farmer and blacksmith 
of that place, where his death occurred 
many years ago. 

The father of our subject also learned 
the blacksmith's trade, which he followed in 
connection with farming. After his marriage, 
however, he bought half of the island of 
Jomfruland, where he removed and there 
engaged in building a ship, but before his 
task was completed he ran short of funds, 
and was obliged to abandon the enterprise, 
losing all the money he had invested in both 
the land and the vessel. He then determined 
to come to the United States, and with his 
family-left Skien, Norway, for Havre, France, 
from which port, after a short stay, they 
embarked on a sailing vessel, and after a 
long and tedious voyage of many weeks land- 
ed in New York, almost penniless. They 
came direct to Muskego, Wis., where he 
began work at his trade and building wagons; 
but being dissatisfied with the location he 
removed to Rock River, Jefferson Co. , Wis. , 



where he purchased a tract of land on which 
he erected a log house. 

Later the father came to New Hope, 
Portage county, making the journey in a 
wagon drawn by o.xen, and here purchased 
280 acres, a portion from the brother of An- 
drew N. Hotwet, the remainder from the 
government. In the first little log cabin 
he built here the family made their home 
for many years, when a more substantial 
dwelling was erected, which now forms a 
part of the present home of our subject. 
There the father died June 27, 1884. He 
was a highly-respected, intelligent citizen, 
and held several township of^ces for many 
years. Two years later his wife followed 
him to the grave, dying on August 7, 1886, 
and they now sleep side by side in the New 
Hope Cemetery. In the family were the 
following children: Ole, a potato buyer, of 
j lola, Wis. , married to Oline Malum, by 
j whom he has ten children, and they reside 
I in Scandinavia, Wis. ; John, a lumber mer- 
chant of Scandinavia, was a sergeant in 
Company I, Fifteenth Wis. V. I., during the 
I Civil war, enlisting in November, 1861, and 
j serving until the close of the struggle (he 
I married Mathia Norde); George, who was 
^ also a soldier in the Civil war, married Paul- 
ina Stianson, and is now a lumber merchant 
( of Alban, Portage county; Halver, a farmer 
of New Hope townsnip, wedded Maren Pe- 
terson; Hans (deceased) was in the general 
mercantile business in Scandinavia. 

After completing his primary education 
in the district schools of New Hope town- 
ship, Martin Wrolstad entered the High 
School of Waupaca, Wis., where he pursued 
his studies some six months. During the 
summer months he had always been em- 
ployed at home, and after leaving school he 
worked for a number of years in a sawmill, 
which his father had built on the river in 
what is now Alban township. He was liv- 
ing there at the time the township was or- 
ganized, and was elected its first clerk, but 
at the end of the year he returned to New 
Hope. In Scandinavia, Wis., December 
15, 1881, Mr. Wrolstad was married to Miss 
Hanna Wrolstad, a native of that place, 
born December28, 1856, daughter of George 
and Asber (Ellingson) Wrolstad, both na- 



1030 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



tives of Norway. Her father came to the 
New World when a young man, locating in 
Rock River, Wis., but later removing to 
Scandinavia, where his wife died March 18, 
1887. In August, 1864, he enlisted in Com- 
pany A, Forty-second Wis. V. I., and died in 
the hospital at Cairo, 111. , the following March. 
In his famil}' were three children — Ole J., 
who wedded Annie Norde, is a farmer 
in Scandinavia township, Waupaca Co., 
Wis. ; Martha is the wife of Soren Gjertsen; 
and Hanna, Mrs. Wrolstad. After leaving 
school the wife of our subject went to New 
London, Waupaca Co., Wis., where she 
was employed as a domestic until her mar- 
riage. Mr. and Mrs. Wrolstad have six 
children, their names and dates of birth be- 
ing as follows: George Oliver, October 27, 
1882; Henry Edwin, March 25, 1884; Oscar 
Alfred, May 6, 1886; James Elmer, April 
30, 1888; Wilhelm Julian, December 24, 
1890; and Agnes, November 22, 1892. 

The farm of Mr. Worlstad now comprises 
200 acres of rich land, and he is numbered 
among the leading and progressive agricul- 
turists of the community. He takes an 
active interest in political affairs, voting 
with the Republican party, is at present 
township chairman, to which office he was 
elected in 1894, and is now serving his 
second 3'ear; has also held the office of su- 
pervisor for several years; and in 1884 was 
appointed postmaster at Peru, Portage 
county, which office he continues to hold. 
Both himself and wife are faithful and con- 
sistent members of the Norwegian Lutheran 
Church of New Hope, and enjoy the love 
and esteem of the entire neighborhood. 
He takes a genuine interest in the enter- 
prises set on foot for the progress and wel- 
fare of his town and county. 



HARLOW S. ROOD. There is no 
more prominent, better-known or 
highly respected citizen in Buena 
Vista township, Portage county, than 
the gentleman whose name introduces this 
sketch. He was born in the town of Under- 
bill, Chittenden Co., Vt., January 8, 1831, 
and is a son of Silas and Sarah (Packard) 



Rood, the former born in Milton, Vt. , July 

17, 1790, and the latter on March 31, 1801. 

The great-grandfather, a native of Con- 
necticut, was one of the first settlers of 
Onion River, Vt., and was a neighbor of 
Governor Chittenden. He was twice mar- 
ried, and died soon after the close of the 
Revolution. The grandfather of our subject, 
Silas S. Rood, was also a native of Connecti- 
cut, and when a young man located on a 
farm in Milton, Vt., where he married 
Martha Smith, by whom he had a son, Silas. 
After her death he wedded Lucy Smith, a 
widow lady, and to them were born two 
children — William and Lucy. On her death 
he was again united in marriage, this time 
with Mercy Douglas, and by this union the 
following children were born: Betsy became 
the wife of Leonard Jenkins in Massachusetts, 
but later they removed to Vermont, where 
he died, and she passed away at the home 
of our subject in Buena Vista township, 
Portage county; in their family were six 
children— Hiram, Alfred, Riley, Clarence 
and Clinton, twins, and James. Alvin died 
when a young man. Hiram (now deceased) 
wedded Mary Sheldon, by whom he had six 
children — Sheldon, Mary Jane, Esther (who 
died in girlhood), Emmaline, Elmira and 
Hirama. Joseph married Esther Cadwell 
in Underbill, Vt., by whom he had four 
children — Ellen, Armena, Henry and Wal- 
lace, and they later removed to Ne- 
braska. Julia wedded a Mr. Arnold, and to 
them were born four children — Wiley, Juliet, 
Mercy D. and Rosa Belle. Johanna, who 
completes the family, died in girlhood. 

The father of our subject was a farmer 
of \'ermont, and in the spring of 1853, ac- 
companied by his family, he migrated to 
Walworth county. Wis., locating on a farm 
on Sugar creek. There in connection with 
our subject he purchased 120 acres of par- 
tially-improved land, to which they after- 
ward added forty acres. The father died 
on the old homestead July 20, 1875, and 
his wife was called to her final rest on Jan- 
uary 28, 1884. In their family were the 
following children: Harlow S. is the eld- 
est; Martha became the wife of Thomas 
Davis, a farmer and shoemaker in Sugar 
Creek, Walworth county, where they now 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



103 1 



reside with their children — Sarah, William, 
Homer, John and Lucy; one daughter, 
Ellen, who died in Pennsylvania in 1887, 
was the wife of Rev. Campbell, of the Wes- 
leyan Methodist Church; John P., a farmer 
of Sugar Creek, Wis., wedded Mary Davis; 
Ira I., an agriculturist of Delavan, Wis., 
married Sarah Foster, by whom he has two 
children — Ina and Edwin. 

Harlow S. Rood has secured an excel- 
lent education, most of which was obtained 
in Jericho, Vt. , and he also taught school 
for a number of terms in Walworth county. 
Wis. On coming west in 1853 he remained 
at home until his marriage, having an inter- 
est in the farm; but shortly after that event 
disposed of his share to his brother, John 
P. In East Troy, Walworth Co., Wis , 
June 30, 1859, Mr. Rood was married to 
Miss Harriet Malinda Cook, who was born 
in Rodman, Jefferson Co., N. Y. , Decem- 
ber 30, 1838. She is a daughter of Rev. 
Nelson and Lydia (Wilcox) Cook, the for- 
mer a native of New York State, born 
in Genessee county, March 5, 1817, and the 
latter on May 18, 1818. Rev. Nelson Cook 
is a pioneer of this State, having been a 
resident of Wisconsin during the whole time 
of its existence as a State, and for four years 
previous to its admission into the Union. 
He is a son of Jesse and Nancy (Lozier) 
Cook. Mr. Cook, on his father's side, is 
descended from an early Welsh family of 
Puritan religion. Miles Cook, father of 
Jesse Cook, was a native of Connecticut, a 
Methodist minister in the State of New 
York, and was a soldier of the Revolutionary 
war. After the colonies had secured their 
independence he settled in Jefferson county, 
N. Y., and later removed to St. Lawrence 
county, where he passed the rest of his days. 
The mother of Rev. Nelson Cook was born 
in New York, a daughter of Peter Lozier, 
a native of France, afterward a resident of 
New York City, and descended from the 
nobility of France. The mother of Peter 
Lozier was the youngest sister of Marquis 
De Lafayette, the eminent soldier and pa- 
triot, who fought with Washington in the 
Revolutionary war. With his wife and chil- 
dren Rev. Nelson Cook came west at an 
early date, locating on a farm in Walworth 

65 



county. Wis., but later carried on agricul- 
tural pursuits in Trempealeau, Trempealeau 
county, where his wife died in March, 1872. 
They were the parents of the following chil- 
dren: Minerva Jane, born February 5, 
1837, married Zebulin Viles, by whom she 
had one daughter, Evaline, and after his 
death became the wife of James Cox, a 
farmer of Trempealeau county, where she 
died January 4, 1895; by the last marriage 
she had one son, Albert J. Mrs. Rood is 
the next in the family. Sarah (deceased) 
was born January 19, 1843, and wedded 
Thomas McDonough, a farmer of Trem- 
pealeau, Wis., by whom she had a daughter, 
Ida B. Adelia A., born March i, 1846, 
died at the age of seven years. Lester and 
Esther (twins) were born October 9, 1855, 
and the latter is now deceased. Lester mar- 
ried Louisa Ball, and by this union four chil- 
dren have been born — Harry, Earl, Beulah 
and Truman. On the death of the mother 
of Mrs. Rood, the father wedded Mrs. Cyn- 
thia Chase, a widow lady, and on her death 
Emma Booher became his wife. His father, 
Jesse Cook, was a farmer of New York 
State, and a Methodist Episcopal minister. 
He was the oldest in a family of eight chil- 
dren, the others being Sarah, Alvin, Nancy, 
Hester Ann, Squire, Julia and Eleanor. 

. In 1 86 1 Mr. Rood arrived in Buena 
Vista township. Portage county, where he 
purchased eighty acres of partially-cultiva- 
ted land, to which he added by subsequent 
purchase another tract of ninety acres in 
Section 22. He also owns forty acres of 
marsh land in Plover township. Portage 
county. The first home of the family in 
this county was a rude log house, in which 
they lived for several years, or until their 
present neat and comfortable residence was 
built in the fall of 1871. By the union of 
our subject and his estimable wife have 
been born three children, as follows: 
Charles Sumner, born in Sugar Creek, Wal- 
worth Co., Wis., July 29, i860, emigrated 
to the State of Washington some years ago, 
where he married Ida l^ird, and they re- 
side near Vancouver, Clarke county; he is 
one of the prominent men of that commu- 
nity, and now holds the office of county 
commissioner, to which he was elected in 



103* 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1894; his children are Cecil C, Leon, 
Mabel, Earl and Bessie. Hattie Lorenda, 
born in Buena Vista, March 28, 1862, is 
the wife of Charles E. Newby, of Dakota, 
where they now reside, and they have two 
children — Clay Curtis and Rubj' lona. 
Homer Harlow, born in Buena Vista, No- 
vember 20, 1 87 1, there received his educa- 
tion in the common schools, and possesses 
great musical talent; he is an excellent 
vocalist and a fine character mimic; he is a 
Republican in politics, and makes his home 
with his parents. 

Mr. Rood, the subject proper of this 
sketch, supports the Republican party by 
his ballot, and the cause of temperance 
finds in him an honest advocate. He is very 
fond of reading, keeping well-posted on the 
current topics of the day. He has a kind, 
jovial disposition, which has won him many 
warm friends, and he has the respect and 
confidence of the entire community. With 
the Methodist Episcopal Church Mrs. Rood 
holds membership, and she is a charitable 
benevolent woman. Having acquired con- 
siderable knowledge of medicine, she often 
attends the sick of the neighborhood. 



JAMES TOBEY, one of the most ex- 
tensive farmers and best known citi- 
zens of Stockton township, Portage 
county, is, like many of that township's 
best residents, a native of the ' ' Emerald 
Isle," having been born, in 1834, in County 
Kilkenny. 

He is the son of Michael and Honora (Cud- 
ahy) Tobey, well-to-do farming people who 
had a family of five children — Thomas, John, 
Richard, James and Mary — James, the young- 
est son, being the only representative of the 
family in America. He was reared on his 
father's farm until about sixteen years of 
age, and like the son of a wealthy man had 
easy times and few cares. He received a 
common-school education, but as he him- 
self says, " I did not learn much, which 
was my own fault." While a lad he wit- 
nessed the terrible destitution and famine in 
his native land during those awful years 
of 1846 and 1847, and the oppressed condi- 
tion of Ireland's people so impressed him 



that the thought of what he himself might 
experience in some later 3-ear induced him 
to leave his native land. Bidding his friends 
good-bye when about sixteen years of 
age, he took passage in the sailing vessel 
"Ann Caney, " bound for New York, which 
port he reached after a passage of sixty-five 
days. James had plenty of money at this 
time, supplied by his parents. He spent a 
few d9.ys in New York, then visited the New 
England States, and finally located at Os- 
wego, N. Y., where he learned the ship- 
building trade. Here he met and married 
Miss Jane Quinn, a native of Ireland. 

Remaining four or five 3'ears in Oswego, 
he concluded in 1855 to come farther west. 
At CoUingwood, Canada, he and his family 
took passage on the " Lady Elgin," a "rick- 
ety old boat," as Mr. Tobey says, which 
brought them round the lakes and landed 
them at Sheboygan. Thence by stage they 
came to St. Marie, Green Lake county. 
Here Mr. Tobey conducted a hotel for some 
years, then sold out, concluding to farm. 
Northern Wisconsin offered splendid oppor- 
tunities for the early settler willing to en- 
dure the hardships and inconveniences of 
pioneer life. He came by conveyance the 
entire distance from Green Lake county to 
Stevens Point, and during the first winter he 
followed teaming. In the spring of 1862 he 
purchased in Section 6, Stockton township. 
Portage county, 160 acres of land, twenty 
of which were improved, though the farm 
contained no habitation of any kind. He 
built the first house, and began the work of 
clearing. He was a powerful man at this 
time ; work was but play, and each year the 
improvements extended. Then other land 
was added. The family of Mr. Tobey con- 
sists of four children : Mary Ann, Honora, 
James and Rosa ; four sons and one daugh- 
ter are deceased. 

Politically, Mr. Tobey is not actively in- 
terested. He believes in good government, 
and that the United States is " the best land 
the sun has ever shone on," and he hopes to 
see the day when protection will not be ex- 
tended to the organised bands of anarchists, 
for whom no punishment is too severe. Him- 
self and family are members of the Catholic 
Church. \\'^hile over sixty years of age, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



J033 



Mr. Tobey is well-preserved, and still pos- 
sesses great vitality. He has performed 
much hard labor, and has withstood it bet- 
ter than many others. From time to time 
his lands have been increased until they now 
include 720 acres in Portage county. His 
marked success is due to good management, 
coupled with untiring energy. While a 
truly loyal American citizen, Mr. Tobey 
sympathizes deeply with his native land in 
her strivings for freedom, and it would seem 
to him the crowning act of his life could he 
lend that cause his personal help. He is 
one of the best-known citizens of Portage 
county, and a better farmer it would be in- 
deed hard to find. 



HENRY EDWARDS, a prosperous 
and highly-esteemed citizen of Grand 
Rapids, Wood county, is a native 
of the State of New York, where he 
was born in October, 1844. He was the 
only child of his parents, and during his in- 
fancy was left an orphan. Thrown upon 
the charities of a cold world, dependent en- 
tirely upon his own resources, his success is 
the result of good management and enter- 
prise. 

The common schools of his native town 
afforded our subject his educational privi- 
leges, and in earlj' life he became a resident 
of Wisconsin, locating in Racine county, 
where he was engaged in the occupation of 
stage driving. His labors were interrupted 
in 1 86 1 by his enlistment in the Union serv- 
ice. Prompted by a spirit of patriotism, 
he responded to the President's call for 
troops to aid in crushing out the Rebellion, 
and joined the "boys in blue " of a Wis- 
consin battery of light artillery. He re- 
mained at the front for three years and nine 
months, taking part in numerous engage- 
ments, including some of the most hotly 
contested battles, and when the war was 
over and peace was again restored he was 
honorably discharged in Milwaukee, Wis., 
in 1865. At once returning to the northern 
part of Wisconsin, he again engaged in the 
occupation of stage driving, being in the 
employ of the Wisconsin Stage Company 
some fourteen years. In 1866 he came to 



Grand Rapids, where he has since made his 
home, and is one of the prosperous and 
highly-esteemed citizens of the place. In 
his political views he is a stanch Republi- 
can, warmly advocating the principles of 
that party. 

In 1877, in New Lisbon, Wis., Mr. Ed- 
wards was united in marriage with Miss 
Ellen Weaver, who died in Grand Rapids in 
1893. They had two children, one of whom 
is yet living — Henry, Jr., who makes his 
home in Grand Rapids. 



BOIE WILLIAMS, familiarly known 
as "Buck" Williams, is one of the 
prosperous leading business men and 
substantial citizens of lola. Waupaca 
county. 

Mr. Williams was born December 24, 
1857, in Scandinavia township, Waupaca 
county. His father, Ove Williamson, was 
born in Norway, January 20, 18 19, was 
educated in the schools of his native land, 
and the days of his boyhood and youth were 
passed upon the farm. His marriage to 
Miss Annie Kjos took place in Norway in 
1844, and five years later, in 1849, he cross- 
ed the Atlantic in a sailing vessel to the 
New World, where he hoped to secure a 
home and competence. He first, located 
in Muskegon, where he worked as a com- 
mon laborer some three years, coming 
thence to Waupaca county in 1853. He 
was one of the first settlers, and is now the 
second oldest living resident in Scandinavia 
township. The hardships and trials of 
pioneer life are familiar to him, and, the 
history of that county is known to him from 
the days when it was almost an unbroken 
wilderness, inhabited mostly by Indians. He 
has borne an important part in the work of 
development, transforming the land from its 
uncultivated condition into rich and valuable 
farms. Here he purchased 160 acres of 
wild land, on which not a furrow had been 
turned or an improvement made, and suc- 
cessfully continued its cultivation until 1884, 
when enfeebled health caused him to lay 
aside business cares, and he is now living a 
retired life. He worked for many years on 
the river, rafting logs, and his career has 



J034 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



been that of an industrious and energetic 
man, bringing to him a well-merited com- 
petence. He is a stanch Repubhcan in poH- 
tics and has served in several local offices 
with credit to himself and satisfaction to his 
constituents. He filled the office of assessor 
for twelve years, and has also been township 
treasurer. He and his family are members 
of the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Williamson, 
who was born in Norway September 29, 
1820, is also yet living. Their children 
were: Annie, now the wife of August Lar- 
son, a resident of Wausau ; William, who is 
living in La Crosse, Wis. ; Andrew, the effi- 
cient sheriff of Waupaca county; Berit, de- 
ceased; Denah; Boie, subject of this sketch; 
Edward Ove, of Waupaca; Anton G., a 
farmer of Scandinavia township; and Lewis 
B., deceased. 

Our subject attended the rude district 
schools of the home neighborhood up to the 
age of fifteen years, when he left the school 
room and began work as a farm hand, as 
his services were not needed at home. For 
one year he was thus employed, receiving 
$12 per month, and on the expiration of 
that time he began learning harness making 
with Andrew Moberg, of Amherst, Wis. , 
where he worked for three years, going 
thence to Wausau, Wis., being employed at 
his trade by Ernst Felling. After spending 
two years in Wausau Mr. Williams returned 
to Scandinavia township, where he followed 
his trade; but as work was dull and scarce 
he hired out as a farm hand to a Mr. Turner, 
of Belmont township. Portage Co., Wis. 
Later he went to Winona, Minn., where he 
remained for one year, and then secured the 
position as driver of a creamery wagon in 
High Forest, that State. Subsequently he 
and his brother Andrew (afterward sheriff of 
Waupaca county) took up new farms in 
Faulk county, S. Dak., which section was 
then very wild and unsettled. Besides the 
improvements they made on their own home- 
stead they also did "breaking" for others, 
their home during this time being in a little 
shanty out on the prairie, where our subject 
acted as cook. At the end of a year, how- 
ever, he returned to High Forest, where he 
again drove a wagon for the creamer}', being 
engaged thus for some time. 



While there Mr. Williams was united in 
marriage, in September, 1886, with Miss 
Clara Juelson, a native of Minnesota, and a 
daughter of Ole Juelson. By her marriage 
she has become the mother of four children, 
all of whom are still living — Arthur J., Ed- 
win M., Walter L. and Clara A. The par- 
ents are members of the Lutheran Church. 
In the fall of 1886 Mr. Williams returned 
to Scandinavia township, and the following 
spring, on the advice of his friends, opened 
a harness shop in Tola, which he has since 
conducted with excellent success. He first 
began in a small building on State street, 
which he rented, his capital at that time 
comprising only his savings, which did not 
much exceed $100; but his venture here 
soon proved a success, and his honest, in- 
dustrious efforts won for him an increasing 
trade, enabling him to purchase his shop. 
In 1892, however, he erected a substantial 
brick building on Main street, adjoining his 
present room, which later he sold out, and 
in 1893 built his present commodious brick 
business house, the largest harness shop in 
lola. 

Mr. Williams is one of the most pros- 
perous business men of Waupaca county, 
wide-awake and pushing, and is destined to 
become a wealthy man. His excellent 
workmanship and honest dealings have 
brought him a large trade, and he enjoys 
the respect and confidence of all with whom 
he has business or social dealings. Besides 
his shop, he also owns his pleasant home, 
which has been built since locating in lola. 
Mr. Williams is an earnest advocate of the 
principles of the Republican party, and, 
while no politician, has served in various 
official capacities, having been constable and 
city marshal (one year), and he is at present 
one of the city councilmen. 



HANS P. JOHNSON, a leading and 
influential farmer of New Hope 
township, belongs to one of the rep- 
resentative families of Portage coun- 
ty, who located there in an early day in its 
history and have contributed their share to its 
advancement and upbuilding. He was born 
in WestToten, Norway, June 18, 1845, ^"'^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1035 



is a son of Jens and Mary (Anderson) John- 
son, natives of the same place, the father 
born May 5, 1804, and the mother October 
2, 1811. The grandfather, Johannes John- 
son, was a farmer of Norway, where his death 
occurred before the birth of our subject. 

The father was a well-educated gentle- 
man, and while young followed teaching; 
later he learned the painter's trade, which 
he followed in connection with farming. In 
1853, having decided to come to America, 
with his wife and si.x children he left Chris- 
tiania on the 14th of April, taking passage on 
the sailing vessel, "William Tell," which 
arrived in Quebec after a voyage of eight 
weeks and two days, during which they en- 
countered many severe storms. The first 
location of the family was in Manitowoc, 
Wis. , where they remained only about five 
weeks, when they set out for New Hope, 
going by water to Gill's Landing, where 
they hired a team to convey them the re- 
mainder of the distance. The father pre- 
empted 160 acres of wild land, and the 
family lived with neighbors until a small 
house could be built of logs, in which they 
moved before the roof was put on. The 
first night in their new home was made 
hideous by the howling of wolves, the fierce 
and hungry animals coming almost up to the 
door. For eighteen 3'ears they lived in the 
log house, and then the present home of our 
subject was built. The parents died in the 
faith of the Lutheran Church, the mother 
January 27, 1887, the father November 12, 
1894, and they now sleep side by side in the 
New Hope Cemetery. 

Before coming to America, Hans P. 
Johnson had not entered school, and until 
he was fifteen years of age no school build- 
ings were erected in the neighborhood of his 
home in New Hope township, consequently 
his education was not begun until that time. 
His first instructor was Annie Gasman, who 
taught in a school house built of logs, which 
was minus windows for some months after 
its erection. Until eighteen years of age he 
remained at home, assisting in the labors of 
the farm, though he was also employed part 
of the time as a farm hand by neighboring 
farmers. He then entered the pineries, 
where he spent three winters. In New 



Hope, December 22, 1867, he was married 
to Miss Oline Oleson, the ceremony being 
performed by Rev. A. Mickleson. She was 
born in Norway, November 12, 1847, and 
is a daughter of Peter and Ingeborg (Han- 
son) Oleson, the former born February 20, 
1820, the latter on April 6, 1827. When a 
little girl she came with her parents to the 
United States, sailing on the "Three Broth- 
ers, " which landed them in Quebec after a 
voyage of five weeks. Coming immediately 
to Scandinavia, Wis., the father obtained 
work at his trade of a carpenter and joiner, 
which he had learned in Norway when a 
young man, though before his marriage he 
had followed shoe making. At the end of 
a few years the family came to New Hope 
township, where the father purchased eighty 
acres of land, on which he and his wife re- 
sided until 1883, when they removed to a 
neat little cottage near the home of their 
only child — Mrs. Johnson. 

After their marriage our subject and his 
wife took up their residence at their present 
home, where they have since continued to 
reside. They have one child — Maren Ivan- 
na, born October 24, 1868, and is still at 
home. That home is undoubtedly the most 
beautiful residence in the township, situated 
in a small valley, surrounded by great oak 
and pine trees, while a broad stretch of 
green pasture separates the house from the 
main road, the whole forming a lovely pic- 
ture, on which an artist might gaze with 
longing eyes. Mr. Johnson has added 
greatly to the original structure built by his 
father, doing most of the work on the same. 
He is a scientific farmer, possessed of much 
natural talent for carpentering and black- 
smithing, having a well-equipped shop on 
his place, where he shoes his own horses, 
and repairs all machinery. Their beautiful 
home is presided over by a most excellent 
lady, Mrs. Johnson being a woman of a 
gentle, motherly disposition, and makes 
friends of all who know her. Mr. Johnson 
has ever taken a deep interest in educational 
affairs, and for twenty years has served as 
school director. He has also been super- 
visor of his township for one term. Politic- 
ally his support is given to the Republican 
party, while in religious faith both he and 



1036 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his wife are active members of the United 
Norwegian Lutheran Church, in which for 
several years he has held office. 



JOSIAH L. FROST. It was the shed- 
ding of American blood at Lexington 
and at Concord, Mass., April 19, 1775, 
that lighted the revolutionary fires 
which gave this country its independence. 
On that memorable day Paul Revere carried 
to the minute men of the boroughs near Bos- 
ton tidings of the advance of the British 
soldiery from Boston to Concord to destroy 
military stores, and the sturdy yeomanry of 
Massachusetts rose in opposition. Nine 
lives were sacrificed at Lexington, more at 
Concord. Maddened, the Americans rushed 
from every direction to the scene of the 
massacre. The British troops withdrew, 
fled panic-stricken before the fierce human tu- 
mult they had aroused, and were assailed ef- 
fectively for many miles in the long retreat. 
In the little village of Arlington, which lay 
between Lexington and Boston, lived Jason 
Russell, one of the minute men. His was 
one of the precious lives extinguished that 
day. He was buried in a rough coffin box, 
and the bodies of his fellow martyrs were 
placed in the same grave, now marked by 
an imposing monument. A great-grandson 
of Jason Russell isJosiahL. Frost, the lead- 
ing farmer of Almond township, Portage 
county. 

Mr. Frost was born November 27, 1821, 
in Arlington, Mass, in the same house in 
which eleven Americans and two British 
were killed on that fateful April day of 1775. 
He is the son of Daniel and Nabbie (Rus- 
sell) Frost, the former of whom died when 
our subject was two months old, the latter 
when he was two years old. Young Josiah 
then lived with his uncle, Thomas R. Teel, 
his grandmother taking care of him until he 
was eleven years old. She lived to the ad- 
vanced age of ninety-four years, her mother 
till she was ninety-eight. 

He had one brother, Daniel, three years 
older than himself, who also became a pio- 
neer of Almond township. Josiah received 
little schooling. When eleven years old 
he was put out to work, and for four years 



received only his board and clothes for his 
labor. Then for two years he clothed him- 
self on his wages of $50 per year. From 
seventeen to twenty years of age his earnings 
improved, when, at the latter age, he pur- 
chased one-half of the old homestead, which 
was sold at auction. He paid $2,375 for 
his half of the property, consisting of eigh- 
teen acres, and went into debt for the 
amount. Then began a struggle to clear 
off the indebtedness. This homestead which 
he purchased had been his father's, and was 
situated about one and a half miles from the 
old Russell homestead, so rich in its associa- 
tions with early American history. For 
three years Josiah worked the farm, and in 
that time reduced the debt to $2, 100. He 
then bought three and one-half acres addi- 
tional land for $700, increasing his liabilities 
to $2,800. He continued to till the little 
farm till, in 1848, while visiting his brother 
Daniel in Illinois, he was attacked with fe- 
ver and ague, and returning home was un- 
able to work. Gold excitement then aris- 
ing, he became one of the " Forty-niners." 
With several friends he set sail at Boston 
May I, 1849, and after a trip of 163 days by 
way of Cape Horn, landed at San Francisco. 
Here the party separated, each going his 
own way. Mr. Frost went to Sacramento 
and pitched his tent November 2, 1849, on 
the American river. He hired out at seven 
dollars per day, and in three weeks drew his 
pay in gold dust, and purchasing with part of 
it thirty pounds of flour at one dollar per 
pound, began mining for himself. By spring 
he cleared $ i , 000. Taking his dust to Sacra- 
mento in a leather mitten he shipped $800 
to Massachusetts by Adams Express, the 
charges being $64. Returning to the mines 
he worked about a month for a company, 
for $150. With a Massachusetts acquaint- 
ance he went back to Sacramento, where 
his friend died of cholera, then raging. Mr. 
Frost proceeded to San Francisco, and took 
passage for Panama in a sailing vessel, which 
put in at the port of Leon. Many passen- 
gers, including Mr. Frost, started overland 
afoot, crossing the isthmus via Nicaragua 
lake and down the San Juan river to Grey- 
town. Reaching Massachusetts, Mr. Frost 
resumed farminir. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



1037 



In 1 85 1 he was married to a distant rel- 
ative, Maria (Frost) Frost. About two 
years later he sold eleven acres of the farm 
for $2,300, which left him eleven acres clear 
and $1,000 in cash. Mr. Frost still owns 
the old homestead. Investing his money in 
railroad stock, he sold the securities a year 
later and came to Wisconsin to visit his 
brother. He purchased a claim of 160 acres 
for $475. It contained a log house and barn, 
and here Mr. Frost settled; he has since been 
a resident of the township, and has become 
its most prominent farmer. During the past 
forty years he has bought and sold land ex- 
tensively, and he now owns 1,160 acres of 
good land, 600 of which are tillable, and 
most of it he himself farms. His wife died 
in 1876, leaving si.x children, as follows: 
Charles, a physician at Plainfield; Etta, now 
Mrs. John Cowan; Fred; Daniel, an attorney 
at Stevens Point; Carrie, a medical student 
at the Woman's Medical College, Chicago; 
George, now studying music in Germany. 
In June, 1880, Mr. Frost was married to 
Ella Wilcox, daughter of Hiram and Cath- 
erine (Furman) Wilcox, he a native of Ver- 
mont, she of Virginia; Hiram came to Wis- 
consin when eighteen years old, in 1850, 
Catherine coming with her parents about the 
same time; they were married about four 
miles from Plainfield, where they now live. 
Hiram and Catherine Wilcox had three 
children — Ella, Mrs. Frost; Mary, deceased; 
and Florence, now Mrs. A. Lane, of Oasis, 
Wis. By his second marriage Mr. Frost 
has four children: Janie, Nellie, Ernest 
and Russell, all at home. Politically Mr. 
Frost is a Republican. 



HIRAM ALONZO WOOD, by a life- 
time of hard and persistent labor, 
has contributed materially to the 
growth and prosperity of Almond 
township, Portage county. He came to that 
locality when it was new, more than forty 
years ago, and during the earlier years of 
his residence he endured the hardships and 
privations incident to those pioneer times. 
He drove through from Milwaukee; lived in 
a shanty that admitted the daylight through 
the cracks, while night after night, after the 



day's labor was done, he burned brush and 
assisted in the general farm work. As a 
result of his labor, nobly seconded by the 
efforts of his faithful wife, he has carved out 
from the wilderness one of the largest and 
best farms in the township. 

Mr. Wood was born in Stanstead, Stan- 
stead Co., Canada, April 26, 1823, son of 
Ephraim and Agnes (Moore) Wood, both 
natives of Thetford, Vt., where they were 
reared, and there they married, January 16, 
1 8 16. Ephraim was the son of Israel Wood, 
and was born September 10, 1789. His 
New England ancestry goes back to the Pu- 
ritans. Agnes, his wife, was born Novem- 
ber 20, 1795. In the spring following their 
marriage they migrated from Vermont to 
Canada, where Mr. Wood purchased 120 
acres of land, then partially improved. He 
remained on the farm through life, and died 
June 19, 1844. To Ephraim and Agnes 
Wood nine children were born: Abigail, 
now widow of Loren Gustin, of Massachu- 
setts; Mary, who died in early life; James, 
who at the age of eighteen years was acci- 
dentally shot and killed, while hunting 
wolves; Hiram Alonzo; Fletcher, who died 
at the age of nine years; George, who died 
in Buena Vista, Portage county; Elizabeth, 
now Mrs. Charles Traver, of Almond, Wis. ; 
Wentworth, of Colorado, and Sarah, who 
married and died in Lowell, Mass., leaving 
one child. 

Hiram Alonzo Wood received the lim- 
ited education which the times and environ- 
ment permitted, and while the other chil- 
dren as a rule left the parental roof early in 
life, he remained at home. He was married, 
October 29, 1849, to Nancy Buzzell, who 
was born in Canada, May i, 1826, daughter 
of John and Caroline (Spinney) Buzzell. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wood began housekeeping 
with the widowed mother, Mrs. Agnes Wood, 
who for her second husband married Rich- 
ard Copp, September 22, 1853. Two years 
later Hiram Alonzo and Nancy Wood left 
the homestead and came to Wisconsin. Mr. 
Wood purchased from the government 400 
acres of land located in Almond township. 
Portage county, at $1.25 per acre, then re- 
turned to Canada for his family. They 
drove from Milwaukee to the farm in live 



I03S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQBAPUICAL RECORD. 



days, bringing with them furniture and pro- 
visions, and for a year living in a board 
shanty, 16x32. The next year Mr. Wood 
built a frame house, and at once actively be- 
gan the work of clearing his farm. He has 
dealt in land to a considerable extent dur- 
ing the past forty years, and now owns a 
well-improved farm of 360 acres. In poli- 
tics Mr. Wood is a Republican. He is a 
prominent member of Plainfield Lodge, No. 
208, F. & A. M. To Mr. and Mrs. Wood 
six children have been born: Mark, now 
living in Almond township; James and 
Alonzo, who both died young; Jennie, now 
Mrs. A. Barker, of Pine Grove township; 
Agnes, now Mrs. Henry Briggs, of Almond 
township, and James Alonzo, at home. The 
last named was married, September 9, 1891, 
to Lettie V. Bowen, daughter of Hiram and 
Harriet (Corbett) Bowen. Hiram Bowen 
was a native of Vermont; his wife was born 
in England, October 24, 1831. They were 
the parents of seven children: Frank, Ber- 
tha, Lizzie, Alice (deceased), Tryphena, 
Lettie and Lois. In 1866 Mr. Bowen 
brought his family to Almond township, 
where he remained a farmer until his death, 
in 1888. James Alonzo and Lettie Wood 
have one child, Walter H., born June 28, 
1892. 



ONIZIME DENIS, who by a life of 
industry and judicious economy, 
coupled with keen foresight and 
characteristic prudence, has risen to 
no small degree of prominence as one of the 
well-to-do and progressive citizens of Cen- 
tralia, Wood county, is a native of Canada. 
He was born in York, in the Province 
of Quebec, March 24, 1827, and is a son of 
Alexci and Genevieve (Plant) Denis. Their 
family numbered five children, of whom only 
four now survive, namely: Sophie, wife of 
Joseph Beaufort, a resident of St. Cuth- 
bert. Province of Quebec, Canada; Gene- 
vieve, wife of Benjamin Desjarles, and living 
in Woonsocket, R. I. ; Harriet, widow of 
Joseph Neveu, and a resident of Three 
Rivers, Canada; and Onizime. 

During the infancy of our subject his 
parents removed to Sorel, Canada, where 



his father engaged in the hotel and livery 
business, making his home in that place un- 
til his death, which occurred September, 
1865. His wife survived him only a short 
time, passing away January 1, 1866. Oni- 
zime Denis acquired his education in the 
common schools of Sorel, and at an early 
age left the parental roof, starting out in life 
for himself. He went first to Ottawa, Can- 
ada, and for a short time was engaged in 
lumbering on the Ottawa river, after which 
he worked at various occupations in differ- 
ent cities in his native country and the 
United States. This included three years 
spent in a brick-yard on the Hudson river, 
in New York State. He became identified 
with the interests of Wood county in 1855, 
at which time he cast in his lot with the 
pioneer settlers of Grand Rapids. There 
he worked in a sawmill and at lumbering, 
and was also a pilot on the Wisconsin river 
for over twenty years. 

On December 26, 1863, Mr. Denis was 
united in marriage with Julia C. Van Valk- 
enburg, a daughter of Amos Castle Van- 
Valkenburg and Jane (Scott) Van Valken- 
burg, the father a native of Kinderhook, 
N. Y. , the mother of Dumfriesshire, Scot- 
land. Mrs. Denis was born in Pittsfield, 
Ohio, May 9, 1841, became a resident of 
Adams county. Wis., in 1863, and after 
about a year passed there removed to Wood 
county, where she was employed as a teacher 
in the public schools of Seneca for a year. 
At the end of that time she came to Cen- 
tralia. Wood county, where she has since 
made her home. To Mr. and Mrs. Denis 
were born four children: Julia Louise, the 
eldest, born in Centralia, October 15. 1866, 
was the wife of C. W. Smith of Beloit, 
Wis., and December 6, 1893, was called to 
the home beyond, crossing the dark river of 
death into the land where there is neither 
sorrow nor sighing and where no storms will 
be felt as the years of eternity roll on. She 
was a prominent and faithful member of the 
Episcopal Church, and her entire life was 
one of exemplary Christian womanhood. 
After a very brief illness she passed away in 
her twenty-seventh year, beloved and 
honored by all who knew her leaving a dis- 
consolate husband and two little children to 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPUICAL RECORD. 



1039 



mourn the loss of a faithful and loving wife 
and mother, and her parents of a devoted 
daughter. Her remains were interred in 
Forest Hill Cemetery of Grand Rapids. 

And in this sacred quiet spot 

Mid shadows soft and drear: 
With tangled grass and creeping vines 

And running waters near; 
The winter's blast amid the trees 

With low and solemn moan 
Repeats the night bird's mournful chant. 

She has been gathered home. 

Mary Burton, the ne.xt in order of birth, 
was born April 27, 1868, and died June 17, 
same year; Walter O. was born March 8, 
1877; and Sidney A., born March i, 1881, 
completes the family. Mrs. Denis and her 
children attend the Congregational Church. 
Mr. Denis is a member of the Roman 
Catholic Church, and in his political views 
is a Democrat. Success comes not alone as 
the result of taking advantage of opportuni- 
ties presented, but also as the result of op- 
portunities created. Mr. Denis has achieved 
prosperity, and his success is the reward of 
his own labors. 



M 



ATT DENNIS is one of the pioneer 
settlers of Waupaca county, hav- 
ing for almost forty years resided 
within its borders. He has seen 
its wild land transformed into beautiful 
homes and farms, its hamlets become thriv- 
ing towns and cities, and in the work of 
progress and advancement he has ever borne 
his part; therefore, the more deserving of 
representation in this volume. 

Mr. Dennis was born in County Armagh, 
Ireland, March 15, 1835, and is a son of 
Thomas and Bridget (McGregor) Dennis, 
the father being a farmer. The mother died 
at the age of twenty-eight years, leaving the 
following children — John, now of Chicago; 
Francis, a carpenter, of St. Croix county. 
Wis.; our subject; Thomas, who died in 
Pittsburg, Penn., in 1865, leaving a widow 
and one son; Joseph, who also died in Pitts- 
burg, in 1865; and Peter, a farmer of St. 
Croix county. About two years after the 
death of his first wife, the father married 
Betsy Dolly, and they had two children — 



Mary, of Winona, Minn. ; and James, who 
died in England, in i 890. 

Our subject received but limited school 
privileges, and from a very early age he has 
been dependent entirely upon his own exer- 
tions for a livelihood. We find him when a 
boy of ten working for his uncle, watching 
the cattle, to keep them from the grain, for 
the fields were not then fenced. For five 
years he lived with his uncle, and then 
served an apprenticeship to the trade of 
linen-wea\'ing. When his term of service 
had expired he entered the English army, 
in which he remained one year, then in 1854 
sailed for America on a vessel that weighed 
anchor at Belfast, and reached the harbor 
of New York, after a voyage of two months. 
It was a rough passage, several severe storms 
being encountered; but at length they 
reached land in safety. Mr. Dennis went 
direct to Sharon, Vt., and entered the em- 
ploy of Jonathan Wilson, a farmer, receiv- 
ing as compensation for his labors $7 per 
month. For two years he continued in the 
Green Mountain State. 

On the 27th of September, 1856, Mr. 
Dennis was united in marriage with Cather- 
ine Judd, daughter of James and Mary Ann 
(Galligan) Judd. She was born in County 
Sligo, Ireland, in 1836, and was an only 
child. Her mother died when she was four 
years old, and the father afterward wedded 
Mary Cullins, by whom he had three sons — 
Patrick, Peter and Thomas — who when last 
heard of were still living in Ireland. Mrs. 
Dennis came to America with an uncle and 
aunt, who located in Ticonderoga, N. Y. , 
where the former was engaged in farming. 
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Dennis was 
celebrated in Vergennes, Vt., and in 1857 
they came to Waupaca county, Wis., our 
subject purchasing forty acres of land in 
Little Wolf township. There were at that 
time not enough men in the township to fill 
the offices. There was but one school dis- 
trict, and the teacher was a lady who is now 
Mrs. Arthur Lindsey, of Manawa, Wis. 
There were no roads, and nothing to mark 
the paths save the Indian trails; the settle- 
ments were widely scattered, much of the 
land was in its primitive condition, wild 
game of all kinds abounded, and the work 



1040 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of progress and civilization had hardly been 
begun. For two j'ears Mr. Dennis had no 
team, but carried on his farm work with an 
axe and grub-hoe. His home was a frame 
house 14X 18 feet, with twelve-foot posts, 
and is still standing, one of the few land- 
marks of pioneer days that yet remain. It 
continued their place of abode until 1877, 
when it was replaced by a modern residence, 
two stories in height, the main part being 
18 X 28 feet, with a wing i6x 26 feet, and a 
one-story kitchen 16 x 24 feet. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis have seven chil- 
dren, all residing in Wisconsin, namely: 
Minnie, wife of Anthony Linden, a hotel 
keeper of Prentiss Junction; Catherine E., 
wife of Henry L. Hudson, of Antigo; Henry, 
a log scaler, of Rhinelander; Ida, wife of 
William Davis, a miller of Scandinavia; 
Jennie, wife of John Smith, of Little Wolf; 
Margaret, wife of John C. Kinsman, of 
Manawa; and Mathew, at home. The 
daughters have all engaged in teaching 
school. The members of the family are 
active workers in the Catholic Church, and 
Mr. Dennis was instrumental in the con- 
struction of the Catholic church at Manawa, 
which cost $7,000. In politics he is a Dem- 
ocrat. His hope of securing a comfortable 
home b\- emigratiug to America has been 
realized. For some years after coming to 
^^'aupaca county, he had a hard struggle to 
get along, and underwent many of the diffi- 
culties and trials of frontier life; but his per- 
severance at length overcame all obstacles, 
and he has steadily worked his way upward 
to a deserved position of affluence. 



PETER N. CHRISTENSEN, farmer 
and real-estate dealer, in Lincoln 
township. Wood county, has for 
many years been actively interested 
in the development of the county. He was 
in 1892 one of a company which established 
the first creamery in the northwest part of 
the county. He is now a director in the 
German American Bank at Marshfield. He 
has dealt extensively in real estate, and 
erected some very creditable structures. He 
is a pioneer settler, has been quite promin- 
ent in the political history of the county, and 



and from the leading part he has taken in 
public affairs it might correctly be inferred 
that he comes from good stock. 

Mr. Christensen was born in the village 
of Stokkemarke, on the Island of Laaland, 
Denmark, October i, 1847. son of Peter 
and Xicoline (Waldmann) Christensen, who 
were married in 1839 and had six children: 
Margaret F., Jacob, Peter N., Diderikke 
L. J. (all yet living in Denmark except 
Peter N. and Jacob), and two who died in 
infancy. Peter Christensen was a school 
teacher, and has taught school in Denmark 
for fifty-two years, forty-five years thereof 
in Stokkemarke, where he was also a deacon 
in the State Church As is the custom in 
Denmark for men of his standing, he now re- 
ceives a pension for honorable service. He 
is a son of Kristen Jacobson, who was born 
October 17, 1764, son of Jacob Peterson, a 
farmer of Gjelsted, in the Island of Fyen, 
where Kristen also followed agricultural pur- 
suits. The latter was married, in 1790, to 
Anna Margaret Larson, who was born in 
1769, a daughter of Lars Peterson, a farmer 
near Gjelsted Church, Island of Fyen. Our 
subject has a view of the old church at his 
birthplace, which was built in the thirteenth 
century, where his father was a deacon for 
many years, and his brother is now filling 
that office. Mrs. Anna Margaret Jacobson 
died July 2, 1828, the mother of children as 
follows: Lars, Jens, Jacobine, Ane Katrine, 
Jacob and Peter. Nicoline, wife of Peter 
Christensen, was the only child of Christian 
F. Waldmann, who was born June 6, 1772, 
became a captain in the Danish army, and 
was a member of the " aristocrac}-. " Capt. 
Waldmann died October 18, 18 16, when his 
daughter Nicoline was a young girl, and his 
widow subsequently married Capt. Frederick 
W. Rolfson, leaving by her second marriage 
one son, named after his father. Mrs. 
Nicoline Christensen died in June, 185 1, 
when her son, Peter N., the subject of this 
sketch, was little more than three years old. 

Peter N. Christensen was educated in his 
father's school until he was fifteen years old, 
when he was placed on a large estate to 
learn the details of farming, but received no 
wages. When eighteen years old he came 
to America, leaving his old home in April, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



1041 



1866, and May 7 reaching Racine, Wis., 
via Quebec, with eighty dollars in his 
pockets as his portion in life. For four 
years he "knocked about" before finally 
locating. At first he worked for three 
months on a farm, where he could learn the 
English language, receiving only eleven dol- 
lars for his services, being defrauded of the 
balance. Next he was employed for a short 
time in a wagon shop at Racine; then visit- 
ed friends in Iowa, remaining part of the 
winter. After chopping wood for several 
months in Illinois, he returned to Wisconsin 
in June, 1867, and worked in a sawmill at 
Necedah, Juneau county, going in the lum- 
ber woods in winter. In April, 1870, he 
and his brother Jacob, who had crossed the 
ocean to America in 1867, purchased i6o 
acres of wild land in Lincoln township. 
Wood county, which at that time was most- 
ly a "howling wilderness." Subsequently 
the brothers divided up their interests in 
this property, and Peter bought land adjoin- 
ing, making, in all, a farm of 160 acres. He 
has made many notable improvements on 
the place, including the erection of a fine 
brick house. It is one of the best farms in 
the township. 

In February, 1873, Mr. Christensen was 
married to Miss Martha Thompson Ebbe, 
and they had five children; but in February, 
1882, diphtheria entered his home and took 
away his entire family save little Mattie, the 
youngest child. In March, 1883, he was 
again married, this time to Hannah Nelson, 
who is of Danish birth, and the only mem- 
ber of her family in America. By this mar- 
riage Mr. Christensen has five children — 
Carrie, Lillie, Peter W., William and 
Louise. 

Mr. Christensen is a Republican, and he 
has always taken an active interest in poli- 
tics. He was elected town clerk in 1871, 
and served seven years; in 1880 he was 
elected county register, and was re-elected 
in 1882, serving four years; he was also 
poor commissioner for the county from 1885 
to 1889, and is at present chairman of the 
board of supervisors for his town. He has 
also been active in school work, both as dis- 
trict clerk and as president of the board of 
education. He lesided at Grand Rapids, 



the county seat of Wood county, from 1880 
until 1885, and while there made the first 
private abstracts of titles of that county, 
which he sold in 1885; he also served as 
city treasurer for a time in that city. 

In 1882 he visited his old home in Den- 
mark, being absent about four months. His 
father had, for his second wife, in 1855 
married Bertha Nelson, and by this marri- 
age had five children — Nels C, Nicoline F., 
William, Louis C. and Jacobine. Two of 
these, Nels C. and Louis C, accompanied 
Mr. Christensen on his return to Wisconsin 
in 1882, and are now farmers of Lincoln 
township, Wood county. William has taken 
his father's old place as school teacher and 
as deacon in the State Church. The young- 
est, Jacobine, has married a physician and 
lives in Denmark. After leaving Grand 
Rapids in 1885, Mr. Christensen was for 
three years a merchant at Pittsville, Wood 
county. In March, 1888, he sold his stock 
of goods, and three years later the building 
in which they were located. He is a mem- 
ber of the Lutheran Church, and a charter 
member of the Masonic Lodge at Pittsville. 
For the past twelve years he has bought and 
sold land extensively in Wood county, and 
is one of the best known and most highly- 
respected citizens of the county. 



HEMAN T. WEBSTER, one of the 
representative farmers and leading 
citizens of Buena Vista township, 
Portage county, was born in Pier- 
pont, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, February 22, 
1837, and belongs to a family that was 
founded in America by three brothers, na- 
tives of Wales, who emigrated to this coun- 
try in Colonial days, and participated in the 
war of the Revolution. One brother was 
killed during that struggle, and the other 
two then settled in Connecticut. The grand- 
father of our subject was a native of Con- 
necticut, and there followed farming and 
shoemaking. He afterward became one of 
the pioneers of Ohio, where he carried on 
agricultural pursuits until his death in 1852. 
His wife passed away five years later. Their 
children were Linus; Truman, a farmer of 
Winnebago county. 111., who married Miss 



1042 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Chapman, by whom he had four children; 
Jermeda, an Iowa farmer, who wedded Miss 
Marks (now deceased); David, who was 
twice married, and died in Ohio; Harvey, a 
retired farmer of Rockford, 111. ; Ro.xanna, 
who wedded Albro Woodruff, and lives in 
Ohio; Merritt, a farmer of Green county. 
Wis. ; Heman, who served in the Mexican 
war under Fremont, and when last heard of 
was living in Australia; Noah, who died in 
Colorado; and Rosswell, a farmer of Ashta- 
bula county, Ohio. 

Linus Webster was born in Connecticut, 
and after the removal of the family to Ohio 
married Sophia Prince, a native of New 
York, whose father was born in Massachu- 
setts, his family being residents of Boston. 
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Webster 
lived on a farm in Ashtabula county, until 
the fall of 1 85 1 when they started westward. 
During the winter they visited his brother 
in Illinois, and in the spring came to Wis- 
consin, where Mr. Webster followed lumber- 
ing for a short time. He then returned for 
his family and with them located upon a 
farm, which is now the home of our subject. 
His death occurred in August, 1883, but 
his wife is still living on the old farm — an 
esimable lady, noted for her many charities. 
The children of the family were Mrs. Alme- 
da Wigginton; Julia, widow of Charles T. 
Alire, who was a machinist b}' trade, but after- 
ward engaged in the cultivation of oranges 
in Florida, where he died leaving a widow 
and three children — Garafelia May, Oretta 
and Olive; Heman T., our subject; Almira, 
wife of Augustus A. Sherman; James, who 
wedded Anna Russell, and resides in Sey- 
mour, Richland Co., N. Dak., with his wife 
and three children — Elery, Irvin and Cicely. 

Heman T. Webster attended the com- 
mon schools of his native town, and ere his 
marriage worked in the lumber woods and 
on the river. On September 7, 1862, he 
wedded Jane Patterson, who was born in 
New York, November 23, 1845, daughter 
of Alanson and Jane (Crosscup) Patterson, 
also natives of the Empire State. In 1852 
they came to Wisconsin, and the father 
purchased from the government 116 acres 
of wild land. He died on the old home in 
March, 1865; his wife passed away October 



25, 1889, and was laid by his side in Lone 
Pine Cemetery. Their children were Mari- 
ette, who died at the age of five years; 
Dighton, who died at the age of three years; 
Wayne, who went to the war as a member 
of an Illinois regiment, and was wounded at 
the battle of Raymond, dying on the field; 
Mrs. Webster; Medora, who wedded Miles 
Bibby (deceased), by whom she had two 
children, and then wedded Frank Walker, by 
whom she had two children; Sherman, de- 
ceased; William, who married Maggie Mc- 
Guiley, and resides in Almond, Wis. ; Frank, 
who wedded Mary Preston, and is a mer- 
chant of Stevens Point. To Mr. and Mrs- 
Webster have been born three children: 
(i) Clara, born July 17, 1863, is the wife 
of Edgar King, an employe of the Wiscon- 
son Central Railroad Company, residing at 
Stevens Point; they have three children — 
Emma, Laura and Gertrude. (2) Chester, 
born April 11, 1865, wedded Ada Uptha- 
grove, who was born in Broome county, N. 
Y. , January 16, 1865, a daughter of Charles 
and Eliza (Slack) Upthagrove, the former a 
native of Canada, the latter of New York; 
her parents came to Wisconsin in 1878, 
locating upon a farm in Buena Vista town- 
ship, and the father is now living in Stevens 
Point; his wife died in Plover, Wis., Sep- 
tember 12, 1892; their children were Mrs. 
Webster, Edwin, Fred, Myrtle, Elmer, 
Frank and Pearl; Mr. and Mrs. Chester 
Webster were married in Stevens Point, 
July 4, 1884, and their three children were 
Charles (deceased), Laura and Garrie; and 
] (3) Laura born in 1867, died in 1884. 
i Upon his marriage, Heman T. Webster 
I located on a forty-acre tract of land which 
he had previously purchased, and later 
bought the old homestead, comprising 160 
acres of land in Section 29, Buena Vista town- 
ship. He also owns forty acres of land in 
Section 27. His farm labors were interrupt- 
ed in December, 1864, by his enlistment in 
Company I, First Wis. V. C. He joined 
his regiment in Alabama, participated in the 
battle of Nash\ille, and while in Alabama 
was wounded when making a charge on the 
Rebel forces. He received an honorable 
discharge in Nashville in July, 1865, and at 
once returned to his home, after which he 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1043 



worked in the lumber woods for a number 
of seasons. In 1881 he located on the 
old homestead, and is now a successful and 
enterprising farmer. In politics he is a 
Republican. He and his wife hold mem- 
bership with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church of Keene, and are most highly-re- 
spected people. 



RUFUS E. McFARLAND is one of the 
few men who can look back upon 
their past life and see no failures to 
regret, but find that step by step 
have climbed higher and higher the ladder 
of success until the prime of life has found 
each on the topmost round with leisure to 
pause and take a retrospective view. 

Mr. McFarland was born in Allegany 
county, N. Y. , and is a son of Joseph L. and 
Hannah (Hall) McFarland, whose family 
numbered twelve children, si.x of whom are yet 
living, their names and places of residence be- 
ing as follows : Betsy Ann, widow of Washing- 
ton Knightlinger, is a resident of Crawford 
county, Penn. , her home being near Mead- 
ville ; Harlow is living in the same county ; 
Louise is the wife of Henry Cutshall, also 
of Crawford county ; Rufus E. is our sub- 
ject ; James is located in Clinton county, 
Iowa ; and Reuben has his home in Craw- 
ford county, Penn. The mother lived to a 
very advanced age She was born in Cort- 
land, N. Y. , January 7, 1819, removed in 
1835 to Crawford county, Penn., and was a 
pensioned widow of the war of 1812. For 
many years she was a prominent member 
and faithful worker in the Methodist Church, 
and died in that faith, December 12, 1891, 
at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, two 
months and two days. She was laid to rest 
by the side of her husband in Conneaut 
Cemetery, near Meadville, Penn., and many 
friends were left to mourn her departure. 

During his infancy Rufus E. was taken 
by his parents on their removal from New 
York to Crawford county, Penn., where in 
the public schools he began his education, 
completing the same by a two-years' course 
in the academy at Meadville. The year 
1855 witnessed his arrival in Wisconsin. 



He first located near Fox Lake, in Dodge 
county, but in the fall of the same year went 
to Grand Rapids, and in 1873 came to Cen- 
tralia. Upon locating in Grand Rapids he 
engaged in work upon the river during the 
summer months, while in the winter he 
hunted and trapped, and for twenty years 
acted as a pilot on the Wisconsin river. On 
abandoning that pursuit he took charge of 
the lumber yard of Hanson & Co., which he 
managed some five years. He then em- 
barked in business for himself as a dealer in 
real estate, also cultivating cranberries. His 
business affairs have been well managed, 
and have brought to him a merited success. 

On February i, 1874, Mr. McFarland 
was joined in wedlock, in Centralia, with 
Susan P. Bender, daughter of Abraham and 
Pameiia (Cook) Bender, and born in New 
York September I 5, 1852. Her father was 
killed November 14, 1875, by falling from a 
load of straw ; but her mother is still living 
and yet makes her home in Plainfield. 
To the marriage of our subject and his esti- 
mable wife were born five children, their 
names and dates of birth being as follows : 
Reuben E., born November 14, 1874, 
died May 8, 1875 ; Ida May, January 2, 
1876, died May 7, 1879; Lottie Ann, May 
13, 1877, died July 28, 1885 ; Mabel L., 
March 25, 1882 ; and Rufus Ernest, March 
23, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. McFarland are 
consistent members of the Methodist Church, 
contribute liberally to its support and are act- 
ive workers in its interest. In his polit- 
ical views he is a stanch Republican, and 
served as treasurer of the Centralia schools 
from 1874 until 1884. He was also treas- 
urer of District No. 4, of the town of Grand 
Rapids ; assessor one term ; was alderman 
of Centralia ; and was justice of the peace 
of the town of Grand Rapids for a number 
of years. In the various positions in which 
he has served his duties have ever been dis- 
charged with a promptness and fidelity that 
have won for him universal commendation. 
Socially, he is connected with Grand Rap- 
ids Lodge, No. 128, F. & A. M., and is now 
past master of same. 

Mr. McFarland is styled '• Centralia's 
poet and laureate," and is a writer of much 
ability. As a fitting close to this record we 



1044 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOOBAPHICAL RECORD. 



add two of his poetical productions, the lat- 
ter composed and dedicated to the Grand 
Rapids Falls of the Wisconsin river, and the 
former written on very short notice and read 
by his wife at the Ladies Aid Society, which 
met at her home in Centralia, July i, 1891: 

THE PICTURES ON THE WAI,!,. 

While traveling through life's rugged road, 

By grief and care oppressed. 
To ease me of my weary load 

And give the spirit rest; 
There is no greater blessing 

That to my lot can fall. 
Than read the wholesome lessons 

From the Pictures on the Wall. 

There are some among that number 

We have parted with in pain; 
Their lives were torn asunder; 

Oh! Shall we meet again? 
As we gaze upon their faces 

What scenes it does recall 
Of other times and places— 

Those Pictures on the Wall. 

Deep in my heart each finds a place. 

Those friends and kindred dear; 
Each, as my memory backwards trace. 

Draws from the fount a tear; 
But there is one among the rest, 

I prize it more than all, 
My mother, who her children blest, 

Her Picture's on the Wall. 



THE GRAND RAPIDS. 



Majestic Rapidsl I love thee, dear, 
I love thy waters sparkling clear, 
I love to wander on thy shore, 
I love thy dull, incessant roar. 

Deep in ray heart thy powers I feel. 
And fond memories o'er me steal; 
Roll on, and still thy music keep 
As when thou lulled my roguish sleep. 

No stories of the fabled Rhine 
Could e'er possess a power like thine. 
A power to ease the aching breast 
And give the troubled spirit rest. 

And yet beneath thj- shining wave 
Many have found a watery grave; 
And these beneath thy sand and clay 
Have hid their moldering bones away. 

On, on you dash in madder strife, 

P^it emblem of our checkered life; 

First whirled, then dashed, now fast, now slow. 

Then raised above to fall below. 

Then onward with that constant roar 
Until the rapids you pass o'er; 
Thus mortal man is like thy wave- 
He finds his level in the grave. 



JAMES B. WIGGINTON. The age 
has long since passed when farming 
people were regarded as a lower class 
than those in professional ranks, and 
their importance to a community is now 
justly recognized. It is seen that it is not 
always the man who is prominently before 
the people that is an important factor in a 
community, but more often he who quietly, 
but conscientiously, performs his duty, and 
our subject is a man of the latter type. 

Mr. Wigginton was born in Sangamon 
county, 111., April 18, 1834. His grandfa- 
ther, who was the first of the family to come 
to America, was a descendant of Lord Wig- 
ginton, an Irish nobleman, and when a 
young man crossed the Atlantic, taking up 
his residence in Bath county, Ky., where he 
married and reared a family. One of his 
children, Peter Wigginton, became the fa- 
ther of our subject. He was born in Ken- 
tucky in 1793, and there married Margaret 
Trombeau, who was born in the same State 
in the same year. Her mother was one of 
the family who accompanied Daniel Boone 
to Kentucky. On leaving that State, Peter 
Wigginton located in Sangamon county, 
111., purchasing 115 acres of land where is 
now the town of Sherman, on which he 
made his home until his death, which oc- 
curred about 1848; his wife survived him 
until 1 8 56, and was buried by his side in 
Elkin Cemetery, near their home. The fol- 
lowing is a brief record of their children: 
Eliza Jane, the eldest, became the wife of 
William Hargedine, a farmer of Illinois, 
where both died; they had three children — 
Mrs. Mary Ann Koffman, of Iowa; Martha 
Jane, wife of Louis Ogle, a mason of Lo- 
gan, Illinois; and Dora, who is married 
and lives in Lincoln, Illinois. William 
married Cordelia Hill, and had one child, 
Albert. William was killed by a cyclone 
in Keene, Wisconsin, in 1863. Samuel 
died when a young man. Andrew married 
in Logan county, and of their three chil- 
dren John and Elizabeth are residents 
of Kansas. Dorothy is the wife of Stephen 
Clino, a fanner living near Bloomington, 
Illinois, and they have three children — 
Marion, an agriculturist of Farmer City, 111. ; 
James, a liveryman of that place; and Ste- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



'045 



phen, who owns a vineyard in California. 
John married Catherine Lucas, by whom he 
had five children — Wesley, John, Calvin, 
Belle and Elizabeth, and after the death of 
his first wife he wedded Miss Fleming. 
Martha is the wife of Wesley Council, a 
grain merchant of Sangamon county. 111., 
and their four children are William, John, 
Nellie and Bessie. Mary became the wife 
of Stephen Beck, of Logan county. 111., but 
both are now deceased; their children are 
Ann, John, Charles, Margaret and Fanny. 
James B. is the next of the family. Eliza- 
beth is the widow of John Martimere, late 
of Logan county. 111., and her children are 
Martha, Nellie, Ann Eliza, John and Peter. 
Rachel died in infancy. Ellen is the widow 
of William Council, and spends the sum- 
mer upon a farm in Sangamon county. 111., 
while in the winter she lives with an adopted 
daughter in Texas. 

Mr. Wigginton, our subject, acquired 
his education in the common schools, but 
spent much of hisyouth engaged in farm work. 
Upon the mother's death the family became 
separated. He was then twenty-two years 
of age, and removed to Portage county, 
Wis., where he purchased from his brother 
William 160 acres of land in Section 31, 
Buena Vista township. He operated that 
land some four years, making his home with 
his brother, and then on April 11, i860, 
started with a company for Pike's Peak, 
Colo., on a prospecting expedition. They 
journeyed by wagon, and in June reached 
Denver, where they took a new start and 
proceeded to Leadville. After two years 
Mr. Wigginton moved to Bannock City, 
Mont., where he followed various pursuits 
for nine years, and then returned to his 
farm in Portage county, upon which he has 
since made his home. 

On April 9, 1871, in the town of Buena 
■Vista, Mr. Wigginton married Mrs. Al- 
meda (Webster) White, who was born in 
Ohio, December 6, 1834, a daughter of Li- 
nus and Sophia (Prince) Webster. They 
now have a pleasant home, which was 
erected in 1887 to replace the board shanty 
in which they first lived. They are esteemed 
people of the community, their many excel- 
lencies of character winning them the hijrh 



regard of all with whom they are brought 
in contact. In politics, Mr. Wigginton is 
a Republican, but takes no active part in 
political affairs, preferring to give his atten- 
tion to his business and his home. 



JOHN RABLIN, who enjoys the dis- 
tinction of being one of the oldest living 
representatives of Grand Rapids, 
Wood county, and a most highly re- 
spected citizen, justly honored and admired 
for his many noble traits of character, was 
born in Camborne, County Cornwall, Eng- 
land July 15, 181 5. He is a son of James 
and Sarah Rablin, both also natives of Corn- 
wall, and the family which graced their union 
numbered nine children, only three of 
whom are now living, to wit: John, the 
subject of this sketch, the eldest; Fannie, 
widow of the late Joseph Thomas, and 
now a resident of Elk Grove, Wis. ; and 
Ann, wife of Mr. Mitchell, and residing in 
California. 

The father was a miner by occupation, 
and a man in limited circumstances; there- 
fore the son John, when a boy, received but 
meager advantages in the way of education, 
and very early in life started out in the 
world for himself. He began work in a 
gristmill, and at the age of sixteen secured 
employment in the copper mines of his na- 
tive country, where he worked until 1838. 
In the meantime his father had died, and now 
our subject, accompanied by his mother and 
the other members of the family started 
for America. In July, 1838, they embarked 
on a westward-bound sailing vessel, and on 
reaching this country made their way to 
Galena, 111., where Mr. Rablin labored in 
the lead mines, while h's wife and sister en- 
gaged in conducting a hotel, thus adding to 
the general family income. In 1851, at- 
tracted by the recent discovery of gold in 
California, Mr. Rablin went to the Pacific 
slope, traveling by water from St. Louis to 
San Francisco, where he engaged in gold 
mining for about a year; but finding that for- 
tunes were not as easily secured as he had 
anticipated, he returned to Galena in the 
autumn of 1852. In 1854, however, he 



1046 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



again went to California, this time crossing 
the Plains on horseback, and taking with him 
150 head of cattle, nine horses and ten 
men, the trip consuming about six months. 
In 1856 he again returned to his home, and 
in the same year, accompanied by his wife 
and family, removed to Elk Grove, Wis., 
where he remained until the month of 
October, and then went to Grand Rapids. 
Embarking in the lumbering business, he 
carried on operations along that line for 
some time, and was actively engaged in busi- 
ness until within a few years ago, since which 
time he has lived retired, enjoying a rest 
which he has well earned and truly deserves. 

Mr. Rablin was married, in 1837, in Corn- 
wall, England, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter 
of Stephen and Ann Webster, and a native 
of Cornwall, born July 9. 18 14. Their 
union has been blessed with ten children, 
as follows: Jane, born in Cornwall January 
2, 1838, and now the wife of John Andrews, 
a resident of Grand Rapids, Wis. ; Eliza- 
beth, born in Galena, III, October 9, 1839, 
and now the wife of Seth Reeves; Sarah 
Ann, born March 13, 1841, is at home; 
James, born January 5, 1843, died October 
25, 1847; John, born January 14, 1845, 
died in 1884; William, born January 9, 
1847, died May 31, 1849; Henry, born 
October 25, 1849, now residing in Grand 
Rapids; Catherine, wife of Frank J. Wood, 
a banker of Grand Rapids, born November 
12, 1850; Susan, born July 12, 1854, now 
the wife of Charles Slocum, a resident of 
West Superior, Wis. ; and Lavinia, born 
April 15, 1857, now living in West Supe- 
rior. The family attend the Congregational 
Church. 

In his political views Mr. Rablin is a De- 
mocrat, and by his ballot has long supported 
its principles, but has never sought or de- 
sired the honors or emoluments of public 
office, preferring to give his entire attention 
to his business interests. He is a typical 
self-made man, one who has been the archi- 
tect of his fortunes, and the materials which 
he has used in building have been a stanch 
heart, a willing hand, a resolute purpose and 
unceasing industry. He has ever been 
deeply interested in the welfare of the com- 
munity in which he resides, and was one of 



promoters and builders of the Valley rail- 
road, which has proved an important factor 
in the development of this region. 



ALBERT S. OLESON, a well-known 
and highly-esteemed farmer of Am- 
herst township. Portage county, is 
numbered among Wisconsin's native 
sons. He was born in Pine Lake, July 23, 
1855, a son of Sunder and Mary (Gunder- 
son) Oleson. In 1863 his parents removed 
to New Hope, Wis., there residing until 
1877, and during that time our subject at- 
tended the public schools through the win- 
ter months, while in the summer he aided in 
the labors of the home farm. In the win- 
ter of 1870, he gained his first experience in 
the lumber regions. In company with a 
boy about his own age he walked from New 
Hope to Stevens Point, Wis., where they 
hired a farmer to drive them to Mosinee, 
nineteen miles distant, and from there they 
walked to the lumber camp. Our subject 
was a strong and vigorous boy of sixteen, 
and, with comparative ease, accomplished 
the journey to fourteen miles north of Merrill. 
As Mr. Oleson was quite an expert with 
tools he was set to work repairing buildings, 
sleds, etc., and in the spring he returned 
home and presented his parents with his 
winter earnings. The following winter he 
worked in a sawmill in Stockton, Wis., and 
in the winter of 1872 he was taken sick; 
but he had hired out to drive cattle for $30 
per month, and felt that he could not afford 
to lose the position. He then went to his 
employer, who placed him in charge of the 
lumber camp. In the spring he returned 
home, operated the farm through the sum- 
mer, and in the winter again went to the 
woods. In 1876 his father sold the farm in 
New Hope, Wis., and embarked in business 
in Nelsonville. In the fall of the same year 
our subject purchased eighty acres of tim- 
ber land in Amherst township. Portage 
county, clearing and cultivating ten acres 
the following summer, and next winter he 
was otherwise engaged. In the spring of 
1877 he purchased eighty acres of land in 
Waupaca county, and operated both farms 
during that summer. He is a man of inde- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1047 



fatigable industry, and his life has known 
few idle moments. 

On July 23, 1875, ^^^. Oleson was joined 
in wedlock with Matilda Abrahamson, who 
was born in Norway, August 4, 1852, and 
is a daughter of Abraham and Sarah (Pe- 
terson) Nelson. The parents were natives 
of the same country, and the father fol- 
lowed the sea for a livelihood. In 1859 
they cameto America with their family, which 
numbered eleven children. After coming to 
this country Mr. Nelson settled on a farm 
near Pine Lake. Wis., and subsequently re- 
moved to the town of New Hope, where 
his wife died in 1877. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Oleson have been born four children — Alfred 
S., Martin S., George and Clara. Upon 
their marriage our subject and his wife lo- 
cated on his farm in Waupaca township, and 
his other farm he sold. He passed the suc- 
ceeding winter in a wood yard at Stevens 
Point, then resumed the cultivation of his 
land in the spring, operating it until 1878, 
when he sold out and purchased the farm he 
first owned. Soon after he was taken sick 
and confined to the house some four months. 
In the fall of 1879 he sold ten acres, that 
winter worked in a lumber camp, and in the 
spring sold the remainder of the land. Pur- 
chasing eighty acres of wild land in Section 
8, Amherst township, that summer he cleared 
fourteen acres, and built a small house, 
which in the autumrt was replaced by a 
more substantial and commodious one. Soon 
he cleared the place of all indebtedness, 
and in the fall of 1881 he mortgaged it for 
$1,000, and purchased eighty acres of tim- 
ber land in Alban township. Portage county, 
cutting logs that winter, in connection with 
his brother Isaac, and purchased forty acres 
in Section 8. He afterward bought ten 
acres for $175, sold it for $700, purchased 
it again for $625, and again sold for $1 ,000. 
He purchased eighty acres in Amherst town- 
ship, of John Bishop, and also forty acres of 
Peter Abrahamson. He now has 264 acres 
of good land, eighty-five of which are cleared 
and under a high state of cultivation. On 
August 4, 1893, his home was destroyed by 
fire, causing a loss of $1,600, but with 
characteristic energy he began the erection 
of what is now one of the finest homesteads 



in Amherst township. He has the latest 
improved machinery, and the neat and thrifty 
appearance of his place indicates his careful 
supervision. 

The life of Mr. Oleson has been a busy 
and useful one; he has made the most of his 
opportunities, and through the legitimate 
channels of business has acquired a hand- 
some competence. He enjoys the esteem 
of all his neighbors, and his friends are 
many. In politics he is a stalwart Repub- 
lican, and he and his wife are prominent 
members of the Lutheran Church. 



JOHN ALTENBURG, a thorough and 
skillful farmer, and a business man of 
more than ordinary capacity, is a rep- 
resentative of the agricultural interests 
of Plover township, Portage county. There 
he is recognized as an important factor in 
preserving the reputation of the township as 
one of the most rapidly-growing sections of 
the county. 

Mr. Altenburg was born in Montgomery 
county, N. Y. , August 12, 18 10, and is a 
son of John W. and Elizabeth (Mosier) Al- 
tenburg, the latter of whom was a native of 
New York, born July 12, 1765, and was one 
of the Mosier heirs. The father's birth oc- 
curred in Germany, and during boyhood he 
came to America, locating in New York 
State, where he was married. Farmingwas 
his chief occupation through life, and he be- 
came a large land owner of Montgomery 
county, N. Y. , where he passed away in 
1820. In his family were children as follows: 
George, William, Donnine, Henry, Barney, 
Catherine, Elizabeth, Margaret, Effie, John; 
and one whose name is not now known, 
only two of these now survive: Catherine, a 
resident of Ottawa, 111., and John. 

The subject of this sketch was deprived 
of nearly all chances for securing an educa- 
tion, as there was a large number in the 
family, and he was obliged to aid in their 
support. When he was but ten years of 
age he lost his father by death, and conse- 
quently he had to early begin work upon the 
farm. For a year and a half he made his 
home with his brother William, who was 
the owner of a piece of land, and had prom- 



1048 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHWAL RECORD. 



ised our subject that he might attend school; 
but all the literar}' education he received 
was during five days' attendance at an old 
school house in Genesee county, N. Y. His 
training in that direction was very limited, 
but he has made the most of his oppor- 
tunities, and is a well-informed man. Until 
reaching manhood he remained upon the 
home farm with his mother, whose death 
occurred in Chautauqua county, N. Y. On 
February 7, 1839, Mr. Altenburg was united 
in marriage with Miss Isabella Arthur, a 
daughter of William Arthur, who was origin- 
ally from Pennsylvania, and was a lumber- 
man by occupation. She is a native of New 
York State, born in Chautauqua county, 
July 13, 1 8 18. To this union were born 
eleven children: John, a resident of Dancy, 
Wis. ; Isaiah, of Plover; George, who also 
lives in Dancy; James, who makes his home 
at Stevens Point, Wis. ; Donnine, of Wau- 
sau. Wis. ; Scott, of Buena Vista, Wis. ; Ros- 
co; Worth, who resides in Plover; Bragg, 
who is still at home; Belle, widow of F. 
Whittaker, who died October 24, 1888, and 
was buried in Plover, in which village she 
now makes her home; and Frederick, who 
died at the age of three years. 

After his marriage Mr. Altenburg for nine 
years engaged in lumbering for Guy C. Er- 
vin, and then in 1854 came west, locating 
in Plover township. Portage Co., Wis., 
where he purchased 160 acres of land in 
the wilderness. There was a small house 
upon the place, and in that the family made 
their home for some years. He had brought 
with him five horses, a wagon and carriage, 
and here began farming in earnest. As part 
of his land was covered with timber, he also 
engaged in the lumber business to some ex- 
tent. As his financial resources were in- 
creased, he purchased more land, until at one 
time he had in his possession one thousand 
acres. He has dealt quite e.xtensively in 
real estate, in which he met with excellent 
success, and to-day owns 365 acres of fine 
land. All that he now possesses has been 
acquired through his own well-directed ef- 
forts, and he may be truly called a self-made 
man. No one takes a deeper interest in the 
prosperity of his adopted county, and it is 
safe to say that few have done more for its 



advancement. Our subject is a thorough Re- 
publican in political views, while in religious 
matters he is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. He has the highest re- 
spect of all who know him, and the name of 
John Altenburg deserves an honored place 
in this volume. 



HERMAN HOWARD \' O S S. 
Prominent among the intelligent and 
enterprising business men of Grand 
Rapids, Wood county, is the subject 
of this article, and none stand higher in the 
estimation of the best citizens of the com- 
munity. He was born in Dane county, Wis. , 
October 4, 1863, and is a son of William 
and Josephine (Lutzow) Voss, both of whom 
were natives of Germany, emigrating to Wis- 
consin in the early history of the State. To 
them were born a family of nine children, 
and the circle yet remains unbroken by the 
hand of death. They are as follows: Her- 
man H. ; Adolph, who is residing in Madi- 
son, Wis., and has charge of the shipping 
department of the Fuller & Johnson Manu- 
facturing Co. of that city; Gustave, a painter, 
also located in Madison; Bianca, residing at 
home; Lena, wife of John Zwank, a resi- 
dent of the Capital City; Barney, a carpen- 
ter and iron moulder, doing business in 
Madison; Alvin, a salesman in the store of 
his brother, Herman H., in Grand Rapids; 
and Fred and William, both of whom are 
attending school in Madison, Wisconsin. 

In taking up the personal history of Her- 
man Howard Voss, we present to our read- 
ers the life record of one who is widely and 
favorably known in Wood county. One of 
Wisconsin's native sons, he was reared with- 
in the borders of the State, and his early 
education, acquired in a country school in 
Sauk county, was supplemented by one 
year's attendance at the Academy of Prairie 
du Sauk. This ended his school life, and 
he then took up railroading, which he fol- 
lowed some two or three years. He then 
embarked in a mercantile career by becom- 
ing a salesman in a drug store in Baraboo, 
Wis. On leaving that place he went to 
Dubuque, Iowa, where he followed the same 
pursuit, and later was employed in St. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1049 



Joseph, Mo., whence he came to Grand 
Rapids on the 19th of September, 1889. 

Here Mr. Voss sought and secured a 
position as salesman with the firm of J. E. 
Daly & Co., druggists of Grand Rapids, 
and after continuing with them in that 
capacity for about fifteen months he bought 
out his employers, and became the senior 
member of H. H. Voss & Co., his associates 
in business being John Dah' and H. A. 
Sampson. The following January he pur- 
chased their interests in the establishment, 
and has since been sole proprietor, carrymg 
on the business in his own interest exclus- 
ively. He has a well-appointed store, furn- 
ished with everything found in a first-class 
drug establishment, and is enjoying a liberal 
patronage. 

Mr. Voss was married March 19, 1893, 
to Miss Mamie Perry, daughter of James E. 
and Louise Perry, residents of Tomah, Wis. 
Mr. and Mrs. Voss have a pleasant home 
and many warm friends in Grand Rapids. 
Socially, he is a member of Grand Rapids 
Lodge No. 91, I. O. O. P., Grand Rapids 
Lodge No. 128, F. cS: A. M., and Grand 
Rapids Lodge No. 100, K. of P., of the 
Modern Woodmen of America, and also of 
the Grand Rapids Fire Department. In his 
political views he is a Republican, but has 
neither time nor inclination for public office. 
His strict adherence to principle and fidelity 
to duty e.xcite the admiration of all, and his 
sterling worth has won him high esteem. 



LOUIS VINCELETTE, who was 
numbered among the early settlers 
and highly-respected citizens of 
Grand Rapids, was born in Cham- 
bly, Province of Quebec, Canada, March 20, 
1822, and was a son of Nicholas and Gene- 
vieve (Bellefleur) Vincelette, who were also 
natives of the same province. He was reared 
and educated in Chambly, and after leaving 
school turned his attention to agricultural 
pursuits, which he followed during the 
greater part of his life. On leaving the place 
of his nativity, he became a resident of 
Hudson City, N. Y. After returning to his 
old home for a short visit in 1855, ^^ came 
to Wisconsin and cast in his lot with the 



early settlers of Wood county. He secured 
a tract of land about a mile from the city 
limits of Grand Rapids, and made himself a 
comfortable home, transforming the once 
wild land into rich and fertile fields. He 
engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout 
the summer months, while in the winter 
season he devoted his time and energies to 
lumbering. He continued to live upon the 
old homestead until within a few months of 
his death, and was one of the representa- 
tive agriculturists of Wood county. 

Mr. Vincelette was married to Marcil- 
ine, a daughter of Antoine Cotey and Vic- 
toire Phaneuf, and to them were born chil- 
dren as follows: Azilda, who was born Sep- 
tember 3, 1847, in St. Cesaire, Canada, was 
married May 4, 1862, to Peter Vanasse Ver- 
tefeville, and they are now living in St. 
Guillaume, Province of Quebec, Canada; 
Mary, born in Stockbridge, Mass., March 
15, 1 85 1, was married to Henry Roleau in 
October, 1865; Ambrose, born in St. Ce- 
saire, Canada, February 30, 1853, died 
February 14, 1891, leaving a widow and 
two children — Heloise and Joseph — to 
mourn his departure; Lea (usually called 
" Lillie "), born in Grand Rapids, Novem- 
ber 24, 1858; and Mattie, wife of B. B. 
Hansen, of Centralia, born in Grand Rap- 
ids, July 31, 1863. The family to which 
Mr. Vincelette belonged, nuinbers but three 
surviving members — Elida, widow of Peter 
Mercille, a resident of Saco, Maine; Es- 
ther, widow of Lawrence Du Paul, and now 
residing at Lowell, Mass. ; and Marline, 
wife of Charles Le Claire, of West Farn- 
ham, Canada. 

Many times was Mr. Vincelette called to 
public office by his fellow townsmen, who 
recognized his worth and ability, and for 
some time he served as chairman of the 
board of supervisors of the town of Grand 
Rapids. He was an upright, honorable 
man, a valued citizen, highly respected by 
all who enjoyed his acquaintance, and in 
his home he was a loving husband and kind 
and devoted father. His death was deeply 
mourned by many friends as well as his im- 
mediate family. The last few months of 
his life were passed in the home of his 
daughter, Lillie, in Centralia, where he 



1050 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



passed peacefully away June 30, 1894, at 
the advanced age of seventy-two years and 
three months. His widow is still making 
her home with her daughter in Centralia. 



WENDELL D. NEVILLE, M. D., 
a prominent physician and surgeon 
of Eagle River, Vilas county, 
where he is also active in business 
circles, is a Canadian by birth, born March 
2, 1862, in Ruthven, Essex county, On- 
tario. 

James Neville, the father of Dr. Ne- 
ville, was also a native of Essex county, 
Ontario, and his father, also named James, 
was born in England, emigrating thence to 
Ontario, Canada, at an earl}' day. He was 
well educated, and always well informed on 
the questions of the day, and he followed 
the occupations of lumberman and farmer, 
in which he prospered. He and his wife 
lived to a good old age, he dying in On- 
tario in about 1880, she in 1885. They had 
a family of six children — five sons and one 
daughter. Of these, James, the father of 
our subject, received a good education for 
his day, and became, like his father, a 
lumberman and farmer. He married Miss 
Sarah J. Wigle, also a native of Ontario, 
born in 1835, whose parents, John A. and 
Jane Wigle, were natives of the State of 
Pennsylvania, coming thence in 1830, to 
Ontario, where the father followed farming; 
he reared a large family. They were of 
German descent. To James and Sarah J. 
Neville were born seven children, as follows: 
John A. ; Colin J. ; Dr. Wendell D. ; Hora- 
tio, who died in childhood; Mary, wife of 
W. Foster, a farmer in Ontario; Festinia, 
wife of Michael Wigle, a speculator and 
farmer at Ruthven, Ontario; and Augusta, 
wife of Ed Wigle, a merchant of Toronto, 
Canada. The father of this family passed 
away in 1872; the mother still has her home 
in Ontario. 

Wendell D. Neville obtained his early 
education in the public schools of his native 
town, graduating from the high school. At 
the age of nineteen he entered the Detroit 
Collegiate Institute, where he remained 
one year, and then commenced a course in 



the Detroit Medical College, graduating in 
the spring of 1885. Opening an office in 
Reed City, Osceola Co., Mich., he removed 
thence after six months' practice to Hersey, 
in the some county, where he followed his 
profession successfully' for four years, in the 
spring of 1890 coming to Eagle River, 
Wis., with the interests of which he has 
since been prominently identified. In ad- 
dition to the duties of his profession he has 
found time for various other enterprises, 
being the owner of a shingle-mill, as well as 
engaging somewhat in lumbering, and he 
has dealt extensively in pine lands. Be- 
sides, he holds a one-half interest in a drug 
business, owning a fine store and other de- 
sirable town property in Eagle River. In 
politics the Doctor is a Republican, actively 
interested in the success of his party, not as 
an office seeker, but one who has the inter- 
ests of his town and county at heart. He 
spent almost the entire winter of 1892-93 
at Madison, aiding with his means as well 
as his time in the organization of Vilas 
county, with Eagle River as the county 
seat, and he is universally recognized as a 
valuable factor in the advancement and up- 
building of the community. He has traveled 
considerably in America, and is a man 
thoroughly well-read, and is abreast of the 
times. His life has been one of constant 
energy, for he has been self-made from the 
start, and the enviable position he now 
holds, financially and otherwise, is due 
solely to his own exertions. Socially he is a 
member of the F. & A. M. Chapter at Antigo, 
and is a charter member of the Blue Lodge 
at Eagle River. The Doctor has never mar- 
ried. 



M 



ICHAEL F. DOYLE was born at 
New Lisbon, Juneau Co., Wis., 
in March, 1857, and has been a 
resident of Minocqua since 1888. 
He is a son of Michael and Catherine (Ryan) 
Doyle, both natives of Ireland, the father 
born in 1826, and the mother in 1823. 

Michael Doyle came to America when a 
boy, with his parents, who were farmers, 
settling in New York State, where they died. 
He was an only child, and grew to manhood 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGBAPHICAL RECORD. 



105 1 



in New York, where he was married and 
had a family of six children, viz. : Louis, 
Michael, Andrew, John, Daniel and Joseph. 
Coming west, he was one of the early set- 
tlers of Juneau county, locating on land in 
the wilderness, which he cleared and im- 
proved, and where he died in 1892. He 
was an active politician, and held several 
town offices. 

Michael F. Doyle, the subject of this 
sketch, was reared on his father's farm, and 
given such limited educational advantages 
as could be obtained at the public school. 
When a boy of but twelve years he went 
to Nebraska, and worked as a farm hand and 
at various things some two years. He then 
returned to Wisconsin, and was employed 
by D. W. Bradford & Son, lumbermen, at 
Necedah, for eleven years, being foreman in 
their camps and on their drives. In 1887 Mr. 
Doyle moved to Tomahawk, remaining 
there, however, for onl}' one year, and then 
came to Minocqua, where he did various 
kinds of work, building wagons, roads, 
dams, etc. At that time there were no 
roads except those made by the Indians, 
hence travel was difficult, and for a while he 
carried on a livery stable. He has also dealt 
considerably in real estate, and owns a quan- 
tity of pine lands on which he does some 
lumbering every winter. 

In May, 1885, Mr. Doyle was married 
at Necedah, Wis., to Ella Coughlin, who 
was born in Milwaukee ; they have no fam- 
ily. Mr. Doyle is a Democrat, and is act- 
ive in political work. He was the first as- 
sessor of the town, and was chairman two 
years ; has also been a delegate to county 
conventions. He is a self-made man, one 
who by his unaided exertions has accumu- 
lated a fine property, and has gained the re- 
spect and esteem of his fellow-citizens, for 
whose welfare he is ever ready to do what- 
ever lies in his power. 



PATRICK HURLEY, M. D., is a well- 
known physician of Centralia, Wood 
county. When we pause to com- 
pare the relative value of each pro- 
fession to general humanity, it is at once 



evident that none are superior and few are 
equal to that of the medical profession. The 
physician's opportunity for doing good is al- 
most unlinn'ted, and when so disposed those 
who possess the power of healing the body 
can also bring messages of peace to the 
weary mind or storm-tossed soul exhausted 
by the battle of life. The noblest instances 
of heroism have been found in the medical 
fraternity, which numbers many who have 
braved, for the sake of suffering humanity, 
hardships and difficulties untold. Unlike 
the soldier on the battle-field, their heroism 
is seldom the result of an excited impulse 
or heated passion; but, in the silent watches 
of the night, with no blare of trumpet or 
thrilling war cry to inspire and sustain them, 
these patient martyrs often give their lives 
in willing sacrifices to relieve the pain of 
their fellow creatures. Of this class of 
men. Dr. Hurley is a fitting illustration. 

He was born in County Cork, Ireland, 
March 17, 1808, and is a son of Timothy 
and Mary (Swanson) Hurley, who emigrated 
to America about 1825, and with their 
family settled near Prescott, in the Province 
of Ontario, Canada, where the father en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, 
which occurred a few years after his arrival. 
His wife reached the advanced age of more 
than ninety years, and died on the old home- 
stead at Prescott. Our subject obtained the 
rudiments of his education in the schools of 
the Emerald Isle, and further pursued his 
studies after reaching the New World. He 
has practiced medicine from his youth. He 
seems specially adapted for the profession, 
was ever a close student of the science, and 
spared neither time nor labor to make him- 
self proficient in his chosen work. Although 
he is now unable, on account of his advanced 
years, to engage in practice which takes him 
away from home, he has an office in his re- 
sidence in Centralia, where he yet receives 
patients. 

Dr. Hurley was married February 29, 
1832, to Amanda, daughter of — and Laura 
(Church) Johnson, and their children were 
as follows: Alfred L. (i), born in Lee, 
Oneida county, N. Y., December 8, 1832, 
died November 7, 1835; Alfred L. (2), born 
in Joliet, 111., December 9, 1837, died in 



1052 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



Baldwinsville, Edgar Co., 111., April 28, 
1852; Mary Ann, the only surviving child, 
born in Baldwinsville, September 6, 1840, 
and was married in Centralia, Wis. , Novem- 
ber 20, 1 86 1, to John Collier, by whom she 
had nine children, as follows: Mary Emma, 
born August 20, 1862, now the wife of Pat- 
rick Love, a resident of Peshtigo, Wis. ; 
Julia Agatha, born September 13, 1864; 
Anna Laura, who was born July 31, 1866, 
died July 29, 1881; Cecelia Amanda, born 
December 22, 1868, now the wife of Michael 
Slattery, of Centralia; Ella Theresa, born 
December 23, 1870, died April 7, 1876; 
Francis Edwin, born March 24, 1875; 
William Patrick and Arthur John (twins), 
born November 23, 1876, the latter dying 
June 2, 1894; and Edna Loretta, born Sep- 
tember 9, 1880. 

On leaving Canada, Dr. Hurley first 
located in New York, and from the Empire 
State went to Joliet, 111., in 1837. In 
1839 he removed to Edgar county, in the 
same State, where he made his home un- 
til 1854, when he returned to Joliet. The 
year 1856 witnessed his arrival in Wood 
county. He cast in his lot with the early 
settlers of Grand Rapids, being one of the 
first to locate there, and for many years he 
has been a resident of Centralia. He was 
long engaged in the active practice of his 
profession, and his skill and ability were re- 
cognized in the liberal patronage which he 
received, and which attested the confidence 
reposed in him by the public. In connection 
with his business cares, he was always faith- 
ful and true in the discharge of his duties of 
citizenship, and has held a number of local 
offices, including those of justice of the 
peace and supervisor, in both of which capa- 
cities he served for some years. In politics 
the Doctor is a Democrat, and he and his 
daughter's family all attend the Roman Cath- 
olic Church. 



AUGUSTUS A. SHERMAN, a promi- 
nent and prosperous farmer of Buena 
Vista township, Portage county, was 
born in Kno.x, Waldo Co., Maine, 
February 7, 1836, son of Harvey and Eliz- 



beth (Doty) Sherman, both natives of Maine. 
The family, however, was of old Massachu- 
setts stock. Elisha Sherman, the father 
of Harvey, was a native of the Bay State. 
He married Lucy Hatch, whose father had 
been a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and 
removed to a home near Belfast, Maine. He 
was one of the hardy race of seaman who 
flourished on the North Atlantic early in the 
century and in the last century, and died 
suddenly on his fishing smack. He had 
laid down on the deck for a nap, and when 
the cook went to call him he was dead. 
The four sons of Elisha and Lucy Sherman 
were Harvey, Hiram, Elisha and Ebenezer. 
Harvey Sherman was well-educated, 
and for many years he taught school and 
farmed. He then engaged in the insurance 
business in Bangor. In 1855 he migrated to 
Madison, Wis., where for three years he en- 
gaged in mercantile pursuits. Returning to 
Maine, he remained there until after the 
Civil war, when, with his second wife, he 
again came to Wisconsin, settling at Wind- 
sor, Dane county. His second wife dying 
soon after, he again married, and died at 
Windsor in 1880. By his first wife, Eliza- 
beth Doty, Harvey Sherman had four chil- 
dren: Augustus A. (subject of this sketch), 
Ada, Frank and Frederick. Ada was twice 
married, first time to Otis Tobey, by whom 
she had three children, and, after his death, 
to Charles Plummer, a merchant of Halldale, 
Maine. Frank when a boy enlisted in a 
Maine regiment and lost his left arm in the 
battle of the Wilderness; he is now profes- 
sor of civil engineering at Dartmouth Col- 
lege; he is married and has a family. 
Frederick, the other brother of Augustus 
A., also enlisted in a Maine regiment, and 
at the battle of the Wilderness was severely 
wounded. He was at first left for dead 
on the field of battle; but was subsequently 
removed to the field hospital, and from one 
hospital to another until he reached New 
York City. His father, learning that he 
was wounded, went to the scene of the bat- 
tle and traced him to New York City. 
Frederick now lives on a small farm in 
Windsor, Dane county, and there conducts 
a meat market. He has been twice mar- 
ried, and by each marriage has two children 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1053 



— Eliza and Walter by the first, and Will- 
iam and Kittie by the second. 

Our subject received a good common- 
school education in Maine, and there work- 
ed on a farm. He came west with his fa- 
ther in 1 85 5, and was with him in the Madi- 
son store. When the father returned to 
Maine, Augustus came to Buena Vista and 
worked on the farm. He was married, in 
1862, to Almira Webster, who was born in 
Pierpont, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, May iS, 
1839, and when a young girl came to Buena 
Vista township with her parents. For two 
years he worked on the river and in the 
woods. On January i, 1864, he enlisted at 
Windsor, Dane county, as a recruit in Com- 
pany C, Third Wis. V. C, and joined his 
regiment in Missouri, headquarters being 
then at Fort Scott, Kans. At Camp Itsley 
he was taken sick, and the doctors pro- 
nounced the trouble consumption, but the 
disease has developed into rheumatism. He 
was sent home to vote for Lincoln, and 
was still confined to Harvey Hospital at 
Madison, when he was discharged in July, 
1865. After recovering sufficiently he re- 
turned home, and in 1866 bought 80 acres 
of land in Section 32, Buena Vista township. 
Building a home, he remained there until 
1882, when he purchased his present farm 
of 260 acres in Section 20, 170 of which are 
now cleared. Mr. and Mrs. Sherman are 
the parents of nine children, as follows: 
Linus Myron born January 15, 1863, at 
home, a member of Plover Lodge, I. O. O. 
F. ; Henry, twin brother of Linus, died aged 
twenty-seven years; Porter, born in 1865, 
married Jennie Williams, who is now de- 
ceased; Solon, born in 1867; Sophia, born 
in 1870; Heman, born in 1871, member of 
Plover Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; Fannie Jane 
died in infancy; Fannie Jane born in 1877; 
Bert, born in 1880; of these, Solon, Sophia, 
Heman, and Bert are still at home. 

Mr. Sherman has always been a pro- 
nounced Republican in national affairs, but 
in local elections he votes for the best man. 
The family is Protestant in religious belief, 
but are not members of any Church organi- 
zation. Mrs. Sherman in 1894 paid a ten- 
weeks' visit to her old home in Ashtabula 
count}', Ohio. 



WILLIAM NEWBY, who for a num- 
ber of years has been prominently 
identified with the agricultural in- 
terests of Portage county, was born 
in Nova Scotia, May i, 1825, and is a son 
of Thomas and Deborah (West) Newby. 
The father was a farmer, and in an early day 
emigrated from Yorkshire, England, to 
Canada, where he followed agricultural pur- 
suits, and where he reared a family of nine 
children, namely: John, deceased; William; 
Ann, wife of Jacob Steimers, a farmer of 
Ontario, Canada; George C, who carries on 
agricultural pursuits in Buena Vista town- 
ship. Portage county; Thomas, a merchant 
of Keene, Wis. ; Robert, who is farming in 
Idaho; Mary Jane, wife of William White, 
of Plover, Wis. ; Jemima, wife of J. Ben- 
nett, a farmer of Buena Vista township; and 
Esther, deceased. 

William Newby received no educational 
advantages whatever, and his first knowledge 
of farming was received in Canada under 
his fathei"'s instructions. The family moved 
into the forest, purchased one hundred acres 
of timber land, built a log house, and then 
began the work of clearing and developing a 
farm. They there resided until 1849, dur- 
ing which time fifty acres had been placed 
under the plow. On their removal to Port- 
age county, Wis. , in that year, they secured 
a 160-acre farm, fifty acres of which had 
been cleared, and thereon the father spent 
his remaining days, his death occurring in 
1879. His wife died in Canada about the 
year 1848. William Newby was married in 
Canada, in 1847, to Matilda Barnett, who 
was born in England, as were her parents, 
George and Matilda (Glover) Barnett. In 
1850 Mr. Newby brought his wife to Port- 
age county. Wis. , and purchased eighty 
acres of land in Buena Vista township, cov- 
ered with a light growth of timber. He 
owned an ox-team, and as fast as possible 
cleared and developed his land, making his 
home thereon some thirty-si.x years, within 
which time he cleared and improved one 
hundred acres. He now owns 160 acres, 
constituting one of the valuable properties 
of this region, and the improvements there- 
on stand as monuments to the thrift and en- 
terprise of himself and sons. 



1054 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 



To Mr. and Mrs. Newby have been born 
six children, to wit : Nelson is the eldest ; 
Esther is the wife of Charles J. Smith, a 
farmer of Plover township ; Elizabeth is the 
wife of A. L. Trufant, of Wautoma, Wis. ; 
Chloe J. is the wife of John Edwards, a 
harness maker of Wautoma ; George follows 
farming in Buena Vista township. Portage 
county ; and Thomas J. is a farmer of 
Plover township. The children all remained 
at home until they had reached adult age, 
but one by one have left the parental roof. 

Nelson Newby, the eldest son of Will- 
iam Newby, was born January 22, 1850, 
and in 187S married Katie E., daughter of 
John and Chloe (Scoville) Gemes, who or- 
iginally lived in New York, subsequently in 
Waukesha, Wis., afterward coming to Plo- 
ver, where they now reside. Nelson pur- 
chased 500 acres of land, 160 of which are 
under the plow, and specially devoted to the 
raising of potatoes of a very excellent grade, 
which command the highest price on the 
market. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Newby have 
five children — Carrie, Bertha, Clarence, 
Narrie and Grant F. 

The family is one of prominence in Port- 
age county, and its members rank high in 
social circles. Mrs. William Newby, who 
was a faithful member of the Methodist 
Church, died December 20, 1894. The 
father and son have always been supporters 
of the Republican party, and the latter has 
served for three successive years as assessor. 
Public-spirited and progressive citizens, the 
best interests of the community find in them 
friends, and they well deserve representation 
in this volume. 



PETER J. SULTZ, a well-known 
harness maker of Wausau, Mara- 
thon county, was born in Platts- 
burg, N. Y., March 8, 1841. His 
parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Gilbert) 
Sultz, were both born in P'rance, and came 
to the United States in early life. Henry 
Sultz was a prominent agriculturist, and he 
and his wife resided in Plattsburg, N. Y. , 
up to the time of their death. 

Our subject was reared to manhood in 
his native town, received his education in 



its public schools, and afterward learned the 
trade of harness maker, which occupation 
he has followed all his life. In 1861, at 
Plattsburg, N. Y., Mr. Sultz was united in 
marriage with Miss Frances Davis, and 
seven children have been born to them, five 
of whom are living, namely: Richard, Cory, 
James, Susan and Leander. The parents 
of Mrs. Sultz, Luke and Elizabeth Davis, 
were residents of Plattsburg, and are now 
deceased. 

In April, 1877, Mr. Sultz came west, 
and located in Milwaukee, where he carried 
on harness making for about ten years. In 
1887 he removed to Wausau, Marathon 
county, and has ever since been engaged in 
business there. He also conducts a har- 
ness-making establishment in Rhinelander, 
Oneida county, doing an extensive business 
there in the manufacture of heavy harness 
for lumbering teams. Pohtically Mr. Sultz 
is a stanch Republican. He is much es- 
teemed in both business and social circles, 
is a man of high character, and a live, pro- 
gressive citizen. 



GEORGE E. TAYLOR. The subject 
of this notice is certainly entitled to 
be considered not only one of the 
enterprising farmers and business 
men of Portage county, but one of its re- 
spected and honored citizens, and a man of 
more than ordinarj' ability. He was born 
in Genesee county, N. Y., September 15, 
1 820, and is the third in order of birth in the 
family of eight children born to George and 
Lydia (Markham) Taylor, the others being 
John, who died in New York in 1893; Caro- 
line, deceased; Orrin, a farmer of Minnesota; 
Janet, deceased; Horatio T. , of Racine, 
Wis. ; Mary, wife of Andrew Robertson, of 
Racine; and Clarinda, wife of John Jones, 
a machinst in Wayne county. New York. 

The education of our subject was such 
as the common schools of New York afford- 
ed at an early day, and he remained un- 
der the parental roof until he had reached 
the age of twenty years. In November, 
1 840, he decided to come west, being among 
the pioneer settlers of Walworth county. 
Wis., where he began work for Leander 



COMMEMORATIVE BWORAPHWAL RECORD. 



1055 



Dodge, a carpenter and joiner, and with 
him remained for about one year, when he 
began business for himself. For about 
twelve years he made his home in Walworth 
county, during which time he worked at his 
trade. There Mr. Taylor was united in 
marriage December 31, 1841, with Clarissa 
Graves, a daughter of Otis and Matilda 
(Baker) Graves. Mrs. Taylor was born in 
Genesee county, N. Y. , June 7, 1822, and 
the family of which she was a member com- 
prised the following children: Asenath (de- 
ceased); Abigail, a resident of New York; 
Clarissa, wife of our subject; Mercy, who 
lives in Michigan; Anna E. (deceased); and 
Amanda, of Ilacine county. Wis. On the 
death of her father, when Mrs. Taylor was 
only four years old, she went to live with 
relatives and came to this State with Lean- 
der Dodge, with whom she resided from her 
eighth year until the time of her marriage. 
Her mother had remained in New York, but 
later came to Wisconsin, where her death oc- 
curred at the home of her youngest daughter 
in 1882. To our subject and his wife were 
born si.\ children, namely; Elmerette, now 
Mrs. James Isherwood, of Plover township; 
Maria, wife of John McGown, of the same 
township; Laura, who wedded Albert Meyer; 
Frank, a mechanic of Stevens Point; Fred, 
at home; and Will, a resident of Plover. 
In 1852 Mr. Taylor removed to Mt. 
Pleasant, Racine Co., Wis., where he 
worked at his trade four years, after which 
time he came to Plover, where he located in 
April, 1855, on a farm of eighty acres, 
which he purchased. He had saved enough 
with which to buy his land, and he after- 
ward sent his father and mother the money 
with which to come to Wisconsin. They 
passed their remaining days in Plover, the 
mother's death occurring in 1869, the 
father's in March, 1873. Our subject hired 
most of the farm work done, while he 
worked at his trade of a carpenter. He has 
since added 160 acres to his original tract, 
and now has a tine farm of 240 acres; but 
he has devoted most of his time to carpen- 
tering. For thirteen months he was em- 
ployed on the court house at Stevens Point, 
and in that city he has mostly worked. He 
is careful and painstaking in all that he does. 



and gives general satisfaction wherever em- 
ployed. 

Mr. Taylor is an earnest defender of Re- 
publican principles, and is one whose opinions 
are invariably held in respect. He cast his 
first vote for Martin Van Buren. He has 
been called upon to fill many offices of 
honor and tru.st in his vicinity. For four- 
teen years he has been supervisor of Plover 
township, while during two years of that 
time he was chairman of the board. He 
was justice of the peace three years, and 
town treasurer one year, in all of which 
offices he has ever been faithful to his duties. 
He holds membership with the I. O. O. F., 
and the F. & A. M., of Plover. Mr. Taylor 
has made his entire property by his own ex- 
ertions, and deserves much credit for the 
success he has made of life. 



DAVID SHELBURN, one of the lead- 
ing agriculturists of Buena Vista 
township. Portage county, is a na- 
tive of Indiana, born near Shelby- 
ville, March 3, 1822, and isasonof Simeon 
and Malinda (Cooper) Shelburn, both na- 
tives of Kentucky. The maternal grand- 
parents of our subject were married in that 
State, and later removed to Indiana, locat- 
ing on a farm, where they lived for many 
years, when they emigrated to Lincoln coun- 
ty, Mo. There the grandfather purchased 
500 acres of land, and at one time was about 
the largest slave owner in that section of 
the State; but before the Rebellion he re- 
leased his slaves, although they still re- 
mained with him, refusing to leave so kind 
a master. On the breaking out of the war 
he took sides with the North. His wife 
died on the old plantation, and later he 
came to Stevens Point, Wis. His death oc- 
curred in Plover, Wis., in 1872, at the age 
of eighty-six years; he had served as a sol- 
dier in the war of 1812. 

The father of our subject was one of a 
family of four children — Spencer, Rachel, 
F"anny and Simeon. In Kentucky he was 
married, and then accompanied (jrandfather 
Cooper to Indiana, later to Missouri, where 
he died in 1834. His wife passed away at 
her son Hardy's home in 1875. They were 



1056 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the parents of six children, a brief record of 
whom is as follows: (i) Spencer married 
Julia Sutton, by whom he had five children, 
and his death occurred in Troy, Lincoln 
Co., Mo. (2) Winnie Ann (deceased) was 
the wife of Edgar Sutton, a farmer of Mis- 
souri, and to them were born three chil- 
dren; after his death she wedded his brother, 
Benton Sutton, who is also now deceased, 
and they had one child. (3) David is next 
in order of birth. (4) William, who wedded 
Josephine Chamberlain, resides in Marathon 
county, Wis. (5) Mary is the wife of James 
Sutton, a farmer of Missouri, and they have 
four children. (6) Hardy, who completes 
the family, married Valaria Sutton, by 
whom he has four daughters and one son, 
and is now engaged in stock raising near 
Seattle, Washington. 

In Troy, Mo., David Shelburn, the sub- 
ject proper of this sketch, obtained an ex- 
cellent education, and he also attended the 
academy at Mount Morris, 111. At the age 
of seventeen he accompanied his uncle, 
Benjamin Cooper, to Dodgeville, Wis., ar- 
riving there in the fall of 1839. On their way 
to that place they passed through Nauvoo, 
111., where they witnessed a riot between the 
people and the followers of Brigham Young. 
Our subject remained in Dodgeville until the 
following 3'ear, when in the fall of 1840 he 
returned home on a visit to his parents, after 
which he came to Stevens Point, where he 
was engaged in making shingles, and during 
the winter seasons worked in the logging 
camps. In Warsaw, Iowa, in October, 1852, 
Mr. Shelburn was united in marriage with 
Sarah Woodfolk, who was born in Virginia, 
October 7, 1835, andis a daughter of Hiram 
and Mary (Toncray) Woodfolk. Her fa- 
ther was a native of Goldensboro, Va. , and 
when a young man learned the trade of an 
architect, which he made his life work, tak- 
ing many large contracts. He was married 
in Virginia, afterward with his family mov- 
ing to Carlton, 111., where he resided a few 
years, and then located in Fort Madison, 
Iowa, He was accidentally drowned in the 
Mississippi river near that city in 1854, and 
left a widow and two children — Mrs. Shel- 
burn, and Marian (now deceased), who be- 
came the wife of a Mr. Washburn. Some- 



time after her husband's death Mrs. Wood- 
folk wedded Henry Brumton (now deceased), 
and they had three children — John, Ida 
(also deceased), and Thomas. After the 
death of her second husband the mother 
then made her home with her son in Omaha, 
Neb., where she died at the age of ninety- 
one years. Her father was a native of 
France, and came to America when a young 
man, where he wedded a lady of English an- 
cestry. 

After his marriage Mr. Shelburn located 
in Mosinee, Wis., where he "ran on the 
river " and worked in the logging camps. 
His wife during his absence boarded ; but in 
the spring of 1853 they came to Buena 
Vista, where the following year he purchased 
180 acres in Section 31, to which he after- 
ward added another i 80 acres in Section 30. 
This was wild land which he obtained from 
the government, and he immediately set to 
work improving the same. He broke fifteen 
acres on which he built a shanty wherein they 
lived until the following fall, when he erected 
a more substantial dwelling. That place con- 
tinued to be their home until March, 1894, 
when they removed to their present house 
which is located on the last 180 acres he had 
bought, and he disposed of the former pur- 
chase. One hundred and twenty acres of 
his farm are under cultivation, and the neat 
appearance of the place indicates the thrift 
and enterprise of the owner. 

In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Shelburn 
are the following children: (l) Laura died 
at the age of twelve years. (2) Clara I. 
(deceased) was the wife of Marwin Rice, a 
farmer of Pine Grove, Wis. , and they had 
three children — Hosea, a teacher in the 
Normal School at Stevens Point ; Carl, who 
died in infancy ; and Aden. (3) Frances (who 
has also passed away) was the wife of 
Charles H. Batchelder, an agriculturist of 
Buena Vista township, and they were the 
parents of two children — Frank, and one 
who died in infancy. (4) Lindley, who 
wedded Ida Skinner, resides in Buena Vista, 
and has four children — Mabel, Arthur, Eva 
and Charles. (5) Everet is a farmer of Da- 
kota. (6) Cassie is the wife of William 
Prescott, a lumberman residing near Ash- 
land, Wis. (7) David lives at home. (8) 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1057 



Katy I. is the wife of Grant Hallowell, a 
railroad man of Duluth, Minn., where they 
reside, and they have three children — Earl, 
Francis and May. (9) Walter is at home. 
(10) Sadie lives with hersister in Dakota. 

In politics, Mr. Shelburn is a supporter 
of the Republican party, and takes an active 
interest in its welfare. For four years he 
served as chairman of the township, and for 
nine years held the office of side supervisor, 
in which incumbencies he ever discharged his 
duties to the satisfaction of all concerned. 
Both he and his wife are active workers in 
the Methodist Episcopal Church of Keene, 
and are distinguished for their earnest relig- 
ious character and firm faith. 



DANIEL S. HARROUN, well known 
among the leading farmers of Port- 
age county, is a forcible illustration 
of a self-made man. He now has a 
pleasant home situated on his farm of 217 
acres in Plover township. On June 22, 
1848, he was born in Rock county. Wis., to 
Daniel M. and Caroline (Taylor) Harroun, 
the former a native of New York, the latter 
of Pennsylvania. The parents came to 
Wisconsin in an early day, the father en- 
gaging in farming in Rock county, but in 
1852 he brought the family to Plover town- 
ship, Portage county, where he bought 160 
acres of land, all in its primitive condition, 
not a stick of timber being cut or any im- 
provement made. 

In the family were eight children, as fol- 
lows: (i) Lydiais the wife of James Camp- 
bell, of Plover, Wis., where he worked at 
his trade, but they now reside in Ada, Minn., 
in which place Mr. Campbell is engaged in 
the real-estate business, and also holds sev- 
eral offices of honor and trust. (2) Clarissa 
is now the wife of Wallace Campbell, of 
Ada, Minn. ; she was formerly married to 
George Hall, who mysteriously disappeared, 
and nothing has ever been heard of him; 
her present husband is a land commissioner. 
(3) Clarinda married Henry Sturdefant, and 
died, leaving two children. (4) Caroline is 
the wife of Dominick Kennedy, a carpenter 
of Stevens Point. (5) Laura wedded Frank 
Gilson, who is engaged in the laundry busi- 



ness. (6) George, now deceased, served 
for four years and one month as a member 
of the First Minnesota Regiment, and par- 
ticipated in twenty-seven heavy engage- 
ments, including the first battle of Bull 
Run and that of the Wilderness; he was 
wounded seven times, being hit in both arms, 
a thigh, a finger, and in the head, and for 
six months he was confined in Libby prison; 
on entering the service he weighed about 
160 pounds, but on leaving prison he found 
his weight reduced to ninetj' pounds; he was 
so nearly starved that he was glad to eat any- 
thing, and once ate- a piece of raw dog; on 
his return home he bought the old home- 
stead, and married; he was a stanch Repub- 
lican in politics; his death occurred in St. 
Louis, Mo. (7) Horatio makes his home in 
Plover. (8) Daniel S. completes the family. 
Our subject was but ten years old when 
his mother died. The children then became 
scattered, and he went to live with John 
McLaughlin, of Oasis, Wis., but after re- 
maining with him one year, ran away and 
sought the home of his sister, Mrs. Hall. 
His chances for securing an education were 
very limited. He was engaged for some 
time in carrying the mail from the head of 
the Wisconsin river to Beaver Dam, Wis., 
making his home with his sister, with whom 
he remained some seven years, at the ex- 
piration of which time he went to live with 
James Campbell, a carpenter, and with him 
began to learn the trade. On February 12, 
1872, Mr. Harroun was united in marriage 
with Emily L. Burke, who was born in New 
York State, March i, 1848, a daughter of 
William Burke. By this union eight chil- 
dren were born, as follows: William, who 
died at the age of thirteen years; Caroline, 
Walter and Lillian M., at home; Grace and 
Benjamin (twinsj, died in infancy; and two 
others died unnamed. After his marriage 
Mr. Harroun purchased forty acres of land 
in Section 25, Plover township, and also 
bought an old school house, which he re- 
fitted and used for a dwelling about a year. 
He went to work, cutting the timber off his 
land, and the first year cleared five acres 
which he planted in wheat. He had no 
team, and thus he had to endure much 
hardship in getting a start. He afterward 



I05S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sold the first tract, but purchased forty acres 
more, which he still owns. By labor, econ- 
omy and good management he has been 
enabled to add more land from time to time, 
and now has a good farm of 217 acres, 
nearly all of which has been placed under 
the plow. Besides general farming he also 
engages in the lumber business, and in both 
lines has met with excellent success. 

In politics, Mr. Harroun is a Republican; 
socially, he belongs to the I. O. O. F. and 
American Mechanics, while in religious 
faith both he and his wife are earnest mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
which he has served as steward since the 
church was built at Plover. In a summary 
of the life of this gentleman it is worthy of 
special note that an indomitable will has 
overthrown the difficulties in his path; that 
perseverance has overcome the obstacles he 
has encountered; that his diligence and en- 
terprise have been untiring; that success 
has rewarded his earnest efforts with a 
competency; and that his genial, social 
disposition has won him a host of friends. 



THOMAS STEVENSON BLAIR, one 
of the most prominent and highly- 
respected farmers of Portage county, 
was born in the town of Cumber- 
claudy, County Londonderry, Ireland, in 
1835, and his parents, John and Margaret 
(Stevenson) Blair, were natives of the same 
place. 

The grandparents, Robert and Jane (Ad- 
ams) Blair, were born, reared and married 
in Scotland, whence, on account of relig- 
ious persecution they fled to Ireland, locat- 
ing on a farm in County Londonderry. He 
had accumulated considerable money, and 
fearing that he might be robbed ere reach- 
ing his destination, he buried it in his native 
town. Some years later he and his wife 
started for Scotland for the purpose of re- 
covering their wealth, but as no tidings 
were ever received from them afterward, it 
is supposed that they were murdered. They 
had left their children — Robert, John, Mar- 
garet and Jane — in the care of relatives. 
The first named came to America with his 
eldest son, in 1S48, purchasing a home in 



Philadelphia, and there living retired until 
his removal to Lanark, Wis., where his 
death occurred in 1871; his wife passed 
away three years previous. Their children 
were Robert, a retired farmer of Farming- 
ton, Waupaca county; Anna, who died in 
Philadelphia; Thomas S. (our subject); 
William, a farmer of Lanark township. Port- 
age county; Jean, who died at the home of 
her brother Thomas; John, who died in in- 
fancy; and Henry, an agriculturist of Lan- 
ark township. 

On account of ill health the subject 
proper of this sketch was obliged to leave 
school at an early age, and was advised by 
his physician to learn gardening. He served 
for two and a half years in Ireland, then for 
one year was an apprentice under James 
Campbell, of Edinburgh, Scotland, undoubt- 
edly the most noted florist in Europe at that 
time. Mr. Blair then determined to emi- 
grate to America, and after visiting his fam- 
ily in the Emerald Isle, sailed in May, 1847, 
on the American packet, "Orion," which, 
after a stormy voyage of si.x weeks, reached 
her destination. He was the only cabin pas- 
senger, and making friends with Capt. Mey- 
ers, was allowed many privileges not ac- 
corded to others. About two weeks before 
landing, most of the passengers were taken 
ill with ship fever, and five found graves in 
the deep. For a week the vessel was quar- 
antined on the Delaware river, and then 
dropped anchor at Philadelphia. Our sub- 
ject there proceeded to the home of his 
cousin, William Blair, and soon obtained 
(through the recommendations of his old 
employer) a situation as head gardener to 
the wealthy, retired planter from Louisiana, 
E. W. Mitchell, then residing in the suburbs 
of Philadelphia. When that gentleman sold 
out, he became head gardener to Judge 
Kane, father of the famous Arctic explorer, 
with whom he continued two years, when 
he determined to try his fortune in the West. 
The Judge offered him an increase of sal- 
ary to remain, but this he declined, and in 
March, 185 1, he reached Chicago. 

Soon, however, becoming dissatisfied 
with that city, he went to visit friends liv- 
ing in a small town about forty miles from 
Milwaukee. After a week he proceeded to 



GOMMBMOBATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



1059 



the city, where he formed the acquaintance 
of Lot Hutchinson, who persuaded him to 
come to Portage county. Accordinj^ly, he 
set out on foot, reaching his destination in 
April, 1 85 I. The land was still unsurveyed, 
and after looking about him he made a lo- 
cation on what is now Sections 12 and 13, 
Lanark township, commencing at once to 
clear it, and with the assistance of his neigh- 
bor, Mr. Dewey, he built a substantial log 
cabin. Then he traveled on foot to Mil- 
waukee, and purchased a yoke of oxen and 
wagon, some household goods and a stock 
of provisions. On Tuesday, at eight in the 
morning, he left Milwaukee, reaching home 
at midnight the following Saturday. 

Mr. Blair was married in Buena Vista, 
Wis., in 1865, to Anna G. Alexander, 
daughter of John and Jean (Mclndoe) Alex- 
ander, natives of Scotland, who emigrated 
to America in 1857, and located in Buena 
Vista. Mrs. Blair was born near Glasgow, 
Scotland, May 23, 1847, and completed her 
education in a female seminary in St. Louis, 
Mo. For a time previous to her marriage 
she made her home in Wausau, Wis., with 
her uncle, Hon. Walter D. Mclndoe, who 
died there in 1872. [See page 20.] Mrs. 
Blair is the second in a family of eight chil- 
dren, the others being Catherine, at home 
Walter, a lumber merchant of Wausau, Wis. 
Hugh, also a lumber merchant of Wausau 
Margaret, at home; Mack, a lumber dealer 
of Owatonna, Minn. ; Taylor; Pipe; and 
John, a dealer in lumber in Aurora, 111. 
Mrs. Blair died on the old home farm Feb- 
ruary 17, 1884, and was buried in Sheridan 
Cemetery. Her children were John, who is 
a dealer in potatoes in Plainfield, Wis. (he 
married Ella Borden, and has one child, 
Marjorie); Harriet A. is the wife of Frank 
Paul, and they had one child, Margaret, 
who died in infanc}' (they make their home 
with her father); Margaret J. is the wife of 
S. W. Williams, formerly a commission 
merchant of Chicago, and now proprietor of 
the largest dry-goods house in Hannibal, 
Mo. ; Walter D. is an employe in an express 
office in Wausau, Wis. ; Robert S. , William 
H. and Mary S. are at home. 

After his marriage, Mr. Blair located 
upon his present farm. His home, built in 



the spring of 1865, is an ideal one — a com- 
modious structure built of light brick, sup- 
plied with broad verandas almost surround- 
ing the building. The rooms are large, 
light and airy, and tastefull3' furnished, and 
the house stands at the foot of a wooded 
knoll, terminating the road that leads up to 
it from the main road. The drive is lined 
on both sides with beautiful trees, and the 
residence and surroundings are all that one 
could wish in the way of a pleasant home. 
The farm now comprises 240 acres of 
valuable land, 160 of which are cleared, 
yielding to the owner a handsome tribute. 
In 1 88 1, Mr. Blair met with an accident. 
A young team was hitched to the reaper on 
which he was seated, and taking sudden 
fright threw him into the air, his collar bone 
being broken in the fall, one knee injured 
and his shoulder blade dislocated. But not- 
withstanding his injuries he picked himself 
up, and succeeded in capturing the runaway 
team which he drove back to the barn; but 
he had endured all he could, and there 
dropped in a dead faint. He was carried 
unconscious into the house, and some 
months passed ere he was able to be out 
again. He has since lived practically re- 
tired, his farm being managed by his sons. 
On questions of national importance Mr. 
Blair votes with the Republican party; but 
in local elections he is independent. He 
has served as justice of the peace and super- 
visor of Lanark township, for several years 
being elected without opposition, a fact 
which shows his great personal popularity. 
He is a constant reader, takes great delight 
in history, and the works of many ancient 
and modern authors are in his library. He 
and his family hold membership with the 
Presbyterian Church, and he is a kindly, 
benevolent man, scrupulously honest, and 
his upright life is well-worthy of emulation. 



SERANO GATES is of English de- 
scent, tracing his ancestry back to 
Capt. George Gates, who sailed with 
his family from England to this coun- 
try in the latter part of the seventeenth cen- 
tury on a vessel which he owned and com- 
manded. He sold the ship on reaching Bos- 



io6o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ton, and with his family located on a farm 
at East Adams, Mass., where his descend- 
ants lived for some years. 

Alfred Gates, the father of our subject, 
was born in East Adams, Mass., and was a 
son of David Gates, whose family numbered 
the following children: David, Jirah, Rus- 
sell, Alfred, Mrs. Patterson, of Pennsyl- 
vania, and Ephraim. Alfred Gates received 
but limited educational privileges, and when 
a young man went to Broome county, N. Y., 
where he worked as a farm hand for eight 
years. He then married Lucretia Tubbs, 
and purchased a farm in that county, where 
he carried on agricultural pursuits for many 
years with e.xcellent success, accumulating 
365 acres of valuable land. His wife died 
August 28, 1832, at the age of fifty-two 
years, nine months and six days. He after- 
ward married Cynthia (Sheldon) Brat, a 
widow. The father's death occurred May 
27, 1859, at the advanced age of eight-seven 
years, three months and one day. His chil- 
dren were as follows: (i) Horace (deceased) 
married Dorcas Eldridge, and had children 
as follows — Louis, who passed away; Rhoda, 
residing in Iowa; Jane, who has been twice 
married, and lives in New York; Emma, wife 
of Samuel Monroe, of Lyall, N. Y. ; Richard 
B., who has been twice married, and lives 
in Iowa; Olive is the widow of Nelson Oli- 
ver, and is living in Whitney Point, N. Y. ; 
and Luranna, a widow, living with her sis- 
ter, Mrs. Monroe, in New York. (2) Alice 
is the deceased wife of Ira Lamb, by 
whom she had two children — Lucretia and 
Darius. (3) Polly is the deceased wife 
of Jacob Councilman, a farmer of Lyall, 
N. Y., by whom she had four chil- 
dren — Nathan, Shepherd, Lucinda and Si- 
las. (4) Annsey Anday, deceased wife of 
Charles Morgan, a farmer of Broome coun- 
ty, N. Y. , had four children — Dennis, Lu- 
cretia, Emma, aud one whose name is not 
given. (5) Lavantha, deceased wife of 
George Swift, a farmer of Indiana, had three 
children — Edward, Oscar and Susan, the 
last named being now deceased. (6) Levi 
(deceased) wedded Sallie Woodruff, and had 
four children. (7) Lucy (deceased) was the 
wife of Charles Eddy, and had three chil- 
dren — Russell, Andrew and Susan. (8) Bet- 



sey became the wife of William Omans, a 
farmer of Maine, N. Y. , and died February 
8, 1895; two of her four children died in in- 
fancy, Susanna and Emily being still alive. 
(9) Serano is the next of the family. (10) 
Alfred A. (deceased) wedded Electa Council- 
man, by whom he had three children — 
Adrian, Adelson and Burdette; after the 
death of his first wife he wedded Adeline 
Fairchild, by whom he had one child. (11) 
Romina, widow of Cyrus Edwards, resides 
in Maine, N. Y. , and her children are Cyrus 
and Edward. (12) Ransom T. , a physician 
of Newark Valley, N. Y., has been twice 
married, and by the first union had four 
children. (13) Liddy E., is the wife of Ed- 
win Perry, a farmer, and had eleven chil- 
dren, only three of whom are now living. 

Serano Gates was educated in the com- 
mon schools, and worked upon the home 
farm until nineteen years of age, when he 
broke his shoulder, which prevented him 
doing much manual labor for four years; but 
he made good use of his time in study, and 
was also frequently called to attend sick peo- 
ple in the neighborhood. He was married 
in Maine, N. Y. , April 5, 1835, to Sophronia 
Freeman, who was born in Lyall, N. Y. , 
March 8, 18 16, a daughter of Bicknell and 
Nancy (Lewis) Freeman, the former born 
April II, 1794, and the latter June 5, 1793, 
both natives of Connecticut, The father 
died in Lyall in 1884, the mother in 1880. 
The names and dates of birth of their chil- 
dren are as follows: Betsy Ann, December 
4, 1819, died January 3, i838;Ranson, Au- 
gust 7, 1822, died December 27, i845;Han- 
nah, October 28, 1824; Edmond, July 27, 
1827; Nancy Nina, July 26, 1829; Albert, 
March 18, 1833; and George, December 10, 
1835. Immediately after his marriage Mr. 
Gates started for Newark, N. Y., where he 
purchased a farm of 365 acres, on which 
stood a barn and three log houses. He then 
returned for his wife, and they lived for three 
years on that place, off of which they cleared 
over $1,000. Mr. Gates then purchased an 
improved farm of seventy-one acres in the 
same locality, making it his home for nine 
years, and when he sold that farm he bought 
one hundred acres in Broome county, N. Y. , 
where he made his home until emigrating to 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



io6i 



the West. On December ii, 1855, he left 
New York, and seven days later reached his 
destination. While in the East he learned 
shoe making, carpentering and coopering, 
and in Wisconsin worked at those trades 
until the fall of 1856, when he purchased 
160 acres of partially-improved land in 
Buena Vista township. Two years later he 
sold this for $1,600, and then purchased 160 
acres of wild land in Section 2 i , same town- 
ship, which he still operates. His home is 
a commodious one, and his highly-improved 
farm attests his thrifty care and supervision. 

In 1881 Mr. Gates was called upon to 
mourn the loss of his wife, who passed 
away September 27, and was laid to rest in 
Buena Vista cemetery, mourned by many 
friends as well as her immediate family. 
The record of the family we here give, 
(i) Eliza Ann, born February 11, 1836 in 
Nanticoke, N. Y. , is the widow of Hiram 
Griffin, and resides on a farm near Newark, 
N. Y. ; her children are Ella, wife of Dan- 
iel Russell, of Los Angeles, Gal., by whom 
she had four children; Mrs. Flora Waters, 
of Lyall, N. Y. , who has three children; 
Irving, at home; and John, a school teacher 
of New York. (2) Diantha, born in Nanti- 
coke, N. Y. , November 30, 1839, is the 
wife of Miles Clark, of Waupaca, Wis., and 
they have one son, Elmer. (3) Alfred S., 
born in Nanticoke, N. Y., November 5, 
1842, was a soldier in the Givil war; he mar- 
ried Cynthia Monroe, who died leaving no 
children, and for his second wife he wed- 
ded Ella Butler, by whom he had one child, 
Deforest. (4) Alfonso, born in Nanticoke, 
N. Y., February 6, 1845. (5) Flora So- 
phronia, born January 5, 1847. (6) Altha 
Alnora, born in Nanticoke, March 12, 1849, 
now the wife of Edward Frost, of Plover, 
Wis., their children being William and 
Edna A. (7J Alice Delora, born in Nanti- 
coke, April 21, 185 I, now the wife of Alex- 
ander McDonald, a hotel keeper of West 
Superior, Wis., by whom she has three 
children, Irving, Lewis and John. (8) Dant- 
ford Levi, born in Nanticoke, July 5, 1863, 
died July 17, 1868. (9) Nancy Jane died 
at the age of four years. 

Mr. Gates usually votes with the Demo- 
cratic party, but on one occasion supported 



the People's party. For nine years he 
served as supervisor of his township, prov- 
ing a capable officer. When a young man 
he was a powerful wrestler. He stands 
nearly six feet tall, and, although nearly 
eighty-one years of age, is still strong and 
energetic, and frequently walks to his 
daughter's home about ten miles distant. 
He possesses a wonderful memory, can 
quote Scripture with great ease, and in 
argument is logical and convincing. He now 
finds one of his chief sources of pleasure in 
music. He yet possesses a voice of much 
power and sweetness, and finds great delight 
in singing old hymns and ballads, accom- 
panying himself on the organ. He is one of 
the best-known citizens of Portage county, 
and his long and well-spent life has gained 
him the highest regard of all. 

PHILIP THIES, a prosperous and 
well-esteemed German farmer of 
Buena Vista township. Portage coun- 
ty, was born in Prussia, August i, 
1835, a son of John and Mary Ann (Peter- 
son) Thies. 

John Thies was born in Prussia in 1786. 
When a young man he learned the trade of 
a mason, and followed it jointly with farm- 
ing through life. He died in 1867, aged 
eighty-one years, and his wife, eight years 
his junior, died the same year. Of their 
five children, Madeline, Nicholas, Philip, 
Peter and Mary, Philip is the only one to 
come to America. Madeline (now deceased) 
married Theodore Roader. and had six chil- 
dren — Margarita, Mary (i), Philip, John, 
Peter and Mary (2). Nicholas, who is a 
laborer in Prussia, married Theresa Roader, 
and had four children — Mary (i), Mary (2), 
Nicholas and Peter; of these children, 
Nicholas came to America in 1893. Peter 
is a farmer in Prussia; he married Mary 
Halcdolf, and has six children — Anna Mary, 
Madelina, Nicholas, Peter, Mary and one 
whose name is not given. Mary married 
Nicholas Eichers, a farmer in Prussia, and had 
children as follows; Theodore, John, Peter, 
Margaret, Mary (i) and Mary (2). 

The subject of this sketch left the schools 
of his native land at the age of fourteen, and 



io62 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPBICAL RECORD. 



began farming. Soon after he became a 
shepherd on the mountains, and was so en- 
gaged for many years. Just prior to the 
Austro-Prussian war he had enhsted for 
three years in the Prussian army, and he was 
engaged in many of the battles of that 
struggle. At the battle of Diedart his rifle 
was knocked from his hands by a shot. 
After his military service he resumed farm- 
ing. His parents had died while he was in 
the army, and in 1870 he resolved to emi- 
grate to America. In June of that year he 
sailed from Antwerp for Liverpool, where he 
took passage on the English steamer 
"Queen," and after a passage of fifteen 
days landed at New York. Visiting friends 
there for a week, he came to Chicago and 
remained another week. Thence he pro- 
ceeded to Madison, Wis., and for three and 
one-half months worked as a railroad hand. 
In the fall of 1870 he bought eighty acres of 
wild land in Sections 26 and 35, cleared 
thirty acres, built a home there, sold the 
property and bought forty acres in Section 
34. Here he also erected a house and barn 
and made other improvements, and to this 
nucleus of a farm he has since added fortj' 
acres in Section 34, forty acres in Section 32, 
and forty acres in Section 28. He has 
served for five years on the board of super- 
visors, and for one year as assessor. He is 
now treasurer of the school board, of which 
he has been a director some nine years. In 
politics he is a Democrat in national affairs, 
but in local matters he is independent, vot- 
ing for the best man. He is a member of 
St. Martin's Catholic Church at Almond. 
Mr. Thies is an active worker in politics, an 
intelligent and well-informed man, and an 
entertaining conversationalist. 



JAY BENNETT, a prominent citizen 
and prosperous agriculturist of Buena 
Vista township, Portage count}', was 
born in the town of Orwell, Oswego 
Co., N. Y., December 10, 1838, and is a 
son of Elisha and Harriet (Carpenter) Ben- 
nett. His parents were natives of New 
York, where the father was born March 19, 
1801, and the mother on April 3, 1803. 
Their marriage was celebrated in Orwell, 



that State. The grandfather of our subject, 
Nathaniel Bennett, was born in Connecticut, 
but when young removed to New York 
State, where he married; he became 
the father of five children: Nathaniel, 
Stephen, Gilbert, Clarissa and Elisha. 

The father of our subject followed farm- 
ing and milling in Orwell, N. Y. , but later 
he disposed of his business in that place, 
coming with his wife and family to Wiscon- 
sin in the spring of 1844, locating on a farm 
of 120 acres of wild land purchased from 
the government, in Black Wolf township, 
three miles from Oshkosh. The journey 
was made by water as far as Milwaukee, 
and in a wagon from there to their destina- 
tion. While their future home was in course 
of construction they lived in a rented dwell- 
ing. For ten years they resided in Winne- 
bago county, when the father traded his 
property there for a farm of 360 acres in 
Portage county, giving twenty shillings per 
acre besides. This tract was in Buena 
Vista township, where the father and sons 
erected a small shanty in the summer of 
1854, into which the family moved the fol- 
lowing February, making that place their 
home for twenty-four years. The mother 
died January 20, 1880, and the father was 
called to the final rest December 24, 1884, 
while making his home with one of his sons. 
Their children consisted of Maria, widow of 
Jacob Wanty, a farmer of Winnebago coun- 
ty, Wis., had seven children — Susan, Gib- 
son, Jacob, Nelson, Harriet, Emily and 
Julia. Alena, who first wedded a Mr. Rob- 
ison, is now living with her second husband. 
Solomon, one of the leading farmers of 
Portage county, also lives in Buena Vista 
township. Nathaniel, who married Rebecca 
Wanty, resides on a farm in the same town- 
ship, and by his union has one child yet 
living — Mary E., wife of Peter Barrett, of 
Buena Vista. Stephen wedded Ann Hurd, 
and after her death married Frances Hooker; 
by his first union he had three children — 
Fred; Ellen, wife of John Dosier; and An- 
nette, wife of Byron Adams (both of the 
daughters reside in Buena \'ista). Harriet 
became the wife of William Eckels, by 
whom she had one son, Charles, and after 
the death of her first husband, she married 



COMMBMORATIVE BIOQRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1063 



Roderick Palmer, who is now deceased, and 
they had one child, Minerva. Jay is next 
in order of birth. Georg;e married Jerusha 
Dakins, and by this union there are three 
children — Ellen, Annie and Ira. William 
and Emily died in childhood. 

In the common-schools Jay Bennett re- 
ceived his education, studying in Orwell, N. 
Y. , Black Wolf, Winnebago county, and 
Buena Vista township. Portage county. At 
the time of his arrival in Wisconsin in 1844, 
Oshkosh, which was their trading point, con- 
sisted of but one board shanty and a little 
store, and he has witnessed the wonderful 
changes which have taken place, aiding in 
every possible way in its advancement. At 
Bufena Vista, on August 15, 1862, Mr. Ben- 
nett enlisted in Company E, Thirty-second 
Wis. W I., after which he went to Oshkosh 
to join his regiment. It was first his in- 
tention to become a member of the Twenty- 
first Wisconsin regiment; but as it was filled 
up so quickly he was assigned to the Thirty- 
second. The regiment remained in camp 
at Oshkosh until the fall, when they were 
sent to Memphis, Tenn., where they staid 
for three weeks. Mr. Bennett participated 
in many skirmishes, but his first active en- 
gagement was at Decatur, .\la., where they 
were engaged in constructing a fort. From 
there they were ordered to Atlanta, occupy- 
ing a position in the rear and around the 
right of Sherman's army. The army was 
drawn up in three lines of battle, each line 
going to the front for three days at a time; 
but our subject remained there for twenty- 
one consecutive da3^s. The Thirty-second 
Wisconsin was engaged in destroying rail- 
roads from Atlanta to Savannah, and until 
reaching Washington our subject did guard 
duty. In that city he participated in the 
grand review, and was mustered out June 
12, 1865, after which they proceeded to 
Milwaukee, Wis., where for two weeks he 
awaited his discharge. On leaving that 
city he paid a visit to his brother in Osh- 
kosh, whence he started homeward. The 
journey of the regiment from Washington 
was marked by scenes of great rejoicing, at 
almost every station the whole population 
turning out to welcome them, while at 
Grand Haven, they received a perfect ova- 



tion, the people preparing a bounteous 
feast. 

On arriving home on the last day of 
June, 1865, Mr. Bennett resumed work on 
the farm. At Almond, Portage countj', on 
the 1st of October following he was married 
to Miss Jemima Newby, a native of Canada, 
born in Cayuga township, Haldimand coun- 
ty, February 28, 1843, a daughter of Thom- 
as and Deborah (West) Newby. Her 
father, who was a native of England, emi- 
grated to Nova Scotia when a young man, 
later locating on a farm in Canada, where 
his wife died in 1850. When Mrs. Bennett 
was a girl of twelve years she came with 
the family to the United States, her father, 
who had married a second time, locating on 
a farm in Beuna Vista township. Portage 
county. There he passed the rest of his 
days, dying a devout member of the Bap- 
tist Church, and was interred in the ceme- 
tery at Liberty Corners. Mrs. Bennett is 
one of a family of nine children, namely; 
John, William, Ann, George C. , Esther, 
Thomas, Robert, Mary Jane, and Jemima 
(Mrs. BennettJ. 

After his marriage Mr. Bennett remain- 
ed upon his father's farm one year, when he 
purchased eighty acres of land, which con- 
stitutes a part of his present place. He 
has e.xtended the boundaries until it com- 
prises 120 acres of good land situated in 
Section 22, and also owns twenty acres in 
Section 32, Buena V'ista township. He 
erected a log house on his place, i6x2i 
feet, in which the family made their home 
until the fall of 1893, when they removed 
to their present large and beautiful home. 
The family comprises two children: Ernest, 
born August 24, 1866, and by trade a car- 
penter and joiner at Stevens Point, married 
Minnie Adams, who was born in May, 1867 
(they have three children — Raymond, Vena 
Opal and one whose name is not given); 
and Marie, born December 7, 1870, the 
wife of Simon Carly, who was born in Sep- 
tember, 1870, and is a carpenter and joiner at 
Stevens Point. On matters of national im- 
portance Mr. Bennett votes with the Re- 
publican party; but at local elections he 
casts his ballot in support of those measures 
which will benefit the community, regard- 



1064 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



less of party lines. In religious faith both 
himself and wife are Protestants, though 
the\" do not hold connection with any Church 
organization. He is a member of the G. 
A. R. Post at Plover, Wis. Public-spirited 
to a great degree, he takes .great interest in 
all measures calculated to benefit the com- 
munity at large, or advance the good of 
society in general. 



JACKSON CALKINS, one of the hon- 
ored pioneers of Amherst township. 
Portage county, was born in Massa- 
chusetts September 27, 1S26, son of 
Judah and Sarah (Edison) Calkins, both na- 
tives of Massachusetts. The father of Sarah 
Edison was a youth of seventeen when the 
Revolutionary struggle began, and lived with 
his father near Boston. Both took up arms 
for their country's freedom, and served 
throughout the memorable struggle. Some 
years after their marriage Judah and Sarah 
Calkins moved from Massachusetts to Oneida 
county, N. Y. , where he engaged in lumber- 
ing until his death. The widow and her 
family soon after moved to Salem, Keno- 
sha Co. , Wis. , where they settled on a farm 
of I Co acres. The parents had twelve chil- 
dren, of whom Smith, Benjamin, Emily, 
Mary A., Minerva, Jackson and Sarah lived 
to mature age. Jackson and Sarah, now 
Mrs. George Chase, of Fond du Lac, are the 
only survivors. 

Jackson was reared a farmer's boy, with 
the slight educational advantages country 
life afforded, and at Salem, Wis., he was 
married May 2, 1847, to Miss Diadamia 
Sabin, whose parents, natives of New York, 
were early settlers in Wisconsin. In 1848 
Mr. Calkins settled on a farm of eighty 
acres in Fond du Lac county. Disposing of 
this seven years later, he in 1855 moved to 
his present farm of 120 acres in Amherst, 
where he has ever since resided. He en- 
dured the privations incident to pioneer life, 
and like most of the early settlers was inti- 
mately associated with the lumbering inter- 
ests. For man}- years he worked in the 
lumber camps, drawing lumber much of the 
time with his double team of horses. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Calkins five children have been 



born, as follows: Josephine, born April 8, 
1848, still lives at home; Frank married 
Miss Hattie St. John, and has five children 
— Ethel, Eugene, Maud, Fannie and La- 
Faj'ette (the mother of these died in 1887); 
Charles S., who is now an engineer on the 
Canadian Pacific railroad, is married and 
has three children; Mary is now the wife of 
C. S. Wells, a telegraph operator of Vic- 
toria, Te.xas; LaF"ayette A., who married 
Miss Bertha Burns, and who at the age of 
twenty-three years was elected district at- 
torney of Portage county, afterward was for 
four years municipal judge at Ashland, 
W^is. , and is now city attorney at Fort 
Howard. 

Mr. Calkins is now justice of the peace, 
and has held that office some ten years. In 
politics he is a Republican, and in religious 
belief he is a Protestant. In character he 
is broad-minded and fair; but his convic- 
tions are strong and do credit both to his 
acumen of miiul and soundness of prin- 
ciple. 

DARIUS E. GREEN, one of the most 
successful as well as one of the most 
prominent and progressive agricul- 
turists of Portage county, is a native 
of New Brunswick, born in 1836, a son of 
James and Mary (Plummer) Green, the 
former a native of New Brunswick, the lat- 
ter of New England, who had a family of 
ten children. 

Darius was the third child and second 
son in their family. The educational privi- 
leges afforded him were those offered by the 
common schools, and he was reared to farm 
life, early becoming familiar with all the 
duties that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. 
At the age of twenty he left New Brunswick 
and came to Wisconsin, taking up his resi- 
dence in Dayton township, Waupaca county, 
where he began work as a farm hand. He 
worked on the river and in the lumber 
woods, and in this way secured a start in 
life, doing also occasional carpenter work. 
About the year 1879 he was married in Bel- 
mont township, Portage county, to Miss 
Effie Garter, daughter of James Garter, of 
Portage county, and their union has been 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPmCAL JIECORD. 



1065 



blessed with three interesting children — 
Ethel, and James and Jessie, twins. 

Mr. (jreen exercises his right of franchise 
in support of the Republican party, but 
aside from this takes no active part in poli- 
tical affairs. In 1889 he removed to Bel- 
mont township, where he now resides, and 
has since devoted his time and energies to 
the cultivation of his fine farm. His landed 
possessions aggregate 2,200 acres, he being 
the heaviest land holder in the township. 
His life is an illustration of what may be 
accomplished through industry, perseverance 
and determination. By steadfast purpose 
and resolute will he has steadily overcome 
the obstacles in his path — in fact these have 
seemed to serve as an impetus to renewed 
effort, and he is now one of the wealthiest 
citizens in his part of the county. He 
certainly deserves great credit for his pros- 
perity, and his e.xamplc is one well worthy 
of emulation. He is free from all ostenta- 
tion and display, living a quiet, unassuming 
life, devoted to his business cares and the 
interests of his home. 



ELI GKANNIS, who for twenty years 
has been a justice of the peace in 
Fine Grove township. Portage coun- 
ty ; who has served on the county 
board ; and who has ever been a public- 
spirited andenterprising citizen of the county, 
is one of the earliest pioneers. He was born 
in Southington, Conn., April 3, 1822, son 
of Harvey and Mindwell (Dutton) Grannis, 
the former born May 20, 1786, the latter on 
July 16, 1794 T<j them were born five 
children : Sophia, William, Eli, Stephen 
and John, the last named dying at the age of 
two years. 

In 1838, when Eli Grannis was si.xteen 
years old, he moved with his parents from 
Connecticut to Chautauqua county, N. Y., 
where he purchased a farm and had iiishome 
some fourteen years. While living on his 
father's farm in Chautauqua county, Eli, the 
subject of this sketch, was married April 22, 
1846, to Parmelia Skinner, who was born in 
Connecticut April i, 1826, daughter of Aus- 
tin and Almira (Skinner) Skinner. Austin 
Skinner was a shoemaker, and through life 



followed his trade in connection with farm- 
ing. He had five children — Parmelia, Aus- 
tin, Alfred (of Almond township), Almira 
(who died in Wisconsin aged thirty years), 
and one that died in infancy. The family 
moved to Chautauqua county, N. Y. , in 
1828, and the mother died in 1840, when 
Parmelia was fourteen years old. Austin 
Skinner subsecjuently married Sarah Blanch- 
ard, who bore him seven children : Albert, 
Anson, Sarah, Asa, Amelia, Aaron and Ida. 
After his marriage Eli Graimis began house- 
keeping in Chautauqua county, and lived there 
nearly six years. He then went to Penn- 
sylvania, and for two years engaged in the 
furniture business. His father, Harvey 
Grannis, had in the meantime, in the fall of 
1852, migrated to Wisconsin, and settled on 
a farm near Waupun, where he died in April, 
1867, his wife surviving him until August, 
1 874. Eli followed his parents to Wisconsin 
in 1853, and rented a farm in the same vicin- 
ity. The same year he bought eighty acres in 
Pine Grove Tp. , Portage county, and in 1855 
settled there. It was a new country, and the 
farm was situated in a vast wilderness, the 
journey from Waupun being made in a wa- 
gon drawn by horses. Lucius Hinckley 
came with them. He had already built a 
house in which all lived until Mr. Grannis 
could put up a small frame house of his own. 
Deer abounded in the forest, and could be 
seen at almost any time from the winclows 
of the house. Mr. Grannis dealt largely in 
real estate, at one time owning 400 acres. 
He hired most of the breaking done, devot- 
ing his own attention to his home farm and 
to his real-estate operations. He now owns 
140 acres of land, besides village property 
in Freehold, Pennsylvania. 

In August, 1864, Mr. Grannis enlisted in 
Company F", Fifth Wis. V. I., and was mus- 
tered in at Madison. The regiment went di- 
rectly to Virginia and participated in the 
siege of Petersburg ; was then ordered to 
Sailor's Run, and assisted in the pursuit of 
Gen. Lee's army until its final surrender at 
Appomattox. The Fifth Wisconsin returned 
to Burke's Station and was dispatched to 
Danville, N. C. , to subdue Johnson's army, 
but the latter's surrender made active opera- 
tions unnecessary. Mr. Grannis returned 



io66 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



with the regiment to Burke's Station, where 
it remained until Sherman's army arrived. 
Mr. Grannis was in the Grand Review at 
Washington, and was honorably discharged 
June 30, 1865, reaching home July 4. He 
is now a member of Plainfield Post No. 197, 
G. A. R. In politics Mr. Grannis is a Re- 
publican. He has been chairman of Pine 
Grove township, has served as assessor, and, 
as noted above, filled other positions of re- 
sponsibility and trust. He is one of the 
foremost citizens of Pine Grove township, 
intelligent, public-spirited, enterprising. No 
one in the township possesses in a greater 
degree than he the confidence and high es- 
teem of his fellowmen. 



HENRY E. MARTIN, secretary and 
treasurer of the North Side Lumber 
Company, Stevens Point, Portage 
Co., Wis., is a native of New York 
State, born at Whitehall May 4, 1847, a son 
of Alwyn and Laura Ann Martin, who were 
of English descent. The father, who was a 
lumber dealer in W'hitehall, manufacturing 
all kinds of lumber from logs purchased in 
Canada, died in Whitehall at the age of 
si.xty-three, the result of an accidental blow 
with an axe on the foot. His widow, now 
eighty years of age, is still living at White- 
hall. " 

Our subject received his education at the 
public schools of his native place, and at 
Yale College, from which institution he 
graduated in the class of '70. After leaving 
college he entered the employ of the Luding- 
ton. Wells & Vanschaick Company, lumber 
dealers and manufacturers at Menimonee, 
Wis. , with whom he remained ten years as 
bookkeeper and superintendent, at the end 
of which time he entered into partnership 
with A. Spies, in the manufacturing of lum- 
ber, the style of the firm being Spies & 
Martin, which was dissolved at the end of 
four years. Mr. Martin removed to Stevens 
Point, Wis., and formed a partnership with 
E. J. Hildreth in a lumber and planing-mill; 
but at the close of a year a joint-stock com- 
pany was formed, called the North Side 
Lumber Company, Stevens Point, having a 
sawmill and planing-mill, which gave em- 



ployment the year round to an average of 
forty hands, our subject being secretary and 
treasurer. 

Mr. Martin was married June 18, 1874, 
at Menominee, Mich., to Miss Lizzie B. Hil- 
dreth, who was born at Chateaugay, N. Y. , 
daughter of Capt. Edmund J. and Elizabeth 
(Copps) Hildreth, and seven children were 
born to them, as follows: Ella Blanche (who 
died when a one-year-old infant), Alwyn, 
Laura E., Leslie Frank, Grace E., Gladys 
M., and H. Arthur, all at home. Mr. and 
Mrs. Martin are members of the Presbyter- 
ian Church. Politically, he is independent 
in sentiment. He has served the city of his 
adoption as mayor one year, alderman two 
years, and chief of the fire department two 
years. Socially he has been a member of 
the F. & A. M. since 1873, and is now a 
Knight Templar. 

HM. HITTNER, M. D. This well- 
known physician and surgeon was 
born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1868, 
a son of Dr. H. M. and Margaret 
(Doherty) Hittner. 

The father of our subject was a native of 
Germany, was educated at Munich, and at 
twenty years of age located in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, where he began practice. Through 
the Civil war he was assistant surgeon to 
Prof. Kepler, and after its close resumed 
his residence in Cincinnati, where he was 
for several years chief clinical assistant to 
Prof. Bartholow. He moved to Milwaukee, 
Wis., in 1877, whence he removed to Two 
Rivers, Wis., where he died in 1892, and 
where his widow, a native of Ohio, still re- 
sides. They were the parents of six chil- 
dren, as follows: Lizzie, wife of H. W. 
Luckon, of St. Paul, Minn. ; Dr. James, 
residing in Seymour, Outagamie Co. , Wis. ; 
Maggie, married to J. R. Zettleman, of 
Chicago, 111.; Dr. H. M, , subject of this 
sketch; Kate, and Bertha.- 

Our subject was nine years old when 
taken by his parents to Milwaukee, and 
twelve years old when they moved to Two 
Rivers, in 1880. His early education was 
received at Milwaukee, and in 1882 he 
graduated from the high school at Two 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1067 



Rivers; he next attended Cincinnati Busi- 
ness College, from which he graduated in 
1884. He then read medicine with his 
father until prepared to enter Bellevue 
Hospital Medical College, New York, in 
which he took one course, 1889-90, and 
this was followed by three consecutive 
courses at Rush Medical College, Chicago, 
111. , from which he was graduated with the 
class of 1893, immediately after which he 
became the associate of Dr. Minahan, de- 
voting his forenoons to practice at St. 
Vincent's Hospital, and his afternoons to 
office practice. The Doctor has built up a 
lucrative practice, making a specialty of 
surgery in connection with general routine 
duties. He is equally popular with his 
fellow professionals as with the public, and 
is a member of the F"o.\ River Medical 
Society. 



M 



ATTHEW WADLEIGH, a citi- 
zen of whom any State might be 
proud, a man whose presence 
might benefit any community, and 
whose name would refiect honor upon any 
office or station, is one of the many loyal and 
industrious men the Dominion of Canada has 
sent to the Western States. 

A native of the Province of Quebec, he 
was born September 26, 1821, in the town 
of Hatley, county of Stanstead, a son of 
Samuel and Mary (Evans) Wadleigh, the 
father a native of Sutton, New Hampshire, 
and a farmer by occupation, the mother of 
Vermont. Samuel Wadleigh was killed by 
accident when our subject was but two and 
a half years old, and the widowed mother 
subsequently married Jonathan V. Pool, of 
Stanstead, also a farmer. Young Matthew 
remained on the home farm in Canada 
with his mother and step-father until 
he was nineteen years old, at which 
time he commenced agricultural pursuits 
for his own account on the old home- 
stead, which was partly inherited by him, 
subsequently making himself sole proprie- 
tor of the estate by purchase of his mother's 
and sisters' interests. On this farm he 
continued until he was thirty-five years old, 
when, in 1857, he came to the Upper Wis- 



consin Valley, first locating at Jordan, after- 
ward, about the year i860, moving to Ste- 
vens Point, where he began merchandising, 
for ten years conducting a general store in 
connection with lumbering, in which latter 
iudustry he is still largely interested. On 
coming to Portage county, Mr. Wadleigh 
formed a partnership with his father-in-law, 
Lemuel P. Harvey, and together they erected 
a sawmill on the Big Plover river, some six 
miles from Stevens Point. Mr. Harvey dy- 
ing in 1859, Mr. Wadleigh then bought from 
the heirs of the deceased their interest in the 
business, and conducted the mill and lum- 
ber business alone for several years, at the 
end of which time he purchased what was 
known as the McGreer property at Jordan, 
consisting of mill and lands, at the same 
time receiving into partnership Mr. Walker, 
the firm name being Wadleigh & Walker, 
who subsequently bought property adjoining 
the McGreer mill, consisting of lands and 
water-power, which lying on the opposite side 
of the river gives them control of the water- 
power at that point. The firm continued 
until Mr. Wadleigh bought out his partner's 
interest, and he has since carried on the 
business alone, the Jordan mill being still in 
operation. Our subject has bought and en- 
tered pine lands to a considerable extent, 
and everything pertaining to the lumbering 
business; in fact, during his long residence 
of nearly forty years in this section of the 
State, he has proved one of the most active 
of business men. He took a deep interest 
in the bringing of the Wisconsin Central 
railroad to Stevens Point, and when the 
charter was granted for the building of the 
road Mr. Wadleigh was appointed one of 
the incorporators, to fill a vacancy; also on 
the organization of the Wisconsin Central 
Railroad Company he became one of the 
directors, remaining as such for many years, 
finally resigning. Indeed it is a matter of 
fact that he was the most active of all those 
interested in getting this road to run to 
Stevens Point, his time and influence, from 
the very first surveys (which were under his 
personal charge and direction), being given 
with enthusiasm toward the consummation 
of the much-desired acquisition. In politics 
he is a Democrat, though up to the Greeley 



io6S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 



campaign he was a Republican, and has 
served the city of his adoption as alderman 
and mayor. 

In the county of Stanstead, Province of 
Quebec, Canada, Mr. Wadleigh was mar- 
ried to Miss Judith Harvey, by whom he 
had five children, as follows: Henry M., 
married Lora Eljis, and lives at Stevens 
Point; Mary L. , now deceased, was the wife 
of A. J. Agnew; Lucy C. is the wife of A. 
G. Cate, and lives at Amherst, Wis. ; Char- 
lotte Elizabeth married F. G. Kerwin, and 
is now deceased; Eva Maria (deceased) was 
the wife of W. W. Hazeltine. 



CHARLES D. LEMLEY is a self- 
made man, one who by hard labor, 
thrift and honorable dealing has suc- 
ceeded in life. In the history of his 
career are no exciting chapters, his life 
having been purely a business one — there- 
fore all the more encouraging, as it shows 
what can be accomplished by stead}' indus- 
try and resolute purpose. In recording the 
lives of the prominent and influential citi- 
zens of Wood county, the list would be in- 
complete without the sketch of this well- 
known and highly respected gentleman. 

Mr. Lemley was born in Hinsdale, Berk- 
shire Co., Mass., May lo, 1822, and is 
a son of Solomon and Lily (Davis) Lemley, 
who were natives of Connecticut, removing 
thence to Berkshire county, where they re- 
sided until called to the home beyond. The 
father was born August 10, 1796, and died 
February 25, 1865. The mother was born 
December 26, 1796, and died February 22, 
1888. Both had rounded the allotted span 
of threescore years and ten, and were most 
highly-esteemed people. In their family 
were three children, of whom Charles D. is 
the eldest, the others being Zeruah Ann, 
and James Willis, who died July 25, 1838, 
at the age of five years. Our subject ac- 
quired his education in the common schools, 
and in the academy of his native town, 
which he attended through the winter sea- 
son only, as in the summer months he was 
employed in a woolen-mill. Subsequently 
he secured a position in the Boston & Al- 
bany depot at Hinsdale, Mass. , where he 



continued several years, and later learned 
the trade of carpentering, which occupation 
he yet pursues. The year 1856 witnessed 
his migration to the West. He bade adieu 
to home and friends in the East, and jour- 
neyed to Grand Rapids, Wis., but after 
about a year returned to his native town. A 
few months later, however, he again went 
to Grand Rapids with his family, and in that 
place and in Centralia has resided continu- 
ally since, being a well-known resident of 
Wood county. After his arrival within its 
borders, he engaged in business as a carpen- 
ter and millwright, and erected the first pulp 
mill ever built on the Wisconsin river, also 
the first store building in Centralia, which 
structure was occupied by Messrs. Jackson 
& Garrison, and has since been occupied by 
a number of the most prominent business 
concerns of Centralia. He has erected many 
private residences and public buildings, and 
throughout the community is known as a 
thoroughly honorable contractor, faithfully 
living up to any agreement into which he 
enters. 

The domestic relations of Mr. Lemley 
have been pleasant, although the family 
circle has been broken by the death of his 
wife. He was happily married in New Leb- 
anon, N. Y. , February 7, 1849, to Emeline 
Buckley, who was born in Glenham, N. Y. , 
March 8, 1830, and died at her home in 
Centralia, November 15, 1893. Their union 
was blessed with three children — James 
Willis, born in Hinsdale, Mass., April 
3, 1852, and now residing in Centralia; 
Charles Carroll, born in Hinsdale, June 14, 
1855; and Lillie Sophia, born in Centralia, 
September 21, 1 865 (she was married August 
6, 1887, to Timothy O'Riely, a telegraph op- 
erator of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul Railroad Company, and stationed at 
Centralia). The family attend the Congre- 
gational Church. 

In the sense of office seeking Mr. Lem- 
ley is not a politician, but is a warm friend 
of the measures and principles that he be- 
lieves calculated to produce good govern- 
ment and promote the welfare of the coun- 
try. He is a stanch Republican and has the 
courage of his convictions, upholding the 
views which he believes to be right, unbi- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



1069 



ased by fear or favor. He takes great de- 
light in traveling, and has seen much of our 
country, thus being broadened in mind and 
knowledge, and securing a fund of anecdote 
and experiences that makes him an interest- 
ing conversationalist. He has several times 
visited the Pacific coast, and of late years 
has usually passed the winter in California, 
becoming very familiar with much of that 
countr\'. 



EMANUEL MENNET. a prominent 
veteran of the war of the Rebellion, 
and the present able postmaster at 
Centralia, is numbered among the 
honored pioneer settlers of Wood county. 
He was born in Orbe, Clinton-Vaud, Swit- 
zerland, September 14, 1835, and is one of 
a family of eleven children born to Emanuel 
and Euphrosine (Faucon) Mennet, also 
natives of Switzerland. The father died at 
his native home in the land of the Alps in 
1847, but the mother still survives, and at 
the advanced age of eighty-eight years is 
still well-preserved, both mentally and physi- 
cally; she resides with her daughter, Mrs. 
Rossier, in Centralia. Of the children we 
have record of the following: Sophia, wife 
of E. Dutruit, ex-county treasurer of Lin- 
coln count}'. Wis., and a resident of Mer- 
rill; Caroline, widow of E. B. Rossier, of 
Centralia; Emanuel; Adolphe, who is living 
in Santa Fe, N. M. ; and Emma, widow of 
Cieorge Voyer, of Centralia. 

Our subject attended the public schools 
of his native town until he was ten years of 
age, when he went to Geneva, Switzerland, 
and there pursued his studies in college 
until fifteen years of age. In 1850, the 
widowed mother with five of her children 
emigrated to the United States, and located 
at Highland, 111., where they were joined by 
Emanuel in the spring of 1851. He there 
engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1857, 
at which time he came to Centralia, being 
one of the first settlers in that locality. 
Here he engaged in all the duties pertaining 
to general lumbering until i860, when he 
returned to the homestead at Highland, 
Illinois. 

The military record of Mr. Mennet is the 



story of faithful, honorable service. He en- 
listed July 27, 1 86 1, in Company D, Fifty- 
ninth 111. V. V. I., and after its organization 
at St. Louis the regiment was sent im- 
mediately to the front, and for nearly four 
years was under almost constant fire. The 
first engagement in which Mr. Mennet par- 
ticipated was at Pea Ridge. He was also 
in the campaign through Missouri in 1861, 
and participated in the battles of Corinth, 
Perryville, Stone River, Murfreesboro, 
Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission- 
ary Ridge and Ringgold. He was not long 
in the ranks as private, being soon promoted 
to orderly-sergeant, and at the battle of 
Stone River, December 22, 1862, for meri- 
torious services rendered at the battle of 
Pea Ridge, he was further promoted to the 
rank of first lieutenant, and on May 5, 1863, 
at Murfreesboro, he was made captain. In 
January, i 864, he re-enlisted with his com- 
pany, and was granted a thirty-days' fur- 
lough, within which time he visited his 
Illinois home, reporting on the expiration of 
his leave of absence for duty at Chatta- 
nooga, where with his company he was as- 
signed to the Fourteenth Corps under Gen. 
Stanley, which formed a part of Sherman's 
army, and served all through the Atlanta 
campaign, taking part in the engagements at 
Tunnel Hill, Rocky Face, Dalton, Resaca, 
Cassville, Pine Top, Kenesaw, Smyrna, 
Jonesboro and the siege of Atlanta. On 
the evacuation of that city. Gen. Thomas' 
brigade went to Nashville, and Capt. Mennet 
led his company in the battles of Columbia, 
Franklin and Nashville, in the last named 
being so severely wounded in the left elbow 
that he lost the use of his arm. For a time 
he was unable to lead his company, but as 
soon as possible reported at Nashville, and 
was sent with his regiment to Texas. On 
account of his physical condition, however, 
he was appointed brigade commissary with 
headquarters at San Antonio, Texas, serv- 
ing in that capacity until the Fifty-ninth 
Illinois was mustered out of service at New 
Kraumfelds, Texas, December 8, 1865. 
He received his final discharge in Spring- 
field, 111., January 13, 1866, after spending 
nearly four and a half years in hard service 
in defense of his adopted country, having 



loyo 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



participated in nineteen general engage- 
ments and almost daily skirmishes, while 
for six months of the year 1 864 he was under 
Rebel fire every day. 

Capt. Mennet at once returned to his 
home in Centralia, and established a general 
mercantile store which he carried on until 
1870. In 1872 he assumed the general 
management of and became book-keeper in 
the store of John Edwards & Co., at Port 
Edwards, Wis., where he remained until 
June, 1893. when he was appointed post- 
master at Centralia, and entered upon the 
duties of the office, which he is now filling 
to the satisfaction of all concerned. On 
May 24, 1866, the Captain wedded Mary J., 
daughter of John Wesley and Elitha (Dugger) 
Elliff, natives of Gallatin, Tenn. Their two 
children are Robert E., of Centralia, and 
Lenore, wife of Charles H. Rodd, of Stevens 
Point, Wis. , a conductor on the Wisconsin 
Central railroad. 

Capt. Mennet is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, also of Grand Rapids 
Lodge, No. 128, F. & A. M. ; Stevens Point 
Chapter, No. 34, R. A. M. ; Asylum of 
Crusade Commandery, No. 17, K. T. , of 
Stevens Point; and Centralia Lodge, No. 75, 
A. O. U. W. His life has been one of de- 
votion to duty, of strict adherence to princi- 
ple and of honorable, straightforward dealing 
in all business relations, and thereby has he 
won the confidence and high esteem of a 
large circle of friends and acquaintances. 
As a citizen, official, soldier and friend 
Capt. Mennet is worthy of the respect which 
is accorded him. 



AMHERST DOUGLAS TENANT. 
A biographical record of Wood coun- 
ty would be incomplete were promi- 
nent mention not made of this gen- 
tleman, who is the oldest citizen residing in 
Grand Rapids. His long and well-spent 
life has been such as to win him universal 
confidence and esteem, and he will leave to 
his family the priceless heritage of a good 
name. He was born in Clinton county, N.Y. , 
February 5, 1806, and is a son of Samuel 
and Mary Tenant, both of whom were na- 
tives of Massachusetts. Of their family of 



eleven children two died when quite young, 
and nine reached adult age; but our subject 
is now the only living representative of that 
family. 

In the county of his nativity Mr. Tenant 
was reared and educated, receiving onh' such 
a limited education as could be obtained in 
the common log schoolhouse of the country 
in those days. When his school life was 
ended he turned his attention to farming 
and carpentering, and during much of his 
career his energies have been devoted to 
those occupations. The father having died 
when the son was seventeen years of age, 
the care of the farm devolved upon him and 
his brother, and to the development and cul- 
tivation of the homestead they gave their 
close attention. In this way were the early 
years of our subject passed — a period of 
labor, interspersed with few leisure moments. 
In 1832, when twenty-six years of age, Mr. 
Tenant was united in marriage with Miss 
Laura Aldrich, a native of St. Lawrence 
county, N. Y., and by their union was born 
a numerous family of children, all of whom 
are yet living. Their names and places of 
residence are as follows: Matilda is now 
the wife of William Traher, Appleton, Wis. ; 
William M. is residing in Iowa; Irene is the 
wife of Seth Spafford, one of the most 
prominent merchants of Grand Rapids; Joel 
is also living in Iowa; Richard C. is a resi- 
dent of Abbottsford, Mo. ; Laura is the 
widow of the late Lorenzo Pajiem, of Grand 
Rapids; Caroline is the wife of Willis How- 
enstine; and Mary Ellen, wife of Joseph 
Holt, makes her home in North Dakota. 

After his marriage, Mr. Tenant continued 
to reside in Clinton county, N. Y. , for about 
ten years, and then removed to Rochester, 
that State, where he spent one year. In 
1845 he severed his business relations in the 
East, and started for Wisconsin, arriving in 
Milwaukee on the 17th of August, in which 
city he spent a year and a half working at 
the carpenter's trade. In 1S46 his wife died, 
and the following year he removed to Wash- 
ington county. Wis., which was nothing but 
a wilderness at that time. There was not 
even a road built to Grand Rapids, and Mr. 
Tenant was the earliest settler of that local- 
ity; but he at once began to clear a tract of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



107 1 



land, and make for himself and family a 
home. He built the first schoolhouse in the 
county, and at his own expense hired the 
first teacher. From Washington county he 
removed to Wood county, settling on Indian 
land about five miles from Grand Rapids; 
but of late years he has made his home with 
his daughter, Mrs. Spafford, in the city of 
Grand Rapids. He has been prominent and 
active in the upbuilding and development 
of Wood count}-, instrumental in its organ- 
ization and in opening up this locality to 
civilization. He was a volunteer during the 
French Rebellion, serving for three months 
in the regular army under General Wool. 
Notwithstanding his advanced age Mr. Ten- 
ant is still hale and heart}', and is yet active- 
ly engaged in the cultivation of berries and 
small fruit on an extensive scale. 



GARRETT W. MASON, well known 
in Centralia, Wood county, as one 
of its progressive citizens, is num- 
bered among Wisconsin's native 
sons, his birth having occurred in Briggs- 
ville, Marquette county, August 15, 1857. 
His parents, Michael H. and Margaret 
(Slowey) Mason, were both natives of the 
Emerald Isle. In 1847 the father became 
a resident of Grand Rapids, Wis., one of 
the first settlers of Wood county, and was 
employed as a pilot on the Wisconsin river. 
In 1859 he removed his family from Briggs- 
ville to Saratoga, Wis., but still continued 
his work on the river until embarking in 
agricultural pursuits near Saratoga. There 
he still lives, a prosperous resident of that 
town, respected by all who know him. 
His wife has been called to the home be- 
yond, dying in February, 1887. In their 
family were seven children, and of the six 
surviving members Garrett W. is the eldest; 
then follow James Thomas, now a resident 
of Centralia; Michael Henry, living in Sara- 
toga, N. Y. ; Ellen Louise, wife of Emanuel 
Voyer, a resident of Centralia; and Elizabeth 
Catherine, employed as a bookkeeper in a 
store in Nekoosa, Wis. Garrett W. ac- 
companied the family on the various re- 
movals above mentioned, and in the district 
schools of Wood county his education was 



obtained. Like his father he became 
identified with the lumbering interests of 
Wood county, and from 1876 until 1884 
was engaged in rafting lumber on the Wis- 
consin river, after which he took up his 
present line of business. He now devotes 
his time to the retail liquor trade, and dur- 
ing the eleven years of his connection there- 
with has become well-established. 

On August 17, 1887, Mr. Mason was 
married to one of Centralia's fair daughters 
— Miss Ida Cleveland — her parents, Sher- 
man and Harriet Cleveland, having located 
here at an early date. The only child of 
Mr. and Mrs. Mason, Michael Lee, died at 
the age of four months. They are attend- 
ants upon the services of the Roman Catho- 
lic Church, and in his political connections 
Mr. Mason is a Democrat, but has had 
neither time nor inclination for public 
office. He has long resided in Wood county, 
has witnessed much of its growth and de- 
velopment, has seen its wild lands trans- 
formed into beautiful homes and farms, and 
its hamlets grow into thriving towns. In the 
work of progress and upbuilding he has 
borne his part and although he is yet a 
young man well deserves mention among 
the honored pioneers of Wood county. 



NAPOLEON JOSEPH BOUCHER 
of Centralia, Wood county, is a 
descendant of one of the oldest 
French families in America. Gas- 
par Boucher, to whom he traces his ances- 
try, was born in Langy, in the district of 
Montagne, France, and counts among his 
descendants governors, judges, bishops and 
others who are prominent in professional and 
commercial circles. He had a brother who 
served as governor of Three Rivers in the 
Province of Quebec, Canada. His brother, 
Marie Boucher, was also born in the dis- 
trict of Montagne, France, in 1589. A son 
of Caspar Boucher, named Peter Boucher, 
was Lord of Montbrum, an instructor of 
militia troops, and was commander of the 
militia on the south side of the St. Law- 
rence river in Canada, in 1729. 

Thus sprang from an honored and illus- 
trious family. Napoleon Joseph Boucher 



1072 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



has so lived as to bring no reproach upon 
the worthy name he bears, having gained 
the high regard of all with whom he has 
been brought in contact. He was born in 
Kildare, Joliette county, Province of Quebec, 
Canada, February 22, 1855, and is a son of 
Edward and Elenor (Fleury) Boucher, who 
were also natives of the same province. 
The father is still living, and is engaged in 
merchandising at Three Rivers, Canada; 
the mother departed this life February 28, 
1873. Our subject was reared and educat- 
ed in his native town, and after leaving 
school went to Three Rivers, where he 
learned the carriage maker's trade, follow- 
ing that business until 1875, on the 15th of 
June of which year he left Canada for the 
United States, taking up his residence in 
Centralia, Wis. , where he learned the 
trade of harness making. In 1886 he formed 
a partnership with Valentine Landry, and 
embarked in business as a harness maker, 
their connection continuing until 1889, when 
the partnership was dissolved by Mr. 
Boucher puchasing Mr. Landry's interest. 
Since that time he has been sole proprie- 
tor, conducting the business on his own ac- 
count, and as the result of systematic 
methods, careful attention to all details and 
persevering enterprise, he has won success. 
Mr. Boucher was married in Grand 
Rapids, Wis., in 1876, b)' Rev. Father 
Perin, to Mary Bergeson, of Centralia, 
daughter of Joseph and Angelica (Valle) 
Bergeson, highly respectable French peo- 
ple. She died September i , 1 890, the 
mother of six children, all of whom are yet 
living, their names and dates of birth being 
as follows: Permili Mary, May 18, 1877; 
Amanda M., June 20, 1879; William Na- 
poleon, 1881 ; Anna Angeline, 1883; Edward 
Joseph, October 7, 1885; and John Bap- 
tiste Athanase, July 6, 1889. Mr. Boucher 
was again married in Grand Rapids, May 
24, 1893, by Rev. Father Beyerle, his sec- 
ond union being with Madeline Josephine 
Barnley, a daughter of David and Sarah 
(McCall) Barnley, the former of English, 
the latter of Scotch descent. Mr. Boucher 
and his family are communicants of the 
Roman Catholic Church, and in his political 
views he has always been a Democrat. He 



is recognized as one of the representative 
business men of Centralia, and in the com- 
munity where he now lives has many warm 
friends and acquaintances. 



SETH REEVES, a representative of 
an old English family, is one of the 
earliest settlers of Wood county, and 
one of its prominent and leading 
citizens. He was elected the first mayor of 
Grand Rapids, proving one of her most 
popular officials. Born in Leeds, England, 
February 6, 1833, he is a son of William 
and Ann Reeves, whose family consisted of 
seven children, only three of whom survive, 
as follows: Mary Ann, widow of William 
Oakes, who makes her home near Leeds, 
England; Fanny, widow of F. A. Lever- 
sedge, now residing in Bradford, England; 
and Seth. The parents both died in southern 
Wisconsin, and their remains now repose in 
Mineral Point Cemetery. 

Our subject was reared in his native land, 
receiving his education in Leeds, and at the 
age of seventeen years came with his parents 
to the United States. He first made his 
home in the southern part of Wisconsin, 
where he engaged in agricultural pursuits 
for about eight years, after which he fol- 
lowed bookkeeping and lumbering to some 
extent. In 1856, he removed to Grand 
Rapids, where he has since resided, and has 
been largely interested in the lumbering 
business in Wood county, meeting with suc- 
cess in his undertakings. He takes an active 
interest in the promotion and welfare of the 
county, and Grand Rapids has no truer 
friend or one who cares more for its growth 
and advancement, in which he aids in every 
possible way. Besides being the first mayor 
of the city, Mr. Reeves has honorably filled 
the offices of city treasurer and city clerk. 
He also served as alderman of Grand Rapids, 
and was chairman of the county board, as 
well as holding other county offices, in which 
he ever discharged his duties with prompt- 
ness and fidelity. He has always the best 
interests of the community at heart, and 
was one of the earnest promoters of the 
Grand Rapids Free Library. He is one of 
the directors of the Valley railroad, but has 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPRICAL RECORD. 



1073 



now retired from active life. By the citi- 
zens of Grand Rapids he is held in the 
highest esteem for the faithful manner in 
which he tilled all the offices to which he 
was elected, as well as for his sterling quali- 
ties and upright business character. 

Mr. Reeves was married, in 1859, to 
Elizabeth Rablin, daughter of John and 
Elizabeth Rablin, and seven children were 
born to them, four of whom survive: Maria 
E., wife of F. J. Solar, residing in Kau- 
kauna. Wis. ; William Henry, a resident of 
Grand Rapids; Laura Ann, who makes her 
home with her parents; and Arthur Charles, 
living in the mining districts of Colorado. 
Our subject and his family are consistent 
members of the Congregational Church, and 
in its work take an active part. In politics 
Mr. Reeves af^liates with the Democrats, 
and is an earnest and stalwart supporter of 
the party. 



JIVERSON is numbered among the 
representative business men of Stevens 
Point, Portage county, where since 
1876 he has been engaged in the jew- 
elry trade. A native of Denmark, he was 
born near Veile, March 28, 1861, and is a 
son of Ever Knudson and Ane Kristine Mad- 
sen. The father was a watch maker by 
trade, and with him our subject learned the 
business. The family numbered nine chil- 
dren, in order of birth as follows : Anna C. ; 
Rasmus A., who is now engaged in the jew- 
elry business in San Francisco, Cal. ; Mary, 
wife of Dr. W. McClain, of Cincinnati, 
Ohio ; Peter C. , who is now living in Den- 
mark ; Ishanna, who died at the age of 
eighteen years ; J., subject of this sketch ; 
Henry, a jeweler of Texas ; Eva, deceased 
at the age of five years ; and Jensen, who is 
still in Denmark. 

Mr. Iverson obtained such educational 
privileges as the common schools of his day 
and locality afforded, and in 1873 sailed for 
America, accompanied by his brother Ras- 
mus and his wife, the travelers landing in 
New York after a voyage of thirteen days. 
Mr. Iverson at once proceeded to Evanston, 
111., where he secured work at his trade. 
He was a stranger in a strange land, with 



no influential friends or capital to aid him in 
starting out in life ; but he was young, am- 
bitious and energetic, and resolved to make 
the most of his opportunities. After a year 
and a half he went to Highland Park, 111., 
where for nearly a year he carried on busi- 
ness on his own account, meeting with good 
success. He then left his store in charge 
of his brother Henry, who had just come to 
America, and in 1876 removed to Stevens 
Point, Wis., which then contained a popu- 
lation of about 3,000, and where he estab- 
lished a store on Main street, renting a 
building. In 1879 he purchased a lot, upon 
which he erected a good two-story brick 
building, 43 .\ 266 feet. His stock at first 
amounted to about $2,000, but has been 
increased to meet the growing demand until 
it now stands at a valuation of $9,000. He 
also owns real estate valued at $30,000, and 
to-day his accumulations amount to some 
$65,000, all acquired since his arrival in 
America, where, unhampered by caste or 
class, a man of ability may steadily work his 
way upward. 

Mr. Iverson now devotes the greater 
part of his time and attention to the real- 
estate business, and judicious investments 
have brought him a handsome property. 
He may truly be called a self-made man, 
for he deserves all the credit that comes 
through well-directed efforts and good man- 
agement. In politics he has always been a 
supporter of the Republican party, while 
socially he is affiliated with the Odd Fellows. 



GEORGE LANGLEY, senior mem- 
ber of the firm of Langley & Alder- 
son, so well and favorably known in 
lumbering circles as progressive, 
leading men of business, is a native of Michi- 
gan, born of Irish ancestry May 26, 1849, 
at Battle Creek. 

Asa Langley, father of our subject, a 
Kentuckian by birth, and a farmer and 
dealer in horses by occupation, was a pio- 
neer of Michigan, in the days when that 
State was a Territory, he being but a lad at 
the time of his advent there. He married, 
in Michigan, Miss Augusta Thayer, a native 



I074 



COMMEMORATire BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of New York State, and ten children were 
born to them, as follows: Nelson, George, 
Wilmington, Cleveland, Victor, Rachel, 
Josephine, Fannie, Martha and Jessie, of 
whom Cleveland died in Merrill Wis., when 
twenty-eight years old, the entire family 
having, in 1855, removed from Michigan to 
Wisconsin with teams. The father settled 
on wild land in Green Lake county which 
he improved, and where he died in Febru- 
ary, 1 890, leaving many relatives and friends 
to mourn his loss, for he was in all essentials 
a highly-respected and much-esteemed citi- 
zen. In his political predilections he was a 
pronouuced I^epublican, was a counselor in 
his party, and from time to time filled vari- 
ous minor offices. His widow is now living 
in Milwaukee, and he had one brother, Will- 
iam, and five sisters who lived "down 
South." 

George Langley. of whom this sketch 
more especially pertains, received such edu- 
cation in his boyhood as was obtainable at 
the common schools of this section of Wis- 
consin; for, as will be seen, he was about six 
years old when his father brought the family 
from Michigan. When fourteen years of 
age he hired out with Montgomery, White 
& Anthon\', contractors, to drive cattle from 
Berlin, Wis., to the mines in northern 
Michigan, making two trips during that win- 
ter. About this time the war of the Rebel- 
lion was raging furiously, and our subject, 
boy as he was, determined to become an 
unit in the vast armament that was doing 
duty at the front; so on March 17, 1864, he 
enlisted at Detroit, Mich., in Company A, 
Sixteenth Mich. V. I. In this regiment he 
served his country bravely and faithfully 
until May, 1865, when, on account of 
wounds received at Hatcher's Run in Feb- 
ruary, that year, he was honorably dis- 
charged, and returned to his old Wisconsin 
home. In the fall of the same year he went 
west to Minnesota and Dakota, in which 
States he tarried some two years, prospect- 
ing for a probable settlement, on his return 
to Wisconsin locating in Wausau, where he 
worked in the woods winters, and running 
lumber on the rivers summers, he acting as 
pilot for the rafts on the Wisconsin and 
Mississippi rivers, which was before the days 



of railroads in this part of the countrj*, and 
lumber was floated down these rivers to St. 
Louis. For twelve years Mr. Langley fol- 
lowed this vocation, and then, in 1875 lo- 
cated at Schofield, Marathon Co. Wis., 
where he remained engaged in various bran- 
ches of the lumber business until 1885, when, 
in company with W. B. Schofield, he built 
the saw, planing and shingle mill, at Mer- 
rill, which they operated under the firm 
name of Schofield & Langley, in connection 
keeping a general store, until 1889, in which 
year Mr. Langley closed out his interest in 
that business. Since then he has been con- 
ducting a general pine-land, log and lumber- 
ing business at Merrill (whither he had come 
to reside in 18S5) in partnership with Mr. 
Alderson, and they have succeeded in secur- 
ing one of the most solid and lucrative trades 
in that line in northern Wisconsin. 

In October, 1873, our subject was mar- 
ried to Miss Jennie Lemma, a \'ermont lady, 
daughter of Turfield and Elmira (Peabody) 
Lemma, the former of whom was a native 
of Canada, born in 1825 of French descent. 
His parents moved to Vermont when he was 
three years old, and he there in after years 
married Miss Peabody, by whom he had five 
children, to wit: Jennie, Eugene, Field, 
Hugh and Ella, the last named dying at the 
age of two years. In 1858 the family came 
to Wisconsin, locating at Stevens Point, 
later taking up their residence in Schofield, 
where the parents are yet living, Mr. Lemma 
following his trade of millwright and saw- 
filer. To Mr. and Mrs. Langley were born 
five children: Edna E., Ina V., George F. , 
Jean, and Clytus. the latter of whom died 
when two years old. In religious faith the 
entire family attend the services of the M. 
E. Church at Merrill. Politically our sub- 
ject is a Republican, at all times a zealous 
and active worker for his party, but no as- 
pirant for office. Socially he is a member 
of Virginia Falls Lodge No. 226, F. & A. M., 
Merrill, of Chapter No. 51, Wausau, of the 
Royal Arch, and the St. Omer Commandery 
No. 19, of Wausau. He is an admirable 
illustration of the successful self-made man, 
honored and respected by all as a thorough 
business man, a loyal citizen and a good 
neighbor. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1075 



ROBERT W. LYON, one of the most 
prominent pioneer settlers of Grand 
Rapids, was born in Syracuse, N. Y. , 
Aug;ust 20, 1831, and is a son of 
Rufus and Maria (Martin) Lyon, both natives 
of the Empire State. The father was a 
farmer by occupation, and removed from 
Syracuse, N. Y. , to Racine county, Wis., in 
1843. In this State he also engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits, following same up to the 
time of his death, which occurred in 1858 
of cholera. Our subject is one of a family 
of four sons, all of whom still survive, as 
follows: George L. , who makes his home in 
Milwaukee; Robert W., subject of this 
sketch; Martin C, residing in Kentucky; 
and Albert L. , living in Antigo, Wisconsin. 

Robert W. Lyon came with his parents to 
Racine county. Wis., when twelve years of 
age, and received a limited education in the 
common schools of that county. After leav- 
ing school he went to Milwaukee, where he 
learned the trade of horse shoeing, remain- 
ing there for about three years, when he 
went to Sauk county, this State, and started 
in business for himself. After a residence 
in that county of about two years, he re- 
moved to Grand Rapids, arriving there in 
1853, and he has since made that place his 
home, being engaged in active business, in 
which he has met with success. For twenty 
years he acted as a river pilot in the lumber- 
ing business during the summer season on 
the Wisconsin river, while the winter months 
were spent in working at his trade. 

On December 14, i860, in Milwaukee, 
Wis., Mr. Lyon was united in marriage with 
Miss Eunice Jennings, a daughter of Isaac 
and Harriet Jennings, the father a promi- 
nent physician of Milwaukee. To our sub- 
ject and his estimable wife have been born 
four children, namely: Walter W. , who is 
now residing at Elroy, Wis. ; Dora B. , wife 
of Franklin Goodman, who makes his home 
in Hutchinson, Minn. ; Florence, wife of Ed- 
ward Carver, a resident of Everett, Wash. ; 
and Robert William, who is still under the 
parental roof. 

Mr. Lyon exercises his right of franchise 
in support of the Republican party, and ear- 
nestly advocates its principles. He has 
never been a politician in the sense of office 



seeking, but for four years served as under 
sheriff of Wood county, with credit to him- 
self and to the satisfaction of his constitu- 
ents. He is a leading citizen of the com- 
munity, and takes an active interest in the 
growth and welfare of Wood county, which 
has been his home for so many years. He 
and his family are connected with the Meth- 
odist Church. 



ASA B. NEWELL, an active and 
progressive citizen of Rhinelander, 
Oneida county, is a native of lower 
Ripon, Wis., born April 23, 1845, ^ 
grandson of Asa Newell, who was of Massa- 
chusetts birth, in which State he worked in a 
woolen-mill. He had a family of si.\ chil- 
dren, named in order of their birth, Tru- 
man v., Maria, Janus, Larkin, Jennie and 
Charles. The father of these came to Wis- 
consin about the year 1 844, locating on a 
farm at Kenosha, but some years later re- 
moving to Berlin, where for a few years he 
engaged in the manufacture of lumber; 
then buying a farm near Green Lake he 
there passed the remainder of his days, dy- 
ing in 1879, his wife following him to the 
grave in a few months. He was a remark- 
ably active man, one well-informed on the 
topics of the day. 

Truman \'. Newell, the eldest of the 
family of Asa Newell, Sr. , learned the 
trades of carpenter and cabinet-maker in 
Massachusetts, in which State he was mar- 
ried, an event that will be more particularly 
referred to farther on. For a time there- 
after he worked at his trade in New York 
City, coming to Wisconsin about the year 
1844, and making his first western home in 
Ripon; but after a couple of years he moved 
to Berlin, and there remained until 1849, 
working at his trade in both places. In the 
latter 3'ear he took a trip to California, 
journeying across the Plains, starting with a 
party of twelve, all of whom, however, on 
reaching the Mississippi, returned home ex- 
cept Mr. Newell, who, falling in with an- 
other party whose destination was Cali- 
fornia, pushed on his way, nothing daunted. 
In that State he remained eight years, work- 
ing at his trade, farming and dealing in cat- 



1076 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tie, and was in Sacramento during the 
memorable flood of 1854 in that city. In 
the meantime his wife and children were 
making their home with her brother in the 
East, and there he rejoined them on his re- 
turn from California in 1857. From the 
East they came west again, locating in 
Aurora, 111., where Mr. Newell was en- 
gaged in the butchering business until the 
breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, 
when in the capacity of sutler he accom- 
panied the Thirty-sixth 111. V. I. to the seat 
of war, remaining till the close of the cam- 
paign with that regiment, which was at- 
tached first to the armj- of the West, later 
to the army of the Cumberland. After the 
war he came direct to Berlin, Wis., bring- 
ing his family, and there remained until 
1871, lumbering and working at his trade. 
In 1880 he opened a restaurant in Eau 
Claire, which he carried on until 1884. In 
the latter year he came to Rhinelander and 
opened a general store, which after a year 
he sold out, taking up instead the hotel 
business, later building a block and hotel, in 
which latter he remained but one year when 
he retired from active life, since when he 
has occupied his time chiefly in looking after 
his property, and keeping up the improve- 
ments on same. In his political predilec- 
tions he is a Democrat, and while a resi- 
dent of Green Lake county he served as 
sheriff, also holding various other minor 
offices on both the county and township 
boards. At one time he was connected 
with the I. O. O. F. 

On May 15, 1842, at what was then 
known as Cabottsville, Mass., Mr. Newell 
was married to Miss Esther L. Bissell, who 
was born May 19, 1819, in Greenfield, 
Franklin Co., Mass., daughter of Jabez and 
Elizabeth Bissell. Mr. and Mrs. Bissell 
were natives of Canada, whence they 
moved to Massachusetts, later to New 
York State, where they both died in 1869, 
the father on August 20, the mother on 
December 31. They were the parents of 
five children, to wit: Calvin F., Esther L. , 
Livingston J., Russell B. and R. E. Mr. 
and Mrs. Truman V. Newell have two chil- 
dren now living: Asa B. and Ella J. 
(Mrs. Crawford.) 



Asa B. Newell, whose name opens this 
sketch, received his education at the com- 
mon schools of his boyhood period, and 
when his father went to the front with the 
Thirty-si.xth III. V. I. he acompanied him 
throughout the entire campaign, which be- 
ing ended they came to Berlin, Wis. , where 
our subject worked at the lumber business. 
In 1872 he went to Chicago in the employ 
of a firm who established a lumber yard, 
with whom he continued until 1876, when 
he went east, remaining there until the 
winter of 1877, when he proceeded to Sagi- 
naw, Mich., thence later to Manistee, in 
both places continuing in the lumber busi- 
ness. In the spring of 1884 he came to 
Rhinelander with his father, in order to 
assist him in the store, etc., and he has since 
resided there. 

On August 23, 1883, Mr. Newell was 
married to Miss Emma Van Giesen, who 
was born January 30, i860, at Fort Wayne, 
Ind. , daughter of Mason and Margaret 
(Livisen) Van Giesen, natives, respectively, 
of New Jersey and New York City, and who 
had six children: Francis, William, Emma, 
Edward, Joseph and Edith; the parents died 
at Fort Wayne, the father (who was a con- 
tractor by occupation) in 1872, the mother 
in 1877. To Mr. and Mrs. Asa B. Newell 
have been born three children: Esther, 
Harvey and Bernice. Politically our subject 
is a Republican; socially he is affiliated with 
the I. O. O. F. ; in religious faith he and his 
wife attend the services of the Congrega- 
tional Church. 



JOHN DALY. Since the settlement of 
the State of Wisconsin, the lumber 
business has been one of its leading in- 
dustries, and chief among it represent- 
atives in Wood county is the gentleman 
whose name begins this article. He has al- 
most literally hewed his way to success and 
has step by step risen in the business until 
he is now president of the Centralia Lumber 
Company, of Grand Rapids. 

^ir. Daly was born in McKean county, 
Penn., in 1841, and is a son of John and 
Martha (McDonald) Daly. The parents had 
a family of fifteen children, seven of whom 



COMMEMORATIVE BlOORAPHWAL RECORD. 



1077 



survive at the time of this '.vriting, as follows: 
James, now living in Minnesota; John, sub- 
ject of this sketch; Mary, wife of Sim Bur- 
wocks; Timothy, who is residing near Cen- 
traiia. Wis. ; William, who makes his home 
in the Keystone State; Ellen, widow of 
Michael McEllman, and a resident of Penn- 
sylvania; and Charles, a prosperous farmer 
of Grand Rapids township, Wood count3^ 

The subject of this sketch was educated 
in the common schools of his native town, 
and was reared to habits of industry and 
perseverance, which have been important 
factors in his career and have proven of incal- 
culable benefit to him in his business life. He 
first earned his living by work on farms in the 
neighborhood of his own home, and subse- 
quently embarked in the butchering business, 
which he carried on until his removal to 
W^isconsin. In the year 1864 he moved 
westward to Wisconsin, and has since been 
a resident of Grand Rapids. His first venture 
in this place was in the butchering business, 
but of late years he has been extensively con- 
nected with the lumbering interests of Wood 
county, and is now at the head of the large 
lumber concern which does business under 
the name of the Centralia Lumber Com- 
pany. 

Mr. Daly was united in marriage with 
Miss Elizabeth Smith, and by their union 
have been born four children, three of whom 
survive — Edward, Mamie and Percy. Mr. 
Daly is a man of sound business principles, 
systematic in his methods, and his affairs 
ably managed have brought him prosperity. 
He has made the most of his opportunities 
through life, and his success has come to 
him as the just reward of earnest and honest 
labor. 



GOTTLIEB SCHROEDER, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, is one of the 
prominent citizens of Merrill, Lin- 
coln county, and the owner and 
proprietor of the " German House" at that 
place. He is a native of Germany, born in 
July, 1842, and is a son of Gottlieb and 
Caroline (Erdmain) Schroeder, who had a 
family of four children — Henrietta, Fred- 



rica, Ann and Gottlieb. The father, who 
was a laborer in Germany, on coming to the 
United States, in 1856, located on a farm in 
Dodge county. Wis., where he remained 
three years. In 1859 he removed to Mara- 
thon county, Wis., there operating a farm 
near Wausau, which he made his home un- 
til 1883, when he sold his interests there, 
and came to Lincoln county. He died in 
Merrill in 1884; his wife had passed away 
in Marathon county in 1878. She was a 
daughter of Charles and Sophia Erdmain, 
who were also natives of Germany, where 
the father served as a soldier, and died from 
a wound received in battle. The mother 
later came to the New W^orld, where her 
death occurred. 

At the age of thirteen years Gottlieb 
Schroeder came to America with his parents 
and their family, who crossed the stormy 
Atlantic in search of the fortune denied 
them on their native soil. Being the only 
son, he always remained at home assisting 
his father in the care and cultivation of the 
farm, and helped to clear and improve three 
tracts of land. In 1883 he came to Mer- 
rill, where he built his present property, and 
there opened a hotel, to which he gave the 
name of "German House." He still con- 
tinues to conduct the same, and from the 
traveling public receives a liberal patronage. 
The building is a fine brick structure, and is 
furnished throughout in an excellent man- 
ner. The interests and comfort of his guests 
are the great objects he is striving for, and 
no more genial or pleasant landlord can be 
found in this portion of the State. The 
house is well fitted up, and is convenient 
and comfortable. Our subject has also had 
considerable experience in logging, as for a 
number of years he superintended lumber 
camps. 

In the fall of 1868, in Marathon county. 
Wis. , Mr. Schroeder wedded Alvina Cahn, 
also a native of Germany, who came to the 
New World in 1856 with her parents, Fred- 
erick and Louisa (Rusch) Cahn. She is one 
of a family af ten children, all of whom 
were born in the Fatherland, viz. : Fredrica, 
Charlotte, Charles, Frederick, August, John, 
Louis, Amelia, Albertina and Alvina. Her 
oldest brother, Charles, enlisted during the 



I07S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Civil war and died in the service. Her 
father served as a soldier in Germany in 
181 2 and 181 3. He was born in 1796, and 
after coming to this country engaged in 
contracting and building until his death, 
which occurred in 1871. His wife was 
called to her final rest in 1874. Mr. and 
Mrs. Schroeder have had eleven children: 
George, Ellis, Emma, Gottlieb, Alvina (de- 
ceased), Cordelia, Edna, Frederick, Reno, 
and two that died in infancy. The oldest 
son, George, is now deputy sheriff of Lin- 
coln county. In politics Mr. Schroeder is 
a stalwart Democrat, and while in Mara- 
thon county was chairman of the county 
board seven years and assessor six years, 
but since coming to Merrill has steadily re- 
fused to accept office, though an active 
worker in his party here, and one of its 
counselors. He is a member of the Lu- 
theran Church, and belongs to the Sons of 
Hermann and the Druiden German Society, 
in both of which organizations he is an 
active member. Besides his fine property 
in Merrill, Mr. Schroeder also owns some 
wild land in Lincoln county. He is an in- 
dustrious, energetic man, all that he now 
possesses having been acquired through his 
own labors. His parents were very poor 
on coming to America, and the first money 
he here earned was in the harvest fields, 
where he was employed for $ i . 50 per month. 



HERBERT W. LORD. As the lives 
of our leaders in literature, politics 
and religion have imparted inspira- 
tion to humanity and civilization, so 
will the record of conscientious, energetic 
and successful men from the ranks of busi- 
ness be of infinite value both to contempo- 
raries and descendants. We can learn from 
their successes, and their achievements will 
serve as a means of encouragement to 
others. 

Herbert W. Lord was born in Milford, 
Penn., October 24, 1840, and is a son of 
Rev. Samuel T. and Anita (Smith) Lord, who 
had a family of eight children, five yet liv- 
ing, as follows: Herbert W. ; HobartD., a 
leading jeweler of Texas; Richard S., a 



bookkeeper in the employ of the New York, 
Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad Company, 
and residing on the old homestead in the 
Keystone State ; George S. , a cabinet 
maker of Chattanooga, Tenn. ; and Helen 
M., wife of Thomas Widdecombe, a resi- 
dent of New York City. The father of this 
family, who was an Episcopal minister, 
died in Meadville, Penn., where he was en- 
gaged in missionary work. His wife still 
survives him, and is living at the old home- 
stead in Meadville with her son Richard S. 

The gentleman whose name introduces 
this sketch was educated in the district 
schools of Meadville, and during much of 
his early life was employed as a salesman, 
bookkeeper and in general office work. In 
February, 1862, he took an important step, 
enlisting fn Company E, One Hundred and 
Eleventh P. V. I., which went from Camp 
Reed to the front, and was stationed for 
garrison duty at Baltimore. On account of 
disease contracted in the service Mr. Lord 
returned home in the fall of 1862, and in 
June, 1864, he was drafted for service. He 
reported at Camp Reynolds, Braddocksfield, 
Penn., and was assigned to Garrison B, do- 
ing garrison duty, and also serving as hos- 
pital steward for about six months, when on 
account of ill health he was again discharg- 
ed and returned to Meadville, Penn. He 
was under the care of a physician during the 
greater part of 1865, but finding that his 
health did not improve, on the advice of his 
doctor he sought a home in the West and 
purchased a farm near Friendship, Adams 
county, Wis., where he remained until 1869, 
engaged in agricultural pursuits. In that 
year Mr. Lord returned to his old home to 
assist in caring for the farm, for his father's 
health had failed, and upon the lat- 
ter's death he was appointed administrator 
of the estate, settling up the affairs in con- 
nection therewith. 

In July, 1 87 1, Mr. Lord again started for 
Adams county. Wis., leaving Meadville with 
a team of horses and carriage on the i ith of 
July, and reaching Friendship, \\'is. , on the 
1st of August ; he was accompanied by his 
wife and one child. In October of the 
same year he came to Grand Rapids and 
embarked in harness making, carrying on 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1079 



business until March, 1873, when his stock 
and place of business was destroyed by iire, 
involving a loss of over $5000. But with 
indomitable courage he set to work to re- 
trieve his fortunes, and within a month had 
a new building erected on the old site and 
was actively engaged in trade. In 1880 his 
store was destroyed by the flood which 
caused so much devastation in Grand Rap- 
ids that year, but he had saved his stock by 
removal and was soon again established in 
business a few doors from the old stand, 
carrying on harness making until 1884, when 
he was appointed railway postal clerk. 
After filling that position for about four 
months he was discharged on account of 
political reasons, and went into the auction- 
eer business in the interest of the Jeweler's 
League of New York City. After nine 
months he removed to Dorchester, Wis., 
and took charge of a lumber yard for the 
firm of John.son, Reitbrook & Halsey, of 
Milwaukee, and later he went to Vesper, 
Wood county, where he took charge of the 
store owned by Sherry, Cameron & Co., 
having charge of the same until September, 
1893, since which time he has been a resi- 
dent of Grand Rapids. 

On February 6, 1866, in Friendship, Alle- 
gany Co., N. Y. , Mr. Lord wedded Mary 
E., daughter of Luther B. and Densey A. 
Stowell, of that place, and three children 
came to this union: Minnie, who was born 
in June, 1867, and died in 1870; Reginald 
Heber, who is also deceased; and Charles 
E. Mr. and Mrs. Lord attend the Congre- 
gational Church, and are highly-respected 
people of the community. The Republican 
party finds in our subject a stanch advocate, 
and in 1873 he was elected on that ticket as 
justice of the peace. In 1876 and 1877 he 
was city clerk of Grand Rapids, and prior to 
that time served one term as under sheriff. 
He was also district deputy lumber inspector 
for about two years; from 1876 until 1884 
was district lumber inspector, and during the 
same period held the office of circuit court 
commissioner. In 1894 he was again elected 
justice of the peace, and in the same year re- 
sumed his business of harness making, which 
he now follows. His public career and 
private life are alike above reproach, and 



whether in political, business or social circles, 
he is the same honored and esteemed gentle- 
man. 



PHILIP ZIPP, proprietor of the 
" Lakeview Summer Resort," was 
born in Germany, October 30, 1835, 
and is a son of Philip H. and Cath- 
erine (Phillips) Zipp. In the family were 
but two children, Philip and Philipena. 
The father who was a mason by trade, came 
to America in 1849, settling in Cleveland, 
Ohio, where he still resides. He had one 
brother and one sister — John and Elizabeth — 
who came to this country ere his arrival; 
but little else is known concerning the family. 
During the Civil war Mr. Zipp aided in the 
defense of the Union as a member of an 
Ohio regiment. His wife died in Cleveland, 
Ohio, sometime since. 

The gentleman, whose name introduces 
this review, acquired his education in the 
schools of the Fatherland, and at the age of 
fourteen accompanied his parents on their 
emigration to America. He remained at 
home until seventeen years of age, after 
which he learned masonry, his father's occu- 
pation, and went to the copper regions near 
Lake Superior, where he worked at his trade 
through the summer months, while in the 
winter season he engaged in mining. After 
three years he started for Green Bay, Wis., 
making the journey on foot. In February, 
1855, he reached his destination, and there 
took stage to Fond du Lac, Wis. , where he 
worked at his trade until after the breaking 
out of the Rebellion. Prompted then by a 
spirit of patriotism he in August, 1862, 
offered his services to the government, and 
was assigned to Company E, Twenty-si.xth 
Wis. V. I., commanded by Capt. Kittler. 
His regiment was first attached to the 
Eleventh Corps, Army of the Potomac, and 
in 1 863 joined the Army of the Cumberland. 
Mr. Zipp saw much hard service, participat- 
ing in the hotly contested battles of Fred- 
ericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, 
Missionary Ridge, besides others of minor 
importance. He was wounded at the bat- 
tle of New Hope Church in 1864, and on 
account of the injuries sustained was hon- 



loSo 



COMMEMORATIVE SJOGRAPSICAL RECORD. 



orably discharged October 26, 1864. He 
entered the service as a private, and was 
mustered out as sergeant. True and loyal 
to the cause of his adopted country, he was 
always found at his post of duty, faithfully 
performing any task allotted to him. 

On leaving the South Mr. Zipp returned 
to Fond du Lac, where he worked at his 
trade until 1882, when he came to Merrill, 
and the following year was here joined by 
his family. Again he carried on contract- 
ing and building, and his handiwork is seen 
in most of the important buildings of that 
place. In the spring of 1889, in company 
with his son Otto, he purchased his present 
home, the "Lake View Summer Resort," 
which is pleasantly located a mile from the 
city limits. They have a fine hotel on the 
banks of a beautiful lake, and the resort is 
becoming a great favorite with the people of 
Merrill and surrounding cities, while from 
St. Louis and the South come many visitors. 
The place is growing in popularity, new im- 
provements are added each year, and every 
effort put forth to please and entertain the 
guests. Sail and row boats are kept on the 
lake, and the place furnishes excellent op- 
portunities for fishing and duck hunting. 

In Fond du Lac, in 1856, Mr. Zipp wed- 
ded Catherine Faber, who was born in Ger- 
many in 1836. They had a family of nine 
children, three of whom died in infancy; 
Catherine is now Mrs. Bast; Otto is with his 
father in business; Herman and John are 
grocery merchants of Merrill; Ida (now Mrs. 
Oder) resides in Muscatine, la., and Lena 
is the wife of William Anis, of Merrill. In 
politics, Mr. Zipp is a Republican, and has 
served as alderman of the Seventh ward, 
and is also a member of the Grand Army 
Post of Merrill. 

Otto Zipp, who is associated with his 
father in business, was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of Fond du Lac, and then learned 
the painter's trade, which he followed some 
twelve years, then joined his father as one 
of the proprietors of the ' ' Lake View Hotel. " 
He married Theresa Lesselyoung, a native 
of Wisconsin, and a daughter of Nicholas 
and Mary (Cook) Lesselyoung, who were 
natives of German}-, and had a family of 
eight children, six of whom are living, as 



follows: Theresa, Caroline, Christina, Delia, 
Nicholas and Michael. The parents of this 
family are still living, and the father follows 
farming. Otto Zipp is a Republican, filled 
the office of alderman for one year, and is 
now serving as deputy sheriff. His wife is 
a member of the Catholic Church. Both 
Philip and Otto Zipp are gentlemen of 
pleasant and genial manner, possess good 
business ability, and are making a success in 
their new enterprise. 



FISHER BROTHERS, HENRY and 
JOSEPH, who are conspicuous 
among the progressive young busi- 
ness men of Grand Rapids, Wood 
county, were both born in the town of Stein- 
thal, Manitowoc Co., Wis., the former 
March 24, 1864, and the latter July 28, 
1866, and are sons of George and Elizabeth 
(Burkenmire) Fisher, who were natives of 
Germany. 

The brothers were educated in the public 
schools of their native town, and after leav- 
ing school worked on their father's farm. 
In 1 88 1 Henry Fisher left the parental roof 
and went to New Holstein, Wis., where he 
learned the trade of harness making, follow- 
ing that occupation there for three years. 
He then removed from that place, but 
within a year located in Milwaukee, where 
he engaged in harness making for about two 
years, removing on the expiration of that 
period to Marshfield, Wis., where he con- 
tinued for about two-and-a-half-years. In 
1888 he came to Grand Rapids, and worked 
at harness making in the employ of others 
until 1894, when he was joined by his broth- 
er Joseph, and they formed their present 
partnership, the firm being known as Fisher 
Brothers, manufacturers of and dealers in 
harness. Although this firm has been in 
existence about a year they are already en- 
joying a good trade, which argues well for 
future success. 

After leaving school Joseph Fisher work- 
ed on his father's farm for about five years, 
and then went with his parents to Marsh- 
field, Wis., in 1887. There he learned the 
trade of carpentering, which he followed 
both in Marshfield and Loyal, Clark Co., 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1081 



Wis., carrying on operations along that 
line until joining his brother in the harness- 
making business as before stated. 

On November 25, 1890, was celebrated 
the marriage of Henry Fisher and Miss 
Augusta Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and 
Elizabeth Brunner, residents of Port Ed- 
wards, Wis. They have a family of three 
children — Mary E. , born November 6, 1891 ; 
Eda Helen, born January 17, 1892; and 
Henry Antoine, born March 10, 1894. With 
Henry Fisher resides his mother, his father 
having died in Marshfield in 1888, at the 
age of sixty-seven. The brothers are both 
supporters of the Democratic party. They 
are men of good business ability, enterpris- 
ing and progressive, and are regarded as 
leading merchants of Grand Rapids. The 
family are Roman Catholic in religious belief. 



M 



ATHES NEUBAUER, who is now 
engaged in the saloon business in 
Merrill, Lincoln county, came to 
this country from the far-away 
Fatherland. His birth occurred in Ger- 
many, December 28, 1855, and he is a son 
of Martin and Mary Neubauer, also natives 
of that land, where the father was born in 
1817. He had five children, as follows: 
Casper, Joseph, Johanna, Mary and Mathes. 
The family crossed the Atlantic to the New 
World in 1856, locating near Milwaukee, 
Wis. , where the father engaged as a com- 
mon laborer. For some time they then 
made their home near Hartford, Wis., but 
in 1 88 1 removed to Merrill, where the par- 
ents are still living. 

The educational privileges afforded our 
subject were very limited, and all his school 
training was received in the common schools 
of this State. As soon as he was large 
enough he began work, aiding in the sup- 
port of the family, and he remained at home 
until coming to Merrill. On his arrival 
here he began work in the lumber woods, 
which occupation he followed during the 
winter season for seven years, while in the 
summer he was employed in a sawmill. On 
the expiration of that time he started a sa- 
loon in Merrill, which business he still con- 
tinues, meeting with such success that in 



1889 he was enabled to purchase his present 
property. 

In August, 1888, Mr. Neabauer wedded 
Elizabeth Smith, who was born in this 
country, a daughter of George and Henri- 
etta (Schroeder) Smith, and by this union 
there were two children: Elmer, the elder, 
who died at the age of two years; and Will- 
iam, now the joy and the light of the house- 
hold. The parents of Mrs. Neubauer, who 
are farming people near Merrill, have had 
eight children: William, Otto, Frank, Rob- 
ert, Emma, Henrietta, Elizabeth and 
George. The last named was killed by a 
team running away on the 4th of July, 1893. 
In politics, Mr. Neubauer is an inflexible ad- 
herent of the Democratic part}-, which he 
always supports with his ballot, although he 
is no politician in the sense of office-seeking. 
Socially, he holds membership with the 
Druiden Lodge, a German society. Be- 
sides his property in Merrill he also owns a 
farm near that city, and is accounted one of 
the foremost men of the county. 



CHARLES H. BADEAU, one of the 
prominent and highly-respected citi- 
zens of Merrill, Lincoln count}', is 
now foreman for the Weidans Sash 
and Blind Manufactory. He was born in 
Westchester county, N. Y., October 5, 1853, 
and is a son of Hanford S. Badeau, born in 
the same place in 1818. As the name would 
indicate the family is of French origin, the 
grandfather of our subject, Zebediah Badeau, 
having been born in France. He came to 
America, however, when a young man, and 
here married Elizabeth Seely, a native of 
New York, and a daughter of Albert and 
Elizabeth Seely. By this union four chil- 
dren were born — Alfred, Hanford, Mary and 
Catherine. The father of this family, who 
was a carpenter by trade, died in New York 
in 1877; the mother had passed away some 
time previous. 

Hanford Badeau is a well-educated man, 
and in Westchester county has held several 
offices, including that of sheriff, which he 
filled for eight years. He is still a resident 
of that county, where he is widely and favor- 
abl}' known, and is one of the leading agri- 



io82 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



culturists. He became a member of the 
Union army during the RebelHon, and served 
with distinction for a year and a half. He 
was married in 184010 Miss Anna E. Smith, 
also a native of the Empire State, and a 
daughter of Peter and Eliza (Haight) Smith, 
who were farming people. She is one of a 
family of five children, the others being 
Rufus, Henry, Eliza and Mary. Her father 
was a very prominent man in the vicinity 
where he resided, and held a number of 
county offices. He was born in 1800, and 
during the Mexican war he served first as a 
private and then as an officer. Both he and 
his wife died in New York. 

The primary education of Charles H. 
Badeau was obtained in the common schools, 
but he completed his literary course in 
Crystal Academy at New Haven, Conn. At 
the age of seventeen he learned the trade of 
a machinist, which he followed for a number 
of years. He came west in 1877, going to 
northern Manitoba on the government sur- 
vey, where he remained about eighteen 
months. He then came to Wisconsin, lo- 
cating in Oshkosh in 1 879, and there operated 
an engine for some three years, at the ex- 
piration of which time he entered a sash and 
blind factory, beginning as a repairer. In 
the spring of 1 890 he removed to Merrill, 
where he received employment with the 
Central Manufacturing Co., serving as super- 
intendent until the plant was destroyed by 
fire in May, 1894. He now holds the re- 
sponsible position of foreman of the Weidans 
Sash and Blind Factory. He has always 
been faithful to the interests of his employ- 
ers, and deserves the high estimation in 
which he is held. 

In October, 1S77, in Oshkosh, Wis., Mr. 
Badeau was married to Miss Emma Reed, 
who was born in Omro township, Winne- 
bago Co., Wis., in March, 1862, a daughter 
of James and Eliza (Laning) Reed. She is 
one of a family of six children, who in order 
of birth are as follows: Esther, Louise, 
Emma, Robert, Albian and Albertina. Her 
father was a native of Scotland, where his 
birth occurred in 1806, and in that country 
his parents both died. He had two brothers, 
Robert and Charles, but he was the only one 
of the family to come to the United States, 



where he arrived about 1842. By occupa- 
tion he was a farmer. His wife's birth oc- 
curred in Ireland in 1830, and she came to 
the New World with her parents. She had 
two brothers and four sisters — William, 
John, Esther, Jane, Fannie and Emma. 
Mrs. Reed died in 1888, Mr. Reed in 1894. 
He was one of the honored pioneers of Osh- 
kosh, Wisconsin. 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Badeau has 
been blessed with seven children — Robert, 
James, Forrest L. , Eva E., Walter R. 
and Ruble, living, and one son, Charles, 
deceased in infancy. The parents have 
many friends in Merrill, and their genuine 
social and moral worth gives them a high 
place in the regard of their fellow citizens. 
Our subject is a member in full standing of 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 
politics he was formerly a Republican, but 
now casts his ballot with the Populists, and 
was elected on that ticket mayor of Merrill 
in 1892, in which office he served for one 
year, pro\'ing a popular executive. 



CLAUS KALLMAN is one of the well- 
know'n and highly-respected citizens 
that Sweden has furnished to Grand 
Rapids, Wood county. His birth 
occurred in Torikoping, that country, March 
5, 1847. His parents died during his in- 
fancy, and he was reared by his great-grand- 
parents until he was twelve years of age, 
attending the common schools of his native 
town; but his educational privileges were 
somewhat meagre, and much of his knowl- 
edge has been gained in the school of ex- 
perience. In his youth he learned the shoe- 
maker's trade, which he followed in his na- 
tive land until 1871, the year of his emi- 
gration to the United States. He took up 
his residence in Centralia, Wis., but after 
about six months came to Grand Rapids, 
where he has resided continuously since. 

On November 2, 1878, Mr. Kallman 
was married in Grand Rapids to Miss 
Bertha Payel, a native of Pomerania, Ger- 
many, daughter of Carl and Fredrica (Gas- 
telar) Payel. Their union has been blessed 
with seven children, but they lost their first 
child — Winna, who was born January i, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1083 



1 88 1, and died August 8, same year. The 
others are Oscar Francis ColHn, born March 
7, 1882; Albert, born August i, 1886; 
Frank Albert, born February 3, 1887; Ella 
Theresa, born October 4, 1890; WilliauT, 
born January 10, 1891 ; and Carl John, born 
March 4, 1 894. The parents hold mem- 
bership with the Moravian Church, and in 
his political views Mr. Kallman is a stal- 
wart Republican. During his long residence 
in Grand Rapids he has won the confidence 
and regard of all with whom he has been 
brought in contact, and is numbered among 
the valued citizens of the community. 



PETER GROVER, a pioneer settler 
and highly-esteemed resident of Port- 
age county, was born in Farmersville, 
N. Y., August 25, 1818, and is a son 
of John and Esther (Reed) Grover.who were 
born, respectively, in New Jersey and Massa- 
chusetts. 

John Grover went to Illinois about 1839, 
and settled on a claim, which had been taken 
by his son Peter, at the head of the Sugar 
river, v\'here he resided up to the time of his 
death. He was twice married, and by his 
first wife had ten children, all of whom grew 
to maturity, but only three are now living: 
Peter, the subject of this sketch; Esther, 
wife of George W. Reynolds, and Edwin, 
who resides in Rockford, Winnebago Co., 
Illinois. 

Peter Grover was reared a farmer's boy, 
and received but a limited education in 
the primitive log school house of those 
days. At the age of eighteen he left 
his home, went to Olean Point, N. Y., 
started from there on a raft of lumber, 
floated down the Allegheny river to Pitts- 
burg, Penn., and from there down the 
Ohio river to Cincinnati, Ohio, where the 
lumber was sold. He then took a steamer 
to Cairo, 111., and from there went .up the 
Mississippi river to Rock Island, 111. From 
there he walked to Savannah, a distance of 
sixty-two miles, and from Savannah to Rock- 
ford, 111., a distance of fifty-three miles. At 
that time there were but two houses on this 
entire route of about one hundred and fif- 



teen miles. From Rockford he went to the 
mouth of the Sugar river, took a claim, built 
a shanty, and remained there until the 
spring of 1837. Then, going to the lead 
mines of Mineral Point, Wis., he drove a 
team in that locality four years, and for the 
following five years was engaged in purchas- 
ing mineral for the firm of Bennett & Reed, 
of Mineral Point. In 1846 he purchased a 
stock of goods, and removed to Wausau, 
Marathon Co., Wis., where he conducted a 
general merchandise business two years; 
then removed to Stevens Point, Portage 
county, where he was in the hotel business 
about three years. During his residence in 
Wausau and Stevens Point he was also en- 
gaged in the lumbering business in connec- 
tion with his other enterprises. 

On March 22, 1850, at Stevens Point, 
Portage county, Peter Grover was united in 
marriage with Celia Loring, who was born 
in the town of Cuba, Allegany Co., N. Y. , 
a daughter of Stanton H. and Artemisia 
(Bloss) Loring. Mr. and Mrs. Grover be- 
came the parents of two children, namely: 
Edwin, born December 25, 1850, wlio 
married Miss Phcebe Paine, of Waupaca, 
Wis., and died December 18, 1893, leaving a 
widow and four children, who reside in 
Amherst, Portage county; and Estella R. , 
born February 22, 1853, who is now the 
wife of Dr. Atwell, a prominent physician 
and druggist of Stevens Point. In 1851 
Mr. Grover removed to what is now the 
village of Amherst, at that time part of a 
vast wilderness. Here he purchased the 
land on which he still resides, building the 
first frame house erected in this part of the 
county, and in this house he entertained the 
county surveyors who were laying out the 
roads. Soon by hard labor and persever- 
ance he converted this primitive land into a 
well-tilled farm, and for the next nine years 
continued to devote his time and attention 
to agricultural pursuits. In 1859, in con- 
nection with A. H. Bancroft, he erected a 
flouring-mill, and engaged in the milling 
business until 1864, when he sold out his 
interest and de\'oted his attention to farm- 
ing, following this occupation up to within 
a period of ten years. Since that time he 
has lived retired, enjoying, with his faithful 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and devoted wife, a well-earned rest after 
an active and useful life. 

Mr. Grover was never a seeker after 
office, and refused many offers of such pre- 
ferment; but he was appointed Deputy 
United States Marshal, and filled that po- 
sition honorably for six years. He also 
took the census of Portage county in 1870, 
and has served as justice of the peace and 
as town treasurer. There are men in all com- 
munities whose lives and characters, like the 
deep under-current of a mighty stream, 
have a deeper and more lasting effect in 
molding their surroundings and in shaping 
the course of events than those of others 
who, to outward appearance, make an im- 
portant showing in their relations to the 
affairs of a community. Among the num- 
ber of these quiet, earnest men, whose 
depth of character and firm uprightness of 
principle e.xcite admiration, and who set 
an example well worthy of being followed, 
is the gentleman whose life history we have 
here briefly outlined. 



HN. RICHARDSON, the popular 
and artistic photographer of many 
years' experience, and whose studio 
is now on the corner of Clark and 
Third streets, Stevens Point, Portage coun- 
ty, is a native of Wisconsin, born May 22, 
1854, in Sparta. 

James N. Richardson, his father, was 
born in Truxton, N. Y., whence he came 
to Wisconsin at an early day; by trade he 
was a wagonmaker, later becoming a farm- 
er, and he is now living retired at Sparta, 
Wis. He was married in New York State 
to Miss Clarissa Webster, also a native of 
Truxton, N. Y., and five children were born 
to them, our subject being the youngest son. 
He attended the district schools of his boy- 
hood days, later taking a course in a more 
advanced school at Trempealeau, Wis. , and 
until he was twenty-one years of age he re- 
mained on a farm. He then moved to 
Sparta, Wis., and entering a marble works 
was there given work usually assigned to an 
apprentice, such as scouring, etc. ; but at 
the end of two years he moved to Sioux 
Falls, S. Dak., where he also found em- 



ployment in a marble shop, remaining there 
three years, at the end of which time he re- 
turned to Sparta, Wis., and commenced the 
art of photography. In this line his brother 
Frank had been already engaged, and the 
two then went into business together, buy- 
ing out a long-established studio in Sparta, 
and for four years conducted a well-ap- 
pointed photograph gallery under the firm 
name of Richardson Bros. Our subject 
then sold out his interest in this enterprise 
to his brother, and coming to Stevens Point 
established his present business in the same 
line; and to such an extent did it increase 
that he was induced to open branch estab- 
lishments in Plainfield, Waushara county, 
and at Scandinavia, Waupaca county, 
which, however, he disposed of later, and 
now owns but one branch gallery, which is 
located at Hancock, Waushara county. His 
gallery in Stevens Point is the leading one 
in the city, and is fitted up with all modern 
improvements and devices calculated to per- 
manently and faithfully " secure the shadow 
e'er the substance flees," and, moreover, he 
is himself a thorough artist, gifted with ex- 
cellent taste and judgment. 

On May 18, 1886, Mr. Richardson mar- 
ried Miss Jennie A. Linneman, a native of 
Stearns county, Minn., and four children 
have been born to this union: Sophia, Clar- 
issa, Margaret and Harold, all living. In 
his political preferences our subject is a Re- 
publican, but seeks not office, as his time 
and attention are devoted to his legitimate 
extensive business. 



THOMAS RILEY, one of the leading 
and enterprising citizens of Lanark 
township, Portage county, has won 
his wa)' to influence and financial 
standing after a comparatively brief struggle 
with fate. In 1882 he felt himself rich 
when he purchased ten acres of wild land — 
now he is a prosperous merchant at Lanark, 
and owns a farm of considerable size. In a 
word, he possesses that push and sagacity 
which carries men to the front. 

Mr. Riley was born at Stevens Point, 
Wis., October 18, 1857, son of Thomas and 
Mary fTimlin) Riley, both natives of Ire- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1085 



land. The father was born in County Mayo, 
and married in the United States. He was 
a laboring man and upon his arrival in 
America worked for some time at railroading 
in Illinois. About 1856, with his wife and 
one child, he came to Stevens Point, Wis. 
For several years he worked at daily labor, 
then bought, and for a short time occupied, 
eighty acres in Plover township, after which 
he moved to Lanark township. After living 
for two years on a rented farm, he in 1864 
bought eighty acres in Section 18, Lanark 
township — a new farm that contained only 
a log house. Mr. Riley was a hard worker, 
and lived to acquire a good home. He died in 
1885, and was buried in Lanark cemetery, his 
wife surviving him several years. Mr. Riley 
was in politics an unwavering Democrat, 
and in religion a devout Catholic. His chil- 
dren were as follows: Mary, who married 
Michael Riley, and died in Lanark town- 
ship; Thomas, subject of this sketch; An- 
thony, a farmer on the home farm in Lanark 
township; John, who died in Lanark town- 
ship; Catherine, a Sister of Charity at Mil- 
waukee; and Annie. 

Thomas Riley received his education in 
the log schoolhouses of Portage county. 
He remained at home until he was twenty, 
and besides working on the farm he picked 
up the carpenter's trade, being gifted with a 
mechanical turn of mind. He was married 
July 3, 1883, in Berlin, Wis., to Miss Ella 
Haney, who was born June 29, 18 58, daugh- 
ter of John and Sarah (Carroll) Haney. 
Mr. and Mrs. Riley have five children, as 
follows: Sarah, Ella, John LeRoy, Mary 
and Catherine, all living. In 1882 Mr. 
Riley had purchased ten acres in the north- 
west quarter of the southwest quarter of 
Section 19. The land was forested, and the 
owner cleared it up and erected a store 
building. He there began a mercantile busi- 
ness, which he has ever since conducted, 
keeping house in the second story of the 
building until 1890, when he erected his 
present elegant residence. He here estab- 
lished the postoffice known as Lanark, and 
has ever since remained the postmaster. 
For some time after his marriage Mr. Riley 
worked at carpentry, and since 1888 he has 
given attention to farming also, now owning 



a well-improved farm of 1 30 acres. In re- 
ligion Mr. Riley and his family are members 
of the Catholic Church, and in politics he 
is an active Democrat. He is frank and 
outspoken in his opinions, and straightfor- 
ward in his dealings. He leads in politics 
and public matters, and is both enterprising 
and progressive. Distinctively a self-made 
man, Mr. Riley is one of the most influen- 
tial and valuable citizens of the township in 
which he resides. 



DAVID D. WILMOT, one of the old 
and honored residents of Portage 
county, was born April 4, 181 5, in 
the town of Lindley, Steuben Co., 
N. Y. He removed with his parents to 
Tioga county, Penn., and remained at home 
until twenty years of age, working with his 
father on the farm, receiving at the same 
time but limited educational privileges. He 
was married June 9, 1836, in Ithaca, N. Y. , 
to Miss Mary J., daughter of David and 
Beula (Price) Allan. They began their 
domestic life on a farm he had just purchased 
in .Tioga county, and in connection with its 
cultivation he engaged in manufacturing 
shingles. A year later he removed to Itha- 
ca, N. Y. , but after a short time returned to 
Pennsylvania, and disposed of his property 
there. 

In June, 1845, after a journey of three 
weeks, Mr. Wilmot reached Boone county, 
111., and in the succeeding summer worked 
a farm on shares. The following winter he 
went to Stevens Point, Wis., where he was 
employed in the lumber woods, and in the 
spring he returned to Illinois. He and all 
his family were ill with fever in the summer 
of 1847, his little son Roscoe dying, and had 
it not been for the kind assistance of neigh- 
bors the family would have suffered terribly. 
As soon as possible, Mrs. Wilmot and two 
children returned to her old home in Ithaca, 
N. Y., while two of the children remained 
with the father until June, 1849, when 
they were once more united in Ithaca. They 
then returned to Tioga county, Penn., where 
our subject engaged in the maimfacture of 
shingles. While living there two daughters, 
Melissa and Eva, died of scarlet fever. 



io86 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In the following September, Mr. Wilmot 
sought a home in Wisconsin, locating with 
his family in Portage county, and pre-empt- 
ing i6o acres of land in Section 33, Amherst 
township. In the winter he engaged in 
logging and in the manufacture of shingles, 
and in the sunnner operated his farm until 
1863, when he traded it for a house and lot 
in Amherst, there making his home until 
1869 — the year of his removal to Knowlton, 
Wis. Just previous to this he bought back 
his old farm, and in the summer operated 
the land, but spent the winter in Knowlton 
with his family. He also owned 500 acres 
of timber land near Knowlton, and disposed 
of much of his timber to shingle manufac- 
turers. In 1886 he disposed of that prop- 
erty, and is now living retired on his farm 
in Amherst township, having secured a hand- 
some competence. 

Mrs. Wilmot died on the old homestead 
in 1859, leaving two children — Harriet and 
Helen. In 1861 Mr. Wilmot wedded Mrs. 
Mary (Fancher) Kusling, a native of New 
York, who by her first marriage had one 
son, Benjamin R., who wedded Martha 
Woodrick. On January 19, 1891, Mr. Wil- 
mot lost his second wife, and September 10, 
1892, he married Mrs. Jane Wilcox Tarbel, 
widow of George Tarbel, by whom she had 
four children. She was born in Bradford 
county, N. Y. , and at an early day came 
with her parents to Wisconsin. She died in 
Chicago, while visiting her daughter there. 
On September 5, 1894, was celebrated the 
marriage of David D. Wilmot and Mrs. 
Millie (McGwin) March, widow of Thomas 
March. She was born in the town of Inde- 
pendence, Mich., October 22, 1842, and is 
a daughter of Thomas and Eliza (Mande- 
ville) McGwin. Her father was born in the 
North of Ireland, and emigrated to America 
when a young man. He was married in 
New York, and subsequently removed to 
Independence, Mich. His children are: 
Sarah, Mary, Catherine, Millie, Hugh, Emily 
and Charles M. The mother of this family 
is now living in her ninety-third year, and 
is making her home with her son in Buf- 
falo, Wis. On her mother's side she is a 
descendant of Gen. Clinton, who command- 
ed the English forces during the Revolu- 



tionary war. Her husband died in Morgan 
county. Wis. Mrs. Wilmot was first married 
February 6, 1875, and by that union had a 
son, William. 

The honored gentleman whose name be- 
gins this review has been a stalwart Repub- 
lican since the organization of the party. 
Although now eighty years of age, he does 
all the work about his little garden, and 
during the past winter sawed and split four 
cords of wood. He is remarkably well pre- 
served, and his long life of usefulness, char- 
acterized by honorable dealing and straight- 
forward conduct, has won him the highest 
regard, while he is respected alike by young 
and old, rich and poor. 

WILLARD DEARING. The Pine 
Tree State has furnished to Port- 
age county many of her prominent 
and progressive citizens, chief 
among whom and well-deserving of mention 
in this volume is the gentleman whose name 
introduces this sketch. He was born in 
Aroostook county, Maine, March 30, 1837, 
and is a son of Hartley and Susan (Russell) 
Bearing. The father, who was a farmer, 
died when Willard was only four years old, 
leaving four children — Eunice, Willard, 
George and Hartley. After his father's 
funeral our subject was taken by his uncle, 
William Bearing, with whom he lived until 
his mother remarried, when he returned 
home. She also died in Maine. 

The educational privileges which our 
subject received were limited to a few weeks' 
attendance at the common schools in the 
winter season. At the early age of thirteen 
he began life for himself, working for neigh- 
boring farmers and earned his first pair of 
"cow-hide" boots by three weeks' labor. 
At the age of fourteen he began working in 
the lumber woods, and was employed in 
various other wa}s during his residence in 
his native State, which continued until the fall 
of 1857. He then started for Wausau, Wis., 
accompanied by his brother George, and his 
cousin George Brannen. They traveled by 
boat to Eastport, Maine, went by way of 
Portland to Boston, by way of Albany to 
Buffalo, then l)\' rail to Waupun, Wis., and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



1087 



by stage to Stevens Point. Their money 
having now given out, they could not seek 
entertainment at a hotel, so they passed the 
night in the woods north of the town, after 
which they walked to Wausau, where they 
found a friend, John Sawyer, who secured 
hotel accommodations for them. 

Willard Dearing soon secured employ- 
ment in the lumber woods, after digging 
potatoes for a few days, and the winter of 
1857-58 he spent in the pineries. During 
the following summer he lay sick, and in 
the following fall found himself $100 in debt. 
The ne.\t winter was spent in the woods, 
then in the summer of 1859 he "ran the 
river" and worked in a sawmill. When 
autumn came he went to the Lake Superior 
copper country, where he engaged in team- 
ing until the breaking out of the Civil war. 
He manifested his loyalty by enlisting Au- 
gust 27, 1864, in Company A, Forty-second 
Wis. V. I. The troops went from Madison 
to Cairo, 111., where they relieved a regi- 
ment doing guard duty, and our subject was 
detailed as a detective to arrest saloon- 
keepers who were supposed to be selling 
liquor to soldiers. Later he was detailed 
to seize military clothing in the possession 
of civilians, and did provost-guard duty in 
Cairo, where he was stationed at the time 
of Lee's surrender. His regiment then re- 
turned to Madison, Wis. He was honor- 
ably discharged in May, 1865, and went at 
once to Parfreyville, Waupaca county, 
where he had left his wife and child. 

In Waupaca, Wis., July 21, 1863, Mr. 
Dearing was married to Irene Collier, a 
native of Maine, and a daughter of Thomas 
Collier. He then removed to Belmont town- 
ship, Portage county, and purchased, in 
Section 27, 160 acres of wild land, upon 
which not a furrow had been turned or an 
improvement made. A few weeks later he 
bought eighty acres in the same locality, and 
on it built his first home, a small shanty, in 
which he located after the war was over. The 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Dearing was blessed 
by the presence of eight children, namely: 
George H., who is now night guard in the 
State penitentiary at Walla Walla, Wash.; 
Judson C, at home; Susan M., wife of 
Fred Dopp, of Almond township, Portage 



county; Thomas M., a farmer of Waushara 
county, W^is. ; Vinna R., wife of Walter 
Shilson; Artie M., at home; Bessie, who 
died at the age of six months; and an infant 
son who died unnamed. 

In the spring of 1866 Mr. Dearing and 
his family located upon the farm which is 
now his home, and in 1890 he erected a 
substantial brick residence, one of the 
best in the township. The farm comprises 
160 acres of good land, of which iio acres 
have been placed under the plow, and, in 
addition to the well-tilled fields, the many 
good improvements indicate the practical 
and progressive spirit of the owner. He is 
truly a self-made man, his prosperity com- 
ing to him through his own efforts, and, 
though he began life in humble circum- 
stances, he steadily worked his way upward 
to a position of affluence. Mr. Dearing is a 
charter member of Belmont Post, No. 115, 
G. A. R., is at present junior vice-counsel- 
lor, and has held other offices. In his polit- 
ical views he has always been a Republican, 
but has never sought or desired the honors 
or emoluments of office. His wife holds 
membership with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and in the community where they 
reside this worthy couple have warm friends 
who honor and esteem them for their ster- 
ling worth and many excellencies of char- 
acter. 



ALBERT J. LEE, a prosperous farmer 
and merchant of Lanark township. 
Portage county, is a son of John 
and Hannah (Humphreys) Lee, the 
former of whom was born at Madely, Staf- 
fordshire, England, a son of Francis Lee, 
who was the son of John Lee. Francis was 
an e.xtensive agriculturist in England, own- 
ing a farm of 640 acres, and considerable 
other real estate. His children were as fol- 
lows: Elizabeth (deceased), the eldest, was 
the wife of James Sillito, and their children 
were: James, William, Betsy, Fannie and 
Clara. Joseph lives in England on the old 
estate. John is the father of Albert J. Henry 
is a resident of London, Canada (he has 
eight children). Richard married Miss Annie 
Minoro, in England, and came to this conn- 



io88 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



try in 1853; by his first wife he had the fol- 
lowing-named children: Hugo, Alfred, Liz- 
zie, and Annie. The mother of these died 
at her home in Waupaca, Wis. , after return- 
ing from a pleasure trip. For his second 
wife Richard Lee married Miss Lizzie Brooks, 
and their children are Charles and Will- 
iam. 

John Lee, father of Albert J. Lee, ac- 
companied by his brother, Henry, sailed 
from Liverpool in the " Empire State," and 
after a voyage of twenty-two days landed in 
New York. They went up the Hudson to 
Albany, by canal to Buffalo, by the lakes to 
Sheboygan, Wis., by wagon to Fond du 
Lac, and thence by boat to Oshkosh, where 
John was engaged in farming and conducted 
a dairy for four years. Here he was mar- 
ried in the spring of 1856. His wife, a na- 
tive of England, came to America with her 
two sisters, and soon after her arrival settled 
in Oshkosh. After his marriage Mr. Lee 
located in Lanark township, on a farm of 
160 acres of wild land which he bought 
from the government, and he has since add- 
ed 160 acres more. The children of Mr. and 
Mrs. Lee are: Albert J., subject proper of this 
sketch; Francis C. , of Plainfield, Wis., who 
married Anna McGregor, by whom he has 
three children — Claud, Clement, and Fred- 
erick W. (married to Miss Laura Welton, 
and they have one child, Ward); and Edwin 
R. , at home. John Lee obtained his edu- 
cation in the schools of his native land, and 
desiring to come to America asked for and 
received fifty pounds from his father, with 
which sum he set out for the Western World, 
where he succeeded in building a home for 
himself and family, and is to-day one of the 
most honored citizens of Lanark township. 
Portage county. 

Albert J. Lee is postmaster at Madely, 
which his father named after his native town 
in England. He is a direct descendant of 
Gen. Lee, who was a cousin and aide-de- 
camp to Prince William, of Saxe-Coburg, 
and therefore a blood relation of Queen Vic- 
toria. On December 15, 1884, Albert J. 
Lee married Miss Jennie McGregor, at the 
home of the bride in Hancock, Wis., and they 
have one child, Leslie J. Mrs. Lee is of Scotch 
extraction, and a direct descendant of that 



famous Scottish hero, Rob Roy. So by 
this marriage are united the descendants of 
two illustrious families. Mr. Lee received 
his education in the district schools of Lan- 
ark, Wis., and was brought up a farmer boy. 
He has been township treasurer and justice 
of the peace for many jears, is a Democrat 
in politics, and has always taken an active 
part in the affairs of his township, where he 
is honored and esteemed by all who know 
him. Both he and his wife are Protestants 
in religious belief. 



WARREN WELLINGTON GOFF, 
M. D., a prominent and successful 
homeopathic physician of Stevens 
Point, Portage county, was born 
in Bradford county, Penn., October 28, 
1827, and is a son of William and Ellen 
(Fox) Goff, who were both born in Pennsj'l- 
vania, and were the parents of ten children. 
Dr. Goff received his primary education 
in the district schools of Bradford county, 
Penn., and afterward attended the public 
schools of Philadelphia. After leaving 
school he learned the trade of millwright, 
which occupation he followed until he was 
twenty-five 3'ears of age, when he entered 
Hahnemann Medical College, at Philadel- 
phia. In 1863 he enlisted in the One Hun- 
dred and Forty-first P. V. I., and served 
in that regiment until the close of the war, 
participating in numerous engagements and 
skirmishes, and was severel}' wounded at 
the battle of Gettysburg. He was mustered 
out at Alexandria, \'a. , in 1865, returned to 
Philadelphia, and resumed his studies in the 
Hahnemann College, graduating with the 
class of 1868. In 1869 he came west, and 
commenced the practice of his chosen pro- 
fession in Marinette, Wis., where he re- 
mained three years. He then removed to 
Green Bay, where he was in practice three 
years, and, in March, 1874, came to Stevens 
Point, where he has been engaged in the 
practice of his profession ever since. 

In 1852, in Bradford, Penn., Dr. W. W. 
Goff was united in marriage with Miss Roxey 
White, and there were born to them five 
children, only two of whom are now living: 
Ida M. and Grace Leola, both residing at 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1089 



home. Mrs. Goff was born in Tompkins 
county, N. Y. , daughter of Sylvester and 
Margaret (Boyce) White. The Doctor is a 
member of the State Medical Society, and 
of the American Institute of Homeopathy. 
In political opinion he is a stanch supporter 
of the principles embodied in the Republican 
party. He has a large and constantly in- 
creasing practice, and, as a live and pro- 
gressive citizen, ranks high in the estimation 
of the general public. 



JOHN HARKNESS. of Amherst town- 
ship, was born in the town of Malone, 
Franklin Co., N. Y. , Ma^' 11, 1842, 
and is a son of Thomas and Jane (Har- 
vey) Harkness, natives of Scotland, the 
former born in 1804, the latter in 1808. 
The father, who was a farmer, about the 
year 1833, accompanied by his wife, sailed 
from their native city, Glasgow, for the New 
World, reaching Quebec, Canada, after a 
voyage of six weeks. In that locality Mr. 
Harkness rented a farm, but after a short 
time removed to Franklin count}', N. Y. , 
where he lived until 1851, when with his 
family he came to Portage count}'. Wis. 
In the town of Stockton he purchased 160 
acres of government land, to which he after- 
ward added eighty acres, and there he suc- 
cessfully carried on agricultural pursuits un- 
til his death in 1888. His wife was called 
to the home beyond the following year. 
Their children were as follows : W^illiam, 
who enlisted in the Fourteenth Iowa Sharp- 
shooters, in i86r, died in the hospital in 
Cairo, 111., leaving a widow and one child ; 
Jane is the deceased wife of Eaton Batch- 
elder, by whom she had one son ; Thomas 
is married, and lives in Atchison, Kans. ; 
Mary wedded Orlando Ward, by whom she 
had two children, and after his death mar- 
ried William Brown ; John is the ne.xt in 
the family ; Margaret became the wife of 
Simon Young, and died leaving two chil- 
dren ; James died in infancy ; Esther is also 
deceased ; Elizabeth is the wife of George 
Pierce, of Plainfield, Wis., by whom she has 
seven children ; Ellen died in girlhood ; Isa- 
bel is the wife of Edward Tenant, of Grand 
Rapids, Wisconsin. 



John Harkness began his education in 
his native town, and after coming west spent 
two years in school in Plover, Wis. , ere a 
school was built in the town of Stockton. 
He there pursued his studies through the 
winter until eighteen years of age, working 
on the farm in the summer. At the age of 
twenty he began work in the lumber woods, 
driving a team, and like the other men was 
obliged to sleep on a bundle of straw in a 
dilapidated shanty. He worked in the 
woods for seventeen winters, and his life has 
been one of great industr}. 

In 1 88 1 Mr. Harkness was married in 
Buena \'ista. Wis., to a daughter of Joseph 
and Elizabeth (Da\ j Kimball, who were na- 
tives of Maine. The grandparents, John 
and Ann (Milliken) Kimball, were also na- 
tives of the Pine Tree State, and their chil- 
dren were Joseph, Jane, Ezra and Abbie. 
The first mentioned was one of the first set- 
tlers in the town of Stockton, Portage coun- 
ty, and later removed to Buena Vista, Wis., 
locating upon a farm where his remaining 
days were passed ; he died in 1885, his wife 
surviving him but two years. Their chil- 
dren were Ann, wife of George Douglas, of 
Buena Vista; Mrs. Harkness, born in Buena 
Vista in March, 1861 ; Mary, wife of Frank 
Douglas, of Buena Vista ; Fred ; and two 
who died in infancy. Mrs. Harkness at- 
tended the district schools of her native town 
until sixteen years of age, and from that 
time until her marriage was successfully en- 
gaged in teaching. She has become the 
mother of three children : Grace, Edward 
and Robert. 

For five years after his marriage John 
Harkness lived on the old homestead, and 
then disposed of that property and moved 
to his present farm in Amherst township. 
Here he built a creamery, which in the win- 
ter of 1 89 1 was destroyed by fire. In 
1892 he erected a cheese factory, which he 
has operated continuously since, and the ex- 
cellent products of that factory find a ready 
sale in the market, yielding to him a good 
income. He cultivates his farm of twenty 
acres merely for his own use. 

Since 1891 Mr. Harkness has served as 
secretary of the Portage County Agricultural 
Society. In 1888 he was elected to the 



logo 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



board of supervisors of Amherst township, 
and filled that office for one jear. In poli- 
tics he is a stanch Republican, and has 
always voted with that party, save once, 
when he supported the Prohibition party. 
He is a warm advocate of temperance prin- 
ciples, and for seventeen years has been a 
member of the Temple of Honor, while he 
and his wife are connected with the social 
orders of that society ; he is also secretary 
of the Modern Woodmen Camp. Mr. Hark- 
ness is a pleasant and courteous gentleman, 
honored and esteemed by all who know him 
for his sterling worth and strict integrity. 



ERNEST S. RAYWORTH, one of 
the leading merchants of Antigo, 
Langlade county, was born in West- 
moreland county. New Brunswick, 
in February, 1864, and is a son of Robert 
Ray worth, a native of England, born in 1835. 
His grandfather, Ephraim Rayworth, 
was a wealthy English merchant who came 
with his family to Canada and purchased a 
large farm on which he spent the remainder 
of his life, his death taking place in 1864. 
He had a family of four sons and two daugh- 
ters by his first wife, the names of his four 
sons being: Joseph, Bolivar, Howard and 
Robert. After the death of his wife he mar- 
ried again, but no children were born to this 
union. He was a well-educated man and 
highly respected. 

Robert Rayworth carried on farming in 
Canada, and was also a mill owner. He 
married Hannah Dobson, also a native of 
Canada, born in 1840, and one of a family 
of seven children, whose names are as fol- 
lows: Job, Busby, William, Elizabeth, Char- 
lotte, Celia and Estran. Her parents were 
farmers. To Robert Rayworth and his wife 
eight children were born, namely: Gertrude, 
Eva, Ernest S., Ellsworth, Myra Eliza- 
beth, Worthen K., Hattie A. and Harold. 
Mr. Rayworth is a man of wide information 
and one who takes a leading part in the pol- 
itics of his locality. He has held a number 
of minor offices, but generally works in the 
interests of his friends rather than his own. 
Both he and his wife are living. Mr. Ray- 
worth retired from business some years ago. 



and is enjoying the results of his early in- 
dustry in a pleasant home. 

Ernest S. Rayworth remained at home 
until he was seventeen, when he went to 
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, remaining there five 
3'ears. During the first eighteen months of 
his residence in that city he took charge of 
his cousin's livery stable. He then attended 
college for a year and a half, doing janitor 
work for his tuition, and graduating at the 
end of that time, after which he taught pen- 
manship and bookkeeping in the same school 
for a year. He then took charge of a set 
of books for Mr. Hammond, of the Paint 
Factor}-, and spent three months in straight- 
ening out the accounts, which had been run- 
ning for seven years. 

Mr. Rayworth was next employed as lo- 
cal abstractor in the freight department of 
the B., C. R. & N. railroad; but his health 
failing after eight months he was obliged to 
give up his work and took a trip west, vis- 
iting Kansas City, Denver and Atchison. 
After a month spent in this way he returned 
to Cedar Rapids, and forming a partnership 
with two other gentlemen opened a whole- 
sale fruit store, and in connection with this 
an ice cream parlor. Mr. Rayworth trav- 
eled for a time for the firm, but sold out his 
interest in the business the following fall, 
and then for a short time clerked in a cloth- 
ing store. Subsequently he went to St. 
Paul, Minn., and clerked in the Plymouth 
Clothing House in that city for a time. In 
the winter of 1889 Mr. Rayworth visited his 
old home in Canada, and also Duluth, hav- 
ing some idea of settling in the latter place; 
but circumstances not being favorable, he 
came to Antigo and clerked for six months. 
He then purchased a half interest in a cloth- 
ing store, and soon after became the sole 
owner. He afterward took a partner, but 
in less than three years again assumed con- 
trol of the business, and to-day has the lead- 
ing store in this line in the city. 

Mr. Raj-worth was married in St. Paul 
in 1890 to Miss Maggie Glispbee, who was 
born in LaCrescent, Minn., and is a daugh- 
ter of John Glispbee. She is one of seven 
children, whose names are: Maggie, Anna, 
Lizzie, Sarah, Alice, Bee and James. Mr. 
and Mrs. Rayworth have three children: 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



109 1 



Hazel, Harold and Bessie. Mr. Rayworth 
is a Republican, and is a leading man in his 
party. He is very much interested in fine 
horses, and is the owner of two good ani- 
mals, who, though they have no record, have 
trotted in 2:19. He is a self-made man, 
has worked his own way in the world, been 
saving of his money and invested it wisely, 
and as a consequence is reaping the reward 
of his industry and enterprise. He is liberal 
in his dealings, of strict integrity of char- 
acter, and is influential in his community. 

ANDREW LUTZ, Sk.. the well- 
known and popular proprietor of 
the Stevens Point Brewery, and 
one of the pioneer settlers of Port- 
age county, deservedly ranks to-day among 
the wealthy, enterprising, and generally re- 
spected citizens of this portion of the Up- 
per Wisconsin Valley. 

Mr. Lutz was born in Baden, Germany, 
November i, 1822, and is a son of Andrew 
and Mary Lutz, both also natives of the 
Fatherland. In 1852 he emigrated to the 
United States (leaving his wife and family 
to follow the next year), landing in New 
York, whence he at once proceeded west- 
ward to Wisconsin, and first locating in 
Racine county resided there about a year, 
when he removed to Portage county. Here, 
in Almond township, he engaged in farm- 
ing fourteen years, or until 1867, when he 
came to Stevens Point, and erected the 
large and commodious brewery he is still 
conducting. His parents had a family of 
seven children, five of whom are yet living, 
namely: Michael, ]ohn, David, Andrew and 
Jacob. 

In Baden, Germany, December 26, 
1844. our subject was married to Miss 
Elizabeth Gaber, also of Baden nativity, 
born July 29, 1823, a daughter of George 
Gabriel and Barbara (Bans) Gaber, by 
which union were born twelve children, 
seven of whom survive, as follows: An- 
drew, a prominent livery stable proprietor 
of Stevens Point; Elizabeth, wife of Jacob 
Mersing, residing in Princeton, Wis. ; John, 
foreman of his father's brewery; August; 
Mary, .wife of John Ernst, residing in 



Princeton, Wis. ; George, and Jacob. In 
July, 1894, a reunion of the surviving mem- 
bers of the family of Andrew and Mary 
Lutz was held at Grand Rapids, Wis., all 
the five brothers being present, and a most 
pleasant time was passed in reminiscences 
and repeating tales and anecdotes of happy 
boyhood days spent in the dear old Father- 
land many years ago. On December 26, 
1894, at Stevens Point, was also celebrated 
the golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew 
Lutz, Sr. , services being held in the Church 
of Intercession, after which a reception and 
banquet was held in the rink, over 500 
guests being present. The venerable and 
honored couple were the recipients of many 
addresses and costly presents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lutz attend the services 
of the German Lutheran Church; in politics 
he is an ardent Democrat, and in social, 
matters he is a member of Temple Lodge 
No. 225, I. O. O. F., at Stevens Point. 
The life of Mr. Lutz bears testimony, in 
language not to be misunderstood, to what 
it is possible for man with willing heart and 
hands to accomplish. He has risen solely 
by his own efforts to prominence and opu- 
lence, and few, if any, in Portage county 
deserve more credit for advancement in life 
than he. 



JAMES PARSONS DORSEY, proprietor 
of a first-class well-patronized livery 
stable in Stevens Point, Portage county, 
is a native of Michigan, born at Homer, 
Calhoun county, July 27, 1845. He is a 
son of William Alexander and Margaret 
(Kenney) Dorsey, the former of whom was 
a native of Lyons, N. Y., and for many 
years was a well-known genial hotel-keeper 
at Sturgis, St. Joseph county, Michigan. 

Our subject received his education at the 
schools of his native place, and when six- 
teen years old entered the employ of the 
Lake Shore & Michigan. Southern Railroad 
Company, with whom he remained several 
years, leaving their service in the capacity 
of conductor. He then came to Wisconsin 
and to Stevens Point to accept the position 
of conductor on the Wisconsin Central rail- 
road, which had just been opened, Mr. Dor- 



1092 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sey being conductor of the first train to run 
into Stevens Point, which event occurred on 
the 1 8th day of November, 1871. On this 
road he remained until December, 1873, at 
which date, by an accident at Amherst, 
Portage county, he was so severel}' injured 
in the right leg that amputation of the limb 
below the knee was found necessary. This 
of course terminated his railroading career, 
and he had to apply himself to other em- 
ployment, for the next seven years keeping 
a restaurant, or until September 1, 1880, 
when he embarked in the livery business at 
Stevens Point, in which he has since been 
successfully engaged, keeping a well- 
equipped stable of from twelve to fifteen 
horses, and a first-class assortment of ve- 
hicles of all kinds. 

Mr. Dorsey was married to Miss Mary 
Buck, of Sturgis, Mich., daughter of P. H. 
Buck, who for twenty-four years was a well- 
known commission merchant on Water 
street, Chicago, and to this union was born 
one child, a son, that died when eighteen 
years old. Politically our subject is a Re- 
publican, and for some time he served as 
United States ganger at Stevens Point; in re- 
ligious faith he is a member of the Episco- 
pal Church, and socially he is affiliated with 
the Knights of Pythias. As a good substan- 
tial, loyal citizen he enjoys the well-merited 
respect and esteem of the community at 
large. 



JOHN N. WEBSTER, a well-known 
farmer of Amherst township. Portage 
county, is descended from one of two 
brothers who came to America from 
England soon after the landing of the Pil- 
grims at Plymouth Rock. One settled in 
Massachusetts, the other in New Hampshire, 
and from the latter both Daniel Webster 
and our subject are descended. The great- 
grandfather, Enoch Webster, married Annie 
Osgood, and both were natives of New 
Hampshire. Two of their sons were killed 
in the war of the Revolution. William and 
Hannah (Chase) Webster, grandparents of 
our subject, were both natives of New Hamp- 
shire, and their children were: Nathaniel 
and Thomas (both of whom were killed in 



the war of 181 2), Mehitable, Toscer, Eliza- 
beth, Mary, John, Richard, Edward, Enoch, 
and two who died in childhood. 

Enoch Webster, father of our subject, 
was born in Brownfield, Oxford Co., Me., 
September 20, 181 3, attended school in his 
native town until seventeen years of age, 
and the next j'ear was a pupil in Hebron 
Academy. He then spent thirteen consecu- 
tive winters in the lumber woods. He was 
married September i, 1838, to Liddy H. 
Fletcher, who was born April 18, 181 8, in 
Maine, daughter of Asa and Liddy (Mcln- 
tyre) Fletcher. They lived in Somerset 
county until 1845, then became residents of 
Walworth county, Wis., and, in 1847, re- 
moved to Fond du Lac county, where the 
father purchased eighty acres of wild land, 
upon which he lived eight years. In 1855 
he purchased 160 acres in Amherst town- 
ship. Portage county, and in the fall of 
1865 moved to Amherst Center, where he 
built his present home. He is a prominent 
and influential citizen, and for thirty-five 
years served as justice of the peace, was 
also town treasurer and chairman of the 
board of supervisors, and in 1863 was elect- 
ed to the Legislature. He was appointed 
postmaster by President Grant, and served 
under President Cleveland's first administra- 
tion, when he resigned on account of ill 
health. His wife died in 1872. Brief men- 
tion of their children is here given: Charles 
E., of Stevens Point, Wis., and treasurer 
of Portage county, wedded Mary Frost, by 
whom he has four children — Daniel E., 
John E., Geneve and Oscar F. ; our subject 
is the next younger; Azula and Augustine 
are both deceased; Emily is the wife of 
William S. Pierson, and their children are 
Walter and Cora; Dora is the wife of W. 
F. Owen, of Stevens Point, and has three 
children — Wayne, Liddy E. and Ruth; 
William A. and Fred E. are at home. The 
maternal grandfather of Enoch Webster was 
Dr. Josiah Chase, a Revolutionary soldier, 
who was captured by the British and was 
held a prisoner for two years in England, 
after which he returned to this country. 
His maternal grandmother was a daughter 
of Gen. Frye, a noted commander in the 
French and Indian war. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOQRAPBIGAL RECORD. 



1093 



John N. Webster was born in Somerset 
county, Maine, came west with his parents, 
and was educated in Rosendale and Am- 
herst, Wis., attending school in the winter 
and working on the farm through the sum- 
mer. He was married November 21, 1865, 
in Amherst, to Miss Mary Jane Wilson, 
daughter of James and Sallie Wilson (both 
now deceased), who were natives of New 
York and pioneer settlers of Portage county. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Webster were born the 
following children: Agnes M., wife of John 
Gustin, of Almond, Wis., by whom she had 
three children — Nellie, Fred E. and Eliddy. 
Preston E. married Agnes Smith, and is a 
school teacher and farmer of Almond, Wis. 
James C. is the youngest. The mother of 
this family died in June, 1879, and Mr. 
Webster afterward married a sister of his 
first wife, Mrs. Catherine Berto, widow of 
George Berto, who was born in Rosendale, 
Wis., November 12, 185 1, and was a son of 
Lucius and Sarah Jane (Mack) Berto, the 
former a native of Canada, the latter of 
New York. The mother died in Little 
River, Waupaca county, in 1866. In their 
family were ten children, namely: Joseph, 
Charles, George, Ethelyn, Sarah (deceased), 
Mary, John, and three who died in child- 
hood. The children of Mrs. Webster by 
her first husband are Catherine, Elmer, 
Thomas, Louis and James. Mrs. Webster 
was born in Chemung county, N. Y. , April 
7, 1853, and soon after was brought by her 
parents to Waupaca county. 

During the Civil war, Mr. Webster 
joined Company E, Thirty-second Wis. V. 
I., and with his regiment was stationed for 
ten months at Memphis, Tenn., then went 
to Vicksburg and on the Meridian cam- 
paign. After their return and a short stay 
at Vicksburg, they went to Cairo, 111., thence 
south to Decatur, Ala., where they spent the 
summer of 1864. Going then to Georgia, 
they were engaged in keeping the line of 
communication open and in doing detached 
duty. They joined the army at Atlanta, 
went with Sherman on the celebrated march 
to the sea, thence took transports for Beau- 
fort, S. C, and were in the Carolina cam- 
paign. After the surrender of Johnston, 
the regiment went to Washington, and Mr. 



Webster was honorably discharged in Mil- 
waukee June 25, 1865. He was the first 
commander of Capt. Eckels Post, G. A. R. , 
of Amherst, and is now a member of Capt. 
Waterman's Post, Plainfield. He also be- 
longs to the I. O. O. F. at Amherst. He 
has served as supervisor in Almond and 
Amherst townships, and was assessor of the 
former for two years. On questions of 
national importance he votes with the Re- 
publican party, but at local elections is in- 
dependent in politics. On his return from 
the war he purchased si.xty acres of the old 
home farm, which he operated until 1880, 
when he bought a farm of 120 acres in 
Almond township. This he still owns and 
carries on, although he makes his home in 
Amherst village. Mr. Webster spends all of 
his leisure time in reading, and is a well- 
informed man on all current topics and 
standard literature. Throughout the com- 
munity he is held in the highest regard,' and 
his circle of friends is extensive. 



NICHOLAS JACOBS, the genial and 
well-known proprietor of the "Ja- 
cobs House," one of the leading 
hotels of Stevens Point, Portage 
county, was born in Reinsfeld, Germanj', 
April 21, 1 84 1, and is a son of Peter and 
Annie Jacobs, both also natives of Germany. 
Peter Jacobs died in the Fatherland in 
1866; his widow is still living at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-four years, and resides 
with her son Nicholas, in Stevens Point. 
Peter and Annie Jacobs had a family of 
three children, all now living, as follows: 
John, a resident of Stockton, Portage Co., 
Wis. ; Katherine, wife of Peter Frierweiler, 
residing in Sharon, Portage Co., Wis., and 
j Nicholas, the subject of this sketch. 

Nicholas Jacobs was reared to manhood 
I and educated in the town of Reinsfeld, Ger- 
! many, and, after leaving school, engaged in 
I agricultural pursuits on his father's farm, 
! until he was twenty-three years of age, 
i when he left the Fatherland and came to 
j the United States, landing at New York. 
He at once came West, and in 1865 lo- 
cated in Stevens Point, Portage Co., Wis., 
where, with the exception of about three 



1094 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



years spent in Michigan and elsewhere in 
the United States, he has been a continuous 
resident since. On June 23, 1869, in Stev- 
ens Point, he married Miss Katherine Gross, 
who was born in Alsace, of French ancestry, 
and they have become the parents of seven 
children, six of whom are living, as follows: 
Peter J., Nicholas C, Philip J., Katherine, 
Christina, and Gertrude. The parents of 
Mrs. Jacobs have passed away in Portage 
county. In 1869 Mr. Jacobs engaged in the 
hotel business in Stevens Point, and in 1872 
erected the large and finely-equipped hotel 
he now occupies, which is well known to 
the traveling public as one of the most con- 
venient and best-conducted hotels in north- 
ern Wisconsin. 

Mr. Jacobs has represented the Second 
ward of Stevens Point in the common coun- 
cil as alderman for two years. He is vice- 
president of the Catholic Knights, also a 
member of the Catholic Foresters. The 
family attend the Roman Catholic Church. 
Politically, Mr. Jacobs is a warm supporter 
of the Democratic partj-. He is a live, 
progressive citizen, taking an active part in 
matters he deems for the advancement of 
the city and county generally, and is highly 
esteemed for his many noble traits of char- 
acter. 



DAVID N. TOWNE, the oldest living 
representative of an honored pioneer 
famil}', was born June 3, 1827, in 
Douglas Parish, New Brunswick, 
and is the eldest son and second child of 
Howard P. and Sarah A. (Foster) Towne. 
His grandfather, Ebenezer Towne, was a 
millwright and carpenter. 

The father of our subject was reared on 
a farm until the age of eighteen. His birth- 
place was Augusta, Me., whence his parents 
removed to Topstield, Mass., when he was 
a little lad of five summers. He there at- 
tended school until eighteen years of age, 
then went to New Brunswick, where his 
father had previously moved, locating at 
Maugerville, on the St. John river. There 
he learned the millwright's trade with his 
father, but after his marriage engaged in 
farming and lumbering. On June 8, 1824, 



in Douglas, New Brunswick, he wedded 
Sarah A. Foster, who was born in that 
neighborhood, January 4, 1806, and was a 
daughter of John and Artemissa (Todd) Fos- 
ter. Her father was a farmer. On remov- 
ing to Aroostook county. Me., Mr. Towne 
settled in Hodgdon township, where he en- 
gaged in farming and in the lumbering busi- 
ness until the spring of 1855, at which time 
he came to Wisconsin. After one summer 
passed in Dayton township, Waupaca coun- 
ty, he removed to Belmont township. Port- 
age county, purchasing the southeast quar- 
ter of Section 35. The land was still 
wild; but as rapidly as possible he placed it 
under the plow, and in course of time had a 
finely-developed farm, which he increased 
in extent to 220 acres of rich land. There 
he lived until December 27, 1893, when, at 
the advanced age of ninety-two years, he 
passed to the life eternal, his death resulting 
from " la grippe. " His wife died May 21, 
i8go, and they were buried side by side in 
Green Vale Cemetery. For sixty-two years 
they had traveled life's journey together, 
sharing with each other its joys and sorrows, 
its prosperity and adversity. While resid- 
ing in Maine, Mr. Towne was a stanch Dem- 
ocrat, but after coming to Wisconsin he 
voted for Abraham Lincoln, and became a 
stalwart supporter of Republican principles. 
On that ticket he was elected to various 
offices in his township, was a member of the 
board of supervisors soon after the organi- 
zation of the township, was assessor, and 
also served as justice of the peace in Maine. 
Both he and his wife were consistent Chris- 
tians and devout members of the Baptist 
Church. He became a well-to-do farmer, 
was a respected citizen, and one of the rep- 
resentative men of Portage county. 

The children of the Towne family were 
as follows: Francis J., born May 14, 1825, 
died August 24, 1826; David N. is the next 
younger; Charles, born March 11, 1830, 
died March 14, 1831; Artemus, born De- 
cember 17, 1 83 1, died October i, 1836; 
Martha A., born March 3, 1834, married 
Thomas G. Bacon, of Maine, and died in 
Belmont township, November 4, 1881; 
Sophia J., born September 10, 1836, died 
April C, 1837; Cyrus, born March 12, 1838, 



COMMEMORATirE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



'095 



a farmer of Belmont township; Mary L. , 
born July 27, 1840, became the wife of Jo- 
seph Collier, of Wisconsin, and died May 
27, 1874; S3'lvester, born November 27, 
1842. enlisted September 21, 1864, in Com- 
pany C, Forty-fourth Wis. V. I., and died 
at Nashville, February 3, 1865, after which 
his remains were brought home, and interred 
in Green Vale Cemetery, Belmont township; 
Howard W. , born September 14, 1845, is 
living in Rhinelander, Wis.; and Alvin O., 
born October 20, 1848. [See page 395 for 
his biography.] They also had an adopted 
child (a daughter of Mrs. Towne's sister), 
who was born December 14, 1850, and is 
now the wife of John O. Foster, of 
Waupaca. 

At the common schools of the Pine Tree 
State David N. Towne was mainly educated, 
but alsospent one term in an academy in Hol- 
ton. Me. He was a good scholar, easily mas- 
tering the branches taught, and frequently he 
surpassed the teachers, who were sometimes 
poorly equipped for their work. He taught 
school for one term; but disliking the pro- 
fession, was employed in the lumber woods 
and upon a farm. He remained at home 
until his marriage, which took place in 
Aroostook county. Me., December 27, 1852, 
with Georgiana McLeod, who was born in 
the Parish of St. Stephens, New Brunswick, 
April 28, 1829, and is a daughter of Donald 
and Janet McLeod, both being natives 
of Scotland. They first lived on a part of 
the old homestead in Hodgdon, Me., and 
there was born to them, December 12, 1853, 
a daughter, Ella Leonora, now Mrs. A. E. 
Dopp, of Belmont township. 

In May, 1854, Mr. Towne with his little 
family left his Maine home for the "Far 
West," journeying by stage to Bangor, 
Maine, thence to Portland, by steamer to 
Boston, then on to Albany, Buffalo and De- 
troit to Chicago by rail. At the last-named 
place he boarded a boat bound for Mil- 
waukee, thence proceeded by rail eighteen 
miles to Forest House, and by stage to Mil- 
ford, Wis. His uncle, John W. White, was 
living in Jefferson county, and with him Mr. 
Towne spent the summer, working as a farm 
hand. In the autumn, with his wife and 
child and household goods, he went in a 



wagon to Waupaca, for he did not like Jef- 
ferson county and hoped to secure govern- 
ment land in Waupaca county. His brother- 
in-law, Thomas G. Bacon, was living in that 
neighborhood, and in Waupaca county Mr. 
Towne left his family while he went in 
search of a location. He pre-empted a 
quarter section of land in Section i, Dayton 
township, where he lived one year. In 1855 
his parents came from the East, and in the 
autumn his father and brother Cyrus took 
up land in Belmont township, and he also 
secured a farm in Section 35, to which he 
removed his family. Leaving his wife at the 
home of a neighbor, William Dopp, he 
camped upon the land, while a cabin, 13x18 
feet, was being built. This was the pioneer 
home of the family. For five years' he spent 
the winter in the lumber woods, and in the 
summer operated his farm. 

At Waupaca, September 21, 1864, Mr. 
Towne enlisted in the Forty-fourth Wis. 
V. I., Company C, was sent to Madison, 
thence to Nashville, where he took part in 
his only engagement. At that place the 
regiment remained until March, 1865, when 
it was sent to Paducah, Ky., at which place 
Mr. Towne was honorably discharged August 
28, 1865. He is a charter member of Bel- 
mont Post, No. 115, G. A. R., and with 
the exception of the first year of .its exist- 
ence has always served as quartermaster of 
the Post. He and his wife are Christian 
people, belonging to the Baptist Church, 
and during the existence of a church in their 
neighborhood they were prominent workers. 
In his political affiliations he is an inflexible 
adherent of Republican principles, and has 
held numerous local offices. He has long 
been officially connected with the schools, 
was for twelve years a member of the town 
board, and for two years served as its chair- 
man. He was elected the first treasurer of 
Belmont township, when it was supposed to 
be under the jurisdiction of Waupaca coun- 
ty, but was afterward found to be in Port- 
age county, and the election was declared 
invalid. In these various offices he has dis- 
charged his duties with a promptness and 
fidelity that has won him the high commen- 
dation of all concerned. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 



1096 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Towne in Wisconsin are: Harriet E., born 
February 6, 1856, died October 19, same 
year; Ann J., born July 16, 1857, now the 
wife of Asa Thompson, of Belmont town- 
ship; Florence, born November 23, 1859, 
now the wife of Rev. Almaran Soule, a 
Methodist minister; Roderick L. , born De- 
cember 22, 1864, died July 29, 1886; 
George N., born August 19, 1866, died 
December 24, 18S7; and Minnie V., born 
September 19, 1869, now attending school 
in Waupaca. The family have a pleasant 
home in Belmont township, on a fine farm 
which comprises 253 acres of land, 125 of 
which are under a high state of cultivation. 
Mr. Towne has led a busy and useful life, 
and is well preserved for one of his years. 
He is kind and generous, a true friend and 
faithful citizen, and all who know him hold 
him in high regard. 



REV. REGINALD HEBER WEL- 
LER, Jr., rector of the Church of 
the Intercession at Stevens Point, 
Portage county, is a native of Mis- 
souri, born in Jefferson City, November 6, 
1857, a son of Rev. Reginald HeberWeller, 
Sr. , and Emma (Look) Weller. The father 
was born in Philadelphia, Penn., and for 
over a quarter of a century was rector of 
St. John's Episcopal Church at Jackson- 
ville, Fla. , whence he returned to his native 
city in 1894. 

The subject proper of this memoir re- 
ceived his education in part at the public 
schools of his native place, in part at the 
"University of the South" at Sewanee, 
Tenn., which he entered at the age of sev- 
enteen, graduating from there in 1877. He 
was ordained a deacon in 1879, after which 
he served for one year as assistant to Rev. 
Dr. Henshaw, rector of All Saints Memorial 
Church at Providence, R. I., and then en- 
tered the Nashotah (Wis.) Theological Semi- 
nary, an institution conducted under the 
auspices of the Episcopal Church, where he 
graduated Bachelor of Divinity in 1884. 
He was then appointed rector of Christ 
Church, Eau Claire, Wis., where he re- 
mained till 1888, in which year he was trans- 
ferred to St. Matthias Church, Waukesha, 



and then in 1890 was appointed to his pres- 
ent incumbency. 

Mr. Weller is a member of the National 
Council of the Episcopal Church of the 
United States, also of the board of trustees of 
St. Monica's Girls' boarding school at Fond 
du Lac, Wis. Socially he is affiliated with the 
F. & A. M., Blue Lodge, Chapter and Com- 
mandery, having been a Knight Templar 
since 1884, and he is also a member of the 
Knights of Pythias. In 1 886 he was married 
to Miss Bessie Brown, at Eau Claire, Wis. ; 
they have three children, named respect- 
ively: Ruth, Reginald Heber, and Daniel 
Brown. The great-great-grandfather of our 
subject, George Weller. was a native of 
Saxony, whence he emigrated to England, 
making a new home in Kent, where his son, 
George, was born. The latter came to 
America at the time of the Revolution, set- 
tling in Boston, Mass., where was born the 
grandfather of our subject, also named 
George. They were all clergymen of the 
Church of England. 

The present church edifice, wherein the 
congregation of the Church of the Interces- 
sion of Stevens Point worship, was com- 
menced in 1892 during the rectorship of Mr. 
Weller, the energetic promoter of the much- 
needed improvement. Its style of architec- 
ture is English-Gothic, and it is built of 
Rockford sandstone ; it is 102x40 feet in 
size inside, while the auditorium from floor 
to ceiling is about 50 feet high, and although 
not quite completed it was dedicated Janu- 
uary 2. 1894. At the present time, 1895, 
there are 290 communicants. The rectory, 
a handsome modern frame structure. No. 
625 Clark street, was erected in 1890, 
through the zeal and assiduous efforts of the 
rector, at a cost in the neighborhood of thir- 
ty-five hundred dollars. 



t 



JOHN LUTZ, a practical and representa- 
tive farmer, follows his chosen occupa- 
tion in Amherst township, Portage 
county, where he owns 200 acres of 
valuable land. He now has eighty-five acres 
cleared, and upon it has made extensive im- 
provements. His home is a commodious 
and substantial residence, good barns and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPHICAL BEOOBD. 



1097 



outbuildings provide shelter for stock and 
grain, the latest improved machinery light- 
ens the farm labors, and the neat and thrifty 
appearance of the place indicates the care- 
ful supervision of the owner. 

The possessor of this desirable property 
was born in Baden, Germany, August 12, 
1862, and is a son of Michael and Mary 
(Boss) Lutz, who were also natives of Baden. 
The mother died in 1864, and the father 
afterward wedded Miss Mary Walder. The 
children of the first union were: Michael, 
Mary, Elizabeth and John, and of the sec- 
ond marriage were David and Jacob. In 
July, 1874, he crossed the Atlantic to Amer- 
ica, accompanied by his wife and four chil- 
dren, the two eldest children having arrived 
here in 1872. The family sailed from Havre, 
France, to New York, thence came direct 
to Stevens Point, Wis. The father pur- 
chased a partially-improved farm of 160 
acres, near Amherst Junction, and there 
made his home until after the death of his 
second wife, when he went to live with his 
son, David, on a farm near Cedar Rapids, 
Wis. He was a third time married, the 
lady of his choice being Miss Clock. He 
then purchased a farm a short distance from 
Cedar Rapids, cultivating it for several years, 
when he bought a house and lot in that 
town and is therein making his home at the 
present time. 

The grandparents of our subject, Andrew 
and Elizabeth Lutz, also came to the United 
States, making the journey some time in the 
" forties." They located at Stevens Point, 
Wis., where both died in the home of their 
son, Andrew, about 1870. Their children 
are: Andrew, who is engaged in the brew- 
ing business at Stevens Point; Michael, 
father of our subject; Lizzie and Mary, both 
ceased; David and Jacob. 

John Lutz, whose name begins this 
sketch, acquired the greater part of his edu- 
cation in his native town, and also attended 
school at Amherst Junction for a few terms; 
but was obliged to abandon his studies, for 
his services were needed upon the home 
farm, and like a dutiful son he aided his 
father in its cultivation. On June 17, 1885, 
in Amherst, he married Miss Lizzie Bickel, 
who was born in Amherst in 1865, daughter 



of George and Helen Bickel, both of whom 
were natives of Germany; they died in 1892, 
within forty-eight hours of one another. To 
Mr. and Mrs. John Lutz has been born an 
interesting family of five children — Lena, 
Jacob, Louisa, Clara and Rosie. 

Our subject and his wife began their do- 
mestic life upon the farm which has since 
been their home, and he is numbered among 
the progressive and enterprising agricultur- 
ists of the community. He votes the Dem- 
ocratic ticket, but takes no active part in 
politics in the way of office seeking. Both 
he and his wife hold membership with the 
Lutheran Church, and in the community 
where they live have many warm friends. 



ALBERT ANDERSON is one of the 
native sons of Portage county, his 
birth having occurred in Amherst 
May 12, 1858. His parents, An- 
drew and Mary (Halverson) Anderson, were 
both natives of Norway. The father was 
born in 1821, and was a son of Andrew 
Anderson. He acquired his education in 
his native land, and when a young man 
learned the mason's trade, which he fol- 
lowed most of the time until his emigration 
to America at the age of twentj'-eight. He 
crossed the water on the sailing vessel 
"Eagle," which left Norway in March, and 
in August reached Milwaukee, when he went 
direct to Muskego with a yoke of o.xen. 
There he operated a farm on shares, and 
also worked as a farm hand. He was there 
married December i, 1852, to Mary Halver- 
son, and the following summer with his lit- 
tle family came to Amherst township. Por- 
tage county, making the journey in a wagon 
with a canvas cover, and driving their stock 
ahead of them. After fourteen days they 
reached their destination, but continued to 
live in their wagon until Christmas Day, 
when the father completed a little log cabin, 
into which the family moved. He first 
bought thirty-threeacresof government land, 
to which he afterward added 200 acres, 
which is now the property of his son Martin. 
The old homestead was burned to the ground 
in 1872, but with characteristic energy the 
father erected his present dwelling. In June, 



COitMSMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1890, he and his wife removed to Polk 
county, Minn. , and took possession of a 
farm which had belonged to their son, who 
had died there, and made their home upon 
that place until April. 1895, when they re- 
turned to Amherst township and are now 
living with their son Martin. 

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were the parents 
of seven children, to wit: Andrew, who died 
in Minnesota; Susan, wife of Andrew Brekka, 
of Alban, Wis. (they have seven children — 
Mary, Alfred, Mabel, Anton B., Anna, Clara 
and Emma); Albert is the next younger; 
Martin (i) is deceased; Martin (2) resides 
on the homestead with his wife and son, 
Adolph; Henry, a farmer of Minnesota, 
married Carrie Bergman, and has two chil- 
dren — Arthur and Clara Mina; Emma is the 
wife of Ole Knutson Harvick, and has one 
child, Theresa Mina. 

Albert Anderson attended school until 
sixteen years of age, and for the next six- 
teen seasons was engaged in threshing in 
Portage county, and also in Dakota and 
Minnesota. For eleven winters he worked 
in the woods as a teamster, and in the 
spring of 1880 ran on the Trapp river. In 
1 88 1 and 1882 he was traveling agent for 
Rice Brothers Machine Co., of Stevens 
Point, Wis., and for three months repre- 
sented on the road the Peerless Machine 
Co., of Ohio. In June, 1883, he went 
west, and purchased 240 acres of railroad 
land in Polk county, Minn., breaking and 
placing under cultivation twenty acres the 
first summer. He worked at farming and 
threshing until 1885, when he returned 
home. 

On April 2, 1886, by Rev. K. O. Eidahl, 
Mr. Anderson was united in marriage with 
Ida Severson, who was born in Norway, 
September 4, 1866, and is a daughter of 
Ole and Anna (Peterson) Severson, also 
natives of the same country. Her father 
died there in the spring of 1887, after which 
the mother came with her family to this 
country, joining Mrs. Anderson, who in 
September, 1882, had crossed the Atlantic 
to New York, whence she came direct to 
New Hope, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Severson 
had six children: Annie, wife of Anton 
Severson, of New Hope; Ida; Petrie, widow 



of Carl Paulson; Savrena, who is employed 
in the hospital in lola. Wis. ; Mattie, at 
home; and Anton, who is living with our 
subject. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have two 
children — Alfred and Martin Bennet Engval. 
On April 5, 1886, Mr. Anderson started 
with his wife for his home in Minnesota, 
where they lived until the following fall, 
when he traded his place for 3,200 bushels 
of wheat, and $100 in money, and again 
came to this State. The following winter 
he spent in the lumber woods, and in the 
spring rented a farm in New Hope township, 
Portage county, of C. Gustave, and the 
next season rented of E. P. Kolstad. In 
1890 he purchased 120 acres of land, mostly 
under cultivation, in Amherst township, 
Portage county, and has since successfully 
engaged in the cultivation of his farm. He 
is a public-spirited and progressive citizen, 
takes quite an active part in politics, and 
supports the Republican party. He is at 
present a director of the school board, and 
of the Home Insurance Company, and for 
three years has been justice of the peace. 
Himself and wife are members of the Nor- 
wegian Lutheran Church, and are people 
whose genuine worth has won them high 
regard. 



KARL LUTZ. Germany has furnished 
to Wisconsin many of her citizens, 
men who have become prominent 
in the affairs of the State, and who 
are devoted to her best interests, having 
aided in the development and progress of 
the communities in which they live. Such 
a man is the subject of this sketch. He was 
born in Baden, Germany, in 1850, and his 
parents, John and Elizabeth (Knauer) Lutz, 
were also natives of the same province. 
The father died there in 1859, the mother 
surviving him until 1872. He was a well- 
to-do farmer, a man of high education and 
literary attainments, and in the community 
in which he lived was regarded as a promi- 
nent and influential citizen. The grand- 
father, John Lutz, followed farming in his 
native province of Baden. His children 
were Barbara and John, and the children of 
the latter are as follows — John, Jr., who isliv- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPBICAL RECORD. 



1099 



in^ in Germany; Michael, who died in 
Germany in 1890, at the age of fifty-three; 
Ehzabeth, wife of Michael Lutz, of Baden, 
Germany; David, who married Magdelene 
Brandel, by whom he has two children; 
Jacob, who married Mary Banquist, and 
lives in Baden with his wife and child; 
George, a farmer of Amherst township. 
Portage county, who wedded Mary Lutz; 
Andrew, farmer of Almond township, who 
married Elizabeth Boss, and they have two 
children; and Karl. 

Karl Lutz attended the public schools of 
his native town until fifteen years of age, 
since which time he has devoted the greater 
part of his attention to farming. He con- 
tinued in the Fatherland until twenty-five 
years of age, when he bade adieu to home 
and friends, sailing for America in June, 
1875, on the steamship '• Toringdia, " 
which weighed anchor at Havre, France, 
and reached New York after a voyage of 
eleven days. Mr. Lutz spent a few weeks 
visiting friends in that city, and then went 
direct to Stevens Point, Wis., where he was 
employed in a bakery during the remainder 
of the summer. In the autumn of that 
j'ear he purchased eighty acres of wild 
land in Almond township. Portage county, 
and began to clear it of the trees and un- 
derbrush. \\'hen a sufficient space was 
cleared he built a dwelling, but previous to 
that time made his home with his brother. 

On April 21, 1878, Mr. Lutz married 
Miss Elizabeth Lutz, daughter of Michael 
and Mary (Boss) Lutz. She was born in 
Baden, in 1858, where also occurred the 
birth of her parents, with whom she came 
to this country in 1874, the family settling 
on the farm where our subject and his wife 
now reside. Her mother died in Baden in 
1864, after which her father wedded Mary 
Walder, a native of the same country. By 
the second marriage there were two chil- 
dren, David and Jacob, and their mother 
died on the old homestead in 1876. The 
father of Mrs. Lutz then made his home 
with his son David until he was again mar- 
ried, this time in Grand Rapids, Wis., his 
union being with Miss Glock. Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Lutz was the third child of the first 
marriage, having two brothers and one sis- 



ter — Michael, Mary and John. The home 
of Mr. and Mrs. Karl Lutz has been blessed 
with six children — Emil, born in 1879; 
I Fred, born in 1881; Louisa, born in 1884, 
and died in infancy; Annie, born in 1885; 
Minnie, born in 1889; and Edward, born in 
1893. The iirst two were born in Almond 
township, the others in .Amherst township. 
Portage county. 

In 1S82 Mr. Lutz purchased of his 
father-in-law 160 acres of land in Section 
12, Amherst township, 110 acres of which 
are under a high state of cultivation, yield- 
ing to the owner a golden tribute in re- 
turn for the care and cultivation he be- 
stows upon it. He has also made many ex- 
cellent improvements, having remodeled the 
house, erected substantial outbuildings, and 
done other work that has made his farm 
one of the best in the neighborhood. Farm- 
ing has been his life work, and in the man- 
agement of his affairs he has been quite 
successful, for although he came to the 
country empty-handed, he is now the pos- 
sessor of a competence that places him 
among the substantial citizens of the com- 
munity. Political preferment has had no 
attractions for him, but he votes with the 
Democrats. He and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Lutheran Church. 



DR. FRANK A. NORTON, veter- 
inary surgeon, of Stevens Point, 
Portage count}', was born in Bara- 
boo, Sauk Co., Wis., May 23, 1862, 
and is a son of Anson H. and Laura (Eg- 
gleston) Norton, born respectively in Ohio 
and New York State. 

Mr. and Mrs. Anson H. Norton reside 
upon the home farm in Baraboo, Wis. , 
where they live retired after an active and 
well-spent life, and arc deservedly popular 
and highly-esteemed citizens of Sauk coun- 
ty. They are the parents of seven chil- 
dren, who are all living: Emma, wife of H. 
Martsen, residing at Kilbourn City, Colum- 
bia Co., Wis.; Edgar A.; Mary, wife of A. 
Henry, residing in Lisbon, N. Dak. ; W. E., 
also residing at Lisbon, N. Dak.; Frank A., 
the subject of this sketch; Charles F., born 
April 22, 1869, residing at Stevens Point; 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 



and Vernon P., born January 7, 1876, a 
veterinary surgeon, residing in Piainfield, 
Wis., where he is engaged in the practice 
of his profession. 

Dr. Frank A. Norton was reared in his 
native town and educated in its public 
schools. His boyhood days were passed 
upon the homestead farm, and in early life 
he engaged in the profession of veterinary 
surgery, which he has continuously fol- 
lowed since, and in 1885 he attended the 
Chicago Veterinary College. He commenced 
practice as a partner of Dr. E. C. Foster, 
of Baraboo, Wis., under the firm name of 
E. C. Foster & Co., continued there a year, 
and then practiced three years in Fargo, N. 
Dak., three years in Ashland, Wis., and in 
1 891 removed to Stevens Point, where he 
has since lived. 

In 1890 Dr. Frank A. Norton was united 
in marriage, at Ashland, Wis., with Miss 
Phena Oleson, and two children have been 
born to them — Earl F. , October 31, 1891, 
aud Harold A., July 28, 1893. Through a 
thorough practical experience in his profes- 
sion, and strict attention to the wants of his 
patrons. Dr. Norton has built up a large 
and constantly growing practice, and to-day 
he deservedly ranks among the most skillful 
veterinary surgeons of the county, and as a 
valuable citizen is highly esteemed. He is 
a member of Shaurett Lodge, No. 92, I. O. 
O. F. , of the Knights of Pythias, Canton 
Encampment and Rebekahs, also of the 
A. O. U. W. , and of the Wisconsin Veteri- 
nary Society. In political views the Doctor 
affiliates with the Republican party. The 
family attends the Methodist Church. 



WILLIAM A. PEESO. Among the 
influential and intelligent citizens 
of Centralia, Wood county, none 
is deserving of more prominent 
mention in this volume than Mr. Peeso. 
Born in the Empire State, he first saw the 
light June i, 1846, in Cherry Valley, and 
his parents, Austin E. and Anna (Dutcher) 
Peeso, were also natives of New York, but 
the grandparents on both sides were natives 
of France. The father was called to the 
home beyond in 1884, having for twenty 



years survived his wife, who passed away in 
1864. The members of their family, four 
in number, are all yet living, namely: 
Francis, who resides in Syracuse, N. Y. ; 
Melvina M., who is located in Spencer, 
Iowa; Elizabeth, wife of Oville Coates, of 
Cherry Valley, N. Y. ; and William A. 

William A. Peeso was educated in the 
public schools and in the academy of his na- 
tive town, being graduated from the latter 
institution about 1863. From that time 
forward he has been dependent upon his 
own resources, and the success of his life is 
the reward of his own labors. He entered 
upon his business career as a salesman in 
his brother's store, and was thus employed 
for seven years, when, attracted by the 
rapidly-growing West, he left his old New 
York home and removed to Battle Creek, 
Mich., where he spent two years. Return- 
ing thence to his native town, he remained 
there a year and then again sought a home 
in the West, taking up his residence in Cen- 
tralia, Wis., which has since been his place 
of abode. While employed in the East in 
the capacity of salesman Mr. Peeso also de- 
voted considerable time to the study of 
dental surgery, and after his arrival in Cen- 
tralia he completed his studies and em- 
barked in the practice of his chosen pro- 
fession. He keeps well abreast with the 
times in everything connected with the 
science, and his workmanship has therefore 
been satisfactory, and has secured to him a 
liberal patronage. 

On September 7, 1873, Mr. Peeso was 
united in marriage with Miss Celia N. 
Hughes, daughter of John Hughes, and to 
them were born si.v children, only two 
of whom are now living, nameh': Francis 
Cedric, who was born September 9, 1877; 
and Bertha Elizabeth, born June 11, 1883. 
Mr. Peeso is deeply interested in the wel- 
fare of the community, and zealously and 
earnestly labors for its upbuilding. He has 
been called to public office by those who 
recognize his sterling worth, and for two 
3'ears filled the position of police court judge 
of Centralia, was alderman of the city for si.x 
terms, and clerk of the school board for 
two terms. By his ballot and influence he 
supports the Republican party, and is a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



stanch advocate of its principles of reform. 
He and his family attend the Centralia 
Episcopal Church, and occupy a prominent 
position in the community, where they have 
many warm friends who hold them in high 
resfard. 



JOHN C. STOLTENBERG is the vil- 
lage blacksmith at Nelsonville, Portage 
county. It is creditable both to him 
and to the village that so satisfactory 
is his work, and so reasonable his terms, 
that patrons come to his shop not only from 
Nelsonville and vicinity, but from adjacent 
villages also. The merry ring of his anvil 
is heard the live-long day, and no more 
highly-respected citizen lives in the village. 
Besides following his trade Mr. Stoltenberg, 
in connection with it, deals extensively in 
farm implements, wagons and buggies. 

He is a native of the county, having 
been born in the township of Amherst De- 
cember ig, 1855, eldest son of Charles and 
Annie (Roe) Stoltenberg. Charles Stolten- 
berg, the father, was of German birth, and 
one of the pioneers in this locality. In 1 848, 
during the great unrest that pervaded the 
masses of liberty-loving Germans, he left 
his native land, a young man, and crossed 
the ocean. He was a carpenter by trade, 
and making his way to Missouri he there 
followed same for a short time. But 
wages were extremely low, for he received 
only from $4 to $5 per month and board. 
Concluding that that was not the locality 
which he had been seeking, he about the 
year 1850 came to Stevens Point, Wis. 
Here he was engaged in sawmill work, and 
here met and married Annie Roe. After 
his marriage he removed with his wife to 
Amherst township, and there engaged in 
pioneer farming. He first purchased one 
hundred acres, to which he afterward added 
another one hundred acres. Mr. Stolten- 
berg remained on this farm until his death; 
he left a widow and seven children to 
mourn their loss. The children in the fam- 
ily were as follows: John C. ; Annie, who 
married Charles Hankey, of New Hope 
township: Carl, who died in 1886: Andrew, 
now living on the old homestead; Henry, in 



business with John C. ; Louisa, now de- 
ceased; Edward W., employed by John C. 

John C. Stoltenberg, subject proper of 
this memoir, was reared on the home farm, 
attending the district schools and working 
for his father until he was si.xteen years of age. 
He then began to work out, and for eight 
years was employed much of the time by 
neighbors. In 1S80 he went north, and for 
a year worked in a sawmill, then for an- 
other year in a lumber camp. Thinking a 
trade preferable to this life in the woods, 
Mr. Stoltenberg returned to Amherst town- 
ship and learned blacksmithing. Then 
purchasing a lot in the village of Nelson- 
ville, he erected a blacksmith shop, and, in 
company with his brother Henry, engaged 
in blacksmithing and the sale of farm im- 
plements and vehicles. By honesty and in- 
dustry they have built up a large and lucra- 
tive trade. 

On November 1 1, 1882, Mr. Stoltenberg 
was married to Miss Sina Wolden, daughter 
of Ole and Carn Wolden. They have three 
children: Albert O., Casper M. and Joseph 
S. Mr. and Mrs. Stoltenberg are members 
of the Lutheran Church. In politics he is a 
Republican, and for several years he served 
on the board of supervisors. He is an en- 
terprising and energetic business man, and 
one of the substantial citizens of the thriv- 
ing village of Nelsonville. 



GUY F. MARTIN, D. D. S., son of 
J. P. and Emma B. (Martin) Dunn, 
and grandson of Hiram B. Martin, 
was born at Stevens Point, Portage 
Co., Wis., April 9, 1872, and, when he was 
four years of age, he and his brother. Elliot 
L. , were adopted by their grandparents, 
Hiram B. and Hannah Martin, and the 
family name of Martin was given them, which 
they still retain. The family is of English 
ancestry, and came to the United States at 
an early date. 

Hiram Blakely Martin, graniffather of 
the subject of this sketch, was born in 
Chautauqua county, N. Y., March 12, 1818. 
He was a son of William Martin, who had 
a family of thirteen children, only four of 
whom are now living. Hiram B. Martin 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lived in Chautauqua county until he was 
sixteen years of age, then went to Chicago, 
111., and engaged in the real-estate business 
with his brother Jesse. He remained there 
six years, and in 1840 came to Wisconsin, 
where, settling within four miles of Wausau, 
Marathon county, he engaged in the lum- 
bering business, and erected the first saw- 
mill ever built in that section of the coun- 
try. His first visit to what is now Stevens 
Point was made in 1842 with Mr. Stevens, 
from whom the city afterward derived its 
name. It was at that time a vast wilder- 
ness. In 1844 Mr. Martin returned and en- 
gaged in a general store business here, still 
continuing his lumbering industries. His 
store was the second one opened in Portage 
county. Later in life he also engaged in the 
drug and jewelry business, but in his declin- 
ing years lived a retired life. 

In 1846 H. B. Martin married, near 
Wausau, Miss Hannah Conklin, who was born 
in Shirland, Winnebago Co. , III, and they 
became the parents of six children, four of 
whom are now living, namely: Emma B. , 
who was the wife of the late J. P. Dunn, 
and the mother of our subject, and is now 
married to L. A. Forest, chief engineer of 
the Upham Manufacturing Co., at Marsh- 
field, Wood Co., Wis.; William Hiram, a 
resident of Sanger, Fresno Co., Cal. ; and 
Charles F. , a photographer, and Clara U., 
both residing in Stevens Point. 

Mr. Martin was one of the very earliest 
pioneers of Stevens Point, there being but 
very few white settlers in Portage county at 
the time he took up his residence in the 
county. He filled the offices of town trea- 
surer, supervisor of the town, and many 
other township offices, and represented the 
city of Stevens Point as an alderman in the 
common council. From the time of his lo- 
cating here, in 1844, he always made the 
city his home up to his death, which oc- 
curred March 10, 1891. He was a leading 
and representative man of Portage county, 
and an enterprising, successful and popular 
citizen of Stevens Point. He took a lively 
interest in measures tending to the welfare 
and prosperity of the city and county, was 
held in high esteem by a large circle of 
friends and acquaintances, and his memory 



will long be cherished by those who knew 
him best. 

J. P. Dunn married Emma B. Martin, 
and by her had three children, of whom two 
are living — Guy F. (the subject of this 
sketch) and Elliot L. Mr. Dunn was en- 
gaged in the lumbering business, and was a 
justice of the peace ten years. He passed 
from earth in February, 1892. 

Guy F. Martin was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of Stevens Point, and soon after 
leaving school engaged in the insurance 
business. At present he is a student of sur- 
gical dentistry with Dr. Jesse Smith, of 
Stevens Point. 



JOHN LUTZ, foreman of the Andrew 
Lutz Brewery, at Stevens Point, Port- 
age county, is a native of Germany, 
born February 10, 1850, in Baden, 
second surviving son of Andrew and Eliza- 
beth (Gaber) Lutz. 

In 1853 he was brought by his mother 
to the United States, his father having pre- 
ceded them in 1852 to prepare a home for 
them in Almond township, Portage county. 
Here the lad was educated and reared, fol- 
lowing agricultural pursuits till the family's 
removal to Stevens' Point in 1867, when he 
entered his father's brewery, of which he is 
now foreman. 

On October 21, 1880, Mr. Lutz was 
married at Stevens Point, Portage county, 
to Miss Bertha Christena Hartel, who was 
born at Milwaukee, Wis., December i8, 
1856, and to this union came six children, 
their names and dates of birth being as fol- 
lows: Elizabeth Augusta, July 31, 1881; 
Laura Almira, April 17, 1883, died Octo- 
ber 6, 1883; Edward George Frederick, 
September 23, 1884; John Ferdinand, Oc- 
tober II, 1888; Andrew Carl, July 31, 1892, 
died August 9, 1892; and Bertha Frankie, 
November 5, 1893. Mrs. Lutz and the 
family attend the services of the Roman 
Catholic Church. Socially Mr. Lutz is a 
member of Stumph Lodge, No. 225, I. O. 
O. F. , at Stevens Point, and in his political 
views he is a supporter of the Democratic 
party. He is universally respected for his 



COMMEMORATIVE DIOGRAPniCAL RECORD. 



1 103 



strict integrity and sterling qualities of head 
and heart, and as a citizen ranks among the 
best. 



M 



RS. ZILPHA A. EEN, who con- 
ducts the "Summit House" at 
Amherst Junction, Portage county, 
was born September 18, 1833, in 
the town of Shakelyville, Mercer Co., Penn.. 
and is a daughter of John and Esther (Car- 
ruthers) Larimer. Her father was born, 
reared and spent his entire life in the Key- 
stone State, d_ving during the early girlhood 
of Mrs. Een. The mother died in Amherst, 
in 1 88 5, where for some years she had lived 
with her daughter. 

Mrs. Een continued at home until July 
15, 1852, when she became the wife of Mon- 
roe Moyers. Soon afterward they migrated 
to Wisconsin, making the journey by team 
to Erie, by way of the lakes to Green 
Bay, thence in a row-boat to De Pere, Wis., 
by stage to Appleton, by boat to Berlin, and 
by rail to Plover, whence they walked to 
Stevens Point. There Mrs. Moyers remained 
while her husband went to Little Eau Claire, 
and was employed in a sawmill. Soon 
after with an o.\-team he conveyed his furni- 
ture from Berlin to that place, and for five 
weeks lived in Little Eau Claire, when they 
removed to a little clearing twelve miles 
away, where Mr. Moyers had built a log 
cabin. In the spring of 1853 they returned 
to Fleming's mill, where they lived until 
1855. In 1854 he purchased a farm of 160 
acres on which the village of Amherst now 
stands, and as he had not money enough to 
pay for this he was kindly assisted by his em- 
ployer, Mr. Fleming. The following year 
he sold his land to Robert Wilson, and on 
the 2nd of May purchased 160 acres in the 



same township, camping under the wagon- 
box until a little frame house could be built. 
He cleared and put under cultivation seven- 
ty acres of the land, and in i860 built a more 
modern residence. In the autumn of that 
year he removed to Amherst Center, so that 
his children might have better educational 
privileges, and, selling his place, purchased 
the Turner farm. This he operated and our 
subject carried on the "Amherst House," 
the first hotel in Amherst. During the Civil 
war Mr. Moyers responded to the country's 
call for troops by enlisting in Company F, 
Fifth Wis. V. I. He died from e.xposure at 
the battle of Cedar Creek — one of the he- 
roes who laid down his life on the altar of 
his country. 

Immediately after her husband's death 
Mrs. Moyers removed with her family to 
Belvidere, 111., the home of her husband's 
parents, and there lived for two years. In 
1868 she returned to Amherst and repur- 
chased the old hotel, which she conducted 
until 1875, when she bought the "Summit 
House," at Amherst Junction, and has since 
been the popular hostess of that hotel. 
She also owned considerable other property 
in Amherst, but has disposed of much of it. 
She possesses most excellent business and 
executive abilitv, and her capable manage- 
ment of her affairs has brought to her a com- 
fortable competence. She is one of the best 
known ladies in Portage county, and the 
number of her friends is limited only by the 
circle of her acquaintances. Her hair is 
now white with the snows of sixty-one win- 
ters, but she is well-preserved in health. 

Mrs. Een became the mother of four 
children : Annice, now the wife of P. N. 
Peterson, a merchant of Amherst ; Belle, 
who died in infancy ; Mina B., who makes 
her home with her eldest sister ; and Ada, 
wife of Charles Dwinnell, of Amherst. 



INIDE 



PAGE. 

A. 

Adams, Capt. Jerome B. . . . 995 

Ainsworth, John 785 

Aldricli. Stephen E 964 

Allen, Edgar 337 

Allen, Frank 670 

Allen, George 583 

Allen, Henry R 652 

Allen, James B 933 

Allen, William H. H 443 

Altenburg, John 1047 

Ames, Capt. E. E 71 

Amiindson, Goodman 145 

Anderson, Albert 1097 

Anderson Bros 1014 

Anderson, Edmund S 1014 

Anderson, C. W 973 

Anderson, Hans C 867 

Anderson, Niels 278 

Anderson, Thomas W 973 

Andrews, Benjamin B 40 

Andrews, F. C 718 

Andrews, B. F 719 

Andrews. William W 924 

Arnott, Hon. W. E 18 

Aschbrenner, Edward 531 

Aug-ustine, Otto G 236 

Austin, Peter St 313 

Ayer, Charles A 961 

A3'res, Raymond 811 

Ayshford, George 1011 

Ayshford, William 1011 

B. 

Babcock, John R .38 

Bacon, Gilbert 965 

Bacon, Thomas G 459 

Badeau, Charles H lOSl 

Baker, C. E 708 

Balch. A. V 815 

Baldwin, Marshall 704 

Baldwin , Walter C 662 

Bandelin, Augustus F 442 

Bard, Charles 1 851 

Barker, George W 829 

Barnes, Asa D 759 

Barnum, Dan Cutler 651 

Barnum, Mrs. Eliza M 651 

Barr, Arthur H 619 

Harr, James 130 



PAGE. 

Barr, James H 620 

Bauer, William 846, 

Baumann, Louis 530^ 

Beach, William H 949 

Beattie, James W 1000 

Becker, John T 531 

Beedle, George E 618 

Beggs, Harmon 480 

Beggs, Mrs. Arabella 122 

Beggs, John D 201 

Beggs, Archibald 201 

Behling, Theodore 707 

Belknap, Naaman 209 

Bemis, George W 429 

Bemis, Jesse G 644 

Bemis, Lorin B 432 

Bennett, Elisha 1062 

Bennett, E. W 715 

Bennett, George V 579 

Bennett, Jay 1062 

Bennett, Solomon 1026 

Bentz, Jacob 441 

Bentzel, E 588 

Bentzel Family 588 

Berg, Diedrick C 957 

Berg, John C 935 

Bergner, Louis 268 

Bernier, Charles A 925 

Berry, Manuel 833 

Berry, Andrew 834 

Berry, Edward F 835 

Besserdicli, William A . . . . 665 

Betlach, V 522 

Beyerle, Rev. Charles 208 

Biederinann, Gotfried 912 

Bierce, Austin Alexander... 141 

Biukelman,W.R 31 

Biron, Julian 247 

Bishop, Ira J 65 

Blair, Thomas S 1058 

Blak, Jens P. Hansen 802 

Bleck, August 587 

Bliss, Daniel 241 

Blodgett, Charles E '21 

Bloecher. Henry J 805 

Bocher, Louis 932 

Bodette, Edward T 178 

Boerke, Charles C 338 

Bold, L. C 51 

Bonnin, Hon. Chris 272 

Boucher, Napoleon Joseph.. 1071 



PAGE. 

Boursier, John, Jr 99 

Bowers, Louis C 880 

Bowers, H. S 885 

Bowers, Mrs. Maryette 885 

Bowker, C. W 284 

Brabant Frank 942 

Brady, Frank H 542 

Brainard, Charles Rollin.... 974 
Brainard, Linus Bidwell, 

M. D 646 

Breed, J. E., M. D 586 

Breitenstein, Antoni 80 

Brickels, Rev. L. F 1017 

Bridgman, Edwin 822 

Bridgman, Edward Payson.. 35 

Briggs, Frank, D. V. S 919 

Britten, Nicholas 956 

Brooks, James H 826 

Brooks, James 826 

Brown, Charles H 364 

Brown, Edwin T 369 

Brown, Webster E 13 

Brown, William Henry 675 

Bruce, John W 690 

Brundage, E. B 524 

Brundage, John Newton, Sr. 523 

Brunner, J. George 470 

Brunner, William W 370 

Bucholtz, Alexander 754 

Buck, C. E 970 

Buck, Loren E 631 

Bucknam, Israel E 85 

Bucknam, Louis E 85 

Budge, William Henry, M.D. 742 

Bugbee, George R., M. D 297 

Buhr,John 807 

Buie, Angus 386 

lUimp, Herman L 369 

Burger, BenjaminE.,D. D.S. 313 

Burns, David William 306 

Burr, Thomas T 395 

Burrows, William 480 

Burt, Frederick W 174 

Button, Samuel 492 

Byrnes, Mrs. Mary 177 

C. 

Cady, Benjamin A 166 

Cady, Frank A 610 

Caldwell, Capt. C 374 



PAGE. 

Caldwell, Tyler C 374 

Calkins, George H., M. D. . . 516 

Calkins, Jackson 1064 

Gallon, Mrs. Nancv 679 

Callon, William. . .' 678 

Canning, James 829 

Carew, James 764 

Carew, William 764 

Carey, Daniel Emmet 593 

Carey, William H 355 

Carpenter, Edwin h 269 

Carr, William W 916 

Carter, A. N 904 

Carter, Nelson B 329 

Case, Daniel 361 

Gate, Hon. Georg'e W 10 

Caug-hell, H 668 

Chafee, Calvin 160 

Champagne, Hon. P. B 30 

Chandler, Jr., Samuel S 214 

Chesley, James A 77S 

Christensen, P. N 1040 

Christison, C. S. 506 

Christy, John P Ill 

Christy, Thomas 108 

Churchill. J. B 98 

Clark Family (Mrs. Eliza L. 

Holly) 340 

Clark Family (Mrs. Harriet 

F. Torrey) 899 

Clark, Mrs. Jane E 669 

Clark, John 669 

Clark, Owen 74 

Clarke, Charles Dixon 679 

Claussen, Wm. R., D. V. S. . 640 

Cleary , Edward 182 

Clements. David 625 

Clinton, W. H 830 

Clinton, U. P 831 

CofFman, John H 52 

Colby, Rev. Rufus H 211 

Collar, William G 260 

Collier, John M 629 

Collier, Thomas 629 

Collier, Mrs. M. A 1052 

Cdlman, N. A 185 

Conrad, Francis 544 

Conro, Abuer 777 

Cook, Lyman J 187 

Cook, Richard A 149 

Coon, Mrs. Alice V 87 

Coon, James K. Polk 86 

Corbett, J. F . , M. D 609 

Corcoran, William F 401 

Corey, Montraville D 695 

Corey, Mrs. Britannia 695 

Court, Thomas 230 

Cowan, J. S 127 

Cramer, Frank 280 

Crane, Allen B 534 

Craven, William A 409 

Crocker, Jerome 22 

Crofoot, Alphonzo 762 

Crofoot, Erastus 762 

Crofoot, Edward B 926 

Curran, Major Henrv 123 

Curran, John C ." 4H6 

Curtis, Alfred T 823 

Curtis, Henry Hale 823 

Curtis, M. J 503 



INDEX. 



D. 



PAGE. 



Dahlen, Engebret G 520 

Daib, Rev. Herman S. W 248 

Dakins, Albert H 744 

Dakins, Amos 744 

Dall, Christian P 622 

Daly, John 1076 

Daniels, Rev. Father Winand 42 

Darling-, Mrs. Mary J 599 

Darling, Titus C 599 

Daskam, Edward 14 

Dawley, J. B 79 

Day, Denslow A 701 

Day, Frank 298 

Day, Martin V 515 

Deane, Major C. Werden .... 387 

Dearing, Willard 1086 

Deleglise, Hon. Francis A. . 23 

Deleglise, Mrs. Mary 24 

Denis, Onizime 1038 

Dennis, Matt 1039 

Denton, Albert A 152 

Derenthal.Rev. Odoriclguaz 348 

Dessert, Joseph 16 

Dessert, Louis 17 

Devaud, Louis 484 

Devens, James E 991 

De Voin, Charles S 801 

De Voin, John C 801 

Dicke, Rev. Peter Henry 808 

Dickens, Willard C, M. D. . . 956 

Dickinson, George P 953 

Dilley, L. C 852 

Dimmock, John, Senr 878 

Doolittle, Ephraim H 240 

Doonen, James 248 

Dopp, William D 976 

Doran, William 242 

Dorse V. James P 1091 

Dofy,'Charles J 796 

Doyle, Marcus 732 

Doyle, M. F 1050 

Druckrey . Herman 568 

Duchac," Joseph 998 

Dugas, Joseph 713 



Dunaven, C. E 988 

Dunn, James G 327 

Durant, James 874 

Durrani, George W 458 

Dutruit, Emanuel 692 

E. 

Eastman, John W 808 

Ebbe, John H. 200 

Edwards, Henry 1033 

Een, Mrs. Z. A 1103 

Eggleston, A. W 910 

Eiche, Herman C 60 

Eisen, Rev. John 56 

Ellingson, Matthias 186 

Elsbury, W. H 156 

Elsen, John 171 

Eisner, Edward 884 

Emerson, Norman A 430 

Emmons, Charles H 907 

Emmons, William D 655 

Emmons, William E 490 

Eniter, Jacob F 329 

Engler, N. M 353 



1 105 



PAGE. 

Erickson, Andrew G 782 

Erickson, John 291 

Erickson, John G 521 

Erickson, Ole 1010 

Ernst, Hiram 843 ' 

Eschenbacli, John 877 

Evans, Hugh 1021 

Evans, John W 310 

Evenson Brothers 172 

Evenson, Edward 172 

Evenson. Henry 172 

Evjue, Nilse. .'. 249 

Ewer, Esben 894 

Ewer, Roswell 368 

Ewer, Truman 792 

F. 

Fassett, John A 602 

Faulks, George F 715 

Faust, Casper 550-^ 

Feathers, Harvey 614 

Felker, Herman 124 

Fenelon, C. M 468 

Fenhaus, Fredrich 534 

Feragen, Alexander 870 

Finch, John 70 

Finger, Herman 358 

Finney, Dennis 966 

Finney, Edwin E 963 

Finney, John, M. D 422 

Fisher Brothers (Angelica). . 551 

Fisher, Joseph 1080 

Fisher, Henry 1081 

Fletcher, Frank 131 

Fletcher, J. C. F 751 

Fleming, Mrs. Alice G 95 

Fleming, John Russell 94 

Folkman, Theodore 641 

Fontaine, Albert L 709 

Foss, William G 328 

Foster, Lucius 457 

Foxen, Olaus O ' 221 

Frazer, George H 659 

Frederick, John 687 



Dugas, Joseph /13 /Frogner, Guuder 95 

Dugas, Joseph L 71+^ Progner, Ole G 1)5 

" '" " ' Frost, E. D 



967 

Frost, J. L 1036 

Fuchs, Fred 658^^ 

Fuchs, John J 906 '^ 

FuUerton, Byron S 549 

G. 

Gabrielson, Gabriel 667 

Gagnon. Rev. Father A. A. . 506 

Gallup, Mrs. Sarah A 273 

Gan,sen, William O 888 

Garbrecht, G 748 

(Jardiner, John 1003 

Gardiner, John W 1003 

Gardner, Alonzo 223 

Gardner, Charles A 57 

Gardner, Henry B 57 

Garfield. Byron H 927 

Garland, Frederick S 47 

Ga.sper, Rev. Peter L 723 

Gates, S 10.59 

Gauthier, Joseph 90 

Gaulron, John B. (Dit La 
Rochelle) 479 



iio6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



PAGE. 

Gearhart, Alfred V 228 

Gerald, Georgre W 642 

Gerold, Henry C 672 

Gerwing-, Albert F 164 

Gibbons, Ira 527 

Gibbs, Lewis 1023 

Gibson, Charles 155 

Gibson, Hollis 574 

Gibson, Mrs. Fannie L 155 

Gilbert, Charles C 477 

Gilbert, N. A 336 

Gilbertson, Gilbert 624 

Gilbertson, Torg-er 699 

Gilson. Gilbert 161 

Girk, John 1006 

"^Glaubitz, Louis 333 

Glennon, E. D Ill 

Glinski, Joseph 157 

Godfrey, Thomas 639 

Goepfert, Rev. Prosper 724 

GofF, Warren W. , M. D 1088 

Goldberg-, Benj. M 1022 

Goldberg-, L. D 848 

Gorman, Mathew 353 

Gorman, Michael 761 

Gotham, Daniel 546 

Gradv, William 793 

Graebel, Jacob J 260 

Graetting-er, Allouis 311 

Grager, Ambrose 695 

Graham, Daniel 411 

Gralapp. H. F 736 

Grannis, EH 1065 

Grannis, Mrs. Parinelia . . . .1065 

Grant, William 671 

Green, D. E 1064 

Green, F.F 767 

Gregorson, Gregor 347 

Greg-ory, Levi M., M. D 107 

Grenlie, O.H 837 

Grenlie, J 837 

Grig-non, John B 734 

Gropp, Henry F 838 

Gross, Nicholas 129 

Grover, Ne-svell 207 

Grover, Peter 1083 

Guernsey, Dr. A. W 972 

Guernsey, Frank M 570 

Guernsey, George H 243 

Gundersen, Thorben 978 

Gurholdt. Ole C 867 

Gustin, William 986 

Guyant, Albert W 277 

H. 

Hacker, Herman 502 

Haebig:, John B 952 

Hagna, A. E 419 

Hahnheiser, Paul 319 

Hale, D. J 539 

Hall, Mrs. Clarinda 824 

Hall.Orin 823 

Hammond, Aug-ust 840 

Hamm, Hon. P. A 599 

Hangartner. Dr. J. J 349 

Hankwitz, Ferdinand 733 

Hansen, Andrew M 854 

Hansen, Christian J 245 

Hansen, Jens 155 

Hansen, Jens P 802 



PAGE. 

Hansen, Marten 163 

Hanson, Christian 293 

Hanson, Geo. J 427 

Hauson, Jacob 372 

Hardern, William 872 

Harkness, John 1089 

Harris, Warren L 416 

Harroun, Daniel S 1057 

HartI, Lorenz 962 

Hartman, Henry H 537 

Hartwell, Adelbert S. ...... . 162 

Hatteberg, Axel K 949 

Hatteberg, Knud K 495 

Hawes, George G 254 

Hayward, John 911 

Havward, Preston K 911 

Hazen, John ... 698 

Heath, Mrs. Alice A 304 

Heath, James Dewitt, M. D.. 303 

Heath, Hiel 169 

Heath, Oliver K 171 

Hebblewhite, Nathan 706 

Heimburg, A. Von 755 

Hen.seler, Anton 312 

Herbert, Jacob H 853 

Hermanson, Gjert 360 

Hermanson, Herman 92 

Hermanson, Herman A 92 

Hetzel, Henry C 654 

Hicks, David 988 

Hicks, Ellis 987 

Hicks, Milton 660 

Hicks, Ro.swell 661 

Hig-g-ins, Samuel 560 

Hildreth, Capt. Edmund J... 315 

Hilg-ermann, Otto A 1008 

Hili, George H 255 

Hill. George W 325 

HiUer, Peter K 368 

Hills, Alfred R 725 

Hinkley, Familv 120 

Hinkley. Samuel 562 

Hirth. Judge William 233 

Hirzel, Mart 179 

Hittner, H. M., M. D 1066 

Hobson, Walter 597 

Hoeflinger, Mrs. Anna 967 

Hoeflinger, Carl 966 

Hoffman, John A 961 

Hoffman, John E 499 

Hoffmann. Charles R 607 

Hoffmann, Gottlieb 938 

Hoffmann, William 938 

Holcomb. H. A 940 

Hole, Amund 768 

Hollenbeck, AsaW 787 

Holler, Henry 255 

Hollv, William C 339 

Holman, Joel W 780 

Holman, John F 780 

Holman, Ira 530 

Holman, Stephen F 529 

Holmes, W. H 77 

Homier, Joseph 49 

Homme, Rev. E. J 137 

Hopkins, George H 700 

Hopkins, Thomas 700 

Horton, Frederick, Sr 1009 

Horton, John W 501 

Hotz, Casper 873 



PAGE. 

Hotz, Herman 873 

Houston, Franklin R.,D.D.S. 920 

Hoxie, George 913 

Hudnall, R, M 552 

Hugenroth, Rev. Bernard... 745 
Hughes, Rev. Jacob Van 

Rensselaer 228 

Hull, M. B 392 

Hunt, John A 942 

Hunt, Mrs. P. W 248 

Hunter, Adolphus H 438 

Huntlev, Hon. Frederick... 980 

Hurley^ Patrick, M. D 1051 

Hutchinson, A. L 663 

Hutchinson, Debius 663 

Hutchinson, Samuel M 326 

Huun, Isaac C 720 

Huun, John O 359 

Hyman, Morris C 84 

I. 

Irvine, W., M. D 645 

Isaacson, Isaac H 753 

Iseland, Erick Jacobson 183 

Isherwood, James 985 

Isstas, Frank 746 

I verson , J 1073 

Iverson, Ole H 766 

J. 

Jacob, Charles 839 

Jacobs, Nicholas 1093 

Jacobson, Prof. Axel 571 

Jacobson, Erick 203 

Jacobson, J. S 192 

Jacobson, Stephen 192 

Jaeger, Rev. David 649 

Jawort, Frederick 927 

Jeffers, Albert A 204 

Jeffers, George N 728 

Jenkins, Charles A 302 

Jenney, Fred E 814 

Jenney, James M 666 

Jenney, Thomas 814 

Jensen, Andrew 8.42 

Jensen, Matt 167 

Jewell, Jacob 775 

Johns, William B 824 

Johnsen, Peter 416 

•Johnson, Alonzo W 512 

Johnson, Christian (Wau- 
paca) 199 

Johnson, Christian (Sher- 
idan) 733 

Johnson, Dewitt S 26 

•Johnson, Even 677 

Johnson, Hans 275 

Johnson, Hans P 1034 

Johnson, James C ■ 680 

Johnson, Martin 943 

Johnson, N. V 820 

Johnson, Nathan 820 

Johnson, Nels 276 

Johnson, Olof 783 

Johnson, Robert H 383 

Johnson & Sons, H 275 

Johnson, Ole 398 

Jones, A. P 487 

Jones, Mrs. Anna F 487 

Jones, D. Lloyd 105 



INDEX. 



1107 



PAGE. 

Jones, E. H., M. D 246 

Jones, G. W 504 

Jones, Ira H 528 

Jones, Joseph H 317 

Jones, W. E. S 224 

Jordan , James 466 



Kabat, Leonard B 

Kallniau, Claus 

Kalstad, Even P 

Kaltenborn, Rudolph V 

Kankrud, Hans P 

Kankrud, Johannes J 

Kaster, Rev. Father John. .. 

Keating-, Joseph 

Keating', Joseph R., Jr 

Kellog-g-, Thomas D 

Kellv, Mrs. Mary B 

Kelly, Milo 

Kellv, Nathaniel 

Kelly. Nellie M 

Kelsey, DeJay 

Kent, E. L 

Kern, Joseph, M. D 

Kickbusch, August 

Klatt, Christ 

Klatt, Jacob 

Klicknian, John 

Klosteruian, H 

Klumb, Jacob 

Knapp, Edwin B 

Knapp, Edwin R 

Knauf , Joh n 

Knauf, Mrs. Sophia 

Knudsen, Hans P 

Knutson, Knute B 

Kautson, Salve 

Kobiske, Mathias 

Koch, Albert Theodore. M. D 

Koehler, Gustav F 

Kohl, Herman A 

KoUock, Henry 

KoUock. Nelson 

Koske, Franz F 

Kraemer, John P 

Krake, Delos W 

Kratche, Rudolph 

Kretlow, Edward C 

Kronier, Lemuel W. R 

Kronenwetter, Hon. Sebas- 
tian 

Krostu, Gunder O .... 

Krostu, Sig^ur OLsen 

Kuckuk. Antone 

Kuehl, William 

Kunkel, Aug-ust 

Kunkel, John A 

Kurtz, Ernest W 

Kussmann, Gottlieb 

Kyes, Henry A 427 

L. 

Ladd, Family ')')3 

Ladd, J. W 993 

La Du, Willis F 947 

Lambert, Byron J 404 

Lamont, John F 605 

Lanipert L 1012 

Landry, Joseph H 1014 



222-^^ 
1082 
250 
324 
351 
352 
319 
510 
511 
342 
335 
335 
331 
331 
360 
1024 
923 

11 
883 
883 
481 

48 
735 
281 
845 
582 
582 
670 
696 
437 
913 
304 
244^ 
917 
l.W 
975 
922 
798 
752 

73 

34 
469 

17 

363 

285 

604 
. 790 
1009 

622 

892 

115 



PAGE. 

Lane, M. D. , M. D 346 

Langeuberg-, William Edw.. 407 

Lang-ley, George 1073 

Laning, Alpheus M 406 

Larsen, Christian 859 

Larseu, Lars S 202 

Larsen, Martin 1012 

Larsen, M 889 

Larsen, Michael 896 

Larson, Christian 283 

Larson, Lars 864 

Larson, N. T 681 

Larson , Ole 206 

La Rochelle, John B. Gau- 

tron Dit 479 

Latta, George W 262 

Laughlin, Dennis 113 

Laughlin, Patrick 113 

Laughrin, Bernard 851 

Lawler, Finn 142 

Lawrence, Ithamar 400 

Lawrence, Dr. William T. . . 627 

Leahv, Dennis 274 

Lee, A. J 1087 

Leer, G. R 444 

Lemley , Charles D 1068 

Lemmer, John A 42 

Leuthold, John H 518 

Leutsker, Rudolph J 727 

Levenhagen, Fred L 934 

Lewis, John A 496 

Lewis, John C 372 

Leykom, C. S 97 

Lickel, George Christian .... 43 

Lieg & Son, A 114 

Lindow, Herman 795 

Livingston, J. H 119 

Locke, Nathan S 67 

Lombard, Albion F 54 

Lombard, Dr. James 54 

Long, Eli W 628 

Long, Mrs. Loisa 62^ 

Loonier, Healy Marcy 475 

Lord, H. W 1078 

Lorigan, Rev. E. P 979 

Loucks, Albert C 264 

Love Thomas 107 

Lozier, William 697 

Lund, Frederick E 648 

Lutz, Andrew. Jr 169 

Lutz, Andrew, Sr 1091 

Lutz, C. P. E 765 

Lutz, David 541 

Lutz, Jacob 1013 

Lutz, John (Amherst Tp.).. .1096 
Lutz, John (Stevens Point).. 1102 

Lutz, Karl 1098 

Lyon, Mrs. Esther J 305 

Lyon, Reuben C 305 

Lyon, Robert W 1075 

Lytle, Alferd D 2.^9 

Lytle, James E 154 

M. 
McArthur, Mrs. Caroline B.. 779 

McArthur, Neil 778 

McCarrick, Mrs. John R 502 

McCros.sen, James 36 

McDivitt, John 581 

McDonald, A. S 592 



PAGE. 

McDonald, Charles B 390 

McFall,.John < 892 

McFarland, R. E 1043 

McGee, William 945 

McGown, John 651 

McGregor, Alexander 301 

McGregor, Duncan 741 

McGregor, Lawrence 742 

McGregor, Mrs. M. E 742 

McGregor, Malcolm 301 

McHale, James 624 

McHugh, William Edwin.... 857 

Mclndoe. Hugh 21 

Mclndoe, Hon. Walter D. . . . 20 
Mclndoe. Mrs. CatharineH. A. 20 

Mclntyre. William H 157 

McLean, Harbison 554 

McMillan, B. F 1015 

McMillan, David S 1016 

McMillin, Peter.- 100 

McMuUen, Richard H 567 

McRey nold.s. Frank 533 

Maas." Ernst 227 

Madden. Patrick 619 

Madel, Marcus 861 

Madill, Abel 823 

Maes, Arnold 613 

Maes, Henry 727 

Magee, Charles, Sr 944 

Ma.genitv Family 177 

Maine, Robert 684 

Mallory, C. R 403 

Mallory, R. C 404 

Manley . Samuel M 424 

Mansur, Granville K 612 

Marchant, George 450 

Marsh, Hosea F 951 

Marsh, William H 950 

Marshall, Robert G 210 

Marshall, William L 958 

Martin, Andrew 889 

Martin, F. J : 784 

Martin, Guv F., D. D. S 1101 

Martin, H.E 1066 

Martin, John E 989 

Mason, Fred M 153 

Mason, Garrett W 1071 

Mason, Leonard 298 

Ma.son, Wesley 462 

Matthias, Reinhart J 788 

Mathison, Thomas (Slattena) 770 

Matteson, Alfred H 905 

Matteson Family 894 

Matteson, Zophar 465 

Maxfield. Almon 133 

Maynard, Charles 288 

Maynard, Harlan P 691 

Mead, E. C 238 

Means, Paris 677 

Mehl, Anton 596 

Meier, J.J 676 

Meiklejohn, James 266 

Meilike, H. A., M. D 356 

Meisner, Charles H 626 

Meisner, Herman 198 

Meisner, John F 909 

Mennet, E 1069 

Menting, John H 537 

Mercer, John 213 

Mercer, Mrs. Agnes 213 



iioS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



PAGE. 

Mertens, Joseph 533 

Mertens, Henry , 532 

Metzner, Robert 505 

Meyer, Paul H 658 

Meyer, Samuel 541 

Michaelis, Paul A., Sr 813 

Michaelis, Paul A., Jr 814 

Michaelis & Son 813 

Millard, Arthur B 432 

Millard, Paul J 435 

Miller, Edward 434 

Miller, Henry 561 

Miller, Herman 931 

Miller, James 234 

Miller, Robert 686 

Miller, Samuel S 194 

Minto, Arthur C 286 

Mix, E. S 222 

Moberg^, Andrew 262 

Moberg, MissHattieB 261 

Monday, E 989 

Montgomery, Joseph E 908 

Moody, Mrs. Manley 617 

Moody, Manley 617 

Moore, George E 875 

Morehouse, ISdward H 213 

Morey, John 413 

Morgan, David 376 

Morgan, Harvey J 197 

Morgan, James 219 

Morgan , John W 454 

Morgan, Thomas 984 

Morrill, David Parish 655 

Moses, J. R ■ 615 

Morteuson, Amund 296 

Mortenson, Mrs. Sophia. . . . 296 

Mueller, Carl H 76 

Mulroy, Edward 864 

Mulvey, Patrick 869 

Mumbrue, V. A 493 

Mundinger, Rev. Gustave S. 82 

Munger, Amos D 350 

Mung^er, Mrs. Diantha 351 

Munger, Phineas L 362 

Munsert, Mahlon E 591 

Murray, A. B 220 

Murray Brothers 219 

Murray, John 220 

Murray, George 220 

Murray, William 633 

Myers, Henry 1004 

Myers, Mrs. Caroline 1004 

Myhre, Hans A 900 

Myhre, Ole A 196 

Mynard, Martin T 354 

Mynard, Timothy 1 354 

N. 

Naber, F. D 440 

Naber, Hermann 471 

Negaard,Nicolay 168 

Nellis Family 825 

Nelson, Andrew G 21 

Nelson, Christian 550 

Nelson, Jacob 890 

Nelson, Hon. James J 62 

Nelson, Hon. Jerome 46 

Nelson, N. C 397 

"Neubauer, Mathes 1081 

Neuman, Mark S9 



page;. 

Newell, Asa B 1075 

Newell, Truman V 1075 

Neville, W. D., M. D 1050 

Newby , George C 190 

Newby, Nelson 1054 

Newby, William 1053 

Newsom, James A 195 

Newsome, George 391 

Netzel, A. F 887 

Netzel, August 887 

Nichols, W. P 181 

Nicholson, Thomas N 423 

Nick Brothers 1001 

Nick, Jacob 1002 

Nick, Mathias 1002 

Nielsen, Rev. Nels S 236 

Niven, John 683 

Niven, William 1 289 

Noble, Daniel 797 

Nordvi, Hakon M 585 

Northwestern Training 
School for Nurses, The. ... 499 

Norton, Dr. F. A 1099 

Norway, Alanson C 1' 2 

Norway, C. A 103 

Nuber, Joseph 553 

Nusbaum, Appolinaire J. . . . 718 

(). 

O'Connor, George E 44 

O'Connor, James 116 

O'Connor, John 44 

O'Connor, Mrs. Prue 117 

O'Malley, Patrick J 576 

Oborn, Samuel T 647 

Oelhafen, John 112 

Ogden, Caleb S 316 

Ogden, Chester H 649 

Ogden, Charles W o47 

Ogden, John A 329 

Olesou, Alberts 1046 

Oleson, Erick 1010 

Olfson, Hans 856 

Olmsted, J. H 588 

Olsen, Amund ., 373 

Olson, Johannes 398 

Olson, Knut 897 

Olson, Torgus 858 

Omit, Ole O 919 

Orr, Aquilla E 949 

Orr, Thomas 885 

Osswald, Christian 82 

Ovens, David 420 

O vrom, Ingebert 609 

Owens, John M 365 

P. 

Paff, Carl F 39 

PaflF, Jacob 39 

Palmer, H. 601 

Palmer, John N 849 

Palmer, Lucius E 251 

Paukow, Adolph G 712 

Pankow, Herman J 193 

Park, B vron B 94 

Park, Hon. Gilbert L 104 

Parker, Calvin 6«5 

Parker, Neheniiah 703 

Parker, William 735 

Parks, Fred A 794 



PAGE. 

Parks, P. H 793 

Patch, Rev. Jacob 147 

Patzer, Edward 723 

Paulus, Adam 74 

Pedersen , Lars 592 

Pederson, Andrew 841 

Peeso, W. A 1100 

Perry, A. M 749 

Petersen, William C.Andreas 955 

Peterson, Alexander 799 

Peterson, Barney S 756 

Peterson, Hans J 883 

Peterson, John 431 

Peterson, John P 436 

Peterson. Martin T 650 

Pflum, Simon 959 

Philbrick, William B 700 

Phillippi, George 835 

Phillips, Allen B 850 

Phillips, Franklin 636 

Piehl, William J 737 

Pierce, James 664 

Pierce, M. F 664 

Pinkerton. Mrs. Jane 895 

Pinkerton, John 804 

Pinkerton. Robert R 810 

Pinkerton, Samuel 804 

Pinkerton. Samuel D 895 

Pipe, William E 385 

Plunkett, Phil 263 

Poland, Samuel S 447 

Pope, Nathaniel 150 

Pors, E. C 993 

Pors, William A 992 

Port, Louis 332 

Porter, David 749 

Porter, Frederick E 320 

Porter, John 460 

Potts, A. R 270 

Potts, Andrew 270 

Potts, Walter 637 

Poust, H. A 1020 

Powers, Levi Parsons 128 

Powers. Mrs. Mary E 129 

Pratt, Marcus S . .' 921 

Precourt, Antoine 968 

Precourt, L. A 970 

Preston, Nicholas E 821 

Prink, E. C 698 

Puariea, Moses 725 

Pulcifer, Daniel Haight 28 

Pulling, Bradley W 384 

Purdy, Ira 402 

Q. 

Quimby, Horace 238 

Quimby , J. C 862 

Quimby, Omer A 862 

Quimby, M. C 606 

Quinn, James 323 

Quinn, John 935 

R. 

Rablin, John 1045 

Radlev. William 209 

Rait, Alexander C 277 

Rasmussen, Andrew 507 

Rasmussen, J. P 1028 

Rasmussen, O.N 916 

Rasmussen, Peter 876 



INDEX. 



1 109 



I'AGE. 

Ravy, Louis 858 

Raymond, Joseph 83 

RaVmond, J. O 112 

Rayworth. E. S 1090 

Razin, John 243 

Reas, Georpe H 688 

Reas, William H 543 

Reed, Herbert L., M. D 863 

Reeves. Seth 1072 

Reminffton, Henry W 57 

Reton, Gulbrand J 794 

Retzlaff, Charles F 556 

Retzlaff, Christ 555 

Rice, Arthur D 7,57 

Rice, John. & Brother Co... . 179 

Rice, James 181 

Rice, John 180 

Rice, Minor S 513 

Rich. Lute 139 

Richardson, Chauncey K. . . . 232 

Richardson, H. N 1084 

Richardson, William B 931 

Riebe, Dr. Paul A 611 

Rieben, Christian 252 

Riemer, Fred 776 

Riley, George W 379 

Riley, Mary 669 

Rilev, Samuel 812 

Riley, Thomas 1084 

Rinple, Valentine 627 

Risum, Otto Axel 578 

Roberts, David 938 

Robertson , Georg^e S 412 

liobertson, Walter M 466 

Rodg-ers. Alexander 1004 

Rodgers, Hugh 1004 

Roemer, Carl 494 

Roepke, John E 430 

Rogers, A. D 121 

Rogers, Andrew J 257 

Rogers, Byron 291 

Rogers, Cyrenius 265 

Rogers, James E ISO 

Roller, Edward J 53 

Roman, E.D 755 

Roller, Mrs. J. M 54 

Rood, H. S 1030 

Roseberry, Dr. Jeremiah .... 122 

Ross, Judge Munson M 91 

Rossier, Mrs. Caroline 41 

Rossier. Emile B 41 

Rossey, Felix 865 

Rothman, L., M. D 7.56 

Ruder, Eniil 158 

Ruder, George 496 

Ruder, Henry 496 

Ruder, Herman 941 

Ruder, Louis 929 

Ruder, Mrs. Mary (Lsessig).. 159 

Ruder, William 159 

Ruediger, F. Albert 216 

Rundhamer, Joseph 620 

Runge, Frederick 405 

Ruplinger, Michael 110 

Rupno, John F 682 

Rusch, C. A 314 

Rustade, Martin Simonson . . 292 

S. 
Sales, Henry 378 



I Sallet, FriedericliWilhelm.. 711 

L>*"alzman, Adolph 562 

I Salzniann, William 271 

Samphier, Peter 712 

Sampson, Henry A 789 

Sanders, Grin D 456 

Sanders, William H 721 

Sannes, t)le Knutson 357 

Sauerhering, Dr. Douglas L. 497 

Savage, Thomas H 502 

Sawyer, Don W 256 

Sawyer, John F 161 

Sawyer, Stillman H 225 

Searl, Charles E 144 

Schaetzel, Frank 848 

Scheibe, P^mil P 451 

Schewe, Frederick C 747 

Schilling, Frank L 489 

Schleh, John 806 

Schmitt, John 371 

Schnablev, John 1007 

Schoenike, F. G 809 

Schroeder, Augustus 148 

Schroeder, Charles F 800 

Schroeder, Gottlieb 1077 

Schuetz, Anton 1005 

Schultz, A. H 632 

Schumacher, William J 710 

Schwanke, Herman R 933 

Scott, L. D 125 

Scoville, Hezekiah 898 

Scoville, Clark L 898 

Scribner, EH P 827 

Seering, William 936 

Seim, H»nry 478 

Selleck, Harvev 771 

Semple, Robert E 940 

Sether, Ole C 473 

Shackett, Jo.seph 410 

Shanahan,C 948 

Shaver, S. S 577 

Shearer, Caleb J 426 

Shelburn, David 1055 

Shelton, A. W 163 

Sherburne, William 608 

Sherman, A. A 1052 

Shoemaker, Frederick 134 

Shoemaker, Lewis F 445 

Sicard, Peter 1001 

Sil jord, Thor A 282 

Sipek, John 436<f 

Sipher, Jacob, Jr 453 

Sipher, Fred P 453 

Slosson, William C 693 

Smiley, James 598 

Smith, Anson 540 

Smith, Caspar 189 

Smith, Edward Y 414 

Smith, Mrs. Elizabeth C... 415 

Smith, James 693 

Smith, James K 841 

Smith, Jesse, D. D. S 628 

Smith. John H 417 

Smith, Samuel W 173 

Sodresten. Gunder 832 

Soholm, Rev. Anders Lau- 

sen Jensen 201 

Sorensen, Peter 901 

Southwick, Frank Adalbert, 
M. D 449 



PAGE. 

Specht, Louis 548 

Spencer, Ira 785 

Spencer, Thomas 785 

Spoehr, Frederick 235 

St. Austin, Peter 313 

Stacy, W. H 847 

Stange, August H 126 

Staub, Jacob 184 

Stauber, John M 206 

Stearns, George A 634 

Stedman, Herbert 300 

Steenbock, Henry 584 

Steffen. Ignatius' D., M. S., 

M. D 388 

Stein Brothers 396 

Stein, Charley 39?- 

Steinmetz, Michael 452 

Stevens, Alexander 635 

Stewart, Joel L 750 

Stewart, John A 402 

Stimson, Prosper 837 

Stinchfield, Charles A 426 

Stinchfield, Moses A 547 

Stinemates, E. E 861 

Stinemates, George W 860 

Stintzi, Robert J 951 

Stoltenberg, J. C 1101 

Stone, Fowler P 5b3 

Stoner, George 603 

Stratton, E. W 446 

Stratton, Oliver S 491 

Stratton, Wellington 901 

Strauss, Henry 32K^^ 

Strobridge, Cyrus 33 

Stroud, Milo S 525 

StubenvoU. Rev. Emil 939 

Sturtevant, John L 648 

Sullivan, Daniel 73 

Sullivan, Patrick 175 

Sultz, P. J 1054 

Sumnicht, Charles 321 

Swan, James : 881 

Swan, John D 396 

Swan, Thomas, Jr 433 

Sweeney, Joseph 442 

Swenholt. Jonas 740 

Swenson, John F 488 

T. 

Tarr, David D 176 

Taugher, Patrick J., M. D... 498 

Taylor, Arthur 188 

Taylor, G. E 10.54 

Taylor, George R., M. D 418 

Taylor, James H 308 

Teipner, Charles 267 

Tenant, A. D 1070 

Tenant, Robert 565 

Ter Haar, Henry 563 

Terrio, John S35 

Terrio. Lewis 535 

Thayer, Eugene B 758 

Thayer, Lyman W 758 

Theilmann Brothers 611 

Theilmann. George 611 

Theilmann, William 611 

Thiclman, Gottfried 118 

Thielman, Julius. 118 

Thielman, Robert C 606 

Thies, Philip 1061 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOORAPEICAL RECORD. 



PAGE. 

Thorn, Rev. Louis 216- 

Thomas, Georg-e E 914 

Thomas, .lames 914 

Thomas, Joseph 88 

Thompson, Christian. 716 

Thompson, George W 638 

Thompson, James S 787 

Thompson, Svenung 891 

Thompson, Torg-rim 855 

Thompson, William 886 

Thorn, Squires P 738 

Thorson, Thor 448 

Ticknor, Elias H 306 

Tobey, James 1032 

Tobin, John 999 

Tobin, Mrs. Mary (Mahanna). 999 

Toe, Jacob C 90S 

Toldnes. Nels Andersen.... 62 

Torbensen, Andrew 569 

Torgersen, Swend 595 

Torgerson, Torger 836 

Torrey, L. Z 899 

Towne, A. 395 

Towne, Cyrus 997 

Towne, David N 1094 

Towne, Howard P 1094 

Townsend, Ezra 572 

Tremmel, Joseph 960 

Tresnes, Knud K 772 

Trevitt, Alfred Wm, M. D.. . 918 

Trudeaii, Solomon 61 

Trull, Thomas L, 879 

Tubaas, Andrew 367 

Tubaas, HalvorK 882 

Turner, Edwin 557 

Turner Fami ly 557 

Tuttle, John 673 

Tyrrell, Charles 165 

Tyrrell, George 866 

Tyrrell, John 866 

Tyrrell, John, Jr 379 

U. 

Uhrenholdt, Soren Jensen.. 258 

Upham, E. H 509 

Upham, Governor W. H 7 

V. 

Van Doren, Jacob H 136 

Van Hootegem, Rev. E. F..1018 

Van Ornum, Alpheus A 902 

Van Patten, Frederick P. ... 868 



PAGE. 

Vannorman, L. M 461 

Vaughan, Evan R 773 

Veysey, Mrs. Harriet J 689 

Veysey , John 566 

Veysey, William B 566 

Vincelette, Miss Lillie 1049 

Vincelette, Louis 1049 

Von Heimburg, Anno 755 

Vosburg, John V 253 

Voss, Herman Howard 1047 

W. 

Wadleigh, M 1067 

Wagner, Mathias 382 

Wait, Judd 365 

Walker, Mrs. Anna Rosetta 557 

Walker, William 556 

Wall. W. H 730 

Walterbach, David 774 

Ward, Jo.seph 763 

Warren, George 580 

Webster, C. B 72 

Webster, H. T 1041 

Webster, J. N 1092 

Wedgwood, R. E 932 

Wedgwood, William 790 

Weed,. William H 25 

Wegner, W^illiam 791 

Weinig, Conrad 237 

Weidenbeck, William D 871 

Weinmann, A 643 

Weller, Rev. R. H., Jr 1096 

Wells, Andrew S 483 

Wemrae, Gunder O 420 

Wendt, August 858 

Wendt, Charles 858 

Werheim, George 19 

Wescott, Charles D 929 

Wescott, E 929 

West, L. F 483 

West, Mrs. Lucia (Gibson).. 484 

Westcot, Lyman A 168 

Wetmore, James 705 

Wheelan, Edward 5:5 

Whipple, Mrs. Hattie 460 

White, C. W 117 

Whitson, E. W 69 

Wied, William 844 

Wigginton, James B 1044 

Wilde, John 290 

Wilke, Henry H 377 

Willard, Lee M., M. D 234 



PAGE. 

Williams, Andrew SO 

Williams, Anton G 146 

Williams, Balser SO 

Williams, Boie 1033 

Williams, Charles A 336 

Williams, Henry W 545 

Williams. John J 954 

Williamson, Ove 146 

Wilmot, David D 1085 

Wilmot, Samuel V 380 

Wilson, Ambrose M 285 

Winkley, Charles 924 

Winkley, Mrs. Susannah R. 924 

Wipperfurth, Werner 674 

Witter, George W 613 

Wixon, John C 482 

Wolden, John G 307 

Wolf, William 779 

Wolff, Herman C 88 

Wood. Hiram A 1037 

Woodard, William H 517 

Wooden, W. L 630 

Woodnorth, Jeff 32 

Woolsey, Richard J 817 

Worden, Stephen 393 

Worden, Willis D 393 

Wozny, Rev. Sigmond 726 

Wright, Hon. H. W 78 

Wright, William Henry 538 

Wrolstad, Martin ". 1029 

Wrolstad, Ole 1029 

Wunderlich, George H 294 

Wunderlich, John S 295 

Y. 

Yawkey, CO 982 

Yerke, Louis 702 

Yorton, Oliver 456 

Z. 

Zachow, Otto 666 

Zachow, William C 729 

Zamzow, Charles A 1006 

Zentner, Fred T 40 

Ziebell, August E 618 

Zillmer, William M 832 

Zipp, Philip 1079 

Zipp, Otto 1080 

Zorn, William 269 

Zuehlke. Charles 331 

Zuehlke, C. Henry 731 



C0 



^ 



\.uu i (ilOCii 


















v< 



, ' .•(.'^ 












^^■^ -"t.. 



:V" 



v>^,>-..,v---v.s.' 



.XN>' •'^.. 















f^-^. V- ... ^'^■ " 



,^'' "K 






<!> * 



.0-^ 













'. V, 



>. t^- 















^0 o. 






^ v^^ 



^''-"'^^•^^a^ 















<^^«.'^ 
^:^^ 






o. 






^^ V*^ 



^^^'z^.^ 



'''^::.^/ .N^ 



^" 0,^- 



Si^ - "»bo'^ 



'/ C- 



..^^' 






^y- V*' 



<5 -U 



,0 O • 





















%i 









** V. 









% sf' 



-ir. c.^- 



iux 






^y. s*'' '^^ ' 






:\'' '^.. c^ 












rS' -s>. 



*v?*' 









C- ^ ._ '-!-■» si.- ->,. <- ''' .s .lY 












O^ ' 4 ,, ^ ' \^'^ ^. * » 1 \ " <.*J' ^ , « , 

V 



<^ ,.../^'>,'"-^"'.^" 



^ ^, 



A- 



"^v. J^' 



-'^^ V° 



.^\ 












c<i<«. 



.^'^^'"-^ 






y. "^ v^ :/ 






:;.>^ ^^-^'^^.o:-- '^z 






.^^' 



.•■^'• 



vOO, 






^ .^ U - .Oq, • V- 

^ ' ^ <54' -^ >^ // H\ -^ ^ :. 



■■?' •%. 






x^^ 












^^'^^".^^ 



f; 






^.^^ 






>A' 









o 



c^^?^y/^ '\*^':';^'^^-^ 



■;V -i^. 






^■\/':<'S'^.*.^^ 






^^. V*' 



c^ .\^,._.'. --^^ ^■*-.. ^ _^ :■ ;^-;]r^'. '^ 



>v.^ ^•0^'' "'^^ <^ 






